ಅನೇಕದಂತಂ ಭಕ್ತಾನಾಮ್ ಏಕದನ್ತಮ್-ಉಪಾಸ್ಮಹೇ ॥೧॥
- ಅಗಜಾನನಪದ್ಮಾಕಮ್ (agajānanapadmākam)the sun to the lotus that is Parvati's face
- ಗಜಾನನಮ್ (gajānanam)the elephant-faced one
- ಅಹರ್ನಿಶಮ್ (aharniśam)day and night
- ಅನೇಕದನ್ತಮ್ (anekadantam)the giver of many things
- ಭಕ್ತಾನಾಮ್ (bhaktānām)of those who love him
- ಏಕದನ್ತಮ್ (ekadantam)the one with a single tusk
- ಉಪಾಸ್ಮಹೇ (upāsmahe)we worship
anvaya ಭಕ್ತಾನಾಮ್ ಅನೇಕದನ್ತಮ್ ಅಗಜಾನನಪದ್ಮಾಕಮ್ ಗಜಾನನಮ್ ಏಕದನ್ತಮ್ ಅಹರ್ನಿಶಮ್ ಉಪಾಸ್ಮಹೇ
chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas
ಅಗಜಾನನ the face of Parvati — Agajā is the mountain's daughter, Parvati. Aga is what does not move, the mountain, so agajā is the one born of it.
ಅನೇಕದನ್ತಮ್ the giver of many things — Read as aneka-da, one who gives much. The line sets it against ekadanta, the one tusk, so the same sounds say he gives many things and has a single tusk.
note Printed ಅಗಜಾನನ-ಪದ್ಮಾಕಂ. The reading usually recited is ಪದ್ಮಾರ್ಕಂ, the sun to that lotus face: as the sun keeps the lotus open, Gajanana keeps his mother's face bright. The meaning here follows that reading.
ಪ್ರಸನ್ನವದನಂ ಧ್ಯಾಯೇತ್ ಸರ್ವ-ವಿಘ್ನೋಪಶಾನ್ತಯೇ ॥೨॥
- ಶುಕ್ಲಾಮ್ಬರಧರಮ್ (śuklāmbaradharam)wearing white cloth
- ವಿಷ್ಣುಮ್ (viṣṇum)the one who reaches everywhere
- ಶಶಿವರ್ಣಮ್ (śaśivarṇam)pale as the moon
- ಚತುರ್ಭುಜಮ್ (caturbhujam)with four arms
- ಪ್ರಸನ್ನವದನಮ್ (prasannavadanam)with a kind face
- ಧ್ಯಾಯೇತ್ (dhyāyet)one should meditate on
- ಸರ್ವವಿಘ್ನೋಪಶಾನ್ತಯೇ (sarvavighnopaśāntaye)so that every obstacle is quieted
anvaya ಸರ್ವವಿಘ್ನೋಪಶಾನ್ತಯೇ ಶುಕ್ಲಾಮ್ಬರಧರಮ್ ಶಶಿವರ್ಣಮ್ ಚತುರ್ಭುಜಮ್ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನವದನಮ್ ವಿಷ್ಣುಮ್ ಧ್ಯಾಯೇತ್
chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas
ವಿಷ್ಣುಮ್ the one who reaches everywhere — The name is built on viṣ, to spread through. In a Ganapati set of verses it is read by that sense, so the line stays a prayer to the lord who is present everywhere.
ಶಶಿವರ್ಣಮ್ pale as the moon — Śaśin is the moon, named for the hare seen on it.
note This is the śānti verse recited before a reading to quiet obstacles, and it is the standard dhyāna verse of Vishnu as well. It sits in Ganapati collections because Ganapati is the one asked to clear the way.
ಅವಿಘ್ನಂ ಕುರು ಮೇ ದೇವ ಸರ್ವ-ಕಾರ್ಯೇಷು ಸರ್ವದಾ ॥೩॥
- ವಕ್ರತುಣ್ಡ (vakratuṇḍa)O curved-trunk one
- ಮಹಾಕಾಯ (mahākāya)O great-bodied one
- ಕೋಟಿಸೂರ್ಯಸಮಪ್ರಭ (koṭisūryasamaprabha)O you whose light equals ten million suns
- ಅವಿಘ್ನಮ್ (avighnam)free of obstacles
- ಕುರು (kuru)make
- ಮೇ (me)my
- ದೇವ (deva)O god
- ಸರ್ವಕಾರ್ಯೇಷು (sarvakāryeṣu)in all my work
- ಸರ್ವದಾ (sarvadā)always
anvaya ವಕ್ರತುಣ್ಡ ಮಹಾಕಾಯ ಕೋಟಿಸೂರ್ಯಸಮಪ್ರಭ ದೇವ ಮೇ ಸರ್ವಕಾರ್ಯೇಷು ಸರ್ವದಾ ಅವಿಘ್ನಮ್ ಕುರು
chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas
ವಕ್ರತುಣ್ಡ O curved-trunk one — Tuṇḍa is the trunk or the snout. The curve of it is the first thing named in most Ganapati verses.
ಕೋಟಿಸೂರ್ಯಸಮಪ್ರಭ O you whose light equals ten million suns — A koṭi is ten million. The figure is a way of saying the light has no measure.
note The best known verse of the set, recited at the start of work. Printed ಅವಿಘ್ನಂ ಕುರು; many books read ನಿರ್ವಿಘ್ನಂ ಕುರು, and both ask for the same thing, that nothing stand in the way. Some texts also read ಶುಭಕಾರ್ಯೇಷು, in every good work, for ಸರ್ವಕಾರ್ಯೇಷು.
ಕಪಿತ್ಥ-ಜಮ್ಬೂ-ಫಲಸಾರ-ಭಕ್ಷಕಮ್।
ಉಮಾಸುತಂ ಶೋಕವಿನಾಶ-ಕಾರಣಂ
ನಮಾಮಿ ವಿಘ್ನೇಶ್ವರ-ಪಾದ-ಪಙ್ಕಜಮ್॥೪॥
- ಗಜಾನನಮ್ (gajānanam)the elephant-faced one
- ಭೂತಗಣಾಧಿಸೇವಿತಮ್ (bhūtagaṇādhisevitam)waited on by the hosts of beings
- ಕಪಿತ್ಥಜಮ್ಬೂಫಲಸಾರಭಕ್ಷಕಮ್ (kapitthajambūphalasārabhakṣakam)who eats the sweet juice of wood apple and rose apple
- ಉಮಾಸುತಮ್ (umāsutam)son of Uma
- ಶೋಕವಿನಾಶಕಾರಣಮ್ (śokavināśakāraṇam)the undoing of sorrow
- ನಮಾಮಿ (namāmi)I bow to
- ವಿಘ್ನೇಶ್ವರಪಾದಪಙ್ಕಜಮ್ (vighneśvarapādapaṅkajam)the lotus feet of the lord of obstacles
anvaya ಗಜಾನನಮ್ ಭೂತಗಣಾಧಿಸೇವಿತಮ್ ಕಪಿತ್ಥಜಮ್ಬೂಫಲಸಾರಭಕ್ಷಕಮ್ ಉಮಾಸುತಮ್ ಶೋಕವಿನಾಶಕಾರಣಮ್ ವಿಘ್ನೇಶ್ವರಪಾದಪಙ್ಕಜಮ್ ನಮಾಮಿ
chandas Vaṃśastha, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas
ಕಪಿತ್ಥಜಮ್ಬೂಫಲಸಾರಭಕ್ಷಕಮ್ who eats the sweetness of wood apple and rose apple — Kapittha is the wood apple and jambū the rose apple, both common temple offerings. Sāra is the juice, the good part of the fruit.
ಭೂತಗಣಾಧಿಸೇವಿತಮ್ waited on by the hosts of beings — The bhūtagaṇas are Shiva's attendant hosts. Ganapati is their leader, which is what the name Gaṇapati says.
note The metre changes here from Anuṣṭubh to Vaṃśastha, which is why this verse is longer to say. The text carried the stray letters ಜಲಗಾಕನ after the second line, left over from the source. They belong to no word in the verse and were removed on 18 September 2026. Many books read ಭೂತಗಣಾದಿಸೇವಿತಂ for ಭೂತಗಣಾಧಿಸೇವಿತಂ.