gaṇeśa bhujaṃga stotram

• śrīgaṇeśabhujaṅgamthe Shri Ganesha Bhujangam
• raṇatkṣudraghaṇṭāninādābhirāmamlovely with the sound of small bells ringing
• calattāṇḍavoddaṇḍavatpadmatālamwhose lotus feet beat time in the striding tandava
• lasattundilāṅgoparivyālahāramwearing a snake over his shining round body
• gaṇādhīśamthe lord of the ganas
• īśānasūnumthe son of Ishana
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya śrīgaṇeśabhujaṅgam raṇatkṣudraghaṇṭāninādābhirāmam calattāṇḍavoddaṇḍavatpadmatālam lasattundilāṅgoparivyālahāram gaṇādhīśam īśānasūnum tam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

bhujaṅgam Bhujangam — The hymn takes its name from its metre, Bhujangaprayata, the gliding of a snake.

tāṇḍava the tandava — The strong, striding dance of Shiva. Here the son dances it, bells at his feet.

īśānasūnum the son of Ishana — Ishana is Shiva. The same two words close the first six verses.

note The title line is printed at the head of the first verse. Every verse but the last two ends with gaṇādhīśamīśānasūnuṃ tamīḍe.

• dhvanidhvaṃsavīṇālayollāsivaktramwhose face lights up at the beat of the vina as its sound dies away
• sphuracchuṇḍadaṇḍollasadbījapūramin whose quivering staff-like trunk a citron shines
• galaddarpasaugandhyalolālimālamringed by bees made restless by the sweet smell of his flowing must
• gaṇādhīśamthe lord of the ganas
• īśānasūnumthe son of Ishana
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya dhvanidhvaṃsavīṇālayollāsivaktram sphuracchuṇḍadaṇḍollasadbījapūram galaddarpasaugandhyalolālimālam gaṇādhīśam īśānasūnum tam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

bījapūram a citron — The seed-filled citron he holds, sometimes shown as a whole fruit in the curl of the trunk.

darpa must — Here darpa stands for mada, the fluid that runs from an elephant's temples. Its smell is what draws the bees.

• prakāśajjapāraktaratnaprasūnapravālaprabhātāruṇajyotiḥone light, red as a bright hibiscus, a jewel, a coral and the dawn
• ekamsingle
• pralambodaramwith a hanging belly
• vakratuṇḍaikadantamwith a curving trunk and one tusk
• gaṇādhīśamthe lord of the ganas
• īśānasūnumthe son of Ishana
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya ekam prakāśajjapāraktaratnaprasūnapravālaprabhātāruṇajyotiḥ pralambodaram vakratuṇḍaikadantam gaṇādhīśam īśānasūnum tam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

japā hibiscus — The red hibiscus, the standard measure of deep red in Sanskrit and the flower offered to him.

note Four red things are named in one breath: the flower, the jewel, the coral and the dawn.

• vicitrasphuradratnamālākirīṭamwhose crown carries a wonderful sparkling string of jewels
• kirīṭollasaccandrarekhāvibhūṣamadorned with the streak of moon that shines on that crown
• vibhūṣaikabhūṣamthe one ornament of all ornaments
• bhavadhvaṃsahetumthe cause of the ending of birth and death
• gaṇādhīśamthe lord of the ganas
• īśānasūnumthe son of Ishana
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya vicitrasphuradratnamālākirīṭam kirīṭollasaccandrarekhāvibhūṣam vibhūṣaikabhūṣam bhavadhvaṃsahetum gaṇādhīśam īśānasūnum tam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

bhava birth and death — Bhava is becoming, the round of being born and dying. It is also a name of Shiva, so the word looks two ways at once.

note The line is printed vibhūṣaikabhūśam; it is read vibhūṣaikabhūṣam.

• udañcadbhujāvallarīdṛśyamūloccaladbhrūlatāvibhramabhrājadakṣamhis creeper arms raised, his creeper eyebrows arching, his eyes bright with their play
• marutsundarīcāmaraiḥwith the whisks of the lovely women of the sky
• sevyamānambeing served
• gaṇādhīśamthe lord of the ganas
• īśānasūnumthe son of Ishana
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya udañcadbhujāvallarīdṛśyamūloccaladbhrūlatāvibhramabhrājadakṣam marutsundarīcāmaraiḥ sevyamānam gaṇādhīśam īśānasūnum tam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

vallarī a creeper — Arms and eyebrows are both called creepers here, for the way they curve and move.

• sphuranniṣṭhurālolapiṅgākṣitāramthe pupils of whose tawny eyes roll, bright and hard
• kṛpākomalodāralīlāvatāramwhose coming down into play is soft and open-handed with kindness
• kalābindugamwho moves in the kala and the bindu
• gīyateis sung
• yogivaryaiḥby the best of yogis
• gaṇādhīśamthe lord of the ganas
• īśānasūnumthe son of Ishana
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya sphuranniṣṭhurālolapiṅgākṣitāram kṛpākomalodāralīlāvatāram kalābindugam yogivaryaiḥ gīyate gaṇādhīśam īśānasūnum tam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

kalābindugam who moves in the kala and the bindu — In the written syllable Om the kala is the crescent and the bindu the dot above it. Yogis hold the mind on those two, and the verse says he is what is found there.

note The verse sets the two sides of him together: eyes that are hard to meet, and a nature that is soft.

• yamwhom
• ekākṣaramthe one syllable
• nirmalamunstained
• nirvikalpamundivided
• guṇātītampast the three strands
• ānandamjoy itself
• ākāraśūnyamwith no shape at all
• paramthe supreme
• pāramthe far shore
• oṅkāramOm
• āmnāyagarbhamholding the Veda inside it
• vadantithey call
• pragalbhambold
• purāṇamold beyond reckoning
• tamhim
• īḍeI praise

anvaya yam ekākṣaram nirmalam nirvikalpam guṇātītam ānandam ākāraśūnyam param pāram oṅkāram āmnāyagarbham vadanti tam pragalbham purāṇam īḍe

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

āmnāyagarbham holding the Veda inside it — Amnaya is what is handed down, the Veda. The syllable Om is called its womb because the whole of it is held there.

nirvikalpam undivided — Vikalpa is the mind cutting one thing into two. What has no vikalpa is what is left when it stops.

note The hymn turns here from the shape of the god to what has no shape. The refrain drops away with it.

• cidānandasāndrāyato you, thick with awareness and joy
• śāntāyaat peace
• tubhyamto you
• namaḥsalutation
• viśvakartreto the maker of the world
• caand
• hartreto the one who takes it away
• caand
• tubhyamto you
• namaḥsalutation
• anantalīlāyawhose play has no end
• kaivalyabhāsewho shines as freedom itself
• namaḥsalutation
• viśvabījaO seed of the world
• prasīdabe pleased
• īśasūnoO son of Isha

anvaya cidānandasāndrāya śāntāya tubhyam namaḥ viśvakartre ca hartre ca tubhyam namaḥ anantalīlāya kaivalyabhāse namaḥ viśvabīja īśasūno prasīda

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

kaivalya freedom — Kaivalya is being alone in the sense of being wholly oneself, with nothing else mixed in.

note Only in this verse does the poet speak to the god directly, and only here does he ask for something.

• imamthis
• sustavamfine hymn
• prātaḥat dawn
• utthāyahaving risen
• bhaktyāwith devotion
• paṭhetrecites
• yaḥwhoever
• tuand
• martyaḥa mortal
• labhetgains
• sarvakāmāneverything he wants
• gaṇeśaprasādenaby Ganesha's grace
• sidhyanticome true
• vācaḥhis words
• gaṇeśewhen Ganesha
• vibhauthe mighty
• durlabhamhard to get
• kimwhat is
• prasanneis pleased

anvaya yaḥ tu martyaḥ prātaḥ utthāya bhaktyā imam sustavam paṭhet [saḥ] sarvakāmān labhet gaṇeśaprasādena vācaḥ sidhyanti vibhau gaṇeśe prasanne kim durlabham

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

sidhyanti vācaḥ his words come true — Vak-siddhi, the state in which what a person says simply happens. It is the gift asked of Ganesha more than any other.

• itihere ends
• śrīmacchaṅkarācāryakṛtammade by the revered Shankaracharya
• gaṇeśabhujaṅgaprayātastotramthe Ganesha Bhujangaprayata hymn
• sampūrṇamcomplete

anvaya iti śrīmacchaṅkarācāryakṛtam gaṇeśabhujaṅgaprayātastotram sampūrṇam

chandas Prose

note The colophon gives the hymn to Shankaracharya, as the tradition does with the other Bhujangaprayata hymns.