gaṇeśa pañcaratnam

• śrīgaṇeśapañcaratnastotramthe hymn of five gems to Shri Ganesha
• śrīgaṇeśāyato Shri Ganesha
• namaḥsalutations
• mudākarāttamodakamwho happily holds a modak in his hand
• sadāvimuktisādhakamwho always leads to liberation
• kalādharāvataṃsakamwho wears the moon as an ornament
• vilāsilokarakṣakamwho protects the world that is his play
• anāyakaikanāyakamthe one leader of those who have no leader
• vināśitebhadaityakamwho destroyed the elephant demon
• natāśubhāśunāśakamwho quickly ends the misfortunes of those who bow
• namāmiI bow to
• tamthat
• vināyakamVinayaka

anvaya śrīgaṇeśapañcaratnastotram śrīgaṇeśāya namaḥ mudākarāttamodakam sadāvimuktisādhakam kalādharāvataṃsakam vilāsilokarakṣakam anāyakaikanāyakam vināśitebhadaityakam natāśubhāśunāśakam tam vināyakam [aham] namāmi

chandas Pañcacāmara, 16 syllables in each of 4 pādas, short and long syllables alternating

modaka the sweet dumpling he loves — Rice dough filled with coconut and jaggery. It is the offering most closely tied to Ganesha, and the first thing this hymn places in his hand.

anāyakaikanāyakam the one leader of the leaderless — A play on Vinayaka, the word that ends the verse: vi-nayaka, the leader with no one above him, is also the leader of those who have no one.

vināśitebhadaityakam who killed the elephant demon — Usually identified with Gajamukhasura, the elephant-headed demon Ganesha defeats with his broken tusk.

note Adi Shankaracharya's hymn opens with Ganesha as a child might picture him, happy with a sweet in his hand, and within the same verse calls him the giver of liberation. The quick, even beat of the metre makes it easy to sing, and this first verse is the part most people know by heart.

• natetarātibhīkaramterrifying to those who will not bow
• navoditārkabhāsvarambright as the newly risen sun
• namatsurārinirjaramto whom gods and demons bow
• natādhikāpaduddharamwho lifts those who bow out of their worst troubles
• sureśvaramlord of the gods
• nidhīśvaramlord of treasures
• gajeśvaramlord of elephants
• gaṇeśvaramlord of the ganas
• maheśvaramthe great lord
• tamhim
• āśrayeI take refuge in
• parātparamhigher than the highest
• nirantaramalways

anvaya natetarātibhīkaram navoditārkabhāsvaram namatsurārinirjaram natādhikāpaduddharam sureśvaram nidhīśvaram gajeśvaram gaṇeśvaram maheśvaram parātparam tam [aham] nirantaram āśraye

chandas Pañcacāmara, 16 syllables in each of 4 pādas, short and long syllables alternating

natetara those other than the ones who bow — He is fearsome only to those who refuse to bow. To those who do, the same line says, he is the one who lifts them out of trouble.

nidhīśvaram lord of treasures — Nidhi is treasure. The same title is given to Kubera, the lord of wealth.

note The second half of the verse is five titles in a row, each ending in ishvara, lord: of the gods, of treasures, of elephants, of the ganas, and the great lord. Chains of matching sounds like this run through all of Shankara's hymns.

• samastalokaśaṅkaramwho brings good to all the worlds
• nirastadaityakuñjaramwho drove off the elephant demon
• daretarodaramwhose belly is anything but small
• varamthe best
• varebhavaktramwith the face of a noble elephant
• akṣaramimperishable
• kṛpākaramsource of compassion
• kṣamākaramsource of forgiveness
• mudākaramsource of joy
• yaśaskaramwho gives fame
• manaskaramwho gives a clear mind
• namaskṛtāmto those who bow to him
• namaskaromiI bow to
• bhāsvaramthe radiant one

anvaya samastalokaśaṅkaram nirastadaityakuñjaram daretarodaram varam varebhavaktram akṣaram namaskṛtām kṛpākaram kṣamākaram mudākaram yaśaskaram manaskaram bhāsvaram [aham] namaskaromi

chandas Pañcacāmara, 16 syllables in each of 4 pādas, short and long syllables alternating

daretarodaram whose belly is other than small — Dara-itara, 'other than small', is a roundabout way of saying his belly is huge, and it keeps the rhyme of the line going.

ākara a mine, a source — Kripakaram, kshamakaram, mudakaram: a mine of mercy, of forgiveness, of joy. Each title is something he gives out.

note The second half is a run of rhyming titles, kṛpākaram, kṣamākaram, mudākaram, yaśaskaram, manaskaram, that ends on namaskaromi, 'I bow'. Each title is something Ganesha gives, and the line closes with the singer's reply: a bow.

• akiñcanārtimārjanamwho wipes away the pain of the poor
• cirantanoktibhājanamof whom the ancient scriptures speak
• purāripūrvanandanamthe elder son of Shiva, enemy of the three cities
• surārigarvacarvaṇamwho crushes the pride of the demons
• prapañcanāśabhīṣaṇamfearsome at the dissolution of the world
• dhanañjayādibhūṣaṇamadorned with serpents such as Dhananjaya
• kapoladānavāraṇamthe elephant with mada flowing on his cheeks
• bhajeI worship
• purāṇavāraṇamthe ancient elephant

anvaya akiñcanārtimārjanam cirantanoktibhājanam purāripūrvanandanam surārigarvacarvaṇam prapañcanāśabhīṣaṇam dhanañjayādibhūṣaṇam kapoladānavāraṇam purāṇavāraṇam [aham] bhaje

chandas Pañcacāmara, 16 syllables in each of 4 pādas, short and long syllables alternating

purāripūrvanandanam the first-born son of Shiva — Purari, 'enemy of the cities', is Shiva, who destroyed the three flying cities of the asuras. Purva-nandana, 'the earlier son', marks Ganesha as the elder.

dhanañjaya a great serpent — Here Dhananjaya is the name of a naga, and has nothing to do with Arjuna. Like his father, Ganesha wears snakes as ornaments.

kapoladāna the flow on his cheeks — Dana is the mada fluid of an elephant in its prime. It marks him as a mighty tusker.

note The verse runs from comfort for the poor to the end of the world itself, and closes on 'the ancient elephant', a name that makes the familiar god as old as time.

• nitāntakāntadantakāntimantamwhose tusk shines with a beauty beyond compare
• antakāntakātmajamthe son of Shiva, who put an end to Death
• acintyarūpamwhose form is beyond imagining
• antahīnamwithout end
• antarāyakṛntanamwho cuts through obstacles
• hṛdantarewithin the heart
• nirantaramwithout a break
• vasantamdwelling
• evaindeed
• yogināmof the yogis
• tamhim
• ekadantamthe single-tusked one
• evaalone
• tamhim
• vicintayāmiI meditate on
• santatamconstantly

anvaya nitāntakāntadantakāntimantam antakāntakātmajam acintyarūpam antahīnam antarāyakṛntanam yoginām hṛdantare nirantaram vasantam eva tam ekadantam eva tam [aham] santatam vicintayāmi

chandas Pañcacāmara, 16 syllables in each of 4 pādas, short and long syllables alternating

antakāntaka the ender of the ender — Antaka, 'the one who ends', is Death. Shiva is called Antakantaka because he stopped Death to save his young devotee Markandeya.

ekadantam the single-tusked one — He has only one whole tusk. In one well-known telling he broke off the other and used it as a pen to write down the Mahabharata as Vyasa spoke it.

note Almost every word here carries the sound anta: kānta, danta, antaka, antahīna, antarāya, hṛdantare, nirantaram, vasantam. Shankara builds the whole verse on that one sound, moving from the shining tusk to the heart of the yogi.

• mahāgaṇeśapañcaratnamthese five gems for the great Ganesha
• ādareṇawith devotion
• yaḥwhoever
• anvahamevery day
• prajalpatirecites
• prabhātakein the early morning
• hṛdiin the heart
• smaranremembering
• gaṇeśvaramthe lord of the ganas
• arogatāmgood health
• adoṣatāmfreedom from faults
• susāhitīma gift for words and learning
• suputratāmgood children
• samāhitāyuḥa long and settled life
• aṣṭabhūtimthe eight kinds of prosperity
• abhyupaitigains
• saḥthat person
• acirātbefore long

anvaya yaḥ gaṇeśvaram hṛdi smaran prabhātake anvaham ādareṇa mahāgaṇeśapañcaratnam prajalpati saḥ acirāt arogatām adoṣatām susāhitīm suputratām samāhitāyuḥ aṣṭabhūtim abhyupaiti

chandas Pañcacāmara, 16 syllables in each of 4 pādas, short and long syllables alternating

aṣṭabhūtim the eightfold prosperity — Often read as the eight siddhis, powers such as becoming very small or very light at will. Some take it simply as every kind of wealth.

susāhitīm skill with words — Sahiti is literature, the gift of saying things well.

note The phalashruti. It asks for a morning habit: say the five verses with Ganesha in mind. What it promises is a good life in plain terms: health, a clean character, a way with words, good children and a long, steady life.

• itiso ends
• śrīśaṅkarabhagavataḥof the revered Shankara
• kṛtauamong the works
• śrīgaṇeśapañcaratnastotramthe hymn of five gems to Shri Ganesha
• sampūrṇamis complete

anvaya iti śrīśaṅkarabhagavataḥ kṛtau śrīgaṇeśapañcaratnastotram sampūrṇam