हरिदधीश्वरं आराध्यपादुकम् ।
अरिविमर्दनं नित्यनर्तनम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 1 ॥
- हरिवरासनम् (harivarāsanam)whose seat is Hari's own
- विश्वमोहनम् (viśvamohanam)who draws the whole world to him
- हरिदधीश्वरम् (haridadhīśvaram)lord of the quarters of the sky
- आराध्यपादुकम् (ārādhyapādukam)whose sandals are worth worshipping
- अरिविमर्दनम् (arivimardanam)who grinds down those who stand against him
- नित्यनर्तनम् (nityanartanam)whose dance never stops
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya हरिवरासनम् विश्वमोहनम् हरिदधीश्वरम् आराध्यपादुकम् अरिविमर्दनम् नित्यनर्तनम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
हरिहरात्मजम् born of Hari and Hara — Hari is Vishnu and Hara is Shiva. Ayyappa is worshipped as the son of both, which is why one name of his is Hariharasuta.
हरिवरासनम् whose seat is Hari's own — Read as hari-vara-āsana, the excellent seat of Hari. Hari also means a lion, so the line is read by some as the one whose seat is the lion throne.
हरिदधीश्वरम् lord of the quarters of the sky — Harit is a direction, one of the quarters. The compound makes him lord over all of them.
note Sung at Sabarimala every night as the sanctum is closed, so the hymn works as a lullaby: eight verses, each ending on the same line, हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये. The title is taken from its first word.
भरणलोलुपं नर्तनालसम् ।
अरुणभासुरं भूतनायकम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 2 ॥
- शरणकीर्तनम् (śaraṇakīrtanam)who is sung to with the cry of refuge
- भक्तमानसम् (bhaktamānasam)who lives in the minds of those who love him
- भरणलोलुपम् (bharaṇalolupam)eager to keep and care for them
- नर्तनालसम् (nartanālasam)whose dance is unhurried
- अरुणभासुरम् (aruṇabhāsuram)shining red as daybreak
- भूतनायकम् (bhūtanāyakam)leader of the hosts
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya शरणकीर्तनम् भक्तमानसम् भरणलोलुपम् नर्तनालसम् अरुणभासुरम् भूतनायकम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
शरणकीर्तनम् sung to with the cry of refuge — The cry is Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa, which pilgrims call out the whole way up the hill. The verse makes that cry his praise song.
भरणलोलुपम् eager to keep and care for them — Lolupa is greedy or hungry for something. The word is strong on purpose: he wants the keeping of his people.
नर्तनालसम् whose dance is unhurried — Alasa is slow or languid. At this hour of the night the dance is a slow one, which suits a hymn sung at closing.
note Each of the three lines before the refrain begins on the same sound, śa, bha, a, and the verse is built to be easy on the ear at night.
प्रणतकल्पकं सुप्रभाञ्चितम् ।
प्रणवमन्दिरं कीर्तनप्रियम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 3 ॥
- प्रणयसत्यकम् (praṇayasatyakam)true to those who love him
- प्राणनायकम् (prāṇanāyakam)lord of the breath of life
- प्रणतकल्पकम् (praṇatakalpakam)who shapes what those who bow ask for
- सुप्रभाञ्चितम् (suprabhāñcitam)about whom a fine light plays
- प्रणवमन्दिरम् (praṇavamandiram)the house the sound Om lives in
- कीर्तनप्रियम् (kīrtanapriyam)who loves being sung to
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya प्रणयसत्यकम् प्राणनायकम् प्रणतकल्पकम् सुप्रभाञ्चितम् प्रणवमन्दिरम् कीर्तनप्रियम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
प्रणवमन्दिरम् the house the sound Om lives in — Praṇava is Om. Mandira is a house or a temple, so he is spoken of as the place that sound is kept.
प्रणतकल्पकम् who shapes what those who bow ask for — Kalpaka is the one who arranges or makes ready, the same word as in kalpavṛkṣa, the tree that gives whatever is asked.
note Five of the words in this verse open with pra, which is how the verse holds together as a sound before it holds together as a sentence.
वरगदायुधं वेदवर्णितम् ।
गुरुकृपाकरं कीर्तनप्रियम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 4 ॥
- तुरगवाहनम् (turagavāhanam)carried by a horse
- सुन्दराननम् (sundarānanam)whose face is a fair one
- वरगदायुधम् (varagadāyudham)whose weapon is the good mace
- वेदवर्णितम् (vedavarṇitam)spoken of in the Veda
- गुरुकृपाकरम् (gurukṛpākaram)whose kindness comes as a teacher's does
- कीर्तनप्रियम् (kīrtanapriyam)who loves being sung to
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya तुरगवाहनम् सुन्दराननम् वरगदायुधम् वेदवर्णितम् गुरुकृपाकरम् कीर्तनप्रियम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
तुरगवाहनम् carried by a horse — Ayyappa is shown riding a horse in the story of his ride to hunt down Mahishi, and on other days riding a tiger or an elephant.
गुरुकृपाकरम् whose kindness comes as a teacher's does — Guru here can be read as great, giving great kindness, or as the teacher whose grace it is like. Both readings are current.
note The weapon named is the mace, which belongs to Vishnu. The hymn keeps handing him things from both his fathers.
त्रिनयनप्रभुं दिव्यदेशिकम् ।
त्रिदशपूजितं चिन्तितप्रदम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 5 ॥
- त्रिभुवनार्चितम् (tribhuvanārcitam)worshipped in all three worlds
- देवतात्मकम् (devatātmakam)in whom the gods have their being
- त्रिनयनप्रभुम् (trinayanaprabhum)lord of the three-eyed one
- दिव्यदेशिकम् (divyadeśikam)a guide of the clearest kind
- त्रिदशपूजितम् (tridaśapūjitam)worshipped by the thirty gods
- चिन्तितप्रदम् (cintitapradam)who gives what has only been thought of
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya त्रिभुवनार्चितम् देवतात्मकम् त्रिनयनप्रभुम् दिव्यदेशिकम् त्रिदशपूजितम् चिन्तितप्रदम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
त्रिदश the thirty — An old way of counting the gods: thirty three, shortened to thirty. Three words in this verse begin with tri, and the count is part of the play.
त्रिनयनप्रभुम् lord of the three-eyed one — The three-eyed one is Shiva, his father. A son called the lord of his own father is the kind of turn these hymns like.
चिन्तितप्रदम् who gives what has only been thought of — Cintita is what has been turned over in the mind. The asking need not be said aloud.
note The verse counts upward, three worlds, three eyes, thirty gods, and the sound tri carries it.
भुवनमोहनं भूतिभूषणम् ।
धवलवाहनं दिव्यवारणम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 6 ॥
- भवभयापहम् (bhavabhayāpaham)who takes away the fear of being born again
- भावुकावकम् (bhāvukāvakam)who guards those whose hearts are set on him
- भुवनमोहनम् (bhuvanamohanam)towards whom the world turns
- भूतिभूषणम् (bhūtibhūṣaṇam)whose ornament is ash
- धवलवाहनम् (dhavalavāhanam)carried by the white one
- दिव्यवारणम् (divyavāraṇam)the elephant of the gods
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya भवभयापहम् भावुकावकम् भुवनमोहनम् भूतिभूषणम् धवलवाहनम् दिव्यवारणम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
भूतिभूषणम् whose ornament is ash — Bhūti is the ash worn by Shiva and by those who follow him. The same word also means well-being, and some read it that way here.
दिव्यवारणम् the elephant of the gods — Vāraṇa is an elephant. From the root vṛ, to ward off, it can also be read as the divine warding away of harm, which fits the first line.
धवलवाहनम् carried by the white one — Dhavala is white. The white mount is taken as the white elephant, and in some readings as a white horse.
note Four words in a row begin with bha, and the verse is the most songlike in the hymn.
कलभकोमलं गात्रमोहनम् ।
कलभकेसरीवाजिवाहनम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 7 ॥
- कलमृदुस्मितम् (kalamṛdusmitam)whose smile is soft and sweet
- सुन्दराननम् (sundarānanam)whose face is a fair one
- कलभकोमलम् (kalabhakomalam)as tender as a young elephant
- गात्रमोहनम् (gātramohanam)the sight of whose body holds the eye
- कलभकेसरीवाजिवाहनम् (kalabhakesarīvājivāhanam)carried by elephant, lion and horse
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya कलमृदुस्मितम् सुन्दराननम् कलभकोमलम् गात्रमोहनम् कलभकेसरीवाजिवाहनम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
कलभ a young elephant — The word appears twice in the verse, once for how tender he is and once for what carries him.
कल sweet, soft in sound — Kala is used of a low sweet sound, a birdcall or a murmur. Here it colours the smile.
note The third line names three mounts together, elephant, lion and horse, which is the fullest list in the hymn.
श्रुतिविभूषणं साधुजीवनम् ।
श्रुतिमनोहरं गीतलालसम्
हरिहरात्मजं देवमाश्रये ॥ 8 ॥
- श्रितजनप्रियम् (śritajanapriyam)dear to those who have come to him
- चिन्तितप्रदम् (cintitapradam)who gives what has only been thought of
- श्रुतिविभूषणम् (śrutivibhūṣaṇam)the ornament of the Veda
- साधुजीवनम् (sādhujīvanam)the life of the good
- श्रुतिमनोहरम् (śrutimanoharam)sweet to the ear
- गीतलालसम् (gītalālasam)who longs for song
- हरिहरात्मजम् (hariharātmajam)born of Hari and Hara
- देवम् (devam)the god
- आश्रये (āśraye)I take refuge in
anvaya श्रितजनप्रियम् चिन्तितप्रदम् श्रुतिविभूषणम् साधुजीवनम् श्रुतिमनोहरम् गीतलालसम् हरिहरात्मजम् देवम् आश्रये
chandas Unnamed metre: 11 syllables in each of 4 pādas, every pāda in the pattern LLLGLGGLGLG
श्रुति the Veda, and hearing — Śruti is what is heard, so it means both the Veda and the ear. The verse uses it twice, once in each sense.
गीतलालसम् who longs for song — Lālasa is longing. The last verse of a hymn sung at closing time says that the god wants the singing, and then it stops.
note The eighth and last of the verses proper. The chant after it is not part of the composition.
शरणं अय्यप्पा स्वामि शरणं अय्यप्पा ॥
- शरणम् (śaraṇam)refuge
- अय्यप्पा (ayyappā)Ayyappa
- स्वामि (svāmi)lord
anvaya शरणम् अय्यप्पा स्वामि शरणम् अय्यप्पा शरणम् अय्यप्पा स्वामि शरणम् अय्यप्पा
अय्यप्पा Ayyappa — The name used in Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the god of Sabarimala. Ayya and appa are both words of respect for a father.
note The pilgrims' cry, repeated after the hymn rather than composed as part of it. There is no word order to rearrange in a chant, so the anvaya simply repeats it as it is called out. At Sabarimala this is what the crowd says while the doors are closed for the night.