ṛṇa vimocana gaṇapati stotram

• smarāmiI call to mind
• devadeveśamthe lord of the lords of the gods
• vakratuṇḍamthe one with the curving trunk
• mahābalamgreat in strength
• ṣaḍakṣaramthe one of six syllables
• kṛpāsindhuma sea of kindness
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya devadeveśam vakratuṇḍam mahābalam ṣaḍakṣaram kṛpāsindhum smarāmi ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

ṣaḍakṣaram the one of six syllables — The six-syllable Ganapati mantra is वक्रतुण्डाय हुं, which is why the verse names the curving trunk in the line before.

ṛṇamuktaye to be free of debt — Rina is what is owed, money first of all, but also the debts a person is born with, to the sages, the gods and the ancestors. The same word ends every verse of this hymn.

note The hymn is recited by people carrying debt. Eight of its nine verses end with the same half-line, namāmi ṛṇamuktaye.

• ekākṣaramthe single syllable
• hiindeed
• ekadantamthe one with a single tusk
• ekamthe one
• brahmaBrahman
• sanātanamthat has always been
• ekamone
• evaonly
• advitīyamwith no second
• caand
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya ekākṣaram hi ekadantam ekam sanātanam brahma ekam eva ca advitīyam ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

ekamevādvitīyam one only and with no second — The words come from the Chandogya Upanishad, where they describe what was there before anything else. The hymn hands them to Ganesha.

ekākṣaram the single syllable — The syllable is गं, and the play is deliberate: one syllable, one tusk, one reality.

• mahāgaṇapatimthe great Ganapati
• devamthe god
• mahāsattvamof great courage
• mahābalamof great strength
• mahāvighnaharamwho takes away the big obstacle
• śambhoḥof Shambhu
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya mahāsattvam mahābalam śambhoḥ mahāvighnaharam devam mahāgaṇapatim ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

śambhoḥ of Shambhu — Shambhu is Shiva. The story behind the line is the burning of the three cities, when Shiva set out without saluting Ganesha and his chariot broke down.

note śambhoḥ can also be taken with devam, making the line read 'the god who is Shambhu's son'.

• kṛṣṇāmbaramdressed in black
• kṛṣṇavarṇamdark of body
• kṛṣṇagandhānulepanamsmeared with dark scented paste
• kṛṣṇasarpopavītamwearing a black snake as his sacred thread
• caand
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya kṛṣṇāmbaram kṛṣṇavarṇam kṛṣṇagandhānulepanam kṛṣṇasarpopavītam ca ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

note Four verses in a row change only the colour: black here, then red, then yellow, then the grey of smoke. The reciter holds each picture in turn.

• raktāmbaramdressed in red
• raktavarṇamred of body
• raktagandhānulepanamsmeared with red scented paste
• raktapuṣpapriyamwho loves red flowers
• devamthe god
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya raktāmbaram raktavarṇam raktagandhānulepanam raktapuṣpapriyam devam ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

raktapuṣpa red flowers — Red hibiscus above all, the flower given to Ganesha as it is to his mother.

• pītāmbaramdressed in yellow
• pītavarṇamyellow of body
• pītagandhānulepanamsmeared with yellow scented paste
• pītapuṣpapriyamwho loves yellow flowers
• devamthe god
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya pītāmbaram pītavarṇam pītagandhānulepanam pītapuṣpapriyam devam ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

• dhūmrāmbaramdressed in smoke-grey
• dhūmravarṇamgrey of body
• dhūmragandhānulepanamsmeared with grey scented paste
• homadhūmapriyamwho loves the smoke of the offering fire
• devamthe god
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya dhūmrāmbaram dhūmravarṇam dhūmragandhānulepanam homadhūmapriyam devam ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

homadhūma the smoke of the offering fire — Homa is the offering poured into fire. The colour of this verse is the colour of that smoke, which is why the fourth line changes from flowers to smoke.

• phālanetramwith an eye in the forehead
• phālacandramwith the moon on the forehead
• pāśāṅkuśadharamholding the noose and the goad
• vibhumpresent everywhere
• cāmarālaṅkṛtamset off by the whisk
• devamthe god
• namāmiI bow
• ṛṇamuktayeto be free of debt

anvaya phālanetram phālacandram pāśāṅkuśadharam vibhum cāmarālaṅkṛtam devam ṛṇamuktaye namāmi

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

pāśāṅkuśa the noose and the goad — Two of the four things Ganapati holds. The noose draws the devotee in; the goad, the tool a mahout uses, turns the mind where it should go.

cāmara the whisk — A yak-tail fan waved beside a king or an image, a mark of service rather than an ornament.

note phāla is a spelling of bhāla, the forehead.

• idamthis
• tuand
• ṛṇaharamdebt-clearing
• stotramhymn
• sandhyāyāmat the turn of day and night
• yaḥwhoever
• paṭhetrecites
• naraḥa man
• ṣaṇmāsābhyantareṇawithin six months
• evaitself
• ṛṇamuktaḥfree of debt
• bhaviṣyatiwill be

anvaya yaḥ naraḥ idam tu ṛṇaharam stotram sandhyāyām paṭhet [saḥ] ṣaṇmāsābhyantareṇa eva ṛṇamuktaḥ bhaviṣyati

chandas Anuṣṭubh (śloka), 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

sandhyāyām at the turn of day and night — Sandhya is the joint between day and night, dawn or dusk, the hour kept for prayer.

note The closing verse gives the time and the term: at sandhya, for six months.