vātāpi gaṇapatiṃ bhajehaṃ

• rāgamthe raga
• haṃsadhvaniHamsadhvani
• vātāpiof Vatapi
• gaṇapatimGanapati
• bhajeI worship
• ahamI
• vāraṇāsyamthe elephant-faced
• varapradamthe giver of boons
• śrīthe auspicious
• bhūtādisaṃsevitacaraṇamwhose feet the bhutas and their kind serve
• bhūtabhautikaprapañcabharaṇamwho carries the world of elements and what is made from them
• vītarāgiṇamwhom passion has left
• vinutayoginampraised by yogis
• viśvakāraṇamthe cause of the universe
• vighnavāraṇamwho wards obstacles off
• purālong ago
• kumbhasambhavamunivaraprapūjitamworshipped by the best of sages, the one born from a pot
• trikoṇamadhyagatamstanding at the centre of the triangle
• murāripramukhādyupāsitamserved by Murari and the chief gods
• mūlādhārakṣetrasthitamseated in the ground of the muladhara
• parādicatvārivāgātmakamthe self of the four kinds of speech that begin with para
• praṇavasvarūpavakratuṇḍamwhose curving trunk is the very shape of Om
• nirantaramunbroken
• nikhilacandrakhaṇḍamon whom the moon lies whole
• nijavāmakaravidrutekṣukhaṇḍamwith a piece of sugar cane in his own left hand
• karāmbujapāśabījāpūramwhose lotus hands hold the noose and the citron
• kaluṣavidūramfar from anything stained
• bhūtākāramwhose form is the elements
• harādiguruguhatoṣitabimbamwhose image gave joy to Hara and to Guruguha
• haṃsadhvanibhūṣitaherambamHeramba, wearing Hamsadhvani for an ornament

anvaya rāgam haṃsadhvani aham vātāpi gaṇapatim vāraṇāsyam varapradam śrī bhaje bhūtādisaṃsevitacaraṇam bhūtabhautikaprapañcabharaṇam vītarāgiṇam vinutayoginam viśvakāraṇam vighnavāraṇam purā kumbhasambhavamunivaraprapūjitam trikoṇamadhyagatam murāripramukhādyupāsitam mūlādhārakṣetrasthitam parādicatvārivāgātmakam praṇavasvarūpavakratuṇḍam nirantaram nikhilacandrakhaṇḍam nijavāmakaravidrutekṣukhaṇḍam karāmbujapāśabījāpūram kaluṣavidūram bhūtākāram harādiguruguhatoṣitabimbam haṃsadhvanibhūṣitaherambam

chandas Prose, set to the kriti form

vātāpi of Vatapi — Vatapi is Badami in Karnataka. Its Ganapati image was carried south after the Pallava king took the town, and is worshipped at Tiruchenkattankudi in Tamil Nadu.

kumbhasambhava born from a pot — Agastya, who was born in a water pot. The name fits the story that the image came south, since Agastya is the sage of the south.

guruguha Guruguha — A name of Subrahmanya and the signature of Muthuswami Dikshitar, who put it in every song he composed.

haṃsadhvani Hamsadhvani — The raga of the song, named in its last line. Dikshitar liked to fold the raga name into the words themselves.

parādicatvāri the four kinds of speech that begin with para — Para, pashyanti, madhyama and vaikhari: speech as it is before it stirs, as it is seen, as it is thought, and as it is spoken.

mūlādhāra the muladhara — The first of the centres in the body, at the base of the spine, which is Ganapati's place.

note Muthuswami Dikshitar composed this in Sanskrit for a Tamil shrine, and the raga name in the last line is his signature as much as Guruguha is. The line at the head gives the raga and its notes rather than any words to be sung. vāraṇāśyaṃ is printed for vāraṇāsyaṃ, elephant-faced.