વાતાપિ ગણપતિં ભજેહં

• રાગમ્ (rāgam)the raga
• હંસધ્વનિ (haṃsadhvani)Hamsadhvani
• વાતાપિ (vātāpi)of Vatapi
• ગણપતિમ્ (gaṇapatim)Ganapati
• ભજે (bhaje)I worship
• અહમ્ (aham)I
• વારણાસ્યમ્ (vāraṇāsyam)the elephant-faced
• વરપ્રદમ્ (varapradam)the giver of boons
• શ્રી (śrī)the auspicious
• ભૂતાદિસંસેવિતચરણમ્ (bhūtādisaṃsevitacaraṇam)whose feet the bhutas and their kind serve
• ભૂતભૌતિકપ્રપઞ્ચભરણમ્ (bhūtabhautikaprapañcabharaṇam)who carries the world of elements and what is made from them
• વીતરાગિણમ્ (vītarāgiṇam)whom passion has left
• વિનુતયોગિનમ્ (vinutayoginam)praised by yogis
• વિશ્વકારણમ્ (viśvakāraṇam)the cause of the universe
• વિઘ્નવારણમ્ (vighnavāraṇam)who wards obstacles off
• પુરા (purā)long ago
• કુમ્ભસમ્ભવમુનિવરપ્રપૂજિતમ્ (kumbhasambhavamunivaraprapūjitam)worshipped by the best of sages, the one born from a pot
• ત્રિકોણમધ્યગતમ્ (trikoṇamadhyagatam)standing at the centre of the triangle
• મુરારિપ્રમુખાદ્યુપાસિતમ્ (murāripramukhādyupāsitam)served by Murari and the chief gods
• મૂલાધારક્ષેત્રસ્થિતમ્ (mūlādhārakṣetrasthitam)seated in the ground of the muladhara
• પરાદિચત્વારિવાગાત્મકમ્ (parādicatvārivāgātmakam)the self of the four kinds of speech that begin with para
• પ્રણવસ્વરૂપવક્રતુણ્ડમ્ (praṇavasvarūpavakratuṇḍam)whose curving trunk is the very shape of Om
• નિરન્તરમ્ (nirantaram)unbroken
• નિખિલચન્દ્રખણ્ડમ્ (nikhilacandrakhaṇḍam)on whom the moon lies whole
• નિજવામકરવિદ્રુતેક્ષુખણ્ડમ્ (nijavāmakaravidrutekṣukhaṇḍam)with a piece of sugar cane in his own left hand
• કરામ્બુજપાશબીજાપૂરમ્ (karāmbujapāśabījāpūram)whose lotus hands hold the noose and the citron
• કલુષવિદૂરમ્ (kaluṣavidūram)far from anything stained
• ભૂતાકારમ્ (bhūtākāram)whose form is the elements
• હરાદિગુરુગુહતોષિતબિમ્બમ્ (harādiguruguhatoṣitabimbam)whose image gave joy to Hara and to Guruguha
• હંસધ્વનિભૂષિતહેરમ્બમ્ (haṃsadhvanibhūṣitaherambam)Heramba, wearing Hamsadhvani for an ornament

anvaya રાગમ્ હંસધ્વનિ અહમ્ વાતાપિ ગણપતિમ્ વારણાસ્યમ્ વરપ્રદમ્ શ્રી ભજે ભૂતાદિસંસેવિતચરણમ્ ભૂતભૌતિકપ્રપઞ્ચભરણમ્ વીતરાગિણમ્ વિનુતયોગિનમ્ વિશ્વકારણમ્ વિઘ્નવારણમ્ પુરા કુમ્ભસમ્ભવમુનિવરપ્રપૂજિતમ્ ત્રિકોણમધ્યગતમ્ મુરારિપ્રમુખાદ્યુપાસિતમ્ મૂલાધારક્ષેત્રસ્થિતમ્ પરાદિચત્વારિવાગાત્મકમ્ પ્રણવસ્વરૂપવક્રતુણ્ડમ્ નિરન્તરમ્ નિખિલચન્દ્રખણ્ડમ્ નિજવામકરવિદ્રુતેક્ષુખણ્ડમ્ કરામ્બુજપાશબીજાપૂરમ્ કલુષવિદૂરમ્ ભૂતાકારમ્ હરાદિગુરુગુહતોષિતબિમ્બમ્ હંસધ્વનિભૂષિતહેરમ્બમ્

chandas Prose, set to the kriti form

વાતાપિ 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.

કુમ્ભસમ્ભવ 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.

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

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

પરાદિચત્વારિ 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.

મૂલાધાર 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. વારણાશ્યં is printed for વારણાસ્યં, elephant-faced.