Dakshinamurthy Stotram
verse 1
ॐ यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्वम्
Oṃ yo brahmāṇaṃ vidadhāti pūrvam
यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोति तस्मै ।
Yo vai vedāṃśca prahiṇoti tasmai |
तं ह देवमात्मबुद्धिप्रकाशं
Taṃ ha devamātmabuddhiprakāśaṃ
मुमुक्षुर्वै शरणमहं प्रपद्ये ॥
Mumukṣurvai śaraṇamahaṃ prapadye ||
मौनव्याख्याप्रकटितपरब्रह्मतत्त्वं युवानं
Maunavyākhyāprakaṭitaparabrahmatattvaṃ yuvānaṃ
वर्षिष्ठान्ते वसदृषिगणैरावृतं ब्रह्मनिष्ठैः ।
Varṣiṣṭhānte vasadṛṣigaṇairāvṛtaṃ brahmaniṣṭhaiḥ |
आचार्येन्द्रं करकलितचिन्मुद्रमानन्दरूपं
Ācāryendraṃ karakalitacinmudramānandarūpaṃ
स्वात्मारामं मुदितवदनं दक्षिणामूर्तिमीडे
Svātmārāmaṃ muditavadanaṃ dakṣiṇāmūrtimīḍe
विश्वं दर्पणदृश्यमाननगरीतुल्यं निजान्तर्गतं
Viśvaṃ darpaṇadṛśyamānanagarītulyaṃ nijāntargataṃ
पश्यन्नात्मनि मायया बहिरिवोद्भूतं यथा निद्रया ।
Paśyannātmani māyayā bahirivodbhūtaṃ yathā nidrayā |
यः साक्षात्कुरुते प्रबोधसमये स्वात्मानमेवाद्वयं
Yaḥ sākṣātkurute prabodhasamaye svātmānamevādvayaṃ
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
Om. He who in the beginning brings Brahma into being,
and who then sends forth the Vedas to him,
that Lord, the light by which the intellect knows the Self,
I, longing for liberation, take refuge in.
Youthful, revealing the truth of the supreme Brahman by an exposition made in silence,
encircled by bands of aged rishis settled close by, steadfast in Brahman,
chief among teachers, the chin-mudra formed in His hand, bliss itself in form,
delighting in His own Self, His face glad: Dakshinamurthy I praise.
The universe, like a city seen inside a mirror, contained within Himself,
yet by maya seen as though it had sprung up outside, the way it does in sleep,
and who, at the moment of waking, realises directly His own Self alone, without a second:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 2
बीजस्यान्तरिवाङ्कुरो जगदिदं प्राङ्निर्विकल्पं पुनः
Bījasyāntarivāṅkuro jagadidaṃ prāṅnirvikalpaṃ punaḥ
मायाकल्पितदेशकालकलनावैचित्र्यचित्रीकृतम् ।
Māyākalpitadeśakālakalanāvaicitryacitrīkṛtam |
मायावीव विजृम्भयत्यपि महायोगीव यः स्वेच्छया
Māyāvīva vijṛmbhayatyapi mahāyogīva yaḥ svecchayā
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
As the sprout lies within the seed, so this world, undifferentiated before,
is painted over with the variegation of space, time and measure that maya fashions,
and who unfolds it at His own will, like a conjurer, like a great yogi:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 3
यस्यैव स्फुरणं सदात्मकमसत्कल्पार्थकं भासते
Yasyaiva sphuraṇaṃ sadātmakamasatkalpārthakaṃ bhāsate
साक्षात्तत्त्वमसीति वेदवचसा यो बोधयत्याश्रितान् ।
Sākṣāttattvamasīti vedavacasā yo bodhayatyāśritān |
यत्साक्षात्करणाद्भवेन्न पुनरावृत्तिर्भवाम्भोनिधौ
Yatsākṣātkaraṇādbhavenna punarāvṛttirbhavāmbhonidhau
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
By whose shining alone, itself the real, do objects that are as good as unreal appear,
who awakens those who take refuge in Him with the Veda's own words, 'tat tvam asi', that thou art,
and from realising whom there is no returning to the ocean of birth and death:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 4
नानाच्छिद्रघटोदरस्थितमहादीपप्रभाभास्वरं
Nānācchidraghaṭodarasthitamahādīpaprabhābhāsvaraṃ
ज्ञानं यस्य तु चक्षुरादिकरणद्वारा बहिः स्पन्दते ।
Jñānaṃ yasya tu cakṣurādikaraṇadvārā bahiḥ spandate |
जानामीति तमेव भान्तमनुभात्येतत्समस्तं जगत्
Jānāmīti tameva bhāntamanubhātyetatsamastaṃ jagat
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
Bright as the flame of a great lamp set inside a pot pierced with many holes,
whose knowing pulses outward through the doorways of the eye and the other senses,
so that as 'I know' arises, this entire world shines only in the wake of His shining:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 5
देहं प्राणमपीन्द्रियाण्यपि चलां बुद्धिं च शून्यं विदुः
Dehaṃ prāṇamapīndriyāṇyapi calāṃ buddhiṃ ca śūnyaṃ viduḥ
स्त्रीबालान्धजडोपमास्त्वहमिति भ्रान्ता भृशं वादिनः ।
Strībālāndhajaḍopamāstvahamiti bhrāntā bhṛśaṃ vādinaḥ |
मायाशक्तिविलासकल्पितमहा व्यामोहसंहारिणे
Māyāśaktivilāsakalpitamahā vyāmohasaṃhāriṇe
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
The body, the breath, the senses too, the shifting intellect, even the void: these they take for the self,
disputants badly deluded about the 'I', whom the verse likens to women, children, the blind and the dull-witted,
to Him who destroys that vast delusion fashioned by the play of maya's power,
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 6
राहुग्रस्तदिवाकरेन्दुसदृशो मायासमाच्छादनात्
Rāhugrastadivākarendusadṛśo māyāsamācchādanāt
सन्मात्रः करणोपसंहरणतो योऽभूत्सुषुप्तः पुमान् ।
Sanmātraḥ karaṇopasaṃharaṇato yo'bhūtsuṣuptaḥ pumān |
प्रागस्वाप्समिति प्रबोधसमये यः प्रत्यभिज्ञायते
Prāgasvāpsamiti prabodhasamaye yaḥ pratyabhijñāyate
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
Like sun or moon swallowed by Rahu, covered over by maya,
the person who, his instruments withdrawn, lay in deep sleep as pure being alone,
and who at waking is recognised in the thought 'I slept just now':
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 7
बाल्यादिष्वपि जाग्रदादिषु तथा सर्वास्ववस्थास्वपि
Bālyādiṣvapi jāgradādiṣu tathā sarvāsvavasthāsvapi
व्यावृत्तास्वनुवर्तमानमहमित्यन्तः स्फुरन्तं सदा ।
Vyāvṛttāsvanuvartamānamahamityantaḥ sphurantaṃ sadā |
स्वात्मानं प्रकटीकरोति भजतां यो मुद्रया भद्रया
Svātmānaṃ prakaṭīkaroti bhajatāṃ yo mudrayā bhadrayā
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
Through childhood and the ages after it, through waking and the states after it, through every condition
that comes and goes, He continues on, always shining within as 'I':
and who, by the auspicious mudra, reveals that Self to those who worship Him:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 8
विश्वं पश्यति कार्यकारणतया स्वस्वामिसंबन्धतः
Viśvaṃ paśyati kāryakāraṇatayā svasvāmisaṃbandhataḥ
शिष्याचार्यतया तथैव पितृपुत्राद्यात्मना भेदतः ।
Śiṣyācāryatayā tathaiva pitṛputrādyātmanā bhedataḥ |
स्वप्ने जाग्रति वा य एष पुरुषो मायापरिभ्रामितः
Svapne jāgrati vā ya eṣa puruṣo māyāparibhrāmitaḥ
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
This person sees the world as effect and cause, as owner and owned,
as disciple and teacher, as father and son and the rest, all of it as difference,
in dream or in waking, this person spun about by maya:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 9
भूरम्भांस्यनलोऽनिलोऽम्बरमहर्नाथो हिमांशुः पुमान्
Bhūrambhāṃsyanalo'nilo'mbaramaharnātho himāṃśuḥ pumān
इत्याभाति चराचरात्मकमिदं यस्यैव मूर्त्यष्टकम् ।
Ityābhāti carācarātmakamidaṃ yasyaiva mūrtyaṣṭakam |
नान्यत्किञ्चन विद्यते विमृशतां यस्मात्परस्माद्विभोः
Nānyatkiñcana vidyate vimṛśatāṃ yasmātparasmādvibhoḥ
तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये
Tasmai śrīgurumūrtaye nama idaṃ śrīdakṣiṇāmūrtaye
Meaning
Earth, waters, fire, wind, sky, the lord of day (the sun), the cool-rayed one (the moon), and the living person:
as these alone shines this world of the moving and the still, which is His eightfold form,
and for those who examine it, nothing whatever exists apart from that supreme, all-pervading One:
to Him who wears the form of the holy Guru, this salutation: to Shri Dakshinamurthy.
verse 10
सर्वात्मत्वमिति स्फुटीकृतमिदं यस्मादमुष्मिन् स्तवे
Sarvātmatvamiti sphuṭīkṛtamidaṃ yasmādamuṣmin stave
तेनास्य श्रवणात्तदर्थमननाद्ध्यानाच्च सङ्कीर्तनात् ।
Tenāsya śravaṇāttadarthamananāddhyānācca saṅkīrtanāt |
सर्वात्मत्वमहाविभूतिसहितं स्यादीश्वरत्वं स्वतः
Sarvātmatvamahāvibhūtisahitaṃ syādīśvaratvaṃ svataḥ
सिद्ध्येत्तत्पुनरष्टधा परिणतं चैश्वर्यमव्याहतम्
Siddhyettatpunaraṣṭadhā pariṇataṃ caiśvaryamavyāhatam
Meaning
Since being the Self of all has been made plain in this hymn,
therefore by hearing it, by pondering its sense, by meditating on it and by reciting it aloud,
there comes of itself the state of Ishvara, with the great glory of being the Self of all,
and with it an unobstructed sovereignty unfolding in eight forms.
phalashruti
वटविटपिसमीपे भूमिभागे निषण्णं
Vaṭaviṭapisamīpe bhūmibhāge niṣaṇṇaṃ
सकलमुनिजनानां ज्ञानदातारमारात् ।
Sakalamunijanānāṃ jñānadātāramārāt |
त्रिभुवनगुरुमीशं दक्षिणामूर्तिदेवं
Tribhuvanagurumīśaṃ dakṣiṇāmūrtidevaṃ
जननमरणदुःखच्छेददक्षं नमामि ॥
Jananamaraṇaduḥkhacchedadakṣaṃ namāmi ||
Meaning
Seated on the ground beside the banyan tree,
close at hand, the giver of knowledge to all the sages,
guru of the three worlds, the Lord, the god Dakshinamurthy,
skilled at severing the sorrow of birth and death: to Him I bow.
colophon
इति श्रीमत्परमहंसपरिव्राजकाचार्यस्य श्रीगोविन्दभगवत्पूज्यपादशिष्यस्य श्रीमच्छङ्करभगवतः कृतौ दक्षिणामूर्त्यष्टकं सम्पूर्णम्॥
Iti śrīmat-paramahaṃsaparivrājakācāryasya śrīgovindabhagavatpūjyapādaśiṣyasya śrīmacchaṅkarabhagavataḥ kṛtau dakṣiṇāmūrtyaṣṭakaṃ sampūrṇam
Meaning
Thus ends the Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam, from the work of the revered Shankara Bhagavan, disciple of the venerable Govinda Bhagavatpada, the illustrious paramahamsa, wandering ascetic and acharya.
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