Sanskrit Tidbits-32:A shloka by Vivekananda in honour of Paramahansa
Swami Vivekananda mostly wrote in English. There is the odd piece he wrote in Bengali. Some people may also know that he was extremely fluent in Sanskrit. There is an anecdote about Swami Vivekananda and Ashtavakra Gita. Swami Vivekananda was still Narendra Nath Datta then and used to visit Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna recognized his potential and asked him to translate Ashtavakra Gita for him, from Sanskrit. Through that process, Ramakrishna got Swami Vivekananda interested in Vedanta. I don’t know how many people know that Swami Vivekananda also wrote stotras in Sanskrit in honour of Ramakrishna. In some circles, the following one is quite well known. It is simple enough. So no translation is necessary.
ॐ स्थापकाय च धर्मस्य सर्वधर्मस्वरूपिणे।
अवतारवरिष्ठाय रामकृष्णाय ते नमः॥
Here is another one, less famous and also more complicated, so that a translation is necessary. The stotra has 4 shlokas. I will not attempt to translate ॐ ह्रीं. What is rtam? Truth of course. Satyam is also truth. So why do we have shlokas elsewhere that say rtam vadishyami, satyam vadishyami? If both are truth, why do I have to state it twice? However, since this has nothing to do with the present stotram, let me leave this as a quiz question. Let’s break it up the shloka where necessary. त्वम अचलः गुणजित् गुण-ईड्यो. You are fixed, immobile. You are the one who has conquered the gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas). You are the one whose qualities should be praised. In my pathetic state, I should worship your lotus-feet, which are praised in many ways, night and day. O one who is the refuge of miserable ones! But since I am not doing that, तस्मात् त्वमेव, you are my succor. Got that? Let us move on to the second shloka.
Through faith (भक्तिः), detachment (भगः) and worship (भजनं) are enough to go and attain the extremely great reality (तत्त्व) that frees one from life on earth (भवभेदकारि). But these only come out of my mouth (वक्त्र-उद्धृतं). Nothing is manifested before my heart. Therefore, we repeat the fourth line.
Let’s move on to the third shloka. Your feet destroy the waves of death and are like amrit on earth. मर्त्य-अमृतं तव पदं मरण-ऊर्मि-नाशं. In the path of truth (ऋतपथे), if one is devoted (रागे कृते) to you, Ramakrishna, one’s thirst is slaked (तृप्ततृष्णा) and one swiftly crosses over tejas (तेजस्तरन्ति). Tejas is to be interpreted here as the rajas quality. Therefore, we repeat the fourth line.
We are left with the fourth and final shloka. O protector (नाथ)! Your name ends with shna (ष्ञान्तं). It ends all illusion (कुहकान्तकारि). It is auspicious (शिवं) and extremely sacred (सुविमलं). It converts sin to things that are good (कृत्यं करोति कलुषं). You are the only destination for the universe (जगद्-एक-गम्य). That is the reason I seek refuge with you. Therefore, we repeat the fourth line.
ॐ ह्रीं ऋतं त्वमचलो गुणजित् गुणेड्यो
नक्तन्दिवं सकरूणं तव पादपद्मम्।
मोहङ्कषं बहुकृतं न भजे यतोहहं
तस्मात्त्वमेव शरणं मम दीनवन्धो॥
भक्तिर्भगश्च भजनं भवभेदकारि
गच्छन्त्यलं सुविपुलं गमनाय तत्वं।
वक्त्रोद्धृतन्तु हृदि मे न च भाति किञ्चित्
तस्मात् त्वमेव शरणं मम दीनवन्धो॥
तेजस्तरन्ति तरसा त्वयि तृप्ततृष्णा
रागे कृते ऋतपथे त्वयि रामकृष्णे।
मर्त्यामृतं तव पदं मरणोर्मिनाशं
तस्मात् त्वमेव शरणं मम दीनवन्धो॥
कृत्यं करोति कलुषं कुहकान्तकारि
ष्ञान्तं शिवं सुविमलं तव नाम नाथ।
यस्मादहं त्वशरणो जगदेकगम्य
तस्मात् त्वमेव शरणं मम दीनवन्धो॥
I hope devotees of Swami Vivekananda will pardon me when I say that this is not great poetry. In terms of quality of composition, the first stotram is far better. So why did Swami Vivekananda write it? In case you have not already noticed it, take the first letters of every line. This gives you ॐ नमो भगवते रामकृष्णा यत. That’s the cleverness of the composition. In the process, beauty has been sacrificed. That’s also the reason why the first stotram I gave is chanted much more than this second one. The second one is too artificial.
Let me end today’s tidbits not with a stotram written by Swami Vivekanananda, but with a stotram addressed to Swami Vivekananda. I personally think this is sheer genius. It was written by a disciple named Sharatchandra Chakravarty, who was a disciple who was a householder (grihi). What you also need to know is that his nickname was Indu. That explains the इन्दुवन्द्यम bit. By now, you have figured out that the trick to understanding Sanskrit is to break things up. Once you do that successfully, everything falls into place. उज्झित means someone who has given up. अहो is an exclamation that expresses wonder. अभीः is an exclamation that tells people there is nothing to fear. अघदल is a mass of sin. कौपीन is the piece of cloth that sannyasis wear. And whether it is in terms of holding the moon or otherwise, Swami Vivekananda is being compared to Shiva. After I have broken it up, I don’t think you need any further translation or explanation. I hope you agree that it is beautiful.
मूर्तमहेश्वरमूज्ज्वलभास्करमिष्
वन्दे वेदतनुमूज्झितगर्हितकाञ्चनकामि
कोटिभानुकरदीप्तसिंहमहो कटितटकौपीनवन्तम्।
अभीरभीर्हुङ्कारनादितदिङ्मुखप्
भुक्तिमुक्तिकृपाकटाक्षापेक्
वालचन्द्रधरमिन्दुवन्द्यमिह नौमि गुरूविवेकानन्दम्॥
मूर्तमहेश्वरम् उज्ज्वलभास्करम् इष्टम् अमर-नर-वन्द्यम्।
वन्दे वेदतनुम् उज्झित-गर्हित-काञ्चन-कामिनी-
कोटिभानुकरदीप्तम् सिंहम अहो कटितटकौपीनवन्तम्।
अभीः अभीः हुङ्कारनादितदिङ्मुख-प्रचण्डता
भुक्ति-मुक्ति-कृपा-कटाक्ष-अपे
वालचन्द्रधरम् इन्दुवन्द्यम् इह नौमि गुरूविवेकानन्दम्॥