Sri Pada Sapthathi
(the seventy stanza prayer of the divine feet)
By
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri
Translated by,
P.R.Ramachander
(This great poetic as well as devotional work has been written by Sri Melpathur Narayana Bhatathiri who is the author of the great and very popular work called Narayaneeyam. But unlike Narayaneeyam, this extremely pretty prayer is not popular.
Sri Bhatathiri is known to have got completely cured of the disease that he got transferred from his Guru Sri Achyutha Pisharody by singing Narayaneeyam. But it seems still he was mentally depressed. Then God appeared in his dream and commanded him to write a work praising the feet of Goddess Bhavani who is enshrined in the temple of Mukthipuri (called Mukkolakka in Malayalam). He did this and became normal. It is written that he spent his old age in Mukthipuri only.
Though very poetic, the work is not in a simple direct language. One Ayurvedic doctor called Sri Muriyil Nambeesan has written an explanation for this great work in Sanskrit. Recently this work was translated in to Tamil by Sri P.R.Kannan of New Mumbai and this book has been published by Sri Bhagavan Nama publications, Madras in 1997. I could not find this great work in the wide world of internet. . Though this translation mostly based on the explanation provided by Sri Kannan does not have the poetic splendour of the great work by Bhatathiri, is sure to kindle the interest of readers of Hindu prayers to do further research on this great work.)
Samvahana lobheena sasi kala choodasyahasthambhuja,
Sparsenabhi cha lohithayathi muhu sthwath pada pangeruham,
Thenaii voddhara sara surachira singagra sanchoornan,
Prachandyam thadanushtitham kila kadham mukthisthalathe shive. 1
How is it Oh Goddess who lives in the place of salvation*,
Your feet becomes red, when the Lord who wears the crescent,
Touches your lotus like feet with his lotus like hands,
With a great desire to hold them with love and ,
How did the same feet break in to powder the head of huge Mahishasura?
* could be a temple called Mukthisthala or the heart of great people fit for salvation.
Thwath padam nija masthake ghatayithum loke na keke jana,
Kim kim narachayanthi duscharathapascharya saparayadhikam,
Manye dhanya thamam thu devi mahisham vairasthayaiva thwaya,
Yan moordhni swayameva patakaharam padambujam pathitham. 2
Though all the people are worshipping and following severe austerities,
Towards you , so that they can carry your feet on their head,
The lucky ogre Mahishasura who was very bad and your great enemy,
Had your lotus foot kept on his head with your own free will.
Thwad padambujamarpitham kwa nu shive kim nu trayi masthake,
Nithyam Thathwa vichara datha maanasaam chithambhu jagreshu vaa,
Kim vaa thwad pranaya prakopa vina man marari mouli sthale,
Kim proth khandi thaghora sairibha maha daithyendra moordhanthare. 3
Oh goddess Parvathi where is you lotus like feet available?
Is it on the Upanishads which are the head of devas,
Or is it in the heart of yogis who have given it for research on philosophy,
Or is it on the head of Lord shiva who burned to ashes the God of love,
And was found saluting with his head by touching your feet,
To make up with you and pardon him during your lover’s tiff.
Thwad padanchala roopa kalpa lathika bala pravala dwayam,
Ye thavath kalayanthi jathu shirasa namrena kamrojjwalam,
Theshamev hi devi nandana vana kreedasu labhyam padam,
Swar vallee tharuna pravalabharanam sevanuroopam phalam. 4
The front of your two feet is as soft as the flower buds
Of the divine wish giving tree, and those who are fortunate,
To be able to keep it on their heads , reach heaven,
And are happy with the divine damsels of heaven,
Who are as tender as the wish giving tree.
Daavalyam pari laalyathe puraripor angena thunga sriya,
Kincha syamali mapi komala thare bhathyeva gathre hare,
Thatha dathruk padaveem mamaapi janayeda sthoka seva rasaa,
Darunyam thava leeyathe charanayo karunya moorthe shive. 5
In the body of the God who is the enemy of the three cities,
The white colour attains great shine and dazzle ,
In the most tender body of the Lord Vishnu,
The bluish black colour shines greatly,
But the redness of your feet having done great service to it,,
Merges with it fearing that you would give it a position similar to Shiva and Vishnu.
AArunyam thadhidham thwadeeya padayor aabhathi thath kechana,
Prahasthunga nithambha bharaabharana klanthaya klopagatham,
AAnye maahiha moordha pasha militham raktha dravam manvathe,
Manyeham thu natheshu Sandra manuraghodhghara mevanayo. 6
How come your feet shines in this red colour?
Some say that your feet became red ,
Due to your very heavy buttocks pressing it,
Some say , that it is because of the blood of Mahisha,
When you made his head in to powder by your feet,
But I say that it is the outpouring of your pity to your devotees.
Prahu padma samasrayam satha druthim thwath pada padmasraya,
Danthasthwad pada padma veekshana vasadkrishnopi padmekshana,
Yad padmarchana mamananthi sdheeyo daaridrya vidravanam,
Mukthi kshethra gathe bhavani thadapi thwath pada padmarchanam. 7
Oh Bhavani who stays in the temple of salvation,
Due to surrendering himself to your feet,
Lord Brahma became the creator sitting on lotus,
And due to always seeing your lotus like feet,
In his mind, Lord Krishna got his lotus like eyes,
And due to offering worship to your lotus like feet,\
Goddess Lakshmi got the power to drive poverty,,
And so wise men offer prayers at your feet,
To drive away all poverty and attain salvation.
Padam they saraseeruha druhamimam yad sevathe padmabhoo-,
Rnoonnam thath swanivasa pankaja thara sri lanka nasankaya,
Govindhepi cha vari rasi thuhi durvasabhja badhabhiya,
Swayai vagra karodh graheedha kamala thranabhilekshana vaa. 8
Lord Brahma born out of a lotus worships,
Your lotus like feet , out of fear that,
It would steal away the dazzle of his lotus home,
And possibly Lord Govinda worships it because of the fear that,
The lotus home of his ocean born wife would be harmed,
Or does he do it to protect the lotus in his hands.
Sevanthe kula sampade nakha mayaa sheethamsavasthwathpadam,
Thath paako nanu veekshyathe hi nitharaa manyeshu sheethamsushu,
Yeko balaka yeva mouli mayi they yatho lalatathmathmatha,
Manyo nirmala ganda manda ladha samanyou thu dhanyou gathi. 9
The crescent of moon with its cool rays,
Chose to stay and pray on the nails of your feet,
And increased the size of his family,
And this can clearly be seen by us,
By one crescent decorating your head,
While another crescent becoming your forehead,
And yet another two becoming your cheeks.
Ghoram pada sahasrakam prakata yanna sassu bhasaam pathi,
Dwantham no punarantharam samayithum saknothi shailathmaje,
Thwath pada dwithayena komala tharanena chetha sprusa,
Janthoonaam bahirandhatha thamasam krunthasyanantham Shive. 10
Sun the lord of luster with his thousand feet(rays),
Is finding himself incapable of removing the darkness,
Of the inner mind, Oh daughter of the mountain,
But you with your two feet which touches our mind,
Is capable of totally removing the darkness,
Which is inside and outside of all beings, Oh Parvathi.
Sooryendwagni sameeranaadhi sakala swarvasinaam unmadha,
Sarvanyeva padaani yo madithavan durvara souryashmana,
Tham ghoram mahishasuram nija padenaikena sammrudnathi,
Yathwam prathya krudasthatha kimaparam thwad vaibhavam broomahe. 11
Mahishasura , who cannot be defeated by any one ,
Due to his great valour, became drunk by his power,
And tormented Sun , Moon, Fire , wind and other Gods,
By stealing away their roles in the earth, but you,
Gave him a fitting reply by one kick of your soft feet,
And killing him, What other greatness of your power can I relate?
Yekam vamathyaiva dakshinayaivanyath padam dehinaam,
Khyatham mukthi puradhi vasini Shive thwayi thweethidrusam,
AAnamreshu janeshvabheeshta karane padavubhou dakshina-,
Vanamre thu kruthagasi smarahare vamakshi vamavubhou. 12
Oh Goddess Parvathi, who lives in the place of salvation,
It is known that all the people in this world have left and right foot,
But in the your case of your two feet , it is wonderfully different,
When your devotees salute them, both of them are right,
In blessing them all , with whatever they pray,
But when your lord salutes you during lover’s tiff,
Both of them are left and do not appear to yield.
(Left and right are used as Pun. I have tried to bring out , what they mean)
Aanamrasya puradruha sirasi they padabhja pada shive,
Jeeyadhyena bhabhoova pankajavathi moulisthravanthi kshanam,
Kincho danchitha bala pallva vatheejatha jata vallaree,
Laksha pada vasena saandhya sushamaa sandhraa cha chandree kala. 13
Oh Goddess Parvathi, When Lord Shiva, who burnt the cities,
Salutes your feet, during a lover’s tiff, your feet touches his head,
And then it appears as if a flower has blossomed in Ganga,
Which is on his head, and the tender fingers of your feet,
Appear as if they are pretty flower buds decorating his hairs,
And the crescent on his head appears reddish due to ,
The reflection of the red colour ,that you have applied on your nails.
Drushtwa rathrishu chandra pada janitham padhouhaanaam vyadham,
Devi thwam karuna kuleva kurushe thadvaira niryathanam,
Manaa namra mahesa mouli vala bheevavasya seedadth visho,
Nithyam pankaja padakatha janitha pada yadadheeyathe. 14
When you see that lotus flowers are made to suffer,
During the night by the rays of moon, you decide
To avenge the moon due to your kindness and gently kick the moon,
With your lotus like feet, when Lord Shiva salutes your feet.
Sambranthi sthava devi sa vijayathe manaavanamre shive,
Thath padambhooruha prahara mudhithe mandam samuthayinee,
Laksharaaga saarunaam nipathitham ganga paya ssekaram,
Drushtwa sonitha sankhaa tharalitha kantham yadalambhadha. 15
Oh Goddess , when you quarrel with Lord Shiva,
And when he salutes your feet, you gently kick his head,
And he slowly gets up and the drops of water ,
From Ganga on his head fall on your nails,
And the diluted paint on your nails drop down,
Looking like oozing blood from your nails,
And you get flustered and with fear,
Embrace Lord Shiva and the senses win over you.
Sa pada dwitheeyahathir jayathi they yasyam , gireendrathmaje,
Pracheendu yuthe nakhendra dasake mouli sthali sangathe,
Swasyaika dasa moorthi thasa muchi thaneka dasai vodupa,
Navibhrana yivabhabhou sa bhgawan yekapi rudhra swayam. 16
Oh daughter of the king of mountains,
You keep both your feet on the head of Shiva,
When he salutes you during a lover’s tiff,
And then added with the moon on Shiva’s head,
The ten crescents on your nails , it becomes eleven,
And though Shiva is one, he ,shines in the form of eleven Rudras.,
Kim vairincha karoti nihatham , kim va phani gramani,
Niswasa nila kheditham , twidhamithi premnabhi sallapina,
Manasye pasame karena sanaksiramru danatha shambhuna,
Bhooyaschumbitha ambujadythi padam dhyayami maye thava. 17
After calming you down , Lord Shiva lifts your foot gently,
With an aim of prattling with love to you,
And finds that your feet are blood red and thinks,
That it may be due to your feet touching the skull of Brahma on his head,
Or it may be due to the poisonous breath of the serpent on him,
And being flustered kisses your feet with love,
And your lotus like feet reddens further,
And I meditate on such a feet of yours.
Poorvam jahnu sutha sakruth mura ripo Sri Pada samkshalanath,
Punyaa dhi drusa vaibhava samabhavad govinda vandhye shive,
Seyam samprathi sambhu mouli nnilaya mana prasanganathou,
Nithyam thwacharana vasechanabhuva punyena keedrug bhavedh. 18
Oh Goddess who is worshipped by Govinda,
Ganges , the daughter of Jahnu, acquired the power of purification,
By the blessings she got for wetting* the feet of Lord Vishnu,
And what power is she going to get now , as she is wetting your holy feet,
When Lord Shiva falls at your feet, when there is a lover’s tiff?
*When during Vamana avathara Lord Vishnu’s feet reached Brahma’s world,
He washed his feet by the water in his pitcher, which was ganga.
Poorva vyakarana prapanchana vidhou labhadhavapyanekam padam,
Kim no trupthi magaadagaadhipa suthe sesha phani gramani,
Aaleena sasi mouli moordhani chiram prema prakopanathou,
Labdhum they pada mekameva kuthuki nithyam yatho varthathe. 19
Oh daughter of the great mountain, even after writing several words**,
During his interpretation of grammar, Adhi sesha* was not satisfied,
And so he sits on the head of Lord Shiva in the hope of attaining your feet**,
At least once when Lord Shiva salutes you during ,the lover’s tiff.
* He wrote Sanskrit Grammar when he was born as Pathanjali
** Words (Pada) and feet Paada) are used to create a pun.
Thishtanthyam pranaya prakopasatho bhaspakulakshyam thwayee,
Sri Kande nakha darpana prathiphaladrupe purovarthini,
Padagre pathithoyamithyaabhihitho thava lokaanam,
Lolam pada thale vibhathi sahasa sakopa mali mukhe. 20
When you are sitting with a crying face due to anger of love,
You see the reflection of Lord Shiva in your mirror like nails of the feet,
And then your friend teases you by saying that Lord Shiva ,
Has fallen at your feet and when you anxiously realize that it is a lie,
Your slant vision with anger falls on your friend, and that indeed is pretty.
Kantha lokana lajjayaa vinimathe kanthe mukhambhoruhe,
Yaasou bhoothala pathuka nayanayo shobhaa thavaabhaasathe,
Sa thavath tharunaruna ambhujayuga branthyaa thavangridwaya-.
Pranthe bhathi marandapana kuthuka bhrantheva bhrungawali. 21
Oh goddess, bashful because you feel that Shiva is looking at you.
Your pretty lotus like face bends and the great luster of your eyes,
Falls on the ground and shines and this looks as if,
Your eyes *have seen your feet* and think that they are newly opened lotus flowers.
And become drowsy like the bees which have drunk the lotus flowers.
*eyes are compared to bees and feet to lotus flowers.
Kim brooma kutilathmakopi kabhari bharasthwadheeya shive,
Kelee vislathithasthanothi yadayam thwath pada sammarsanam,
Thad bhooya sumano ganadrutha gunasthwan mouli samlalyatham,
Dathe chithramasou thwadangri bhajanath kim kena no labhyathe. 22
Oh Parvathi, your crowning hair is not straight but curved*,
And when you playfully do not tie them,
They are lucky enough to touch your feet,
And because of this , it is decorated with flowers,
And is lucky enough to decorate your holy head,
And this is indeed not strange because,
Any one touching your feet , will get everything they want.
* Your crooked hair gets decorated by touching your feet, and
similarly even a crooked man will get anything he wants by touching her feet.
Raga dwesha mukha hi vibhramabharaa nasyanthi visweswari,
Thwad sangad ithi mukthidesa nilaye mithya janaii kadyathe,
Udyath dwesha mudhaara vibhramadharam gathram dadhathyaa thvayaa,
Ragoopi dhriyathedhikam charanayo sonaambhujaachayayo. 23
Oh goddess of the universe, your devotees believe,
That by serving you , passion and hatred are destroyed,
But how can this be, for even the god giving salvation,
Becomes passionate on seeing your body and your body being jealous@,
Hates your lotus like pretty feet and your feet gets lot of colour*
@body becomes jealous because feet is prettier.
* raga can be translated as passion as well as colour..
Devi thwath pada sathpara gamanisam moulow samabhibratham,
SAdhu nama paragathaiva bhavadhethyascharyamasthaamidham,
Padasthe nakharaprabha bala sitho jagarthi soyam puna,
Schithram nama khara prabhaavaleesitho dushtasuram pishtavaan. 24
Oh goddess , the contact of the dust of your feet on the head,
Removes the dirt of passion and desire , from holy people,
While this is a wonder , more wonderful is the fact,
That though your white feet shines in the luster of your nails,
By its great strength it pulverized Mahisha who troubled the world.
Dwithvena sthdhithayosthwadheeyapadyor dwaitham narasya sphutam,
Kavalya prathipadane kusalatha jathethi koyam karma,
Kim va yukthibhirathra mukthikarathaa vykthaiva padayo-,
Rmuktha yeva hi vishphuranthi vimalasthath sanginomi nakha. 25
How is it that your feet which is visible as two to the devotees,
Gets the power of giving, oneness with god and by what means?
There is no need for logic and research to answer this question,
Because the nails on both your feet has pearl* like shine,
* Salvation -Mukthi , Pearls- muktha. The poet sees that even the nails get salvation (pun)
Padagram thava kamadham sura latha sakagramachakshmahe,
Jatha ythra hi bala pallava ruchi swaireva ragodayai,
Uth sarpannakha mandali sushamaya puspaleeruthpaditha,
Sanjathaaliruthischa manjula tharaimmanjeera sincharavai. 26
Oh goddess, , like the wish giving plant ,
Your feet also fulfills all wishes,
The red nails on the feet are similar to the red leaf buds,
And the shining series of nails resemble a flower bunch,
And the musical sound of your anklets resemble the drone of a bee,
And So I feel that your feet are nothing but a branch of that tree
Deveeyam thava sannathesa makuta swar loka kalloalini,
Kallola hathi bhirvisesha vimala jeeyan nakha srenika,
Ydwalya mavapthumaptha kuthukasthayo thapasyanthyamee,
Meena phena kanamscha moukthika gana sankhascha sankhamahe. 27
Oh Goddess , when Lord Shiva salutes you during a tiff.
The waves of Ganges on his head drenches your feet,
And the row of your nails appear extremely pretty,
And the fish, foam , pearls and conches in that water,
And I feel that they are doing penance to get whiteness like your nails.
Maane shambhu shira prahaara charitham thwad iccha krutham,
Jane devi padbhjayoshtu pura jin moordhnaavirodhadhidham,
Yethe pada nakhamsu badha kalahaashithamsu Mandakini,
Bhogeendro kila shankarasya shirasa shankaam vinaa rakshithaa. 28
I think you are not kicking at the head of Lord Shiva willfully,
When he salutes you during the lover’s tiff and that you are made to do it,
Because of the enmity that your feet has towards his head,
As the snake , the moon and the slow moving Ganges,
Look much less pretty than your rows of nails and do quarrel with them.
Devi thwacharanojwalantha nakha mani sronishu leena nama-
NNabhathi sphatikachala sphuta thateesayiva soyam nata,
Hamasa leena vapu swayam kamala bhoo , ksheerabhdhi sayeeva cha,
Sree bhartha madwapi naka sarasi snayanniva lakshyathe. 29
The dancing lord when he salutes your feet , looks like,
He lies on the bed of snow mountain in the white light of your nails,
And Lord Brahma looks as if he lies on the white swan he rides,
And Lord Vishnu looks like as if he lies on the milky ocean,
And Indra when he salutes appears as if he takes bath in ,
The Manasarovar lake of the heaven,
Dolo keli vidhow himachala shila dese samabhyahathaath,
Padagratthavayani yava karasaprayantha nanyambike,
Thayabhyagatha shumbha sankarabhavad rakthambhuvisthaaranaa,
Bindu ksepanibhaaninandadamaree vidhyani vandhamahe. 30
When you are swinging in Himalayas
Over the stony terrain in your swing,
Your feet rubs on those stones and
The reddish colour applied there,
Falls on those stones and we salute them,
And even the pretty damsels of heaven,
Also salute them with happiness,
Thinking it is the great forerunner of blood,
Which will flow when you kill Shumbha.
Dolo kelishu yam himalaya shilalagram vane vaasino,
Bhathathya yogivaraa tripundrakalithelimpanthi phalanthare,
Ya sidhapramadha samethya thilakam kurvanthi nathwa muhu,
Stham dakshayani they kada nu padyorieksheya laksha rasam. 31
Oh daughter of Daksha , When you are swinging in Himalayas
Over the stony terrain in your swing , the drops of lac applied on your nails
Which falls is applied in addition to the three ash lines by the sages living there,
And it seems the wives of those yogis apply it as thilaka* too,
And when I will be fortunate to see those drops of red?
* The dot mark of saffron colour applied my Hindu ladies on their forehead.
Devi thwam mura vairina pranamane yad kinchida kunchaya,
Sri padambhujamanyadhaasya shirasi thwad padaalakshanchithe,
Sri bhoomyoritharapranamakruthamithyaanyonya shankhaya,
Roshapya kulyoschiram sa Bhagawan jayeth paryakula. 32
Oh Goddess when Lord Vishnu the killer of Mura salutes your feet,
Slightly bend it , for otherwise the paint would touch the head of Vishnu,
And seeing that Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess earth would suspect each other,
Having received his endearment and Lord Vishnu would suffer long because of it.
Pragudwaga vidhou himachala sadasyaswamadhirohaaya ya-
Thrasprakshyami viyadwanimithi puna sathyam vidathum cha yath,
Daithyothpeshana saahase virachithe samvaahanartha cha yath,
Thath padha grahanathrayam vijayathe sarveena sarvaani they. 33
Oh great goddess , three cheers to your feet for,
Lord Shiva held your feet, in the Himalayas,
And kept it on a stone during your marriage,
He again held it while promising ,
That he would not touch Ganga who is on his head,
And again when you got prepared, to fight with the great Mahishasura.
Shumbhasthe kila devi raga kalahe pada praharothswam,
Labhdhum kaamkshitha vanupayamiha khalvagnina vignaathavaan,
Yadyayothsyathi ghora mahishavapurdharisa vairi thath,
Pradhanishyatha moordhni komalarucha padaravindhena they. 34
Shumbha expected that your feet would fall on him when you love him*,
And that foolish one did not know the proper method of getting it on him,
For had he like the terrible Mahishasura , fought with you, as his enemy,
He would have easily got your soft glowing lotus like feet on his head..
* Shumbha requested her to be his wife but was killed by her spear.
Aanamre gireese pada praharane dathe bhavathyaarusha,
Nadhe kim mahisho ahamithyabhihithe deveena thasmin kshane,
Aalishwakulithasmithaasu punarapyuddhaamapushyadrusha-
Sthanmoulou jayathi dwitheeyamapi they padabhja santhadanam. 35
Oh Goddess when you hit the head of Lord Shiva with anger during a lover’s tiff,
He asks, “Darling , do you think I am Mahishasura?” , and at that moment,
Your lady companions near you see that and are sad* and also smile** at you teasingly,
And victory to that Lord Shiva who got one more hit by your lotus like feet.
*Sad because she is angry ** smile because of the teasing question
Padagram thava sangara sramavasaadakshareelakshaarasam,
Vinyastham mruga nayakopari chirajjeyaadagendrathmaje,
Yathkathyaiva hi lohitho mugapathirdaithyaprahaarothgala-,
Drathkambha kanikaa vahannapi thadhaa naamani vaimaanika. 36
Oh daughter of the king of the mountains, when you are tired,
After a battle and sit on your lion steed , the red lac applied on your nails,
Melts and falls on the lion and let there be victory to the lion who shines in red,
But the same lion if it is reddened by the blood of the asuras it kills*,
It is not praised by the sages and devas assembled in the sky.
*As her steed it is praised but not praised ,if it acts alone!
Naivalimpa nilimpamoordhasu na vaa simhoparithyajyathaam,
Maa chedham mahishasya moordhni rabhasaadalupyalolupyathaam,
Pathyurmouli nadhee jale paramidham samkshaalaneeyam thwaye-,
Thyaleekeligiro Jayanthi girije thwad pada laaksharpane. 37
Oh daughter of the mountain, when your friends apply lac on your nails,
They say, do not let this paint fall on the heads of saluting devas,
Nor on your lion steed nor on the head of Mahishasura,
When you kick him with great anger, for this paint,
Is meant to be washed by the Ganges on the head of Lord Shiva.
* They mean that the paint has to be only removed by the holy waters of Ganges.
Nathyaiva pradhamam thwadangri kaalam thou pushpavanthaavubhou,
Trilokyam mahassabhibhooya charatho vyomantharapranthare,
Nadhe thou kadhamnyadhaaparigalalla ksharasa kshalithou,
Veekshyathe brusa sona bhimbamudayarambhepriyammaukou. 38
Oh Goddess , the Sun and moon first salute your feet ,
Then win over the three worlds by their great light,
And travel a long distance in the sky and if they do not,
How can they be prettily red due to being drenched* ,
By the paint of your feet just before they come out.
* They salute at your feet again and again before they rise up to see the world.
Trilokyam vasyanthi papa pata leemuchchatayathyuchakai-,
Vidwesham janayanthy adharma vishaye prasthambhayanthyapadam,
AAkarshyanthyabhi vanchithaani mahisgaswar vairino maaranaa-,
Schithram thwath pada sidha choorna nivaha shad karmanaam saadhaka. 39
Your devotees by wearing the dust of your feet in their head,
Are able to achieve six things* namely, attracting the three worlds,
Driving away the crowd of sins, creating hatred for sinful acts,
Freezing dangers at the spot, fulfilling the desires of their mind
And killing of their Mahisha like enemies and this is indeed wonderful.
*(these six powers are Vaseekaranam(attraction), Uchadanam (driving away)
Vidweshanam (creating hatred) , Sthambanam (freezing) Aakarshanam (attraction)
And Maaranam(killing))
[Compare a verse in Mooka Panchadasi:-
Nathaanaam sampathai ranavaratham aakarshana japa,
Prarohath samsaaraprasaraga rimasthambhana japa,
Thwadheeya Kamakshi smarahara mano mohana japa,
Pateeyanna payaath padana leenamanjeera ninadha.
Let the sweet sound of the anklets which attracts wealth,
And acts as chant of attraction , Stunts the excessive growth of pride,
And acts like the chant for freezing, increases desire in the mind of the lord,
And acts like chant for bewitching save and protect us always.]
Kim kalpa druma panchakam pranamathaam aakaankshitha paadane,
Kim panchayudha bana panchakamidham maarari sammohane,
Sookshmam kinchana pancha bhootha vapusho , viswasya kim kaaranam,
Thwad paadanguleepanchakamidham kim bhathi Shambho priye. 40
Oh goddess who is the darling of Lord Shiva, the five fingers of your feet are shining,
Are they the five wish giving trees* for all those who worship at your feet?
Or are they the five flower arrows** of god of love which rattled Lord Shiva?
Or are they the five elements*** that joined and created this world?
* Mandhara, arijatha, Santhana , Kalpa vruksha and Hari chandana
** Lotus , Asoka mango, jasmine and the blue lotus
*** Earth, fire, wind , ether and water.
Dolo kelishu dhoora dhoora gamane prengkhenganaa vibhrame,
Medhinyaamanipathitham jayathi they nadhe padambhoruham,
Bhakthyaa sannamathaam thwadhanana galath ganamruthaa moorchaya,
Bhooprushte chirasayinam divishadamaaghatta nasaadhwasath. 41
When you are swinging in the swing to distances to and fro,
The devas fall on the ground to salute you and hear the nectar like song,
Emanating from your face and drunk in this sweetness loose their consciousness,
And your feet strikes on the ground and makes sound, so that they do not get injured.
Manjeera prasaranmasara sushuma roopaa kalindhathmajaa,
Swachcha chchya nakhamsu sanchaya mayee Ganga sangamukha,
Sona padaruchaam chayascha militho yathra thwadagre thatho,
Manjantheeva pathanthi thathra munaya sarvepi sarvangane. 42
Oh Goddess who blesses, the light from the blue gems
Of your anklets shine like the black waters of Yamuna,
And the shine of the nails of your feet which are white and clear ,
Are shining the Ganges when it is joining the sea,
And your red feet shines like the sacred red river,
And so the sages seeing the three coloured luster,
Fall at your feet and bath in the Triveni Sangama.*
* The joining point of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi.
Manjeerarpitha sacra neela sakala sri chanchalee kanchitham,
Rajath renu vibhooshitham paramahamsaleebhiraa sevitham,
Thwath padagra Saroja manguleedalaschaayaa bhiraa bhasuram,
Vishwakshobhi nakhaamsu jaalapaayasee swache samuchobhathe. 43
Oh Goddess, the blue gems in your anklets spread like bees,
And your feet which is decorated by shining powders and pastes
Is worshipped by great sages who like swans come one after another in a row,
And the fingers of your feet spread like climbing plants ,
And the shine emanating from your clear nails look like a lake,
And your feet looks great in that shining lake.
Manjeera swara manju viskheerarave thath sangi neelothphala-,
Cchaya roopa thamolave naka mishadaksheena thaaraa gane,
Sandhyaa raga nibhaswa kanthi patale thwath pada moolathmaka,
Prathyooshopagame hi devi labhathe loka prabhodhodhayam. 44
Oh Goddess, the front of your feet when it comes out in the dawn,
Is seen by the world as the rise of the sun and the sound of gems,
And your anklets sound as if a cock crows in the morn,
And the light of the blue gems in your anklets resembles the dim light of dawn,
And the nails of your holy feet shine as if they are the stars,
And top of your feet which is red resembles the reddish light of dawn.
Vidhyaa mukthi rema vadhooshu nitharaam kamathuraa manavaa,
Sthathwannakha kanthi chandana rasai ralibhya gathram nijam,
Thwad padabjaruchi pravala nichite bhoomithale serathe,
Nithyam devi bhavad krupaa Priya sakhi viswasatha kevalam. 45
Oh Goddess , those men who are passionate to get knowledge, salvation and wealth,
Apply the sandal paste and other scents of shine of the nails of your holy feet,
And roll on floor spread with the tenderest leaves ,
Tread by the extreme luster of your divine feet,
And have faith only in your grace which is like your loving girl friend.
Manjeera kwanithai kshipanniva muhu sriman nakhamsudgamair ,
Daithyendram prahasannivaruna ruchaa rushyanni vasmai brusam,
Dheeraayaam thwayi nirvikaramanasi thwad pada eva sphutam,
Pushnaan vaira vikaaramesha mahisha dwamsi parithrayathaam. 46
Even though you are brave and have a mind,
Which does not have any negative feelings,
Your feet seems to look at Mahishasura as an enemy,
The gems in the anklets make the sound of shouting at him,
The shine of the nails of your feet always appear to tease him,
And the top of your feet which is red appears to be angry on him,
And let your great shining holy feet protect us.
Kshipram devi siraspadena mahisham pishtwa thadhospadam,
Dithsandhyaam thwayi kanta banjana Priya knteerave vidruthe,
Medhinyamapi bheethi kampitha thanou premathwaraa saalinaa,
Sarvenaiva nijangaseemni nihitham patha dwayam they jayeth. 47
Oh Goddess , after powdering Mahishasura by kicking,
On his head speedily with your tender foot,
When you searched for a place to keep the feet which was paining,
Your steed lion ran away being scared that you will cut his neck,
The earth was scared because it thought there may be a deluge ,
But Sri Parmeshwara who loves you took them lovingly and kept them on his lap.
Poorve devi padambhujena mahishapradhwasanabhyasath,
Paschad kuthsitha sumbha daithyaa vijayoapyevam kruthakim thwaya,
No chedhbhahi kadham kusumbhavijayi padagradesooyamee-,
Thyalape Gireesasya thadh vijayathe mandasmitham devi they. 48
Oh goddess, you killed Mahisha by your feet as a practice,
And then did you win the bad hearted Shumbha(Kusumbha) by your feet@,
Else otherwise how is it that your feet is described as victor of Kusumbha*,
And why did Lord Shiva describe it as the victor over Kusumbha** flowers,
Which remark made you break in to a happy mild smile.
@ The Goddess killed Shumbha not by her feet but by her spear ?
*Bad Shumbha ** A very pretty flower
Vibhranena manojna yavakarasam manju dhwaneem noopura,
Sleshalankruthi shalinaa nakha mani jatha prasadasriya,
Yekenaiva padena devee mahishadwamse maheeyasthara,
Shlokoyam rachisthwayethi vibhudha samslagnam kurvathe. 49
Oh Goddess, you earned great fame by killing Mahisha by one feet,
And so say the very wise people and that feet is coated with red lac juice,
And it is accompanied by the pretty jingling sound of your anklets,
And it is well ornamented by ornaments like the anklets.
Or
Oh Goddess , you earned great fame by making a poem with one word,
.And so say the very wise people and that poem is ornamented by figure of speech,
And it is accompanied by the pretty emotions like that of love,
And it is well ornamented by usage of things like the pun.
Thwam shambhor mahishi bhavasyagasuthe thenopa haasaaya they,
Daithyoyam Mahishi bhavath upagatha sojyam kadham kshamyathe,
Itham noopura niswanairiva vadan pada swadeeyaa rushaa,
Sasthra pragruhanaath puraiva mahisham pishnaan parithrayathaam. 50
Oh, Goddess you are the wife(mahishi ) of Lord Shiva,
(Or
Oh Goddess you are the wife of Shiva who rides on the bull)
And So Mahishasura to tease you came in the form of a bison,
And your feet said through the sound of anklets
“ Does this act on his part deserve a pardon?”, and
Powdered him to death even before your hands searched for weapons.
Devya pangasayodhya kopi mahisgascha mahaan kantaka,
Padonahatha ithyudhooda hasitham sakhya samavedithe,
Sadhya kanta kasaalinaa kare thalenaasadhya padambhujam,
Grhannanarthi vinodhnaya giriso jeeyath priyasthe shive. 51
Oh Goddess, when your friends told Lord Shiva with a smile,
That the evil Mahisha who was like a thorn was swept away by your feet,
And he with his lucky@ hands which would give you immense happiness*,
Held your lotus like feet to sweep away its tiresomeness,
And such a great Lord Parameshwara shines as your sweet heart.
@ lucky becomes no body else can touch your feet.
* Could be translates as , he took a them in his hand to remove the thorn in her feet.
Thwad padaangulee pallavi ragasuthe devi swayam panchami,
Panchathwam gamitho mahasura ithi swathmanuroopam krutham,
Yethaireva natho janasthridasathaam neetho mahesa puna-,
Rlakshathwam gamitha prassona danusho vismapanam thad dwayam. 52
Oh daughter of the mountain , through the five tender climbers,
Which are the fingers of your feet, Mahisha was joined back with the five elements,
But the men who worship your feet with the same five fingers become devas*,
And it gives the Lord Parameshwara the aim of the five arrows of God of love.
* The state of 30(tridasa)
Brahmam maghavanam cha vahanamaho mandair gathair nindhitham,
Dhavalyena nakhathwishaam vihisitho bahoopi maaheswara,
Itham vahanavairithaam bhajathi they padasthatho manmahe,
Kathyayanya munaa nyaghani mahisha kaarthantha vahabramth. 53
Oh Goddess Kathyayani, the swan which is the steed of Brahma,
And Airavatha the steed of Indra were made fun of by your feet,
By its soft walk and by the gem like white brilliance of its nails ,
Similarly the bull which is the steed of Shiva was also made fun of,
And thus you feet has earned the enmity of various steeds,
And that is perhaps why Mahisha was misunderstood
As Yama’s steed and was killed by your feet.
Seemantha prakare surendra sudrasaam sindhoora rekhathmana,
Manikyadhyuthi samjnayaiva makuchikotishu daithyadruhaam,
Shambhor moordhni jataaghataruna ruchi vyajena pada prabhai,
Vaikaa they parinaamamethi karunamurthe gireendrathmaje. 54
Oh personification of mercy, Oh daughter of the king of mountain,
The shine of your feet though it is one , is seen by us in many ways,
It is like the saffron filled parting of hair of the saluting deva maidens,
It is like the shining gem in the tip of the crown of saluting enemies of asuras,
And it is like the red brilliance seen in the hairs of Shiva during lover’s tiff.
No kesa paramasraya sumanasaam padabhja renuscha they,
No mandarasitha param smitha ruchir manjeerayosya thwayee,
No bahu kalahamsamethya jayathi thwad dyana leelapyasou,
No shumbhathalaksha mananamitham Padambhujam chambike. 55
Oh Goddess, Your hair is the ultimate home of scented flowers,
The shine of your smile shines white like the Mandara flowers,
Your hands not only attain the war but also win them,
And your face shines , is pretty due to confusion and has pretty eyes,
,
Or
The dust of your lotus like feet is the home of Devas ,
The two anklets of your feet make slow pleasing sounds,
The prettiness of the gait of your feet defeats the royal swans,
And your feet shines extremely with the colour of the lac applied there
Nadhhe thavakavaaha simhachalithaaswath pada mole nathaa,
Noonam bhabhra murabhramu Priya mukha, dikkumbhii veeraschiram,
No chedhesha kadham thadhunnathasira sindhoora sandhohajo,
Ragasthe charanambhuje parinamannadhyapi vidhhyothathe. 56
Oh Goddess of all, It is known that steeds like Airavatha,
Have saluted your feet and ran away ;long ago,
Because they were scared of your lion steed,
If it is not so, how is it that the redness of the saffron of the head**,
Of the eight elephants guarding the directions ,
Shine even today as the redness of your feet?
** Saffron colour is believed to come out of the heads of great elephants.
(Airavatha, Pundareeka, Vamana , Kumudha, Anjana , Pushpadantha , Sarvabhouma and Supradheeka are those eight elephants)
Thwath padhoyamajasrithascha ruchira sparsasaanvitho Yoginaa-,
Mantha sdhakruthi rooshmabhaakcha mahishapradhwamsanaprakrame,
Yevam khalvakhilaaksharathma kamamum shailendra kanya kadham,
Bhashanthe natha varga bandhuum apavargaalambhanam vaa janaa. 57
Oh, daughter of he king of mountains, Your feet have been,
Depended upon by Lord Brahma and has a very soft touch,
And it is also within the minds of great yogis,
And shines with the fame of killing Mahishasura,
And will people describe that eternal and universal feet,
As the one which gives protection to those who salute it or as a source of salvation.
Unmeelankhamanda leeheemakana sonaprabhakairikam,
Bhibhrana parishobha mana katako bhooyovanaikasraya,
Gayathsidha vadhoonishevithathala padasthvadheeya shive,
Raajathyesha himadhri pada vadhidham yuktham himadhre suthe. 58
Oh daughter of Himalayas, your feet shines like the foot of Himalayas,
While your feet has the row of shining nails,
The Himalaya mountain has row of shining dew drops,
While your feet carries the red coloured Girija,
The foot of the mountain carries the red shining mountain parts,
While your feet is adorned by the very much shining anklets,
The foot of the mountain is adorned by the shining mountain slopes,
While your feet is the place of refuge which protects the devotees,
The foot of the mountain is the place of refuge of many forests,
And your feet is the place where sidha maidens sing and come to do service,
The Mountain is the place where Sidhas live with their singing wives,
And thus your feet and the Himalaya mountains are very similar.
Dig balair dasapi prudhak prudha gayam thwath padayor arpitho,
Drusyo bhakthyanuraga yeva dasadha sonangulee sri mishath,
Padabhyamapi thaan prathi prakatithaa noonam prasadangura,
Drushyanthe nakha kanthi pankthi dasa kavyaajena Shailathmaje. 59
Oh daughter of the great mountain, the guardians of ten directions,
Separately have dedicated great love and devotion towards your feet,
And this is shown by the shining ten fingers of your feet,
And the blessings of your feet which are showered on them,
Is also seen clearly by the row of shining ten nails , as a reason..
(Dig Palakas(guardians of directions) are normally eight in number and they are
East_indra, South east-fire, South-Yama, South west –niruthi, West-Varuna,
North west –vayu or wind,, North-Kubhera and north west Eesana. The poet has added
Two more to this list viz Up-Brahma and down-Adhi Sesha who carries the world..The next 10 stanzas ,are prayers of these guardians to the feet of the goddess.)
Meghaanaam kulisasya chaprathihathaa dhaaraa kramaantham chiram,
No drusyetha dhaanavaari vibhavo nakasya nagasya cha,
Puthrosyam mama sainikascha dhadhathaam nithyam jayantha sukham,
Thwad padambhujapaathina surapatheritham jayandhyarthanaa. 60
Oh Goddess, I , Indra, the guardian of the east pray to you like this,
Let the clouds and thunders grow in numbers without problems,
Let heaven and my steed Iravatha not be disgraced by the Rakshasas,
Let Jayantha , my son and my army which sees only victory be always happy,
And these prayers of me (Indra) would get victory only by your grace.
AAjyaa saktha karai rdwijanmabhiraham hooyeya no danavai,
Swaharochithamasthu parswamanisam thaadruk cha havyam mama,
Rakshaavanithi bhoothimanithicha may sabdhaprasidhyaa shive,
Nopekshyohamithi twadangri namane jeeyasuragnegiraa. 61
Oh Goddess Shivaa, Agni the guard of south east prays like this at your feet,
Let me be propitiated by Brahmins whose hands are drenched with ghee,
But not by Rakshasas who hold the bow and arrow in their hands,
Let my wife Swaha shine by my side always and without break,
Let me get my offerings (Havya) when I shine with Swaha,
And I who am famous as strong and wealthy should not be disregarded by you,*
( *another meaning of this line is
And because I am notorious as one who turns all in to ashes, your feet is my only refuge.)
And by grace all my above prayers be fully realized.
Thwadbhakthaagama budhi poorva likhitham syachedaksha medhaa Shive,
Kanthasthe mayi roshavaan kuru punasthasyardhra bhavam sanai,
Devi thwam mahishabhihanthri chakitham thrayasva may vahanam,
Kalasyethi jayanthi they padanathou lolasya samprarthana. 62
Oh Goddess Shivaa, Lord Yama the guardian of south prays like this at your feet,
If my clerk Chithraguptha has written without thought ,
The sins of your devotees in his account book , please forgive me,
And Oh Goddess , you killed an asura in the buffalo form and ,
So please save my buffalo steed which is afraid of you,
And let these prayers done with remorse become true.
Dharmacharaparoaya mithyavamatho rakshobhirekanvaye,
Mahyam Veda vinindhithaam disa madhrjathi dwishaschamaraa,
Daivadhithyubhayachyutho visarano rakshyohamithyadhaya,
Thwath pada pranathou jayanthi nir ruthethyaakulaa prathanaa,. 63
Oh Goddess , Lord Nirruthi* , the guardian of south west prays like this at your feet,
I am being insulted by Rakshasas of my clan as one who follows Dharma,
And the Gods have allotted me the south west which is shunned by the Vedas,
And so I, due to my bad luck am shunned by both these groups and,
I do not have any other protection except your lotus like feet,
And Let these prayers of Nirruthi done with great sorrow become true.
* Nirruthi is a rakhshasa unlike other guardians.
Mathputhryaa mama vaa mukundagrahathaabhahgyam na samksheeyatham,
Maham payishi kumbhajena munina kalpantha suryena vaa,
Dhwedhaa may sura vaahini dhayithathaa, sadhu thwaya rakshyatham,
Thwat padambhuja pathino jala paderitham jayandhyarthana. 64
Oh Goddess , :Lord Varuna the guardian of the west prays like this at your feet,
Let me and my daughter Goddess Lakshmi@ be able to live in Vaikunta happily,
Let Sage Agasthya* born out of a pot not drink me away completely,
And let at the time of deluge , let me not be dried by those torrid twelve suns,
And also please save of my position of consort of Mandakini,
And also my position of being the chief of army of devas.
And let these prayers of Varuna, the god of waters become true.
@ Lakshmi was born out of water
* Once he drank the entire waters of the seas.
Viswapranamayee thwameva mama thu prahurjagat praanathaam,
Sarvasyaapi sada gahirhi bhavathi mamevamahurjanaa,
Lajjapadamaka meedrusam janani na kim kurmahe pahi maam,
Mithyevam pavanasya they padanathoiu vacho jayanthyakula. 65
Oh mother , Lord Vayu the guardian of the north west prays like this at your feet,
Though you are the soul of all beings , people say that I am their soul breath,
Though you are always the ultimate place of salvation(gathi),
People say that I am always roaming and moving(sada gathi),
And these meaningless praise of people makes me ashamed
And I know I am helpless to do anything and so protect me,
And let these prayers done by God Vayu with remorse become true.
Shankhollasi galojjwale samakare padhyena kunda smithe,
Padagradrutha kachape muka maha padme mukundasrithe,
Ithyasmannigathree neela nayane charchathmike pahi maam,
Yitham padanadheeshive vijayathe sakhyu Kubhrerasyathe. 66
Oh Goddess, Kubhera who guards the northern side prays like this,
Please save me oh goddess , who has the treasure Shankha playing on her neck,
Who holds the treasure Maha Padma in her hands,
Who has a smile which is similar to the treasure Kunda,
Who has the treasure Kachapa waiting below her feet with devotion,
Who has a face like treasure Mahapadma,
Who is depended upon by the treasure Mukunda,
Whose eyes are the treasure Neela,
And who applies the treasure Vara as the scent in her body
And thus has all nine treasures which I am supposed to have,
Thus prays Kubhera ,who is your friend so that his prayer is fulfilled.
Or alternatively
Oh Goddess, Kubhera who guards the northern said prays like this,
Please save me oh goddess who has a neck as white as the conch,
Who has two hands which are like the lotus flower,
Who shines with a smile with her jasmine bud like teeth,
Who has a tortoise sitting near her legs,
Whose face is like a fully opened lotus flower,
Who is completely depended on by Lord Vishnu,
Who has eyes which are like the blue lotus flowers,
Who is in the hearts of every one as thought,
And thus who has a body which is a treasure house,
Thus prays Kubhera who is your friend so that his prayer is fulfilled.
(Kubhera the God of riches is supposed to posses these nine riches.)
Sannameshu bhavad padambhuja nakhacchayaam jata sangineem,
Gangethyaalijanaa vadanthi vithadham maa bhoormadhaa kopini,
Drushtim mayyapaneeyathaam parushamapyekam vaco dheeyatha,
Meesanastha bhavanee they padanadhavitham jayanthyathana. 67
Oh Bhavani, Eesana who guards the north east salutes your feet and prays thus,
When you are angry and not speaking and when I am saluting you,
The image of your nails falls on my hairs,
And people tell a lie that it is the river Ganges,
But please do not be angry with me unnecessarily
and please send your glances on me,
And at least tell one word even if it is in anger, and fulfill my prayers.
Nabheethobhava madhisthava bhalath pakshaadhabhithosyaham,
Thrayakshena trimukee kruthopi chathurasyo aham thavaiva sthavai,
Thwam vishwathmathayopajanya na puna srashataramaakhyaahi maa-,
Mitham Devi jayanthi they padanathou vaneepaather vanaya. 68
Oh Goddess , this is the prayer of Lord Brahma, the consort of Vani,
I was born with fear and unstable being on a lotus grown on a belly,
But due to the strength of your blessing I became fearless,
And though I was made with three heads by Lord Parameshwara*,
Because I recited your prayers , I actually became one with four heads,
Which were made capable of reciting all the four Vedas by you,
And if you who are spread every where refer to me as the creator,
The great people who know the truth would make fun of me,
And let these words of mine become true by your grace.
* Parameshwara actually removed the fourth head of the five headed Brahma.
Aaseerasthi mukhe vidambhayathi maam bhooyopi chase spruha,
Bhogaa santhi sahasthradhaa punaraham bhogaan kadham prarthaye,
Seshoham spruhayamya sesha sukha mithyethascha hasaspadam,
Nadhe chinthaya samyagithyahipathesthwad pada patho Jayeth. 69
Oh goddess, this is the prayer of Adhisesha, prostrating at your feet,
I have poisonous teeth(all good things) from the very beginning,
And so the wish that I should have more wealth makes people laugh at me,
I have comforts (snakes) in thousands with me,
And so how can I pray for more pleasures,
I am sesha (what is remaining)
And suppose I wish for limitless pleasures(asesha).
Then also people will laugh at me,
Oh goddess please think about this,
These are my only prayers and let them be fulfilled.
(Since you have blessed me with everything, my prayer would be meaningless and so please give me what you think is needed further by me.)
Parvathya padamathra drusyamithi vaa pade bhavathwena vaa,
Sadhuthwatha dhupasthaye hitha thayaa padyanmuni sphutam,
Saishaa mukthipuri gireendra thanayaa bhakthena narayane,
Naabadhhaa sapthathir disathu va kalyana hallohalam. 70
These verses extolling the feet of goddess Parvathi,
Have been written as a poem with four lines each,
And provides help for the devotees to pray , the feet of Parvathi,
And has been written by Narayana who lives in Mukthipuri,
And is a great devotee of the daughter of the king of mountain,
And let these verses grant all good things for devotees reciting it.
(the seventy stanza prayer of the divine feet)
By
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri
Translated by,
P.R.Ramachander
(This great poetic as well as devotional work has been written by Sri Melpathur Narayana Bhatathiri who is the author of the great and very popular work called Narayaneeyam. But unlike Narayaneeyam, this extremely pretty prayer is not popular.
Sri Bhatathiri is known to have got completely cured of the disease that he got transferred from his Guru Sri Achyutha Pisharody by singing Narayaneeyam. But it seems still he was mentally depressed. Then God appeared in his dream and commanded him to write a work praising the feet of Goddess Bhavani who is enshrined in the temple of Mukthipuri (called Mukkolakka in Malayalam). He did this and became normal. It is written that he spent his old age in Mukthipuri only.
Though very poetic, the work is not in a simple direct language. One Ayurvedic doctor called Sri Muriyil Nambeesan has written an explanation for this great work in Sanskrit. Recently this work was translated in to Tamil by Sri P.R.Kannan of New Mumbai and this book has been published by Sri Bhagavan Nama publications, Madras in 1997. I could not find this great work in the wide world of internet. . Though this translation mostly based on the explanation provided by Sri Kannan does not have the poetic splendour of the great work by Bhatathiri, is sure to kindle the interest of readers of Hindu prayers to do further research on this great work.)
Samvahana lobheena sasi kala choodasyahasthambhuja,
Sparsenabhi cha lohithayathi muhu sthwath pada pangeruham,
Thenaii voddhara sara surachira singagra sanchoornan,
Prachandyam thadanushtitham kila kadham mukthisthalathe shive. 1
How is it Oh Goddess who lives in the place of salvation*,
Your feet becomes red, when the Lord who wears the crescent,
Touches your lotus like feet with his lotus like hands,
With a great desire to hold them with love and ,
How did the same feet break in to powder the head of huge Mahishasura?
* could be a temple called Mukthisthala or the heart of great people fit for salvation.
Thwath padam nija masthake ghatayithum loke na keke jana,
Kim kim narachayanthi duscharathapascharya saparayadhikam,
Manye dhanya thamam thu devi mahisham vairasthayaiva thwaya,
Yan moordhni swayameva patakaharam padambujam pathitham. 2
Though all the people are worshipping and following severe austerities,
Towards you , so that they can carry your feet on their head,
The lucky ogre Mahishasura who was very bad and your great enemy,
Had your lotus foot kept on his head with your own free will.
Thwad padambujamarpitham kwa nu shive kim nu trayi masthake,
Nithyam Thathwa vichara datha maanasaam chithambhu jagreshu vaa,
Kim vaa thwad pranaya prakopa vina man marari mouli sthale,
Kim proth khandi thaghora sairibha maha daithyendra moordhanthare. 3
Oh goddess Parvathi where is you lotus like feet available?
Is it on the Upanishads which are the head of devas,
Or is it in the heart of yogis who have given it for research on philosophy,
Or is it on the head of Lord shiva who burned to ashes the God of love,
And was found saluting with his head by touching your feet,
To make up with you and pardon him during your lover’s tiff.
Thwad padanchala roopa kalpa lathika bala pravala dwayam,
Ye thavath kalayanthi jathu shirasa namrena kamrojjwalam,
Theshamev hi devi nandana vana kreedasu labhyam padam,
Swar vallee tharuna pravalabharanam sevanuroopam phalam. 4
The front of your two feet is as soft as the flower buds
Of the divine wish giving tree, and those who are fortunate,
To be able to keep it on their heads , reach heaven,
And are happy with the divine damsels of heaven,
Who are as tender as the wish giving tree.
Daavalyam pari laalyathe puraripor angena thunga sriya,
Kincha syamali mapi komala thare bhathyeva gathre hare,
Thatha dathruk padaveem mamaapi janayeda sthoka seva rasaa,
Darunyam thava leeyathe charanayo karunya moorthe shive. 5
In the body of the God who is the enemy of the three cities,
The white colour attains great shine and dazzle ,
In the most tender body of the Lord Vishnu,
The bluish black colour shines greatly,
But the redness of your feet having done great service to it,,
Merges with it fearing that you would give it a position similar to Shiva and Vishnu.
AArunyam thadhidham thwadeeya padayor aabhathi thath kechana,
Prahasthunga nithambha bharaabharana klanthaya klopagatham,
AAnye maahiha moordha pasha militham raktha dravam manvathe,
Manyeham thu natheshu Sandra manuraghodhghara mevanayo. 6
How come your feet shines in this red colour?
Some say that your feet became red ,
Due to your very heavy buttocks pressing it,
Some say , that it is because of the blood of Mahisha,
When you made his head in to powder by your feet,
But I say that it is the outpouring of your pity to your devotees.
Prahu padma samasrayam satha druthim thwath pada padmasraya,
Danthasthwad pada padma veekshana vasadkrishnopi padmekshana,
Yad padmarchana mamananthi sdheeyo daaridrya vidravanam,
Mukthi kshethra gathe bhavani thadapi thwath pada padmarchanam. 7
Oh Bhavani who stays in the temple of salvation,
Due to surrendering himself to your feet,
Lord Brahma became the creator sitting on lotus,
And due to always seeing your lotus like feet,
In his mind, Lord Krishna got his lotus like eyes,
And due to offering worship to your lotus like feet,\
Goddess Lakshmi got the power to drive poverty,,
And so wise men offer prayers at your feet,
To drive away all poverty and attain salvation.
Padam they saraseeruha druhamimam yad sevathe padmabhoo-,
Rnoonnam thath swanivasa pankaja thara sri lanka nasankaya,
Govindhepi cha vari rasi thuhi durvasabhja badhabhiya,
Swayai vagra karodh graheedha kamala thranabhilekshana vaa. 8
Lord Brahma born out of a lotus worships,
Your lotus like feet , out of fear that,
It would steal away the dazzle of his lotus home,
And possibly Lord Govinda worships it because of the fear that,
The lotus home of his ocean born wife would be harmed,
Or does he do it to protect the lotus in his hands.
Sevanthe kula sampade nakha mayaa sheethamsavasthwathpadam,
Thath paako nanu veekshyathe hi nitharaa manyeshu sheethamsushu,
Yeko balaka yeva mouli mayi they yatho lalatathmathmatha,
Manyo nirmala ganda manda ladha samanyou thu dhanyou gathi. 9
The crescent of moon with its cool rays,
Chose to stay and pray on the nails of your feet,
And increased the size of his family,
And this can clearly be seen by us,
By one crescent decorating your head,
While another crescent becoming your forehead,
And yet another two becoming your cheeks.
Ghoram pada sahasrakam prakata yanna sassu bhasaam pathi,
Dwantham no punarantharam samayithum saknothi shailathmaje,
Thwath pada dwithayena komala tharanena chetha sprusa,
Janthoonaam bahirandhatha thamasam krunthasyanantham Shive. 10
Sun the lord of luster with his thousand feet(rays),
Is finding himself incapable of removing the darkness,
Of the inner mind, Oh daughter of the mountain,
But you with your two feet which touches our mind,
Is capable of totally removing the darkness,
Which is inside and outside of all beings, Oh Parvathi.
Sooryendwagni sameeranaadhi sakala swarvasinaam unmadha,
Sarvanyeva padaani yo madithavan durvara souryashmana,
Tham ghoram mahishasuram nija padenaikena sammrudnathi,
Yathwam prathya krudasthatha kimaparam thwad vaibhavam broomahe. 11
Mahishasura , who cannot be defeated by any one ,
Due to his great valour, became drunk by his power,
And tormented Sun , Moon, Fire , wind and other Gods,
By stealing away their roles in the earth, but you,
Gave him a fitting reply by one kick of your soft feet,
And killing him, What other greatness of your power can I relate?
Yekam vamathyaiva dakshinayaivanyath padam dehinaam,
Khyatham mukthi puradhi vasini Shive thwayi thweethidrusam,
AAnamreshu janeshvabheeshta karane padavubhou dakshina-,
Vanamre thu kruthagasi smarahare vamakshi vamavubhou. 12
Oh Goddess Parvathi, who lives in the place of salvation,
It is known that all the people in this world have left and right foot,
But in the your case of your two feet , it is wonderfully different,
When your devotees salute them, both of them are right,
In blessing them all , with whatever they pray,
But when your lord salutes you during lover’s tiff,
Both of them are left and do not appear to yield.
(Left and right are used as Pun. I have tried to bring out , what they mean)
Aanamrasya puradruha sirasi they padabhja pada shive,
Jeeyadhyena bhabhoova pankajavathi moulisthravanthi kshanam,
Kincho danchitha bala pallva vatheejatha jata vallaree,
Laksha pada vasena saandhya sushamaa sandhraa cha chandree kala. 13
Oh Goddess Parvathi, When Lord Shiva, who burnt the cities,
Salutes your feet, during a lover’s tiff, your feet touches his head,
And then it appears as if a flower has blossomed in Ganga,
Which is on his head, and the tender fingers of your feet,
Appear as if they are pretty flower buds decorating his hairs,
And the crescent on his head appears reddish due to ,
The reflection of the red colour ,that you have applied on your nails.
Drushtwa rathrishu chandra pada janitham padhouhaanaam vyadham,
Devi thwam karuna kuleva kurushe thadvaira niryathanam,
Manaa namra mahesa mouli vala bheevavasya seedadth visho,
Nithyam pankaja padakatha janitha pada yadadheeyathe. 14
When you see that lotus flowers are made to suffer,
During the night by the rays of moon, you decide
To avenge the moon due to your kindness and gently kick the moon,
With your lotus like feet, when Lord Shiva salutes your feet.
Sambranthi sthava devi sa vijayathe manaavanamre shive,
Thath padambhooruha prahara mudhithe mandam samuthayinee,
Laksharaaga saarunaam nipathitham ganga paya ssekaram,
Drushtwa sonitha sankhaa tharalitha kantham yadalambhadha. 15
Oh Goddess , when you quarrel with Lord Shiva,
And when he salutes your feet, you gently kick his head,
And he slowly gets up and the drops of water ,
From Ganga on his head fall on your nails,
And the diluted paint on your nails drop down,
Looking like oozing blood from your nails,
And you get flustered and with fear,
Embrace Lord Shiva and the senses win over you.
Sa pada dwitheeyahathir jayathi they yasyam , gireendrathmaje,
Pracheendu yuthe nakhendra dasake mouli sthali sangathe,
Swasyaika dasa moorthi thasa muchi thaneka dasai vodupa,
Navibhrana yivabhabhou sa bhgawan yekapi rudhra swayam. 16
Oh daughter of the king of mountains,
You keep both your feet on the head of Shiva,
When he salutes you during a lover’s tiff,
And then added with the moon on Shiva’s head,
The ten crescents on your nails , it becomes eleven,
And though Shiva is one, he ,shines in the form of eleven Rudras.,
Kim vairincha karoti nihatham , kim va phani gramani,
Niswasa nila kheditham , twidhamithi premnabhi sallapina,
Manasye pasame karena sanaksiramru danatha shambhuna,
Bhooyaschumbitha ambujadythi padam dhyayami maye thava. 17
After calming you down , Lord Shiva lifts your foot gently,
With an aim of prattling with love to you,
And finds that your feet are blood red and thinks,
That it may be due to your feet touching the skull of Brahma on his head,
Or it may be due to the poisonous breath of the serpent on him,
And being flustered kisses your feet with love,
And your lotus like feet reddens further,
And I meditate on such a feet of yours.
Poorvam jahnu sutha sakruth mura ripo Sri Pada samkshalanath,
Punyaa dhi drusa vaibhava samabhavad govinda vandhye shive,
Seyam samprathi sambhu mouli nnilaya mana prasanganathou,
Nithyam thwacharana vasechanabhuva punyena keedrug bhavedh. 18
Oh Goddess who is worshipped by Govinda,
Ganges , the daughter of Jahnu, acquired the power of purification,
By the blessings she got for wetting* the feet of Lord Vishnu,
And what power is she going to get now , as she is wetting your holy feet,
When Lord Shiva falls at your feet, when there is a lover’s tiff?
*When during Vamana avathara Lord Vishnu’s feet reached Brahma’s world,
He washed his feet by the water in his pitcher, which was ganga.
Poorva vyakarana prapanchana vidhou labhadhavapyanekam padam,
Kim no trupthi magaadagaadhipa suthe sesha phani gramani,
Aaleena sasi mouli moordhani chiram prema prakopanathou,
Labdhum they pada mekameva kuthuki nithyam yatho varthathe. 19
Oh daughter of the great mountain, even after writing several words**,
During his interpretation of grammar, Adhi sesha* was not satisfied,
And so he sits on the head of Lord Shiva in the hope of attaining your feet**,
At least once when Lord Shiva salutes you during ,the lover’s tiff.
* He wrote Sanskrit Grammar when he was born as Pathanjali
** Words (Pada) and feet Paada) are used to create a pun.
Thishtanthyam pranaya prakopasatho bhaspakulakshyam thwayee,
Sri Kande nakha darpana prathiphaladrupe purovarthini,
Padagre pathithoyamithyaabhihitho thava lokaanam,
Lolam pada thale vibhathi sahasa sakopa mali mukhe. 20
When you are sitting with a crying face due to anger of love,
You see the reflection of Lord Shiva in your mirror like nails of the feet,
And then your friend teases you by saying that Lord Shiva ,
Has fallen at your feet and when you anxiously realize that it is a lie,
Your slant vision with anger falls on your friend, and that indeed is pretty.
Kantha lokana lajjayaa vinimathe kanthe mukhambhoruhe,
Yaasou bhoothala pathuka nayanayo shobhaa thavaabhaasathe,
Sa thavath tharunaruna ambhujayuga branthyaa thavangridwaya-.
Pranthe bhathi marandapana kuthuka bhrantheva bhrungawali. 21
Oh goddess, bashful because you feel that Shiva is looking at you.
Your pretty lotus like face bends and the great luster of your eyes,
Falls on the ground and shines and this looks as if,
Your eyes *have seen your feet* and think that they are newly opened lotus flowers.
And become drowsy like the bees which have drunk the lotus flowers.
*eyes are compared to bees and feet to lotus flowers.
Kim brooma kutilathmakopi kabhari bharasthwadheeya shive,
Kelee vislathithasthanothi yadayam thwath pada sammarsanam,
Thad bhooya sumano ganadrutha gunasthwan mouli samlalyatham,
Dathe chithramasou thwadangri bhajanath kim kena no labhyathe. 22
Oh Parvathi, your crowning hair is not straight but curved*,
And when you playfully do not tie them,
They are lucky enough to touch your feet,
And because of this , it is decorated with flowers,
And is lucky enough to decorate your holy head,
And this is indeed not strange because,
Any one touching your feet , will get everything they want.
* Your crooked hair gets decorated by touching your feet, and
similarly even a crooked man will get anything he wants by touching her feet.
Raga dwesha mukha hi vibhramabharaa nasyanthi visweswari,
Thwad sangad ithi mukthidesa nilaye mithya janaii kadyathe,
Udyath dwesha mudhaara vibhramadharam gathram dadhathyaa thvayaa,
Ragoopi dhriyathedhikam charanayo sonaambhujaachayayo. 23
Oh goddess of the universe, your devotees believe,
That by serving you , passion and hatred are destroyed,
But how can this be, for even the god giving salvation,
Becomes passionate on seeing your body and your body being jealous@,
Hates your lotus like pretty feet and your feet gets lot of colour*
@body becomes jealous because feet is prettier.
* raga can be translated as passion as well as colour..
Devi thwath pada sathpara gamanisam moulow samabhibratham,
SAdhu nama paragathaiva bhavadhethyascharyamasthaamidham,
Padasthe nakharaprabha bala sitho jagarthi soyam puna,
Schithram nama khara prabhaavaleesitho dushtasuram pishtavaan. 24
Oh goddess , the contact of the dust of your feet on the head,
Removes the dirt of passion and desire , from holy people,
While this is a wonder , more wonderful is the fact,
That though your white feet shines in the luster of your nails,
By its great strength it pulverized Mahisha who troubled the world.
Dwithvena sthdhithayosthwadheeyapadyor dwaitham narasya sphutam,
Kavalya prathipadane kusalatha jathethi koyam karma,
Kim va yukthibhirathra mukthikarathaa vykthaiva padayo-,
Rmuktha yeva hi vishphuranthi vimalasthath sanginomi nakha. 25
How is it that your feet which is visible as two to the devotees,
Gets the power of giving, oneness with god and by what means?
There is no need for logic and research to answer this question,
Because the nails on both your feet has pearl* like shine,
* Salvation -Mukthi , Pearls- muktha. The poet sees that even the nails get salvation (pun)
Padagram thava kamadham sura latha sakagramachakshmahe,
Jatha ythra hi bala pallava ruchi swaireva ragodayai,
Uth sarpannakha mandali sushamaya puspaleeruthpaditha,
Sanjathaaliruthischa manjula tharaimmanjeera sincharavai. 26
Oh goddess, , like the wish giving plant ,
Your feet also fulfills all wishes,
The red nails on the feet are similar to the red leaf buds,
And the shining series of nails resemble a flower bunch,
And the musical sound of your anklets resemble the drone of a bee,
And So I feel that your feet are nothing but a branch of that tree
Deveeyam thava sannathesa makuta swar loka kalloalini,
Kallola hathi bhirvisesha vimala jeeyan nakha srenika,
Ydwalya mavapthumaptha kuthukasthayo thapasyanthyamee,
Meena phena kanamscha moukthika gana sankhascha sankhamahe. 27
Oh Goddess , when Lord Shiva salutes you during a tiff.
The waves of Ganges on his head drenches your feet,
And the row of your nails appear extremely pretty,
And the fish, foam , pearls and conches in that water,
And I feel that they are doing penance to get whiteness like your nails.
Maane shambhu shira prahaara charitham thwad iccha krutham,
Jane devi padbhjayoshtu pura jin moordhnaavirodhadhidham,
Yethe pada nakhamsu badha kalahaashithamsu Mandakini,
Bhogeendro kila shankarasya shirasa shankaam vinaa rakshithaa. 28
I think you are not kicking at the head of Lord Shiva willfully,
When he salutes you during the lover’s tiff and that you are made to do it,
Because of the enmity that your feet has towards his head,
As the snake , the moon and the slow moving Ganges,
Look much less pretty than your rows of nails and do quarrel with them.
Devi thwacharanojwalantha nakha mani sronishu leena nama-
NNabhathi sphatikachala sphuta thateesayiva soyam nata,
Hamasa leena vapu swayam kamala bhoo , ksheerabhdhi sayeeva cha,
Sree bhartha madwapi naka sarasi snayanniva lakshyathe. 29
The dancing lord when he salutes your feet , looks like,
He lies on the bed of snow mountain in the white light of your nails,
And Lord Brahma looks as if he lies on the white swan he rides,
And Lord Vishnu looks like as if he lies on the milky ocean,
And Indra when he salutes appears as if he takes bath in ,
The Manasarovar lake of the heaven,
Dolo keli vidhow himachala shila dese samabhyahathaath,
Padagratthavayani yava karasaprayantha nanyambike,
Thayabhyagatha shumbha sankarabhavad rakthambhuvisthaaranaa,
Bindu ksepanibhaaninandadamaree vidhyani vandhamahe. 30
When you are swinging in Himalayas
Over the stony terrain in your swing,
Your feet rubs on those stones and
The reddish colour applied there,
Falls on those stones and we salute them,
And even the pretty damsels of heaven,
Also salute them with happiness,
Thinking it is the great forerunner of blood,
Which will flow when you kill Shumbha.
Dolo kelishu yam himalaya shilalagram vane vaasino,
Bhathathya yogivaraa tripundrakalithelimpanthi phalanthare,
Ya sidhapramadha samethya thilakam kurvanthi nathwa muhu,
Stham dakshayani they kada nu padyorieksheya laksha rasam. 31
Oh daughter of Daksha , When you are swinging in Himalayas
Over the stony terrain in your swing , the drops of lac applied on your nails
Which falls is applied in addition to the three ash lines by the sages living there,
And it seems the wives of those yogis apply it as thilaka* too,
And when I will be fortunate to see those drops of red?
* The dot mark of saffron colour applied my Hindu ladies on their forehead.
Devi thwam mura vairina pranamane yad kinchida kunchaya,
Sri padambhujamanyadhaasya shirasi thwad padaalakshanchithe,
Sri bhoomyoritharapranamakruthamithyaanyonya shankhaya,
Roshapya kulyoschiram sa Bhagawan jayeth paryakula. 32
Oh Goddess when Lord Vishnu the killer of Mura salutes your feet,
Slightly bend it , for otherwise the paint would touch the head of Vishnu,
And seeing that Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess earth would suspect each other,
Having received his endearment and Lord Vishnu would suffer long because of it.
Pragudwaga vidhou himachala sadasyaswamadhirohaaya ya-
Thrasprakshyami viyadwanimithi puna sathyam vidathum cha yath,
Daithyothpeshana saahase virachithe samvaahanartha cha yath,
Thath padha grahanathrayam vijayathe sarveena sarvaani they. 33
Oh great goddess , three cheers to your feet for,
Lord Shiva held your feet, in the Himalayas,
And kept it on a stone during your marriage,
He again held it while promising ,
That he would not touch Ganga who is on his head,
And again when you got prepared, to fight with the great Mahishasura.
Shumbhasthe kila devi raga kalahe pada praharothswam,
Labhdhum kaamkshitha vanupayamiha khalvagnina vignaathavaan,
Yadyayothsyathi ghora mahishavapurdharisa vairi thath,
Pradhanishyatha moordhni komalarucha padaravindhena they. 34
Shumbha expected that your feet would fall on him when you love him*,
And that foolish one did not know the proper method of getting it on him,
For had he like the terrible Mahishasura , fought with you, as his enemy,
He would have easily got your soft glowing lotus like feet on his head..
* Shumbha requested her to be his wife but was killed by her spear.
Aanamre gireese pada praharane dathe bhavathyaarusha,
Nadhe kim mahisho ahamithyabhihithe deveena thasmin kshane,
Aalishwakulithasmithaasu punarapyuddhaamapushyadrusha-
Sthanmoulou jayathi dwitheeyamapi they padabhja santhadanam. 35
Oh Goddess when you hit the head of Lord Shiva with anger during a lover’s tiff,
He asks, “Darling , do you think I am Mahishasura?” , and at that moment,
Your lady companions near you see that and are sad* and also smile** at you teasingly,
And victory to that Lord Shiva who got one more hit by your lotus like feet.
*Sad because she is angry ** smile because of the teasing question
Padagram thava sangara sramavasaadakshareelakshaarasam,
Vinyastham mruga nayakopari chirajjeyaadagendrathmaje,
Yathkathyaiva hi lohitho mugapathirdaithyaprahaarothgala-,
Drathkambha kanikaa vahannapi thadhaa naamani vaimaanika. 36
Oh daughter of the king of the mountains, when you are tired,
After a battle and sit on your lion steed , the red lac applied on your nails,
Melts and falls on the lion and let there be victory to the lion who shines in red,
But the same lion if it is reddened by the blood of the asuras it kills*,
It is not praised by the sages and devas assembled in the sky.
*As her steed it is praised but not praised ,if it acts alone!
Naivalimpa nilimpamoordhasu na vaa simhoparithyajyathaam,
Maa chedham mahishasya moordhni rabhasaadalupyalolupyathaam,
Pathyurmouli nadhee jale paramidham samkshaalaneeyam thwaye-,
Thyaleekeligiro Jayanthi girije thwad pada laaksharpane. 37
Oh daughter of the mountain, when your friends apply lac on your nails,
They say, do not let this paint fall on the heads of saluting devas,
Nor on your lion steed nor on the head of Mahishasura,
When you kick him with great anger, for this paint,
Is meant to be washed by the Ganges on the head of Lord Shiva.
* They mean that the paint has to be only removed by the holy waters of Ganges.
Nathyaiva pradhamam thwadangri kaalam thou pushpavanthaavubhou,
Trilokyam mahassabhibhooya charatho vyomantharapranthare,
Nadhe thou kadhamnyadhaaparigalalla ksharasa kshalithou,
Veekshyathe brusa sona bhimbamudayarambhepriyammaukou. 38
Oh Goddess , the Sun and moon first salute your feet ,
Then win over the three worlds by their great light,
And travel a long distance in the sky and if they do not,
How can they be prettily red due to being drenched* ,
By the paint of your feet just before they come out.
* They salute at your feet again and again before they rise up to see the world.
Trilokyam vasyanthi papa pata leemuchchatayathyuchakai-,
Vidwesham janayanthy adharma vishaye prasthambhayanthyapadam,
AAkarshyanthyabhi vanchithaani mahisgaswar vairino maaranaa-,
Schithram thwath pada sidha choorna nivaha shad karmanaam saadhaka. 39
Your devotees by wearing the dust of your feet in their head,
Are able to achieve six things* namely, attracting the three worlds,
Driving away the crowd of sins, creating hatred for sinful acts,
Freezing dangers at the spot, fulfilling the desires of their mind
And killing of their Mahisha like enemies and this is indeed wonderful.
*(these six powers are Vaseekaranam(attraction), Uchadanam (driving away)
Vidweshanam (creating hatred) , Sthambanam (freezing) Aakarshanam (attraction)
And Maaranam(killing))
[Compare a verse in Mooka Panchadasi:-
Nathaanaam sampathai ranavaratham aakarshana japa,
Prarohath samsaaraprasaraga rimasthambhana japa,
Thwadheeya Kamakshi smarahara mano mohana japa,
Pateeyanna payaath padana leenamanjeera ninadha.
Let the sweet sound of the anklets which attracts wealth,
And acts as chant of attraction , Stunts the excessive growth of pride,
And acts like the chant for freezing, increases desire in the mind of the lord,
And acts like chant for bewitching save and protect us always.]
Kim kalpa druma panchakam pranamathaam aakaankshitha paadane,
Kim panchayudha bana panchakamidham maarari sammohane,
Sookshmam kinchana pancha bhootha vapusho , viswasya kim kaaranam,
Thwad paadanguleepanchakamidham kim bhathi Shambho priye. 40
Oh goddess who is the darling of Lord Shiva, the five fingers of your feet are shining,
Are they the five wish giving trees* for all those who worship at your feet?
Or are they the five flower arrows** of god of love which rattled Lord Shiva?
Or are they the five elements*** that joined and created this world?
* Mandhara, arijatha, Santhana , Kalpa vruksha and Hari chandana
** Lotus , Asoka mango, jasmine and the blue lotus
*** Earth, fire, wind , ether and water.
Dolo kelishu dhoora dhoora gamane prengkhenganaa vibhrame,
Medhinyaamanipathitham jayathi they nadhe padambhoruham,
Bhakthyaa sannamathaam thwadhanana galath ganamruthaa moorchaya,
Bhooprushte chirasayinam divishadamaaghatta nasaadhwasath. 41
When you are swinging in the swing to distances to and fro,
The devas fall on the ground to salute you and hear the nectar like song,
Emanating from your face and drunk in this sweetness loose their consciousness,
And your feet strikes on the ground and makes sound, so that they do not get injured.
Manjeera prasaranmasara sushuma roopaa kalindhathmajaa,
Swachcha chchya nakhamsu sanchaya mayee Ganga sangamukha,
Sona padaruchaam chayascha militho yathra thwadagre thatho,
Manjantheeva pathanthi thathra munaya sarvepi sarvangane. 42
Oh Goddess who blesses, the light from the blue gems
Of your anklets shine like the black waters of Yamuna,
And the shine of the nails of your feet which are white and clear ,
Are shining the Ganges when it is joining the sea,
And your red feet shines like the sacred red river,
And so the sages seeing the three coloured luster,
Fall at your feet and bath in the Triveni Sangama.*
* The joining point of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi.
Manjeerarpitha sacra neela sakala sri chanchalee kanchitham,
Rajath renu vibhooshitham paramahamsaleebhiraa sevitham,
Thwath padagra Saroja manguleedalaschaayaa bhiraa bhasuram,
Vishwakshobhi nakhaamsu jaalapaayasee swache samuchobhathe. 43
Oh Goddess, the blue gems in your anklets spread like bees,
And your feet which is decorated by shining powders and pastes
Is worshipped by great sages who like swans come one after another in a row,
And the fingers of your feet spread like climbing plants ,
And the shine emanating from your clear nails look like a lake,
And your feet looks great in that shining lake.
Manjeera swara manju viskheerarave thath sangi neelothphala-,
Cchaya roopa thamolave naka mishadaksheena thaaraa gane,
Sandhyaa raga nibhaswa kanthi patale thwath pada moolathmaka,
Prathyooshopagame hi devi labhathe loka prabhodhodhayam. 44
Oh Goddess, the front of your feet when it comes out in the dawn,
Is seen by the world as the rise of the sun and the sound of gems,
And your anklets sound as if a cock crows in the morn,
And the light of the blue gems in your anklets resembles the dim light of dawn,
And the nails of your holy feet shine as if they are the stars,
And top of your feet which is red resembles the reddish light of dawn.
Vidhyaa mukthi rema vadhooshu nitharaam kamathuraa manavaa,
Sthathwannakha kanthi chandana rasai ralibhya gathram nijam,
Thwad padabjaruchi pravala nichite bhoomithale serathe,
Nithyam devi bhavad krupaa Priya sakhi viswasatha kevalam. 45
Oh Goddess , those men who are passionate to get knowledge, salvation and wealth,
Apply the sandal paste and other scents of shine of the nails of your holy feet,
And roll on floor spread with the tenderest leaves ,
Tread by the extreme luster of your divine feet,
And have faith only in your grace which is like your loving girl friend.
Manjeera kwanithai kshipanniva muhu sriman nakhamsudgamair ,
Daithyendram prahasannivaruna ruchaa rushyanni vasmai brusam,
Dheeraayaam thwayi nirvikaramanasi thwad pada eva sphutam,
Pushnaan vaira vikaaramesha mahisha dwamsi parithrayathaam. 46
Even though you are brave and have a mind,
Which does not have any negative feelings,
Your feet seems to look at Mahishasura as an enemy,
The gems in the anklets make the sound of shouting at him,
The shine of the nails of your feet always appear to tease him,
And the top of your feet which is red appears to be angry on him,
And let your great shining holy feet protect us.
Kshipram devi siraspadena mahisham pishtwa thadhospadam,
Dithsandhyaam thwayi kanta banjana Priya knteerave vidruthe,
Medhinyamapi bheethi kampitha thanou premathwaraa saalinaa,
Sarvenaiva nijangaseemni nihitham patha dwayam they jayeth. 47
Oh Goddess , after powdering Mahishasura by kicking,
On his head speedily with your tender foot,
When you searched for a place to keep the feet which was paining,
Your steed lion ran away being scared that you will cut his neck,
The earth was scared because it thought there may be a deluge ,
But Sri Parmeshwara who loves you took them lovingly and kept them on his lap.
Poorve devi padambhujena mahishapradhwasanabhyasath,
Paschad kuthsitha sumbha daithyaa vijayoapyevam kruthakim thwaya,
No chedhbhahi kadham kusumbhavijayi padagradesooyamee-,
Thyalape Gireesasya thadh vijayathe mandasmitham devi they. 48
Oh goddess, you killed Mahisha by your feet as a practice,
And then did you win the bad hearted Shumbha(Kusumbha) by your feet@,
Else otherwise how is it that your feet is described as victor of Kusumbha*,
And why did Lord Shiva describe it as the victor over Kusumbha** flowers,
Which remark made you break in to a happy mild smile.
@ The Goddess killed Shumbha not by her feet but by her spear ?
*Bad Shumbha ** A very pretty flower
Vibhranena manojna yavakarasam manju dhwaneem noopura,
Sleshalankruthi shalinaa nakha mani jatha prasadasriya,
Yekenaiva padena devee mahishadwamse maheeyasthara,
Shlokoyam rachisthwayethi vibhudha samslagnam kurvathe. 49
Oh Goddess, you earned great fame by killing Mahisha by one feet,
And so say the very wise people and that feet is coated with red lac juice,
And it is accompanied by the pretty jingling sound of your anklets,
And it is well ornamented by ornaments like the anklets.
Or
Oh Goddess , you earned great fame by making a poem with one word,
.And so say the very wise people and that poem is ornamented by figure of speech,
And it is accompanied by the pretty emotions like that of love,
And it is well ornamented by usage of things like the pun.
Thwam shambhor mahishi bhavasyagasuthe thenopa haasaaya they,
Daithyoyam Mahishi bhavath upagatha sojyam kadham kshamyathe,
Itham noopura niswanairiva vadan pada swadeeyaa rushaa,
Sasthra pragruhanaath puraiva mahisham pishnaan parithrayathaam. 50
Oh, Goddess you are the wife(mahishi ) of Lord Shiva,
(Or
Oh Goddess you are the wife of Shiva who rides on the bull)
And So Mahishasura to tease you came in the form of a bison,
And your feet said through the sound of anklets
“ Does this act on his part deserve a pardon?”, and
Powdered him to death even before your hands searched for weapons.
Devya pangasayodhya kopi mahisgascha mahaan kantaka,
Padonahatha ithyudhooda hasitham sakhya samavedithe,
Sadhya kanta kasaalinaa kare thalenaasadhya padambhujam,
Grhannanarthi vinodhnaya giriso jeeyath priyasthe shive. 51
Oh Goddess, when your friends told Lord Shiva with a smile,
That the evil Mahisha who was like a thorn was swept away by your feet,
And he with his lucky@ hands which would give you immense happiness*,
Held your lotus like feet to sweep away its tiresomeness,
And such a great Lord Parameshwara shines as your sweet heart.
@ lucky becomes no body else can touch your feet.
* Could be translates as , he took a them in his hand to remove the thorn in her feet.
Thwad padaangulee pallavi ragasuthe devi swayam panchami,
Panchathwam gamitho mahasura ithi swathmanuroopam krutham,
Yethaireva natho janasthridasathaam neetho mahesa puna-,
Rlakshathwam gamitha prassona danusho vismapanam thad dwayam. 52
Oh daughter of the mountain , through the five tender climbers,
Which are the fingers of your feet, Mahisha was joined back with the five elements,
But the men who worship your feet with the same five fingers become devas*,
And it gives the Lord Parameshwara the aim of the five arrows of God of love.
* The state of 30(tridasa)
Brahmam maghavanam cha vahanamaho mandair gathair nindhitham,
Dhavalyena nakhathwishaam vihisitho bahoopi maaheswara,
Itham vahanavairithaam bhajathi they padasthatho manmahe,
Kathyayanya munaa nyaghani mahisha kaarthantha vahabramth. 53
Oh Goddess Kathyayani, the swan which is the steed of Brahma,
And Airavatha the steed of Indra were made fun of by your feet,
By its soft walk and by the gem like white brilliance of its nails ,
Similarly the bull which is the steed of Shiva was also made fun of,
And thus you feet has earned the enmity of various steeds,
And that is perhaps why Mahisha was misunderstood
As Yama’s steed and was killed by your feet.
Seemantha prakare surendra sudrasaam sindhoora rekhathmana,
Manikyadhyuthi samjnayaiva makuchikotishu daithyadruhaam,
Shambhor moordhni jataaghataruna ruchi vyajena pada prabhai,
Vaikaa they parinaamamethi karunamurthe gireendrathmaje. 54
Oh personification of mercy, Oh daughter of the king of mountain,
The shine of your feet though it is one , is seen by us in many ways,
It is like the saffron filled parting of hair of the saluting deva maidens,
It is like the shining gem in the tip of the crown of saluting enemies of asuras,
And it is like the red brilliance seen in the hairs of Shiva during lover’s tiff.
No kesa paramasraya sumanasaam padabhja renuscha they,
No mandarasitha param smitha ruchir manjeerayosya thwayee,
No bahu kalahamsamethya jayathi thwad dyana leelapyasou,
No shumbhathalaksha mananamitham Padambhujam chambike. 55
Oh Goddess, Your hair is the ultimate home of scented flowers,
The shine of your smile shines white like the Mandara flowers,
Your hands not only attain the war but also win them,
And your face shines , is pretty due to confusion and has pretty eyes,
,
Or
The dust of your lotus like feet is the home of Devas ,
The two anklets of your feet make slow pleasing sounds,
The prettiness of the gait of your feet defeats the royal swans,
And your feet shines extremely with the colour of the lac applied there
Nadhhe thavakavaaha simhachalithaaswath pada mole nathaa,
Noonam bhabhra murabhramu Priya mukha, dikkumbhii veeraschiram,
No chedhesha kadham thadhunnathasira sindhoora sandhohajo,
Ragasthe charanambhuje parinamannadhyapi vidhhyothathe. 56
Oh Goddess of all, It is known that steeds like Airavatha,
Have saluted your feet and ran away ;long ago,
Because they were scared of your lion steed,
If it is not so, how is it that the redness of the saffron of the head**,
Of the eight elephants guarding the directions ,
Shine even today as the redness of your feet?
** Saffron colour is believed to come out of the heads of great elephants.
(Airavatha, Pundareeka, Vamana , Kumudha, Anjana , Pushpadantha , Sarvabhouma and Supradheeka are those eight elephants)
Thwath padhoyamajasrithascha ruchira sparsasaanvitho Yoginaa-,
Mantha sdhakruthi rooshmabhaakcha mahishapradhwamsanaprakrame,
Yevam khalvakhilaaksharathma kamamum shailendra kanya kadham,
Bhashanthe natha varga bandhuum apavargaalambhanam vaa janaa. 57
Oh, daughter of he king of mountains, Your feet have been,
Depended upon by Lord Brahma and has a very soft touch,
And it is also within the minds of great yogis,
And shines with the fame of killing Mahishasura,
And will people describe that eternal and universal feet,
As the one which gives protection to those who salute it or as a source of salvation.
Unmeelankhamanda leeheemakana sonaprabhakairikam,
Bhibhrana parishobha mana katako bhooyovanaikasraya,
Gayathsidha vadhoonishevithathala padasthvadheeya shive,
Raajathyesha himadhri pada vadhidham yuktham himadhre suthe. 58
Oh daughter of Himalayas, your feet shines like the foot of Himalayas,
While your feet has the row of shining nails,
The Himalaya mountain has row of shining dew drops,
While your feet carries the red coloured Girija,
The foot of the mountain carries the red shining mountain parts,
While your feet is adorned by the very much shining anklets,
The foot of the mountain is adorned by the shining mountain slopes,
While your feet is the place of refuge which protects the devotees,
The foot of the mountain is the place of refuge of many forests,
And your feet is the place where sidha maidens sing and come to do service,
The Mountain is the place where Sidhas live with their singing wives,
And thus your feet and the Himalaya mountains are very similar.
Dig balair dasapi prudhak prudha gayam thwath padayor arpitho,
Drusyo bhakthyanuraga yeva dasadha sonangulee sri mishath,
Padabhyamapi thaan prathi prakatithaa noonam prasadangura,
Drushyanthe nakha kanthi pankthi dasa kavyaajena Shailathmaje. 59
Oh daughter of the great mountain, the guardians of ten directions,
Separately have dedicated great love and devotion towards your feet,
And this is shown by the shining ten fingers of your feet,
And the blessings of your feet which are showered on them,
Is also seen clearly by the row of shining ten nails , as a reason..
(Dig Palakas(guardians of directions) are normally eight in number and they are
East_indra, South east-fire, South-Yama, South west –niruthi, West-Varuna,
North west –vayu or wind,, North-Kubhera and north west Eesana. The poet has added
Two more to this list viz Up-Brahma and down-Adhi Sesha who carries the world..The next 10 stanzas ,are prayers of these guardians to the feet of the goddess.)
Meghaanaam kulisasya chaprathihathaa dhaaraa kramaantham chiram,
No drusyetha dhaanavaari vibhavo nakasya nagasya cha,
Puthrosyam mama sainikascha dhadhathaam nithyam jayantha sukham,
Thwad padambhujapaathina surapatheritham jayandhyarthanaa. 60
Oh Goddess, I , Indra, the guardian of the east pray to you like this,
Let the clouds and thunders grow in numbers without problems,
Let heaven and my steed Iravatha not be disgraced by the Rakshasas,
Let Jayantha , my son and my army which sees only victory be always happy,
And these prayers of me (Indra) would get victory only by your grace.
AAjyaa saktha karai rdwijanmabhiraham hooyeya no danavai,
Swaharochithamasthu parswamanisam thaadruk cha havyam mama,
Rakshaavanithi bhoothimanithicha may sabdhaprasidhyaa shive,
Nopekshyohamithi twadangri namane jeeyasuragnegiraa. 61
Oh Goddess Shivaa, Agni the guard of south east prays like this at your feet,
Let me be propitiated by Brahmins whose hands are drenched with ghee,
But not by Rakshasas who hold the bow and arrow in their hands,
Let my wife Swaha shine by my side always and without break,
Let me get my offerings (Havya) when I shine with Swaha,
And I who am famous as strong and wealthy should not be disregarded by you,*
( *another meaning of this line is
And because I am notorious as one who turns all in to ashes, your feet is my only refuge.)
And by grace all my above prayers be fully realized.
Thwadbhakthaagama budhi poorva likhitham syachedaksha medhaa Shive,
Kanthasthe mayi roshavaan kuru punasthasyardhra bhavam sanai,
Devi thwam mahishabhihanthri chakitham thrayasva may vahanam,
Kalasyethi jayanthi they padanathou lolasya samprarthana. 62
Oh Goddess Shivaa, Lord Yama the guardian of south prays like this at your feet,
If my clerk Chithraguptha has written without thought ,
The sins of your devotees in his account book , please forgive me,
And Oh Goddess , you killed an asura in the buffalo form and ,
So please save my buffalo steed which is afraid of you,
And let these prayers done with remorse become true.
Dharmacharaparoaya mithyavamatho rakshobhirekanvaye,
Mahyam Veda vinindhithaam disa madhrjathi dwishaschamaraa,
Daivadhithyubhayachyutho visarano rakshyohamithyadhaya,
Thwath pada pranathou jayanthi nir ruthethyaakulaa prathanaa,. 63
Oh Goddess , Lord Nirruthi* , the guardian of south west prays like this at your feet,
I am being insulted by Rakshasas of my clan as one who follows Dharma,
And the Gods have allotted me the south west which is shunned by the Vedas,
And so I, due to my bad luck am shunned by both these groups and,
I do not have any other protection except your lotus like feet,
And Let these prayers of Nirruthi done with great sorrow become true.
* Nirruthi is a rakhshasa unlike other guardians.
Mathputhryaa mama vaa mukundagrahathaabhahgyam na samksheeyatham,
Maham payishi kumbhajena munina kalpantha suryena vaa,
Dhwedhaa may sura vaahini dhayithathaa, sadhu thwaya rakshyatham,
Thwat padambhuja pathino jala paderitham jayandhyarthana. 64
Oh Goddess , :Lord Varuna the guardian of the west prays like this at your feet,
Let me and my daughter Goddess Lakshmi@ be able to live in Vaikunta happily,
Let Sage Agasthya* born out of a pot not drink me away completely,
And let at the time of deluge , let me not be dried by those torrid twelve suns,
And also please save of my position of consort of Mandakini,
And also my position of being the chief of army of devas.
And let these prayers of Varuna, the god of waters become true.
@ Lakshmi was born out of water
* Once he drank the entire waters of the seas.
Viswapranamayee thwameva mama thu prahurjagat praanathaam,
Sarvasyaapi sada gahirhi bhavathi mamevamahurjanaa,
Lajjapadamaka meedrusam janani na kim kurmahe pahi maam,
Mithyevam pavanasya they padanathoiu vacho jayanthyakula. 65
Oh mother , Lord Vayu the guardian of the north west prays like this at your feet,
Though you are the soul of all beings , people say that I am their soul breath,
Though you are always the ultimate place of salvation(gathi),
People say that I am always roaming and moving(sada gathi),
And these meaningless praise of people makes me ashamed
And I know I am helpless to do anything and so protect me,
And let these prayers done by God Vayu with remorse become true.
Shankhollasi galojjwale samakare padhyena kunda smithe,
Padagradrutha kachape muka maha padme mukundasrithe,
Ithyasmannigathree neela nayane charchathmike pahi maam,
Yitham padanadheeshive vijayathe sakhyu Kubhrerasyathe. 66
Oh Goddess, Kubhera who guards the northern side prays like this,
Please save me oh goddess , who has the treasure Shankha playing on her neck,
Who holds the treasure Maha Padma in her hands,
Who has a smile which is similar to the treasure Kunda,
Who has the treasure Kachapa waiting below her feet with devotion,
Who has a face like treasure Mahapadma,
Who is depended upon by the treasure Mukunda,
Whose eyes are the treasure Neela,
And who applies the treasure Vara as the scent in her body
And thus has all nine treasures which I am supposed to have,
Thus prays Kubhera ,who is your friend so that his prayer is fulfilled.
Or alternatively
Oh Goddess, Kubhera who guards the northern said prays like this,
Please save me oh goddess who has a neck as white as the conch,
Who has two hands which are like the lotus flower,
Who shines with a smile with her jasmine bud like teeth,
Who has a tortoise sitting near her legs,
Whose face is like a fully opened lotus flower,
Who is completely depended on by Lord Vishnu,
Who has eyes which are like the blue lotus flowers,
Who is in the hearts of every one as thought,
And thus who has a body which is a treasure house,
Thus prays Kubhera who is your friend so that his prayer is fulfilled.
(Kubhera the God of riches is supposed to posses these nine riches.)
Sannameshu bhavad padambhuja nakhacchayaam jata sangineem,
Gangethyaalijanaa vadanthi vithadham maa bhoormadhaa kopini,
Drushtim mayyapaneeyathaam parushamapyekam vaco dheeyatha,
Meesanastha bhavanee they padanadhavitham jayanthyathana. 67
Oh Bhavani, Eesana who guards the north east salutes your feet and prays thus,
When you are angry and not speaking and when I am saluting you,
The image of your nails falls on my hairs,
And people tell a lie that it is the river Ganges,
But please do not be angry with me unnecessarily
and please send your glances on me,
And at least tell one word even if it is in anger, and fulfill my prayers.
Nabheethobhava madhisthava bhalath pakshaadhabhithosyaham,
Thrayakshena trimukee kruthopi chathurasyo aham thavaiva sthavai,
Thwam vishwathmathayopajanya na puna srashataramaakhyaahi maa-,
Mitham Devi jayanthi they padanathou vaneepaather vanaya. 68
Oh Goddess , this is the prayer of Lord Brahma, the consort of Vani,
I was born with fear and unstable being on a lotus grown on a belly,
But due to the strength of your blessing I became fearless,
And though I was made with three heads by Lord Parameshwara*,
Because I recited your prayers , I actually became one with four heads,
Which were made capable of reciting all the four Vedas by you,
And if you who are spread every where refer to me as the creator,
The great people who know the truth would make fun of me,
And let these words of mine become true by your grace.
* Parameshwara actually removed the fourth head of the five headed Brahma.
Aaseerasthi mukhe vidambhayathi maam bhooyopi chase spruha,
Bhogaa santhi sahasthradhaa punaraham bhogaan kadham prarthaye,
Seshoham spruhayamya sesha sukha mithyethascha hasaspadam,
Nadhe chinthaya samyagithyahipathesthwad pada patho Jayeth. 69
Oh goddess, this is the prayer of Adhisesha, prostrating at your feet,
I have poisonous teeth(all good things) from the very beginning,
And so the wish that I should have more wealth makes people laugh at me,
I have comforts (snakes) in thousands with me,
And so how can I pray for more pleasures,
I am sesha (what is remaining)
And suppose I wish for limitless pleasures(asesha).
Then also people will laugh at me,
Oh goddess please think about this,
These are my only prayers and let them be fulfilled.
(Since you have blessed me with everything, my prayer would be meaningless and so please give me what you think is needed further by me.)
Parvathya padamathra drusyamithi vaa pade bhavathwena vaa,
Sadhuthwatha dhupasthaye hitha thayaa padyanmuni sphutam,
Saishaa mukthipuri gireendra thanayaa bhakthena narayane,
Naabadhhaa sapthathir disathu va kalyana hallohalam. 70
These verses extolling the feet of goddess Parvathi,
Have been written as a poem with four lines each,
And provides help for the devotees to pray , the feet of Parvathi,
And has been written by Narayana who lives in Mukthipuri,
And is a great devotee of the daughter of the king of mountain,
And let these verses grant all good things for devotees reciting it.
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