Adhi Sankara’s Hasthamalaka
Stotram
By
Hasthamalakacharya
Humble translation effort
By
P.R.Ramachander
The Mādhavīya Śaṃkaravijayam states that when Adi Shankara
was at Kollur , he accepted invitations by brāhmaņas to have
Bhikşa (alms or food) at their houses. On such an occasion he visited a
village called Śrī Bali (present day Shivalli ), where every house was
said to emit the holy smell of the smoke of Agnihotra sacrifice, to accept
Bhikşa. That place was inhabited by about two thousand brāhmaņas who were
learned in the Vedas and performed the Yajnas prescribed in the
Vedas. There was also a temple dedicated to Shiva and Parvati
In that village there lived a brāhmaņa, Prabhākara, who was
noted for his learning. He had a son who though appearing quite handsome,
behaved rather like an idiot. Though upanayanam was performed for
him, he did not take to studying the Vedas, instead preferred to sit around
doing nothing. Hearing about Adi Shankara's visit, Prabhākara approached the Acharya
(teacher) with a load of fruit and prostrated before him. He also made his son
prostrate before him. Prabhākara explained to Adi Shankara that his son behaved
rather like an idiot and sat idly throughout the day.
Then, Adi Shankara addressed that young boy and asked him
who he was. The boy replied in 12 verses containing the gist of the Advaita
philosophy. This stotra is called Hasthamalaka Stotram. Hastamalaka Stotram is said to have
been recited by Hastamalaka when he met Adhi Sankara.
Hastamalaka(AS clear as Gooseberry in the palm) was the name given to him by Sankara himself.
Sankara, it is said, was so impressed by Hastamalaka stotram that he wrote a commentary
on it. Adi Shankara was immensely impressed with that boy and accepted him as his disciple. He was named
Hastāmalakacharya (one with the amalaka fruit in his hand) since the knowledge
of the Self was clear to him like an
Amalaka fruit in one's hand. Adi Shankara took the boy into his party.
As the boy was not suited to the life of a
householder, the Acharya accepted him as his disciple and gave him Sanyasa. Though
he attended the classes held by the Acharya, it was more to verify his own
experience than to gain proficiency in dialectics. It was suggested to the
Acharya that, by reason of his realisation of the Self, Hastamalaka was
pre-eminently competent to write a Vartika(Sanskrit commentary in verse) on the
Sutra Bhashya. The Acharya negated the suggestion by pointing out that
Hastamalaka’s plane of consciousness always dwelt on the supernal Self. He
would not stoop to write books. When the Acharya placed him on a higher level
that those engaged in dialectics, the disciples were naturally curious to know
how one who was not known to have devoted any attention to learning the sastras
could be proficient in realisation. Sri Shankara explained the phenomenon. On
the bank of the Jamuna, a great sage was seated in contemplation when some
brahmin girls came there to bathe. One of them had a baby two years old. She
placed him by the side of the sage and asked him to take care of it till she
bathed. The baby slowly crawled into the river and was drowned. The mother was
aghast. She took out the dead body of the child and wept bitterly before the
sage. The sage was quite oblivious of the happenings awoke from his samadhi. He
was moved by pity for the grieving mother. By the powers of his yoga, he left
his body and entered the body of the child. The dead child sprang into life.
That child was Hastamalaka. This explained how he came to have such an
all-comprehensive knowledge without any apparent instruction.(
http://www.sringeri.net/history/sri-adi-shankaracharya/primary-disciples/sri-hastamalakacharya
)
Adhi Sankara
Uvacha:-
1.Kasthvam Siso ,
kasya kuthosi ganthaa,
Kim nama they thwam
kutha AAgathosi,
Yethan mayoktham vadhacharbakathwam,
Math preethayepreethi
vivardhanosi.
1.Child , who are
you , where are you going?
What is your name? From where are you coming?
For the sake of my
liking to you to increase,
Please tell answers
to what I have asked?
Hasthamalaka uvacha:-
2.Naa aham manushyo, na cha DEva Yakshou,
Na Brahmana
Kshtriya Vaisya Shudra,
Na Brahmachari na
gruhi vanastho,
Bikshurna chaham, nija bodha rupa
2.I am neither a human being nor Deva nor Yaksha,
I am neither a Brahmin nor Kshatriya
nor Vaishya nor Shudra,
I am neither unmarried nor householder
nor one living in the forest,
I am not also a a
mendicant but I am the form of true knowledge.
3.Nimitham manas chakshur aadhi pravruthou,
Nira sthakhilo upaadhir aakasa kalpa,
Ravir loka cheshta
nimitham yadhaa ya,
Sa nithyopa labdhiswaroopo aham aathmaa.
3.The sun is
the reason for all activities of mind
and eyes,
And exists like
the sky
which is beyond all the
activities,
But is the symbolic cause
of all known activities,
And like him I am
the form of the soul which is ever
existing.
4.Yama agni ushnavathnithya bodha swaroopam,
Manas chakshraadh eenya bodha aathmakaani,
Pravarthantha aasrithya
nishkampamekam,
Sa nithyo
upalabdhi swaroopo aham aathmaa.
4.Like the never
changing relation of fire and heat,
The soul of consciousness
of jnana exists with
its own form
Alone without a
second and shining in various ways,
And is depended
by mind , knowledge eye and sense organs to become active
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana,
5.Mukhaa basako darpane drusyamano,
Mukhathwaath
pradakthwena naivasthi vasthu,
Chidhaa basako
dheeshu jeevopi thadwath,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
5.The shining image
of the face that you are seeing in the mirror,
Does not have any existence , separate
from the face itself,
And the self reflected in our mind does not have a separate existence from God,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana,
6,Yathaa darpana
bhavaabhasahaanou,
Mukham
vidhyatha kalpanaa heenamekam,
Thadha nithyopalabdhi
swaroopa aham aathmaa ,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
6.The reflected image vanishes in absence of mirror,
But the face exists
without any reflection,
Similarly without intellect , only awareness remains,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
7.Manascha kshuradher viyuktha, swayam yo,
Manascjhakshuradher manschakshuradhi,
Manaschakshuradheragamya swaroopa,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
7. I am he who is
different from mind , eye etc,
And who is the mind of mind and eye of eye etc,
But who has a
form that is not approachable to mind ,
eye etc,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
8.Ya eko vibhathi
swatha shudha chethaa ,
Prakasa swaroopopi
naaneva deekshu,
SAraavodhakastho
yadhaa bhanurekha,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
8.Just like the sun
who is one , which has a form that is pure ,
And has a lustrous
form , appears in various
pots differently,
He who appears as
consciousness of different bodies is
one,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
9.Yadha aneka chakshu
prakaso ravirna-,
Kramena prakaasi karothi
prakaasyam,
Anekaadhiyo
yasthadaika prabodha,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
9,Similar to the sun
illuminating many eyes together,
But not slowly and
not one after
another ,
I am that intellect
which illuminates many together,
And I am that form
of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
10.Vivaswath
prabatham yadha roopamaksham,
Pragrunhaathi
nabathamevam vivaswaan,
Yadhaabhaath
aabhhasayathyakshameka ,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
10.Just like what
is illuminated by sun
Becomes visible to the eye, and others not illuminated being not visible,
I am the truth who
illuminates the sun himself,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
11.Yadhaa surya yekoapsvan eka chalasu,
Sthiraa swaapyananyad vibhaga swaroopaa,
CHalaasu
prabhinnaasu sudheeshvevameka,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
11.Just like a single sun in unsteady water appears to be
many ,
And reflected in
steady water as single
and steady,
To the unsteady intellect
, one soul appears to be many,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
12.GHanacchanna drushtir
Ghana channamarka,
Yadhaa nish prabham
manyathe chaathi mooda ,
Thadhaa baddhavath
bhaathi yo mooda drushte,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
12.Just like a fool
with heavily clouded
vision,
Thinks that sun is
covered by clouds and is not bright,
A man whose sight
is covered by idiocy thinks that he is
tied up
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
13.SAmastheshu vasthshvanusyuthamekam,
SAmasthaani
vasthuni yannasprusanthi,
Viyadwasadaa
shuddha macha swaroopam,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
13.The one object pervading in everything in this world,
Is the one which cannot be touched by any of those
objects
And is like the immaculate pure nature
of the sky,
And I am that form of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
14,Upaadhi yadhaa
bedathaa san maneenaam,
THadhaa
bedathaa budhi bedheshu theapi,
Yadha chandrikaanaam
jale chanchalathwam.,
Sa nithyopa labdhi swaroopo ahama aatmaa.
14,Julk like differences are seen
among good crystals,
Based on conditions where they are kept , persons also
differ due to varying intellects,
Which is similar to changing appearance of moon in moving
water,
And I am that form
of that soul aiming to achieve Jnana.
