Tripura sundari Ashtakam

Tripura Sundari Ashtakam
The octet to the beauty of the three worlds
Translated By
P.R.Ramachander
Kadamba vana charinim, muni kadamba kaadambhineem,
Nidhambha jita bhootharam, Sura nithambhini sevitham,
Naavamburuha lochanam, abhi navambhudha syamalam,
Trilochana Kudimbhineem , Tripura Sundarim Aasraye.
(I prostrate before her, who is the beauty of the Tripura,
Who roams in the forest of Kadamba.
Who is like the galaxy of dark clouds,
Which quenches spiritual thirst of sages,
Who with a hip rivaling mountains,
Is being served by celestial beauties,
Who has eyes resembling a lotus flower,
Who is a black rivaling the rich black clouds,
And who belongs to the three-eyed family. )
Kadamba vana vasinim , kanaka vallaki dharinim,
Maharha mani harinim, mukasa mulla sad varunim,
Daya vibhava karinim vichatha lochamim, charinim,
Trilochana Kudimbhineem , Tripura Sundarim Aasraye.
(I prostrate before her, who is the beauty of the Tripura,
Who lives in the forest of Kadamba,
Who holds a golden holy Veena,
Who wears a divine garland of gems,
Whose face shines of joy because of nectar,
Whose mercy bestows wealth,
Who wanders clear eyed everywhere,
And who belongs to the three-eyed family. )
Kadamba vana shalaya, Kucha prollasan malaya,
Kuchopamitha shailaya Guru krupala sad velaya,
Madaruna kapolaya Madhura geetha vaachalaya,
Trilochana Kudimbhineem , Tripura Sundarim Aasraye.
(I prostrate before her, who is the beauty of the Tripura,
Whose house is the forest of Kadamba,
Who wears a garland gracing her bosom,
Who has a bosom like mountains,
Who lets flow her mercy as a torrent,
Who has red cheeks like wine,
Who sings soulful music,
And who belongs to the three-eyed family. )
Kadambha vana madhyakam, kanaka mandalopa sthitham,
Shadamburuha vasinim, sathathasidha saudaminim,
Vidambhitha japa raruchim vikasa chandra choodamanim,
Trilochana Kudimbhineem , Tripura Sundarim Aasraye.
(I prostrate before her, who is the beauty of the Tripura,
Who is in the middle of Kadamba forest,
Who is seated near golden planet,
Who lives in six lotus flowers,
Who illuminates the sages like lightning,
Who mocks at the just open Hibiscus,
Who wears the moon as a crest jewel,
And who belongs to the three-eyed family.)
Kuchanchitha vipanchikam, kutila kuntala alangrutham,
Kusheshaya nivasinim, kutila siddha vidhweshaneem,
Madaaruna vilochanam, manasi jari sammohinim,
Mathanga muni kanyakam madura bashinim Aasraye
(I prostrate before her, who is the beauty of the Tripura,
Who carries a Veena over her bosom,
Who resides in a lotus,
Who scorns evil minded sages,
Whose eyes are red due to intoxication,
Who attracts the enemy of the cupid,
Who is the daughter of sage Matanga,
And speaks in a sweet voice.)
Smareth prathama pushpineem rudhira bindu neelambaram,
Graheetha madhu patrikam, madhu vighurna nethanchalaam,
Gahna sthana paronnatham galistha chulikam syamalam,
Trilochana Kudimbhineem , Tripura Sundarim Aasraye.
(I prostrate before her, who is the beauty of the Tripura,
Who carries the first flower of cupid,
Who wears the blue garment spotted with blood,
Who holds in her hand, a bowl of wine,
Whose eyes are confused due to intoxication,
Whose close chest is elevated by her firm breasts,
Whose hair is disheveled,
Who is pretty in her black colour,
And who belongs to the three-eyed family.)
Sa kumkuma vilepanaam, alaka chumbi kasthoorikaam,
Samatha hasithekshanam, sachara chapa pasanguram,
Asesha jana mohinim, aruna malya bhooshambaram,
Japa kusuma basuram, japa vidhow smaradembikaam.
(I meditate on that Ambika,
Who applies saffron on her body,
Who applies musk attracted by bees on her hair,
Who has a beautiful smile,
Who has with her bows, arrows and Pasangusa,
Who attracts all the souls,
Who wears red garland,
Who wears ornaments great,
And who is of the colour of the red hibiscus,
During my japa routine.)
Purandara purandarikam,chikura bandha sairandrikam,
Pitamaha pathivrathampata pateera charcharatham,
Mukunda ramanimanilasathalankriya karinim,
Bajami bhuvanambikamsura vadhutika chetikam.
I pray to that Ambika,
Who is the mother of the entire universe,
Who has heavenly damsels as servants,
Who rules over Sripura,
Who has celestial maids to tie her hair,
Who is anointed by sandal paste,
By the virtuous wife of Brhama,
Who is adorned by the rare gems,
Of the darling of Lord Vishnu.

PUJA SLOKAS

Prayer to the teacher
Gurur brahma, gurur devo Maheswara,
Guru sakshad param brahma tasmai sri gurave nama
Teacher (Guru)
Gurur brahma, gurur devo Maheswara,
Guru sakshad param brahma tasmai sri gurave nama

(Salutations to that Teacher.
Who himself is the ultimate truth,
Who is chief of all Gods.
And who verily is the truth himself.)

(Salutations to that Teacher.
Who himself is the ultimate truth,
Who is chief of all Gods.
And who verily is the truth himself.)

Stotras as soon as one wakes up:-
A Hindu is supposed to wake uo very early in the morning much earlier to sun rise. It is believed that the first thing you see in the morning determines one’s day.
As soon as one wakes up see he is supposed to see his palm and recite the following sloka:-

Karagre vasathu Lakshmi, Karamadhye Saraswathi,
Karamoole sthitha Gowri, Prabhate Kaa Darshanam.

(Lakshmi lives in the tip of my palm,
Saraswathi lives in its middle,
And Gowri lives at its base,
So I see my palm in the early morn.)
Earth is a Goddess to Hindus.
She is one of the wives of Maha Vishnu one of the trinity of Hinduism. So it is necessary to ask her pardon before one sets ones foot on her.This is done by the following prayer:-
Samudhra vasane devi, parvatha sthana mandithe,
Vishnu pathni namasthubhyam pada sparsam kshamasva mae.
(Salutations to you consort of Lord Vishnu,
Who is clothed by oceans,
And is adorned prettily by the mountains,
Pardon me mother, for setting my foot on you.)
While taking Bath
Cleanliness is a sin qua non-to every Hindu.He does purification of the body as well as the mind during his bath. Purificatory bath is ultimate if it is done in the sacred waters of some great rivers of India.The following prayers are recited while taking bath:-
Govindethi sada snanam Govindethi sada japam,
Govindethi sada dhyanam , sada Govinda keerthanam.

(Meditate on Govinda while taking bath,
Meditate on him in your prayers,
Meditate on him while thinking of God,
And always sing his name.)

Gange cha Yamune chaiva Godavari Saraswathi,
Narmada Sindhu Kaveri Jale asmin sannidhim kuru.
(I pray you to enter,
This water meant for my bath,
Oh , holy river Ganga,
Oh, Holy river Yamuna,
Oh , Holy river Godavari,
Oh, Holy river Saraswathi,
Oh , Holy river Narmada,
Oh holy river Sindhu,
And holy river Kaveri.)

PUJA SLOKAS

Lakshmi

The consort of Lord Vishnu , who is the Goddess of wealth.She was born out of the ocean of milk.
Namasthesthu Maha Maye,
Sri Pede Sura Poojithe,
Sankha Chakra Gada Hasthe,
Mahalakshmi Namosthuthe

(Salutations to the great enchantress,
Who is the Goddess of wealth,
Who is being worshipped by Devas,
And who holds Conch, wheel and mace in her hands,
Again Salutations to the Mahalakshmi )

Angam hare pulaka bhooshanamasrayanthi,
Bhringanga neva mukulabharanam thamalam,
Angikrithakhila vibhuthirapanga leela,
Mangalyadasthu mama mangala devathaya.

(To the Hari who wears supreme happiness as Ornament,
The Goddess Lakshmi is attracted,
Like the black bees getting attracted,
To the unopened buds of black Tamala,tree,
Let her who is the Goddess of all good things,
Grant me a glance that will bring prosperity. )
Kanaka Lakshmi
Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth.Adhi Sankara as a boy addressed her in this form to bless a poor Brahmin widow with wealth. “ Kanaka” means Gold,

Angam hare pulaka bhooshanamasrayanthi,
Bhringanga neva mukulabharanam thamalam,
Angikrithakhila vibhuthirapanga leela,
Mangalyadasthu mama mangala devathaya.

(To the Hari who wears supreme happiness as Ornament,
The Goddess Lakshmi is attracted,
Like the black bees getting attracted,
To the unopened buds of black Tamala tree,
Let her who is the Goddess of all good things,
Grant me a glance that will bring prosperity.)
Saraswathi
Mother Goddess in the form of Goddess presiding over knowledge and education.She is the consort of Lord Brahma.
Saraswathi Namasthubhyam, varade Kama roopini,
Vidhyarambham karishyami, sidhir bhavathu me sada.
(My salutations to Goddess Saraswathi,
Who can take any form,
Who is the bestower of all boons,
And I start learning now,
With the prayer to her,
To make it very effective.)
Yakundendu Thushara Hara Davalam, Ya shubra vastravrutham,
Ya veena vara danda manditha kara, Ya shwetha padmasana,
Ya brahmachyutha Sankara prbhruthibhi Daivai sada poojitha,
Saa maam pathu saraswathi bhagawathi Nissesha jadyabaha.
(My saluations to Goddess Saraswathi,
Who is while like a Kunda flower,
Who shines like the full moon,
Who carries in her hand a Veena and a stick,
Who is seated on the throne of white Lotus,
Who is worshipped by the holy trinity,
With a prayer to drive away all my slothfulness. )
Durga
She is the fearsome aspect of Goddess Parvathy and was created by her to fight against Shumbha and Nishumbha. She is popular among the entire length and breadth of India.The poor generally prefer to woship her.

Namasthe saranye Shive, saanukamhe,
Namasthe Jagat vyapike viswa roope,
Namasthe jagat vandhya padaravinde,
Namasthe jagat dharini Trahi Durge,
(Salutations to her who is the slave of peace ,
And filled with compassion,
Salutations to her who is spread all over the world,
And who is of the form of universe,
Salutations to her whose lotus feet,
Are worshipped by all the world,
Salutations to her who takes care of the world,
Pease take care of me , Oh Durge.)

Chandra Kavacham

Chandra Kavacham:

[Protective Armour of Moon]

Translated by P. R. Ramachander

[This is armour which gives you protection from all problems caused by the planet moon. It has to be chanted on all Mondays, if moon causes any problem in the horoscope.]

Om Ganesaya Nama

Salutations to Lord Ganesa,

Asya Sri Chandra Kavacha stotra Maha Manthrasya

(What follows is the great prayer called Armour of the moon.)

Gowthama Rishi

Anushtup Chanda,

Chandro Devatha

Chandra preethyartham jape viniyoga.

(Sage for this prayer is Gowthama, meter is Anushtup, God is the moon and this is being chanted to please the moon.)

Samam, chathurbhujam vande, keyura makutojjwalam,

Vasudevasya nayanam, Shankarasya cha bhooshanam. 1

(I salute the four armed Moon god who is calm,Who shines in a gem studded great crown,Who is the eye of Lord Vishnu,And the ornament of Lord Shiva.)

Yevam dhyathwa japen nithyam shasina kavacham shubham,

Shasi pathu shiro desam, phalam pathu kala nidhi. 2

(Thus praying, this holy armour of moon, should be chanted daily,Let my head be protected by moon, and hairs be protected by the treasure of arts.)

Chakshushi chandrama pathu, shruthi pathu nisha pathi,

Pranam krupakara pathu, mukham kumuda bhandhava. 3

(Let my eyes be protected by he who has moon light,Let my ears be protected by the Lord of the night,Let my soul be protected by he who is merciful,And my face be protected by the relative of Lotus.)

Pathu kantam cha may soma, skande jaivathrukasthadha,

Karou sudhakara pathu, vaksha pathu nisakara. 4

(Let Soma protect my neck,Let my shoulder be protected by one who is long lived,Let the maker of nectar protect my hands,And the maker of night protect my chest.)

Hrudayam pathu may chandro, nabhim shankara bhooshana,

Madhyam pathu sura sreshta, katim pathu sudhakara. 5

(Let my heart be protected by moon,Let my belly be protected by ornament of Shiva,Let my middle be protected by chief of devas,And my hip be protected by he who makes nectar.)

Ooru tharapathi pathu, mrugango januni sada,

Abdhija padhu may jange,padhu, padou vidhu sada. 6

(Let my thighs be protected by the Lord of the stars,Let he who has a deer protect my knees,Let the maker of time protect my calves,Let my feet be protected by Moon.)

Sarvan anyani changaani pathu, chandro akhilam vapu,

Ethdhi kavacham punyam bhukthi mukthi pradayakam. 7

(Let all my other organs be protected by Chandra who is everywhere And this armour would give one devotion and salvation.)

Ya padeth srunyadhvapi sarvathra vijayi bbhaveth. 8

If one reads or hears this, he would win in everything.Ithi Sri Chandra kavacham sampoornam.Thus ends the armour of the moon.

Mayil Vahana

MAYIL VAHANA

MAYIL VAHANAM -PEACOCK .(Tamil-Name-MAYIL)
Mayil-peacock is lord Murugan -kartikayan vahana .
Lord Murugan is more popular in South India. Kartikaya-Son of lord siva. He is the second son of Siva, and the younger brother of Ganesha, is also known as Kumara, Karttikeya, Shanmukha, Subrahmanya, and many other names.
His vehicle or Vahana is the peacock. This is by way of representation that he has entirely conquered pride, egoism, vanity. There is a cobra under His Feet. This is to indicate that He is absolutely fearless, immortal and wise.
Shanmukha’s Vahana, the peacock, shows the shape of the Pranava or !. It is of the shape of the Bindu. When the peacock spreads out its tail, it has the round shape of the Pranava. Within it is the Para Brahma Jyoti, which is the form of Murugan or Subrahmanya. The subordinated serpent kept in check by the peacock’s feet shows that Maya or impurity is completely overpowered by the power of Pranava.
Subrahmanya came out of Siva’s third eye is symbolic of His being the incarnation of Pure Intelligence, for Siva’s third eye is known to be the eye of Wisdom or Jnana.
The peacock (on which Subrahmanya rides) is the most beautiful of all the birds. It is the one bird which can reveal its inner joy by dancing and displaying its gorgeous plumage. When it does so, it evidences its perfect balance—for it is a very heavy bird and it has to keep its balance on its two very slender feet. All these points relating to the peacock are utilised for illustrating the ideas concerning the inner significance of the Subrahmanya mythology. We can interpret the peacock as symbolising mental equipoise—the predominance of Sattva over Rajas and Tamas. That tranquillity or mental balance, when once attained, produces contentment and happiness. Such a mental condition reveals itself in a superior sort of self-satisfaction—a state similar to that of the peacock which spreads out its beautiful plumage. It is this predominating Sattva that is the prerequisite for the acquisition of True Knowledge—the knowledge symbolised by Lord Subrahmanya Himself.
Subrahmanya’s cock-banner symbolises the approach or the dawn of Knowledge—it is the cock that proclaims the coming of the sun in the eastern horizon. The sun is the heavenly body that dispels darkness. Likewise the cock on Subrahmanya’s banner announces the approach of Knowledge which will destroy all ignorance.
When Lord Skanda and Lord Ganesha were at Kailasa with their Father and Mother, Narada brought a fruit and offered it to Lord Siva. Now, Lord Siva made an offer to His sons to give the fruit to the one who would go round the whole world and return first. At this, Lord Skanda, riding on his Peacock-Vahana, flew round the world and came back to Kailasa anxious to win the prize offered by his Father. But to his great disappointment, when he approached his Father after his round-the-globe flight, he saw the much coveted fruit in the hands of Lord Ganesha, who was calmly eating it, with a mischievous extra relish.
To add injury to insult, Lord Ganesha laughed at the grand flight of his brother. Skanda enquired of his Father and Mother how Ganesha, who was unable to move about due to his pot-belly, could go round the world as he had done and win the race from him. The parents replied that Ganesha, taking his parents (Lord Siva and Parvati) as the world, had come around them and won the prize. Ganesha explained how the whole world was nothing but their dear Father and Mother in whom everything existed,Thrown into a rage by all this, Lord Skanda threw away all his decorations and, clad only in a Kaupeena and with a stick in his hand, left Kailasa in a huff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murugan

http://www.dlshq.org/download/shanmukha.htm#_VPID_45