Dashavatara Stuti

By Shri Kesava Rao Tadipatri & Dhanya Tadipatri 

AUDIO LINK:

STOTRA SCRIPT:
ENGLISH 1
ENGLISH 2
ENGLISH 3
KANNADA
DEVANAGARI
TELUGU

Rangoli by Smt.Padmini Rao, Coimbatore

Introduction:

Approximately 500 years ago, on a farm which is now located near Sode, Karnataka, a farmer saw a white horse in his field. Thinking that the horse was trespassing, the farmer set out to follow the horse in the hopes that it would lead to its owner. This led the farmer to the ashram (abode) of Shri Vadirajaru. Shri Vadirajaru listened to the farmer’s complaints and asked him to lead the way to the farm. Upon reaching the field the farmer was shocked to see that there were gold nuggets in the ground where he thought he saw the horse. Shri Vadirajaru explained that Lord Narayana had actually come to bless the farmer in the form of a white horse, Hayagriva.

As Shri Vadirajaru and the farmer walked from the ashram to the farm Shri Vadirajaru extemporaneously composed this stuti which we commonly refer to as “DashavatAra Stuti.”  Most verses are focused on the dashavataras but some verses describe other avataras of Bhagavantha. When avatAras other than the famous ten are described here, why is this called "DashavatArastuti"?

We can think of at least two reasons. “Dasha” can mean “infinite” or “countless” and also indicates "pUrNatva," or “completeness.” For instance Madhvacharya is sometimes referred to as “dashapramati” or ”pUrNapramati" to indicate his complete and infinite knowledge (relative to normal human beings). All of Narayana’s avataras can be considered as pUrNa due to his omnipotence and omnipresence among other infinite qualities. Some of these pUrNa avatAras are extolled here, resulting in the name "DashavatArastuti".

Another reason for this name can be that even though other avatAras are mentioned, the notable ten Avataras are more famous, so it is simply easier to refer to the entire collection as  "DashavatArastuti".

As a highly-devoted saint, Shri Vadirajaru always enjoyed praising Narayana in various ways. This stuti is in the form of a horse’s gait, which is appropriate considering the context for this composition. A horse can have several types of gaits – natural gaits like a walk, trot, or gallop and artificial gaits like a running walk or a slow gait. Similarly, a singer can choose different tunes that mimic these gaits based on his or her preferences.

Dashavatara stuti is sung in the style of ashvadhATi, meaning “resembling a horse’s movement”. Each line has 22 syllables, which are split into 7,7,7, and 1 syllable partitions.

A long syllable which takes two syllabic instants (known as mAtras) is called “Guru,” and we’ll notate that pictorially with a “U” and symbolically as “Ga.”

A short syllable which takes one syllabic instant or mAtra is called “Laghu,”and we’ll notate that pictorially as “I” and symbolically as “La”.  There are 8 three-syllable units/entities called gaNas. The gaNas are “ya”, “ma”, “ta”, “ra”, “ja”, “bha”, na”, and “sa.” The arrangement of these units is as follows:

"ya" or "ya-gaNa" = La-Ga-Ga = IUU (like yamAtA)

"ma" or "ma-gaNa" = Ga-Ga-Ga = UUU (like mAtArA)

"ta" or "ta-gaNa" = Ga-Ga-La = UUI (like tArAja)

"ra" or "ra-gaNa" = Ga-La-Ga = UIU (like rAjabhA)

"ja" or "ja-gaNa" = La-Ga-La = IUI (like jabhAna)

"bha" or "bha-gaNa" = Ga-La-La = UII (like bhAnasa)

"na" or "na-gaNa" = La-La-La = III (like nasala)

"sa" or "sa-gaNa" = La-La-Ga = IIU (like salagaM)

How can we remember this? There is a formula which we can obtain by combining all the gaNas: "yamAtArAjabhAnasalagaM." This expression can be used to identify any gaNa by taking the akshara representing that gaNa and adding the two syllables that follow that akshara in this expression.

For example, ma-gaNa will be 'mAtArA,' meaning three long syllables.

If there is a four-letter group, it can be named by adding “la” or “ga” to the name of a gaNa. For example, there can be a group called “yala” (meaning “ya” gaNa followed by Laghu – IUUI) or “yaga” (meaning “ya” gaNa followed by Guru – IUUU). 

The chandas or prosody/meter for this verse contains four lines and each line has the ganas “ta” (UUI), “bha” (UII), “ya” (IUU), ja (IUI), sa (IIU), ra (UIU), and na (III), followed by ga (U). These 22 syllables are split into 7,7,7, and 1 syllable partitions in the following manner: “ta” (UUI), “bhala” (UIII), “ta” (UUI), “bhala” (UIII), “ta” (UUI), “bhala” (UIII), and “Ga” (U).

This can be pictorially represented as follows:

U  U  I –  U  I I   I --   U U I –  U I I  I   --   U U  I –  U  I I I  -- U

प्रोष्ठीश - विग्रह सु -- निष्ठीव - नोद्धत वि -- शिष्टाम्बु - चारिजल -- धे।

कोष्ठान्त - राहितवि -- चेष्टाग - मौघ पर -- मेष्ठीडि - त त्वमव --  माम्।

प्रेष्ठार्क - सूनुमनु -- चेष्ठार्थ - मात्मविद -- तीष्टो यु - गान्तसम -- ये।

स्थेष्ठात्म - शृङ्गधृत -- काष्ठाम्बु - वाहन व -- राष्टाप - दप्रभत -- नो॥ १॥

When studying the chandas that is used here, please note the following:

1. Every verse has four lines.

2. Each line has 22 akSharas (syllables).

3. Each line has 7 gaNas (3-syllable groupings), which are ta, bha, ya, ja, sa, ra, na, followed by one Guru (Ga).

4. For reading and reciting purposes, the 7 gaNas can be seen as 3 identical groups of 7 syllables (this becomes ta, bhala, ta, bhala, ta, bhala, ga).

5. This chandas is called Mattebha and the flow is AshvadhATi (“horse's gait”).

6. All of the verses are in the same chandas. 

Verse 1

प्रोष्ठीश - विग्रह सु -- निष्ठीव - नोद्धत वि -- शिष्टाम्बु - चारिजल -- धे।
कोष्ठान्त - राहितवि -- चेष्टाग - मौघ पर -- मेष्ठीडि - त त्वमव -- माम्।
प्रेष्ठार्क - सूनुमनु -- चेष्ठार्थ - मात्मविद -- तीष्टो यु - गान्तसम -- ये।
स्थेष्ठात्म - शृङ्गधृत -- काष्ठाम्बु - वाहन व -- राष्टाप - दप्रभत -- नो॥ १॥

ಪ್ರೋಷ್ಠೀಶ - ವಿಗ್ರಹ ಸು -- ನಿಷ್ಠೀವ - ನೋದ್ಧತ ವಿ -- ಶಿಷ್ಟಾಂಬು - ಚಾರಿಜಲ -- ಧೇ |
ಕೋಷ್ಠಾಂತ - ರಾಹಿತವಿ -- ಚೇಷ್ಟಾಗ - ಮೌಘ ಪರ -- ಮೆಷ್ಠೀಡಿ - ತ ತ್ವಮವ -- ಮಾಮ್ |
ಪ್ರೇಷ್ಠಾರ್ಕ - ಸೂನುಮನು -- ಚೇಷ್ಠಾರ್ಥ - ಮಾತ್ಮವಿದ -- ತೀಷ್ಟೊ ಯು - ಗಾಂತಸಮ -- ಯೇ |
ಸ್ಥೇಷ್ಠಾತ್ಮ - ಶೃಂಗ ಧೃತ -- ಕಾಷ್ಠಾಂಬು - ವಾಹನ ವ -- ರಾಷ್ಟಾಪ - ದಪ್ರಭತ -- ನೋ || 1||

prOShThIsha - vigraha su -- niShThIva - noddhata vi -- shiShTAmbu - chArijala -- dhE |
kOShThAnta - rAhitavi -- chEShTAga - maugha para -- meShThIDi - ta tvamava -- mAm |
prEShThArka - sUnumanu -- chEShThArtha - mAtmavida -- tIShTo yu - gAntasama -- yE |

sthEShThAtma - shR^iN^gadhR^ita -- kAShThAmbu - vAhana va -- rAShTApa - daprabhata -- nO || 1||

Although the word splits shown above facilitate recital, the actual padachCheda for arthAnusandhAna (word splits that will help in grasping the meaning) is as follows:

pra + uShThi + Isha + vigraha + su + niShThIvana + uddhata + vishiShTa + ambu + chAri + jaladhe

koShTha + antara + Ahita + vicheShTa + Agama + ogha + parameShThi + IDita + tvam + ava +  mAm

pra + iShTha + arka + sUnu + manu + cheShTa + artham + Atmavit + ati + iShTaH + yuga + anta + samaye

stheShTha + Atma + shR^iN^ga + dhR^ita + kAShTha + ambu + vAhana + vara + aShTApada + prabha + tano

For reference, some sandhis (joining of two sounds) in this verse are:

Guna Sandhi :

1. pra + ushhThi = proshhThi

2. sunishhThIvana + uddhata = sunishhThIvanoddhata

3. pra + ishhTa = preshhTa

SavarNadIrgha Sandhi:

1. proshhThi + Isha = proshhThIsha

2. vishishhTa + ambuchAri = vishishhTAmbuchAri

3. koshhTha + antara + Ahita = koshhThAntarAhita

4. vicheshhTa + Agama = vicheshhTAgama

5. parameshhThi + IDita = parameshhThIDita

6. preshhTa + arka = preshhTArka

7. cheshhTa + artham = cheshhTArtham

8. ati + ishhTo = atIshhTo

9. yuga + anta = yugAnta

10. stheshhTa + Atma = stheshhTAtma

11. kAshhTha + ambu = kAshhThAmbu

12. vara + ashhTApada = varAshhTApada

VR^iddhi Sandhi:

1. Agama + ogha = Agamaugha

This song begins with Narayana’s Matsya avatara, which is first among the Dashavataras. Before understanding this verse, it will be helpful to know the background story for this avatAra, which is described in detail in Bhagavata.

A demon named HayagrIvAsura (or SomakAsura as mentioned in other texts) once stole the Vedas and hid under the sea. How can the unauthored Vedas, the embodiment of pure knowledge, be stolen? To answer this, there is a vachana in the Mahabharata, “bhibhetyalpashrutAdvedo, mAmayaM prachalishyati.” This roughly translates to “the Vedas are scared that a person who has no understanding of the Vedas will misinterpret them in a terrible way and misguide people.” In this sense, SomakAsura “steals” the Vedas. Paramatma then takes MatsyavatAra, killing the demon and restoring the Vedas.

Later on, in a different time period (the end of ChakshuSha manvantara), Bhagavantha wanted to bless King Satyavrata in the form of Matsya. So, when the king was performing ablutions in the river, Narayana took the form of a small fish and appeared in the king’s palms. The king was about to put the fish back into the river when Matsya cries out, “Please don’t put me back! I will be devoured by bigger water creatures!” The kind-hearted king then puts Matsya into a small jar of water.  Matsya instantly grows to the size of the jar and says that the jar is not sufficient. The king transfers Matsya to a bigger container and Matsya grows to its size as well.

The king puts Matysa into a pond and then a river, only to have Matsya take up the size of every space that is given to Him. When the king tries to put Matsya back into ocean, Matsya says that even the ocean is not large enough for Him. The king then realizes that this is no ordinary fish and that He must be Paramatma. Then Matsya speaks out that in a week a huge deluge is going to happen and Narayana will send a ship. He tells the king that he can get into the ship along with saints, sages, and plenty of grains and food. Matsya also tells the king that he may use Vasuki to tie the boat to Matsya’s horn and Matsya will bring the king and all the others aboard the ship to safety. King Satyavrata is later known as “Vaivasvata Manu”, the ruler of the current Manvantara.

The central piece of this verse can be found at the end of the second line, “tvam ava mAm.” “Tvam” means “you”, “ava” means “protect,” and “mAm” means “me.” Simply, this is a call to Bhagavantha to seek his protection. “You” refers to Paramatma and the following expressions are given to praise Him:

1. proshhThIshavigraha

2. sunishhThIvanoddhata-vishishhTAmbuchAri-jaladhe

3. koshhThAntarAhitavicheshhTAgamaugha

4. parameshhThIDita

5. yugAnta-samaye preshhTArkasUnumanucheshhTArtham stheshhThAtma-shR^iN^ga-dhR^ita-kAshhThAmbu-vAhana

6. AtmavidatIshhTo

7. varAshhTApadaprabhatano

“ProshhTi” is a type of fish that has a spout (“ushti”), and “Isha” means “god” as well as “king”. So “ProshhTisha” can be considered as a king of the fishes. Typically we only see spouts in whales, but Paramatma is not constrained to the limitations of the fish anatomy and can take any form that He pleases. Narayana takes this form (“vigraha”) and is spouting air out (“sunishhThivana”), displacing the surrounding water (“uddhata”) or making the water overflow. 

“SunishhThivana” combined with “uddhata” becomes “sunishhTivanoddhata”. 

“SunishhTivanoddhata” can be taken as its own expression to describe Narayana as “one who causes a lot of disturbance in the water by spouting air.” The word “vishiShTa” can have a few meanings. It can mean “special”, in which case it serves to describe Narayana. A second meaning comes from the word “shista”, which means “left out”. 

“VishishTa” can mean what is remaining after the deluge that comes in pralaya, implying water. 

“VishishTa” can also describe Paramatma as the one who is left out, meaning that Narayana can end everything else, but He in fact does not have an end.  The following word “ambu” means “water” and “chAri” means “moving around”, referring to the aquatic animals in the ocean. “VishiShTa” can also be used to describe these animals as being “especially large.” 

“Jaladhi” means “ocean”, so “jaladhe” addresses one who is in the ocean. 

In this case, it is addressing Matsya. The word “jaladhe” is an example of bahuvrIhi. In Sanskrit, it is common to use a word or set of words to describe someone, similar to how we might address someone as a “chai-walla.” 

In fact the word “bahuvrIhi” is itself a bahuvrIhi because it means “a lot of grain”, and thus references a person who has a lot of grain (in Sanskrit the vigrahavAkhya or explanatory expression is “bahUn vrIhIn asya asti iti”). 

The phrase “sunishhThIvanoddhata-vishishhTAmbuchAri-jaladhe” is a BahuvrIhi samAsa (word combination): “yasya sunishhThIvanena vishishhTAH ambuchArayaH uddhatAH jaladhau santi saH,” or “By whose spouting force causes the huge water animals and surrounding waters to become agitated in the ocean, such a Lord.” 

To summarize, in this first line the phrase “proshhThIshavigraha” describes Narayana as “king of the fishes, taking the form of a fish with a spout,” 

and the second phrase “sunishhThIvanoddhata-vishishhTAmbuchAri-jaladhe” means “One who caused great agitation to the aquatic animals and their surrounding waters by spouting air with tremendous force.”

“KoshhThAntarAhita” can be split into “koshhTha” meaning “stomach”, “antara” meaning “inside”, and “ahita” meaning “placed”. 

“VicheshhTA” can be split into “vi” and “cheshhTa”. “CheshhTa” means “movements” so “vicheshhTA” means “without movements”. So, what has been placed in the stomach without movements? The answer is “Agamaugha,” or the cluster (“ogha”) of Vedas (“Agama”). 

The full word “KoshhThAntarAhitavicheshhTAgamaugha” is a bahuvrIhi for Narayana, describing one who has placed the Vedas in his stomach without any movements. This is meant to be a figurative expression for keeping the Vedas safe (free from misinterpretations), similar to how a mother keeps an infant in her stomach and protects it from the outside world. 

“ParameshhThIDita” is yet another bahuvrIhi for Narayana as one who is worshipped (“IDita”) by “parameshhThI,” or Brahma. As mentioned earlier, “tvam ava mAm” is a call to Bhagavantha to protect us.

“PreshhTha” means “very dear,” and refers to those who are dear to Bhagavantha and those who find Bhagavantha to be dear to them. Who is dear to Bhagavantha? “ArkasUnu,” the son (“sUnu”) of Surya deva (“Arka”) and “manu,” or the manus such as Vaivashvata, who is the current presiding manu of this manvantara.  “Artham” means “for the sake of” and “CheshhTa” refers to “activities.” 

Combined, this means “for enabling the continuing activities of Vaivasvata manu, who is very dear to Narayana.” “Atmavit” describes atmagnanis, or those who know (“vit”) about Paramatma (“Atma”). 

Narayana is described as “AtmavidatIshhTo” because he is very dear (“atI” “IshhTa”) to the atmagnanis. The following word “yugAntasamaye” means the time (“samaye”) at the end (“anta”) of the yuga, and leads into the conclusion of the verse.

“StheshhTha” translates to “one who is unperturbed”, and serves as another descriptor for Narayana. “AtmashR^iN^ga” means the horn (“shR^iN^ga”) that belongs to Narayana himself (“Atma”). “DhRita” describes Narayana as “one who is supporting.” 

“KAshhThAmbuvAhana” means a carrier (“vAhana”) in the water (“Ambu”) made of wood (“kAshhTha”), which combined represents a wooden ship. 

“VarAshhTapadaprabhatano” is another description of Narayana as having a body (“tano”) with the effulgence (“prabha”) of the best (“vara”) gold (“AshhTapada”). 

In summary, Vadirajaru sings that at the end of the yuga, Matsya uses His horn to support the wooden ship which is keeping everyone afloat during the deluge. This actually sounds similar to the Christian story of Noah’s Ark, though the explanation given in the Vedas far precedes their story.

Verse 2

खण्डीभ – वद्बहुळ – डिण्डीर - जृम्भण सु - चण्डीकृ - तोदधिम - हा ।
काण्डाति - चित्रगति - शौण्डाद्य - हैमरद – भाण्डाप्र - मेय चरि - त ।
चण्डाश्व - कण्ठमद - शुण्डाल - दुर्हृदय – गण्डाभि - खण्डकर - दोः।
चण्डाम - रेश हय – तुण्डाकृ - ते दृशम – खण्डाम - लं प्रदिश - मे ॥ २॥

ಖಂಡೀಭ - ವದ್ಬಹುಳ -- ಡಿಂಡೀರ - ಜೃಂಭಣ ಸು -- ಚಂಡೀಕೃ - ತೋದಧಿಮ -- ಹಾ |
ಕಾಂಡಾತಿ - ಚಿತ್ರಗತಿ -- ಶೌಂಡಾದ್ಯ - ಹೈಮರದ -- ಭಾಂಡಾಪ್ರ - ಮೇಯಚರಿ -- ತ |
ಚಂಡಾಶ್ವ - ಕಂಠಮದ -- ಶುಂಡಾಲ - ದುರ್ಹೃದಯ -- ಗಂಡಾಭಿ - ಖಂಡಕರ -- ದೊ\-
ಶ್ಚಂಡಾಮ - ರೇಶಹಯ -- ತುಂಡಾಕೃ - ತೆ ದೃಶಮ -- ಖಂಡಾಮ - ಲಂ ಪ್ರದಿಶ -- ಮೇ || 2||

khaNDIbha - vadbahuLa -- DiNDIra - jR^imbhaNa su -- chaNDIkR^i - todadhima -- hA  |

kANDAti - chitragati -- shauNDAdya - haimarada -- bhANDApra - meyachari -- ta  |

chaNDAshva - kaNThamada -- shuNDAla - durhR^idaya -- gaNDAbhi - khaNDakara --  do\-

shcaNDAma - resha haya -- tuNDAkR^i - te dR^ishama -- khaNDAma - laM pradisha -- me || 2||

Rangoli by Smt.Padmini Rao, Coimbatore

 The second verse describes Paramatma’s avatAra of Hayagriva, who takes the form of a horse to punish the demon HayagrivAsura.

The anvaya, or sentence structure, is as follows:

 khaNDIbhavad-bahuLa-DiNDIra-jR^imbhaNa-suchaNDIkR^ita-udadhi-mahAkANDa-ati-chitra-gati-shauNDa ! Adya !  haimarada bhANDa ! aprameya charita ! chaNDa-ashvakaNTha-mada-shuNDAla-durhR^idaya-gaNDa-abhikhaNDa-karadoH ! chaNDa ! amaresha ! haya-tuNDAkR^ite ! me akhaNDa-amalaM dR^isham pradisha.

 This structure shows how the sentences of the verse are formed, where the exclamation marks at the end of each sentence emphasize how Vadirajaru addresses Narayana in various ways throughout the stuti.

 The central verb of this verse comes at the end of the verse, “dR^ishamakhaNDAmalaM pradisha me,” which can be understood as “akhANDa amalam dR^isham me pradisha.”

“khaNDa” means “piece” so “akhANDa” means “the opposite of a piece,” or “something which is whole.” “akhANDa” also means “that which is unbreakable or irrefutable”. “malam” means “impurity” so “amalam” means “without impurity.”

“dRisham” means “knowledge” and “me” means “to me.” “disha” means “showing” so “pradisha” means “grant.” This is a plea to Narayana to grant us complete knowledge which is pure and can never be broken.

 The descriptors for Bhagavantha in this verse are as follows:

khaNDIbhavadbahuLaDiNDIrajR^imbhaNasuchaNDIkR^itodadhimahA kANDAti chitragati shauNDa (can also be separated as

“khaNDIbhavadbahuLaDiNDIrajR^imbhaNasuchaNDIkR^itodadhimahA kANDAti chitragati” and “shauNDa”)

haimarada bhANDaaprameya charita

chaNDAshvakaNThamada shuNDAla durhR^idaya gaNDAbhikhaNDakaradoH

chaNDaamaresha hayatuNDAkR^ite

 “khaNDa” means “piece” and “khaNDIbhavad” means “getting broken.” This word combined with “bahuLa” meaning “enormous amount of” refers to the froth formed from the many waves which are crashing against each other, crashing against the rocks, or crashing against the shore. The collision of these waves generates froth or foam (“DiNDIra”) and the waves are swelling and rising (“jRimbhaNa”) in the ocean (“udadhi”). This makes the ocean look very scary (suchaNDikR^itaH).

The ocean is further described as having great (“mahA”) depth (“kANDa”).  In this ocean Hayagriva has a gait (“gati”) which is very (“ati”) astonishing (“chitra”). All of this can be put together to form a bahuvrIhi samAsa which addresses Narayana.

 In Sanskrit, the case ending of words (vibhakti pratyeya) is often dropped but for the sake of explanation we can show these endings in the the vigrahavAkhya:

 DiNDIrasya jR^imbhaNena suchaNDikR^itaH (which becomes DiNDIrajR^imbhaNasuchaNDikR^itaH in the stuti)

 The first part (“DiNDIrasya jR^imbhaNa”) is shaShTItatpuruSha karmadhAraya samAsa, or the genitive/possessive case. This is used when a noun modifies another noun, as in the jR^imbhaNa of the DiNDIra. The whole line “DiNDIrasya jR^imbhaNena suchaNDikR^itaH” is tR^itIya tatpuruSha karmadhAraya samAsa, or instrumental case. This case is used for a noun that provides the means for a subject to complete an action, as in the DiNDIrasya jR^imbhaNa which makes the ocean suchaNDikR^itaH.

 The following words “udadhi mahAkANDa” can be seen as “udadheH mahAkANDa,” which will be ShaShTI tatpuruSha karmadhAraya samAsa (the mahAkANDa of the udadhi).

 The next portion of this descriptor for Narayana is “mahAkANDeShu chitragataiH” which becomes mahAkANDachitragatiH.  This is saptamI tatpuruSha karmadhAraya samAsa, or locative case. This is used to indicate a location, as in the chitragataiH in the mahAkANDa.

 Finally, we can say “chitragatiH asya asti iti” or “chitragatiH yasya saH” to create a bahuvrIhi samAsa, one who has “chitragatiH”

 Putting these pieces together we can create the complete vigrahavAkhya as below:

 khaNDIbhavad-bahuLa-DiNDIrasya jR^imbhaNena suchaNDikR^itasya udadheH mahAkANDeShu chitragatiH yasya saH

 This condenses to become “khaNDIbhavadbahuLaDiNDIrajR^imbhaNasuchaNDIkR^itodadhimahA kANDAtichitragati,” meaning “one who moves around astonishingly in the great depths of the ocean, which appears scary due to the enormous amount of froth generated from the swelling waves that break as they crash against each other, against rocks, or against the shore.”

The following word “shauNDa” means “expert” and can either be a separate descriptor for Narayana or can be combined with the previous expression to signify one who is an expert at moving around in the ocean. When combined with the prior expression, the full expression will no longer be a bahuvrIhi. In that case it will become saptamI tatpuruSha karmadhAraya samAsa, and instead of "chitragatiH yasya saH" it will become "chitragatau shauNDa." (a “shauNDa” in “chitragati”)

The vigrahavAkhya will then be as follows:

 khaNDIbhavad-bahuLa-DiNDIrasya jR^imbhaNena suchaNDikR^itasya udadheH mahAkANDeShu chitragatau shauNDa

 “Adya” means “beginning,” implying that Narayana is the beginning of everything and does not actually have a beginning Himself. The next expression for Paramatma is the bahuvrIhi “haimarada bhANDa.” “Hema” means “gold” so “haima” defines something which is made of gold. “haimarada” means “one who has golden teeth” and “bhANDa” means “structure or arrangement.” These two words combined describes Narayana as one who has well-arranged golden teeth.

How can Narayana, who is not made of matter, have golden teeth, and why would we use a description like this?

This is because we can only conceive matter, so it is easier for Vadirajaru to use a term like “gold” to help describe Narayana. Even though gold shines in a materialistic way, Paramatma has teeth that shine in a non-materialistic (aprAK^ita) way. When we mention “teeth” it does not mean that Paramatma has literal teeth, and certainly no one gave him that dental formation. Instead Paramatma creates this display as His Leela, as if He was putting on a play. This is signified by the very next expression - “aprameya.”

 “aprameya” means “immeasurable, unlimited, or beyond comprehension” and “charita” means “conduct.” Together this forms a bahuvrIhi for Paramatma, describing him as one whose conduct is inconceivable.

 “chaNDa” means “scary,” “ashva” means “horse,” and “kaNTha” means “neck,” though this implied the head. “Ashva kaNTha” describes Hayagriva, but combined with “chaNDA” this describes the scary form of Hayagriva, which is Hayagrivasura. Hayagrivasura is further described as an elephant (“shuNDAla”) that is intoxicated or arrogrant (“mada”). “durHRidaya” means “bad heart, or a heart for fighting.”

“gaNDa”(often referred to as “gaNDasthala”) refers to a specific area or pressure point on an elephant between the back of its head and its neck which is soft and is only covered by a thin layer of skin. Mahouts use the ankush or goad on the scruff of an elephant’s neck to control the elephant. Lions that hunt elephants will know to attack this weak spot of the elephant in order to defeat it. Similar to how a lion attacks the gaNDasthala of an elephant, Narayana breaks (“khaNDakara”) the heart of Hayagrivasura with his hands (“doH”).

The complete line “chaNDAshvakaNThamada shuNDAla durhR^idaya gaNDAbhikhaNDakaradoH” is a bahuvrIhi for Paramatma, signifying one who strategically breaks the bad heart of Hayagrivasura, whose name resembles Hayagriva but is actually more like a scary intoxicated elephant.

 The next word  “chaNDA” is an adjective for Narayana as One who strikes fear in his enemies. “amaresha” is the combination of “amara,” meaning “gods,” and “Isha,” meaning lord of the gods. This is an adjective for Bhagavantha as the God of all Gods. “haya” means “horse,” “tuNDA” means “mouth,” and “AkRiti” means “having Akara, or shape.”

The complete word “hayatuNDAKRiti” then becomes “one who has the mouth (which can be extended to mean “head”) of a horse,” or Hayagriva. hayatuNDAKRite is an addressing form for hayatuNDAKRiti (like "Hari" becomes "Hare").

The verse ends with “dR^ishamakhaNDAmalaM pradisha me,” which as explained earlier is a plea to Bhagavanta to grant us knowledge which is pure, whole, and unbreakable.

Verse 3

कूर्माकृ - ते त्ववतु -- नर्मात्म - पृष्ठधृत -- भर्मात्म - -मन्दरगि -- रे।

धर्माव - लम्बन सु -- धर्मास - दां कलित -- शर्मा सु - धावितर -- णात्‌ ।

दुर्मान - राहुमुख -- दुर्मायि - दानवसु -- मर्माभि - भेदन प -- टो ।

धर्मार्क - कान्तिवर -- वर्मा भ - वान् भुवन -- निर्माण - धूतविकृ -- तिः॥ ३॥

ಕೂರ್ಮಾಕೃ - ತೆ ತ್ವವತು -- ನರ್ಮಾತ್ಮ - ಪೃಷ್ಠ ಧೃತ -- ಭರ್ಮಾತ್ಮ - -ಮಂದರಗಿ -- ರೇ |

ಧರ್ಮಾವ - ಲಂಬನ ಸು -- ಧರ್ಮಾಸ - ದಾಂ ಕಲಿತ -- ಶರ್ಮಾ ಸು - ಧಾವಿತರ -- ಣಾತ್ |

ದುರ್ಮಾನ - ರಾಹುಮುಖ -- ದುರ್ಮಾಯಿ - ದಾನವಸು -- ಮರ್ಮಾಭಿ - ಭೇದನ ಪ -- ಟೋ |

ಘರ್ಮಾರ್ಕ - ಕಾಂತಿವರ -- ವರ್ಮಾ ಭ - ವಾನ್ ಭುವನ -- ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ - ಧೂತವಿಕೃ -- ತಿಃ || 3||

kUrmAkR^i - te tvavatu -- narmAtma - pR^iShThadhR^ita -- bharmAtma - -mandaragi -- re |

dharmAva - lambana su -- dharmAsa - dAM kalita -- sharmA su - dhAvitara -- NAt.h |

durmAna - rAhumukha -- durmAyi - dAnavasu -- marmAbhi - bhedana pa -- To |

gharmArka - kAntivara -- varmA bha - vAn bhuvana -- nirmANa - dhUtavikR^i -- tiH || 3||

The third verse of this stuti is about Narayana’s avatara Kurma, who appears during the samudra mathana, or churning of the ocean.

The devatas seek to obtain amrita, a nectar which gives strength and vitality, by churning  Ksheerasagara using the mountain Mandara. Vishnu tells the devatas to enlist the help of the asuras by telling them that they will also get the amrita, even though Vishnu will ensure that only the devatas will actually receive the amrita. 

While this may seem deceptive Vishnu knows that giving the asuras amrita will cause a great deal more harm than good to everyone else, so it is just to only give amrita to those who have good intentions rather than bad tendencies. 

The ocean is churned with Mandara parvata using Vasuki the snake as a rope, with the devatas pulling on one end and the asuras pulling on the other end. As they begin churning, Mandara parvata starts to slip and sink. The devatas pray to Narayana to help them, so Narayana takes the form of a turtle, Kurma, and supports the parvata from underneath as the devatas and asuras continue the churning process.

The main verb of this verse is “avatu,” which comes in the very beginning of the verse. The words “tu” and “avatu” combine to make “tvavatu.” “avatu” means “protect” and in this context “tu” means “only” (“evArthe tukAraH” - “tu” is used to mean “eva,” or “only,” since He is the only one who is capable of protecting others due to being the sole independent entity. Any others who provide protection can only do so using the power given by Paramatma). This verb is accompanied by the word “bhavAn” meaning “you,” which appears in the middle of the last line in this verse. Combined, this phrase calls out to Bhagavantha and states, “You only protect [us].”

The descriptors for Paramatma in this verse are as follows:

1. kUrmAkR^ite
2. narmAtma pR^ishhThadhR^ita bharmAtma mandara gire
3. dharmAvalambana sudharmAsadAM kalitasharmA sudhAvitaraNAt
4. durmAna rAhumukha durmAyi dAnavasumarmAbhibhedana paTo
5. gharmArka kAnti vara varmA
6. bhuvana nirmANa dhUta vikR^itiH

“kUrmAkR^ite” is the addressing form of “kUrmAkR^iti,” which is a bahuvrihi meaning one who has the form (“AkR^iti”) of a turtle (“kUrmA”). The next phrase “narmAtma pR^ishhThadhR^ita bharmAtma mandara gire” is also a bahuvrihi. “narma” means effortlessly, “Atma” means “on one’s own,” and “pR^ishhTha” means “back,” referring to Kurma’s back, which is used to hold up the parvata. “dhR^ita” means “supporting” and “bharmAtma” means “made of gold (‘Atma’),” which describes the mountain Mandara giri.

Mandara parvata is not actually made of gold but this is used as a positive adjective to describe the mountain’s beauty. Combined this means “One who is effortlessly supporting the Mandara parvata that is figuratively made of gold on His own back.”

The next adjective is “dharmAvalambana sudharmAsadAM kalitasharmA sudhAvitaraNAt,” and the anvaya for understanding this line is “dharmAvalambana sudharmAsadAM sudhAvitaraNAt  kalitasharmA.” “dharmAvalambana” means “supporting dharma.” This is related to the saying “dharmO rakshati rakShitaH,” meaning that if we follow the path of dharma (righteousness) then dharma will protect us. “sudharmA” is the name of the sabhA (assembly) of devatas and “AsadAM” means “attendees.” 

This serves as a description for the devatas as attendees of the assembly known as sudharmA (which is appropriately named since it supports dharma). “vitaraNAt” means “by distributing,” and this refers to the “sudhA,” or “amrita.” “kalita” means “to make happen,” specifically referring to “sharmA,” or “bliss.”  Together, this describes Paramatma as one who is needed in both obtaining amrita and in bringing bliss to the attendees of the sudharmA sabhA, or the devatas, who live by the path of dharma.

Bhagavantha is further described with the adjective “durmAna rAhumukha durmAyi dAnavasumarmAbhibhedana paTo.” “durmAna” means those who have a bad (“dur”) arrogance (“mAna”), or those who have evil arrogance and stubbornness in committing bad actions. This applies to “rAhumukha,” or the asura rAhu et. al, thus including all asuras. Rahu is one asura who does tapas and asks for a boon to receive amrita in his mouth. When the amrita is obtained from the samudra mathana, Narayana in the form of Mohini asks the devatas to sit on one side and the asuras to sit on the opposite side, offering to distribute the amrita first to the devatas and then to the asuras. 

Rahu then sits on the side of the devatas, hoping he can deceive everyone by pretending to be a devata. Knowing his plan, Mohini lets the amrita fall into his mouth (granting his boon) but then immediately uses the chakra to cut off Rahu’s throat, so the amrita does not even pass his throat. 

These asuras are also described as “durmAyi,” or doing bad things by cheating or using magic (“maya”). “dAnava” is another synonym for daityas. “sumarma” means “proper spot.” The marma sthaana is a general term for a weak spot, and the ganda sthala (described in the previous verse) is one example of a marma sthaana. In this case the marma staana of rAhu is his neck. “abhibhedana” means to cut off or separate (“bhedana”) perfectly (“abhi”). “paTo” is the addressing form of “paTu,” meaning “expert.” Combined this describes Mohini as an expert in perfectly severing Rahu’s neck and attacking the weak spots of the deceitful and evil minded daityas.

“gharmArka kAnti vara varmA” is a bahuvrihi for Kurma. “gharma” means “emitting scorching heat” and “arka” is another name for Surya. “kAnti” means “brightness,” “vara” means “supreme,” and “varmA” means “armor” or “shell.” As a bahuvrihi, this translates to one who has a supreme shell that is as bright as the scorching sun. Kurma does not have a physical shell since he is aprAkr^ita, but we take this description figuratively when describing this avatara of Paramatma. The next word “bhavAn” means “you” and is combined with “tu avatu” as mentioned earlier to declare that only Narayana protects us.

“bhuvana nirmANa dhUta vikR^itiH” is another bahuvrihi for Narayana and concludes the verse. “bhuvana” means “universe” and “nirmANa” means “building.” “dhUta” means “washed away” and “vikR^itiH” means “mutations.” This bahuvrihi roughly translates to “one who creates the universe and is devoid of mutations.” 

Narayana is the one who creates the universe and influences change in the world, and yet He himself will not undergo any mutations or variations. While the rest of the world continues to change around us, we can take confidence in the fact that Paramatma remains as the one true constant.

Verse 4

धन्वन्त - रेऽङ्गरुचि -- धन्वन्त - रेऽरितरु -- धन्वन्स्त - रीभवसु -- धा-

भान्वन्त - रावसथ -- मन्वन्त - राधिकृत -- तन्वन्त - रौषधनि -- धे।

दन्वन्त - रङ्गशुगु -- दन्वन्त - माजिषु वि -- तन्वन्म - माब्धितन -- या ।

सून्वन्त - कात्महृद -- तन्वन्त - रावयव -- तन्वन्त - रार्तिजल -- धौ ॥ ४॥

ಧನ್ವಂತ - ರೇಂಗರುಚಿ -- ಧನ್ವಂತ - ರೇ~ರಿತರು -- ಧನ್ವನ್‌ಸ್ತ - ರೀಭವಸು -- ಧಾ\-

ಭಾನ್ವನ್ತ - ರಾವಸಥ -- ಮನ್ವಂತ - ರಾಧಿಕೃತ -- ತನ್ವಂತ - ರೌಷಧನಿ -- ಧೇ |

ದನ್ವಂತ - ರಂಗಶುಗು -- ದನ್ವಂತ - ಮಾಜಿಷು ವಿ -- ತನ್ವನ್ ಮ - ಮಾಬ್ಧಿತನ -- ಯಾ |

ಸೂನ್ವಂತ - ಕಾತ್ಮಹೃದ -- ತನ್ವಂತ - ರಾವಯವ -- ತನ್ವಂತ - ರಾರ್ತಿಜಲ -- ಧೌ || 4||


dhanvanta - re.aN^garuci -- dhanvanta - re.aritaru -- dhanvansta - rIbhavasu -- dhA\-
bhAnvanta - rAvasatha -- manvanta - rAdhikR^ita -- tanvanta - raushhadhani -- dhe |
danvanta - raN^gashugu -- danvanta - mAjishhu vi -- tanvanma - mAbdhitana -- yA |
sUnvanta - kAtmahR^ida -- tanvanta - rAvayava -- tanvanta - rArtijala -- dhau || 4||

By Smt.Vani Rao,Baton Rouge,LA

The fourth verse of the Dashavatara stuti praises the avatara of Dhanvantari. During samudra mathana Narayana takes the form of Dhanvantari and emerges from the ocean holding an urn full of amrita. Seeing the amrita, the asuras become greedy and snatch the amrita away from Dhanvantari, who expects this and allows the asuras to steal the amrita. Bhagavantha then takes the form of Mohini, whose beauty stuns both asuras and devatas. Mohini then easily retrieves the amrita back from the asuras and distributes it amongst the devatas.

The main verb in this verse comes from combining “tarIbhava” from the end of the first line, “mama” from the end of the third line, and “Artijaladhau” from the end of the verse. The anvaya is “Artijaladhau mama tarIbhava.” “bhava” means “become” and “mama” means “my.” 

This is a plea to Narayana to become our “tarI,” or somehing used to cross (“tarana”). What do we need to cross? 

We need to cross the “ArtIjaladhi,” or the ocean (“jaladhi”) of sadness or sorrow (“Arti”), which symbolizes the cyclic chain of life and death. 

“Arti jaladhi” becomes “Arti jaladhau,” and this is saptamI vibhakti, or locative case. Together this translates to “You become the means of crossing the ocean of sorrow.” Essentially, we are asking Paramatma to become the boat which allows us to cross the ocean of samsAra (life).

The descriptors for Bhagavantha in this verse are as follows:

1. dhanvantare
2. aN^garuchi dhanvantare
3. aritaru dhanvan
4. sudhAbhAnvantarAvasatha
5. manvantarAdhikR^ita tanvantara
6. aushhadhanidhe
7. danvantaraN^gashugudanvantamAjishhu vitanvan
8. abhdi tanayA sUnvantakAtmahR^idatanvantarAvayava tanvantara

“Dhanvantare” is a way of saying “Oh Dhanvantari!” The words “aN^garuchi dhanvantare” describe Dhanvantari and the vigraha vAkhya for this is “aNgaruchou dhanvantari sadrushah yaH saH.” “aNga” means “body” and this second “dhanvantari” actually refers to Surya instead of Narayana’s Dhanvantari rupa.  

This is because “dhanu” means “rainbow” (like the Hindi word for rainbow, “Indra dhanush”), so “Dhanvantari” becomes “one that makes the rainbow,” or Surya Deva. “aNgaruchou dhanvantari” thus becomes an adjective describing Dhanvantari as someone whose body shines like the sun. Though Dhanvantari does not have a material body which can shine like the sun, this description simply helps us create an image in our minds when we think of Dhanvantari rupa.

The first line completes with “aritaru dhanvanstarIbhava sudhA.” 

This is broken down into “aritaru” + “dhanvan” + “tarIbhava” + “sudhA.” 

The combination of “dhanvan” and “tarIbhavasudhA” to form “dhanvanstarIbhavasudhA” is sakArAgama sandhi. “ari” means “enemies” and “taru” means “tree.” 

“dhanvan” is a desert land, or any land which prevents the growth of trees. The adjective “aritaru dhanvan” describes Narayana as one who prevents the growth of enemies, just like a desert which prevents the growth of trees. 

“tarIbhava” is part of the verb described earlier asking Paramatma to become the boat which keeps us afloat as we advance through life.

The word “sudhA” at the end of the first line combines with the beginning of the second line to form the karmadhAraya samAsa “sudhAbhAnvantarAvasatha.” “sudhA” means “amrita” as well as “pleasant” and “bhAnu” means “sun.” 

This is a description for Chandra, who is like a pleasant sun (pleasant due to the fact that unlike sunlight we are not blinded by the moonlight). 

“antarA” means “inside” and “avasatha” means “present or staying.” This describes Dhanvantari, who is the form of Narayana present inside Chandra.

“manvantara” is a time period during which a particular manu rules. For example, the first manvantara is Swayambhu manvantara, when Swayambhu Manu ruled. Currently we are in Vaivashvata manvantara. “adhikR^ita” means “ruler,” and the ruler of all manvantaras is Paramatma. “tanvantara” means “in a different (antara) form (tanu).”

Narayana takes different forms in each manvantara, so this phrase explains that Narayana takes other forms aside from Dhanvantari. “aushhadhanidhe” is another karmadhAraya samAsa for Bhagavantha. 

“aushhadha” means “medicine” and “nidhi” means “reservoir.” 

This implies that every medicine gets its effect from Narayana. This particularly applies to Dhanvantari because Dhanvantari rupa is present in Chandra and Chandra is also known as being the King of Herbs. It is believed that the moonlight enhances the healing qualities of herbs, and Dhanvantari is giving this healing power to the herbs through Chandra.

“Danu” is the mother of dAnavas, and the name “dAnavas” is given to indicate that they are born to Danu. 

“antaraN^ga” means “heart,” which is inside (“antara”) the body (“aN^ga”). “shugudanvantam” can be split into “shuk” and “udanvantam.” “shuk” (also “shOkA”) means “sad” and “udanvanta” means “ocean.” “udanvantam” is in dvitiya vibhakti, or the accusative case, and means “to the ocean.” 

“Ajishhu” means “battlefield” and “vitanvan” means “making it happen.” What does Narayana make happen in the battlefield? 

Narayana causes an ocean of sorrow to Danu’s heart by killing the danavas. This is not because He wishes to cause sorrow. 

Killing the danavas allows Narayana to save many others from an even greater sadness caused by these danavas. Narayana does this for the sake of the greater good, for the welfare of the universe.

The words “mama” meaning “my” and “abdhi” meaning “ocean” combine to form “mamAbdhi,” and this way of combining two of the same vowel to form a longer vowel is known as savarnadhirga sandhi. 

“abdhi” is part of the final adjective in this verse, “abhdi tanayA sUnvantakAtmahR^idatanvantarAvayava tanvantarA.” “mama” and “ Artijaladhau” combine with  “tarIbhava” from the first line to form the main verb as described earlier. “abdhi tanayA” is the daughter (“tanayA”) of the ocean (abdhi), which is a description for Lakshmi. Lakshmi’s son (“sunu”) is KAma, also known as Manmatha, who is killed (“antaka”) by Rudra. 

As a prank Manmatha tries to distract Shiva by shooting arrows (akin to Cupid’s arrows) at him while he is doing tapas. Shiva instantly opens his third eye and burns Manmatha. So “abhdi tanayA sunu antaka” describes Rudra. 

“Atma” means “mind” in this context and “hR^id” means “stole.” 

“tanu” means “thin and flat” so “atanu” is the opposite of this – full, strong, and beautiful. “antarAvayava” refers to organs, which can be thought of as being inside (“antarA”) the body and its limbs (“avayava”). This refers to the beautiful body parts that are not visible from the outside. 

The person who is described as having wholesome, strong hidden body parts is Mohini, who is in a different form (“tanvantara,” or “tanu” + “antara”) of Dhanvantari Rupa Paramatma. This line explains that even Rudra, the one who instantly burnt Manmatha to a crisp, had his mind stolen by the strong and beautiful Mohini.

Verse 5

या क्षीर - वार्धिमथ -- नाक्षीण - दर्पदिति -- जाक्षोभि - तामरग -- णा-

पेक्षाप्त - येऽजनि व -- लक्षांषु - बिम्बजिद -- तीक्ष्णाल - कावृतमु -- खी ।

सूक्ष्माव - लग्नवस -- नाक्षेप - कृत्कुच क -- टाक्षाक्ष - मीकृतम -- नो-

दीक्षासु - राहृतसु -- धाक्षाणि - नोऽवतुसु -- रूक्षेक्ष - णाद्धरित -- नुः ॥ ५॥

ಯಾ ಕ್ಷೀರ - ವಾರ್ಧಿಮಥ -- ನಾಕ್ಷೀಣ - ದರ್ಪದಿತಿ -- ಜಾಕ್ಷೋಭಿ - ತಾಮರಾಗ -- ಣಾ\-
ಪೇಕ್ಷಾಪ್ತ - ಯೇ~ಜನಿ ವ -- ಲಕ್ಷಾಂಶು - ಬಿಂಬಜಿದ -- ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣಾಲ - ಕಾವೃತ ಮು -- ಖೀ |
ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮಾವ - ಲಗ್ನವಸ -- ನಾಕ್ಷೇಪ - ಕೃತ್ಕುಚ ಕ -- ಟಾಕ್ಷಾಕ್ಷ - ಮೀಕೃತ ಮ -- ನೋ\-
ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸು - ರಾಹೃತ ಸು -- ಧಾಕ್ಷಾಣಿ - ನೋ~ವತುಸು -- ರೂಕ್ಷೇಕ್ಷ - ಣಾದ್ಧರಿತ -- ನುಃ || 5||

yA xIra - vArdhimatha -- nAxINa - darpaditi -- jAxobhi - tAmaraga -- NA\-
pexApta - ye.ajani va -- laxAMshhu - bimbajida -- tIxNAla - kAvR^itamu -- khI |
sUxmAva - lagnavasa -- nAxepa - kR^itkucha ka -- TAxAxa - mIkR^itama -- no\-
dIxAsu - rAhR^itasu -- dhAxANi - no.avatusu -- rUxexa - NAddharita -- nuH || 5||

Art by Smt.Vani Rao,Baton Rouge,LA

This verse continues to describe Paramatma’s Mohini avatara. The central verb phrase appears at the end of the verse, “axANi naH avatu surUxexaNaddharitanuH.” 

The anvaya for this phrase is “harithanuH surUxexnat no axAni avatu.” “harithanuH” refers to Hari in strIrUpa and “surUxexana” means “seeing (‘ixaNa’) in a very (‘su’) evil way(‘rUxa’).” 

“axANi” means “sensory organs.” “axANi” combined with “naH (‘no’),” meaning “our,” becomes “naH axANi.” “avatu” means “protect.” 

This is a prayer to Mohini Rupa Paramatma to protect our sensory organs from seeing anything with an evil mindset.

This verse contains the following descriptors for Narayana:

1. yA xIravArdhimathanAxINadarpaditijAxobhitAmaragaNA apexAptaye.ajani
2. valaxAMshhubimbajidatIxNAlakAvR^itamukhI
3. sUxmAvalagnavasanAxepakR^itkucha kaTAxAxamIkR^itamano dIxAsurAhR^itasudhA or sUxmAvalagnavasana and AxepakR^it kucha kaTAxAxamIkR^itamano dIxAsurAhR^itasudhA

The first description for Paramatma in this verse is “yA xIravArdhimathanAxINadarpaditijAxobhitAmaragaNA apexAptaye.ajani.”

The vigraha vakhya for this phrase is “xIrasya vArdheH mathanena AxINa-darpaiH ditijaiH AxobhitaanAm amaragaNAnAm apexAyAH Aptaye ajani.” “yA” means “one who is.” In Sanskrit long vowel endings are used to indicate female gender, so this “yA” refers to Mohini. “xIra” means “milk” and “vArdhI” translates to a large body (“dhI”) of water (“vAr”). “mathanA” is the act of churning, “axINa” means “not diminishing,” and “darpa” means arrogance. “axINadarpa” can be taken as a bahuvrihi for the asuras as  “one whose arrogance is not diminishing despite the churning (‘mathana’) of the milk ocean (‘xIrasagara’).” 

The anvaya “yeShAM darpaM axINaM te axINAdarpAH” means “those, whose arrogance is undiminished,” and “taiH” means “by them.” “axINAdarpAH” and “taiH” becomes “axINAdarpaiH.” When it becomes part of the samAsa, its vibhakti ending is dropped and becomes “axINAdarpa.” “ditija” refers to daityas, or those who are born to Kashyapa’s wife Diti. 

The word “ditija” implicitly includes people who follow and support daityas as well. “Axobhita” means “very tormented” and “amaragaNA” refers to devatas. “apexA” means “desire,” and in this case it refers to the devatas’ desire to have the nectar for themselves and not for the daityas. While this may seem wrong to deny the daityas of amrita it is actually justified because the daityas broke the promise to share the amrita first by stealing it from Dhanvantari and also daityas use that special power to commit atrocities. 

Moreover, the daityas torment good people, so it is not considered wrong to deny them the chance to become stronger and bring more sorrow to more good people. “Aptaye” means “to fulfill” and “ajani” pairs with “yA” to mean “took avatara,” referring to Mohini. All of this combined describes Paramatma as the one who took the avatara of Mohini to fulfill the desires of devatas, who are troubled by the arrogant daityas whose arrogance was not diminishing despite the strenuous churning of the xIrasagara.

“valaxAMshubimbajidatIxNAlakAvR^itamukhI” is a bahuvrihi for Bhagavantha which contains two bahuvrihis “valaxAMshu” and “AlakAvR^itamukhI.” The vigraha vakhya for “valaxAMshu” is “valaxAH amshavaH yasya sah.” “valaxa” means “pleasant to the eyes” and “aMshu” means “rays.” The one whose rays are pleasant to the eyes is Chandra, who has a circular form (“bimba”). “jid” means “conquering.” “tIxNA” is used to describe something which is dazzling to the point of being unable to look at it, so “atIxNA” describes that which is not unpleasant or not so fierce. “AlakAvR^itamukhI” is a bahuvrihi for Mohini, meaning one who has a face (“mukhI”) which is covered (“AvR^ita”) by bangs or somewhat short curly locks of hair (“alakA”). 

The bahuvrihi “valaxAMshubimbajidatIxNAlakAvR^itamukhI” means “one whose face is covered with curly locks of hair and whose pleasant appearance conquers the circular form of Chandra, whose rays are pleasant to the eyes .” This basically describes Mohini as having an appearance which is more pleasant than the moon.

“sUxmAvalagnavasanAxepakR^itkucha kaTAxAxamIkR^itamano dIxAsurAhR^itasudhA” can either be taken as one bahuvrihi or can be split into “sUxmAvalagnavasana” and “AxepakR^it kucha kaTAxAxamIkR^itamano dIxAsurAhR^itasudhA.” “sUxmA” means “pleasant, tender, or beautiful.” “lagna” means “fitting” and “avalagna” means “perfectly fitting.” “ava” is used to enhance other words, so it can take on a positive or negative meaning. 

For example “avagnana” can mean either “good knowledge” or “bad knowledge.” “vasanA” means “clothing” so the word “sUxmAvalagnavasana” translates to “beautiful perfectly fitting clothing.” This can be taken as a bahuvrihi for Mohini as one who has such beautifully fitting clothing. “xepa” means “shaking” so “Axepa” means “shaking very much,” which refers to the minds of asuras. “kR^it,” means “causing.” Combined this becomes “AxepakR^it,” which means “causing the mind to shake,” or “enchanting the mind.”  

The minds of the asuras who look at Mohini were shaken or enchanted by her beauty, which includes her breast (“kucha”) and her side glance (“kaTAxA”). “xamikR^ita” means “capable” so “axamikR^ita” means “make incapable” or “incapacitate.” 

“manodIxa” means “mental firmness,” and in this context, it refers to the mental firmness of the asuras who want the amrita all for themselves. By shaking the minds of the asuras Mohini incapacitates their mental firmness. This allows her to snatch back (“AhR^ita”) the amrita (“sudhA”). The word “sudhA” can also be a bahuvrihi for Mohini with the vigraha vakhya “sudhA AhR^tA yasyA sA,” or “one who has taken away amrita.”

To summarize, the last component of this verse can take on either of the following meanings:

1. “One who has beautiful perfectly fitting clothing and one who grabbed back the amrita from the asuras by depriving them of their mental firmness through enchantment caused by her breasts and her side glance.”

2. “One who grabbed back the amrita from the asuras by depriving them of their mental firmness through enchantment caused by her beautiful perfectly fitting clothing, her breasts, and her side glance.”

The verse then concludes with the phrase “axANi no avatu surUxexaNaddharitanuH,” which was described earlier as a prayer to Hari in the form of Mohini to protect our senses from viewing anything in an evil manner.

Verse 6

shixAdi - yu~Nnigama -- dIxAsu - laxaNa pa -- rIxAxa - mAvidhisa -- tI |

dAxAya - NI xamati -- sAxAdra - mApi na ya -- dAxepa - vIxaNavi -- dhau |

prexAxi - lobhakara -- lAxAra - soxita pa -- dAxepa - laxitadha -- rA |

sAxAri - tAtmatanu -- bhUxAra - kAriniTi -- lAxAxa - mAnavatu -- naH || 6||

शिक्षादि - युङ्निगम -- दीक्षासु - लक्षण प -- रीक्षाक्ष - माविधिस -- ती ।

दाक्षाय - णी क्षमति -- साक्षाद्र - मापि न य -- दाक्षेप - वीक्षणवि -- धौ ।

प्रेक्षाक्षि - लोभकर -- लाक्षार - सोक्षित प -- दाक्षेप - लक्षितध -- रा ।

साऽक्षारि - तात्मतनु -- भूक्षार - कारिनिटि -- लाक्षाक्ष - मानवतु -- नः ॥ ६॥

ಶಿಕ್ಷಾದಿ - ಯುಂಗ್‌ನಿಗಮ - ದೀಕ್ಷಾಸು - ಲಕ್ಷಣ ಪ -- ರೀಕ್ಷಾಕ್ಷ - ಮಾವಿಧಿಸ --ತೀ |

ದಾಕ್ಷಾಯ - ಣೀ ಕ್ಷಮತಿ -- ಸಾಕ್ಷಾದ್ರ - ಮಾಪಿ ನ ಯ -- ದಾಕ್ಷೆಪ - ವೀಕ್ಷಣವಿ --ಧೌ |

ಪ್ರೆಕ್ಷಾಕ್ಷಿ - ಲೊಭಕರ -- ಲಾಕ್ಷಾರ - ಸೋಕ್ಷಿತ ಪ -- ದಾಕ್ಷೆಪ - ಲಕ್ಷಿತಧ -- ರಾ |

ಸಾಕ್ಷಾರಿ - ತಾತ್ಮತನು -- ಭೂಕ್ಷಾರ - ಕಾರಿನಿಟಿ -- ಲಾಕ್ಷಾಕ್ಷ - ಮಾನವತು -- ನಃ || 6||

Mohini rupa Paramatma is praised further in the sixth verse of the Dashavatara stuti. The central verb phrase appears at the end of the verse, “axamAnavatu naH,” which can be broken down as “axamAn naH avatu.” “axamAn” means “incapable,” “naH” means “us,” and “avatu” means “protect.” This phrase is a plea to Narayana to protect us because we are helpless and incapable of protecting ourselves. The verse contains one compound adjective followed by two more adjectives for Bhagavantha:

1.    shixAdiyu~Nnigama dIxAsulaxaNa parIxAxamAvidhisatI dAxAyaNI xamati sAxAdramApi

na yadAxepavIxaNavidhau

2.    prexAxilobhakaralAxAra soxita padAxepalaxitadharA

3.    sA.axAritAtmatanu bhUxArakAriniTilAxA

The first adjective can be broken down into “shixA Adi yuk nigama dIxA su laxaNa parIxA xAma vidhi satI dAxAyaNI xamati sAxAt ramA api na yat Axepa vIxaNa vidhau.” This adjective praises Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge, Parvati, the Goddess of Shakti or Energy, and Lakshmi, the Goddess and consort of NarayaNa Himself. “shixA” means “phonetics” or “pronunciation,” and is one of the vedangas, or the six tools needed to understand the Vedas. These tools are shixA, nirukta, chandas, vyAkarna, kalpa, and jyotisha. 

Nirukta is etymology and formations, and is needed along with shixA before studying the Vedas. 

Chandas (prosody) and vyAkarna (grammar) are needed while the Vedas are being studied. Kalpa (rituals) and jyotisha (astrology and astronomy, planetary positions and effects) are needed in order to implement the Vedas. 

“Adi” means “et cetera,” and combined with “shixA” is used to represent all the vedangas. “yuk” means “along with” and “nigama” refers to the Vedas.

In Sanskrit when a non-nasal consonant from the five vargas “ka cha ta pa” is combined with any nasal letter “N^a,” “Jna,” “Na,” “na,” or “ma” the non-nasal letter will become the corresponding nasal sound. The combined letter will have both nasal sounds. For example, “ap” + “maya” will become “ammaya” because “pa” corresponds to the nasal letter “ma.” “vAK” + “maya” will become “vAN^maya.” “kR^it” + “maya” will become “kR^inmaya.” “ap” + “nAma” will become “amnAma.” “vAK” + “nAma” will become “vAN^nAma.” “kR^it” + “nAma” will become “kR^innAma.” “rAT” + “maNi” will become “rANmaNi.”

The resulting nasal sound will match the varga letter that precedes it and will be the corresponding nasal letter of that varga “ka cha ta pa”. In this way “yuk” and “nigama” combine to become “yu~Nnigama.” “dIxA” means “adherence” and “su laxaNa” means “great characteristics.” “parIxA” can be broken down into “paritaH” (“in all respects”) and “IxA” (“seeing”). 

Seeing something in all respects can be equated to examining something, which is why the shorter form “parIxA” means “test.” “xAma” means “expert,” or “someone who is capable.” “vidhi” is Brahma, so “vidhisatI” is the wife of Brahma, or Saraswati. 

“dAxAyaNI” is another name for Daksha’s daughter. In this case it refers to Sati, or Parvati. Not only is Parvati capable, but Lakshmi herself (“sAxAd ramA”) is also (“api”) capable.

Capable of what?

The “parIkSha” can be interpreted in two different ways. One interpretation can mean that Saraswati, ParvatI, and LakShmI are experts in conducting exams to others on Vedas and proper characteristics (i.e. morals and values). 

Another meaning is that if someone (implying NarayaNa) were to conduct an exam to Saraswati, ParvatI, and LakShmi on the Vedas or on characteristics then they all would be experts (LakShmi being the greatest expert, followed by Saraswati and then Parvati), but not as capable as Sri Hari.

Although women are known to be capable of pulling the minds of others (“Axepa”) in the process (“vidhau”) of seeing (“vIxaNa”), or through a glance, Saraswati, Parvati, and Lakshmi are all not as capable as NarayaNi or Mohini rUpa Paramatma. “xamati” means “capable” so “na xamati” means “not capable.” On their own, Saraswati, Parvati, and Lakshmi are capable based on their gradation, but NarayaNi or Mohini rUpa Paramatma will always be more capable than all others.

The third line can be split into the words “prexA axi lobhakara lAxArasa uxita pada Axepa laxita dharA.” “prexA,” or “pra IxA,” means “seeing with wise eyes,” but can also mean “one who has excellent knowledge” or “spectators.” “axi” means “eyes” and “lobhakara” means “the act of pulling, drawing, or attracting.” “lAxArasa” refers to haldi and water which we combine with kumkum. “uxita” means “drenched” and describes the feet (“pada”) which are placed on the ground (“Axepa”). “laxita” means “decorated.” “dharA” means “bhoomi” and forms the bahuvrihi for this line. 

When combined with the different possible meanings for “prexA” this line describes Mohini in a few different ways. Mohini is the one who has wise eyes, or the one who has excellent knowledge, who has decorated the earth by placing her feet which are soaked in haldi/kumkum paste on the ground, attracting the eyes of others. 

If “prexA” is taken to mean spectators then the descriptions of “having wise eyes” or “having excellent knowledge” are omitted and the eyes which Mohini attracts will become the eyes of spectators, which was implied previously.

The final adjective is “sA.axAritAtmatanu bhUxArakAriniTilAxA.” “sA” means “she” and “AxAritA” means “very ashamed.” “Atma” means “own” and “tanu” means “body,” “one who has taken a body,” or “son.” 

“bhUxArakari” means “one who made the ashes (‘bhUdi’).” This describes the one who has an eye (“axa”) on his forehead (“niTilA”), or Rudra. Rudra, who had burnt Manmatha (the son of Narayana Himself) to ashes, feels very ashamed and guilty because even he fell prey to Mohini without realizing that Mohini is actually a rupa of Paramatma. The verse concludes with “axamAnavatu naH,” a plea for Bhagavantha’s constant protection.

Verse 7

nIlAmbu - dAbhashubha -- shIlAdri - dehadhara -- khelAhR^i - todadhidhu -- nI\-

shailAdi - yukta nikhi -- lelA ka - TAdyasura -- tUlATa - vIdahana -- te |
kolAkR^i - te jaladhi -- kAlAcha - lAvayava -- nIlAbja - daMshhTra dhara -- NI\-
lIlAspa - dorutala -- mUlAshi - yogivara -- jAlAbhi - vandita na -- maH || 7||

नीलाम्बुदाभशुभ - शीलाद्रिदेहधर - खेलाघृतोधधिधुनी-

शैलादियुक्त निखि - लेला कटाद्यसुर - तूलाटवीदहन ते ।

कोलाकृते जलधि - कालाचलावयव - नीलाब्जदंष्ट्र धरणी-

लीलास्पदोरुतल - मूलाशियोगिवर - जालाभिवन्दित नमः ॥ ७॥

ನೀಲಾಂಬು - ದಾಭಶುಭ -- ಶೀಲಾದ್ರಿ - ದೇಹಧರ -- ಖೆಲಾಹೃ - ತೊದಧಿಧು -- ನೀ\-

ಶೈಲಾದಿ - ಯುಕ್ತ ನಿಖಿ -- ಲೇಲಾ ಕ - ಟಾದ್ಯಸುರ -- ತೂಲಾಟ - ವೀದಹನ -- ತೇ |

ಕೊಲಾಕೃ - ತೆ ಜಲಧಿ -- ಕಾಲಾಚ - ಲಾವಯವ -- ನೀಲಾಬ್ಜ - ದಂಷ್ಟ್ರ ಧರ -- ಣೀ\-

ಲೀಲಸ್ಪ - ದೋರು ತಲ -- ಮೂಲಾಶಿ - ಯೋಗಿವರ -- ಜಾಲಾಭಿ - ವಂದಿತ ನ -- ಮಃ || 7||

Art by Smt.Vani Rao,Baton Rouge,LA

This verse of Dashavatara stuti describes the avatara Varaha. Prior to Narayana taking this rupa the asuras Adi Hiranyaksha and Adi Hiranyakashipu are born to Diti. We say “Adi” because they are known to be the first of the daityas. Hiranyaksha steals the earth itself and tilts it off of its axis. Paramatma then takes Varaha avatara in the form of a boar, kills Hiranyaksha, picks the earth up with his tusks, and sets the earth back in its proper position.

The verb phrase in this verse is simply “te namaH,” which is formed using “te” from the end of the second line and “namaH” at the end of the verse. This means “we pray to you.” It is worth noting that we use the informal “te” when addressing Narayana because He is everywhere and inside of us, so we feel especially close to Him. The adjectives of this verse are as follows:

1.                  nIlAmbudhAbha

2.                  shubhashIlA

3.                  adridehadhara

4.                  khelAhR^itodadhidhunI shailAdiyukta nikhilelA kaTA and Adyasura tUlaTavIdahana or khelAhR^itodhadhidhunI shailAdiyukta nikhilelA kaTAdyasura tUlaTavIdahana

5.                  kolAkR^ite

6.                  jaladhikAlAchalAvayava nIlAbjadaMshhTra

7.                  dharaNI lIlAspadorutala

8.                  mUlAshiyogivara jAlAbhivandita

“nIlAmbudhAbha” is the first bahuvrihi for Varaha. “nIla” means “black” or “blue.” In this context it means black because it describes a rain cloud, “ambuda,” which is a giver (“dA”) of water (“ambu”). “Abha” means “like” or “brightness.” Combined this means “one who is black like a rain cloud and has a lot of prakasha, or brightness.” “shubhashIlA” is another bahuvrihi describing one who has a behavior or nature (“shIlA”) that is auspicious (“shubha”). 

“adridehadhara” is an adjective which uses karmadhareya samAsa to describe Varaha. 

“adri” means “mountain” but can also be taken as “a” + “drI,” where “drI” means having “dravya,” or “material.” In this case “adri” would mean “nonmaterialistic.” “deha” means “body” and “dhara” means “having.” “adridehadhara” describes Varaha as either “one who has a nonmaterialistic body” or “one who has the body of a mountain.” Here the word “mountain” is a metaphor for having a large body because Varaha is larger than any mountain and larger than the earth itself.

The next bahuvrihi can either describe Hiranyaksha (“khelAhR^itodadhidhunI shailAdiyukta nikhilelA kaTA”) or Varaha (“khelAhR^itodadhidhunI shailAdiyukta nikhilelA kaTAdyasura tUlaTavIdahana”). 

The anvaya for this phrase is “khelA AhR^ita udadhi dhunI shailA Adi yukta nikhila ilA kaTA Adyasura tUla ATavI dahana.” 

“khelA” means “playful” or “effortless” and “AhR^ita” means “stolen” or “taken back.” When describing Hiranyaksha it will mean “stolen” but for Varaha it will mean “taken back.” 

What was stolen and then taken back? 

The ocean (“udadhi”), rivers (“dhunI”), mountains (“shailA”) or that which has rocks and stones (“shila”), and others (“Adi”) which together (“yukta”) comprise the entire (“nikhila”) earth (“ilA”). “nikhila” and “ilA” combine to form “nikhilela,” which is a form of guna sandhi.

“kaTA” means “chaape,” or “mat,” and put together this phrase means “one who carries the earth effortlessly as if it were a chaape.” This can describe either Hiranyaksha when he steals the earth or Varaha when he carries the earth back. “Adi asura” refers to Hiranyaksha. “Adi” combined with “asura” becomes “Adyasura,” and this combination is a form of yaNadesha sandhi. “tUla” means “cotton” or “a pile of cotton,” “ATavI” means “forest,” and “dahana” means “one who burns,” so “AtavIdahana” refers to a forest fire. 

“Adyasura tUlATavIdahana” describes Varaha as one who destroys Hiranyaksha just like a forest fire burns a pile of cotton. When taken as “khelAhR^itodadhidhunI shailAdiyukta nikhilelA kaTA Adyasura tUlATavIdahana” the phrase means “Adi Hiranyaksha, who steals the earth effortlessly as if it were a chaape, is destroyed just as a pile of cotton is destroyed in a forest fire.” 

If the phrase is interpreted as one complete descriptor, “khelAhR^itodadhidhunI shailAdiyukta nikhilelA kaTAdyasura tUlaTavIdahana,” it means “Varaha destroys Adi Hiranyaksha just as a forest fire destroys cotton and playfully carries the earth back as if it were as light as a chaape.”

“kolAkR^ite” can either be a bahuvrihi or karmadharaya samAsa for Varaha rupa Paramatma. “kolA” means “wild boar” and “AkR^ite” means having “Akara,” or “shape.” As karmadhareya it means “One who is in the form of a wild boar” and as a bahuvrihi it means “One who has the form of a wild boar.” 

“jaladhikAlAchalAvayava nIlAbjadaMshhTra” can be taken as a single bahuvrihi or a combination of two bahuvrihis, “jaladhikAlA” and “achalAvayava nIlAbjadaMshhTra.” “jala” means “water” and “dhi” is a large collection, so “jaladhi” refers to the ocean. “kAlA” means “time” but also means “one who sports in or freely moves around in.” As a separate bahuvrihi this describes Varaha, who freely moves around in the ocean. 

“chala” means “moving” so “achala” means “that which does not move,” or “mountains.” “Avayava” means “limbs” so “achalAvayava” can be taken as a bahuvrihi for the earth as “that which has mountains as its parts.” 

If “jaladhikAlA” is combined with “achalAvayava” then the earth is described as “that which has mountains, oceans, and time as its parts.” Here we consider time to be a part of earth even if it not a physical aspect of the earth. “nIlA” in this case means “blue,” “Abja” means “born in water,” or “lotus,” and “daMshhTra” means “tusk.” This means that the earth sitting on Varaha’s tusks looks like a blue lotus that has been offered to Varaha.

“dharaNI” refers to “BhU Devi,” or Lakshmi. Lakshmi’s rupas Shri, Bhu, and Durga are the abhimani rUpas of Lakshmi Devi for the three gunas, satva, rajas, and tamas, respectively. 

Shri Devi is the satva guna abhimani for what we consider to be good gunas (kindness, compassion, devotion, etc). Durga Devi is the tamo guna abhimani for bad gunas (anger, jealousy, etc). 

Bhu Devi is the rajo guna abhimani for a mix of good and bad gunas. Common jeevas are a mix of all three gunas. Here we refer to Bhu Devi, who has a special sannidhana, or presence, in Bhumi. “lIlA” means “sport” or “enjoyment” when describing Lakshmi but can also mean “effortless” when describing Narayana. 

Although we say enjoyment it is not accurate to say that Lakshmi actually feels enjoyment, but rather she creates a show for devotees to see. “Aspada” means “scope,” “UrU” means “lap,” and “tala” means “surface.” This means that Narayana gives room on the surface of his lap for Dharani to sit.

“mUlAshiyogivara jAlAbhivandita” is a karmadhareya samAsa for Paramatma and the vigraha vAkhya for this phrase is “mula ashayaha yogivara jalena.” “mUla” means “edible root” and “Ashi” means “one who eats.” This applies to the “yogi,” who eats raw roots and does not bother with more complex meals so that he can spend time focusing on Bhagavantha. This descriptor praises Narayana as one who is praised (“abhivandita”) by the best (“vara”) among the group or cluster (“jAlA”) of yogis. This praiseworthy Paramatma is the one to whom we pray (“te namaH”).

Verse 8

Art by Smt.Vani Rao , Baton Rouge,LA

dambholi - tIxNanakha -- sambhedi - tendraripu -- kumbhIndra - pAhi kR^ipa -- yA |

stambhArbha - kAsahana -- DimbhAya - dattavara -- gambhIra - nAda nR^iha -- re |

aMbhodhi - jAnusara -- NAMbhoja - bhUpavana -- kumbhIna - seshakhaga -- rAT |

kumbhIndra - kR^ittidhara -- jambhAri - ShaNmukhamu -- khAMbhoru - hAbhinuta -- mAm || 8||

दम्भोलितीक्ष्णनख - सम्भेदितेन्द्ररिपु - कुम्भीन्द्र पाहि कृपया ।

स्तम्भार्भ कासहन - डिम्भाय दत्तवर - गम्भीरनाद नृहरे ।

अंभोधिजानुसर - णांभोजभूपवन - कुम्भीनसेशखगराट्‌ ।

कुम्भीन्द्रकृत्तिधर - जम्भारिषण्मुखमु - खांभोरुहाभिनुत माम् ॥ ८॥

ದಂಭೋಲಿ - ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣನಖ -- ಸಂಭೇದಿ - ತೆಂದ್ರರಿಪು -- ಕುಂಭೀಂದ್ರ - ಪಾಹಿ ಕೃಪ -- ಯಾ |

ಸ್ತಂಭಾರ್ಭ - ಕಾಸಹನ -- ಡಿಂಭಾಯ - ದತ್ತವರ -- ಗಂಭೀರ - ನಾದ ನೃಹ -- ರೇ |

ಅಂಭೋಧಿ - ಜಾನುಸರ -- ಣಾಂಭೊಜ - ಭೂಪವನ -- ಕುಂಭೀನ - ಸೇಶ ಖಗ -- ರಾಟ್ |

ಕುಂಭೀಂದ್ರ - ಕೃ ಇತ್ತಿಧರ -- ಜಂಭಾರಿ - ಷಣ್ಮುಖಮು -- ಖಾಂಭೋರು - ಹಾಭಿನುತ -- ಮಾಮ್ || 8||

The eigth verse of Vadirajaru's Dashavatara stuti describes the avatara of Narasimha, who destroys the asura Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu prays to Shiva and asks for a boon to become immortal. When Shiva says that this is not possible, he amends his wish and asks to not be killed when it it either day or night, inside or outside, on the ground or in the sky, by either man or animal, with either weapons or bare hands. 

Hiranyakashipu thinks himself to be invincible but his son Prahlad retorts and states that only God can be invincible and immortal. Hiranyakashipu is angered by this and torments Prahlad, attempting to have him killed by drowning, burning, poisoning, and numerous other ways. Prahlad prays to Bhagavantha and survives each time, telling Hiranyakashipu that he is protected and that Devaru is present everywhere, even in the pillars of their abode. 

Hiranyakashipu becomes furious and breaks one of the pillars, only to see Narasimha emerge from the pillar. Ironically, the boon which Hiranyakashipu asks in order to become invincible actually defines the way in which he dies. Narasimha takes the form of a half lion half man, takes Hiranyakashipu to the threshold of the house and places him on His thighs. He then uses his fingernails and at twilight He slays Hiranyakashipu.

The central verb of this phrase combines the end of the first line, "pAhi kR^ipayA," with the last word of the verse, "mAm." When put together the phrase is "kR^ipayA mAm pAhi," or kindly ("kR^ipayA") protect ("pAhi") me ("mAm"). The adjectives for Narasimha are as follows:

1. dambholitIxNanakha sambheditendraripu kumbhIndra

2. stambhArbhakA

3. asahana

4. DimbhAyadattavara

5. gambhIranAda

6. nR^ihare

7. aMbhodhijAnusaraNA

8. aMbhojabhUpavanakumbhInaseshakhagarAT kumbhIndrakR^ittidhara jambhArishhaNmukhamukhAMbhoruhAbhinuta

The first adjective can be broken down into "dambholi tIxNa nakha sambhedita indra ripu kumbhi indra." The vigrahavAkya is "dambholi iva tIxNebhyaH nakhebhyaha sambheditaH indraripuH kumbhi indraH yena saH."

The first portion can be broken down into "dambholi iva tIxNa nakhAH," or "dambholi-tIxNa-nakhAH tebhyaH." Hiranyakashipu is killed by the fingernails ("nakha") which are as sharp ("tIxNA") as a thunderbolt ("dambholi"). This simile is also made in Madhvacharya's nakha stuti. Using these fingernails Narasimha tore apart ("sambhedita") the enemy ("ripu") of "Indra."

"indrasya ripuH" or "indraripu" is another name for Hiranyakashipu because he is the enemy of Indra. "kumbha" refers to the frontal prominence on the upper part of an elephant's forehead. During an elephant's rutting season, or musth, there are two of these prominences which will swell. The musth is also associated with highly aggressive behavior and an increased testosterone level, which can be as much as 60 times greater than normal levels.

Generally, the kumbha is a vulnerable spot so lions like to attack elephants on this spot, which is also called the gaNDa stala. "kumbhi" is the one with a kumbha, or an elephant. "kumbhinAm indraH," or "kumbhindra" is the king of elephants. The vigrahavAkya here is "indraripureva kumbhIndraH." This is a metaphor, or RupakAlaMkAra, for Hiranyakashipu because it states that Indraripu himself is kumbhIndra, the king of elephants. Together this is in bahuvrIhi samAsa and addresses Narasimha as one who tore apart Hiranyakashipu with sharp thunderbolt-like nails, just as a lion kills an elephant by aiming for its vulnerable spot, the nape of its neck.

The second adjective is "stambha arbhakA" and the vigrahavAkya is "stambhasya arbhaka," which is in ShaShTi-tatpuruSha-karmadhAraya samAsa. "stambhA" means "pillar" and "ArbhakA" means "child" or "one who is born." Narasimha emerges from the pillar so He is addressed as the Child of the pillar.

The next adjective is "asahana," which can be broken down into "na" + "sahana." This form is called naN^tatpuruSha and the combination means "one who does not tolerate." This describes Narasimha as one who does not tolerate enemies, or those who commit heinous acts.

The bahuvrIhi samAsa "DimbhAya datta vara" has the vigrahavAkya "DimbhAya dattaM varaM (or dattAni varANi) yena saH" "DimbhA" means child and refers to Prahlad. "DimbhAya" means "to Prahlad" and "dattavara" means "giver of boons." Narasimha comes to Prahlad's aid and therefore gives him the boon of his protection.

The adjective "gambhIra nAda" has the vigrahavAkya "gaMbhIraH nAdaH yasya saH" and is in bahuvrIhi samAsa. "gambhIra" means "deep, majestic/grand, and loud" and "nAda" means "sound" or "roar." This is a bahuvrIhi for Narasimha as one who has a majestic roar.

"nara" means "man" and "hari" means "lion." These words combine to form "nR^ihare," which is another name for Narasimha.

"aMbhodhi jA anusaraNa" is also a bahuvrIhi samAsa and the vigrahavAkya is "aMbhodhijA yam anusarati saH." "aMbhodhija" by itself has the vigrahavAkya "aMbhodhau jAtA yA sA". This describes one who is born ("ja") from the ocean ("aMbhodhi"), or Lakshmi. "ansudaraNa" means "faithfully following," so together this forms the adjective "aMbhodhijAnusaraNA," or "one whom Lakshmi follows faithfully."

The final adjective for Narasimha is a karmadhareya samAsa. The vigrahavAkya is "aMbhojabhU-pavana-kumbhInasesha-khagarAT-kumbhIndrakR^ittidhara-

jambhAri-shhaNmukhAnAm mukhAMbhoruhaiH abhinuta."

This can split into "aMbhojabhU" + "pavana" + "kumbhInasesha" + "khagarAT" + "kumbhi" + "indra" + "kR^itti" + "dhara" + "jambha" + "ari" + "shhaNmukha" + "mukha" + "aMbhoruha" + "abhinuta." The first portion has the vigrahavAkya "aMbhoje bhavati iti aMbhoja bhU." "ambho" means "water," and building off of this is the word "ambhoja," which means "born from water," or "lotus."

The word "ambhojabhu" means "born from a lotus," and this describes Chaturmukha Brahma. "Pavana" is another name for Vayu.

"kumbhInasAnAM IshaH," or "kumbhInasesha," is the next devata. "KumbhInasa" means "snake," and the king ("isha") of snakes is "kumbhInasesha," or SheSHa. "KhagarAT" refers to Garuda. 

Next is the one who wears the "kumbhIndrasya kR^itti", or the skin ("kR^itti") of an elephant king ("kumbhIndra"). The vigrahavAkya is "kumbhIndra-kR^ittiM dharati iti" and the one who wears ("dhara") this king elephant's skin is Rudra.

The next vigrahavAkya is "jambhasya ariH" which becomes "jambhAri." "JambhAri" is Indra, the enemy ("ari") of JambhAsura. "ShhaNmukha" also goes by the names Subramanyaswami, Muruga, or Karthikeya. All of these devatas are described as having mouths ("mukhA") like a lotus ("ambhoruhA"). "mukhAMbhoruhAH" has the vigrahavAkya "mukhA eva aMbhoruhAH."

Similar to how water droplets can roll across lotus petals and not become absorbed by the plant, the devatas have mouths which are not touched by samsAra. "abhinuta" means "one who is praised," so the complete adjective describes Narasimha as someone who is praised with the lotus-like mouths of all the aforementioned devatas. This Narasimha is the one to whom we pray for protection ("kR^ipayA mAm pAhi").

Verse 9

Art by Smt.Vani Rao, Baton Rouge,LA

पिङ्गाक्ष - विक्रम तु -- रङ्गादि - सैन्य चतु -- रङ्गाव - लिप्तदनु -- जा-

साङ्गाध्व - रस्थबलि -- साङ्गाव - पातहृषि -- ताङ्गाम - रालिनुत -- ते।

शृङ्गार - पादनख -- तुङ्गाग्र - भिन्नकन -- काङ्गाण्ड - पातितटि -- नी-

तुङ्गाति - मङ्गलत -- रङ्गाभि - भूत भज -- काङ्गाघ - वामन न -- मः॥ ९॥

ಪಿಂಗಾಕ್ಷ - ವಿಕ್ರಮ ತು -- ರಂಗಾದಿ - ಸೈನ್ಯ ಚತು -- ರಂಗಾವ - ಲೀಪ್ತದನು -- ಜಾ\-
ಸಾಂಗಾಧ್ವ - ರಸ್ಥಬಲಿ -- ಸಾಂಗಾವ - ಪಾತಹೃಷಿ -- ತಾಂಗಾಮ - ರಾಲಿನುತ -- ತೇ |
ಶೃಂಗಾರ - ಪಾದನಖ -- ತುಂಗಾಗ್ರ - ಭಿನ್ನಕನ -- ಕಾಂಗಾಂಡ - ಪಾತಿತಟಿ -- ನೀ\-
ತುಂಗಾತಿ - ಮಂಗಲತ -- ರಂಗಾಭಿ - ಭೂತ ಭಜ -- ಕಾಂಗಾಘ - ವಾಮನ ನ -- ಮಃ || 9||

piN^gAxa - vikrama tu -- raN^gAdi - sainya chatu -- raN^gAva - liptadanu -- jA\-

sAN^gAdhva - rasthabali -- sAN^gAva - pAtahR^ishhi -- tAN^gAma - rAlinuta -- te |

shR^iN^gAra - pAdanakha -- tuN^gAgra - bhinnakana -- kAN^gANDa - pAtitaTi -- nI\-

tuN^gAti - maN^galata -- raN^gAbhi - bhUta bhaja -- kAN^gAgha - vAmana na -- maH || 9||

This verse begins to describe the avatara of Vamana, or Trivikrama, who comes to remind Bali Chakravarti of the greatness of Narayana. Bali is the son of Virochana and grandson of Prahlad and has the influence of an asura (also named Bali) inside of him. He is given the title of Indra (though often thought to be a name "Indra" is actually the name of a post and refers to the devata who holds that post) but is told to wait until the current Indra leaves the post. However, Bali decides to oust Indra ahead of time and begins to rule svarga loka. At this time Narayana takes the avatara of Vamana and appears as an ascetic before Bali. 

Bali asks what Vamana desires and Vamana requests a piece of land measured by His three steps. Not realizing that Vamana is Paramatma, Bali assumes it is a meager request compared to everything in his possession. Consumed by his power he feels entitled to offer daana (an offering) to Vamana and agrees to the request.

Vamana grows in size, though since he is not made of physical matter this growth in size is merely done for show. Using one foot (again not physical) Trivikrama covers all the underworld lokas - Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala, Mahatala, and PataLa. His second foot covers all of the upper worlds - Bhu, Bhuva, Svaha, Mahar, Jana, Tapa, and Satya. His second foot breaks the outer shell of the karpara, or universe. This karpara is not a physical boundary and extends beyond the realm of crude matter. Outside of Brahmanda is where the tatvAbhimani devatas reside, where they exist without the presence of any asuras. 

When Trivikrama's nail pokes through the karpara Brahma uses water to wash His feet. This water that flows into Brahmanda is what becomes the Ganga River. Ganga has a special presence or abhimanitva in other water bodies, but there is no form that allows her to perform actions until she enters Brahmanda as a river.

Having placed only two of the three feet, Vamana does not have anywhere to place the third step.  Vishnu tells Garuda to tie Bali using a divine force as punishment for not being able to keep his word to offer three steps of space to Him. Prahlad then prays to Vishnu to spare his grandson. The asura avesha (presence) inside of Bali leaves and Bali realizes Paramatma's omnipotence. Bali tells Trivikrama that he will keep his word, asking Trivikrama to place the third step on his head. 

This serves as a symbolic gesture of Bali's surrender to Narayana. Trivikrama places the third step on Bali and sends him to PataLa. Despite being in the lowest loka, Vishnu ensures that he is given any and all comforts and also personally guards Bali in PataLa. At the end of the manvantara Bali still receives the post of Indra and attains moksha.

The main verb is this verse is "vAmana te namaH," taken from the ends of the second and fourth lines. As explained in earlier verses this means "we pray to Vamana," The adjectives in this verse are:

1.       piN^gAxa vikrama turaN^gAdi sainya chaturaN^gA valipta danujA sAN^gAdhvarastha bali sAN^gAvapAta hR^ishhitAN^gA marAlinuta

2.      shR^iN^gArapAdanakha tuN^gAgrabhinna kana kAN^gANDapaatitaTinI

tuN^gAti maN^gala taraN^gAbhibhUta bhaja kAN^gAgha

The word "piN^ga" signifies the color of a cat's eye, and so "piN^gaxa" refers to the most noteworthy animal which has those eyes, or a lion. "vikrama" means "chivalry" or "courage." Put together "piN^gaxa vikrama" describes Bali Chakravarti, the king of the daityas. 

"sainya" means "army" and "Adi" means "et cetera." The type of army is "turaN^gAdi sainya," which means "cavalry and others." Together those armies encompass "chaturaN^gA," or the four ("chatuH") divisions ("aN^gA") of an army - infantry, cavalry, chariotry, and the elephant army. 

"avalipta" means "vain, or someone who has become a megalomaniac." "danuja" means "offspring of Danu, or rakshasa." 

Combined this serves to describe Bali as the daitya king who has the courage of a lion, commands a large army, and is also conceited as a result of his amassed power.

The words "danujA sAN^gAdhvarastha" contain three examples of savarNadIrgha sandhi, when two short vowel sounds are joined to form a long vowel sound. These can be split as "danuja asAN^ga adhvarastha." 

"adhvara" means "yagna, " "aN^ga" means "part," and "sa" means "along with." "asAN^ga" therefore means a missing part, making "asAN^ga adhvara" an incomplete yagna. 

The most important part of a yagna should be contemplating Paramatma and His supremacy, but Bali who has the Bali asura avesha, and the other danujas do not do this, rendering the yagna incomplete. "danuja" can either refer to Bali or the daitya subjects of Bali. 

One vigraha vAkhya can be "danujAnAM asAN^gaH adhvaraH" to refer to the yagna in which the demons took part without thinking of Narayana's supremacy. 

Another vigraha vAkhya is "daujasya asAN^gaH adhvaraH," referring to the incomplete yagna beformed by Bali, who briefly forgot about Narayana's omnipotence. With the addition of "stah" the vigraha vAkhya becomes "adhvare sthitaH" meaning "took the vow of conducting yagna," which in this case denotes Bali.

When "danuja" signifies the collective asuras, the complete vigraha vAkhya is "piN^gAxavat vikramANAM turaN^gAdibhiH sainyasya chaturbhiH aN^gaiH avaliptAH  danujAnAM asAN^ge adhvare sthitaH," 

One who took the vow to conduct an incomplete yagna partaken by the ignorant demons, who were as ferocious as lions and conceited due to their four part army and amassed power. 

When "danuja" refers to Bali the vigraha vAkhya is "piN^gAxavat vikramANAM turaN^gAdibhiH sainyasya chaturbhiH aN^gaiH avaliptAH danujAnAM asAN^ge adhvare sthitaH," 

One who took the vow to conduct an incomplete yagna, who was as ferocious as a lion and consumed with his four part army and associated power.

In addition to meaning "part" "aN^ga" also means "part of the body," and this meaning is adopted in "sAN^ga avapAta." "pAta" means "falling" and "avapAta" means "making one fall, or pushing down." 

"sAN^ga avapAta" means that Trivikrama is pushing Bali down along with his body all the way to PataLa. 

"hR^ishhita" denotes a level of excitement wherein one's hair stands on its end. The bodies ("anga") which experience this excitedness belong to the cluster ("ali") of devatas ("amara"), all of whom praised ("nuta") Vamana. 

The vigraha vAkhya for "hR^ishhitAN^gA" is "hR^ishhitAH aN^gAH yeShAM te hR^ishhitAN^gAH" which is a bahuvrIhi meaning "those whose limbs expressed  joy, thrill, or excitement. 

Put together the second part of the first adjective "bali-sAN^gAvapAta-hR^ishhitAN^gAmarAlinuta" has the vigraha vAkhya "baleH aN^gaiH saha avapAtena hR^ishhitAN^gaiH amarAnAM AlibhiH nutaH," meaning "praised by the cluster of devatas, whose limbs conveyed joy at the falling of Bali's entirety.

The complete adjective "piN^gAxa vikrama turaN^gAdi sainya chaturaN^gA valipta danujA sAN^gAdhvarastha bali sAN^gAvapAta hR^ishhitAN^gA marAlinuta" is a karmadhareya samAsa for Vamana, meaning "He who is praised by devatas, who are excited because He pushed down Bali Chakravarti, the king of daityas who became so drunk off of his own power that he forgot about the supremacy of Narayana."

The second adjective begins with "shR^iN^gAra" meaning "beautiful, "pAda," meaning "feet," and "nakha" meaning "nail." Vamana's beautiful toenail is "tuNga," which means "high" but in this context describes the roundness of the nail which gives it a slight elevation. 

The toenail's tip ("agra") makes a crack ("bhinna") in Brahmanda ("kanakAN^gANDa"). "kanaka" means "gold" and "anga" is "body part or garbha or womb." Brahma is the one who gave birth to the universe, that has gold and so Brahma is called HiraNyagarbha or lanakagarbha or kanakAnga. So just as "Brahma" combined with "ANDa" yields "Brahmanda" the words "kanakAN^ga" plus "ANDa" forms "kanakAN^gANDa," retaining the same meaning as "Brahmanda." From this crack in Brahmanda the divine river ("taTinI") or Ganga Devi is falling ("pAti"). 

Ganga Devi is described with the bahuvrIhi "tuN^gAti maN^gala taraN^gAbhibhUta bhaja kAN^gAgha." "tuN^ga" means "high" and describes the waves ("taraN^ga") which are very ("ati") auspicious ("mangaLa"). 

The waves of the Ganga River are so auspicious because they wash away and destroy ("abhibhUta") the external impurities of the body parts ("aN^ga") and the internal impurities like the sins ("agha") of the devotees ("bhajaka"). 

This is all put together to form the bahuvrIhi "shR^iN^gArapAdanakha tuN^gAgrabhinna kana kAN^gANDapaatitaTinI

tuN^gAti maN^gala taraN^gAbhibhUta bhaja kAN^gAgha." 

This bahuvrIhi means "One whose beautiful toenail broke through the karpara of Brahmanda, causing the flow of Ganga Devi, whose high and auspicious waves can cleanse all devotees of any sins and also body impurities." This Vamana is the recipient of our prayers ("vAmana te namaH").

Verse 10

ध्यानार्ह - वामनत -- नो नाथ - पाहि यज -- मानासु - रेशवसु -- धा-

दानाय - याचनिक -- लीनार्थ - वाग्वशित -- नानास - दस्यदनु -- ज ।

मीनाङ्क - निर्मलनि -- शानाथ - कोटिलस -- मानात्म - मौञ्जिगुण -- कौ-

पीनाच्छ - सूत्रपद -- यानात - पत्रकर -- कानम्य - दण्डवर -- भृत्॥ १०॥

ಧ್ಯಾನಾರ್ಹ - ವಾಮನತ -- ನೋ ನಾಥ - ಪಾಹಿ ಯಜ -- ಮಾನಾಸು - ರೇಶವಸು -- ಧಾ\-

ದಾನಾಯ - ಯಾಚನಿಕ -- ಲೀನಾರ್ಥ - ವಾಗ್ವಶಿತ -- ನಾನಾಸ - ದಸ್ಯದನು -- ಜ |

ಮೀನಾಂಕ - ನಿರ್ಮಲನಿ -- ಶಾನಾಥ - ಕೋಟಿಲಸ -- ಮಾನಾತ್ಮ - ಮೌಂಜಿ ಗುಣ -- ಕೌ\-

ಪೀನಾಚ್ಛ - ಸೂತ್ರಪದ -- ಯಾನಾತ - ಪತ್ರಕರ -- ಕಾನಮ್ಯ - ದಂಡವರ -- ಭೃತ್ || 10||

dhyAnArha - vAmanata -- no nAtha - pAhi yaja -- mAnAsu - reshavasu -- dhA\-

dAnAya - yAchanika -- lInArtha - vAgvashita -- nAnAsa - dasyadanu -- ja |

mInAN^ka - nirmalani -- shAnAtha - koTilasa -- mAnAtma - mauJNjiguNa -- kau\-

pInAchchha - sUtrapada -- yAnAta - patrakara -- kAnamya - daNDavara -- bhR^it || 10||

This verse continues to praise Paramatma's avatara as Vamana. The main verb phrase comes in the beginning of the verse, "vAmanatano nAtha pAhi." "nAtha" addresses Narayana, "Oh Deva!" and "pAhi" means "protect me." Together the phrase "vAmanatano nAtha pAhi" means "Oh Vamana! Protect me." The adjectives for Vamana are:

1.      dhyAnArha

2.      yajamAnAsureshavasudhAdAnAya yAchanika

3. lInArthavAgvashitanAnAsadasyadanuja
4. mInAN^kanirmalanishAnAthakoTilasamAna
5. Atma-mauJNjiguNa-kaupInAchchhasUtrapadayAnAtapatrakarakAnamyadaNDavarabhR^it or

Atma mauJNjiguNa and kaupInAchchhasUtrapadayAnAtapatrakarakAnamyadaNDavarabhR^it

The first adjective "dhyAnArha" is split as "dhyAna + arha." The vigraha vAkhya for the first adjective is "dhyAnasya arhaH." "dhyAna" means "meditation," so "dhyAnArha" equates to "one upon whom it is fit to meditate."

The second adjective is split as "yajamAna + asura + isha + vasudhA + AdAnAya  yAchanika," where "yAchanika" is separate word from the previous formation.

The "yajamAna" is "one who took deeksha, or a vow, to do yagnas." Bali is intent on performing yagnas in order to amass even more power than what he has after ousting Indra and becoming the ruler of the svarga lokas. The yajamAna refers to the king ("Isha") of "asura[s]," or Bali Chakravarti. "asurANAm IshaH" combines to form "asureshaH,"which employs guNa sandhI. "yajamAna" joins this, and forms "yajamAna eva asureshaH."

This becomes "yajamAnAsureshaH," which is an example of savarNadIrgha sandhI. "yajamAnAsureshAt vasudhAm AdAnAya" follows next as becomes " yajamAnAsureshavasudhAdAnAya."

"vasudhA" refers to Bhoomi and "AdAna" means "to get back," so "AdAnAya" means "for the sake of taking back." "yAchanika" means "one who has taken the guise of an ascetic (and acts as if He is seeking something)," who is none other than Vamana.

The full adjective "yajamAnA sureshavasudhAdAnAya yAchanika" means "one who appears as an ascetic to get back the earth (lands) stolen by Bali Chakravarti, the king of asuras who has taken deeksha to do yagnas for the sake of power."

When Vamana initially approaches Bali the other daityas want to oppose Vamana, but Vamana speaks in a sweet manner to them and wins the daityas over. This is described in the bahuvrIhi "lInArthavAgvashitanAnAsadasyadanuja."

The vigraha vAkhya for this bahuvrIhi is "lInArthaiH vAgbhiH vashitAH nAnAsadasyAH danujAH yena saH." The split for this bahuvrIhi is "lIna + artha + vAk + vashita + nAnA + sadasya + danuja."

"artha" is "meaning" and so "lInArtha" roughly translates to "hidden meaning, or sweet talk." "vak" means "speech or words" and "vasha" means "under one's control." "vashita" is "that which is brought under one's grip." The people brought under Vamana's grip are all kinds ("nAnA") of danavas and daityas ("danuja"). The daityas have gathered in a sabha or assembly, which is called "sadas." Therefore "sadasya" describes the daityas as "members of the sabha/assembly." The complete bahuvrIhi "lInArthavAgvashitanAnAsadasyadanuja" praises Vamana as "the one who uses sweet words to control all kinds of daitya members of the Bali's assembly."

The subsequent adjective is also a bahuvrIhi, "mInAN^kanirmalanishAnAthakoTilasamAna," which is split as "mInAN^ka + nirmala + nishA + nAtha + koTi + lasamAna." "mInAN^ka" itself is upamAna karmadhAreya. "mIna" means "fish" and "AN^ka" is a dvaja, or flag. This refers to Manmatha, since he is the one who has a fish on his chariot flag. 

"nirmala" means "pure" and "nishAnAtha" is Chandra. "koTi" is 1 crore, or 10 million, and "lasamAna" is "one who has prakAsha or brightness as well as beauty." Put together the bahuvrIhi means "one who has the prakAsha of 1 crore Manmathas and moons." While the adjective specifies one crore this is meant to be taken as a symbolically infinite number of Manmathas and Chandras.

The reason for comparing Vamana to Manmatha is because Manmatha is known for his beauty. As mentioned in a previous verse we use Chandra to describe brightness rather than Surya because the sun is known for having a brightness which is blinding and hard to look at, whereas the moon has a more pleasant brightness which is pleasing to the eye.

This is why the verse says that Vamana's prakAsha far exceeds that of many Manmathas and Chandras put together. The vigraha vAkhya for this adjective is "mInAN^kakoTi iva nirmalanishAnAthakoTi iva lasamAnaH."

This becomes "mInAN^kanirmalanishAnAthakoTilasamAnaH," though the final H at the end (the visarga) is dropped when the sambodhana is complete.

The next adjective can either be taken as "Atma mauJNjiguNa kaupInAchchhasUtrapadayAnAtapatrakarakAnamyadaNDavarabhR^it" or as two separate adjectives, "Atma mauJNjiguNa" and "kaupInAchchhasUtrapadayAnAtapatrakarakAnamyadaNDavarabhR^it."

The vigraha vAkhya can either be "kaupInasya achchhasUtrasya padagAnasya Atapatrasya karakasya AnamyadaNDavarasya bhR^it" or

"Atmani mauJNjiguNasya kaupInasya achchhasUtrasya padagAnasya Atapatrasya karakasya AnamyadaNDavarasya bhR^it."

"AtmamauJNjiguNa" has the vigraha vAkhya "Atmani mauJNjiguNaH yasya saH." "Atma" means "on one's body" and "guNa" has multiple meanings like "quality," "nature," "property," "times," and "thread," among other meanings.

In this context it refers to a thread. This thread is the "mauJNji," which is the religious thread that is worn around the waist. "Atma mauJNjiguNa" is a bahuvrIhi for Vamana, who is one who wears this sacred thread on the waist of His body.

"kaupIna" is a loincloth, which is the bare minimum cloth that is worn by people who choose to discard all material possessions. "achcha" means "pure" and "sUtra" is the janivara. "kaupIna" and "achchha" combine to form "kaupInAchchha." "pada" refers to words, particularly Vedic words.

The next word can be taken as either "gAna" meaning "singing [words through the Vedas]" or "yAna" meaning "walking." "Ata" means "sunlight" and "patra" means "protects," so "Atapatra" refers to an umbrella. "gAna" and "Atapatra" form "gAnAtapatra."

"karaka" is a kamandala, or an small oblong pot used for carrying water. "namya" means "namaskara" and by extension "Anamya" refers to a good namaskara, indicating someone who is worthy of prayer. "karaka" and "Anamya" join to form "karakAnamya." "daNDa" is a walking stick and it is a "varadaNDa," or a "special walking stick" because it is carried by ascetic individuals.

"bhR^it" means "one who carries." Combines this is aShashThItatpuruSha samAsa, describing Vamana as someone who is fit to be bowed upon, one who carries a sacred thread, Vedic words, an umbrella, a kamandala, and a special walking stick.

We pray to this Vamana saying "VAmanatano pAhi." Oh Vamana, protect us now and always.