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Adi Shankaracharya Stotras

Ardhanarishwara Stotram

अर्धनारीश्वरस्तोत्रम्

Ardhanārīśvarastotram

All 8 verses

Verse by verse

Verse 1

चाम्पेयगौरार्धशरीरकायै कर्पूरगौरार्धशरीरकाय धम्मिल्लकायै च जटाधराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥१॥

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चाम्पेयगौरार्धशरीरकायै कर्पूरगौरार्धशरीरकाय
To her whose half-body is champaka-gold fair, to him whose half-body is camphor-white fair,
धम्मिल्लकायै च जटाधराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her with braided hair and to him with matted locks, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Gold and ash-white in one form proclaim that Shakti and Shiva are not two substances but one reality appearing as complementary hues; salutation to both halves is salutation to the undivided Self that wears every pair of opposites.

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Verse 2

कस्तूरिकाकुङ्कुमचर्चितायै चितारजःपुञ्जविचर्चिताय कृतस्मरायै विकृतस्मराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥२॥

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कस्तूरिकाकुङ्कुमचर्चितायै चितारजःपुञ्जविचर्चिताय
To her anointed with musk and kumkum, to him smeared with heaps of cremation ash,
कृतस्मरायै विकृतस्मराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her who has made Kama, to him who has deformed Kama, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Kumkum and funeral ash, beauty and renunciation, meet in one body where desire is both fulfilled and broken; the Lord who makes and mars Kama teaches that passion overcome and grace embraced are one in the non-dual ground.

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Verse 3

झणत्क्वणत्कङ्कणनूपुरायै पादाब्जराजत्फणिनूपुराय हेमाङ्गदायै भुजगाङ्गदाय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥३॥

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झणत्क्वणत्कङ्कणनूपुरायै पादाब्जराजत्फणिनूपुराय
To her with chiming anklets and foot-ornaments, to him whose lotus feet bear serpent anklets,
हेमाङ्गदायै भुजगाङ्गदाय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her with golden armlets, to him with serpent armlets, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Gold bangles and serpent ornaments ring together in one dance of being; the music of anklets on a single form sounds the truth that worldliness and ascetic power are not rivals but notes in one hymn to the Self.

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Verse 4

विशालनीलोत्पललोचनायै विकासिपङ्केरुहलोचनाय समेक्षणायै विषमेक्षणाय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥४॥

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विशालनीलोत्पललोचनायै विकासिपङ्केरुहलोचनाय
To her with wide blue-lotus eyes, to him with blossoming lotus eyes,
समेक्षणायै विषमेक्षणाय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her with even gaze, to him with the uneven third eye, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Lotus eyes and the fierce third eye share one face, showing mercy and terror as one vision; equal and unequal regard together point to awareness that embraces all without being divided by the judgments of the mind.

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Verse 5

मन्दारमालाकलितालकायै कपालमालाङ्कितकन्धराय दिव्याम्बरायै च दिगम्बराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥५॥

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मन्दारमालाकलितालकायै कपालमालाङ्कितकन्धराय
To her with locks adorned by mandara garlands, to him whose neck is marked by a garland of skulls,
दिव्याम्बरायै च दिगम्बराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her in divine raiment and to him sky-clad, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Celestial garlands and skulls, silk and nakedness, adorn one throat because creation and dissolution wear the same Lord; clothed and unclothed are appearances of the one reality that needs no garment to be complete.

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Verse 6

अम्भोधरश्यामलकुन्तलायै तडित्प्रभाताम्रजटाधराय निरीश्वरायै निखिलेश्वराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥६॥

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अम्भोधरश्यामलकुन्तलायै तडित्प्रभाताम्रजटाधराय
To her with cloud-dark soft locks, to him with matted locks bright as lightning's copper glow,
निरीश्वरायै निखिलेश्वराय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her who is without a lord, to him who is lord of all, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

She without a lord and he lord of all are one being, resolving the paradox of dependence and sovereignty in non-duality; the Self is neither subject to another nor limited lordship, but the whole in which every role appears.

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Verse 7

प्रपञ्चसृष्ट्युन्मुखलास्यकायै समस्तसंहारकताण्डवाय जगज्जनन्यै जगदेकपित्रे नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥७॥

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प्रपञ्चसृष्ट्युन्मुखलास्यकायै समस्तसंहारकताण्डवाय
To her whose face smiles at the world's creation, to him who dances the dance of total destruction,
जगज्जनन्यै जगदेकपित्रे नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to the mother of the world and the sole father of the world, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Mother of the world and its only father in one form reveal that origination and dissolution are not sequential tragedies but one play of consciousness; the smile at creation and the dance of ending meet in the witness untouched by both.

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Verse 8

प्रदीप्तरत्नोज्ज्वलकुण्डलायै स्फुरन्महापन्नगभूषणाय शिवान्वितायै च शिवान्विताय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय ॥८॥

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प्रदीप्तरत्नोज्ज्वलकुण्डलायै स्फुरन्महापन्नगभूषणाय
To her with earrings blazing with lit jewels, to him adorned with the great quivering serpent,
शिवान्वितायै च शिवान्विताय नमः शिवायै च नमः शिवाय
to her united with Shiva and to him united with Shiva, salutations to Shiva, salutations to Shiva.

Jeweled ear and serpent crest crown one being in whom Shiva is united with Shiva; the final salutation names no duality left to bridge, for the auspicious is wholly present as the one Self knowing itself in every ornament of form.

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