Ganapati Stotram

गणपतिस्तोत्रम्

Gaṇapatistotram

All 5 verses

Verse 1

सुवर्णवर्णसुन्दरं सितैकदन्तबन्धुरं गृहीतपाशकाङ्कुशं वरप्रदाभयप्रदम् । चतुर्भुजं त्रिलोचनं भुजङ्गमोपवीतिनं प्रफुल्लवारिजासनं भजामि सिन्धुराननम् ॥१॥

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Editorial Advaita reflection

Word breakdown

सुवर्णवर्णसुन्दरं सितैकदन्तबन्धुरं: Golden-hued and beautiful, charming with one white tusk.
गृहीतपाशकाङ्कुशं वरप्रदाभयप्रदम् ।: Holding noose and goad, giver of boons and fearlessness.
चतुर्भुजं त्रिलोचनं भुजङ्गमोपवीतिनं: Four-armed, three-eyed, wearing a serpent as sacred thread.
प्रफुल्लवारिजासनं भजामि सिन्धुराननम् ॥१॥: Seated on a blooming lotus; I worship the elephant-faced Lord.

Ganesha at the threshold removes the obstacles that arise when the mind clings to name and form. His golden radiance points to the undivided consciousness that precedes every undertaking.

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Verse 2

किरीटहारकुण्डलं प्रदीप्तबाहुभूषणं प्रचण्डरत्नकङ्कणं प्रशोभिताङ्ङ्घ्रयष्टिकम् । प्रभातसूर्यसुन्दराम्बरद्वयप्रधारिणं सरलहेमनूपुरं प्रशोभिताङ्घ्रिपङ्कजम् ॥२॥

Study note

Editorial Advaita reflection

Word breakdown

किरीटहारकुण्डलं प्रदीप्तबाहुभूषणं: Crowned, garlanded, with earrings and blazing arm-ornaments.
प्रचण्डरत्नकङ्कणं प्रशोभिताङ्ङ्घ्रयष्टिकम् ।: With fierce jewelled bracelets and shapely adorned feet.
प्रभातसूर्यसुन्दराम्बरद्वयप्रधारिणं: Wearing two garments beautiful as the morning sun.
सरलहेमनूपुरं प्रशोभिताङ्घ्रिपङ्कजम् ॥२॥: With simple golden anklets adorning his lotus feet.

The ornaments that adorn the Lord are the virtues of a purified mind. When inner clarity dawns like the morning sun, even the body becomes a temple of the formless Self.

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Verse 3

सुवर्णदण्डमण्डितप्रचण्डचारुचामरं गृहप्रतीर्णसुन्दरं युगक्षणं प्रमोदितम् । कवीन्द्रचित्तरञ्जकं महाविपत्तिभञ्जकं षडक्षरस्वरूपिणं भजेद्गजेन्द्ररूपिणम् ॥३॥

Study note

Editorial Advaita reflection

Word breakdown

सुवर्णदण्डमण्डितप्रचण्डचारुचामरं: With a golden staff and fierce, beautiful fly-whisks.
गृहप्रतीर्णसुन्दरं युगक्षणं प्रमोदितम् ।: Beautiful as a well-kept home, delighted in every moment of time.
कवीन्द्रचित्तरञ्जकं महाविपत्तिभञ्जकं: Delighter of poets' hearts, breaker of great calamities.
षडक्षरस्वरूपिणं भजेद्गजेन्द्ररूपिणम् ॥३॥: Embodiment of the six-syllable mantra; one should worship the elephant Lord.

He who is the six-syllable Om is the primordial sound from which all speech arises and into which it returns. Breaking calamity means severing identification with the body-mind complex.

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Verse 4

विरिञ्चिविष्णुवन्दितं विरूपलोचनस्तुतिं गिरीशदर्शनेच्छया समर्पितं पराशया । निरन्तरं सुरासुरैः सपुत्रवामलोचनैः महामखेष्टमिष्टकर्मसु भजामि तुन्दिलम् ॥४॥

Study note

Editorial Advaita reflection

Word breakdown

विरिञ्चिविष्णुवन्दितं विरूपलोचनस्तुतिं: Worshipped by Brahma and Vishnu, praised by Virupaksha.
गिरीशदर्शनेच्छया समर्पितं पराशया ।: Offered with supreme intent out of desire to see Girisha.
निरन्तरं सुरासुरैः सपुत्रवामलोचनैः: Ever worshipped by gods and demons together with their sons and Uma.
महामखेष्टमिष्टकर्मसु भजामि तुन्दिलम् ॥४॥: In great sacrifices and desired rites I worship the pot-bellied Lord.

Even the highest gods bow before the Lord of beginnings, for no action succeeds without first returning to the source. Offering with supreme intent transforms ritual into recognition of the one Self in all.

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Verse 5

मदौघलुब्धचञ्चलार्कमञ्जुगुञ्जितारवं प्रबुद्धचित्तरञ्जकं प्रमोदकर्णचालकम् । अनन्यभक्तिमानवं प्रचण्डमुक्तिदायकं नमामि नित्यमादरेण वक्रतुण्डनायकम् ॥५॥

Study note

Editorial Advaita reflection

Word breakdown

मदौघलुब्धचञ्चलार्कमञ्जुगुञ्जितारवं: Whose humming sound charms the restless sun greedy for the nectar of bliss.
प्रबुद्धचित्तरञ्जकं प्रमोदकर्णचालकम् ।: Delighter of awakened minds, mover of devotees' ears to joy.
अनन्यभक्तिमानवं प्रचण्डमुक्तिदायकं: Giver of fierce liberation to those of single-minded devotion.
नमामि नित्यमादरेण वक्रतुण्डनायकम् ॥५॥: I bow always with reverence to the Lord of the curved trunk.

Single-minded devotion dissolves the sense of a separate seeker and the sought. The fierce liberation he grants is not escape from the world but the sudden recognition that bondage was never real.

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