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Mantra Matruka Pushpa Mala Stavam
Adi Sankaracharya's
[Prayer of Garland of Mantra Flowers to the Divine Mother]
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
[This is a very pretty mellifluous and remarkable prayer to the mother Goddess written by Adhi Sankara. In the first 16 stanzas he describes the shodasa Upacharas(16 types of services which a devotee would do to his God) in a manner which would move every one’s heart. Of these the sixteenth stanza describes the benefits which a devotee would get by reciting this prayer. The seventeenth is an eulogy of the prayer. Another interesting aspect is that the first letters of the first 15 stanzas are the letters of the Pancha Dasakshri mantra viz
Ka- aa-ee-la-hrim
Ha –sa-ka-ha-la-hrim
Sa-ka-la-hrim
This mantra is supposed to be the holiest to worship and meditate on the mother.]
1. I pray to your Throne, mother,
Which is made of jewels of thought,
And is placed in the main and holy stage,
Which is in the middle of the great arena,
Made with one thousand pillars of precious stones,
Which is in the precious garden of kadambha trees,
Which is surrounded by several kalpaka trees,
Which is in the island of gems,
And which is in the middle of the great tide,
Of the ocean of nectar, which shines with its ever beating waves.
2.I meditate on you,
Who has a very beatific smile,
Who is in the middle of Sri Chakra,
Which is the shining orb of the sun ,moon and fire god,
Who shines like the rising sun,
Who holds in her hand, the bow and arrows, goad and the noose,
Who has a face with a pleasing smile,
Who wears red silk,
And who wears a crown decorated by the crescent.
3. Hey ocean of the nectar of mercy,
I have with devotion in my mind offered you,
A throne of jewel whose legs are,
Lord Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra and Ishwara,
Whose seating plank is Lord Shiva,
And pots of holy water for you to drink,
And holy rice mixed with saffron, sandal and rare gems,
And pure water for you to do inner purification,
And let all these become a part ,contributing to your happiness.
4. Hey Devi, who is the subject of meditation of great sages,
Who protects the entire world and its beings,
And who has broad longish eyes,
Holy water mixed with saffron, camphor, cow’s milk,
Tender coconut water and rose water , sanctified by holy chants,
Has been kept ready for you,
And so please be kind enough to take your bath,
5. Hey Devi ,whose form is the aim of the holy chants of Hreem,
I have with devotion in my mind offered you,
A pretty upper cloth with golden borders and with precious stones inlaid,
And also a red silk cloth and with gems hanging from it
And also a triple holy thread of sacrifice ,woven with golden threads
And let all these become a part ,contributing to your happiness.
6. Hey devi, whose handsome gait makes even the swans jealous,
Please be kind enough to accept,
The chain of garlands, shining in their beauty,
Armlets made of diamonds resembling the ray of the moon,
Bangles, anklets with jingling bells,
Hair crest resembling the crescent of the moon,
Crown, nose stud made of gems, rings and golden belt.
7. I have offered with devotion to you,
The perfumed paste of camphor, saffron and sandalwood,
To apply all over your body,
Musk to apply thilaka on your forehead,
Paste of Gorochana to apply on your mirror like cheeks,
Holy black kajal to apply in your eyes,
And mixtures of musk to apply on your conch like neck,
And let all these become a part ,contributing to your happiness.
8. Hey Goddess, who is giver of all boons,
I have with devotion in my mind offered you,
Crowds of pretty garlands,
Made of lilies, jasmine, sweet smelling herbs,
Golden coloured lotus flowers, Champaka flowers,
Sweet smelling pandanus flowers and very many such,
And let all these become a part ,contributing to your happiness.
9. Hey mother mine, let me offer you the perfumed smokes ,
From Dasanga, Gulgulu, and ghee,
To add scent to parts of your body,
By which you arouse the passion,
In lord Shiva who burnt the God of love,
And to add perfume to your great long black tresses ,
Which appears as if it is a string of bees,
And which is used tie his heart,
And which become the play house of perfumes.
10. Hey Goddess ,who is the daughter of the mountain,
I imagine in my heart that,
In thine house whose interior is lit by the glitter of gems,
In which the pillars are fully gem studded and on which garlands hang,
The lights in the hands of golden statues of various types.
Are filled with cow’s ghee and the holy lamps in rows are lit,
And increase the sparkle of the room,
And so I request you to become happy..
11. Oh Goddess ,who is the goddess pleased with the sound ‘Hreem’,
In several shining vessels of gold, which have been cleaned by fire,
And are filled with, Ghee, dhal and dishes made of leafy vegetables mixed with holy rice,
Mixed rice made out of honey , sugar and curds,
And curd and milk rice kept in gem studded vessels,
And thousands of vada made of black gram dhal,
And several types are being offered to you,
And Oh , mother, please accept them.
12. Hey Goddess Uma, a gem studded plate of Thamboola,
Full with betel nut of good quality which shines with camphor lines,
And with betel leaves which are as thin as pandanus flower petal,
Applied with lime prepared from the pearl oyster,
Which would add perfume to your lotus like face,
Has been kept on the eastern side , to add to your happiness.
13. Several damsels with the glitter of beauty,
With their lotus feet dancing to the pleasant tunes,
According to the beats of drum and melodious singing,
Accompanied with chanting of mantras,
Carry several camphor lamps decorated by gems,
In a decorated and perfectly clean plate,
Arranged in an ornamental fashion according to a pictorial design,
And offer you the worship of lights,
And , Oh mother, be pleased to accept it.
14. Goddess Lakshmi with interest in serving you,
Holds a white umbrella made of pearls,
Indrani , the wife of Indra and Rathi the wife of God of love,
Fan you from both sides with white fans,
Goddess Saraswathi without any one requesting,
Is playing the Veena to produce soulful music,
And the pretty damsels of Devas are dancing ,
With handsome movements of their body and mind,
To produce the nine different emotions.
Oh mother please see and enjoy them all.
15. Oh Goddess Ambika, who should be meditated,
Upon by the three manthras starting with Hreem,
And whose form can only be understood,
By the wise sentences of Upanishads,
And who can be considered as an expert,
In composing songs praising you,
Let all my conversations be prayers to thee,
Let all my walks and travel be perambulation round thee,
And let all my lying down be salutations to you.
16. The one who offers worship,
To the goddess who is the daughter of mountain,
Using this prayer of the garland of mantras,
Daily during dawn , noon and dusk
And salute her with his entire mind,
Would soon find that,
In the stage of his very devout lotus like mind,
The Goddess Parvathy would dance.
And in his lotus like face,
The goddess Saraswathy would dance,
And in his house, Goddess Lakshmi ,
Who is the daughter of ocean,
And who brings all that is good,
Would dance for ever.
17.Let these words
Which are the ornaments of the lotus like feet of mother
Which have sweet smelling meanings,
Which make the world clean,
Which are dripping with honey of the salvation of Siva’s feet,
And have been woven by me as a garland of mantras to the mother,
Make the bee like poets full of joy.
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