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Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam Lyrics
Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam, a devotional hymn, was composed by the seer, Sri Adi Shankaracharya, in praise of Lord Dakshinamurthy, a form of Lord Shiva. Dakshinamurthy means ‘the God who faces the south’. In this form, Shiva is a teacher or Guru who imparts Jnana or knowledge. It is one of the most famous Stotras written by Shankaracharya.
It is not a mere prayer but a summing up of all the philosophies that the seer taught his disciples. This Ashtakam begins with an introductory Sloka, which is followed by 8 Slokas. It ends with the Phala Stuti. In Shankara’s lifetime itself, this Stotra was not easy to understand. So, one of his disciples named Sureshwaracharya wrote a commentary called Manasollasa on it. Many have written books and commentaries on this commentary also.
Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam in English
om maunavyakhya prakatitaparabrahmatatvamyuvanam
varsisthantevasadrsiganairavrtam brahmanisthaih |
acaryendram karakalita cinmudramanandamurtim
svatmaramam muditavadanam daksinamurtimiḍe ||
viśvaṁ darpaṇadr̥śyamānanagarītulyaṁ nijāntargataṁ
paśyannātmani māyayā bahirivōdbhūtaṁ yathā nidrayā
yaḥ sākṣātkurutē prabōdhasamayē svātmānamēvādvayaṁ
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 1 ||
bījasyāntarivāṅkurō jagadidaṁ prāṅnirvikalpaṁ punaḥ
māyākalpitadēśakālakalanāvaicitryacitrīkr̥tam
māyāvīva vijr̥mbhayatyapi mahāyōgīva yaḥ svēcchayā
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 2 ||
yasyaiva sphuraṇaṁ sadātmakamasatkalpārthagaṁ bhāsatē
sākṣāttattvamasīti vēdavacasā yō bōdhayatyāśritān
yatsākṣātkaraṇādbhavēnna punarāvr̥ttirbhavāmbhōnidhau
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 3 ||
nānācchidraghaṭōdarasthitamahādīpaprabhābhāsvaraṁ
jñānaṁ yasya tu cakṣurādikaraṇadvārā bahiḥ spandatē
jānāmīti tamēva bhāntamanubhātyētatsamastaṁ jagat
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 4 ||
dēhaṁ prāṇamapīndriyāṇyapi calāṁ buddhiṁ ca śūnyaṁ viduḥ
strībālāndhajaḍōpamāstvahamiti bhrāntā bhr̥śaṁ vādinaḥ
māyāśaktivilāsakalpitamahāvyāmōhasaṁhāriṇē
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 5 ||
rāhugrastadivākarēndusadr̥śō māyāsamācchādanāt
sanmātraḥ karaṇōpasaṁharaṇatō yō:’bhūtsuṣuptaḥ pumān
prāgasvāpsamiti prabōdhasamayē yaḥ pratyabhijñāyatē
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 6 ||
bālyādiṣvapi jāgradādiṣu tathā sarvāsvavasthāsvapi
vyāvr̥ttāsvanuvartamānamahamityantaḥ sphurantaṁ sadā
svātmānaṁ prakaṭīkarōti bhajatāṁ yō mudrayā bhadrayā
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 7 ||
viśvaṁ paśyati kāryakāraṇatayā svasvāmisambandhataḥ
śiṣyācāryatayā tathaiva pitr̥putrādyātmanā bhēdataḥ
svapnē jāgrati vā ya ēṣa puruṣō māyāparibhrāmitaḥ
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 8 ||
bhūrambhāṁsyanalō:’nilō:’mbaramaharnāthō himāṁśuḥ pumān
ityābhāti carācarātmakamidaṁ yasyaiva mūrtyaṣṭakam
nānyatkiñcana vidyatē vimr̥śatāṁ yasmātparasmādvibhōḥ
tasmai śrī gurumūrtayē nama idaṁ śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtayē || 9 ||
sarvātmatvamiti sphuṭīkr̥tamidaṁ yasmādamuṣmiṁstavē
tēnāsya śravaṇāttadarthamananāddhyānācca saṅkīrtanāt
sarvātmatvamahāvibhūtisahitaṁ syādīśvaratvaṁ svataḥ
siddhyēttatpunaraṣṭadhā pariṇataṁ caiśvaryamavyāhatam || 10 ||
ithi śrī dakṣiṇāmūrtyaṣṭakam ||
Dakshinamurthy Ashtakam Meaning:
I praise and salute that Dakshinamurthy,
Who faces the south,
Who explains the true nature of the supreme Brahman,
Through his state of silence,
Who is young in looks,
Who is surrounded by disciples who are old Sages,
Whose minds are fixed on Brahman,
Who is the greatest of teachers,
Who shows the Chinmudhra by his hand,
Who is the personification of happiness,
Who is in the state of extreme joy within himself,
And who has a smiling face.
Similar to the image of a town as seen in the mirror,
When one sees the image of the world within him,
The world appears as if it is outside.
It is similar to his seeing due to illusion,
During the state of sleep,
That the one real fact appears as many different truths,
And he realizes when he wakes up and sees the reality,
That he is really the one and only one soul.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
Like the germ inside the seed is its part,
But becomes different after development
The many places and time which are before us,
Are drawn by illusion in the board of life in a peculiar manner,
By a great savant or an expert Siddha,
Who can create them as per their will,
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
He who exists as the real light of truth,
And shines in the false world of appearance,
And He who teaches disciples the great saying,
“Thou art that” after realizing its import,
Gets away from this cycle of life and death.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
Like the light emanating from a lamp,
Kept in a pot with many holes,
Goes out in all directions,
In the person in whom the wisdom goes out
Through the openings of ear, eye, mouth, and thought,
And when that person realizes that ‘I know myself”,
This whole universe shines after Him alone,
Who shines in the consciousness as the knower.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
Those great philosophers who think that
The body, the soul, and the fickle intellect,
The concept of emptiness and all other nothingness,
Are nothing but themselves,
Are similar to the women, children, blind, and ignorant.
It is only He who can destroy this veil of ignorance,
And wake us up from this state of deceit.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
Similar to the Sun when being masked by the serpent Rahu,
Knows that it was existing, once the eclipse is over
That man whose senses are suppressed
When he is asleep,
Because of the veil of illusion,
Realizes that he was in a state of sleep,
When he wakes up.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
Salutations to him who shines and exhibits,
Himself by the beatific Chinmudhra of the hand,
That he exists within the humans as self,
Forever and non-changing,
Even during the changing states of childhood, youth, and old age
And even during the states of sleep, dream, and wakefulness.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
The world sees as cause and effect,
The differences between us and our lord,
The distinction between teacher and the taught,
The distinction between father and son,
And so the man is confused by illusion,
And believes in these differences,
During the times of dream and wakefulness.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
To the sake of which supreme Brahman,
The universe is shining as self,
Which is movable and immovable, with its aspects?
Of water, fire, air, space,
The sun, moon, and the individual soul,
And also to those who examine the truth behind,
The meaning of this universe and find,
That it consists of nothing but,
The God who is everywhere.
Salutation to the God facing the south,
Who is the greatest teacher.
The concept of the Athma,
Which is explained in this poem of praise,
Hearing which, understanding which,
Meditating which and singing which,
One would attain the state of godliness,
And the great state of self-realization,
And also, you would get the eight powers of the occult,
Without any problems in between.
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