[Advaita-l] Sivaanandalahari - 1

[Anbu sivam2]

Aum Sri Gurubyo Namaha

In Kanchi Forum one Sri S.Lakshminarayanan started posting the verses from
Sivaanandalahari with its meaning in English.  It occured to me to write
commentaries on these verses.  I am posting some of them here.

औम् श्री गणेशाय नम :
शिवाभ्यान्नम:

Sivananda Lahari is one of the foremost among the Siva Stotras. This is a
virtual Bhkti Sastra. It explains the varius types or kinds of Bhakti. I
intend giving the stotras in Sanskrit, the transliteration in English and
the meaning. Members are requested to pardon my poor translation as well as
the small variations in the Sanskrit script which occur while using the
software

कलाभ्याम् चूडालंकृत-शशिकलाभ्यां निजतप:-
फलाभ्यां भक्तेषु प्रकटित-फलाभ्य़ां भवतु मे ।
शिवाभ्या-मस्तोक-त्रिभुवन-शिवाभ्यां हृदि पुन-
र्भ्वाभ्या-मानन्द-स्फुर-दनुभवाभ्यां नतिरियम् ॥ १ ॥

aum SrI gaNeSAya nama :
SivAbhyAnnama:

kalAbhyAm chUDAlaMkRuta-SaSikalAbhyAM nijatapa:-
phalAbhyAM bhakteShu prakaTita-phalAbhYAM bhavatu me |
SivAbhyA-mastoka-tribhuvana-SivAbhyAM hRudi puna-
rbhvAbhyA-mAnanda-sphura-danubhavAbhyAM natiriyam || 1 ||

My Namsakarams to auspicious Shiva and Parashakti who have artistic form,
wear crescent moon on the head, beneficiaries of mutual penance, whose grace
is displayed on their Bhaktas , who lavishly bestow all Mnangalams to the
three worlds, who appear in the heart afresh every time they are thought of
and who experience the bliss of Atma Anubhava.

*My commentary:

*Aum Sri Kaamaakshyai Namaha! Aum Namasivaya!

The beauty of this very first sloka of Sivaanandhalahari is that it pays
homage to Sri AmbaaL in the very first word 'Kalaabhyaam' indicating his
wish for parama mangaLam in the completion of his great poetry on Lord
Shiva. The saastra says "Pavithraanaam Pavithram yo MangaLaanaam cha
mangaLam" and accordingly Adi Shankara starts with the mangaLa sabhdam of
'Kalaa". This is also in accordance with the Nyaaya "Sreyaamsi bahuvignaani"
and his wish for the benefits of starting with the praise of Sri AmbaaL who
remains the kalpavriksham for the devotee and the Vedic prayer "Maathru Devo
Bhava", that Sri Adi Shankara starts with the word "Kalaabhyaam". There is
also a preference for the word "Kalaa" for it starts with the letter "Ka"
which is the first letter of the Shodasi manthra. This shows that the idea
of starting this with "Ka" kaara sabhdam is to start it off to ward off any
vignam that may ensue. Above all it indicates the unparelleled devotion of
Sri Bhagavat PaadhaaL to the mother who started off his Sanyaasa Aashrama
with the blessings of his mother that we learn from Sri Shankara Vijayam
that he remembered his mother whenever he took a dip in every holy river of
the country. Asmaari maathaapi cha puposha dadhaara yaa dhukkamasoda boori -
here from the word maathaapi we clearly discern his greatest maathru
bhakthi. "Yaa Devi sarvabootheshu maathruroopena samsthithaa". If he has so
much love for the mother of his mortal body how are we to fathom or describe
his love for the mother of all - from Brahma to the smallest amoeba! So this
is the way he starts off Shivaanandalahari with parama prema of the this
Jaganmaatha this great Paraashakthi. AmbaaL encompasses sakhala kalaas from
laukika vidya to Brahma Vidya and remains the swaroopam of Paarvathi and
Parameswaraal as is given in the Veda "Easaanas sarva Vidyaanaam". In Devi
Mahaathmyam it says: "Ashtaadhasanimeshaathsu kaashtaa thrisaththuthaaha
kalaaha". That is by spinning the kaalachakra it is the Rudhrarupam that
brings an end to the 'kaalam' and by the word 'kalaabhyaam' Bhagavat
PaadhaaL points out the Shivashakthi that is behind the Rudrarupam.

"Chandrasekharamaasraye mama kim karishyathi vai yamaha". This was the great
shout with which Maarkandeya came running towards Shiva and hugged the
Lingam when he was being pursued by yama. (My salutations to our great
Mahaperiavaal Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswathi). And Shiva bound by the great
bhakthi of this child Maarkandeya took the form of Lingothbhava moorthi and
kicked Yama with his left foot and saved Markandeya from death and he
remained Chiranjeevi. Thus if we keep worshiping this Mrithyunjaya we all
would be able to cross the great ocean of kaala. There is no doubt about it.

This sloka can be termed as the vyaakyaanam of Panchaakshari manthra because
only by Panchaakshari manthra can both Shiva and Shakthi can be satisfied.
"Shivaacha Shivascha Shivau thaabyaam Shivaabhyaam". In this is contained
both Shiva thathva and Shakthi thathva. The Shakthi thathva is contained
with great difficulty in the 'ya' kaaram at the end of Panchaakshari
manthra.

Therefore anyone who does the japam of Panchaakshari mathra will have the
twin benefit of ihikam, aamushmikam and also have nivaaranam from all kinds
of diseases including the diesease of bhava (Bhava roga vaidhyanaathan).

(to be continued)