Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur

The Kanakadhāra Stotram is a hymn of Hindu devotional literature, composed by the Indian sage Adi Shankaracharya. The hymn is a prayer to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. The hymn is considered to be very powerful and is believed to bring wealth and prosperity to those who recite it with faith and devotion. The hymn is written in Sanskrit and consists of 21 verses, each of which praises the various aspects and attributes of the goddess Lakshmi. It is commonly recited during the festival of Diwali and other auspicious occasions.

Kanakadhāra Stotram

Kanakadhara Stotram is a hymn. It is called Kanakadhara because when Adi Sankara recited it, the Goddess Lakshmi created a shower of golden fruit

Audio

Listen to the Kanakadhāra Stotram. This audio is by www.prapatti.com.

Kanakadhāra Stotram Audio (by prapatti.com)

Translation

Translated by P. R. Ramachander ( Let us thank him with prayers for his family )

1 Angam hare pulaka bhooshanamasrayanthi,
Bhringanga neva mukulabharanam thamalam,
Angikrithakhila vibhuthirapanga leela,
Mangalyadasthu mama mangala devathaya.

To the Hari who wears supreme happiness as Ornament,
The Goddess Lakshmi is attracted,
Like the black bees getting attracted,
To the unopened buds of black Tamala[1] tree,
Let her who is the Goddess of all good things,
Grant me a glance that will bring prosperity.

2
Mugdha muhurvidhadhadathi vadhane Murare,
Premathrapapranihithani gathagathani,
Mala dhrishotmadhukareeva maheth pale ya,
Sa ne sriyam dhisathu sagarasambhavaya.

Again and again return ,those glances,
Filled with hesitation and love,
Of her who is born to the ocean of milk,
To the face of Murari[2],
Like the honey bees to the pretty blue lotus,
And let those glances shower me with wealth.

3
Ameelithaksha madhigamya mudha Mukundam
Anandakandamanimeshamananga thanthram,
Akekara stiththa kaninika pashma nethram,
Bhoothyai bhavenmama bhjangasayananganaya.

With half closed eyes stares she on Mukunda[3],
Filled with happiness , shyness and the science of love,
On the ecstasy filled face with closed eyes of her Lord,
And let her , who is the wife of Him who sleeps on the snake,
Shower me with wealth.

4
Bahwanthare madhujitha srithakausthube ya,
Haravaleeva nari neela mayi vibhathi,
Kamapradha bhagavatho api kadaksha mala,
Kalyanamavahathu me kamalalayaya

He who has won over Madhu[4],
Wears the Kousthuba[5] as ornament,
And also the garland of glances, of blue Indraneela[6],
Filled with love to protect and grant wishes to Him,
Of her who lives on the lotus,
And let those also fall on me,
And grant me all that is good..

5
Kalambudhaalithorasi kaida bhare,
Dharaadhare sphurathi yaa thadinganeva,
Mathu samastha jagatham mahaneeya murthy,
Badrani me dhisathu bhargava nandanaya

Like the streak of lightning in black dark cloud,
She is shining on the dark , broad chest,
Of He who killed Kaidaba[7],
And let the eyes of the great mother of all universe,
Who is the daughter of Sage Bharghava[8],
Fallon me lightly and bring me prosperity.

6
Praptham padam pradhamatha khalu yat prabhavath,
Mangalyabhaji madhu madhini manamathena,
Mayyapadetha mathara meekshanardham,
Manthalasam cha makaralaya kanyakaya.

The God of love could only reach ,
The killer of Madhu[9],
Through the power of her kind glances,
Loaded with love and blessing
And let that side glance ,
Which is auspicious and indolent,
Fall on me.

7
Viswamarendra padhavee bramadhana dhaksham,
Ananda hethu radhikam madhu vishwoapi,
Eshanna sheedhathu mayi kshanameekshanartham,
Indhivarodhara sahodharamidhiraya

See also  Gomatha sthuthi

Capable of making one as king of Devas in this world,
Her side long glance of a moment,
Made Indra[10] regain his kingdom,
And is making Him who killed Madhu [11] supremely happy.
And let her with her blue lotus eyes glance me a little.

8
Ishta visishtamathayopi yaya dhayardhra,
Dhrishtya thravishta papadam sulabham labhanthe,
Hrishtim prahrushta kamlodhara deepthirishtam,
Pushtim krishishta mama pushkravishtaraya.

To her devotees and those who are great,
Grants she a place in heaven which is difficult to attain,
Just by a glance of her compassion filled eyes,
Let her sparkling eyes which are like the fully opened lotus,
Fall on me and grant me all my desires.

9
Dhadyaddhayanupavanopi dravinambhudaraam,
Asminna kinchina vihanga sisou vishanne,
Dhushkaramagarmmapaneeya chiraya dhooram,
Narayana pranayinee nayanambhuvaha.

Please send your mercy which is like wind,
And shower the rain of wealth on this parched land,,
And quench the thirst of this little chataka[12] bird,
And likewise ,drive away afar my load of sins,
Oh, darling of Narayana[13],
By the glance from your cloud like dark eyes.

10
Gheerdhevathethi garuda dwaja sundarithi,
Sakambhareethi sasi shekara vallebhethi,
Srishti sthithi pralaya kelishu samsthitha ya,
Thasyai namas thribhvanai ka guros tharunyai.

She is the goddess of Knowledge,
She is the darling of Him who has Garuda[14] as flag,
She is the power that causes of death at time of deluge,
And she is the wife of Him who has the crescent,
And she does the creation , upkeep and destruction at various times,
And my salutations to this lady who is worshipped by all the three worlds.

11
Sruthyai namosthu shubha karma phala prasoothyai,
Rathyai namosthu ramaneeya gunarnavayai,
Shakthyai namosthu satha pathra nikethanayai,
Pushtayi namosthu purushotthama vallabhayai.

Salutations to you as Vedas[15] which give rise to good actions,
Salutation to you as Rathi[16] for giving the most beautiful qualities,
Salutation to you as Shakthi[17] ,who lives in the hundred petalled lotus,
And salutations to you who is Goddess of plenty,
And is the consort of Purushottama[18].

12
Namosthu naleekha nibhananai,
Namosthu dhugdhogdhadhi janma bhoomayai,
Namosthu somamrutha sodharayai,
Namosthu narayana vallabhayai.

Salutations to her who is as pretty.
As the lotus in full bloom,
Salutations to her who is born from ocean of milk,
Salutations to the sister of nectar and the moon,
Salutations to the consort of Narayana.

13
Namosthu hemambhuja peetikayai,
Namosthu bhoo mandala nayikayai,
Namosthu devathi dhaya prayai,
Namosthu Sarngayudha vallabhayai.

Salutations to her who has the golden lotus as seat,
Salutations to her who is the leader of the universe,
Salutations to her who showers mercy on devas,
And salutations to the consort of Him who has the bow called Saranga.

14
Namosthu devyai bhrugu nandanayai,
Namosthu vishnorurasi sthithayai,
Namosthu lakshmyai kamalalayai,
Namosthu dhamodhra vallabhayai.

Salutations to her who is daughter of Bhrigu[19],
Salutations to her lives on the holy chest of Vishnu,
Salutations to Goddess Lakshmi who lives in a lotus,
And saluations to her who is the consort of Damodhara[20].

15
Namosthu Kanthyai kamalekshanayai,
Namosthu bhoothyai bhuvanaprasoothyai,
Namosthu devadhibhir archithayai,
Namosthu nandhathmaja vallabhayai.

Salutations to her who is light living in Lotus flower,
Salutations to her who is the earth and also mother of earth,
Salutations to her who is worshipped by Devas,
And salutations to her who is the consort of the son of Nanda[21].

See also  Appendix 2

16
Sampath karaani sakalendriya nandanani,
Samrajya dhana vibhavani saroruhakshi,
Twad vandanani dhuritha haranodhythani,
Mamev matharanisam kalayanthu manye.

Giver of wealth, giver of pleasures to all senses,
Giver of the right to rule kingdoms,
She who has lotus like eyes,
She to whom Salutations remove all miseries fast,
And my mother to you are my salutations.

17
Yath Kadaksha samupasana vidhi,
Sevakasya sakalartha sapadha,
Santhanodhi vachananga manasai,
Twaam murari hridayeswareem bhaje

He who worships your sidelong glances,
Is blessed by all known wealth and prosperity,
And so my salutations by word, thought and deed,
To the queen of the heart of my Lord Murari[22].

18
Sarasija nilaye saroja hasthe,
Dhavalathamamsuka gandha maya shobhe,
Bhagavathi hari vallabhe manogne,
Tribhuvana bhoothikari praseeda mahye

She who sits on the Lotus,
She who has lotus in her hands,
She who is dressed in dazzling white,
She who shines in garlands and sandal paste,
The Goddess who is the consort of Hari,
She who gladdens the mind,
And she who confers prosperity on the three worlds,
Be pleased to show compassion to me.

19
Dhiggasthibhi kanaka kumbha mukha vasrushta,
Sarvahini vimala charu jalaapluthangim,
Prathar namami jagathaam janani masesha,
Lokadhinatha grahini mamrithabhi puthreem.

Those eight elephants from all the diverse directions,
Pour from out from golden vessels,
The water from the Ganga[23] which flows in heaven,
For your holy purifying bath,
And my salutations in the morn to you ,
Who is the mother of all worlds,
Who is the house wife of the Lord of the worlds,
And who is the daughter of the ocean which gave nectar[24].

20
Kamale Kamalaksha vallabhe twam,
Karuna poora tharingithaira pangai,
Avalokaya mamakinchananam,
Prathamam pathamakrithrimam dhyaya

She who is the Lotus,
She who is the consort,
Of the Lord with Lotus like eyes,
She who has glances filled with mercy,
Please turn your glance on me,
Who is the poorest among the poor,
And first make me the vessel ,
To receive your pity and compassion.

21
Sthuvanthi ye sthuthibhirameeranwaham,
Thrayeemayim thribhuvanamatharam ramam,
Gunadhika guruthara bhagya bhagina,
Bhavanthi the bhuvi budha bhavithasayo.

He who recites these prayers daily,
On her who is personification of Vedas,
On her who is the mother of the three worlds,
On her who is Goddess Rema[25],
Will be blessed without doubt,
With all good graceful qualities,
With all the great fortunes that one can get,
And would live in the world,
With great recognition from even the learned.

[1] A forest tree
[2] The God who killed the asura called Mura i.e Lord Vishnu
[3] He who gives immortal bliss
[4] An Asura
[5] A garland wirn by Vishnu
[6] A precious blue stone
[7] An Asura
[8] One sage who did penance to have goddess Lakshmi as his daughter and succeeded.
[9] An asura
[10] King of Devas
[11] An Asura
[12] A mythical bird which is always thirsty.
[13] Name of Lord Vishnu
[14] A mythical eagle on which Lord Vishnu travels
[15] Holy books of Hindus
[16] Wife of the God of Love
[17] Goddess parvathy
[18] Greatest among men , a name of Lord Vishnu
[19] Another name for sage Bharghava referred earlier.
[20] He who was tied by a rope in the stomach –a name of Lord Krishna.
[21] Nanda Gopa the foster father of Lord Krishna
[22] He who killed the asura called Mura
[23] The holiest river for Hindus
[24] Goddess Lakshmi was supposed to have come out of the ocean of milk during churning .Nectar along with many things also came out similarly.
[25] A name of Goddess Lakshmi

See also  Sri Devi Mahatmyam

Background & History

Adi Sankaracharya was born in kaladi in 8th century when Hinduism had few problems. The Shiva worshippers , vishnu worshippers, ganesha worshippers , has misunderstandings . It is Sankaracharya who organized Hinduism and helped in its upliftment.

Once Sankaracharya was going to few houses to take bhiksha. He came across a hut and asked for bhiksha. ( food ). The women inside the house was embarrassed as a saint has come to her house for food but she is so poor that nothing was available in her house. She searched all the places n finally found a old Amla fruit (Emblic myrobalan) ( nelli kani in tamil ). The poor women was feeling shy to give only this little amla fruit to Sankaya but she has immense devotion and dont want to send the saint who came to her house empty handed. She offered the amla fruit in the bowl of Lord Sankaracharya.

Birth of Kanakadhara stotram :

Sankaracharya realized the womens devotion irrespective of being poor. He immediately started singing twenty one slokas praising Goddess Mahalakshmi , praying her to bless the poor women by driving her poverty and grant her riches.

As you sow, So you reap :

Mahalakshmi replied that the lady has not done any good deeds ( helping others in charity ) in her previous birth. so she doesn’t deserve riches and is destined to suffer in poverty. Adi sankaraya accepted it but said though the poor lady din’t do any good deeds in previous birth, in this birth, she has such a kind heart that irrespective of being poor, she gave this little amla fruit to him and this good deed alone is enough to bless her with all prosperity.

Goddess Mahalakshmi’s grace :

Listening to Sankaracharya’s beautiful stotra and his arguement that the poor women must be blessed for her good deed in this birth ( offering of little amla fruit ), Mahalakshmi was moved. Friends, here comes the greatness of this Goddess. She really is for devotion and purity of heart. If we always involve in good deeds , always chanting Gods name, we will surely be blessed by Mahalakshmi.

As Sanakaracharya was singing Kanagadhara stotram, Mahalakshmi showered Golden amla fruit like rain infront of the poor womens hut. Imagine, rain of golden fruit showering from sky . How beautiful is this story friends . How beautiful is the devotion of the poor lady and how great is the saint Adi Sankaraya who sang in praise of Mahalakshmi and beyond all this How graceful is this Goddess Mahalakshmi.

Adi Sankaya has sung this “Kanakadhara stotra” for welfare of everyone who is suffering their past karma and suffering in poverty.

– C.Venkat Raman

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