Soundariya Lahari
1.
Shivah shakthya yukto yadi bhavati shaktah prabhavitum
Na chedevam devo na khalu kusalah spanditumapi;
Atas tvam aradhyam Hari-Hara-Virinchadibhir api
Pranantum stotum vaa katham akrta-punyah prabhavati
O! Bhagavati! Only if Parama Siva is enjoined with You, the Sakti, He is empowered to create. The same Lord is indeed powerless even to move without Your company. O! Mother, the celebrities such as Hari, Hara and Brahma and others, ever worship You. In such a context, how can one (I) be capable of saluting or praising you.
The most important message here is Parashakti is higher than the Trimutis – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It is only Her will and action that even the actionless Nirgun Shiva gets into action. Everything in the universe moves because of Her and all the cosmic process of creation, sustenance and destruction starts because of Her one look which we will see in later stanzas.
It also tells us that even prostrating to Her or singing Her praises happens only when Ambal grants the power to do so. She does not give it to all and everybody but only to those who have spiritual merits.
From the word Shiva if we remove the vowel ‘I’ and bring the consonant to its first position ‘sh’, the word becomes ‘shava’ meaning dead bodyí ! Thus the word ‘Shiva’ gets its life from the vowel ‘I’ , which is the seed letter for Shakti.
In the first stanza Shankara exclaims with great admiration of Shakti -Oh, Goddess, without you even Shiva cannot move!
Shivah shakthya yukto yadi bhavati shaktah prabhavitum
Na chedevam devo na khalu kusalah spanditumapi;
Atas tvam aradhyam Hari-Hara-Virinchadibhir api
Pranantum stotum vaa katham akrta-punyah prabhavati
O! Bhagavati! Only if Parama Siva is enjoined with You, the Sakti, He is empowered to create. The same Lord is indeed powerless even to move without Your company. O! Mother, the celebrities such as Hari, Hara and Brahma and others, ever worship You. In such a context, how can one (I) be capable of saluting or praising you.
The most important message here is Parashakti is higher than the Trimutis – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. It is only Her will and action that even the actionless Nirgun Shiva gets into action. Everything in the universe moves because of Her and all the cosmic process of creation, sustenance and destruction starts because of Her one look which we will see in later stanzas.
It also tells us that even prostrating to Her or singing Her praises happens only when Ambal grants the power to do so. She does not give it to all and everybody but only to those who have spiritual merits.
From the word Shiva if we remove the vowel ‘I’ and bring the consonant to its first position ‘sh’, the word becomes ‘shava’ meaning dead bodyí ! Thus the word ‘Shiva’ gets its life from the vowel ‘I’ , which is the seed letter for Shakti.
In the first stanza Shankara exclaims with great admiration of Shakti -Oh, Goddess, without you even Shiva cannot move!
2.
Taniyamsam pamsum tava carana-pankeruha-bhavam
Virincih sanchinvan virachayati lokan avikalam;
Vahaty evam Shaurih katham api sahasrena shirasaam
Harah samksudy'ainam bhajati bhajati bhasito'ddhalama-vidhim.
O! Bhagavati, the Creator, Brahma carefully gathers the minute dust from Your celebrated lotus feet to accomplish his creativity of all the worlds, without any hindrance.
Vishnu somehow manages to carry this dust on his thousand heads.
Hara amalgamates this powder and observes the injunction for sprinkling it on Himself as the sacred ash (vibhooti).
This is to inspire the devotee’s mind with the unimaginable glory of the Divine Mother. The Mightiest object we can imagine in this mysterious Universe is coming from a tiniest particle of dust from Her feet. The whole Universe is described to be created from a mere speck of dust, and that too such perfect Universes comes out from that speck of dust. Brahma gets all the materials needed to create all the various contents in the universe from this speck.
The whole Universe have 14 regions/worlds which are directly born out of MahaVishnu and Adishesha is believed to be supporting 7 worlds from earth above and that too somehow with lot of effort.
Since theses Universes are so potent that Adishesha needs more effort to support them.
Lord Shiva accumulates the extreme power to annihilate all the worlds by smearing the dust of Devi’s feet.
This sloka celeberates the unimaginable power of Devi and of Her
Taniyamsam pamsum tava carana-pankeruha-bhavam
Virincih sanchinvan virachayati lokan avikalam;
Vahaty evam Shaurih katham api sahasrena shirasaam
Harah samksudy'ainam bhajati bhajati bhasito'ddhalama-vidhim.
O! Bhagavati, the Creator, Brahma carefully gathers the minute dust from Your celebrated lotus feet to accomplish his creativity of all the worlds, without any hindrance.
Vishnu somehow manages to carry this dust on his thousand heads.
Hara amalgamates this powder and observes the injunction for sprinkling it on Himself as the sacred ash (vibhooti).
This is to inspire the devotee’s mind with the unimaginable glory of the Divine Mother. The Mightiest object we can imagine in this mysterious Universe is coming from a tiniest particle of dust from Her feet. The whole Universe is described to be created from a mere speck of dust, and that too such perfect Universes comes out from that speck of dust. Brahma gets all the materials needed to create all the various contents in the universe from this speck.
The whole Universe have 14 regions/worlds which are directly born out of MahaVishnu and Adishesha is believed to be supporting 7 worlds from earth above and that too somehow with lot of effort.
Since theses Universes are so potent that Adishesha needs more effort to support them.
Lord Shiva accumulates the extreme power to annihilate all the worlds by smearing the dust of Devi’s feet.
This sloka celeberates the unimaginable power of Devi and of Her