Soundarya Lahari Ep.. 27 - Chanting Mode in 100 Raagams - With Lyrics - Meanings - Shlokams 53-54 !

Aadi Shankara's Soundarya Lahari consists of 100 Shlokams in Sanskrit praising the Divine Beauty and Infinite Grace of Hindu Goddess Shakti.
The recital of these shlokams and worshipping Mother Goddess Shakti invokes the benevolence of the Mother to the whole Universe.

I am humbly presenting the 100 shlokams in tunes set in 100 popular Carnatic Music Raagams, 2 Shlokams in each episode. These tunes and the pronunciations of complex phrases in Sanskrit were inherited and learnt initially from my first Guru, my beloved periamma ( aunt ), Late Smt. Vijayalakshmi Sitharaman from Chennai, India and later on revised and updated through audio recordings of my mother who had learnt the entire Soundarya Lahari from my aunt and over time , passed them onto me through her own audio recordings.

I will be singing the entire Soundaraya Lahari in 50 episodes, with 2 shlokams in each episode. Each video episode will display the lyrics appropriately transliterated into English.

I am looking forward to you all to accompany me in this spiritual journey and learn, recite, worship and invoke the Divine Blessings of Mother Goddess Shakti!

In Episode 26, I am presenting 2 Soundarya Lahari Shlokams 51 and 52.

The following episodes will each have 2 shlokams until we complete 100 shlokams in 50 episodes !

Meanings :

53.

Describes the three eyes of the Goddess (Parāśakti) with a focus on their tri-color beauty and symbolic significance. The shloka praises the Goddess's eyes adorned with three distinct colors resembling the three gunas (qualities) of nature: rajas (red), sattva (white), and tamas (black). These colors are beautifully blended with collyrium (kajal) on her eyelids, symbolizing her power to recreate the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra, who represent creation, sustenance, and destruction after cosmic dissolution (pralaya).

Word-by-word meaning summary:

"Vibhakta" means separated or distinct

"Trai-varṇyaṁ" indicates three colors

"Vyatikarita līlāñjanatayā" refers to collyrium beautifully applied

"Bibhaāti" means shines or glows

"Tvannetra tritayam" means your three eyes

"Idam īśāna dayite" means O beloved consort of Lord Shiva

"Punaḥ sraṣṭum devān" means again to create the gods

"Druhiṇa hari rudrānuparatān" refers to Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra after disappearance

"Rajaḥ sattvaṁ bibhṛat tama iti" means carrying the three gunas of rajas, sattva, and tamas

"Guṇānāṁ trayam iva" means like the three qualities or attributes.

This shloka symbolizes the cosmic creative power of the Goddess, whose tri-colored eyes embody the essence of the three fundamental energies that sustain the universe, enabling the regeneration of divine forces after dissolution.

54.

O Goddess who has surrendered your heart to the Lord of creatures (Shiva)! With your compassionate eyes shining with the three colors—red, white, and black—you have given us the holy confluence of three sacred rivers, Sone, Ganga, and Yamuna, to purify and sanctify us by taking a holy bath therein. This sanctification removes all sins and impurities.

Word-by-word meaning:

पवित्रीकर्तुं (pavitrīkartuṁ) – to purify

नः (naḥ) – us

पशुपतिपराधीनहृदये (paśupatiparādhīnahṛdaye) – who has surrendered heart to Lord Shiva (the Lord of all beings)

दयामित्रैः (dayāmitraiḥ) – with compassionate friends (eyes)

नेथैः (nethaiḥ) – eyes

अरुणधवलश्यामरूचिभिः (aruṇa-dhavala-śyāma-rūcibhiḥ) – having the colors red, white, and dark blue/black

नभः (nadah) – rivers (Sone river)

शोणः (śoṇaḥ) – Sone river

गङ्गा (gaṅgā) – Ganga river

थपान (thapāna) – Yamuna river

ध्रुवम् (dhruvam) – fixed, eternal

त्रयानां (trayānāṁ) – three

तीर्थानां (tīrthānām) – sacred rivers (holy places)

उपनयसि (upanayasi) – bring together/confluence

संभेद (saṁbheda) – sin, impurity

अमघम् (amagham) – faultless, pure

This shloka emphasizes the cleansing and sanctifying power of the Goddess's divine gaze and the sacred rivers, symbolizing spiritual purification and removal of sins through divine grace.