Soundarya Lahari Ep. 37 - Chanting Mode in 100 Raagams - With Lyrics - Meanings - Shlokams 73-74 !

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 37, I am presenting 2 Soundarya Lahari Shlokams 73 and 74.

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

Meanings :

73.

āmū te vakṣojāvaṁ mṛtvarasam ānikya kuthupau

na saṁdeha spandaḥ nāgapatipathākṣaye manasi naha

pibantaḥ tau yasmād avidhi vadho sāṅga rasikaau

kumāra vādyāpī dvira dāvadana krauñca dalanau

Word-by-Word Meanings

āmū te: O flags of victory (referring to the breasts)

vakṣo jāvam: your breasts (vakṣas = chest, jāvam = young)

mṛtvarasam ānikya kuthupau: jars made of ruby filled with nectar (amṛta)

na saṁdeha spandaḥ: no doubt or hesitation

nāgapatipathākṣaye manasi naha: in the mind regarding the protection of Lord of serpents (Shiva)

pibantaḥ tau: those two (sons) drink

yasmād avidhi vadho sāṅga rasikaau: for which reason, even without knowing, the two sons have remained attached and loving

kumāra vādyāpī: Kumara (Skanda) plays (remains)

dvira dāvadana krauñca dalanau: two sons, the crane-like-faced Ganesha and Kumara (both young and playful)

Full English Translation

O flags of victory (your two breasts)! Without any doubt, they are ruby jars filled with nectar, the immortal drink. It is by drinking their sacred content that Your two sons—the mountain-piercing Kumara (Skanda) and the elephant-headed Vinayaka (Ganesha)—have remained eternally youthful, innocent, and unattached to worldly pleasures, not yet knowing the company of women.

This verse praises the Goddess’s divine breasts as the inexhaustible source of nectar that sustains and preserves her sons’ eternal youth and purity, underscoring her supreme nurturing power.

74.

vahatyamba stamberamadanujakumbhaprakṛtibhiḥ
samārabdhāṃ muktāmaṇibhiramalāṃ hāralatikām .
kucābhogo bimbādhararucibhirantaḥ śabalitāṃ
pratāpavyāmiśrāṃ puradamayituḥ kīrtimiva te .. 74..

Word-by-Word Meaning:

vahati: bears, carries

amba: O Mother

sthambeyram: expanse, column

adanuja: younger brother (here, Lord Ganapati)

kumbha prakruthibhihi: with pot-like/earthy natural attributes

samaarabdhaam: arranged, assembled

muktaamanibhir: made of pearls

amalaam: pure, spotless

haaralathikaam: creeper-like necklace

kuchaabhoga: enjoyment of breasts

bimba: red fruit or lips

adhararucheebhiran: having a reddish hue

thaaha: inside, within

shabalithaam: variegated, mixed

prathapavyaamishraam: mixed with valour and fame

puradamayithuhu: like a city adorned, glorious

keerthim iva te: like Your fame/glory

Full English Translation:

O Mother! The expanse of Your breasts bears a beautiful creeper-like necklace made of pure, spotless pearls, which were obtained from the frontal globe of Gajāsura (the elephant-demon). This necklace rests there with its white brilliance, variegated within by the reflection of the ruddy tinge of Your bimba-like (red) lips. It is as if the confluence of the white fame and the red valour of Your Consort, the destroyer of the cities, shines there gloriously.

This verse poetically celebrates the supreme beauty of the Goddess’s breasts, adorned richly with pearls reminiscent of a delicate necklace. The imagery evokes a majestic harmony between purity (white pearls), valor (the red hue), and sublime fame (glory of Shiva as the destroyer). The necklace is not just ornamentation but a symbol of radiant power and divine grace.