#314 Gurupaduka stotram – its meaning and blessing
Guru Paduka Stotram is a powerful set of well-known devotional verses that glorify the sacred “Padukas (Sandals) of the Guru. Why are the padukas or sandals sacred? Because of association with the feet of the guru.
In the Vedic culture, the guru as well as his/her feet are worshipped. The feet represent the path taken by the teacher, the path prescribed by the Vedas of a life of Dharma and Moksha.
We have reverence for what we value.
We have reverence for what we wish to become.
We have reverence for the Guru for his or her wisdom and blessings and hence by extension we have reverence for the Guru’s feet too.
The Gurupaduka Stotram was composed by Sri Swami Sachidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharti, the 33rd Shankaracharya of Sringeri, the pontiff from 1879-1912. He composed it in praise of his guru, Sri Swami Ugra Narasimha Bharati.
Since then, this Stotram resonates with everyone who has a guru.
My beloved Guru, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati blessed me with everything including his padukas, which I worship everyday.
The verses in this stotram describe the glory of the Guru-padukas and how they have the power to bless the devotee student.
In all the nine verses, the fourth line is नमोनमः श्रीगुरुपादुकाभ्याम् (Our repeated namah/prostrations to the two sandals of my teacher). The word padukaabhyaam is in the fourth case (vibhakti in sanskrit), dual, for the pair of sandals.
Most of the adjectives qualifying the padukas are word compounds in Sanskrit which describe the qualities of the guru and how a seeker’s life transforms with a Guru’s grace.
Verse 1
अनन्तसंसारसमुद्रतार-नौकायिताभ्यां गुरुभक्तिदाभ्याम् ।
वैराग्यसाम्राज्यदपूजनाभ्यां नमो नमः श्रीगुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ॥ 1 ॥
I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru , which serve as a boat to cross this ( seeming) shoreless ocean of samsara and which grant us the devotion and wealth of objectivity to those who worship them.
अनन्तसंसारसमुद्र – Our life and the suffering that results from day to day living is compared to an endless (anadi, ananta) ocean. Why endless? Because no matter how much one achieves, how much one experiences our persistent refrain is – I am not enough, I do not have enough. This cycle of becoming is endless until one can break free. How?
तार-नौकायिताभ्यां To cross this ocean, we require a boat. To cross the ocean of life we require grace – Ishvara krpa which helps us find a guru, Guru krpa who helps us learn the Shastra, Atma krpa, the grace of oneself to navigate all the blessings of tail winds and the conflicting currents of Dharma, Artha and Kama in one’s life. Guru ‘s grace helps us even identify the different krpa in our lives and helps us channelise it.
Incidentally, traditional sandals are made of wood and wood float in water. Which is the boat that we require?
गुरुभक्तिदाभ्याम् – The boat of Devotion and worship to the Guru’s padukas which is an extension of the love and devotion for the Guru and what he/she teaches and the values that he/she stands for. As one does acts of care, applies the teachings of the Shaastra and implements the instructions of the Guru, one becomes more open and loving. One drops resistance to life and surrenders to what Is.
The Upanishads proclaim Acharyavaan purushah Veda – The one who has an Acharya knows the truth. Shraddhavaan labhate jnanam – The one who has Shraddha gains knowledge, says Bhagavan Krishna in the Gita. Despite being Avataaras, Sri Krishna ‘s guru was Rishi Sandeepany and Sri Rama ‘s guru was Rishi Vashishtha. The role of a Guru and the devotion to the Guru dissolves the limited ahankara of the person allowing for surrender and learning.
वैराग्य साम्राज्यद पूजनाभ्यां The guru can bless a devotee with both materialistic (साम्राज्यम्) and spiritual (वैराग्यम्) wealth. When? When they are worshipped
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् । I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru
कवित्ववाराशि–निशाकराभ्याम् दौर्भाग्य-दावाम्बुद-मालिकाभ्याम् ।
दूरीक्रिता–नम्र–विपत्ततिभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।।
I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru , which are like the full moon for the surging ocean of poetry and knowledge, which are the garland of rain bearing clouds that put out the scorching fire of samsara and which remove the distress of those that worship them.
कवित्ववाराशि निशाकराभ्याम् – Kavi is a poet and the world also stands for duradarshi, one who can see afar due to his or her wisdom. कवित्ववाराशि is an ocean of poetry, knowledge and literary splendour while निशाकराभ्याम् (The gurupadukas ), which are like the full moon,
My guru is an ocean of wisdom and his/her padukas are like the full moon for the surging ocean of wisdom.
दौर्भाग्य-दावाम्बुद-मालिकाभ्याम् All the misfortunes दौर्भाग्य of life are compared to the forest fire –Because of natural friction, fire is induced in dry wood and spreads very fast depending on the wind. This raging forest fire of our bad luck and misfortune can only be put out by natural rain and hence अम्बुद-मालिका.
दूरीक्रिता–नम्र–विपत्ततिभ्याम् – The disciple-devotee is battling the constant stream of adversities at the level of family, work, health, money and other areas. The guru’s blessings, guidance, teaching and just presence are represented by the guru’s padukas. And hence the grace of my guru’s padukas will remove the stream of adversities.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् । I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru
नता ययोः श्रीपतिताम् समीयुः कदाचिदप्याशु दरिद्रवर्याः
मूकाश्च वाचस्पतिताम् हि ताभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।।
I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru the worship of which transforms quickly even the worst of the poverty stricken to gain nature of Lord of Sri , becoming possessors of great wealth and which transform the mute ones to eloquent speakers ( vaachaspati) endowed with vaak shakti.
नता ययोः – Those who do namaskar to the gurupadukas श्रीपतिताम् समीयुः – gain the nature of Lord of Sri. कदाचिदप्याशु – even if they are दरिद्रवर्याः– those afflicted by poverty will attain wealth instantaneously (आशु) even if they worshipped the padukas only once.
Poverty is of different forms – We may be poor in wealth.
We may be poor in our network of supportive relationships.
We may be poor in the time at hand.
We may be poor in embodying dharmika qualities or daivih sampattih.
We may be poor in managing our minds.
Whatever be the poverty, guru’s grace will make us rich in all ways.
मूकाश्च वाचस्पतिताम् हि ताभ्याम् – Even the mute ones are transformed into eloquent, articulate speakers.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् । I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru
नालीकनीकाश पदाहृताभ्याम् नाना विमोहादिनिवारिकाभ्याम् ।
नमज्जनाभीष्ट ततिप्रदाभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।।
I again and again do namaskaar to the sacred padukas of my Guru, which are the beautiful lotus Feet capable of removing delusion, sorrow etc born of ignorance, and which grant countless blessings to those who bow down to them.
नालीकनीकाश पदाहृताभ्याम् The beauty of the lotus is that it blossoms in the pond without seeking to run away from it but rises above the waters remaining untouched. My Guru’s padukas are beautiful lotus feet which bless me. How?
नाना विमोहादि-निवारिकाभ्याम् – I have varieties of binding kama, desires born of apurnata, incompleteness which is born of avidya, ignorance. My Guru’s grace helps me see that my sense of inadequacy is not due to having less but is related to what I have concluded about myself – that I am not enough. My Guru’s grace helps me see my unchanging reality thus removing all the confusions related to my self-condemning judgements and thus frees me from sorrow.
नमज्जनाभीष्ट ततिप्रदाभ्याम् – Those janah who do namah to the padukas are granted अभीष्ट तति – plenty of desires.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – My namaskaaras to sacred padukas of my guru.
नृपालिमौलि व्रजरत्न कान्ति सरिद्विराजज्झषकन्यकाभ्याम् ।
नृपत्वदाभ्याम् नतलोक–पङक्तेः नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।। – 5
My namaskars to those sacred padukas of my Guru, which shine like the precious gem adorning the crown of a king which are lustrous like the river in which the mermaids are dancing and which ( sacred padukas) elevate the rows of people bowing to them to the status of kings. Such is the glory of the padukas that even the impossible becomes possible.
नृपालिमौलि व्रजरत्न कान्ति The author knows that his guru is also the rajaguru, the Guru of Kings. As kings, nrpa come forward and prostrate, the guru comes down to bless the kings who are standing in rows on both sides.
On each king’s head, there is मौलि , a crown studded by रत्न gems. From the gems, the कान्ति radiance is spreading all over. And the brilliance is not coming from just one gem but from the rows of brilliant crowns which look like a flow of radiance.
सरिद्विराजज्झषकन्यकाभ्याम् Just like सरिद् a big river has its two banks, the Guru’s padukas appear like झषकन्यका two mermaids swimming through the river. What do they do?
नृपत्वदाभ्याम् नतलोक–पङक्तेः नृपत्वदाभ्यां bless people with kingship, power. Who are these people? नतलोकपंक्तेःTo those lines of people who have offered prostration.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – My namaskaaras to the sacred padukas of my guru.
पापान्धकारार्कपरम्पराभ्याम् तापत्रयाहीन्द्रखगेश्वराभ्याम् ।
जाड्याब्धिसंशोषणवाडवाभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।। – 6
I again and again prostrate to those sacred Padukas of my Guru, which are like the row of suns that remove the darknesss of ignorance, which are like an eagle for the serpentlike afflictions of samsara and the like the great fire which dries up the ocean of ignorance.
पापान्धकाराकर्परम्पराभ्यां The guru’s padukas are compared to a row of suns (अर्क-परम्परा) which are capable of destroying the thick darkness (अन्धकारः) of the student which is like paapa. Why paapa? Due to the darkness of ignorance and hence a sense of finitude and limitation, the person does karma that goes against Dharma.
The person is affected and afflicted by pain from three sources – adhyatmika taapah – pain from one’s own body or mind like sickness, depression, adhibhautika taapah – pain from the elements and elementals or bugs and people who bug us, adhidaivika taapah – pain from supernatural sources over which we have no control like floods, lightning etc. All that scientists can do is give us a warning beforehand but nothing can be done to prevent them; The three sources of tapa are compared to huge poisonous snakes.
अहीन्द्र is like the king of serpents and खगेश्वर refers to the eagle Garuda , who is king of birds.
तापत्रयाहीन्द्रखगेश्वराभ्याम् The guru’s padukas are like Garuda that will destroy the snakes which are in the form of these afflictions.
जाड्याब्धिसंशोषणवाडवाभ्याम् जाड्य is insentience and अब्धि is an ocean. Ignorance here is compared to a huge ocean due to which we keep making self-judgments and other judgments leading to संशोषण suffering. Who will destroy this ignorance? Only a वाडवः a huge underground fire can dry up the ocean of ignorance
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – My namaskaaras to the sacred padukas of my guru.
शमादिषट्कप्रदवैभवाभ्याम् समाधिदानव्रतदीक्षिदाभ्याम्।
रमाधवाङिघ्र– स्थिरभक्तिदाभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।। – 7
My prostrations to those sacred padukas of my guru which grant us the wealth of six qualities beginning with Shama, which have as though taken a vow to bless with the wealth of samadhi and which bless the devotees with steadfast devotion to the feet of Lord Vishnu.
शमादिषट्क refer to the sixfold qualifications beginning with शम etc. These are shama- mastery of the mind, dama – restraint of the sense organs, titiksha – forbearance, uparatti – performing one’s svadharma, samadhaanam – one-pointedness and shraddha – trust in the Guru and scriptures.
Having these qualities in sufficient measure is considered as wealth, which we must invest in and multiply.
शमादिषट्कप्रदवैभवाभ्याम् – The guru’s sacred padukas प्रद endow me with the wealth of these six fold qualifications. By observing my guru, by practising these qualities, by sustaining my commitment to practising these qualities, I am enriched and blessed.
समाधिदानव्रतदीक्षिदाभ्याम् – व्रतदीक्षिता One which has undertaken a vow. The padukas have almost taken a vow that whoever offers prostrations will be blessed with knowledge. In due course of time there is chittashuddhi, purification of the mind, which leads to a deeper desire for Vedanta sravanam which leads to knowledge which is moksha.
रमाधवाङिघ्र– स्थिरभक्तिदाभ्याम् रमाधव is the Lord of Sri, i.e. Vishnu while अङिघ्र are feet.
स्थिरभक्ति: is a steadfast devotion. The guru’s sacred padukas bless the devotees with steadfast devotion to the feet of Lord Vishnu.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – My namaskaaras to sacred padukas of my guru.
स्वार्चापराणामखिलेष्टदाभ्याम् स्वाहासहायाक्षधुरन्धराभ्याम्
स्वान्ताच्छभावप्रदपूजनाभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – 8
I again and again prostrate to those sacred Padukas of my Guru, which grants all the wishes of those devoted disciples and which grants chittashuddhi ( purity of antahkarana) to those who do puja.
स्वार्चापराणाम– Those who are committed to the worship of the padukas. अखिलेष्टदाभ्याम् – bestows all the wishes of the devotees.
स्वार्चापराणामखिलेष्टदाभ्याम् My Guru’s sacred padukas bestow all the wishes of those who regularly worship them.
स्वाहासहायाक्षधुरन्धराभ्याम् – स्वाहा is Agni’s wife सहायः is referring to Agni. The one for whom the eye is Agni and the other two eyes are the sun & moon, is Shiva. धुरंधरः is the one which carries i.e. devotees of Bhagavan Shiva. The guru’s padukas carry Bhagavan Shiva who is none other than the guru
स्वान्ताच्छभावप्रदपूजनाभ्यां – स्वान्तः is अन्तःकरणम् or the inner instrument that is the mind; अच्छभावः is clean. The puja of the padukas bestows chittashuddhi, purification of the mind, rendering it free from the spell of raga and dvesha, cravings and aversions. That grace helps one discover one’s seemingly hidden real nature.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – My namaskaaras to sacred padukas of my guru.
कामादिसर्पव्रजगारुडाभ्याम् विवेकवैराग्यनिधिप्रदाभ्याम् ।
बोधप्रदाभ्याम् द्रुतमोक्षदाभ्याम् नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् ।। – 9
I again and again prostrate to those sacred Padukas of my Guru which are like the eagle Garuda for the serpent like desires, ( padukas) which bless us with the treasure of discrimination, dispassion and knowledge, and which blesses us quickly with moksha.
कामादिसर्पव्रजगारुडाभ्याम् – कामादिसर्प Binding desires and the resulting anger when desires are not fulfilled eventually lead to confusion and loss of learning for the person. All that learning is not available when the person needs it the most and hence kaama etc are like a dangerous serpent. Only an eagle गारुडा can tame or destroy the serpent.
The Guru’s teachings bless the devotee to distill millions of desires into a handful of life priorities by aligning them with Dharma. For example, Earning money is important but how best to earn, invest, save and spend such that one is able to fulfil all of one’s roles requires a deep level of guidance.
The Guru’s padukas are like Garuda to the multitude of snake-like desires by showing the root cause of desires as ignorance and providing the solution through knowledge.
विवेकवैराग्यनिधिप्रदाभ्याम् – Viveka is the discrimination between what is timeless and what is timebound and hence there is no reason to anchor oneself on what is temporary and timebound and chase it. One would rather turn one’s attention to what is enduring and timeless. Vairagya is the objectivity that arises from growing out of a binding need for pleasure either here or in the after life.
The Guru’s padukas bless the student devotee with the treasure of both Viveka, clear thinking and Vairagya, objectivity which are essential qualifications for Vedanta.
Thus with all the blessings acquired and suitably qualified, finally the Guru’s padukas are those,
बोधप्रदाभ्याम् – which grant knowledge, When? द्रुतमोक्षदाभ्याम् – which bless with moksha quickly.
The blessings and grace of the Guru help you discover the fullness that you have always been but never knew.
नमो नमः श्री गुरुपादुकाभ्याम् – My namaskaaras to sacred padukas of my guru.
Our Namaskaara to the sacred Guru-Shishya Parampara.
