#265 Sharada (Saraswati) stotram – its powerful blessing and meaning
To know the vision of Vedanta, we worship Bhagavan. Really speaking, we are worshipping Bhagavat-shakti which is also referred to as Devi shakti.
Our worship envelopes the entire world which is a manifestation of Bhagavan.
Devi Saraswati also known as Sharada is the devi of knowledge, speech, music and arts, flowing water, abundance, wealth and all learning.
The word, Saraswati, combines the words saras (सरस्) meaning “a pool of water” or “speech”; and vati (वती) meaning “she who possesses”. So Saraswati is “she who has ponds, lakes of flowing water” or “she who possesses/presides over speech”. Further, the words saritā (सरिता = river), sarovara (सरोवर = lake), sarī-sṛipa (सरी-सृप = reptiles), sarpa (सर्प = serpent) all have the same root – to flow.
Saraswati is closely associated with the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. There’s a story where she emerged from Brahma’s mouth and took the form of a river. The sages performed austerities on the banks of this river, and Saraswati blessed them with the knowledge contained in the Vedas. Hence, she is sometimes referred to as Vagdevi, the goddess of speech.
We celebrate Saraswati Puja on Vasanta Panchami, the fifth day of Spring when we particularly initiate young children into writing the letters with their fingers in a plate of raw rice grains.
Also, on the ninth day of Navaratri, she is worshipped by creating an altar of books.
Knowledge is sacred and hence all books are sacred. We see this attitude reflected when someone accidentally touches any book with their foot and to offset this mistake, immediately touches the book with the hand followed by the forehead, to indicate respect.
The Dhyana shloka of Dakshinamurti, Shiva as teacher also suggests how we visualise Saraswati.
मौक्तिकीं अक्षमालां अम्र्तकलश विद्या ज्ञानमुद्रा: कराब्जैः दधतं
This means – Bearing in hands, a mala of the letters, a jar of nectar of immortality, book of knowledge and the gesture of wisdom.
Saraswati is also called Sharada (shAradA), for she is the one worshiped before the onset of winter like during Navaratri. Sharada is the one worshipped in the last three days of (the worship of nine nights of the Goddess) just before winter, sharad.
We look at the powerful blessing and meaning of Sharada Stotram that has blessed millions before us.
नमस्ते शारदे देवि काश्मीरपुर-वासिनि ।
त्वामहं प्रार्थये नित्यं विद्यादानं च देहि मे ॥१॥
Namaste Sharade Devi, worshipped in the City of Kashmir, I pray to you always. Please give me knowledge.
Since Sharada is the repository of all wisdom we pray to her? Where? Everywhere. She is present as the world ‘s intelligence, flowing all the time.
Just like to access internet on the wi-fi, we need to search for the network and tune in or log in, so too we can seek, access and log in to the grace of Saraswati.
We require learning in every situation. From learning to speak to learning a new software, to learning to sing the right notes, to learning to speak pleasantly to learning how to swim, the situations are endless. Whatever you need, she will appear in that form of learning for you. Her grace of knowledge too flows endlessly if one prays to her for knowledge.
Kashmir was known to be a place of great learning and scholars. There was a temple of Saraswati in Kashmir called Sarvajna Peetha or the supreme seat of knowledge. One who attained the ultimate knowledge alone could climb the 64 steps of the temple that symbolically represented the 64 arts. Adi Shankaracharya ascended these legendary steps and entered the temple.
This temple was destroyed by the Mughal invaders. Attempts have been made recently to restore the ruins and resume worship there with the support of Sringeri peetham.
Back then Adi Shankaracharya did not stop with achieving this honor but created another Sharada peetha in Sringeri, in the south on the banks of the Tunga river, where the hermitage of Rishyashringa once stood.
Devi Sharada answered Shankaracharya’s prayers and agreed to preside over this southern peetha in all her splendour and so she is also shown as Sringerivaasini.
Shankaracharya had established a Sri yantra and a murti made of sandalwood which was later replaced by a gold sri yantra and the present panchaloha murti consecrated by Swami Vidyaranya.
As the presiding deity of the Dakshinamnaya peetha of Sringeri, the subsequent Shankaracharyas seek her grace for everything.
या श्रद्धा धारणा मेधा वाग्देवी विधिवल्लभा ।
भक्तजिह्वाग्रसदना शमादिगुणदायिनी ॥ २॥
You are shraddha, memory, intelligence, the goddess of speech, the consort of Creator, Brahma. You grace the devotees’ speech. You are the bestower of inner peace, and all other qualities. || 2 ||
While there is no exact translation for the word ‘shraddha’, trust and reverence come close.
As children we were naturally trusting but that trust was betrayed by inconsistent adults. Growing up, our ability to trust gets corroded. Much like termites, doubt and scepticism have eaten into the foundation of enthusiasm, connection and closeness with others. And yet the process of living requires us to trust – trust in the laws of nature, trust in oneself and trust in others. We pray to Sharada Devi to restore shraddha in us.
Shraddha is guru-vedanta-vakyeshu vishvaasah, trust in the words of Vedanta and the guru as they are not different from each other.
The Vedas including Vedanta are learnt through the guru-shishya Parampara. She blesses us with shraddha which helps us learn Apara Vidya, different disciplines of the world and Para Vidya or Vedanta. She blesses us to learn the chants of the Vedas, perform the required rituals and also see the teaching as a means of knowledge which helps us see ourselves clearly.
Dharana is both, the intelligence to sustain intelligent living as well as the single minded focus required to master any knowledge. For advances in any discipline, physics, math, music, biogenetics or robotics, the ability to have a deep focus and attention is required. We find it difficult to do this because of our growing addiction to feeling good all the time and hence seeking distractions.
One can perform demanding tasks and work at one’s highest level of productivity for a long duration if one learns to manage distractions. One of our biggest challenges is Dharana. Sharada Devi, you are that Dharana, the focus and intelligence. Please bless me with the same.
Medha is memory, a function of the mind by which information as words, images, sounds, and more is encoded, stored and retrieved when needed. Without memory, there would be no way for language, knowledge, relationships, or even our personal identity to develop.
For children to progress in their studies, previous material is remembered and new material is added to it and deepens what has already been learnt. The capacity to remember what is learnt and look at it from different perspectives is also called Medha.
Please bless us with Medha.
You grace the tongue of devotees. As a part of our valedictory ceremony in the Vedanta gurukulam, Pujya Swami Dayananda ji said, ‘I don’t usually give advice. This is not general advice for everyone. One thing that I would want all of you who are graduating from the 3-year course to do, is to never use abusive language. Remember that Saraswati resides on your tongue.’ There was hushed silence. He was reminding us of the words of the Stotram.
If we want the grace of Saraswati to flow from the tradition to our hearts to our mouths, there cannot be room for distorted thought or distorted language.
Shamadi gunas are the qualities of adhikaritvam, preparedness for Vedanta that all of us have in some measure –
Shama – Psychological resolution,
Dama – Physical mastery or external discipline,
Uparatti – Performance of one’s svadharma,
Titiksha – Forbearance,
Samadhaanam – One pointedness,
Shraddha – Trust in the Vedas.
Sharada Devi who is purity, knowledge and the Vedas herself only, can bless us with these gunas in just enough measure to understand the Vedanta vision.
नमामि यामिनींनाथ लेखालङ्कृतकुन्तलाम् ।
भवानीं भवसन्तापनिर्वापणसुधानदीम् ॥ ३॥
I bow to Bhavani, the one who has ear-rings adorned with the shine of moonlight, to the one who is like a river of nectar to extinguish the scorching of this mortal world. || 3 ||
She is also Bhavani, which is the name of Parvati. Bhavani literally means bhavasya bhaarya – the wife of bhava, the Lord who is present.
She is often depicted as having a divine form, as white as moonlight and her jewellery too is adorned with the brilliant lustre of the moonlight.
All of us experience bhava-santaapa, the heat and scorching that accompanies the process of living in three forms.
Adhyaatmika taapa – Helplessness and pain experienced due to the limitations that one sees in one’s body and mind – certain qualities or certain health condition.
Adhibhautika taapa – Frustration and anger experienced in interacting with others.
Adhidaivika taapa – Helplessness experienced due to uncontrolled acts of nature such as cyclones, harsh weather conditions, storms.
As we struggle to resolve these three sources of afflictions or taapa, in our lives, drowning out the voice of ‘I am not enough’ despite my best attempts really affects us.
We need the soothing and loving grace of Bhavani to scorch the fire of ‘I am not enough’ that threatens to engulf us in misery.
Her grace helps us see that indeed ‘I am enough and more’. Indeed, the problems I face stem from taking only this limited form to be me.
The nectar of Sharada helps us see that we were always amrtam, never subject to death.
Ignorance is the main cause of all troubles and Saraswati removes ignorance.
भद्रकाल्यै नमो नित्यं सरस्वत्यै नमो नमः ।
वेदवेदाङ्गवेदान्तविद्यास्थानेभ्य एव च ॥ ४॥
Namah to you again and always. You are the abode of Veda and the auxillary branches of the Veda, of the Vedanta and all other forms of learning. Salutations to You, O Goddess of Learning. || 4 ||
Bhadrakali is the auspicious form of Devi Shakti who blesses devotees with all auspiciousness and good fortune.
You are the abode of all knowledge and learning.
Imagine if we take all the libraries in the world and multiply the knowledge contained in million times over and further imagine all the knowledge that is not yet discovered, such is the extent of knowledge and learning in Saraswati.
The Vedas form the sound-manifestation of Ishvara. The Vedas, revealed knowledge to the Rishis by Bhagavan is the foundation of Sanaatana Dharma. The Vedas – Rk, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Veda are a complete guide to humanity on the four-fold human pursuits, purushaarthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
The Vedas contain mantras of praise, prayers to deities, how to perform fire ritual offerings, meditations to gain everything that karma can possibly help with. After this Karma Kanda section is a tiny section called Vedanta, positionally the end of the Vedas which is about self-knowledge that shows you were always free. All other learning of music, arts, dance and all the subjects known and unknown rest in Saraswati. We worship you.
Please access our video on Shaastra, the link of which is in the description of the episode.
ब्रह्मस्वरूपा परमा ज्योतिरूपा सनातनी ।
सर्वविद्याधिदेवी या तस्यै वाण्यै नमो नमः ॥ ५॥
Devi, Your true nature is Brahman, the limitless. You are the ultimate light, ever eternal. You are the Presiding Deity in all branches of learning. Unto You (and your speech), namah again and again. || 5 ||
Devi Saraswati, you perform this function of blessing everyone with knowledge.
I also see who you really are – the knowledge of the very knowledge itself, which itself is not a specific knowledge.
You are Brahmasvarupa – the limitless existence that illumines all that is known.
From A – Z of all disciplines be it architecture to medicine to transportation to languages and cultures across all lokas let alone our world, You are the presiding Devi of all vidya.
You light up the eyes of people with the magic of understanding.
You are the very Vani , speech herself.
One of the mantras of Saraswati Rahasya Upanishad describes the four phases of Vak – Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. The first three are very subtle and can be perceived only by sadhakas. Para manifests only in Prana, Pashyanti manifests in the mind, Madhyama manifests in the Indriyas, and Vaikhari manifests in articulate expression. Only the fourth vaikhari adorns the human tongue and makes communication possible. All speech across all beings occurs due to her grace and we do namah unto her again and again.
यया विना जगत्सर्वं शश्वज्जीवन्मृतं भवेत् ।
ज्ञानाधिदेवी या तस्यै सरस्वत्यै नमो नमः ॥ ६॥
But for You the whole world would appear lifeless. You are the Presiding Deity of Knowledge. Namaskaaras to You, O Goddess of Learning. || 6 ||
यया विना जगत्सर्वं मूकमुन्मत्तवत्सदा ।
या देवी वागधिष्ठात्री तस्यै वाण्यै नमो नमः ॥ ७॥
But for You the whole world would appear dumb and not sane. You are the Presiding Deity of Speech. Namaskaaras to You, O Goddess of Speech. || 7 ||
Without you, Devi Saraswati, there would be no speech at all. No words, no sentences, no stories, no analysis, no synthesis, no reasoning, no expression of anything. Just grunts, chirps, screeches like monkeys and birds.
Devi, you help add meaning to our lives and help us see the meaning of our lives, all the way. All day, we are expressing and listening to people – at office, at home, on TV, on the phone, singing our favorite songs, in movies, in games. How insane we would all be without expression and connection to the other.
Devi Saraswati indeed in the presiding deity of speech and our namaskaaras to you again and again. That one is even able to offer this prayer to her, is her grace.
॥ इति श्रीशारदाप्रार्थना श्रीशङ्कराचार्यविरचिता संपूर्णं ॥
