Religion:Kanakadhāra Stotram

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Statue of Adi Shankara, the composer of this hymn
Short description: Hymn by Adi Sankara

The Kanakadhara Stotram (Sanskrit: कनकधारा स्तोत्रम्, romanized: Kanakadhārāstotram) is a Hindu hymn (stotram) composed in Sanskrit by the theologian Adi Shankara.[1]

Etymology

Kanakadhārā means "the holder (dhārā) of gold (kanaka)", and the hymn is called by this name since legend has it that when Adi Shankara recited it, the goddess Lakshmi showered a stream of gold within the hut of his poor Brahmin benefactor.[2]

Description

The hymn was written in the 8th century CE by Adi Shankara, a revered Hindu philosopher.

According to tradition, as a young boy, Adi Shankara was out seeking alms to prepare his lunch and happened upon the doorstep of a very poor Brahmin woman. Having nothing edible in her home, the lady frantically searched her house, only to find a single gooseberry fruit, which she then hesitantly offered to Shankara. Shankara was so moved by the incredible selflessness of this woman that he burst forth into poetry and sang 22 stanzas in praise of the goddess Lakshmi. Pleased by the beauty of the hymn, the goddess instantly showered the lady's house with gooseberries made of pure gold.[3]

Hymn

The first hymn of the Kanakadhara Stotram is as follows:[4]

aṅgaṃ hareḥ pulaka-bhūṣaṇam āśrayantī
bhṛṅgāṅganeva mukulābharaṇaṃ tamālam |
aṅgīkṛtākhila vibhūtir-apāṅgalīlā
mā-galyadāstu mama maṅgala-devatāyāḥ
May Her glance, who abides in the body of Śrī Hari (who wears supreme happiness as ornament), just as the bees takes shelter in the profusely blossomed (buds) Tamāla tree, Who is the abode of all superhuman powers, and Who is all auspiciousness, be auspicious to me.

References

External links