.. Artiharastotram ..

; aAEt hr-to/m^ ;

Artiharastotram by Shri Shridhara Venkatesa.

This is a short poem onsisting of nine verses. Herein the poet prays
to Lord Shiva to remove the ai tions of the devotee. He asks if it is
alright for the Lord not to respond to his prayers when He is reputed
to prote t those who even think of Him. Then he says that he is just
the opposite of the Lord who is omnipotent and omnis ient in that he
is a weakling and ignoramus. How is it, he asks, that Lord has not
taken pity on him. These verses are very moving in their appeal. The
poem is a pre ious gem and the reader would like to add it to the
olle tion of hymns they re ite during their prayer.

; aT aAEt hr-to/m^ ;
€F f\Bo mEy kzZAEfEfrA\ dE£\ Edfn^ sDAvE£m^ .
stApmpAkzm  mtAprm  f tv dyAyA, -yAm^ ; 1;
avsFdAEm ydAEt EBrngZEmdmokso\hsA\ Kl m  .
tv sàvsFdAEm ydtkfAsn ntvAngZm^ ; 2;
dv -mr\Et tv y  tqA\ -mrto_Ep nAEt ErEtkFEt m^ .
klyEs Efv pAhFEt‡dn^ sFdAMyh\ EkmE tEmdm^ ; 3;
aAEd[yAGktO mAmtyA EmàsAvGA(m  Et .
aAEt qm>jys  mA\ Ek\b}
yA\ tvk{pkpA/mhm^ ; 4;
mdAéZFrh\ tv mEy kzZA\ GVEyt\ EvbonAlm^ .
aAk£\ tAt blAdlEmh mŒ { yEmEt smA˜EsEt ; 5;
(v\ sv +o_h\ pnr+o_nFfohmF˜r(vmEs .
(v\ mEy doqAn^ gZyEs Ek\ kTy  tdEt Ek\ dyA n(vAm^ ; 6;
aAE€tmAt tr\ mAmp"s  EkEmEt Efv n Ek\ dys  .
E€tgo=tA dFnAEt ãEdEt Kl f\s\Et jgEt st-(vAm^ ; 7;
þhrAhr EtvAdF PEZtmdAHy iEt pAElto BvtA .
Efv pAhFEt vdo_h\ fto n Ek\ ?vA\ kT\ n pASy-t  ; 8;
frZ\ v}j EfvmAtF -stv hr  EdEt stA\ EgrA_hm^ (vAm^ .
frZ\ gto_E-m pAly KlmEp t  vFf p"pAtAmAm^ ; 9;
iEt €F €FDrv \kV
 fAy kEtq aAEt hr-to/\ s\p
Z m^ ;

The author of this poem, Shridhara Venkatesa was a great devotee. He took immense delight
in hanting and singing the names of the Lord. One of the traits of a true devotee is his
on ern for the welfare of other beings. Krishna mentions ( dyA B
t q) ompassion to

1
others who are suering, as one of the noble ( {dvF s\pt^) qualities that one should
a quire to make spiritual progress. Great devotees like Shridhara have their minds rmly
xed in the Lord and so were not unduly worried about themselves. They knew that Lord
will take are of their welfare. Thus, having been freed from worries about
their own welfare, they show on ern about the welfare of other beings.
They are moved by the suerings and sorrows of others. Shri Shankara harya points out this
quality of the great people in Viveka hudamani (37). They have themselves obtained God's
gra e and liberation. They are willing to help others also without any motive whatsoever.
It is in their nature to do good to others. In this they are like the spring season.

fAtA mhAto EnvsEt sto vstvSlokEht\ rt, .

tFZA -vy\ BFmBvAZ v\ jnAnh
 tnAyAnEp tAryt, ;
The poet Shridhara who was a saintly person had done exa tly this in this poem.

Another popular verse from the Subhashita in praise of the hearts of good
people says this with a ni e example. Normally their hearts are ompared
to butter sin e, like the butter they easily melt. But the verse points
out that the omparison is not orre t. The reason is that the butter melts
only when it is exposed to heat. But the hearts of good people melt
when they are exposed to other peoples' suerings. The sanskrit word
for heat is tApa tAp, and it also means distress.
Thus there is a pun on the word tApa.

s>jn-y ãdy\ nvnFt\ iEt y’dEt kvy, tdlFkm^ .

ayd
 hEvlsd^pErtApAt^ s>jno dývEt no nvnFtm^ ;

Keeping the helplessness of the vast number of people who have hosen to forget the
Lord in their on ern for their own well being, great saints and a haryas like
Shridhara have omposed short and long pie es of poems that show us the way to
pray and seek His gra e. The present pie e is one su h poem. This is a short
poem onsisting of nine verses. Herein the poet identies himself with one
su h person - a weakling and an ignoramus - and onsequently is ai ted
with a variety of sorrows and prays to Lord Shiva to remove the ai tions.
aAEt , means distress , ai tion. Four types of people worship Me, says Krishna in
Gita (BG-7-16). The rst among them and the most ommon one is the distressed.
tEv DA Bjt
 mA\ jnA, skEtno_j n . aAto Ej+AsrTA TF +AnF Brtq B ;
The Lord wel omes all of them, alls them virtuous, and says He will
respond to their prayers.

In this poem Shridhara appeals to the Lord for redressal of his suerings.
These verses are very moving in their appeal. The poem is a pre ious gem
and the readers would like to add it to the olle tion of hymns they re ite
during their prayer. The translations given are not exa t, but will onvey
the meaning of the verses. Brief notes have also been provided. Some verses
from other great a haryas are also given to show the similarity in their

2
thinking. Happily, some of the names used to address the Lord refer to both
Shiva and Vishnu and so one an take the verses as appealing to either or both.

The following abbreviations are used in the notes.

1 - VS - Shri Vishnu Sahasranama with Shri Shankara harya's ommentary.
2 - SS - Shri Shiva Sahasranama (from Padma Purana) known as Vedasara Sahasram
with the ommentary of HH Shri Paramashivendra Saraswati.
3 - LS - Shri Lalita Sahasranamam with the ommentary of Shri Bhaskararaya.
4 - BG - Shrimad Bhagavadgita with Shri Shankara harya's ommentary.
5 - BH - Shrimad Bhagavatam.
6 - AS - Atmarpanastuti by Shri Appayya Dikshitar.
7 - SA - Shiva Ashtottarashata nama stotram with ommentary \Shivstattva
Rahasyam" by Shri Nilakanta Dikshita.

; aT aAEt hr-to/m^ ;
€F f\Bo mEy kzZAEfEfrA\ dE£\ Edfn^ sDAvE£m^.
stApmpAkz m mtA prm
 f tv dyAyA, -yAm^ ; 1;
Meaning:- O Lord Shambhu! please ast Your vision that is full of ne tar
like kindness on me and dispel my suering.
Then only will I understand the truth about Your kind nature.

Note:- The Lord is addressed as f\B, - f\ sK\ BAvyEt u(pAdytFEt f\B, .

Efv\kr i(yt , . \ Efv eko y  y, Efv\kr," iEt €t  , . SA(3) and VS(38).
\Shambhu" - the name means one who will remove distress and give happiness.
Sin e the poet says he is distressed and wants relief he addresses the
Lord appropriately as Shambhu. How does one get distress? It is the
onsequen e of sins ommitted by one in this or earlier births.
This will be experien ed in the form of a variety of suerings like getting
an inferior birth, bad tenden ies, si kness, death, being tossed into hell et .
Devotion to the Lord an make one es ape these terrible suerings. He is known as

B
ErBArAEt htA . aEDk asd,KEnvArk, B
ErBArAEt htA .

aEvAE-mtrAg’  qAEBEnv
 fpyApyEm€km
gB jmjrAmrZ-TAvrnArkd,KrAg’  qAEd!p
s\sArmo k, . ` +A(vA dv\ mQyt sv pAp
{ ,' - iEt . SS(563).
Another of His names says He removes the sorrows of His devotees even when
He is just thought of.
foknAfn, - -mEtmA/  Z B?tAnA\ fok\ nAfytFEt foknAfn, . (VS-632)
Next, the poet des ribes the eye sight of the Lord. The eyes are ooling,
implying they are omforting. Just as the moon light is soothing and
brings relief to people who have been s or hed by the sun's heat
during the day time, the sight of the Lord's eyes brings immense relief to the

3
people who are suering from a variety of auses. As said earlier the
word tAp, means both heat and ai tion. So, the poet prays to the Lord
to dispel his suerings by asting His eyes on him. Shiva is the repository
of mer y, ompassion. Shiva's sight is omforting be ause they are over owing
with ompassion. He has many names that allude to His kindness.
Some of them are:- dyA, - dyAfFlo dyA, . SS (155).
kpAEnED, - kpA prd,KþhAZ
 QCA, t-yA EnEDEr(yn
 n sdA
vt mAn(vm?t\ BvEt .
tEQCv-y €EtþEsˆm^ \ ah Eàd\ dys  Ev˜mNBvm^ .
n vA aojFyo zdý (vdE-t" iEt . sa (30).
The Navavarnaratnamala mentions that Shiva's eyes are brimming with ompassion
and as a result are moist. E?là  "ZmEtkpyA .
The Lord's vision is also like ne tar. The word amt\ or \Ne tar" is used
to refer to anything that is extraordinarily lovely or bene ial. Ne tar
is reputed to be the drink of the gods and it onfers on them freedom from
si kness and old age. So, it is onsidered to be great. But it annot onfer
immortality. The Gita says that the gods like Indra and Brahma will be
reborn and ome down to the earth when their quota of merit is expended.
aAb}œBvnASlokA, pnrAvEt no_j n . BG(8-16)
But the sight from the Lord is in omparably superior to the ne tar.
The Lord is reputed to have most auspi ious eyes as they an not only
remove sorrows of His devotees, but also onfer all that is good in luding
immortality. So He has the name fB  "Z, - I"Z\ df n\ y-y
fB\ fBkr\, mm"
ZA\ mo"d\, BogATF nA\ Bogd\,
sv sd
 h-EvQC
dkArZ\, pAEpnA\ pAvn\, ãdyg}T  Ev QC
dkr\,
sv km ZA\ "pZ\, aEvAyA– Envt k\ s fB  "Z, . VS(393).
Those eyes an give liberation to those who seek liberation, worldly
pleasures to those who seek them, destroy the sins of the sinners, larify
all doubts, remove the knot of ignoran e in the mind and dissolve the
pile of a umulated karmas. Shri Lalita also has a name that implies
this meaning. She is known as BvdAvsDAvE£, . Bv,
s\sAr ev dAvo vnvE¡, t-y fAmk(vA(sDAvE£,, pFy
qvq Emv . LS(741). She
is like a shower of ne tar that puts out the forest re of y li existen e
(i.e) endless y le of rebirth.

The question that arises now is what should one do to make the Lord look at him?
Should one have to try hard and do anything extraordinarily diÆ ult to get
His favour? NO. It is very easy to please Him. Krishna has said that He a epts
with delight a leaf, a ower, a fruit or water oered by a devotee. BG(9-26).
p/\ p p\ Pl\ toy\ yo m
 B?(yA þyQCEt .
tdh\ B?(ypãtm[nAEm þytA(mn, ;
A ordingly Shiva is pleased when He is oered some water or even some grass
(like the pani grass onsidered sa red and t for oering to deities).
This is implied in His name.

4
kAzyEnED, - kAzy\ kpA aE-mEàDFyt  iEt kAzyEnED, .
aEtslB- lk jl, d
vA Ed, tZ-vFkAr  Z Bog-mo"þd(vAt^ .
\ dl\ Ek\E (smAdAy lk\ jlm  v vA .
yo d Enym  nAsO t-m
{ d
 jg(/y\" - iEt ;
EfvgFtAyAm^ ; \ GEZn kpEd n" iEt €Et, . SS(872).
The devotee Shri Appayya Dikshitar regrets that even after knowing the fa t
that it is very easy to please the Lord with su h simple oerings and get
even salvation in return, he failed to worship Him as he was a slave to senses
and onsequently is hastening towards his downfall.

ak dýoZþBEtksm { , a n\ t
 EvD
 y\
þA=y\ t
 n -mrhr Pl\ mo"sAm}A>yl#mF, .
et>jAnàEp Efv Efv &yT ykAlmA(mn^
aA(mdýohF krZEvvfo B
ysA_D, ptAEm ; AS(8)

The poet Shridhara a epts the fa t that he had ommitted many sins in the
following verse and totally surrenders to Him saying \I am Yours now."

avsFdAEm ydAEt EB, angZEmd\ aokso\hsA\ Kl m

 .
tv sàvsFdAEm ydtkfAsn n { tvAngZm^ ; 2;
Meaning:- O Lord, I am suering as the onsequen e of numerous sins ommitted
by me. But, I am yours now. So, if I am suering in this manner it does
not behoove Your greatness.

Note:- It is lear that one should not ommit a ts of sin. But it is in human
nature, an inborn weakness to ommit sins.
But we have heard of expiatory rites (known as þAyE– kmA EZ).
Can not we resort to them and get rid of our sins? No, say the shastras.
These rites like performing some sa ri es, giving alms and gifts to deserving
people, going on pilgrimages et ., are no doubt eÆ a ious and will wipe o
the sins. But, they are not omparable to devotion to the Lord in eÆ ien y.
This fa t is repeatedly stressed in Shri Bhagavatam.

ymAEdEByo gpT
{ , kAmloBhto mh, .
mkds vyA y’TA_(mA_ˆA n fAMyEt ; BH(1-6-36)
EvAtp, þAZEnroDm { /F tFTA EBq
 kv}tdAnj=y
{, .
nA(ytfEˆ\ lBt  _trA(mA yTA ãEd-T  Bgv(ynt ; BH(12-
3-48).

These verses say that learning (studying texts), regulation of breath,

kindliness, pilgrimages, gifts, repetition of mantras - none of these
pra ti es an purify the mind (that is smitten by likes, dislikes, anger et .)
so eÆ iently as the onstant remembran e of the Lord. The reason is simple.

5
These expiatory rites, while they are apable of removing some sins,
do not make the mind give up its inherent tenden ies ( alled vAsanA-s).
The senses will ontinue to exert their pull, and onsequently we will,
before long, fall a vi tim to their wiles. Even wise persons are helpless
as the senses are very powerful. Krishna points out this in Gita.(2-60).
ytto Ep kOt  y pzq-y EvpE–t, .
iEdýyAEZ þmATFEn hrEt þsB\ mn, ;
The mind is powerfully in uen ed by evil tenden ies inherited from previous
births. So, attempts to restrain or mend its ways will not yield su ess easily.
sdf\  £t
 -v-yA, þkt
 +A nvAnEp .
þkEt\ yAEt B
tAEn Eng}h, Ek\ kEr yEt ; BG(3-33).
This is dis ussed at length in Book six in the story of Ajamila.
The King Parikshit brings up the point giving the example of an elephant.
The elephant goes to a river for a bath. After enjoying a long bath,
it gets out. On going to the bank of the river it will toss
mud all over its body and get dirty again. Similarly, if the the mind is
left to itself, it will go in its old ways.
?vE Eàvt t
 _BdýAt^ ?vE Q rEt t(pn, .
þAyE–mto_pAT \ my  kjrsO vt^ . BG(6-1-10)
Then, is there no way to get rid of our sins? The only way is to tie the
mind to God by developing devotion to Him. The sage Shuka answers this by
narrating the story of Ajamila. A part of the story is a dialogue between the
messengers of the Lord and messengers of Yama. The following verses are
from the explanation given by the former about expiatory rites. The
translation given is not exa t but gives the meaning of the verses.
{ kAEtk\ tEˆkt
n  _Ep En kt mn, pnDA vEt
 ds(pT
 .
t(km EnhA rmBF=stA\ hr g ZAnvAd, Kl s‚vBAvn, ; BH(6-2-12)
The pro ess of expiation annot be onsidered omplete if one's mind runs
ba k to its evil ways after it is ompleted. Be ause of this reason,
for those who want the eradi ation of the sto k of their sins the uttering of
the glory of the Lord is the only remedy sin e it undoubtedly puries the mind.
g!ZA\ lG
nA\ g!EZ lG
En .
þAyE–AEn pApAnA\ +A(vo?tAEn mhEq EB, ; BH(6-2-16)
The great sages have pres ribed arduous and easy pro esses of expiation for
the ase of serious and small sins.
{ -tAyGAEn p
yt
t  tpodAnjpAEdEB, . nADm j\ tˆdy\ tdpFfAER^G}s
 vyA ; BH(6-2-17)
The pro esses of expiation, su h as penan e, harity and hanting of prayers,
do no doubt get rid of the sins. But the vestige in the form of impressions
whi h is tra eable to the unrighteous a ts remains. These impresions
(vAsanA-s vAsnA) too are eradi ated by devotion to the Lord's feet.
The Narayaneeyam states this su in tly as follows. (22-7).
€Et-m(<yA\ EvEhtA v}tAdy, pnEt pAp\ n lnEt vAsnAm^ .
ants vA t EnktEt ’yFEmEt þBo (v(pzqA bBAEqr  ;
The austerities like fasting et ., pres ribed in the s riptures will destroy

6
sins but not the impressions. But servi e to the Lord destroys both the
sins and impressions.

Be ause of this fa t, saints and a haryas have sought God's mer y to over ome
their problems with their minds. The great a harya Shri Vedanta Desika in
his Nyasa Dasakam (8) pleads to the Lord and says \You have to forgive my
sins and make them inoperative. And also please make sure I do not again
indulge in su h sinful a tivities in future. It is possible for You to do
this as You are all powerful and known to be the reservoir of mer y."
Thus he shows the way to pray.
(vd
 kr"-y mm (vm
 v kzZAkr . n þvt y pApAEn þvAEn Envt y ;
It is be ause of this fa t that Lord is known as Hari - one who removes sins
of those who surrender to Him.
hEr, . hrEt pApAEnEt . SA(96) and VS(359) -
-mEtmA/ Z p\sA\ pAp\ s\sAr\ vA hrtFEt .
also as pApnAfkr, . lOEkkv { Edk-nAmEB, kFEt t,, tTA lOEkkv{ Edk
{ , -to/
{ -tt,
tTA p A"rAEdEB, j=t, p
Ejt– umAshAy(vAEd!p  Z -mto yAn
 n vA
pApnAfkr, . SS(355). Whether His names are uttered or praised by hymns
or remembered by hanting mantras like the pan hAkshara or worshipped or
meditaed upon He removes the sins. tvAE-m \I am yours now" These words should at
on e bring to our mind the famous assuran e of the Lord, in His in arnation as Rama,
given when Vibhishana surrendered to Him. Rama pro laimed (Yuddha Kanda- 18-33):
skdv þpàAy tvA-mFEt yA t
 . aBy\ sv B
t
 <yo ddAMy
 td^ v}t\ mm ;
\I assure se urity from all beings to him who omes to me on e and asks for
prote tion saying \I am yours." This is my vow."
Shri Appayya Dikshita also says \I am no doubt a sinner, easily yielding to sense
pleasures, always transgressing the s riptural injun tions, petty minded, not
having even a tra e of merit and so on. But now I have surrendered at Your
feet. It is not proper on Your part to ignore me now."

pAEp¤o_h\ Evqy pl, sttdýohfAlF

kAp y{ kE-TrEnvsEt, pygDAnEB+, .
y=y { v\ tdEp frZ\ (v(pdANj\ þpà\
{ n\ dFn\ -mrhr tvop
n  E"t\ nAT y?tm^ ; AS(28).
Why does the poet say that his suering does not behoove Shiva's greatness?
Shiva is addressed here by Shridhara as atkfAsn, . one who ontrols
Yama - the god of death. This implies that by getting His gra e and prote tion
one an es ape even death as the sage Markandeya did. The fear of death is the
worst suering any living being an experien e. But Yama himself is afraid
of Lord Shiva. So Shiva has the names kAlakAla and Mrityunjaya.
kAlkAl, . kAlyEt nAfytFEt &y(p‚yA kAlo ym,, t-yAEp kAl,,
kAlEytA ups\hrk, iEt . SA (29).

7
and m(y\jy, . m(y, mrZ\ -vB?tAnA\ m(y\ jyEt
-vopAsnyA pErhrtFEt m(y\jy, .
\ ìy\bk\ yjAmh
 sgED\ pE£vD nm^ .
uvA zkEmv bDnAm(yom "Fy mAmtAt^" . iEt
\ yE-my?tA qyo dvtA–, tm  v +A(vA
m(ypAfAECnE" iEt €t  – . SA (71) and SS(123).
Yama being the destroyer of everything is known as kAla. Even Yama is destroyed
by Him and so Shiva is known as kAlakAla.

dv -mr\Et tv y
 t
 qA\ -mrto_Ep nAEt ErEt kFEt m^ .
klyEs Efv pAhFEt ‡dn^ sFdAMyh\ EkmE tEmdm^ ; 3;
Meaning:- O Lord, I have heard that those who think of You do not get exposed
to suering. I am rying \Shiva! save me", and still ontinue to suer.
Is this proper?

Note:- As said earlier, Shiva has the name Hari. The name means that he removes
the sins of even those whose hearts are loaded with evil tenden ies.
hEr, . \ hErh rEt pApAEn d£E 
{ rEp -mt," iEt .
SS(542). Thus the author should not have been exposed to suering.
How to express the fa t that \I have surrendered to You and am yours now?"
This is answered by saying that I am rying and saying \Shiva, save me".
Keeping this idea in the mind, we have the habit of saying the following verse
at the end of our daily puja or prayer
ayTA frZ\ nAE-t (vm v frZ\ mm .
t-mAt^ kAzyBAv
 n r" r" mh ˜r ;
'O Lord, Maheshvara! I have no re ourse other than You.
So, out of mer y, please prote t me.'

aAEd[yAGktO mAmtyA EmàsAvGA(m  Et.

aAEt qm>jys mA\ Ek\b}
yA\ tvk{pkpA/mhm^ ; 4;
Meaning:- You are my inner Self. This being so, it is lear that it is by Your
indu ement only I ommitted various sins and as the result am now suering.
What an I say in this matter? I deserve to be the re epient of Your gra e.

Note:- An important quali ation of one who laims to be the Lord's devotee
is to desist from a ts prohibited in the s riptures as wrong and sinful.
The s riptures were given out by the Lord Himself. So, violating the
s riptural injun tions amounts to disobeying His orders and as a result
be ome a serious oen e. This being so, how an one say 'I am a sinner'
and laim to be a devotee and have surrendered to Him? The author puts forth a
spe ious explanation to justify his sins of omission and ommission. We too
would have heard the same statements from some people. They say that God is
behind every a t and thought of ours. The upanishads and Gita too have some

8
statements that seem to support this view. For example, Krishna said that
dierent kinds of dispositions of beings, su h as intelligen e, wisdom,
non-illusion, patien e, truth, self-restraint, almness, pleasure, pain,
birth, death, fear,se urity, inno en e, equanimity, ontentment, austerity,
bene ien e, fame, shame all arise from Him, the Lord alone. (BG 10-4,5).

bEˆ+A nms\moh, "mA s(y\ dm, fm, .

sK\ d,K\ Bvo_BAvo By\ ABymv ;
aEh\sA smtA tE£-tpo dAn\ yfo_yf, .
BvEt BAvA B
tAnA\ m ev pTE`vDA, .
This being so, should not He be held responsible for whatever good or evil one
does? The answer is that no doubt He is the ause behind all our mental
dispositions. But He is the general ause, or the sAmAy kArZm^ . but
our own deeds are responsible for our individual dispositions. An analogy will
make it easier to understand. People plant dierent kinds of seeds on the earth.
The earth supports all of them and they grow. But only a o onut tree omes out
of a o onut seed, a mango tree out of a mango seed and so on. Thus, the earth
is the general ause and the respe tive seeds are the spe ial ause, or the
Evfq kArZm^ . In the same way, The Lord is the general ause,
supporting all dispositions and our own deeds or karmas are the spe ial ause.
So, it is said that bEˆ, kmA nsAErZF . or one's thinking is shaped by
his deeds. God is behind the power to think, but responsibility to use the
power properly and take the right de isions rests with the individual eventually.
We may think of another example - a ar. The ar in the hands of a areful
driver an take the passengers safely to pla es they want to rea h. But the
same ar in the hands of a rash and negligent driver will be ome a vehi le of
a ident or even death. We annot hold the ar responsible for the a ident.
It just provides the motive power.
The result, a safe journey or an a ident is in the hands of the driver. God
has given us intelligen e. We have to use it to travel in the right path shown
by the s riptures. Be ause of this reason, the intelle t is often ompared to
a driver. bEˆ\ t sArET\ EvEˆ says the Kathopanishad. (1-3-3)
The author of the popular hymn Sharada Bhujangam presents this situation from
another angle, that is interesting to read. He is addressing Sharada Devi.
He says that, if She does not ome to his res ue and relieve the distress in
his heart, then She too will suer sin e She is present in his heart, as in
the hearts of all beings!
yEd (v\ mdFy\ f \ nApnA, tdA d,KvE¡þt=t _tr½
 .
mdFy
 E-TtAyA-tvA=y\b KdO BveEd(yh\ E tyA__to _E-m B
y, ;

mdAg}ZFrh\ tv mEy kzZA\ GVEyt\ Evbo nAlm^.

aAk£\ tA\ t blAt^ alEmh mŒ
{ yEmEt smA˜EsEm ; 5;
Meaning:- I am a dullard, and the foremost one at that. I have not known how

9
to be worthy of Your gra e and hen e took the wrong path. I am just a wret hed
person. You should thrust Your gra e on me and save me.

Note:- After putting forth the plausible argument, the author immediately
feels remorseful and prays to the Lord to save him.
Why should the poet all himself a dull witted person?
The word \dullard" or md, has a spe ial meaning in the
vedanti parlan e. It is used to refer to one who la ks dis rimination and does
not have the wisdom to make the right hoi e when several options are open
to him. For example, when a hild is asked to hoose between a big olorful
baloon and a hundred rupees note, it will go for the baloon only. This is
be ause the baloon appears olorful and it an derive joy by playing with the
baloon. The hild, being immature annot understand the value of the urren y
note. Similarly, our s riptures present two options to us. One is the path
that provides for material benets that an provide worldly enjoyment. The
other is the path that shows the way to benedi tion or blessedness that an give
lasting happiness. But the latter being not visible and immediately available,
most opt for the rst path that seems to give happiness here while living.
The s riptures say that su h people are immature and la k deep wisdom. This is
be ause the happiness one an get in this world is short lived. They will ome
to an end some day. And they are not unmixed with sorrow. So, they annot be
termed as real joy. Whereas the path that leads to God assures lasting pea e and
happiness though the results may not be evident here and now. Be ause of these
reasons people who have not studied the s riptures deeply and la k full faith
in what they say, stay away from the superior path shown by them. Yama, the
god of death, says this to his student Na hiketas in Kathopanishad. (1-2-2).
€
 y– þy– mn ym  t-tO s\prF(y EvEvnE?t DFr, .
€
 yo Eh DFro_EB þyso vZFt
 þyo mdo yog"
 mAt^ vZFt
 ;
How do su h \dull witted" people spend their time? Shri Bhagavata says that they
slog in pursuit of wealth, se urity et . But these things so earned annot
assure happiness or se urity. So, the text terms the eort spent in sear h
of money and su h material gains as \frivolous pursuits" and alls these
people as \unfortunate ones." They work hard during the day and by the end
of the day they are totally exhausted. So, they drop o to sleep. Thus their
lives are frittered away in sleep by night and in frivolous pursuits by day.
They miss the very goal of life. BH(1-16-9)
md-y mdþ+-y vyo mdAyq-y .
EndýyA E yt
 n?t\ EdvA &yT km EB, .
God is the power behind the mind as said earlier. But He had also given us
s riptures to guide our ondu t. They learly state what onstitutes the right
deed and what a ts are prohibited and so to be given up. One who wants to grow
spiritually and seek the Lord's gra e should use his dis retion and take the
right path. Krishna says this to Arjuna and points out that if one still takes
to negle t the s riptural injun tions under the impulse of desire or greed he
will not attain happiness in this world nor the higher worlds. BG-(16-23,24).

10
y, fA-/EvEDm(s>y vt t
 kAmkArt, . n s EsEˆmvA=noEt n sK\ n prA\ gEtm^ ;
t-mAQCA-/\ þmAZ\ t
 kAyA kAy -&yvE-TtO . +A(vA fA-/EvDAno?t\ km kt EmhAh Es ;
The sages have also said this in their Smriti texts. Sage Yagnavalkya had said
in his work thus -
EvEht-yAnn¤AnAt^ EnEdt-y s
 vnAt^ . aEng}hAQ
 EdýyAZA\ nr, ptnmQCEt ;
By failing to do the pres ribed duties,
by doing deeds that are prohibited by the s riptures and by not having ontrol
over the senses one seeks his fall. Keeping this in mind, Shri Vedanta Desika
admits his failings and prays to the Lord. (Nyasa Dasakam. 9). He says -
ak(yAnA\ krZ\ k(yAnA\ vj n\ m
 . "m-v EnEKl\ dv þZtAEt hr þBo ;
You, the Lord known to be the one who removes the suerings of the devotees
who surrender to You, have to pardon me for ommitting the a ts prohibited by
the s riptures and failure to perform those a ts that are pres ribed by the
s riptures. Shri Appayya Dikshitar also appeals to the Lord to ex use his
transgressions that he had made knowingly. He is going about without shame
or fear of the onsequen es of su h transgressions. And he says he had
done so in his previous births also. He wonders how he an get away from his
innumerable problems without Lord's gra e.(AS-11).

uSl¿^yA+AmXpEtklA
X t  Ev˜v
(y?tA Ar, pfvdDnA m?tl>j–rAEm .
ev\ nAnAEvDBvtEtþA=tdFGA prAD,
?l
fA\BoED\ kTmhmt
 (v(þsAdAr
 ym^ ;
Mind is known as one of the organs like the eyes and ears. The word mind is
used to refer to the intelle t, memory and the apa ity to re olle t also
a ording to the ontext. Only, it being invisible is alled an inner organ
and it leads the external organs to a t a ording to its di tates. Be ause our
mind is s attered in many dire tions due to our atta hments and vi issitudes
in our lives it is restless. It is diÆ ult to ontrol and fo us it on a
spe i obje t like God. Even the great warrior Arjuna had a epted this fa t
and said that the mind is indeed restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate.
Therefore it is virtually impossible to restrain it. It is as diÆ ult
as restraining the wind.

 l\ Eh mn, k Z þmAET blvd^ dYm^ .

t-yAh\ Eng}h\ my
 vAyoErv sd krm^ ; BG (6-34).
A question may arise at this point that if the mind is so diÆ ult to ontrol,
but is  kle and insubordinate why have we been provided with su h an instrument?
The reason is that, though the mind may be turbulent and diÆ ult to ontrol,
it is a powerful instrument given to us. The minds of the animals have vastly
redu ed apa ity ompared to our minds. They are ontrolled by instin ts and
have no free will. The animal birth is meant solely to expiate for the sins
ommitted in the previous births. In su h a birth one annot do a ts, like
going to the temples and oering prayers to the Lord, that will improve its

11
quality of life in the ensuing births. On the other hand, we an do all of
them. Using the free will we may dis ard ourses that are not bene ial to us
and hoose the path that appears right to us. Thus, God has blessed us with
a powerful organ with whi h we an a hieve great goals. The greatest goal,
said in our s riptures is moksha or liberation from y li existen e.
This an be attained by humans only. To help us to a hieve this obje tive,
the kindly God has also given us s riptures whi h talk in detail about the way
to attain the goal. Sin e all of us annot be expe ted to read and understand
the texts, He has also sent us great saints who are willing to guide us.
We are only required to heed their advi e, get hold of the mind and hannelise
it towards God. It is admittedly a diÆ ult task. The task is omparable to
apturing a wild elephant and taming it. The elephant is a very strong animal.
But, on e it is tamed, it an be trained to do very diÆ ult jobs.
Our mind is like the wild elephant - diÆ ult to train. If we try hard and
tame it and train it to do our bidding it an lead us to liberation itself.
So the upanishad says:
mn ev mn yAZA\ kArZ\ bDmo"yo, . bDAy EvqyAs?t\ m?t\ EnEv qy\ -mtm^ ;
Mind is the ause for both bondage and liberation. Atta hed to the obje ts it
be omes the ause for bondage. Freed of atta hments it be omes sour e of
freedom. It is in our power to realise the wrong deeds we ommit. We have to
stay away from su h a ts in future.

(v\ sv +o_h\ pnr+o_nFfohmF˜r(vmEs.

(v\ mEy doqAn^ gZyEs Ek\ kTy
 tdEt Ek\ dyA n(vAm^ ; 6;
Meaning:- I onfess I am an ignoramus and a weakling. In ontrast, You are omnis ient
and omnipotent. Be ause of Your omnis ien e You are aware of my faults.
What shall I say? Does not Your ompassion prod You to overlook my faults?

Note:- By saying that he is ignoramus, the author implies that the

tea hings of the holy texts have not fully sunk in his mind. As a
result his mind still la ks total faith in the tea hings of the sa red books
and saints. It is wavering and has many doubts. Su h people will en ounter
diÆ ulty in the path of spiritual progress. Krishna says this. BG(4-40).
a+–A€ˆDAn– s\fyA(mA Evn[yEt .
nAy\ loko_E-t n pro n sK\ s\fyA(mn, ;
By saying he is a weakling the poet is referring not to physi al weakness
but to that of the mind. A weak mind is not settled in a parti ular
pursuit but goes after many obje ts. It had been doing so not only in this birth
but in the innumerable births we had prior to this present birth also. It
is not used to being ontrolled. When the mind is not under ontrol, it is
easily swayed by emotions like desire or anger. One whose mind is thus out of
ontrol annot be expe ted to have dis rimination and judgement. Krishna said:
iEdýyAZA\ Eh rtA\ ymno_nEvDFyt
 .
td-y hrEt þ+A\ vAy-nA vEmvA\BEs ; BG (2-67)
The upanishads state this learly. They say that the supreme Being annot be

12
obtained by one without strength of mind. He should have his goal learly in
mind and work for it with determination.
nAymA(mA blhFn  n l<y, . MU (3-2-4) and again in Kathopanishad (1-3-24).
Yama says that the Supreme Being is not obtained by one who has not abandoned
evil ondu t, whose is not alm, who has not subdued his senses and mind,
though the person be endowed with sharp intelle t.
nAEvrto d–ErtAàAfAto nAsmAEht, . nAfAtmnso vAEp þ+An
n
{ nmA=nyAt^ ;
So, it is very ne essary to get ontrol over it and turn it to the other
dire tion, namely the spiritual path.

The poet said that his mind is still not fully established in the Lord's feet.
So he still has a long way to travel before he an all himself a devotee. We
should remember here that the author Shridhara is saying this as our representative.

aAE€tmAt tr\ mAmp"s EkEmEt Efv n Ek\ dys

.
E€tgo=tA dFnAEt ãEdEt Kl f\s\Et jgEt st-(vAm^ ; 7;
Meaning:- I depend on You. Still why do You ignore me? Cannot You show some
mer y towards me? The saintly people say that You take are of those who depend
upon You and remove the distress of those who are destitute and helpless.

Note:- God had assured this in Gita. (9-22).

anyAE–tyto mA\ y  jnA, py pAst .
 qA\ En(yAEBy?tAnA\ yog"
t  m\ vhAMyhm^ ;
Shri Shankara harya puts this idea in a very ni e way in his Shivanandalahari (14).
He says that he is the foremost among the weak and destitute. And Shiva is
renowned to be the prote tor of the weak and destitute. Thus there exists a
unique relationship between them. Be ause of this reason, his propte tion is
the responsibility of Shiva. HE has to overlook all his weaknesses and faults
and save him.

þB-(v\ dFnAnA\ Kl prmbD, pfpt 

þmHyo_h\ t qAmEp Ekmt bD(vmnyo, .
(vy
{ v "t&yA Efv mdprADA– sklA,
þy(nA(kt &y\ mdvnEmy\ bDfrEZ, ;

þhrAhr
 Et vAdF PEZtmdAHy iEt pAElto BvtA.
Efv pAhFEt vdo_h\ fto n Ek\ (vA\ kT\ n pASy-t
 ; 8;

Meaning:- I have heard a story that You blessed a da oit leader be ause he
was unwittingly repeating Your name \Hara" whenever he said
prahara þhr to mean \beat him up", and aahara aAhr
to mean \kill him". I am wittingly uttering Your name \Shiva" and saying
\save me".Am I not dependant on You? Do I not desreve to be prote ted by You?

13
Note:- Even when uttered asually or unwittingly, the Lord's names purify.
They are so powerful. This is said in Shivagita. This says that even if
one utters His name as an ex lamation in surprise, or in fear or distress
like hunger, he is puried and gets the highest goal.
aA–y vA By
 fok
 "t  vA mm nAm y, .
&yAj
n vA -mr -t s yAEt prmA\ gEtm^ ;
A similar statement is seen in Shri Bhagavatam also.
sA\k(y\ pAErhA-y\ vA -toB\ hlnm
 v vA .
{vkW-nAm-g}hZ\ af qAGhr\ Evd, ;
Lord's names utterd as a gesture or in joke or in the midst of a song or
even out of disrespe t washes away all sins.
yTAgd\ vFy tmm=y?t\ ydQCyA .
ajAnto_=yA(mgZ\ kyA m/o_=ydãt, ; BH(6-2-14,19)
Just as a potent medi ine will ertainly produ e its salutary ee t even
when taken by one who is unaware of its eÆ ien y, though by han e,
so does the Lord's name reveal its eÆ a y even when it is uttered by
someone without being aware of its power. Dakshayani put this for efully
to her father Daksha when he insulted Shiva in a sa ri e ondu ted by him.
He did not invite Shiva and His wife Dakshayani. Her father added insult to
the injury by not making any oering to Shiva, her husband. She was
greatly outraged by all this and in her reply said the two letters ( Efv)
SIVA uttered by one even asually in the ourse of a onversation will
remove the sins qui kly.
yd^ ’y"r\ nAm Egr
 Ert\ nZA\ skt^-þs½AdGmAs hEt tt^ .
pEv/kFEt \ tml¿^yfAsn\ BvAnho ’E£ Efv\ Efv  tr, ; BH(4-4-14).

frZ\ v}j Efv\ aAEt \ s tv hr

 EdEt stA\ EgrA_hm^ (vAm^.
frZ\ gto_E-m pAly KlmEp t  vFf p"pAtAmAm^ ; 9;
Meaning:- I have heard noble people say \surrender to Shiva. He will remove
your distress". Having faith in those words I surrender to You. I admit I
am a mean person. Will not You save me atleast to make their statement true?

Note:- Surrender to the Lord is the only way for one who wants to walk the
new way of life that will free one from sorrows. In parti ular this is
suited to one who does not have great deal of s holarship and had not lead
a dis iplined life. The poet says this in Sharada bhujanga stotram thus.
n m/\ n y/\ n vA -to/rFEt\ EvjAn _Mb v?t\ mŒ,KrFEtm^ .
(vd\EG}þZm}o n pA/\ f , -yAEdEt (vA\ þp
 tv
{ v þsAdAt^ ;
He says \I do not know mantram, tantram, the manner of praisng You and not
even how to express my distress. One who prostrates at Your feet will not
suer any more. Knowing this I surrender to You by Your gra e only".
Krishna says that even if a person had lived an evil life, but had de ided
to turn a new leaf and worships Him, the Lord onsiders su h a person to

14
be a righteous one and saves him. BG(9-30,31).

aEp  (sdrA Aro Bjt

 mAmnyBAk^ .
sADrv s mt&y, sMy`&yvEsto Eh s, ;
E"þ\ BvEt DmA (mA f˜QCAEt\ EngQCEt .
kOt
 y þEtjAnFEh n m
 B?t, þZ[yEt ;

Krishna assures that one who turns to Him and be omes devoted to Him
will not perish. In a similar situation, Shri Vedanta Desika surrenders
to the Lord a epting his weaknesses.

a+AnvAErEDmpAyDrDr\ mA\
aA+AEvBjnmEk nsAv BOmm^ .
Evdn^ BvAn^ EvbDnAT sm-tv  dF
Ek\ nAm pA/mpr\ mnt
 kpAyA, ; Devanayaka Pan hashat.(49).
The poet says \O Lord! You are omnis ient. I am an o ean of ignoran e.
I am the rst among sinners. I have broken all Your mandates regarding the
Do's and Dont's. I have no virtue to laim or take to the path of devotion
or surrender. Thus I am the most indigent person. Thus I am the one who
needs Your mer y most. Why then are You looking for another person to
show Your mer y?" It is seen that in these verses the poet repeatedly says
he is a weakling, sinner et . Obviously su h statements do not sound ni e.
They sound like ringing and whining. Should one keep on making su h
statements before God who is said to be kind and mer iful? All of us do
make mistakes. Sometimes su h mistakes are made knowingly and often
unknowingly also. But no one likes to think of them, not to speak of
admitting them before someone else. It is not in one's nature to onfess
one's serious sins to another person. Our ego stands in the way of doing so.
In the normal ase any person has no means of knowing other person's
mistakes unless he witnesses the a t. A riminal has to onfess his rimes
to a judge when onfronted with strong eviden es. If he denies the harges
or tries to evade them by telling lies et ., he will get into more trouble.
On the other hand if he onfesses and pleads for mer y explaining he was
for ed to ommit the rime under for e of ir umstan es, the judge may
onsider his ase with sympathy. He may let the oender o with the
minimum penalty. But in our ase, many of our sins might have been
ommitted in priva y with no one seeing them. Sins are ommitted not
only by way of bodily a tions but by words and thoughts also. The question,
then, is why not keep quiet without talking about them? The answer is
that we may be able to hide our mistakes from other people, but not from
God who sees all and knows all, in luding our innermost thoughts. Aptly
He is known as the Great Witness or sAkShI.
sA"F - sA"Ad&yvDAn  n -v!pboD  n I"t  p[yEt sv EmEt sA"F . VS(15).
So, there is no question of hiding anything from Him. But, if we are

15
devoted to Him and sin erely repent our past mistakes He may take a lenient
view and rid us of the sins that pollute our minds. Krishna tells that just
as the blazing re burns the faggots put into it to ashes qui kly, devotion
to Him destroys the sins of a devotee. BH(11-14-19).
yTAE`n, ssmˆAE , kro(y{ DA\Es B-msAt^ .
tTA mE’qyA BE?t, uˆv { nA\Es k(-nf, ;
Be ause of this reason God gets the name
pApnAfn, - kFEt t, p
Ejto yAt, -mt, pAprAEf\
nAfyn^ pApnAfn, . VS(992). Whether by hanting of His names, or
worshipped or meditated upon He destroys the heaps of sins of His devotee.
And also
pEv/, - pAvn,: prm-t pmAn^ yAto d£, kFEt t,
€t, p
Ejt, -mt, þZt, s svA n^ pApAn^ um
lytFEt ;
p krmh\ pEv/mh EmEt €Et, ; SS(90).
Fully knowing this, great devotees have repeatedly prayed to Lord to
forgive their sins. They say that they have been unable to resist the
pull of senses and fallen a prey to petty desires, anger, lust, greed et .,
and have ommitted many mistakes. They have now realised that they annot
win over these powerful enemies with their volition and have ome to the
Lord as the nal re ourse. So, it is now in umbent on Him to res ue them
who are now full of repentan e.

iEt €F €FDrv
\kV
 fAy kEtq aAEt hr-to/\ s\p
Z m^ ;

16
 Artiharastotra

O Lord Shambhu! please ast Your vision that is full of ne tar like
kindness on me and dispel my suering. Then only will I
understand the truth about Your kind nature. 1
O Lord, I am suering as the onsequen e of numerous sins
ommitted by me. But, I am yours now. So, if I am suering
in this manner it does not behoove Your greatness. 2
O Lord, I have heard that those who think of You do not get
exposed to suering. I am rying \Shiva! save me", and
still ontinue to suer. Is this proper? 3
You are my inner Self. This being so, it is lear that it is by
Your indu ement only I ommitted various sins and as the result
am now suering. What an I say in this matter? I deserve to
be the re epient of Your gra e. 4
I am a dullard, and the foremost one at that. I have not known how
to be worthy of Your gra e and hen e took the wrong path. I am just
a wret hed person. You should thrust Your gra e on me and save me. 5
I onfess I am an ignoramus and a weakling. In ontrast, You are
omnis ient and omnipotent. Be ause of Your omnis ien e You are
aware of my faults. What shall I say? Does not Your ompassion
prod You to overlook my faults? 6
I depend on You. Still why do You ignore me? Cannot You show
some mer y towards me? The saintly people say that You take
are of those who depend upon You and remove the distress of
those who are destitute and helpless. 7
I have heard a story that You blessed a da oit leader be ause he
was unwittingly repeating Your name \Hara" whenever he said prahara
to mean \beat him up", and aahara to mean \kill him". I am
wittingly uttering Your name \Shiva" and saying \save me". Am I
not dependant on You? Do I not desreve to be prote ted by You? 8
I have heard noble people say \surrender to Shiva. He will remove
your distress". Having faith in those words I surrender to You.
I admit I am a mean person. Will not You save me atleast to make
their statement true? 9
Thus ends the Artiharastotram omposed by Shridhara Venkatesha.

17
 LIFE OF SRIDHARA VENKATESA

€FkWEmv BA-vt\ EfvnAmprAyZm^.

€FDr\ v¬V
 fAy \ €
 ys
 gzmA€y
 ;
Shridhara Venkatesa lived about 300 years ago in
Tiruvisanallur, a village in Tanjavur distri t in Tamilnadu. He was alled
Tiruvisanallur Ayyaval (deeply respe ted person) out of great respe t
people held for him. Even today he is known by that name only. He was
the son of Lingayaryar who was a minister to the Maharaja of Mysore. Even
as a young boy Ayyaval was deeply religious and in parti ular had great
devotion to Shiva but he made no distin tion between Shiva and Vishnu. He
studied Vedas, shastras and puranas and had a great desire to travel and
spread the message of the puranas and in parti ular the glory of Lord's
name among the people. After his father's death the Maharaja wanted
him to take his father's job but he politely de lined and left Mysore
state with his wife and mother. He ame to Tiru hirapalli in Tamilnadu
and stayed for some time giving talks. He was supposed to have brought
ba k to life a woman who had died by praying to the Lord. This attra ted
people who wanted him to solve their problems. Ayyaval did not like this
and left the pla e. He pro eeded to Tanjavur. It seems that King Shahaji
(1684-1710.AD) who was ruling at that time in Tanjavur wanted him to
stay in Tanjavur but Ayyaval wanted to lead a quiet life. King Shahaji
was inviting s holarly brahmins to stay in his kingdom. He renamed the
village Tiruvisanallur as Shahajirajapuram. One street was allotted for
their stay. Ayyaval also stayed in a house there. Ayyaval was a proponent
of the view that in this dark kali age hanting the lord's name will ward
o its evil ee ts. He was the senior ontemporary of Bodhendra Swami
who was the 59th ponti of the Shankara Math at Kan hipuram and who was
an ardent advo ate of the glory of the lord's name. Ayyaval wrote a
book BgvàAmB
qZm^ (Bhagavannamabhushanam) on the subje t
whi h is sadly not available now. Bodhendra Swami had also written a book
nAmAmtrsAynm^ (Namamritarasayanam) on the subje t wherein
he had made referen es to the work of Ayyaval. On e Ayyaval had to
perform a shrAddha eremony in his house. Therein food is prepared and
oered to the departed forefathers who are invoked in three brahmins
invited for the o asion. When every thing was getting ready Ayyaval
saw an out aste with his family in a famished ondition begging for
food. His heart melted with ompassion at their ondition. Without
any hesitation he oered them the food that was being prepared for
the eremony. He then had the house washed and prepared to ondu t the
eremony again. But the brahmins in the village onsidered this a t
reprehensible and refused to ondu t the eremony again. Ayyaval pleaded
with them quoting texts from the s riptures to support his a tion but the
Brahmins were not onvin ed. He asked them what he should do to remedy
the situation. They said that the only atonement was having a bath in
the Ganges. But there was no time to go to Varanasi and return. So he
prayed to Lord Shiva ( in Gangashtakam) to release the waters of Ganga

18
from His matted hair as he did on an earlier o asion for Bhagiratha.
Water started owing out of the well in his house and ooded the
streets of the village. The villagers got s ared and prayed to Ayyaval
to forgive them and stop the ood that was threatening the village. He
a ordingly prayed again to stop the ooding and requested her to appear
in the well every year on that day. Even now people o k to that pla e
every year on that day and take bath in the waters of the well in the
belief that Ganga is present in the well on that day. Ayyaval had
omposed a number of works some of whi h are not yet been printed and
some not available. Some of his works are listed below. (1) Bhagavannama
Bhushanam. (2) Akhyashashti. (3) Daya satakam. (4) Matrubhutasatakam. (5)
Stuti paddhati. (6) Shivabhakthikalpalata. (7) Shivabhakta lakshanam. (8)
Taravali stotram. (9) Artihara stotram. (10) Kuliresvarashtakam. (11)
Jambhunathashtakam. (12) Doshapariharashtakam. (13) Krishnadwadasha
manjari. (14) A hyutashtakam. (15) Dola navarathnamala. (16)
Padamanimanjari - a sanskrit di tionary. (17) Shahajiraja haritam.

En oded, proofread, and translated by

N. Balasubramanian bbalusatyam.net.in
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Last updated May 22, 2007

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