A Microcosm's Prayer(Slokha) - 1 Poem by Indira Renganathan

Slokha, is the most common Sanskrit meter and is a descendant of the older Vedic gayatri
The slokha, meaning 'song', although metric, is not considered poetic.
It functions more as the equivalent to Western prose with lines and meter and
is often used in narratives or epics.

The defining features of the slokha are:
stanzaic, written in any number of couplets made up of 2 hemistiches.
The hemistiches can be broken into 4 lines or padas creating quatrains,4 lines or padas
syllabic, either 2 lines of 16 syllables each or 4 hemistiches of 8 syllables each.
metric, alternate hemistiches of trochaic and iambic patterns.

The following verses are my own work, a prayer, based on the great slokha 'Lalitha Sahasranamam'
where the meaningful thousand names of Adi Para Sakthi(primordial cosmic Energy)
are narrated.These verses are not literal or exact translation of the slokha.But I referred to
the translation of the great slokha by Mr.P. R. Ramachander

(Please read the previous parts of this series before reading this)

1 Divine Mother, thou art dazzling
Dazzling so huge that I can't hold
Mother of mothers all and whole
Pray, me a droplet rise my size

Divine Mother, thou art in all
Thou art in all florae, faunae
In this tiny droplet so too
Rise my size within me, I watch

Divine Mother, thou art this grass
That rose, this tree, that snake this cow
That child, this man, that lad, this lass
Divine Mother thou art me too

Divine Mother, thou art this earth
That sky, this wind, that fire, this rain
What not, sun and moon and stars all
Thou art our Queen divine Mother

Divine Mother, thy purity
Proven when Thee rose from the fire
Root of Knowledge, Truth of Wisdom
To help Devas, slayed the demon

Oh, thou art our divine Mother
And all creations' Queen thou art
The destroyer of evil oh,
Won, Queen thee seated on that lion

Namaste Mother namaste
Divine Mother, unto thy feet
This tiny droplet surrenders
Rise my size within me, I watch


2 Far and wide thousand times larger
Than the rising sun thee glitter
Thy four arms symbolizing thou
Powers and forms in and out whole

Binding us thine pasa with love
Setting us right thine angusha
Ruling our mind thine bow of cane
Oh sweet our Mother Namaste

Thee who has five flower-arrows
Ruling o'er our might of senses
Thee roseate who makes all drown
In thine glory of crimson sea

Thee who is fragrant adorned with
Flowers champaka, ashoka
Punnaga and sowgandhika
Namaste oh our sweet Mother

Thee who wears a glittering crown
Dazzling with padmaraga gems
Of heavenly precious stones
Oh, ardent Mother namaste

Thee who has a crescent forehead
Like that of a semi-grown moon
A bright crescent on its eighth day
Splendid oh our divine mother

Namaste Mother namaste
Divine Mother, unto thy feet
This tiny droplet surrenders
Rise my size within me, I watch


3 Like the blemished moon more ardent
Thee who has sindhoor look alike
Thee who has a lovable face
Where Cupid adores to reside

Thy beautiful eyebrows there make
Ornate garlands to cupid's house
Like swimming fish in a cool pool
Oh, thou sparkling eyes on thy face

Like Champaka bud just blooming
In surpassing glory thy nose
More in surpassing gleam there
Than the above stars thy nose-screw

Oh thee, divine our sweet Mother
Thou art beautiful the bestest
Thou art our brave queen the bestest
Thou art our Wisdom the bestest

Thou art our Strength sole the bestest
The Support for mind the bestest
The Support for life the bestest
Thou art all Force the mightiest

So to thee Mother, namaste
The Power of all, namaste
The causer of all, namaste
Creatrix of all, namaste

Namaste Mother namaste
Divine Mother, unto thy feet
This tiny droplet surrenders
Rise my size within me, I watch

==============

Note: - Translation by P.R.Ramachander
Namaas 1-20


1 * Srimatha - Mother who gives immeasurable wealth who removes all sorrows and gives only happiness.
-indicates also her role of creation
* 2 * Sri maharajni - She who is the empress who takes care of the universe-
indicates her role of protection
* 3 * Sri math simasaneshwari - She who sits on the throne of lions-indicates her role of destruction
* 4 * Chidagni Kunda Sambootha - She who rose from the fire of knowledge and is the ultimate truth
* 5 * Deva karya samudhyatha - She who is interested in helping devas

* 6 * Udyath bhanu sahasrabha - She who glitters like thousand rising suns
* 7 * Chadur bahu samanvidha - She who has four arms
* 8 * Ragha Swaroopa pasadya - She who has love for all in the form of rope(pasa) -
She has this in one of her left hands
* 9 * Krodhakarankusojwala - She who glitters and has anger in the form of Anghusa -
in one of her right hands.
* 10 * Mano Rupeshu Kodanda - She who has the bow of sweet cane which is her mind-
in one of her left hands

* 11 * Pancha than mathra sayaka - 'She who has five bows of touch, smell, hearing, taste and sight'
* 12 * Nijaruna prabha poora majjath brahmanda mandala - She who makes all the universe immerse in her red colour which is like the sun in the dawn
* 13 * Champakasoka - punnaga-sowgandhika- lasath kacha - 'She who wears in her hair flowers like Champaka, Punnaga and Sowgandhika'
* 14 * Kuru vinda mani - sreni-kanath kotira manditha - She whose crown glitters with rows of inlaid precious stones (Padmaraga stones)
* 15 * Ashtami chandra vibhraja - dhalika sthala shobhitha - She who has a beautiful forehead like the half moon (visible on eighth day from new moon)

* 16 * Muka chandra kalankabha mriganabhi viseshaka - She who has the thilaka(dot) of Musk
in her forehead which is like the black shadow in the moon
* 17 * Vadana smara mangalya griha thorana chillaka - She who has beautiful eyelids
which look like the ornaments to her face which is like cupids home
* 18 * Vakthra lakshmi -parivaha-chalan meenabha lochana - She who has beautiful eyes which
look like fish in the pond of her face
* 19 * Nava champaka -pushpabha-nasa dhanda virajitha - She who has nose like freshly opened flowers
of Champaka
* 20 * Thara kanthi thiraskari nasabharana bhasura - She who has a nose ring which shines more than
the star