(adi Sankara) 21 A Prayer For Rain Of Gold Part 1 Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

At the age of 6, Adi Sankara stood at the door
of a poor Brahmin for alms. There was nothing
to give him, excepting one Amla fruit, which the
the lady of the house gave him with all shyness.
Seeing her poor plight, Sankara prayed Lakshmi,
Goddess of wealth, to bless them with wealth and
remove her poverty. This prayer, in sanskrit, is
called Kanakadara Sthotra. She heard his prayers
and brought a rain of gold into her house.
(Kanaka = Gold; Dara = Rain)

Song 1

The buds begin to bloom.
The golden bees swarm
In search of sweet honey
From the flowers many.

See the chest of Thirumal,
How it shines well,
As He’s happy ever,
Like the fresh flower.

As Lakshmi, His consort,
Takes rest o’er His chest,
He remains happy always
And in this mood, He stays.

In that exalted position,
Let rich Lakshmi’s vision,
As a daughter of the milk-ocean,
Bless me now to gain.

Song 2

Just like the honey bees
Run after the blue flowers,
Her eyes, too beautiful,
Go after Her Thirumal.

But She shuts Her eyes
Out of Her shyness
That turns Her vision,
In a different direction.

Let Her merciful eyes see
For they’ll shower on me
All the riches in the world,
Whatever now I may need.

Song 3

Lakshmi can give anyone,
On this earth, a position
The same as the one
Like Indra’s rule in heaven.

When Indra lost his throne,
It was Her just vision,
The most merciful one,
That restored his position.

All the time happiness
To Vishnu, when She gives,
Let Her graceful look fall,
For a moment, on me as well.

Song 4

With Lakshmi on His chest,
All the time taking rest,
Mahavishnu, seemingly sleepy,
Remains always happy.

But Her eyes remain,
Always partially open,
As the same shyness
Blocks Her two eyes.

As the wife of the Lord,
Who sleeps on a snake bed,
Let Her give me wealth,
What all I’m worth.

Song 5

The Killer of Demon Madhu,
The Protector, Lord Vishnu,
Wears a Kowsthubam chain,
Made of valuable blue stones

Lakshmi’s eyes shine
Like that of blue stone.
She has a lovely vision
That induces His passion.

Let those eyes now turn
Towards me to shine
That’ll give me boons
With all the fortunes.

Song 6

Thirumal killed the Demon,
Whose name was Kaidaban.
Thus His chest does shine
Like a cloud, the dark one.

It’s a fact, up she rose
From Sage Brigu’s race
As Mother of the Universe,
Under Lord Vishnu’s grace.

Such a divine vision
May turn once again,
On myself to grant me
All the riches free.