Skip to main content

Vamana Purana : Dharma (Sukēśi - Rsi samvada) - Part II - Suprabhatha composed by Śaṅkara

In the previous post, various dharmic attributes for the 12 types of beings created by Brahma were discussed. Sukēśi continues to have a discussion about Dharma with Rsis. When Rsis explain the various types of Naraka (hell), Sukēśi inquires about the conduct to be followed by Brahmana in their daily life. This discussion extends to the explanation of the various ashramas of life, their applicability across varnas and expectations set on them.

In this context, there is a juncture where Sukēśi poses a query on what constitutes Sadācāra i.e. righteous behavior? In response, Rsis describe the various characteristics that should be followed by everyone. They describe the form of the Sadācāra as:

  •  Sadācāra is a tree
    • Root of which is Dharma
    • Branch is Artha
    • Flower is Kama
    • Fruit is Moksha
  • One who attends to this tree will attain fruits of merit
The key point to noted here is that the 4 purusharthas are unified as the blessings of the Brahman, which becomes a critical meaning for the word, Dharma.

Next, the Rsis mention that one should recite the suprabhatha composed by Śaṅkara. Following is the suprabhatha with meanings 


ब्रह्मा मुरारिस्त्रिपुरान्तकारी
भानुः शशी भूमिसुतो बुधश्च
गुरुश्च शुक्रः सहभानुजेन
कुर्वन्तु सर्वे मम सुप्रभातम्

brahmā murāristripurāntakārī
bhānuḥ śaśī bhūmisuto budhaśca
guruśca śukraḥ sahabhānujena
kurvantu sarve mama suprabhātam

May Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Chandra, Angaraka (Bhoomi Suta), Budha, Guru, Sukra, Shani (Son of Surya) make my morning auspicious !!

 

भृगुर्वसिष्ठः क्रतुरङ्गिराश्च
मुनिः पुलस्त्यः पुलहः सगौतमः
रैभ्यो मरीचिश्च्यवनो रिभुश्च
कुर्वन्तु सर्वे मम सुप्रभातम्

bhṛgurvasiṣṭhaḥ kraturaṅgirāśca
muniḥ pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ sagautamaḥ
raibhyo marīciścyavano ribhuśca
kurvantu sarve mama suprabhātam

May Bhrgu, Vasishta, Kratu, Angirasa, Muni Pulastya, Pulaha, Gautama, Raibha, Marichi, Chyavana and Ribhus make my morning auspicious !!


सनत्कुमारः सनकः सनन्दनः
सनाथनोथासुरिपिङ्गतौ च
सप्तस्वराः सप्तरसातलाश्च
कुर्वन्तु सर्वे मम सुप्रभातम्

sanatkumāraḥ sanakaḥ sanandanaḥ
sanāthanothāsuripiṅgatau ca
saptasvarāḥ saptarasātalāśca
kurvantu sarve mama suprabhātam

May Sanatkumara, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanaatana (Brahma's manasa putras), Asuri, Pingala, the seven divine notes (Sapta Svaras), the seven nether worlds like Rasatala - may all these make my morning auspicious !!


पृथ्वी सगन्धा सरसास्तथापः
सस्पर्श वायुर्ज्वलनः सुतेजाः
नभः सशब्दं महता सहैव
कुर्वन्तु सर्वे मम सुप्रभातम्

pṛthvī sagandhā sarasāstathāpaḥ
sasparśa vāyurjvalanaḥ sutejāḥ
nabhaḥ saśabdaṃ mahatā sahaiva
kurvantu sarve mama suprabhātam

May Prithvi (earth) with its smell (gandha), water with their flavor (essence / rasa), wind with its touch (sparsha), fire with its brightness (suteja), Akasha with its sound along with Mahat - may all these make my morning auspicious !!!

 सप्तार्णवाः सप्त कुलाचलाश्च
सप्तर्षयो द्वीपवराश्च सप्त
भूरादयः सप्त तथैव लोकाः
कुर्वन्तु सर्वे मम सुप्रभातम्
saptārṇavāḥ sapta kulācalāśca
saptarṣayo dvīpavarāśca sapta
bhūrādayaḥ sapta tathaiva lokāḥ
kurvantu sarve mama suprabhātam

May the seven seas, the seven kula mountains, Saptarshis (seven divine Rsis), the seven Dvipas and the seven worlds (lokas) including Bhu 0 may all these make my morning auspicious

इत्थं प्रभाते परमं पवित्रं
पठेत्स्मरेद्वा श्रुणुयाच्च भक्त्या
दुःस्वप्ननाशोऽनघ सुप्रभातं
भवेच्च सत्यं भगवत्प्रसादात्

itthaṃ prabhāte paramaṃ pavitraṃ
paṭhetsmaredvā śruṇuyācca bhaktyā
duḥsvapnanāśo'nagha suprabhātaṃ
bhavecca satyaṃ bhagavatprasādāt

One who recites or recalls or listens with devotion to this divine prarthana, the bad dreams of such people will be destroyed and will have a very auspicious morning due to the immense blessings of Bhagwantha.


We have many such divine prarthanas hidden in our Puranas. Learning and perhaps adopting them daily may be a positive change for us.

Note of Gratitude : Immense gratitude to my friend Mrs. Rashmi Vinay for the devanagari and IAST transliterations. 

References:

  • Vamana Purana - Kannada (https://www.vyasaonline.com/vamana-purana/)
  • The Vamana Purana - AITM Vol. 72 - Dr. G. P. Bhatt

 

 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review : Naayi Neralu - S. L. Bhyrappa (Eng. Translation by L. V. Shanthakumari)

  Naayi Neralu translates to Dog and Shadow - representative of the 2 constant companions of the soul in its journey as a human being. They don’t leave the side of the man and always follow him wherever he goes. This novel from the maverick writer S. L. Bhyrappa covers some very interesting topics including rebirth / reincarnation, societal norms of what is acceptable, long lasting impact of actions, deceit, while also touching upon some minor topics like conversion in the name of rational religion. Beyond all these, this novel is an excellent reminder of what is impact of one’s karma across generations. Spanning three generations, this novel captures the story of Kshetrapala (Vishwesvara) and his previous cum adopting family comprising of Acchannayyanavru, Nanjakka, Venkamma, Achyutha. There are characters like Thirumala Jois who is the father in the latest birth of Kshetrapala who act as a beacon of dharma in the complex web woven by the master story teller. The events are centre...

Temple Circuit : Melukote - KereThonnur - Kikkeri - Govindahally - Nuggehalli

December 2024 has been a very hectic month in terms of travel, specifically temple travels. When my nephew came into town, we usually plan for a day trip at least. Thanks to him, we have embarked on 3 trips in 2024, all to wonderful historical and spiritual places. For this weekend, we decided to embark on a trip, originally planned in 2022, but postponed due to unexpected and unavoidable reasons. As they say, we can have the darshana of Bhagwantha only when he desires so . Melukote First, we travelled to Melukote from Bengaluru on an early chilly December morning. Melukote is one the 5 i.e. pancha Narayana kshetras established by Sri Ramanujaacharyaru. The drive was beautiful, specially after we took a deviation from the Bengaluru - Hassan - Mangalore highway. Arriving at the temple at 8:15 am, we had to wait till 9:05 am for the temple to open. Cheluvanarayana swamy is absolutely magnificent to look at. The view and the presence of the divine is absolutely surreal. Thanks to my frie...

Book Review : Embers of Trust - Part 1: Shadows of Deceit - Rakesh Vallabha Vaidya

      (Pic Courtesy: Amazon Kindle)   This book was recommended by a friend on “X”. When I started reading the book, I had jumped to some “observations”, but pretty quickly realised my folly. As the adage goes “Don’t judge the book by its initial pages”, this book was a beautiful pleasant surprise. A small town with its own ethos is the centre stage for an investigation of a girl. The travails of her mother, secrets buried in the past and her support system that also is part of the journey make for a beautiful opening. Detective Ethan Blake - Eccentric.. Maverick.. Wonderfully sketched character. I personally liked the characterisation of the Psychiatrist Dr. Joe and intertwining of paths between the missing girl and him. The flow is quite decently paced culminating in a wonderful crescendo that sets up the next instalment beautifully. My only peeve is that I need to wait for the second part, but that’s a good problem to have. For lovers of fiction, this is a wonderf...