Sharada Bhujanga Prayata Ashtakam
Sharada Bhujanga Prayata Ashtakam
zAradA bhujaGga prayAta aSTakaM
suvakSojakumbhAM sudhApUrNakumbhAM
prasAdAvalambAM prapuNyAvalambAm |
sadAsyendubimbAM sadAnoSThabimbAM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 1 ||
kaTAkSe dayArdrAM kare jJAnamudrAM
kalAbhirvinidrAM kalApaiH subhadrAm |
purastrIM vinidrAM purastuGgabhadrAM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 2 ||
lalAmAGkaphAlAM lasadgAnalolAM
svabhaktaikapAlAM yazaHzrIkapolAm |
kare tvakSamAlAM kanatpatralolAM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 3 ||
susImantaveNIM dRzA nirjitaiNIM
ramatkIravANIM namadvajrapANIm |
sudhAmantharAsyAM mudA cintyaveNIM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 4 ||
suzAntAM sudehAM dRgante kacAntAM
lasatsallatAGgImanantAmacintyAm |
smarettApasaiH sargapUrvasthitAM tAM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 5 ||
kuraGge turaGge mRgendre khagendre
marAle madebhe mahokSe'dhirUDhAm |
mahatyAM navamyAM sadA sAmarUpAM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 6 ||
jvalatkAntivahniM jaganmohanAGgIM
bhaje mAnasAmbhoja subhrAntabhRGgIm |
nijastotrasaGgItanRtyaprabhAGgIM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 7 ||
bhavAmbhojanetrAjasampUjyamAnAM
lasanmandahAsaprabhAvaktracihnAm |
calaccaJcalAcArutATaGkakarNAM
bhaje zAradAmbAmajasraM madambAm || 8 ||
|| iti zrImacchaGkarAcAryaviracitA zrI zAradA bhujaGga prayAtASTakam ||
About This Stotram
Overview
The Sharada Bhujanga Prayata Ashtakam is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn dedicated to Goddess Sharada, a regional name for Saraswati as the deity of knowledge, music, and learning. It is composed in the Bhujanga Prayata meter — a flowing serpentine meter in Sanskrit prosody — and belongs to the devotional stotram tradition honoring Saraswati within the Shakta tradition.
What are the benefits of chanting Sharada Bhujanga Prayata Ashtakam?
- Enhancement of knowledge, learning, and intellectual acuity
- Improvement in eloquence and clarity of expression
- Removal of ignorance and mental obstacles to study
- Cultivation of devotion to the Goddess of wisdom and arts
When is the best time to recite this?
This ashtakam is particularly appropriate on Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja), during Navaratri on the days dedicated to Saraswati, and at the start of a period of formal study. Morning recitation is standard for stotrams in this tradition.
What is the historical and traditional background?
The authorship of the Sharada Bhujanga Prayata Ashtakam is not known, though use of the Bhujanga Prayata meter places it within a tradition of learned Sanskrit composition employed by scholars and poet-devotees across the medieval period. Sharada worship has deep roots in the Kashmir Shaiva tradition, where the deity is identified with the power of divine speech (Vak), and also in the Maihar region of Madhya Pradesh. The eight-verse ashtakam format is a common and compact mode for Sanskrit devotional composition.
Available scripts
This text is available in 14 scripts: devanagari, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, gujarati, bengali, iast, gurmukhi, oriya, assamese, sinhala, itrans, hk. Use the script selector above to switch between them.
Related Texts
- Sharda Chalisa — a Hindi Chalisa dedicated to the same goddess, particularly associated with the Maihar temple in Madhya Pradesh
- Saraswati Ashtakam — another eight-verse hymn to Saraswati, sharing the same deity and devotional purpose