On Poems, Meter, and Synchronous Bird Chirping

A beautiful incident prompted me to present this hymn to the blog-readers. One fine morning, I was playing a stuti named ``SankashtanaashanaM viShNustotraM,'' written in the bhuja.ngaprayaata-maatraa with two anuShTup-shloka marking beginning and end. The stuti has 11 natural pauses during poetry recitation, marking the end of a charaNa, or a feet, a widely known notion in Sanskrit poetry. After one or two charaNas, a bird, somewhere outside my window, started chirping at the end of every charaNa. I was startled by the synchrony between the bird and the rendition. After the hymn finished playing, I replayed it to hear the bird. But to my disappointment, I could not hear it again. This incident inspired me enough to present the beautiful piece of poetry in front of the intended listeners. The translation is done using iTrans scheme (visit www.aczoom.com).

sankaShTanaashanaM viShNustotraM

punar-daityaM samaayaataM

dRRiShTvaa devaaH savaasavaaH []
bhayaM prakaMpitaaH sarve

viShNuM stotuM prachakramuH [][]

namo matsya-kuurmaadi-naanaa-swaruupaiH

sadaa-bhakta-kaaryodyataay-aarti-hantre []

vidhaatraadi-sarga-sthiti-dhvans-kartre

gadaa-shankh-padmaari-hastaaya te-stu [] 1 []

ramaa-vallabhaayaa-suraaNaaM nihantre
bhujangaariyaanaay piitaaMbaraay []
makhaadi-kriyaa-paak-kartre-vikartre
sharaNyaay tasmai nataaH smo nataaH smaH [] 2 []

namo daitya-santaapitaamartya-dukhaa-
chala-dhvans-daMbholaye viShNave te []
bhujangesha-talpesh-yaayaarka-chandra-
dvinetraaya tasmai nataaH smo nataaH smaH [] 3 []

sankaShTanaashanaM naam

stotrametat-paThennaraH []
sa kadaachinna sankaShTaiH

piiDyate kRRipayaa hareH [] []

MEANING

After the demons attacked again on the demi-gods, everyone including Vaasav, i.e., Indra, got frightened and started praying to Lord Vishnu for rescue.

Salutations to You, Who take various forms like Matsya, the fish and Kuurma, the tortoise for the rescue of Your devotees. Salutations to You, Who is always enthusiastic about relieving Your devotees from the clutches of fear and finishing their work. Sautations to You, Who makes the destiny, stabilizes everything in this universe, and then destroys everything in the end as a liilaa-vinod, and is decorated with Mace, Shell, Lotus, and Chakra in hands. [] 1 []

We continuously salute You, Who is dear to Ramaa (Lakshmi), and destroys the demons again and again. We continuously salute You, Who has the snake-destroyer, i.e., Garuda, as Your vehicle, and is decorated with a beautiful yellow robe. We continuously salute You, Who accept or destroy the worth of a Yagya, a sacrifice, and other deeds, and are a refuge (for everything in this universe). [] 2 []

We continuously salute You, Who destroys the fear and sorrows of demi-Gods, oppressed brutally by the demons. We continuously salute You, O Vishnu, Who sleeps on a bed of Adi Shesha, the serpent, and has two eyes represting the Sun and the Moon. [] 3 []

Humans who sing this Sankasht-naashanaM stotra, i..e., problem-destroyer hymn, with devotion, they never face difficulties, or pain in their lives --- with the bliss from Shri Hari.

*****