ādiśaṅkara-viracita śri viṣṇu-ṣaṭpadī
avinayamapanaya viṣṇo damaya
manaḥ śamaya viṣayamṛgatṛṣṇām |
bhūtadayāṃ vistāraya
tāraya saṃsārasāgarataḥ ||
divyadhunīmakarande
parimalaparibhogasaccidānande |
śrīpatipadāravinde
bhavabhayakhedacchide vande ||
Re-ordered word-by-word meaning
avinayaṃ apanaya - erase (my) lack of humility
damaya manaḥ - tame (my) mind
śamaya viṣayamṛgatṛṣṇām - put out (my) animal thirst/lust for sense-pleasures
vistāraya bhūtadayāṃ - extend/grow (my) compassion for fellow-creatures (all living beings)
saṃsārasāgarataḥ tāraya - rescue me from the ocean of worldliness.
vande - (I) bow down
śrīpatipadāravinde - at the lotus feet of Lakshmi's consort, Vishnu,
divyadhunīmakarande - from whence springs the divine, nectarine/ambrosiac river Ganga (=confers immortality)
parimalaparibhogasaccidānande - partaking of whose fragrance, I enjoy the ultimate experience of truth-knowledge-bliss, (and thereby)
bhavabhayakhedacchide - am rid of the terror of worldliness and its bondage.
The next four stanzas will be translated over the next days.
This prayer by Adi Shankara is in ṣaṭpadī format, and is one of the finest prayers addressed to Vishnu or Narayana.
