Dakshinamurthy Sthothram – 1

(Dhyana Slokas)

Dakshinamurthy Sthotram is a short work of ten verses written by Sri Adhi Sankara. It is not only a sthuthi in praise of Lord Dakshinamurthy but also a Vedanta sastra that discusses the Mahavakhya “Tat Tvam Asi”.  Lord Siva as Brahma Vidya Guru is called Lord Dakshinamurthy.  The word Dakshinamurthy can be split two ways; one as south facing one (Dakshina+Murthy) and the second as one who is skilful and formless (Dakshin + Amurthy).  South is a direction associated with Yama, God of death and so the first meaning signifies Lord Dakshinamurthy transcends Time and is free of fear of anything and worshipping Him, one can be free of fear of death and samsara.  The second meaning reveals He is skilful in removing ignorance, ignorance of Self, of His followers. In this stotram Sri Sankara goes into depth of Vedanta and so this is classified as a Vedantic text and several commentaries have been written for it.  One of the commentaries written by his direct disciple Sureshvaracharya is called Manasolla Varthikam and this consists of 144 verses and some of the verses taken from there are presented as Dhyana slokas.  So just as Geeta dhyana slokas are not part of Mahabharatha, the dhyana slokas of Dakshinamurthy Sthotram are not part of Sri Sankara’s work. But these verses are recited first to prepare the mind with an image in one’s mind for the sake of prayer and meditation.  First we will take up the Dhyana slokas and there are five of them.

Dhyana Slokam 1

Maunavyakhya prakatitha parabrahmatatvam yuvanam
Varsishthantevasad rishiganairavrtam brahmanishthaih |
Acharyendram karakalita chinmudram anandamurthim
Svatmaramam muditavadanam Dakshinamurtimide ||

I worship that Lord Dakshinamurthy; who faces the south, who explains the true nature of the supreme Brahman through his state of silence; who is young in looks;
who is surrounded by disciples who are old Sages whose minds are fixed on Brahman; who is the greatest of teachers; who shows the Chinmudhra by his hand; who is personification of happiness; who is in the state of extreme joy within himself, and who has a smiling face.

This and other dhyana slokas are descriptions of various aspects of Lord Dakshinamurthy as in stotrams in praise of deities. He is the BrahmaVidya guru who is teaching Parabrahma tattvam to the sishyas who are well versed in Vedas. They are called old as they have spent quite a number of years acquiring knowledge of Vedas and all spiritual sciences academically.  Lord Dakshinamurthy is called young to show He is eternal and timeless. He is teaching in silece through gesture referred to as Chinmudra, as Brahman is not an object that can be described in words. This mudra has a lot of symbolism associated with it and indicates profound Vedantic teachings. This can be briefly stated as follows.  In this Mudra the index finger is first separated from the three other fingers signifying Athma anathma viveka, the index  finger standing for Athma, the Real Self and the three other fingers for anathma, the three sareeras- Sthula, sukshma and Karana sareeras. Thumb, which stands for Adhishtanam, Brahman, is linked to the separated index finger to form a full circle to represent the oneness of Athma and Brahman, as enunciated in the Mahavakhya “Tat Tvam Asi”.  Smiling face radiating happiness and being happy with oneself are the hallmarks of a Brahma Jnani and Lord Dakshinamurthy being BrahmaVidya guru personifies all these.

The next four Dhyana slokams are in praise of Lord Dakshinamurthy and speak of His glory. They are self-explanatory and are as below:

Dhyana slokam 2

Vatavitapisamipe bhumibhage nishannam
Sakalamunijananaṃ Jnanadataramarat |
Tribhuvanagurumisam Dakshinamurtidevam
Jananamaranaduhkhaccheda daksham namami ||

I offer namaskarams to Lord Dakshinamurthy who is Lord Siva Himself and is capable of removing the sorrows arising from the cycles of births and deaths and who as the Guru of the Three Worlds (entire universe), sitting on the ground near (under) the banyan tree bestows knowledge to all the Sages, who were seated near Him.

Dhyana slokam 3

Chitram vatatarormule vrddhah sishyah gururyuva |
Gurosthu maunavyakhyanam sishyastu cchinnasamsayah ||

It is an amazing sight under the banyan tree.  The disciples are very old and the guru is very young. The teacher is explaining in silence (through Chinmudra) and the students are getting all their doubts cleared (as their doubts are regarding Self and the Chinmudra reveals Jiva-Brahma Ikyam)

Dhyana slokam 4

Nidhaye sarvavidyanaṃ bhishaje bhavaroginam |
Gurave sarvalokanam Dakshinamurtaye namah ||

Prostrations to that Dakshinamurthy, who is the teacher of the entire world, who is the doctor to those afflicted by the disease of birth and death, and who is the treasure house of all knowledge.

Dhyana slokam 5

Oṃ namah pranavarthaya suddhaJyanaikamurtaye |
Nirmalaya prasantaya dakshinamurtaye namah ||

Namaskarams to that Dakshinamurthy who is the meaning of the pranava (“Om”) who is the personification of unalloyed wisdom, who is crystal clear in his thought, and who is the epitome of peace.

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