SoundaryaLahiri- Adi Sankaracharya
Book Ref-Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati
Story Behind Verse-2 The Fearful Fish!
"Soundarya Lahari, a composition by Bhagwan Shankaracharya is not just a poetic expression par-excellence rather it is infused with his personal experience soaked in devotion. In Sanskrit, the word Soundarya means Beauty and Lahari means wave. So, the word Soundarya Lahari literally means "Wave of Beauty.". Since the hymn is addressed to Sridevi Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari, it means wave of beauty of Sridevi. Accordingly, in the hymn Sridevi’s celestial beauty has been described from top to bottom.
Thus verses 1 to 41 are the original work of the Lord in which He describes ancient rituals or tantras and powerful mantras! The rest, verses 42 to100 are the delightful compositions of Adi Sankara focused on the beauty and grace of Her personal appearance. Sankara describes Her person and glorious attributes as the universal Mother Maha Tripurasundari! The more we read the verses and understand them the more we are amazed at the poetic grandeur of Sankara’s pen and his thought! It is pure and unalloyed bliss for the reader whoever it may be.SoundaryaLahari is not all poetry and imagination running riot. It is a clever combination of mantra, yantra and tantra or ritual!
(I Read This Book -Beautiful poetic translation of The Saundarya Lahiri ( in which Adi Shankara has extolled the greatness of the Supreme Mother Goddess in 100 verses.This book is a must read for all Devi Upasakars.)
In this blog post, we will explore the beauty of poetic expression and the various themes and writing styles. This is a humble attempt to present the poetic and philosophical aspects of AdiSankara! I will only touch upon vedanta, swarupa and metaphorical aspects of select verses. Will not touch upon kaula and tantra verses because that is not my forte.
The soothing rhythms combined with profound lyrics invite listeners on a journey inward—a chance to reflect on one's own connection with divinity.
The Fearful Fish!
Soundarya Lahari Sloka 56 is a profound, poetic, verse attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, which describes the unparalleled beauty and power of the Divine Mother's eyes, comparing them to fish, while simultaneously highlighting their cosmic significance. Adi Shankara describes that the fish (ṣapharikāḥ) in the ocean are afraid to close their eyes, fearing the Goddess's long, fish-shaped eyes will notice them and murmur against them. This metaphorical fear signifies the inferiority of the fish compared to the beauty of Devi’s eyes, which are vast,, and long, extending to her ears.
तवापर्णे कर्णेजपनयनपैशुन्यचकिताः
निलीयन्ते तोये नियतमनिमेषाः शफरिकाः।
इयं च श्रीर्बद्धच्छदपुटकवाटं कुवलयं
जहाति प्रत्यूषे निशि च विघटत्य प्रविशति॥
tavāparṇe karṇejapanayanapaiśunyacakitāḥ
nilīyante toye niyatamanimeṣāḥ śapharikāḥ |
iyaṁ ca śrīrbaddhacchadapuṭakavāṭaṁ kuvalayaṁ
jahāti pratyūṣe niśi ca vighaṭatya praviśati ||
In this sloka, Devi is described as having “ VikasitaVadanam Padma patrayathakshim”- bright and opening up face and eyes as broad as the lotus petals! Sri Devi's eyes are extremely beautiful and defy any accurate and appropriate description! Sri Sankara is challenging his wonderful poetic imagination and straining himself to explain their beauty in different angles!
aparṇa – O! Parāśakti (aparṇa means either Durgā or Pārvatī);
tava karṇe japa nayana paiśunya cakitaḥ- afraid of Your eyes that go near Your ears to telltale; nilīyante toye – decided to hide themselves in water;
niyatam animeṣāḥ - constantly, without blinking;
śapharikāḥ -female fish; iyaṁ ca śrī – even Goddess Lakṣmī;
baddha cchada puṭakavāṭaṁ -closing the doors made of petals;
kuvalayaṁ - blue lily; jahāti – abandoned; pratyūṣe – during dawn;
niśi ca – during night; vighaṭatya praviśati – making forceful entry.
The Fearful Fish: The verse addresses the Mother as Aparna (one who did not even consume leaves during her penance). The poet imagines that the female fish (śapharikāḥ) in the water are constantly in fear. They believe the Goddess's long, beautiful eyes are trying to "tell tales" or "gossip" (paiśunya) to her ears (karṇe) about them. Due to this fear, the fish hide in the water and never close their eyes (niyata manimeṣāḥ)—an poetic explanation for why fish appear to have unblinking eyes.
It is believed that the fish have the peculiar quality of not closing their eyes! They keep their eyes open always. Looking at the wide open eyes of Devi, But what is the telltale female fish are afraid of? Female fish think that Her eyes appearing like them could say something bad about them (female fish) into Her ears and on hearing this, if She becomes angry, they fear that they could be destroyed. the fish feel that She may claim that they have stolen that rare quality from Her! Hence out of fear they hide themselves in water! Fish do not know that She is an embodiment of compassion and because of their ignorance, they could not understand Her compassion and look at Her differently.
There is yet another comparison. Goddess Lakshmi's Movement: The second part of the verse states that Lakshmi (Sri), the Goddess of beauty, abandons the closed petals of the blue lily (kuvalayaṃ) during the day. She does this to reside in the Mother's eyes, and returns to the lily only at night. Kaluva or Lily flowers open up during the night and look very beautiful! They are called ”Kumuda”! In the morning the Kaluva flowers fold up their petals and wait for the night! Sun is said to be the enemy of Lily flowers ;while the Moon is said to the bosom companion of the Lily flowers! Your extraordinarily beautiful eyes position themselves in the Lily( kaluva) flowers during the night and in the morning close the petals of the Lilies and return to You! Seat of Lakṣmī is lotus flower, which is described in this verse as water lilies. Staying with You throughout the day, they return to the Lilies opening the petal doors! Devi! Your eye are incomparable!”
