Vena Stava

Vena Stava, “the praise sung by Vena”

The Vena Stava is the long stotra that Vena sang to Bhagavān Śiva as Sthāṇu at the Sthāṇu tīrtha in Kurukshetra, on the day he was freed from his pāpa. It is told in the Saro Māhātmya of the Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 26, by Sanatkumāra to Mārkaṇḍeya: some two hundred and fifty names and statements in four parts, praising Bhagavān Śiva as the giver and eater of food, the thousand-headed one, the child and the old man, the whole of the Veda, time, the seasons and the stars, every being and every form, the one whom not even Brahmā and Vishṇu can truly know. Bhagavān Śiva himself gave its phalaśruti in Chapter 27: as Śiva is first among the devatās, so the Vena Stava is first among stotras. It gives long life, fame, kingship, wealth and freedom from fear, keeps every obstacle from the house where it is recited, and destroys the pāpas of thought, word and deed.

The setting

Vena, the son of Bhayā, the daughter of Kāla, became king of the whole earth and reviled the Vedas. He forbade dāna, yajña and the offering of āhutis, and declared that there was no deva other than himself. When he would not listen to the ṛshis, they struck him with mantra-charged kuśa grass and he died. From his right hand, churned by the ṛshis, came a dharmātmā king, whom Indra and the devas anointed. That son, wishing his father to reach the higher worlds, asked Nārada Maharshi, who told him that Vena had been born among the mlecchas with the diseases kshaya and kushṭha, and that he should bring him to the Sthāṇu tīrtha near the Sannihita lake. Warned by Vāyu that Vena must not bathe there, the son built a hut, kept his father in it, and every day bathed in the tīrthas and sprinkled their waters on him.

A dog came there, once the keeper of the deva-dravya of the Sthāṇu maṭha. It had dipped in the Sarasvatī by the grace of Sthāṇvīśvara and been freed of its pāpas. Frightened by the dog, Vena plunged into the Sthāṇu tīrtha, and the dog shook the water of the Sarasvatī from its body over him. So, by the glory of the Sthāṇu tīrtha and through his son, Vena crossed over. At once he gained mastery of the senses and a divine body, and in great joy he bowed and began a stotra to Bhagavān Śiva as Sthāṇu.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 26

The stotra

The first part

Namaskāra to you:

  • Paya-svarūpa, whose form is water
  • Tuṇḍapati, lord of mouths
  • Annadātā, giver of food
  • Annapati, lord of food
  • Nānānna-bhojī, who eats food of many kinds

Praṇāmas to you:

  • Sahasraśīrsha, the thousand-headed
  • Sahasracaraṇa, the thousand-footed
  • Sahasrodyata-śūlī, with a thousand raised śūlas (tridents)
  • Sahasrābharaṇa, with a thousand ornaments
  • Bālānucara-goptā, protector of little children
  • Bālalīlā-vilāsī, who delights in the play of children
  • Bālarūpa, of the form of a child
  • Vṛddharūpa, of the form of an old man
  • the one who is stirred and the one who stirs
  • Gaṅgā-lulita-keśa, whose hair is tossed by Gaṅgā
  • Muñjakeśa, whose hair is like muñja grass

Namovākas to you:

  • Shaṭkarma-santoshī, pleased by the six karmas
  • Karmatraya-nirata, devoted to the three karmas
  • Nagnaprāṇa
  • Caṇḍa, the fierce
  • Kṛśa, the lean
  • Sphoṭana, the one who becomes manifest
  • Caturvidha-purushārtha-rūpa, whose form is the four purushārthas
  • Caturvidha-purushārtha-pratipādaka, who establishes the four purushārthas

The second part

“You are the Sāṅkhya śāstra; you are the essential truth of the Asāṅkhya; you are the leader of the Sāṅkhya-yoga śāstra. You are Viratha (without a chariot), Rathya (of the road) and Catushpatha-rathika (the charioteer of the crossroads). Namaskāra to you.”

Praṇāma to you: Mṛgacarmadhara, wearing the deer skin; Sarpayajñopavīta, whose sacred thread is a serpent; Vaktra-sandhāna-keśa, whose hair clings to the face; Harikeśa, of tawny hair.

Namaskāra to you: the three-eyed Ambikāpati, lord of Ambikā; Vyaktāvyakta-svarūpa, manifest and unmanifest; Viriñci.

Namovākas to you: Kāma-kāma-dātā, who gives their desires to those who desire; Kāmahara, who destroys kāma; Tṛptātṛpta-vicāraka, who considers the satisfied and the unsatisfied; Sarvadātā, giver of all; Pāpanāśaka, destroyer of pāpa; Kalpa-saṅkhyā-vicāraka, who reckons the number of the kalpas.

Namas to you: Mahāsattva, Mahābāhu, Mahābala; Mahāmegha, the great cloud; Mahāprakhya, of great renown; Mahākāla; Mahādyuti, of great radiance; Meghāvarta, the whirl of clouds; Yugāvartaka, who turns the yugas; Candrasūryapati, lord of the moon and the sun.

“You are food, and the eater of food; you eat what is cooked; you are the best of purifiers. The four kinds of living beings, born from the womb, from eggs, from sweat and sprouting from the earth, are you. You created this world of moving and unmoving beings; you protect it and you dissolve it. The knowers of Brahman call you the creator and the supreme goal of the knowers of Brahman. You are the light of the mind; you are Vāyu among the divine lights. The brahmavādīs praise you as the bee that moves on the haṃsa-tree of the jīvātmās. You are made of the Ṛg, Yajus and Sāma Vedas; the Vedas and Upanishads always praise you alone. The varṇas, brāhmaṇa, kshatriya, vaiśya, śūdra and the others, are you. The masses of clouds, the lightning, the fall of the thunderbolt, the year, the ṛtus, the months and the pakshas, the yugas, nimesha and kāshṭhā, the nakshatras, the grahas and the kalās: all are your forms.”

“Among trees you are the Arjuna tree; among mountains, Himavat; among animals, the tiger; among birds, Vainateya; among serpents, Ananta; among oceans, the ocean of milk; among devices, the bow; among weapons, the vajra; among vratas, satya (truth).”

“Dvesha and desire, rāga and moha, forbearance and its lack, resolve, steadfastness, greed, kāma and krodha, victory and defeat: all are you. With you are arrows, maces, bows, khaṭvāṅgas and quivers. You are the one who cuts, the one who pierces, the one who strikes, the one who reflects, the leader, the eternal. You are dharma, marked by its ten lakshaṇas; artha and kāma are you. The oceans, the rivers, Gaṅgā, the mountain lakes, the creepers and grasses, the oshadhis (healing plants), the hosts of cattle, beasts and birds: all are you. You give the arising of substance, action and quality, the flower called Time and its fruit. You are the beginning and end of the Vedas, the Gāyatrī, the praṇava Oṃkāra. The colours red, green, blue, black, yellow, white, tawny, brown, dove-grey and dark are your play. Being without colour and having colour, agency and withdrawal: all are you. You are Indra, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāyu, Rāhu and Agni.”

The third part

“You are Śikshā-hotṛ, the teacher of the knowledge of yajña. You are of the form of the Trisuparṇa and of the chandas. You are the Śatarudrīya in the Yajurveda; pure among the pure; auspicious among the bringers of auspiciousness. The tinduka and girija trees; the mudga grain, the life of all; the prāṇa-tattva; sattva, rajas and tamas; Pratipatpati, lord of the first lunar day; prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna and vyāna; the opening and closing of the eyes; sneezing and yawning: all are you. You lie hidden in the blood.”

Namas to you: Dṛshṭi, sight; Mahāvaktra, great-mouthed; Mahodara, great-bellied; Śvetaroma, white-haired; Haritaśmaśru, with a green beard; Ūrdhvakeśī, with hair standing upward; Calācala, the moving and unmoving.

“You know song, instrumental music and dance, and you love song, music and dance. You are the fish, the net and the leech; Kāla; the art of play; the kavi (poet). Untimely, ill-timed, evil time and time: all are your forms. Mṛtyu, the cause of death, the yaksha, the one who makes the yakshas afraid, Saṃvartaka the dissolver, Antaka the ender, and the Saṃvartaka and Valāhaka clouds: all are your forms. You are the bell, the one who has a bell and the one with the great bell; Mandagati, slow of gait; Mālādhara, wearer of garlands; Mātali; Brahmā. You are Kāla, Yama, Agni, Daṇḍadhara the holder of the rod; the one with a head without hair; Trimastaka, the three-headed. You set going the four yugas, the four Vedas and the four hotras. You are the overlord of the four āśramas and the maker of the four varṇas.”

“You always love the game of dice. You are Dhūrta, the cunning one; the one who watches over all the gaṇas; Gaṇādhīśvara; the one who wears red garlands and red garments. You are the ball and the one who loves the ball; śilpa, the best of the śilpīs, the master who set going all the crafts; the fearsome one who knocked out the eyes of Bhaga and the teeth of Pūshan. To you, whose form is svāhā, svadhā, vashaṭkāra and namaskāra, hundreds of namaskāras.”

“You are Gūḍhavrata, of hidden vratas; Guhya-tapasvī, of secret tapas; Tāra, the one who carries across; Tārakāmaya, made of the stars; Dhātā the sustainer; Sandhātā the one who joins; another support for the earth. The Veda, Brahma, tapas, satya, the keeping of vratas, uprightness, Bhūtātmā, Bhūtakartā, lordship, past, future and present, the worlds Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Suvaḥ, ṛta, the fixed and the restrained: all are your forms. You are Maheśvara, consecrated and without dīkshā, the beautiful one, the untameable, the root of self-restraint. In the form of the moon, of the yugas and of the clouds, you come again and again.”

Namas to you:

  • Bindurūpī, of the form of a drop
  • Aṇurūpī, of the form of an atom
  • Sthūla, the gross
  • who loves garlands of karṇikāra flowers
  • Nandimukha, Bhīmamukha, Sumukha, Durmukha
  • Hiraṇyagarbha
  • the bird
  • the fearsome best of serpents
  • Virāṭpurusha
  • destroyer of adharma
  • Mahādeva
  • Daṇḍadhārī
  • of the form of the fierce gaṇas
  • the one who bellows like a bull
  • the one who carries the cows across
  • whose vāhana is Vṛshabheśvara, the lord of bulls
  • protector of the three worlds
  • Govinda
  • Gomārga, the path of the cows, and Mārga, the path
  • Sthira, the steady, and Śreshṭha, the best
  • Sthāṇurūpī, of the form of the pillar
  • Vikrośa and Krośa-rūpī, of the form of the cry and the great cry

“None can restrain you, endure you, go beyond you or assail you. Your light is hard to bear; you are hard to see. None can conquer you; you are victory. You are cool and hot like the moon and fire. Hunger, thirst, health, the pains of mind and body and the healing of disease: all are you. You destroy hosts upon hosts. You are the eternal deva, Śikhaṇḍī the crested, Puṇḍarīkāksha the lotus-eyed, dwelling in the forests of lotus lakes. You are Tryambaka, Daṇḍadhara, Ugradaṃshṭra of the fierce tusks, Kulāntaka the ender of races, Vishanāśaka the destroyer of poison, Devaśreshṭha, Somarasapāyī the drinker of soma, leader of the Maruts, Amṛtabhojī the eater of amṛta, lord of the devatās and the deva-gaṇas, the one who drinks the madhu of those who pour out madhu, Brahmavāṇī, the one who pours ghee. All the worlds are your food. You are the Pitāmaha of all worlds. Namovāka to you.”

The fourth part

“Prabhu Śiva, you are Hiraṇyaretas, whose seed is gold, the one supreme Purusha. You are woman, man and neither, child, old man and elder. You are the Airāvata gaṇa. Revered by all, maker of the universe: namas to you. Among the creators you are the best of all; those with śraddhā always worship you. The moon and the sun are your eyes. You are Agni and Brahmā. Worshipping you in the form of Sarasvatī, men gain speech. Night and day are you; the closing and opening of the eyes are you.”

“O auspicious form! Not even Brahmā, Vishṇu and the ancient maharshis can truly know your glory. Shining beyond the dense, terrible darkness that covers thousands of beings, you protect them all and lead them. You are the Yogātmā whom the mahātmās, who restrain sleep and breath, conquer the senses and are rooted in sattva, see in the form of light. You are the Paramātmā. Namaskāra to you. With your endless forms, subtler than the subtlest, beyond pointing out, protect me as a father protects his own son. I am one fit to be protected by you; protect me always. O one free of pāpa, namas to you. Bhagavān Śiva, compassionate to your bhaktas, I am always your dāsa.”

Namaskāra to you: Jaṭādhara, wearing matted hair; Muṇḍī, shaven-headed; Daṇḍadhara; Lambodara-deha, of the body with a hanging belly; Kamaṇḍaludhara, holding the water pot; Rudrarūpa.

“Clouds are in your hair; rivers are in all the joints of your limbs; your belly is the home of all the oceans. To you who are thus Jalātmaka, whose self is water, praṇāmāñjalis. At the ends of the yugas he devours all beings and rests in the waters: I take refuge in that master, Jalaśayāna, who lies on the waters. He enters the mouth of Rāhu and drinks soma at night; with your tejas as a protecting armour, Rāhu swallows the very sun.”

“May the master who dwells in all embodied beings in the form of a thumb-sized purusha protect me every day and lead me forward. In rivers, in oceans, in mountain caves, at the roots of trees, in cowsheds, in the deep forests, at crossroads, on royal roads, in assembly halls, in the stables of elephants, horses and chariots, in ruined temples, in gardens, in the five elements, in all the directions and the spaces between them, in the moon and the sun and the masses of their rays, among the dwellers of Pātāla, and in other places: to the mūrtis of that master who thus pervades everywhere, day after day, namas, praṇāmas and bowings.”

“To the Rudras, who pervade everywhere in forms and shapes beyond counting, in numberless gaṇas, a hundred añjalis of namovāka! Be gracious to me, all of you. May good come to you. I am yours. O Devadeva! You are my heart, my buddhi, my mati, my everything. Namas to you!”

Having praised Mahādeva Śaṅkara in this way, that excellent dvija bowed.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 26

Bhagavān Śiva’s answer

Then Bhagavān Śiva, lord of the three worlds, skilled in speech, spoke words that gave Vena contentment: “Well done, O king of good vratas! I am pleased with your stotra. You will always dwell near me.” He foretold Vena’s births to come: after staying long with him, Vena would be born from Śiva’s own body as the asura Andhaka, raised in the house of Hiraṇyāksha because of his former reviling of the Veda; when in that birth he desired the Jaganmātā, Bhagavān Śiva would pierce his body with the śūla and make him pure, like Arbuda; and then, praising Bhagavān Śiva with a stotra like this one, he would be famous as the first among the Śiva-gaṇas, named Bhṛṅgiriṭi, and attain siddhi in his presence.

Then Bhagavān Śiva gave the phalaśruti, and told Vena to ask for a vara. Vena asked mukti for the dog, by whose help he had entered the tīrtha, and Bhagavān Śiva granted that the dog, having heard this stava, would be freed of all its pāpas and reach Śivaloka. Then he withdrew from sight.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 27

The phalaśruti

Bhagavān Śiva himself spoke the phala of the Vena Stava:

  • Those who read or hear this divine stotra made by Vena become long-lived, without any inauspiciousness.
  • As Śiva is first among all the devatās, so the Vena Stava is first among all stotras.
  • It is renowned as the giver of fame, the happiness of kingship, aiśvarya (lordship), wealth and honour.
  • Students should hear it with bhakti.
  • The sick, the grief-stricken, the poor and helpless, and those in fear of thieves or of the king should hear it with effort.
  • Those dismissed from the king’s service become free of all fears. In this very body they become the best among the gaṇas, with fame and tejas, and pure.
  • In houses where this stotra is recited, rākshasas, piśācas, bhūtas and vināyakas (the beings who cause obstacles) cannot cause any obstacle.
  • Housewives who hear this stava with their husband’s permission are worshipped as devatās both on their mother’s side and in their father’s line.
  • Whoever sings this stava every day with a one-pointed mind, or hears it, succeeds in all works; all they resolve in the mind and utter with the mouth comes to pass.
  • All the pāpas done through thought, word and deed are destroyed.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 27

Sources

  • Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 26–27