Acyuta Stotra
The Acyuta Stotra is a long stotra to Bhagavān Vishṇu. It praises him as Acyuta, “the Unfallen One”, the nirguṇa (beyond the guṇas) Brahman who is the source, the keeper and the dissolution of all creation. Brahmā composed it and taught it to Nārada. It is found in the Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, chapter 234.
The stotra joins advaita-jñāna (knowledge of non-duality) with bhakti (devotion) in one prayer. The Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa also declares that reciting it regularly gives sons, wealth, knowledge, memory of past lives and finally moksha (liberation).
The setting
Brahmā is the creator of the worlds and one of the highest beings in creation. Yet he himself composes this stotra and teaches it to Nārada. In it he speaks as a devotee of Acyuta and admits that he cannot honour Bhagavān Vishṇu as he deserves.
The first verse
The stotra opens with a verse that names the nature of Bhagavān Vishṇu:
Sarvajñaṃ nirguṇaṃ śuddham ānandam ajaraṃ param /
bodharūpaṃ dhruvaṃ śāntaṃ pūrṇam advaitam aksharam
The meaning is: all-knowing, without guṇas, pure, bliss, ageless, supreme, consciousness by nature, eternal, peaceful, complete, non-dual, imperishable.
Brahmā’s admission
Brahmā says:
Naśaknomi vibho samyak kartuṃ pūjāṃ yathoditām
The meaning is: “O Vibhu (All-pervading One), I am not able to perform your pūjā (worship) as it ought to be performed.”
A house without Vishṇu
The stotra teaches that a house where Bhagavān Vishṇu is not worshipped, and where no stotra to Vishṇu is heard, is like a goshṭha, a cattle-shed.
The names and forms
The stotra praises Vishṇu-Acyuta by his chief names and forms:
- Acyuta is the Unfallen. He never falls from his own nature, never leaves his devotees and never forgets an ātmā (soul) that turns to him.
- Ananta is the Endless. He is infinite in every direction, in time and in quality.
- Govinda gives joy to cows, to the earth and to the senses. He is the cowherd of the universe.
- Nārāyaṇa is the one whose home and support (ayana) is all beings (nara). The name is also taken as the son of Nara, and as the one who dwells in the waters.
- Vishṇu is the all-pervading one. He measured the three worlds and fills every point of existence.
- Madhusūdana is the slayer of the asura Madhu, and the destroyer of the tamas (dark) forces in the world.
- Trivikrama is the one who crossed the three worlds in three steps. The name shows the vastness of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
- Vāmana is the dwarf form. It is the highest humility, hiding endless power.
- Śrīdhara is the bearer of Śrī. Lakshmī always dwells on his chest.
The phalaśruti
The Acyuta Stotra gives these fruits to those who recite it:
- Putra-prāpti: sons come to those who wish for children.
- Dhana: wealth comes to the one who worships.
- Vidyā: sacred and worldly knowledge is received.
- Jāti-smaratva: the rare gift of remembering one’s past lives. The Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa presents this as an important fruit, because it lets the jīva (the living being) build on the spiritual progress of earlier lives and avoid repeating the same errors.
- Mukti: in the end, freedom from the cycle of rebirth.
Sources
- Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, chapter 234