Īśvara Stotra

The Īśvara Stotra is the hymn that Īśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, offered to Bhagavān Vishṇu at Kshīrasāgara, the ocean of milk. The daityas (asuras) had defeated the devas in battle, and the devas had come to Bhagavān Vishṇu for help. The hymn is found in the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, chapter 6, verses 24 to 37.

The hymn praises Bhagavān Vishṇu as the light of knowledge (jñāna-jyoti), as the Vaishṇavī Śakti that fills the three worlds, as the one cause of steadiness for beings in saṃsāra (the round of birth and death), as Brahman beyond all guṇas, and as the Paramātmā who lives in the cave of the heart. It moved Bhagavān Vishṇu to do a secret tapas (austerity) at Ayodhyā. That tapas set up the Guptahari mūrti there.

The setting

The daityas were proud of the varas (boons) they had won. They defeated the devas in battle. Bhagavān Śiva stopped the devas as they fled. He led them, with Brahmā at their head, to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who lay on Ādiśesha in Kshīrasāgara.

Bhagavān Śiva, with a pure mind and with the whole company of the devas, offered this stotra to Bhagavān Vishṇu, the conqueror of the enemies of the suras.

The stotra

Verse 24

O Bhagavān Vishṇu, you carry beings across the ocean of worldly existence. Obeisance to you, who give joy to Suparṇa (Garuḍa). Obeisance to Hari, the moon that drives away the thick darkness of delusion.

Verse 25

I take refuge in the bright shining of the jewel of perfect knowledge, the moonlight that belongs to the mind, the river that flows in the garden of a mind full of devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Verse 26

I take refuge in the power of enthusiasm that shines in play, that fills all three worlds, and that is the first stage of all living beings and animals. It is the Vaishṇavī power.

Verse 27

Creatures are about to fall. They sit, as it were, at the border of lotus petals tossed about by the wind. For them the one cause of steadiness is Harismṛti, the remembrance of Hari.

Verse 28

Obeisance to you, whose nature is that of Bhagavān Sūrya, with the cluster of rays of perfect knowledge. Obeisance to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who opens the glorious lotus of the heart.

Verse 29

Obeisance to the lasting goal of the yogīs, the Master of restraints. Obeisance to the great Bhagavān Vishṇu who is beyond brightness and darkness.

Verse 30

Obeisance to Yajña. Obeisance to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who takes his share of the havis (offering), who has the form of Ṛk, Yajus and Sāman. Obeisance to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who has divine good qualities, praised by Sarasvatī.

Verse 31

Obeisance to the peaceful one, the storehouse of dharma. Bow to the Kshetrajña, whose nature is nectar. Salute to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who has set the path of yoga among his disciples. Bow to the one cause of the jīvas (living beings). Obeisance to the terrible maker of māyā. Obeisance to the one with a thousand heads.

Verse 32

Obeisance to the Ātmā who rests in yogic sleep. Salute to Bhagavān Vishṇu, from whose navel came the lotus that is the seat of Brahmā, maker of the universe. Obeisance to the one who is the cause in the form of water and who keeps the universe going.

Verse 33

Obeisance to the powerful one who can be known only through his effects. Obeisance to the Jīva and to the Paramātmā. Obeisance to the protector of all living beings and to the life-breath of living beings. Obeisance to the universe and to its maker.

Verse 34

Obeisance to Bhagavān Vishṇu in the bodily form of the proud lion, the cause of the destruction of the daityas. Salute to the one who favours heroes, whose mind is deep without end. Obeisance to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who takes the form of the universe.

Verses 35 and 36

Obeisance to Bhagavān Vishṇu, who cuts away the great darkness of ignorance that is the cause of worldly existence. Salute to the one of unimaginable brightness, who lives in the cave of the heart, to Rudra. Obeisance to the great reviver.

Obeisance to the peaceful one, the giver of moksha, in which the waves of the mind have grown still. Obeisance to the one who is apart and different from all other living beings. Obeisance to the Ātmā who is the same as everything.

Verse 37

I bow to Vishṇu, dark like a blue lotus, with the graceful charm of the bright filament, who wears the Kaustubha jewel, who is nectar for the eyes.

The themes of the stotra

  1. The light of knowledge (jñāna-jyoti). The hymn opens with Bhagavān Vishṇu as the moon that drives away the darkness of delusion. From this it moves to the jewel of perfect knowledge (paramārtha-ratna-jyoti). This light is the moonlight that belongs to the mind (mano-jyotsnā), and it flows like a river through the garden of a mind full of devotion.
  2. The Vaishṇavī Śakti. This is the power (śakti) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The hymn describes it as the force of enthusiasm (utsāha) that fills the three worlds and is the first stage of all living beings.
  3. Harismṛti, the remembrance of Hari. In verse 27 the beings of saṃsāra sit at the edge of lotus petals tossed by the wind and are about to fall. The one cause of steadiness for them is Harismṛti. Harismṛti is also the name of one of the mūrtis of Hari at Ayodhyā, which lies west of Cakrahari.
  4. Beyond the guṇas. Bhagavān Vishṇu is praised as beyond both brightness, which belongs to rajas, and darkness, which belongs to tamas.
  5. The Ātmā in the cave. The hymn calls Bhagavān Vishṇu “the one who lives in the cave of the heart” (guhāśaya), the Paramātmā who rests in the lotus of the heart.
  6. Apart and the same. The closing verses call Bhagavān Vishṇu “apart and different from all other living beings” and also “the Ātmā who is the same as everything”.

The result

Bhagavān Vishṇu was glad to hear the stotra. He promised to go to Ayodhyā and do a secret tapas to increase the brightness of the suras. This tapas set up the mūrtis of Guptahari and Cakrahari at Ayodhyā.

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, chapter 6 (verses 24 to 37)