Jñānāmṛta Stotra
The Jñānāmṛta Stotra is a stotra of twenty ślokas (verses) spoken by Bhagavān Śiva (Mahādeva) to the devarshi Nārada. It is addressed to Bhagavān Vishṇu. Nārada had asked how a jīva (a living being) bound in saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) can reach moksha. Bhagavān Śiva answers with this stotra, which he calls the jñānāmṛta (nectar of wisdom) that cuts all the bonds of saṃsāra. It is found in chapter 16 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa.
Each dhyāna verse of the stotra names one quality of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Almost every verse ends with the refrain sadā dhyāyan vimucyate: “one who always meditates on him is freed.”
The setting
Śrī Śuka asked Vyāsadeva: “How does a human being cross the ocean of rebirth? He is bound in saṃsāra by hundreds of pairs of opposites, by desires for wealth, children and beauty, and he is tormented by the six waves of hunger, thirst, grief, delusion, decay and death. How does moksha arise for such a one?”
Vyāsadeva replied that he would tell what he had heard from Nārada. Nārada had seen the jīvas in Yamaloka. Moved by their suffering, he went straight to Bhagavān Śiva, who is Trinetra (the three-eyed), Gaṅgādhara (the bearer of the Gaṅgā) and Śūladhārī (the bearer of the trident), and asked him the same question. Bhagavān Śiva answered with the Jñānāmṛta Stotra, the nectar of knowledge that cuts every bond.
The opening verses
Bhagavān Śiva begins with a short preamble.
Jñānāmṛtaṃ ca guhyaṃ ca rahasyam ṛshisattama
Vakshyāmi śṛṇu duḥkhāgnaṃ parvabandha bhayāpaham
“O best among ṛshis! I will now speak the secret nectar of jñāna (knowledge), which destroys suffering and removes the fear of all bondage and cycles of birth.”
The second verse says that all beings sleep in the māyā of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and that only his grace wakes them.
Tṛṇādic caturāsyāntaṃ bhūtagrāmaṃ caturvidham
Carācaram jagat sarvaṃ prasuptaṃ yasya māyayā
Tasya Vishṇoḥ prasādena yadi kaścit prabudhyate
Sa nistarati saṃsāraṃ devānām api dustaram
“The fourfold company of beings, from a blade of grass up to Brahmā himself, the whole moving and unmoving creation, is asleep in his māyā. By the grace of that Vishṇu alone, whoever awakens crosses saṃsāra, which even the devas cannot cross.”
The third verse speaks of the one who is proud of pleasure and rule.
Bhogaiśvarya madonnattaḥ tattvajñāna parāṅmukhaḥ
Saṃsāra sumahāpaṅke jīrṇāgauriva majjati
“One who is drunk with the pride of enjoyment and power, and has turned away from knowledge of the truth, sinks in the deep mud of saṃsāra like an aged cow.”
The fourth verse speaks of the one who binds himself by action.
Yasya ātmānam nibadhāti karmabhiḥ kośakāravat
Tasya muktim na paśyāmi janmakoṭiśatair api
“One who binds his own ātmā with karma, like a silkworm in its cocoon, for that one I see no moksha even in a hundred crore births.”
Then Bhagavān Śiva says: “Therefore, O Nārada:”
Tasmān nārada sarveśaṃ devānāṃ devam avyayam
Ārādhayet sadā samyak dhāyed Vishṇuṃ samāhitaḥ
“Therefore, O Nārada, one should always and properly worship Vishṇu, the master of all, the Deva of devas, the imperishable, and meditate on Vishṇu with a steady mind.”
The dhyāna verses
The dhyāna verses (verses of meditation) that follow each describe the nature of Bhagavān Vishṇu and promise moksha to the one who meditates on him.
Yas tam viśvam anādyam ādyaṃ svātmani saṃsthitaṃ
Sarvajñam amalaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
He who always meditates on Vishṇu is freed. Vishṇu is the universe itself, beginningless yet the beginning, established in his own self, all-knowing and stainless.
Nirvikalpaṃ nirākāśaṃ nishprapañcaṃ nirāmayam
Vāsudevam ajaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who meditates on Vāsudeva-Vishṇu is always freed. He is free of all vikalpas (changing thoughts), formless, beyond the world of appearances, free of all affliction and birthless.
Sarva-pāpa vinirmuktam aprameyam alakshaṇam
Nirvāṇam anaghaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
Meditating on Vishṇu, one is always freed. He is entirely free of pāpa, immeasurable, beyond all marks, the ground of nirvāṇa, and without fault.
Amṛtaṃ paramānandaṃ sarvapāpa vivarjitam
Brahmaṇyaṃ śaṃkaraṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā saṃkīrtya mucyate
One who always glorifies Vishṇu is freed. He is nectar, supreme ānanda (bliss), free of all pāpa, beloved of brāhmaṇas and auspicious.
Yogeśvaraṃ purāṇākhyaṃ aśarīraṃ guhāśayam
Amātram avyayaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who meditates on Vishṇu is always freed. He is Yogeśvara, ancient, bodiless, dwelling in the cave of the heart, immeasurable and imperishable.
Śubhāśubha vinirmuktaṃ ūrmishaṭka-param vibhum
Acintyam amalaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
Meditating on Vishṇu, one is always freed. He goes beyond the six waves, is beyond good and bad, and is inconceivable and pure.
Sarva-dvandva vinirmuktaṃ sarvadukha vivarjitam
Aprataṛkyam ajaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
He who meditates on Vishṇu is always freed. Vishṇu is freed from all pairs of opposites, free of all suffering, beyond logic and birthless.
Anāmagotram advaitaṃ caturthaṃ paramaṃ padam
Taṃ sarvahṛdgataṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who meditates on Vishṇu is always freed. He has no name and no gotra, is non-dual, is the fourth and supreme state (turīya), and dwells in all hearts.
Arūpaṃ satyasaṃkalpaṃ śuddham ākāśavat param
Ekāgramanas ā Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
Meditating on formless Vishṇu with a one-pointed mind, one is always freed. His will is always truth, he is pure as the sky, and he is supreme.
Sarvātmakaṃ svabhāvasthaṃ ātmacaitanyarūpakam
Śubhram ekāksharaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who meditates on Vishṇu is always freed. He pervades all selves, is established in his own nature, is made of the consciousness of the ātmā, is pure, and is the one imperishable syllable.
Anirvācyam anishṭheyam aksharādi asambhavam
Ekaṃ nūtnaṃ sadā Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who meditates on Vishṇu is always freed. He is beyond description, cannot be refuted, is the source of all syllables yet beyond them, and is the single ever-new One.
Viśvādyaṃ viśvagoptāraṃ viśvādaṃ sarvakāmadaṃ
Sthānatrayātigataṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who meditates on Vishṇu is always freed. He is the first cause of all, the protector of all, the one who takes in all, the giver of all desires, and he goes beyond the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep.
Sarva duḥkhakshayakaraṃ sarvaśāntikaraṃ Harim
Sarvapāpaharaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
Meditating on Vishṇu-Hari, one is always freed. He destroys all suffering, gives all peace and removes all pāpa.
Brahmādi devagandharva munibhiḥ siddha-cāraṇaiḥ
Yogibhiḥ sevitaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
Vishṇu is served by Brahmā and all the devas, by gandharvas, munis, siddhas, cāraṇas and yogins. Meditating on him, one is always freed.
Vishṇau pratishṭhitaṃ viśvaṃ Vishṇur viśve pratishṭhitaḥ
Viśveśvaram ajaṃ Vishṇuṃ kīrtayan evam ucyate
The universe is established in Vishṇu, and Vishṇu is established in the universe. Glorifying Vishṇu, the ruler of all worlds, the birthless, one is freed.
Saṃsāra-bandhanān muktim icchan kāmam aśeshataḥ
Bhaktyaiva varadaṃ Vishṇuṃ sadā dhyāyan vimucyate
One who wants moksha from the bonds of saṃsāra and from all desires, and meditates on Vishṇu, the giver of varas, with pure bhakti, is always freed.
The phalaśruti
Vyāsadeva ends: “What Mahādeva taught Nārada, this stotra, I have now told you. Meditate always on the attributeless Brahman. You will surely reach the imperishable abode.”
After he heard how great Bhagavān Vishṇu is, Nārada worshipped Vishṇu with devotion and reached great siddhi (perfection).
The fruits of the stotra are these.
- One who fixes the mind on Narasiṃha and listens to this stotra destroys the pāpas of one hundred births.
- One who recites this stotra of Mahādeva to Vishṇu early in the morning after bathing becomes immortal.
- Those who meditate in their hearts and remember Bhagavān Acyuta Ananta, the Parameśvara and master of all worshippers, reach Vishṇu-sāyujya (union with Vishṇu).
Sources
- Narasiṃha Purāṇa, chapter 16