Yajnavalkya's Hymn to Sarasvati

Verse 1 (devibhagavatam.9.5.1)

श्रीनारायण उवाच । वाग्देवतायाः स्तवनं श्रूयतां सर्वकामदम् । महामुनिर्याज्ञवल्क्यो येन तुष्टाव तां पुरा

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca | vāgdevatāyāḥ stavanaṁ śrūyatāṁ sarvakāmadam | mahāmuniryājñavalkyo yena tuṣṭāva tāṁ purā

Sri Narayana said: Hear now the hymn to the Goddess of Speech, granter of every desire, by which the great sage Yajnavalkya, long ago, pleased her.

Verse 2 (devibhagavatam.9.5.2)

गुरुशापाज्ज स मुनिर्हतविद्यो बभूव ह । तदा जगाम दुःखार्तो रविस्थानं सुपुण्यदम्

guruśāpājja sa munirhatavidyo babhūva ha | tadā jagāma duḥkhārto ravisthānaṁ supuṇyadam

By his teacher's curse, that sage was stripped of his learning; then, stricken with grief, he journeyed to the most sacred abode of the Sun.

Verse 3 (devibhagavatam.9.5.3)

सम्प्राप्य तपसा सूर्यं लोलार्के दृष्टिगोचरे । तुष्टाव सूर्यं शोकेन रुरोद च मुहुर्मुहुः

samprāpya tapasā sūryaṁ lolārke dṛṣṭigocare | tuṣṭāva sūryaṁ śokena ruroda ca muhurmuhuḥ

Through austerity he brought the blazing Sun within his sight, and in his grief he praised the Sun, weeping again and again.

Verse 4 (devibhagavatam.9.5.4)

सूर्यस्तं पाठयामास वेदं वेदाङ्गमीश्वरः । उवाच स्तौहि वाग्देवीं भक्त्या च स्मृतिहेतवे

sūryastaṁ pāṭhayāmāsa vedaṁ vedāṅgamīśvaraḥ | uvāca stauhi vāgdevīṁ bhaktyā ca smṛtihetave

The Lord Sun taught him the Veda together with its auxiliary sciences, and said: With devotion, praise the Goddess of Speech, that memory may be restored to you.

Verse 5 (devibhagavatam.9.5.5)

तमित्युक्त्वा दीननाथोऽप्यन्तर्धानं चकार सः । मुनिः स्नात्वा च तुष्टाव भक्तिनम्रात्मकन्धरः

tamityuktvā dīnanātho'pyantardhānaṁ cakāra saḥ | muniḥ snātvā ca tuṣṭāva bhaktinamrātmakandharaḥ

Having said this, the Sun, lord of the humble, vanished from sight; the sage, having bathed, bowed his head in devotion and began his hymn.

Verse 6 (devibhagavatam.9.5.6)

याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच । कृपां कुरु जगन्मातर्मामेवं हततेजसम् । गुरुशापात्स्मृतिभ्रष्टं विद्याहीनं च दुःखितम्

yājñavalkya uvāca | kṛpāṁ kuru jaganmātarmāmevaṁ hatatejasam | guruśāpātsmṛtibhraṣṭaṁ vidyāhīnaṁ ca duḥkhitam

Yajnavalkya said: O Mother of the world, have mercy on me, thus stripped of my splendor; by my teacher's curse fallen from memory, deprived of learning, and grieving.

Verse 7 (devibhagavatam.9.5.7)

ज्ञानं देहि स्मृतिं विद्यां शक्तिं शिष्यप्रबोधिनीम् । ग्रन्थकर्तृत्वशक्तिं च सुशिष्यं सुप्रतिष्ठितम्

jñānaṁ dehi smṛtiṁ vidyāṁ śaktiṁ śiṣyaprabodhinīm | granthakartṛtvaśaktiṁ ca suśiṣyaṁ supratiṣṭhitam

Grant me knowledge, memory, learning, the power to instruct disciples, the power to compose treatises, worthy disciples, and firm standing.

Verse 8 (devibhagavatam.9.5.8)

प्रतिभां सत्सभायां च विचारक्षमतां शुभाम् । लुप्तं सर्वं दैवयोगान्नवीभूतं पुनः कुरु

pratibhāṁ satsabhāyāṁ ca vicārakṣamatāṁ śubhām | luptaṁ sarvaṁ daivayogānnavībhūtaṁ punaḥ kuru

Grant me brilliance in a learned assembly, and a fair capacity for reasoning; whatever has been lost through the working of fate, make new once again.

Verse 9 (devibhagavatam.9.5.9)

यथाङ्कुरं भस्मनि च करोति देवता पुनः । ब्रह्मस्वरूपा परमा ज्योतीरूपा सनातनी

yathāṅkuraṁ bhasmani ca karoti devatā punaḥ | brahmasvarūpā paramā jyotīrūpā sanātanī

As some deity might make even a sprout grow again from ashes, so may you restore me; you are of the very form of Brahman, supreme, of the form of pure light, eternal.

Verse 10 (devibhagavatam.9.5.10)

सर्वविद्याधिदेवी या तस्यै वाण्यै नमो नमः । विसर्गबिन्दुमात्रासु यदधिष्ठानमेव च

sarvavidyādhidevī yā tasyai vāṇyai namo namaḥ | visargabindumātrāsu yadadhiṣṭhānameva ca

Homage again and again to that Speech who is the presiding deity of all learning; she whose seat abides even in the visarga, the bindu, and the vowel-quantities —

Verse 11 (devibhagavatam.9.5.11)

तदधिष्ठात्री या देवी तस्यै नित्यै नमो नमः । व्याख्यास्वरूपा सा देवी व्याख्याधिष्ठातृरूपिणी

tadadhiṣṭhātrī yā devī tasyai nityai namo namaḥ | vyākhyāsvarūpā sā devī vyākhyādhiṣṭhātṛrūpiṇī

homage again and again to that eternal goddess who presides over them; that goddess is the very form of exposition, presiding over all exposition.

Verse 12 (devibhagavatam.9.5.12)

यया विना प्रसङ्ख्यावान् सङ्ख्यां कर्तुं न शक्यते । कालसङ्ख्यास्वरूपा या तस्यै देव्यै नमो नमः

yayā vinā prasaṅkhyāvān saṅkhyāṁ kartuṁ na śakyate | kālasaṅkhyāsvarūpā yā tasyai devyai namo namaḥ

Without whom even one skilled in calculation cannot calculate; homage again and again to that goddess who is the very form of the reckoning of time.

Verse 13 (devibhagavatam.9.5.13)

भ्रमसिद्धान्तरूपा या तस्यै देव्यै नमो नमः । स्मृतिशक्तिज्ञानशक्तिबुद्धिशक्तिस्वरूपिणी

bhramasiddhāntarūpā yā tasyai devyai namo namaḥ | smṛtiśaktijñānaśaktibuddhiśaktisvarūpiṇī

Homage again and again to that goddess who is the very form both of confusion and of settled doctrine; she is the very form of the power of memory, the power of knowledge, and the power of intellect.

Verse 14 (devibhagavatam.9.5.14)

प्रतिभाकल्पनाशक्तिर्या च तस्यै नमो नमः । सनत्कुमारो ब्रह्माणं ज्ञानं पप्रच्छ यत्र वै

pratibhākalpanāśaktiryā ca tasyai namo namaḥ | sanatkumāro brahmāṇaṁ jñānaṁ papraccha yatra vai

Homage again and again to her who is the very power of brilliance and of imagination; there, where Sanatkumara once questioned Brahma on knowledge —

Verse 15 (devibhagavatam.9.5.15)

बभूव मूकवत्सोऽपि सिद्धान्तं कर्तुमक्षमः । तदाऽऽजगाम भगवानात्मा श्रीकृष्ण ईश्वरः

babhūva mūkavatso'pi siddhāntaṁ kartumakṣamaḥ | tadā''jagāma bhagavānātmā śrīkṛṣṇa īśvaraḥ

he too became as though mute, unable to expound the doctrine; then the Blessed Lord himself, the Self, Sri Krishna, the Supreme, came there.

Verse 16 (devibhagavatam.9.5.16)

उवाच स तां स्तौहि वाणीमिष्टां प्रजापते । स च तुष्टाव तां ब्रह्मा चाज्ञया परमात्मनः

uvāca sa tāṁ stauhi vāṇīmiṣṭāṁ prajāpate | sa ca tuṣṭāva tāṁ brahmā cājñayā paramātmanaḥ

He said: O Prajapati, praise your own cherished Goddess of Speech; and by the command of the Supreme Self, Brahma praised her.

Verse 17 (devibhagavatam.9.5.17)

चकार तत्प्रसादेन तदा सिद्धान्तमुत्तमम् । यदाप्यनन्तं पप्रच्छ ज्ञानमेकं वसुन्धरा

cakāra tatprasādena tadā siddhāntamuttamam | yadāpyanantaṁ papraccha jñānamekaṁ vasundharā

By her grace he then composed the supreme doctrine; and again, when the Earth herself once questioned Ananta on a certain point of knowledge —

Verse 18 (devibhagavatam.9.5.18)

बभूव मूकवत्सोऽपि सिद्धान्तं कर्तुमक्षमः । तदा तां स च तुष्टाव सन्त्रस्तः कश्यपाज्ञया

babhūva mūkavatso'pi siddhāntaṁ kartumakṣamaḥ | tadā tāṁ sa ca tuṣṭāva santrastaḥ kaśyapājñayā

he too became as though mute, unable to expound the doctrine; then, alarmed, by the command of Kashyapa he praised her.

Verse 19 (devibhagavatam.9.5.19)

ततश्चकार सिद्धान्तं निर्मलं भ्रमभञ्जनम् । व्यासः पुराणसूत्रं च पप्रच्छ वाल्मिकिं यदा

tataścakāra siddhāntaṁ nirmalaṁ bhramabhañjanam | vyāsaḥ purāṇasūtraṁ ca papraccha vālmikiṁ yadā

Thereafter he composed a pure doctrine that dispelled all confusion; and again, when Vyasa questioned Valmiki about the essence of the Puranas —

Verse 20 (devibhagavatam.9.5.20)

मौनीभूतश्च सस्मार तामेव जगदम्बिकाम् । तदा चकार सिद्धान्तं तद्वरेण मुनीश्वरः

maunībhūtaśca sasmāra tāmeva jagadambikām | tadā cakāra siddhāntaṁ tadvareṇa munīśvaraḥ

he fell silent and called to mind that same Mother of the world; then, by her boon, that lord of sages composed the doctrine.

Verse 21 (devibhagavatam.9.5.21)

सम्प्राप्य निर्मलं ज्ञानं भ्रमान्धध्वंसदीपकम् । पुराणसूत्रं श्रुत्वा च व्यासः कृष्णकलोद्भवः

samprāpya nirmalaṁ jñānaṁ bhramāndhadhvaṁsadīpakam | purāṇasūtraṁ śrutvā ca vyāsaḥ kṛṣṇakalodbhavaḥ

Having obtained that pure knowledge, a lamp that shatters the darkness of confusion, and having heard that essence of the Puranas, Vyasa, born of a portion of Krishna —

Verse 22 (devibhagavatam.9.5.22)

तां शिवां वेद दध्यौ च शतवर्षं च पुष्करे । तदा त्वत्तो वरं प्राप्य सत्कवीन्द्रो बभूव ह

tāṁ śivāṁ veda dadhyau ca śatavarṣaṁ ca puṣkare | tadā tvatto varaṁ prāpya satkavīndro babhūva ha

knowing her, that gracious one, meditated upon her at Pushkara for a hundred years; then, obtaining a boon from you, he became foremost among true poets.

Verse 23 (devibhagavatam.9.5.23)

तदा वेदविभागं च पुराणं च चकार सः । यदा महेन्द्रः पप्रच्छ तत्त्वज्ञानं सदाशिवम्

tadā vedavibhāgaṁ ca purāṇaṁ ca cakāra saḥ | yadā mahendraḥ papraccha tattvajñānaṁ sadāśivam

Then he divided the Vedas and composed the Puranas; and when great Indra questioned Sadashiva on the knowledge of truth —

Verse 24 (devibhagavatam.9.5.24)

क्षणं तामेव सञ्चिन्त्य तस्मै ज्ञानं ददौ विभुः । पप्रच्छ शब्दशास्त्रं च महेन्द्रश्च बृहस्पतिम्

kṣaṇaṁ tāmeva sañcintya tasmai jñānaṁ dadau vibhuḥ | papraccha śabdaśāstraṁ ca mahendraśca bṛhaspatim

contemplating her for but a moment, that all-pervading Lord bestowed knowledge upon him; and Indra also questioned Brihaspati concerning the science of grammar —

Verse 25 (devibhagavatam.9.5.25)

दिव्यं वर्षसहस्रं च स त्वां दध्यौ च पुष्करे । तदा त्वत्तो वरं प्राप्य दिव्यवर्षसहस्रकम्

divyaṁ varṣasahasraṁ ca sa tvāṁ dadhyau ca puṣkare | tadā tvatto varaṁ prāpya divyavarṣasahasrakam

then he meditated upon you at Pushkara for a thousand divine years; then, having obtained a boon from you, for a thousand divine years —

Verse 26 (devibhagavatam.9.5.26)

उवाच शब्दशास्त्रं च तदर्थं च सुरेश्वरम् । अध्यापिताश्च ये शिष्या यैरधीतं मुनीश्वरैः

uvāca śabdaśāstraṁ ca tadarthaṁ ca sureśvaram | adhyāpitāśca ye śiṣyā yairadhītaṁ munīśvaraiḥ

he taught the lord of the gods the science of grammar and its meaning; and the disciples he taught, and all the great sages who learned it —

Verse 27 (devibhagavatam.9.5.27)

ते च तां परिसञ्चिन्त्य प्रवर्तन्ते सुरेश्वरीम् । त्वं संस्तुता पूजिता च मुनीन्द्रैर्मनुमानवैः

te ca tāṁ parisañcintya pravartante sureśvarīm | tvaṁ saṁstutā pūjitā ca munīndrairmanumānavaiḥ

all of them proceed only after calling to mind that same sovereign goddess; you are praised and worshipped by the greatest sages, by Manus, and by men.

Verse 28 (devibhagavatam.9.5.28)

दैत्येन्द्रैश्च सुरैश्चापि ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवादिभिः । जडीभूतः सहस्रास्यः पञ्चवक्त्रश्चतुर्मुखः

daityendraiśca suraiścāpi brahmaviṣṇuśivādibhiḥ | jaḍībhūtaḥ sahasrāsyaḥ pañcavaktraścaturmukhaḥ

by the lords of the demons, and by the gods, and by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the rest; even the thousand-mouthed Shesha, the five-faced Shiva, and the four-faced Brahma grow numb before you.

Verse 29 (devibhagavatam.9.5.29)

यां स्तोतुं किमहं स्तौमि तामेकास्येन मानवः । इत्युक्त्वा याज्ञवल्क्यश्च भक्तिनम्रात्मकन्धरः

yāṁ stotuṁ kimahaṁ staumi tāmekāsyena mānavaḥ | ityuktvā yājñavalkyaśca bhaktinamrātmakandharaḥ

then what, with but a single mouth, can I, a mere man, offer in praise of her? Having said this, Yajnavalkya, his head bowed low in devotion —

Verse 30 (devibhagavatam.9.5.30)

प्रणनाम निराहारो रुरोद च मुहुर्मुहुः । ज्योतीरूपा महामाया तेन दृष्टाप्युवाच तम्

praṇanāma nirāhāro ruroda ca muhurmuhuḥ | jyotīrūpā mahāmāyā tena dṛṣṭāpyuvāca tam

prostrated himself, fasting, and wept again and again; then that Mahamaya, of the very form of light, appeared before him and said —

Verse 31 (devibhagavatam.9.5.31)

सुकवीन्द्रो भवेत्युक्त्वा वैकुण्ठं च जगाम ह । याज्ञवल्क्यकृतं वाणीस्तोत्रमेतत्तु यः पठेत्

sukavīndro bhavetyuktvā vaikuṇṭhaṁ ca jagāma ha | yājñavalkyakṛtaṁ vāṇīstotrametattu yaḥ paṭhet

"Become a great poet" — so saying, she departed for Vaikuntha; whoever shall recite this hymn to the Goddess of Speech composed by Yajnavalkya —

Verse 32 (devibhagavatam.9.5.32)

स कवीन्द्रो महावाग्मी बृहस्पतिसमो भवेत् । महामूर्खश्च दुर्बुद्धिर्वर्षमेकं यदा पठेत्

sa kavīndro mahāvāgmī bṛhaspatisamo bhavet | mahāmūrkhaśca durbuddhirvarṣamekaṁ yadā paṭhet

he shall become a great poet, a mighty orator, equal to Brihaspati; and even one who is utterly foolish and dull of mind, if he recites it for a full year —

Verse 33 (devibhagavatam.9.5.33)

स पण्डितश्च मेधावी सुकवीन्द्रो भवे ध्रुवम्

sa paṇḍitaśca medhāvī sukavīndro bhave dhruvam

shall certainly become a scholar, a person of sharp intellect, and a great poet.