Narration of the Hymn to Narmada

Verse 1 (skanda.5.167.1)

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच। एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो राजन्संहृष्टा ऋषयोऽभवन्। नर्मदां स्तोतुमारब्धाः कृताञ्जलिपुटा द्विजाः॥

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca| etacchrutvā vaco rājansaṁhṛṣṭā ṛṣayo'bhavan| narmadāṁ stotumārabdhāḥ kṛtāñjalipuṭā dvijāḥ||

Sri Markandeya said: Hearing this speech, O king, the sages became delighted; the brahmins, with joined palms, began to praise Narmada:

Verse 2 (skanda.5.167.2)

नमोऽस्तु ते पुण्यजले नमो मकरगामिनि। नमस्ते पापमोचिन्यै नमो देवि वरानने॥

namo'stu te puṇyajale namo makaragāmini| namaste pāpamocinyai namo devi varānane||

'Salutation to you, of holy waters; salutation to you, whose course carries makaras; salutation to you, releaser from sin; salutation, O goddess of fair face.'

Verse 3 (skanda.5.167.3)

नमोऽस्तु ते पुण्यजलाश्रये शुभे विशुद्धसत्त्वं सुरसिद्धसेविते। नमोऽस्तु ते तीर्थगणैर्निषेविते नमोऽस्तु रुद्राङ्गसमुद्भवे वरे॥

namo'stu te puṇyajalāśraye śubhe viśuddhasattvaṁ surasiddhasevite| namo'stu te tīrthagaṇairniṣevite namo'stu rudrāṅgasamudbhave vare||

'Salutation to you, abode of holy waters, auspicious, of purest being, resorted to by gods and Siddhas; salutation to you, resorted to by multitudes of holy fords; salutation to you, excellent one sprung from the body of Rudra.'

Verse 4 (skanda.5.167.4)

नमोऽस्तु ते देवि समुद्रगामिनि नमोऽस्तु ते देवि वरप्रदे शिवे। नमोऽस्तु लोकद्वयसौख्यदायिनि ह्यनेकभूतौघसमाश्रितेऽनघे॥

namo'stu te devi samudragāmini namo'stu te devi varaprade śive| namo'stu lokadvayasaukhyadāyini hyanekabhūtaughasamāśrite'naghe||

'Salutation to you, O goddess, going to the ocean; salutation to you, O goddess, boon-giver, auspicious one; salutation to you, giver of happiness in both worlds, O sinless one resorted to by hosts of many beings.'

Verse 5 (skanda.5.167.5)

सरिद्वरे पापहरे विचित्रिते गन्धर्वयक्षोरगसेविताङ्गे। सनातनि प्राणिगणानुकम्पिनि मोक्षप्रदे देवि विधेहि शं नः॥

saridvare pāpahare vicitrite gandharvayakṣoragasevitāṅge| sanātani prāṇigaṇānukampini mokṣaprade devi vidhehi śaṁ naḥ||

'O excellent river, remover of sin, wondrously adorned, your form resorted to by gandharvas, yakshas, and serpents; O eternal one, compassionate to the multitudes of living beings, giver of liberation — O goddess, grant us well-being.'

Verse 6 (skanda.5.167.6)

महागजैर्घमहिषैर्वराहैः संसेविते देवि महोर्मिमाले। नताः स्म सर्वे वरदे सुखप्रदे विमोचयास्मान्पशुपाशबन्धात्॥

mahāgajairghamahiṣairvarāhaiḥ saṁsevite devi mahormimāle| natāḥ sma sarve varade sukhaprade vimocayāsmānpaśupāśabandhāt||

'O goddess, resorted to by great elephants, great buffaloes, and boars, garlanded with mighty waves! We all bow to you, O boon-giver, giver of happiness; release us from the bondage of the fetters of worldly existence.'

Verse 7 (skanda.5.167.7)

पापैरनेकैरशुभैर्विबद्धा भ्रमन्ति तावन्नरकेषु मर्त्याः। महानिलोद्भूततरङ्गभूतं यावत्तवाम्भो हि न संस्पृशन्ति॥

pāpairanekairaśubhairvibaddhā bhramanti tāvannarakeṣu martyāḥ| mahānilodbhūtataraṅgabhūtaṁ yāvattavāmbho hi na saṁspṛśanti||

Bound by many inauspicious sins, mortals wander in the hells only so long as they do not touch your waters, made turbulent with waves born of great winds.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.167.8)

अनेकदुःखौघभयार्दितानां पापैरनेकैरभिवेष्टितानाम्। गतिस्त्वमम्भोजसमानवक्रे द्वन्द्वैरनेकैरपि संवृतानाम्॥

anekaduḥkhaughabhayārditānāṁ pāpairanekairabhiveṣṭitānām| gatistvamambhojasamānavakre dvandvairanekairapi saṁvṛtānām||

You are the resort of those afflicted by fear from many floods of sorrow, of those encompassed by many sins, and of those beset even by many pairs of opposites, O lotus-faced one.

Verse 9 (skanda.5.167.9)

नद्यश्च पूता विमला भवन्ति त्वां देवि सम्प्राप्य न संशयोऽत्र। दुःखातुराणामभयं ददासि शिष्टैरनेकैरभिपूजितासि॥

nadyaśca pūtā vimalā bhavanti tvāṁ devi samprāpya na saṁśayo'tra| duḥkhāturāṇāmabhayaṁ dadāsi śiṣṭairanekairabhipūjitāsi||

Rivers become pure and stainless upon reaching you, O goddess — of this there is no doubt here. You grant fearlessness to those afflicted with sorrow; you are worshipped by many of the righteous.

Verse 10 (skanda.5.167.10)

स्पृष्टं करैश्चन्द्रमसो रवेश्च तदैव दद्यात्परमं पदं तु। यत्रोपलाः पुण्यजलाप्लुतास्ते शिवत्वमायान्ति किमत्र चित्रम्॥

spṛṣṭaṁ karaiścandramaso raveśca tadaiva dadyātparamaṁ padaṁ tu| yatropalāḥ puṇyajalāplutāste śivatvamāyānti kimatra citram||

Your water, touched by the rays of the moon and the sun, grants the supreme state at that very moment; where even stones, bathed in your holy waters, attain the state of Shiva — what wonder is there in this for men?

Verse 11 (skanda.5.167.11)

भ्रमन्ति तावन्नरकेषु मर्त्या दुःखातुराः पापपरीतदेहाः। महानिलोद्भूततरङ्गभङ्गं यावत्तवाम्भो न हि संश्रयन्ति॥

bhramanti tāvannarakeṣu martyā duḥkhāturāḥ pāpaparītadehāḥ| mahānilodbhūtataraṅgabhaṅgaṁ yāvattavāmbho na hi saṁśrayanti||

Mortals, afflicted with sorrow, their bodies encompassed by sin, wander in the hells only so long as they do not resort to your waters, breaking with waves born of great winds.

Verse 12 (skanda.5.167.12)

म्लेच्छाः पुलिन्दास्त्वथ यातुधानाः पिबन्ति येऽम्भस्तव देवि पुण्यम्। मुक्ता भवन्तीह भयात्तु घोरान्निःसंशयं तेऽपि किमत्र चित्रम्॥

mlecchāḥ pulindāstvatha yātudhānāḥ pibanti ye'mbhastava devi puṇyam| muktā bhavantīha bhayāttu ghorānniḥsaṁśayaṁ te'pi kimatra citram||

Even mlecchas, Pulindas, and rakshasas who drink your holy water, O goddess, are freed here without doubt from terrible fears — what wonder is there in that?

Verse 13 (skanda.5.167.13)

सरांसि नद्यः क्षयमभ्युपेता घोरे युगेऽस्मिन् हि कलौ प्रदूषिते। त्वं भ्राजसे देवि जलौघपूर्णा दिवीव नक्षत्रपथे च गङ्गा॥

sarāṁsi nadyaḥ kṣayamabhyupetā ghore yuge'smin hi kalau pradūṣite| tvaṁ bhrājase devi jalaughapūrṇā divīva nakṣatrapathe ca gaṅgā||

Lakes and rivers have gone to destruction in this terrible, corrupted Kali age; but you, O goddess, shine, full with your flood of waters, like the Ganga in heaven, on the path of the stars.

Verse 14 (skanda.5.167.14)

तव प्रसादाद्वरदे वरिष्ठे कालं यथेमं परिपालयित्वा। यामोऽथ रुद्रं तव सुप्रसादाद्वयं तथा त्वं कुरु वै प्रसादम्॥

tava prasādādvarade variṣṭhe kālaṁ yathemaṁ paripālayitvā| yāmo'tha rudraṁ tava suprasādādvayaṁ tathā tvaṁ kuru vai prasādam||

By your grace, O most excellent boon-giver, having thus safely passed through this difficult time, may we then go to Rudra by your gracious favor; grant us, then, this very grace.

Verse 15 (skanda.5.167.15)

गतिस्त्वमम्बेव पितेव पुत्रांस्त्वं पाहि नो यावदिमं युगान्तम्। कालं त्वनावृष्टिहतं सुघोरं यावत्तरामस्तव सुप्रसादात्॥

gatistvamambeva piteva putrāṁstvaṁ pāhi no yāvadimaṁ yugāntam| kālaṁ tvanāvṛṣṭihataṁ sughoraṁ yāvattarāmastava suprasādāt||

You are our refuge, like a mother, like a father toward sons; protect us until this end of the age. Protect us through this most terrible, drought-stricken time, until we cross over it by your gracious favor.

Verse 16 (skanda.5.167.16)

पठन्ति ये स्तोत्रमिदं द्विजेन्द्राः शृण्वन्ति ये चापि नराः प्रशान्ताः। ते यान्ति रुद्रं वृषसंयुतेन यानेन दिव्याम्बरभूषिताश्च॥

paṭhanti ye stotramidaṁ dvijendrāḥ śṛṇvanti ye cāpi narāḥ praśāntāḥ| te yānti rudraṁ vṛṣasaṁyutena yānena divyāmbarabhūṣitāśca||

Those foremost of brahmins who recite this hymn, and those tranquil men too who hear it, go to Rudra in a chariot yoked with a bull, adorned with divine garments.

Verse 17 (skanda.5.167.17)

ये स्तोत्रमेतत्सततं पठन्ति स्नात्वा तु तोये खलु नर्मदायाः। अन्ते हि तेषां सरिदुत्तमेयं गतिं विशुद्धामचिराद्ददाति॥

ye stotrametatsatataṁ paṭhanti snātvā tu toye khalu narmadāyāḥ| ante hi teṣāṁ sariduttameyaṁ gatiṁ viśuddhāmacirāddadāti||

Those who constantly recite this hymn, having bathed indeed in the water of Narmada, to them, at the end, this excellent river swiftly grants a pure destiny.

Verse 18 (skanda.5.167.18)

प्रातः समुत्थाय तथा शयानो यः कीर्तयेतानुदिनं स्तवं च। स मुक्तपापः सुविशुद्धदेहः समाश्रयं याति महेश्वरस्य॥

prātaḥ samutthāya tathā śayāno yaḥ kīrtayetānudinaṁ stavaṁ ca| sa muktapāpaḥ suviśuddhadehaḥ samāśrayaṁ yāti maheśvarasya||

Whoever, having risen at dawn, or before lying down at night, recites this hymn day after day, he, freed from sin, his body made most pure, goes to the refuge of Maheshvara.