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Guru

Guru Ashtakam

Adi ShankaracharyaAdi Shankaracharya509–477 BCE by the reckoning of the Amnaya mathas; 788–820 CE by another widely used reckoning

शरीरं सुरूपं तथा वा कलत्रं
यशश्चारु चित्रं धनं मेरुतुल्यम् ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ १ ॥

कलत्रं धनं पुत्रपौत्रादि सर्वं
गृहं बान्धवाः सर्वमेतद्धि जातम् ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ २ ॥

षडङ्गादिवेदो मुखे शास्त्रविद्या
कवित्वादि गद्यं सुपद्यं करोति ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ ३ ॥

विदेशेषु मान्यः स्वदेशेषु धन्यः
सदाचारवृत्तेषु मत्तो न चान्यः ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ ४ ॥

क्षमामण्डले भूपभूपालवृन्दैः
सदा सेवितं यस्य पादारविन्दम् ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ ५ ॥

यशो मे गतं दिक्षु दानप्रतापा-
ज्जगद्वस्तु सर्वं करे यत्प्रसादात् ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ ६ ॥

न भोगे न योगे न वा वाजिराजौ
न कान्तामुखे नैव वित्तेषु चित्तम् ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ ७ ॥

अरण्ये न वा स्वस्य गेहे न कार्ये
न देहे मनो वर्तते मे त्वनर्घ्ये ।
मनश्चेन्न लग्नं गुरोरङ्घ्रिपद्मे
ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ ८ ॥

गुरोरष्टकं यः पठेत्पुण्यदेही
यतिर्भूपतिर्ब्रह्मचारी च गेही ।
लभेद्वाञ्छितार्थं पदं ब्रह्मसंज्ञं
गुरोरुक्तवाक्ये मनो यस्य लग्नम् ॥ ९ ॥

Meaning

Refrain of verses 1–8: If the mind is not fixed on the lotus feet of the guru, what then? What then? What then? What then?

1. One may have a handsome body and a beautiful wife, fame that is lovely and varied, and wealth as great as Mount Meru.

2. Wife, wealth, sons, grandsons and all the rest, house and relatives: all of this one may have been born into.

3. The Vedas with their six limbs may be on one's tongue, with knowledge of the shastras; one may compose poetry, fine prose and fine verse.

4. One may be honoured abroad and blessed at home, and say "in good conduct there is none other like me".

5. One's lotus feet may be served always by kings and emperors across the whole circle of the earth.

6. My fame may have gone to every quarter through the glory of my gifts, and by the guru's grace everything in the world may be in my hand.

7. My mind may be set neither on enjoyment, nor on yoga, nor on the finest horses, nor on a beloved's face, nor on wealth.

8. My mind may dwell neither in the forest nor in my own house, neither in work nor in this body, however precious.

9. Whoever reads this Guru Ashtaka with a pure heart, be he a sannyasi, a king, a brahmachari or a householder, and whose mind is fixed on the words the guru has spoken, reaches the goal he longs for, the state called Brahman.

About this bhajan

Every blessing a man could want is laid out, one verse at a time: beauty, family, learning, fame abroad, kings at his feet, wealth in his hand. Even detachment from all of it appears, in the seventh and eighth verses. Each time the refrain asks the same flat question, four times over: tataḥ kim, so what? The answer is held back until the last verse, the guru's word. It is sung on Guru Purnima in mathas of every sampradaya, and in many Vedic pathashalas students recite it on the day they begin their study. The 1910 edition has eight verses and a phala; some modern prints add one more verse beginning "anarghyāṇi ratnāni", not given here.

Adi Shankaracharya, Guru Ashtakam, vv. 1–9: Works of Sri Sankaracharya (Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, 1910), sa.wikisource "गुर्वष्टकम्"; anusvara and visarga lost in that transcription restored