Ganapati Atharvashirsha

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Ganapati Atharvashirsha

Hymn in praise of Gaṇesha from the atharva veda - Ganapati Atharvashirsha, transliterated and translated meaning in English

|| gaṇapatyatharvaśīrṣopaniṣat (śrī gaṇeṣātharvaṣīrṣam) ||

Hymn in praise of Gaṇesha from the atharva veda.

oṃ bhadraṃ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devāḥ |
bhadraṁ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ |
sthirairaṅgaistuṣṭhuvāṁ sastanūbhiḥ |
vyaśema devahitaṃ yadāyuḥ |

Let us hear good things through our ears, see good things
through our eyes and may we enjoy our life allotted
to us offering praise to the Gods with our strong bodies.

svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ |
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ |
svasti nastārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ |
svasti no bṛhaspatirdadhātu ||

May the gods Indra, Puusha, Garuda and Brihaspati bestow blessings on us and protect us.

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ||

May there be peace all around (both outside and inside us).

oṃ namaste gaṇapataye |
tvameva pratyakṣaṃ tattvamasi | tvameva kevalaṁ kartāsi |
tvameva kevalaṁ dhartāsi | tvameva kevalaṁ hartāsi |
tvameva sarvaṃ khalvidaṁ brahmāsi | tvaṁ sākṣādātmāsi nityam || 1 ||

I bow to thee, Ganapati . You are personified form of the Brahman. You are the creator, protector and destroyer of all beings, You are the in-dweller eternal evident Self in all of us.

ṛtaṃ vacmi | satyaṁ vacmi || 2 ||

I shall speak the scriptural truth and experiential truth only.

ava tvaṁ mām | ava vaktāram | ava śrotāram |
ava dātāram | ava dhātāram |
avānūcānamava śiṣyam |
ava paścāttāt | ava’ purastāt |
avottarāttāt | ava dakṣiṇāttāt |
ava cordhvāttāt | avādharāttāt |
sarvato māṃ pāhi pāhi samantāt || 3 ||

Please, protect me, the speaker, the hearer, the teacher and the taught, and the giver |
Please protect me from all sides and the directions(North,South, East and West).

tvaṃ vāṅmayastvaṁ cinmayaḥ |
tvamānandamayastvaṃ brahmamayaḥ |
tvaṁ saccidānandādvitīyosi |
tvaṁ pratyakṣaṃ brahmāsi |
tvaṁ jñānamayo vijñānamayosi || 4||

You are the word, deed and thought. You are the truth, consciousness and bliss.You are the entire knowledge and science. You are the non-dual Universal Self |
You are the personified Brahma, appearing before us.

sarvaṁ jagadidaṃ tvatto jāyate |
sarvaṁ jagadidaṃ tvattastiṣṭhati |
sarvaṃ jagadidaṃ tvayi layameṣyati |
sarvaṃ jagadidaṃ tvayi pratyeti |
tvaṁ bhūmirāpo’nalo’nilo nabhaḥ |
tvaṁ catvāri vākpadāni || 5 ||

This world has been created by you, nourished by you and again destroyed by you |
This world leans towards you |
You are the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether |
you are the 4 -line stanzas of all hymns (four levels of speech).

tvaṃ guṇatrayātītaḥ | tvam avasthātrayātītaḥ |
tvaṁ dehatrayātītaḥ | tvaṃ kālatrayātītaḥ |
tvaṁ mūlādhārasthito’si nityam |
tvaṁ śaktitrayātmakaḥ |
tvāṁ yogino dhyāyanti nityam |
tvaṁ brahmā tvaṁ viṣṇustvaṁ rudrastvam
indrastvam agnistvaṁ vāyustvaṁ sūryastvaṁ candramāstvaṁ
brahma bhūrbhuvaḥ svarom || 6 ||

You are beyond the three Gunas, the three states (of conscious, sleeping and dreaming), and the three time-periods |
You are seated in the Muladhara (pelvic region?) from where the Kundalini shakti is aroused. You are being meditated by the sages |
You are the Creator Brahma, the Protector Vishnu and the destroyer Rudra ||
You are the Indra, the Fire, the Air, the Sun, the Moon and the three worlds.

gaṇādiṁ pūrvamuccārya varṇādiṁstadanantaram |
anusvāraḥ parataraḥ | ardhendulasitam | tāreṇa ṛddham |
etattava manusvarūpam | gakāraḥ pūrvarūpam |
akāro madhyamarūpam | anusvāraścāntyarūpam |
binduruttararūpam | nādaḥ sandhānam |
saṃhitā sandhiḥ | saiṣā gaṇeśavidyā |
gaṇaka ṛṣiḥ | nicṛdgāyatrī chandaḥ |
gaṇapatirdevatā | oṃ gaṁ gaṇapataye namaḥ || 7 ||

Your name starts with the letter 'ga', and ends with the letter 'sha' and in between come the letter 'a' and anuswara 'n'. These have symbolic meanings representing the 'ganas' of prosody, and the letters and sounds of 'akaara''anuswara' of the language and the 'sandhis' (letter combinations) of the grammar |
The sage of this hymn is 'gaṇaka', its meter is 'nichRidgAyatrii' and the presiding deity is 'GaNapati'. I salute to the letter/sound 'GAṀ'. The mantrabiija GAṀ with (Ṁ as ardhachandrabinduviraama) is described as the true form of Gaṇapati! This part is giving the deeper vedic meaning of the mantrabiija GAṀ and is called the gaṇeshavidyaa (knowledge about Gaṇesha).

||Ganesha Gayatri ||
ekadantāya vidmahe vakratuṇḍāya dhīmahi |
tanno dantiḥ pracodayāt || 8 ||

Praise be to the bearer of a single tusk which is twisted and crooked trunk. May we be inspired by the knowledge and meditation. This verse is also one of many interesting dialogs. It has the nature of a "puzzle". One group says "ekadantaaya vidmahe" - we know someone called "ekadanta" (do you know what we mean?), the other group responds "vakratuNDaaya dhiimahi" we think of him as "vakratuNDa". Now they both agree that they are talking of the same God, so together they say "tanno dantii prachodayaat" - may he, dantii, invigorate us!

ekadantaṁ caturhastaṁ pāśamaṅkuśadhāriṇam |
radaṁ ca varadaṁ hastairbibhrāṇaṃ mūṣakadhvajam |
raktaṁ lambodaraṁ śūrpakarṇakaṁ raktavāsasam |
raktagandhānuliptāṅgaṁ raktapuṣpaiḥ supūjitam |
bhaktānukampinaṁ devaṁ jagatkāraṇamacyutam |
āvirbhūtaṁ ca sṛṣṭyādau prakṛteḥ puruṣātparam |
evaṁ dhyāyati yo nityaṁ sa yogī yogināṁ varaḥ || 9 ||

That sage who meditates on the Lord in the following manner is better than the other sages who meditate otherwise: The Lord holding a tusk, a rope, an instrument('ankusha') in three hands and a fourth hand showing the boon-giving posture and having his body smeared with a red fragrant paste wearing a red dress and being worshipped by red flowers, having the mouse as his carrier, a large stomach and long ears, compassionate to the devotees, being the cause of this earth, the one not slipping and appearing in person in the beginning of the creation and being beyond the primordial Nature.

||Om Namo Ganapatī ||
namo vrātapataye namo gaṇapataye namaḥ pramathapataye namasteśtu lambodarāya ekadantāya vighnavināśine śivasutāya śrīvaradamūrtaye namaḥ || 10 ||

Salutations to the Lord of gods and the one governing abstinence and discipline and controlling pride, to the large limbed and single tusked, to the remover of obstacles, to the son of Shiva and the boon-giver incarnate.

etadatharvaśīrṣaṃ yodhīte | sa brahmabhūyāya kalpate |
sa sarvataḥ sukha medhate | sa sarva vighnairna bādhyate |
sa pañcamahāpāpāt pramucyate |
sāyamadhīyāno divasakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ nāśayati |
prātaradhīyāno rātrikṛtaṃ pāpaṃ nāśayati |
sāyaṃ prātaḥ prayuñjāno pāpopā po bhavati |
dharmārthakāmamokṣaṃ ca vindati |
idamatharvaśīrṣamaśiṣyāya’ na deyam |
yo yadi mohād dāsyati sa pāpīyān bhavati |
sahasrāvartanādyaṃ yaṃ kāma madhīte |
taṃ tamanena sādhayet || 11 ||

Benefits of reciting the Hymn: Now for the fruits from reading this hymn: The reader becomes equal to Brahma |
He attains all happiness and is released from the five great sins |
If one reads in the evening one is absolved of the sins committed during the day, if read in the morning the sins of the night are washed away, if read both times, one is totally absolved of all sins, read anywhere one is freed from all obstacles, one attains all the 4 objectives (Dharma, artha, kaama mokSha), one should not, however, teach this to the undeserving student, if done so through infatuation, the teacher will become a sinner, read 1000 times, one achieves whatever is desired for.

anena gaṇapatimabhiṣiñcati sa vāgmī bhavati |
caturthyāmanaśnan japati sa vidyāvān bhavati |
sa yaśovān bhavati | ityatharvaṇavākyam |
brahmādyācaraṇaṃ vidyānna bibheti kadācaneti || 12 ||

The devotee becomes a master of speech, if read on the 4th day from New Moon/Full Moon, he becomes a great scholar and he knows no fear, never.

yo dūrvāṅkurairyajati sa vaiśravaṇopamo bhavati |
yo lājairyajati sa yaśovān bhavati |
sa medhāvān bhavati |
yo modakasahasreṇa yajati sa vāñchitaphalama vāpnoti |
yaḥ sājya samidbhiryajati sa sarvaṃ labhate sa sarvaṃ labhate || 13 ||

He who worships with 'duurva' flowers becomes equal to the lord of wealth (Kubera), the worshipper who uses rice flakes, becomes a man of fame and scholarship, if one uses 1000 coconut-sugar mixed rice balls, obtains whatever he desires and one who uses ghee and 'samit' sticks attains everything, everything indeed.

aṣṭau brāhmaṇān samyag grāhayitvā sūryavarcasvī bhavati |
sūryagrahe mahānadyāṃ pratimāsannidhau
vā japtvā siddhamantro bhavati |
mahāvighnātpramucyate | mahādoṣātpramucyate |
mahāpāpāt pramucyate | mahāpratyavāyāt pramucyate |
sa sarva vidbhavati sa sarva vidbhavati | ya evaṃ veda | ityu paniṣat || 14 ||

By teaching this (atharva) to eight brahmins peoperly, one becomes greater than the Sun or if the idol is worshipped by chanting the mantra, at the time of the solar eclipse, by standing in a great river, one gets the effect of the mantra, he is released from great obstacles, great defects/imperfections and great sins.

||om śantih mantra||
om sahanāvavatu ||sahanābhunaktu ||
saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai||
tejasvināvavadhītamastu mā vidvishāvahai ||

Let us both (the teacher and the taught) be protected together, let us enjoy together, let us endeavour together, let our study be resplendent, let us not hate or quarrel.

oṃ bhadraṃ karṇēbhiḥ śṛṇuyāma’ devāḥ |
bhadraṃ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ |
sthirairaṅgaistuṣṭhuvāgāṁ sastanūbhiḥ |
vyaśema devahitaṃ yadāyuḥ ||

Let us hear good things through our ears, see good things through our eyes and may we enjoy our life allotted to us offering praise to the Gods with our strong bodies.

svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ |
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ |
svasti nastārkṣyo ari’ṣṭanemiḥ |
svasti no bṛhaspati’rdadhātu ||

May the gods Indra, Puusha, Garuda and Brihaspati bestow good things on us and protect us.

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ||

May there be peace all around(both outside and inside us).
Thus ends the hymn 'Ganapati Atharvashirsha.'