Tara Devi Ashtakam Audio

Goddess Tara Devi is the second Dasha Maha Vidya. Tara Devi is similar in many respects to Maa Kaalika Devi. Tara Devi’s maternal instincts provide the devotee with the right posture with spiritual nourishment. Detailed Wikipedia article is found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(Devi) . I love Tara Devi Ashtakam.

I present now my vocal rendering of the above ashtakam which is 4 minutes 11 seconds:
(Mobile Devices: Click download; then play.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1znSUtrVlpEcjBRNkU/view?usp=sharing

You can find the Sanskrit lyrics at http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_devii/tArAstotram.pdf

English lyrics along with English translation of the above shloka can be found at:

http://stotrarathna.blogspot.com/2011/03/tarashtakam.html

Namaste !

Bhramaramba Ashtakam Audio

There is a wonderful temple for Bhramaramba Devi at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, India. My wife along with her father and brother was blessed to be able to visit this temple in January 2015. This is one of the Shakthi Peetas.

In Sanskrit, Bhramar means bees. Bhramaramba means Mother of bees. They say that a demon ( some say it was Arunaasura – some say it was Bhandaasura ) – had performed austerities and had pleased Lord Brahma who gave him the boon that he could not be killed by creatures with two or four feet. He then tortured the Devas, who went and prayed to Adi ParaShakthi. She told them that he is Her devotee and cannot be killed unless he stops worshipping Her.

Brihaspathi ( Jupiter ) who is the Guru of the Devas met the demon and upon being asked the reason for the visit, Brihaspathi told him that it was because both the Devas and the demon worship the same deity, namely Devi Gayatri and so it was just so He could meet a devotee of the same kind. Suddenly the demon felt that he should not worship Her Who is worshipped by the Devas and stopped worshipping Her. Adi ParaShakthi became angry at him, took the form of Bhramarambika, created numerous bees which are six-legged and killed the demon and his army in no time at all and thus protected the Devas.

Adi Shankara has composed an excellent ashtakam for Bhramaramba; it says the Devi loves music and loves people that sing to Her. I present now my vocal rendering of the above ahstakam which is only 4 minutes 15 seconds:

( Mobile Devices: Click Download; then play.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1zncjRidUgzZ2VDVTQ/view?usp=sharing


You can find the Sanskrit lyrics, Tamil lyrics and Tamil translation of the above shloka at:

http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/newTamil/stotras/index.php?imgdir=Brahramba+Ashtakam

Kalika Ashtakam Audio

Kalika Devi is the first Dasha MahaVidya. She is the One that can burn the darkness of ignorance. While there are so many statements made by people that are misleading and full of mis-information, one needs to know that Kalika Devi is the equivalent of a compassionate mother that nurtures, nourishes and protects Her children.

It is the posture of the devotee towards Kalika Devi that is important. One needs to have devotion and bhakthi and Devi Kalika will take care and protect one from all the problems and provide both wordly enjoyments and spiritual advancement. Kalika Ashtakam has been authored by the great Adi Shankara. The lyrics are superb and one gets filled with bliss as one recites it with love and devotion.

I present now my vocal rendering of the above ahstakam which is 3 minutes 25 seconds below:

( Mobile Devices: Click Download, then play )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1zncHBrWFZodzRnTGc/view?usp=sharing

You can find the Sanskrit lyrics, English lyrics and English translation of the shloka at:

http://www.greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/devi_kali-kalika_ashtakam.php

Murugan Shodashanaamam Audio

Just about two months ago, I came across a Youtube video by Dr. Bhaskaran Pillai in Tamil that talks about the power of performing abhishekam for Lord Muruga’s Vel. I have given the link to that video at the end of this post. I found it to be interesting. Just about a week after that, I came across an article in a book wherein Sri Kanchi Maha Periyava advises a young lady to get a small Vel made, then keep it at home and perform milk abhishekam every day to the Vel and then give that milk to her ailing mother-in-law who was in her mid-forties, that was suffering from severe stomach pain. The lady does that and the mother-in-law’s pain went away in a few short days and the latter ended up living to be 84 years old!

I felt that two incidents coming to my attention in such a short span, wherein I was NOT looking for it or researching it, was some sort of guidance to me. I did not know where to get a Vel from; and the possibility of getting one from India was a far fetched one. We have a picture of Lord Muruga in our house but no Vel that I knew of that I could perform “Paal” (milk) abhishekham to. As I was sitting on my aasana that my dear wife had purchased for me so I could sit comfortably during my paaraayanams, and was reciting some prayer, I looked up and there was a silver Vel with a small cup base, sitting on a wooden platform next to a small idol of Murugan, Valli and Devayaani ! I could not believe my eyes !

I asked my wife if she knew of the existence of a silver Vel in our home and she told me that we had been gifted that when we had sponsored a Skanda Shashti event at our local temple almost four years ago. That Vel had been in the same place for four years and I had been blind all this time. So, I thank Lord Muruga for opening my eyes. I now perform paal (milk) abhishekam every day saying Murugan’s mantra which is “ Om Sha Ra Va Nna Bha Va – Sri Murugaaya Namaha” and then follow with Subrahmanya Shodashanaamam which is sixteen names of Lord Muruga. The milk is then consumed by me and offered to the family members.

Here are the respective links:

I present my audio rendering of the Subrahmanya Shodashanamam shloka here which is 1 minute 33 seconds:

( Mobile Devices: Click Download; then play )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1znV245emw1Z25vXzQ/view?usp=sharing

The lyrics for the Subrahmanya Shodashanaamam are available at:

http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/subra16naamastotra.pdf

Dr. Bhaskaran Pillai’s Youtube video link is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kY2PDn0KVs
Om Sri Murugaya Namaha !

Devi Matangi Kavacham Audio

Devi Matangi is the ninth Dasha Maha Vidya. Dasha Mahavidyas as you may know are the ten Great Wisdom Goddesses. Devi Matangi is the tantric form of Goddess Saraswati. Detailed Wikipedia article is found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matangi . I personally love Devi Matangi and kept reciting Matangi Kavacham just before my daughter’s Bharatha Natyam Arangetram, because Goddess Matangi is in charge of the arts. Needless to say, the arangetram was a phenomenal success.

You can find the Sanskrit lyrics at http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/sumukhiikavacham.pdf ! Note that at the last line, the name of the tantra source has not been given for some reason.

I present now my vocal rendering of the above kavacham which is only 3 minutes and 15 seconds long at the link below:

( Mobile Devices: Click Download; then play. )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1zndHI5ZlJnZGVsVFk/view?usp=sharing

Ganesha Pancharatnam Audio

Om Shree Ganeshaya Namaha.

Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvathi, is the remover of obstacles. We always pray to Lord Ganesha first when we start off with any undertaking whether it be a project, a homam, a prayer ritual, etc. Since this is the first article in my blog, naturally I would like to start with a prayer to Lord Ganesha. And I have chosen Shree Adi Shankara’s Ganesha Pancharatnam – which is five gems of praise.

Long time ago, when my children were tiny, I used to sing them the Ganesha Pancharatnam and they would fall asleep listening to it! And nowadays, whenever we have a pooja ceremony in our house, my children sing it. The audio is given below.

Link for Audio: ( Mobile Devices: Click Download; then play. )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1znQWVXVWJwcURlRVU/view?usp=sharing

You can find the Sanskrit lyrics, the English transliteration lyrics as well as the meaning in English at

http://www.greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/sri_ganesha-ganesha_pancharatnam.php and teach this to your children !

And for those that know Hindi, here is my first Youtube video: naturally it is about Lord Ganesha.

Om Shree Ganeshaya Namaha !

About this site

The purpose of this completely NON-COMMERCIAL informal site is simply to share my spiritual journey with whoever is interested. Along the way, I plan to present various audio recordings sung by me of Sanskrit shlokas that are not very well known. These shlokas are presented in mp3 format which can be downloaded and played in mobile devices if preferred. They are NOT recorded professionally and neither am I interested in popularity, notoriety and name recognition. Most have been recorded in a factory environment after hours; so there may be intermittent background noise and not great sound quality. The main goal is to encourage visitors to recite these wonderful shlokas themselves and derive the immense pleasure they afford.

It is also important to let your children know about these ancient Sanskrit shlokas so they can then carry the torch forward. The only reason there is a reference to this site at the end of every shloka is to let people know where they can potentially get other shloka recitals – that is all. These are ancient shlokas way before copyright laws ever existed and then again no one has any right in my opinion to copyright the path to the Divine. Please feel free to share these recitals with anyone. I plan to add shlokas as and when possible, so come back for newer additions!

One can find some shlokas on Youtube. The problem is that while there are many sources that enable to make mp3 files out of the Youtube videos, they are loaded many times with ads and accelerators and some of them are downright questionable from a safety standpoint. Here there is no external software to be used. Download these recitals if you want, ( the download arrow button is usually at the top ), share with friends and start reciting yourselves.  For mobile devices, you may have to click the download button first and then play. There are some articles here and there --  any way enjoy your journey toward the Divine as I am.

One word about the comment policy. I may not be able to respond to comments in a timely manner and sometimes simply not at all. I am a grhastha like most visitors here and simply am lacking time to do all that I would like to do. Please be considerate. Nandri, Dhanyavaad, Namaste !! Also, the comment policy has been updated as of April 24, 2017 -- the update is that ALL comments are now going to be moderated, so comments are not put in and later deleted, with time spent on responding to them being a total waste. This leaves hanging replies without original comments and basically destroys the sanctity of this site. This is like a temple, where cleanliness is important. This is more work, however.