Saundarya Lahari by Acharya Shankar Bhagavatpad (An Old and Rare Book)

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Acharya Sankara was a divine personality. It may even be said that he was an incarnation of Lord Shiva. His pious fame keeps this world lighted even today. He established the concept of Monism (Advaitavada) in the domain of philosophy. His Advaitavada is a supremely established theory in the domain of indian philosophy. His concept of Maya is widely acclaimed as an additional theroy coupled with his monistic formulation and con- clusion. In practical life, his faith and theistic leanings impelled . him to compose several stotras (hymans) in praise of gods and goddesses. He regarded gods like Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesh and Shakti as popular forms of Brahma, the ultimate reality. Hence he canposed hymns in praise of these gods and goddesses. His poetry is a perennial source of devotional streams of Rasa. It proceeds from special height of imagination and is able to create unique divine experience. The musical candences of his religious and poetic hymns keep us spell-bound and elevate our feelings. The recitations of hymns take us to divine sphere. "Saundary Lahari" is outstandingly. superb stotra of goddess Tripur Sundari. It de- scribes the divine beauty of the various organs of the Goddess. So for as the description of the divine charms of the goddess is con- cerned it stands unparalleled in the entire range of Stotra-literature of Sanksirt Vangamaya. From the point of view of literary expression. mythological references and tantric interpretations, the stotra remains unrivalled.

The book has two parts : Anand Lahari & Saundarya Lahari. Both parts are put together and described as Saundarya Lahari. Anand Lahari contains 41 stotras and Saundary Lahari has 62. Anand Lahari deals with the spiritual and tantric perspective.

Saundarya Lahari describes the physical aspect of Brahma often called 'Sat' in philosophy. Sat-chit Shakti stands for the spiritual aspect of the world.

The hymn composed by lord Shankar not only provides peace and pleasure to the devotees but also imparts spiritual knowledge to them. Goddess is the all-providing divine power. The entire universe is blessed with the divine effulgence and omnipotence of the goddess Tripura-Sundari. Hence the stotra is acclaimed as the perennial source of peace, prosperity and knowl- edge. It is remarkable for its figurative expression and synthesis of feelings and language. I hope the translation of this renowned literary work of Lord Shankar will benefit general readers as well as the scholars of English.

**Contents and Sample Pages**