shyamala dhandakam

Shyamala Dhandakam by Maha Kavi Kalidasa sung by Bombay Sisters. Upload for Navarathri 2012. Happy Navarathri to everyone.

Kalidasa was perhaps the greatest of the Sanskrit poets. He has written great dramas like Shakunthalam and great epics like Kumara Sambhavam, Malavikagni mithram , the message poetry called Megha Sandesham etc. He is extremely famous for the use of appropriate similes and metaphors. Shyamala Dandakam is perhaps the greatest stotra written by him eulogizing the mother goddess --Shyamala.

He has employed a poetic style called Dandakam in writing this prayer. Dandakam is that poetry where some of the lines have more than 26 syllables. It very much resembles prose. In this case, the entire Dandakam is a single sentence from start to the end. I have attempted to retain the same style.

There is a folk story about how he came about to write this stotra. He was a foolish wood cutter. The courtiers of a proud princess made him act as a wise man and made the princess marry him. The princess advised the wood cutter to enter in to a temple of kali, when she goes out for a walk and lock himself in. When Kali came back, the wood cutter refused to allow her in , unless she makes him wise. She did that. Shyamala Dandakam is supposed to be the first prayer of this wood cutter to Kali after he became wise.

Manikhya veenaam upalalayanthim,
Madalasam manjula vaag vilasam,
Mahendra Neela dhyuthi komalangim,
Mathanga kanyam manasa smarami. 1

I meditate on the daughter of Matanga,
Who plays the veena made of precious gems,
Who has become lazy due to her exuberance,
Who is blessed with very sweet words,
Who has a pretty mien which shines like the blue gem.

read the rest of Lyrics and meaning here: http://stotraratna.sathyasaibababroth...
(thanks to Shri P.R.Ramachander)