श्रीललिता चतुःषष्ट्युपचारसङ्ग्रहः
Five, ten, sixteen and twenty-four Upacharas are generally
offered to deities during Pooja or Archana. However, sixty-four
Upacharas are prescribed during the Navavarana Pooja of Shri
Lalita Mahatripurasundari Rajarajeshwari ParAbhattArikA in
the Shrichakra. These sixty-four Upacharas are detailed in
Vamakeshwara Tantra and in the Parashurama Kalpasutras. Though
it is not possible to physically offer all these sixty-four
Upacharas to Shridevi, by mentioning these Upacharas and
offering the same at the lotus feet of Shridevi using one's
imagination, the merit of actually offering these Upacharas
to Shridevi are obtained. The truth of this statement is
confirmed by Shri Bhaskararaya in his Setubandha and also
by Shri Rameshwara Suri in his commentary on the Parashurama
Kalpasutras.
Shri Lalita Chatuhshashtyupachara Samgraha is a hymn, which
beautifully summarizes these sixty-four Upacharas. This hymn,
composed from a high state of consciousness, is the masterpiece
of Brahmasri K. P. Narayana Shastrigal, the late Asthana
Vidwan of Mysore State and DakShinamnaya Shringeri Sharada
Peetham and retired professor of Advaita Vedanta, Chamarajendra
Sanskrit College, Bangalore. A scholar par excellence and a
highly accomplished Upasaka of Shri Mahatripurasundari and
Shri Chandramoulishwara, Shri Narayana Shastrigal was held
in a very high regard by the Shankaracharyas of the Amnaya
mutts and by scholars across the sub-continent. Most of his
disciples went on to become Mahamahopadhyayas and scholars
of great repute. He spent a greater part of his life in
the holy city of Varanasi and was popularly referred to as
'Kashivasi' Narayana Shastrigal. He was instrumental in
editing and publishing the first ever copy of Skandadeva's
Rudra Bhashya. He accepted Turiyashrama towards the end of
his life. It is popularly remembered to this day in Kashi
that when the great man attained Siddhi, a Bana Linga had
materialized on his body. It is indeed due to the limitless
compassion of Shridevi that I was fortunate to have as my
Guru Brahmasri K. P. Shankara Shastrigal, younger brother of
Shri Narayana Shastrigal, an equally brilliant scholar and
an equally accomplished Shrividya Upasaka. It is recorded
that one afternoon, after performing Nirajana to Shridevi,
Narayana Shastrigal burst into a hymn and a disciple noted it
down. The then Shankaracharya Mahaswamigal of Shringeri read
the hymn and declared that it was indeed Shridevi who had spoken
through Shastrigal. The following hymn, which is a composition
of Brahmasri Narayana Shastrigal, has been reproduced over
the ages in various books like the Shrividya Ratnakara of
Karapatri Swamin, Saubhagya Ratnakara Valli of Purnananda,
Shrividya Saparya of Dattatreyanandanatha, by various Guhananda
Mandali books and many books dealing with Shrichakra Pooja
and Devi Stotras in Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada,
Bengali and Malayalam. One may estimate the greatness of this
hymn by simply considering the fact that this hymn was included
in their Saparya Paddhatis by great men like Chidanandanatha
and Karapatri Swamin. It is unfortunate however that none of
these publications have given any credit to the author of this
supremely beautiful hymn by at least mentioning his name.
श्रीललिता चतुःषष्ट्युपचारसङ्ग्रहः
ॐ हृन्मध्यनिलये देवि ललिते परदेवते ।
चतुष्षष्ट्युपचारांस्ते भक्त्या मातः समर्पये ॥ १॥
कामेशोत्सङ्गनिलये पाद्यं गृह्णीष्व सादरम् ।
भूषणानि समुत्तार्य गन्धतैलं च तेऽर्पये ॥ २॥
स्नानशालां प्रविश्याऽथ तत्रस्थ मणिपीठके ।
उपविश्य सुखेन त्वं देहोद्वर्तनमाचर ॥ ३॥
उष्णोदकेन ललिते स्नापयाम्यथ भक्तितः ।
अभिषिञ्चामि पश्चात्त्वां सौवर्णकलशोदकैः ॥ ४॥
धौतवस्त्रप्रोच्छनं चारक्तक्षौमाम्बरं तथा ।
कुचोत्तरीयमरुणमर्पयामि महेश्वरि ॥ ५॥
ततः प्रविश्य चालेपमण्टपं परमेश्वरि ।
उपविश्य च सौवर्णपीठे गन्धान्विलेपय ॥ ६॥
कालगरुजधूपैश्च धूपये केशपाशकम् ।
अर्पयामि च माल्यादि सर्वर्तुकुसुमस्रजः ॥ ७॥
भूषामण्टपमाविश्य स्थित्वा सौवर्णपीठके ।
माणिक्यमुकुटं मूर्ध्नि दयया स्थापयाम्बिके ॥ ८॥
शरत्पार्वणचन्द्रस्य शकलं तत्र शोभताम् ।
सिन्दूरेण च सीमन्तमलङ्कुरु दयानिधे ॥ ९॥
भाले च तिलकं न्यस्य नेत्रयोरञ्जनं शिवे ।
वालीयुगळमप्यम्ब भक्त्या ते विनिवेदये ॥ १०॥
मणिकुण्डलमप्यम्ब नासाभरणमेव च ।
ताटङ्कयुगळं देवि यावकञ्चाधरेऽर्पये ॥ ११॥
आद्यभूषणसौवर्णचिन्ताकपदकानि च ।
महापदकमुक्तावल्येकावल्यादिभूषणम् ॥ १२॥
छन्नवीरं गृहाणाम्ब केयूरयुगलं तथा ।
वलयावलिमङ्गुल्याभरणं ललिताम्बिके ॥ १३॥
ओड्याणमथ कट्यन्ते कटिसूत्रञ्च सुन्दरि ।
सौभाग्याभरणं पादकटकं नूपुरद्वयम् ॥ १४॥
अर्पयामि जगन्मातः पादयोश्चाङ्गुलीयकम् ।
पाशं वामोर्ध्वहस्ते ते दक्षहस्ते तथाङ्कुशम् ॥ १५॥
अन्यस्मिन्वामहस्ते च तथा पुण्ड्रेक्षुचापकम् ।
पुष्पबाणांश्च दक्षाधः पाणौ धारय सुन्दरि ॥ १६॥
अर्पयामि च माणिक्यपादुके पादयोः शिवे ।
आरोहावृतिदेवीभिः चक्रं परशिवे मुदा ॥ १७॥
समानवेषभूषाभिः साकं त्रिपुरसुन्दरि ।
तत्र कामेशवामाङ्कपर्यङ्कोपनिवेशिनीम् ॥ १८॥
अमृतासवपानेन मुदितां त्वां सदा भजे ।
शुद्धेन गाङ्गतोयेन पुनराचमनं कुरु ॥ १९॥
कर्पूरवीटिकामास्ये ततोऽम्ब विनिवेशय ।
आनन्दोल्लासहासेन विलसन्मुखपङ्कजाम् ॥ २०॥
भक्तिमत्कल्पलितिकां कृतीस्यां त्वां स्मरन् कदा ।
मङ्गलारार्तिकं छत्रं चामरं दर्पणं तथा ।
ताळवृन्तं गन्धपुष्पधूपदीपांश्च तेऽर्पये ॥ २१॥
श्रीकामेश्वरि तप्तहाटककृतैः स्थालीसहस्रैर्भृतम्
दिव्यान्नं घृतसूपशाकभरितं चित्रान्नभेदैर्युतम् ।
दुग्धान्नं मधुशर्करादधियुतं माणिक्यपात्रार्पितम्
माषापूपकपूरिकादिसहितं नैवेद्यमम्बाऽर्पये ॥ २२॥
साग्रविंशतिपद्योक्तचतुष्षष्ट्युपचारतः ।
हृन्मध्यनिलया माता ललिता परितुष्यतु ॥ २३॥
श्रीमुखाख्यस्य वर्षस्य तुलायां शुक्लपक्षके ।
चतुर्थ्यामपराह्णे च ललितार्पितमानसः ॥ २४॥
साग्रविंशतिपद्यैस्तु चतुष्षष्ट्युपचारकान् ।
समग्रहीत्पराम्बायाः प्रीत्यै नारायणो मुदा ॥ २५॥
नारायणः श्रीपुरुषोत्तमात्मजोऽलिखन्महीषूरपुरे वसन्कृती ।
देवीसपर्यामखिलाभिलाषदां कामेशवामाङ्कगता प्रसीदतु ॥
इति श्रीललिता चतुःषष्ट्युपचारसङ्ग्रहः ।
॥ इति शिवम् ॥
Encoded, proofread, and text introduction by
Harsha Ramamurthy harsha\_ramamurthy@yahoo.com