Religion:Mangalacharana

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Short description: Benedictory verse in Hindu literature


A mangalacharana (Sanskrit: मङ्गलाचरणम्, romanized: maṅgalācaraṇam)[1] or a mangalashloka[2] is a benedictory verse traditionally featured in the beginning of a Hindu text.[3] Composed in the form of an encomium, a mangalacharana serves both as an invocation and a panegyric to an author's favoured deity, teacher, or patron, intended to induce auspiciousness (maṅgalam).[4] The verse may also be in the form of a divine supplication for the removal of obstacles that might obstruct the completion of the work.[5]

The mangalacharana is a common convention in works of Hindu philosophy, beginning and sometimes also ending with the invocation of a deity.[6] It is sometimes regarded to contain the essence of a given text to which it belongs.[7]

Literature

Bhagavata Purana

The mangalacharana of the Bhagavata Purana addresses Krishna:[8]

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi

Mahabharata

The mangalacharana of the Mahabharata, also featured in the Bhagavata Purana, invokes Narayana (Vishnu), the sages Nara-Narayana, Saraswati, and Vyasa:[9]

nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁtato jayam udīrayet

Vishnu Purana

The mangalacharana of the Vishnu Purana propitiates Vishnu:[10][11]

om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
om jitam te puṇḍarīkākṣa namaste viśvabhāvana
namaste 'stu hṛṣīkeśa mahāpuruṣa pūrvaja

See also

References

  1. Jacobsen, Knut A.; Aktor, Mikael; Myrvold, Kristina (2014-08-27) (in en). Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions: Forms, Practices and Meanings. Routledge. pp. 131. ISBN 978-1-317-67594-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=LHBeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT131. 
  2. Stainton, Hamsa (2019) (in en). Poetry As Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir. Oxford University Press. pp. 173. ISBN 978-0-19-088981-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=l9ShDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA173. 
  3. Morgan, Les B. (2011) (in en). Croaking Frogs: A Guide to Sanskrit Metrics and Figures of Speech. Les Morgan. pp. 83. ISBN 978-1-4637-2562-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=d8TbRGlptyYC&pg=PA83. 
  4. Patel, Deven M. (2014-01-07) (in en). Text to Tradition: The Naisadhiyacarita and Literary Community in South Asia. Columbia University Press. pp. 116. ISBN 978-0-231-16680-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=5GmsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116. 
  5. Misra, Anuj (2022-09-01) (in en). Learning With Spheres: The golādhyāya in Nityānanda's Sarvasiddhāntarāja. Taylor & Francis. pp. 189. ISBN 978-0-429-01506-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=22KSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189. 
  6. Halbfass, Wilhelm (in en). Philology and Confrontation: Paul Hacker on Traditional and Modern Vedanta. State University of New York Press. pp. 38. ISBN 978-1-4384-0545-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=NX-c1-CLSM8C&pg=PA38. 
  7. Biernacki, Loriliai; Clayton, Philip (2014) (in en). Panentheism Across the World's Traditions. Oxford University Press. pp. 165. ISBN 978-0-19-998990-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=evIVDAAAQBAJ&dq=+beginning&pg=PA165. 
  8. Prabhupada, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (1979-01-01) (in en). The Path of Perfection. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. pp. 48. ISBN 978-91-7149-825-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=ITVNCgAAQBAJ&dq=janm%C4%81dy+asya+yato+%E2%80%99nvay%C4%81d+itarata%C5%9B+c%C4%81rthe%E1%B9%A3v+abhij%C3%B1a%E1%B8%A5+svar%C4%81%E1%B9%AD&pg=PT48. 
  9. Prabhupada, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (1972-12-31) (in en). Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto: Creation. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-91-7149-634-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ntOCgAAQBAJ&dq=n%C4%81r%C4%81ya%E1%B9%87a%E1%B9%81+namask%E1%B9%9Btya+nara%E1%B9%81+caiva+narottamam+dev%C4%AB%E1%B9%81+sarasvat%C4%AB%E1%B9%81+vy%C4%81sa%E1%B9%81+tato+jayam+ud%C4%ABrayet&pg=PT135. 
  10. Veda Vyasa. Vishnu Purana English Translation with Sanskrit Text. http://archive.org/details/vishnu-purana-sanskrit-english-ocr. 
  11. Alper, Harvey P. (1989-01-01) (in en). Mantra. SUNY Press. pp. 241. ISBN 978-0-88706-599-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=YMPibh4_XuoC&dq=namas+te+'&pg=PA241.