kāvyakaṇṭha vāsiṣṭha śrī gaṇapati muni viracitam umāsahasram
Uma Sahasram
ṣoḍaśaḥ stabakaḥ - kumāralalitāvṛttam
The sixteenth Stabaka, entitled **Adhyātmaṃ Śakti-vaibhavam — “The Inner Spiritual Majesty of Śakti”**, turns decisively inward and presents Umā as the very power operating at the root of consciousness, ego, memory, meditation and liberation. The verses explain that She may be praised, remembered, held in the heart, or realized in direct knowledge; in each mode She bestows a corresponding fruit—desire-fulfilment, purification, strength and ultimately freedom. The title is therefore fully justified, because the Stabaka reveals not merely the cosmic glory of Śakti, but Her **adhiātmic presence as the hidden ground of the individual self and the source of inner transformation**.
A central teaching is the inquiry into the root of *ahaṃ-mati*, the sense of “I”. Muni explicitly recalls the insight of **Ramaṇa Maharṣi**, identifying the root of the ego-current with the Divine Mother Herself. When attention turns outward, multiplicity appears; when it turns inward, no second reality remains before Her. The later verses become intensely experiential: the thousand-petalled lotus at the crown is imagined as a fully opened flower, and the Goddess as the great bee drinking its nectar. Muni then surrenders even his own sense of doership and individuality, declaring that what was formerly “mine” has now become Hers, and inviting Her to make the body itself one of Her dwelling places.
This Stabaka displays Muni’s rare ability to unite **Advaitic self-inquiry, Śākta theology, Kuṇḍalinī-yoga and personal mystical experience** within a compact poetic framework. His language alternates between philosophical precision and intimate dialogue with the Mother, while images of the river of ego, lotus, nectar, bee, ocean of ambrosia and city of consciousness make subtle states vividly accessible. The graceful **Kumāralalitā metre** carries this inward movement with remarkable softness. As the concluding Stabaka of the fourth Śatakam, it gathers many earlier themes into one realization: **the supreme Śakti who governs the universe is discovered within as the root of “I”, the power of awareness, the giver of liberation, and the indwelling Mother of the yogin’s own body**.
ṣoḍaśaḥ stabakaḥ - kumāralalitāvṛttam
adhyātmaṃ śaktivaibhavam
mahovihatamohaṃ maheśamahilāyāḥ ।
smitaṃ vitanutānme gṛheṣu mahamagryam ॥ 376 ॥
iyadbahulagolaṃ jagallaghu dadhānā ।
pitāmahamukhairapyakhaṇḍitavidhānā ॥ 377 ॥
aduṣṭacaritebhyaḥ śubhānyabhidadhānā ।
kulāni malinānāṃ hatāni vidadhānā ॥ 378 ॥
dukūlamaruṇāṃśuprabhaṃ paridadhānā ।
harasya rajatādrikṣitīśituradhīnā ॥ 379 ॥
munīndrakṛtatantraprasiddhabahudānā ।
umā balamalaṃ nastanotvatulamānā ॥ 380 ॥
nirastaviṣayāṃ yad dadhāti matikīlām ।
samastajagadīśe dhṛtistava mateyam ॥ 381 ॥
śrutā pravaṇacittaṃ smṛtā naramapāpam ।
dhṛtā hṛdi vidhatse gatasvaparabhāvam ॥ 382 ॥
ahaṃmatitaṭinyāḥ satāmavanimūlam ।
tvameva kila seyaṃ maharṣiramaṇoktiḥ ॥ 383 ॥
ahaṃmatilatāyāstvayīśavadhu kande ।
sthito'mba bhuvanasya pravindati rahasyam ॥ 384 ॥
yadetadakhilāmba prasiddhamiva dṛśyam ।
tavaiva kila jālaṃ gato bhaṇati mūlam ॥ 385 ॥
prapaśyasi parācī jagadvividhabhedam ।
svataḥ kimapi nānyatpratīci purataste ॥ 386 ॥
stutā bhavasi śaśvat smṛtā ca bhajane tvam ।
dhṛtā bhavasi yoge tatā bhavasi bodhe ॥ 387 ॥
stutā diśasi kāmaṃ smṛtā harasi pāpam ।
dhṛtā'syadhikaśaktyai tatā bhavasi muktayai ॥ 388 ॥
viśudhyati yatāśī pramādyati na śuddhaḥ ।
pramādarahitasya sphuṭe lasasi kañja ॥ 389 ॥
sphuṭaṃ yadi sarojaṃ naṭīva paṭu nāṭyam ।
karoṣi yatabuddherjagajjanani śīrṣe ॥ 390 ॥
śirogatamidaṃ naḥ praphullamayi padmamam ।
analpamakarandaṃ tvamamba bhava bhṛṅgī ॥ 391 ॥
sarojamatudantī pibāmba makarandam ।
mahāmadhukari tvaṃ bhajermadamamandam ॥ 392 ॥
amaṅgalamitaḥ prāṅ mayeśavadhu bhuktam ।
itaḥ paramameye sukhānyanubhava tvam ॥ 393 ॥
ahaṅkṛtivaśānme cidīśvari purā'bhūt ।
tavābhavadidānīṃ mamāsti na vibhutvam ॥ 394 ॥
yadā'bhavadiyaṃ me tadā'nvabhavadārtim ।
taveśvari bhavantī bhunaktu śamidānīm ॥ 395 ॥
karotviyamahantā vivādamadhunā'pi ।
tathā'pi purataste maheśvari vivīryā ॥ 396 ॥
iyaṃ ca tava buddheryato bhavati vṛttiḥ ।
imāmapi kuru svāṃ kṣamāvati viroṣā ॥ 397 ॥
sudhābdhiriha mātastaraṅgaśatamālī ।
cidabhrapuramatra prabhāpadamadabhram ॥ 398 ॥
kuru tvamidamekaṃ nijālayaśateṣu ।
savitri viharāsmin yatheṣṭamayi dehe ॥ 399 ॥
kumāralalitānāṃ kṛtirgaṇapatīyā ।
karotu mudameṣā kapardidayitāyāḥ ॥ 400 ॥
॥ samāptaṃ ca caturthaṃ śatakam ॥