kāvyakaṇṭha vāsiṣṭha śrī gaṇapati muni viracitam umāsahasram
Uma Sahasram
triṃśaḥ stabakaḥ - pramāṇikāvṛttam
The thirtieth Stabaka, entitled **Mānasa-pūjā — “Mental Worship”**, transforms the entire inner life of the sādhaka into an offering to Umā. Muni asks the mind to withdraw from perishable sense-objects and worship the Goddess within the purified heart. One by one, the traditional elements of pūjā are interiorized: the inner lotus becomes Her seat, devotion becomes *pādya*, mental purity becomes *arghya*, Sahasrāra-nectar becomes the water of abhiṣeka, the body becomes Her garment, the nāḍī becomes the sacred thread, self-knowledge becomes sandal paste, prāṇa becomes the continuous worshipper, noble impressions become incense, and awakened knowledge becomes the lamp. The title is therefore fully justified: this is a complete **antar-yāga**, in which external ritual is recreated within consciousness.
The most powerful movement of the Stabaka is toward total self-offering. Even sensory enjoyment is offered to the Mother; finally Muni offers the deeply cherished **ahaṅkṛti itself as naivedya**. Worship is no longer an occasional act but a continuous state, carried on through every inhalation and exhalation. Hence he declares that there is no *visarjana*, no ceremonial dismissal of the Goddess: She is invited to remain permanently in the body, newly envisioned as Her temple, together with Śiva. The reference to the lamp of awakening kindled in him by the silent sage who is an incarnation of Guha also brings the living Guru directly into this inner worship.
Muni’s mastery here lies in his remarkable synthesis of **traditional pūjā-vidhi, Yoga, Tantra, Vedānta and personal spiritual experience**. Every familiar ritual object is given a subtle psychological or yogic equivalent, allowing outer worship to become uninterrupted inner realization. The disciplined **Pramāṇikā metre** supports the almost liturgical sequence beautifully, while the final verses become intimate and autobiographical: Muni presents his own human body as the dwelling prepared by the Mother’s “eldest son.” Thus *Mānasa-pūjā* becomes not merely imagined ritual, but the conversion of **body, breath, mind, knowledge, ego and life itself into perpetual worship of Umā**.
triṃśaḥ stabakaḥ - pramāṇikāvṛttam mānasapūjā
kṛtena sā nisargato dhṛtena nityamānane ।
sitena śītaśailajā smitena śaṃ tanotu me ॥ 726 ॥
pratikṣaṇaṃ vinaśvarānaye visṛjya gocarān ।
samarcayeśvarīṃ mano vivicya viśvaśāyinīm ॥ 727 ॥
viśuddhadarpaṇena vā vidhārite hṛdā'mba me ।
ayi prayaccha sannidhiṃ nije vapuṣyagātmaje ॥ 728 ॥
purasya madhyamāśritaṃ sitaṃ yadasti paṅkajam ।
ajāṇḍamūlyamastu te surārcite tadāsanam ॥ 729 ॥
akhaṇḍadhārayā dravannavenduśekharapriye ।
madīyabhaktijīvanaṃ dadhātu te'mba pādyatām ॥ 730 ॥
vivāsanaughamānasaprasādatoyamamba me ।
samastarājñi hastayoranarghamarghyamastu te ॥ 731 ॥
mahendrayonicintanād bhavanbhavasya vallabhe ।
mahāraso rasastvayā nipīyatāṃ viśuddhaye ॥ 732 ॥
sahasrapatrapaṅkajadravatsudhājalena sā ।
sahasrapatralocanā pinākino'bhiṣicyate ॥ 733 ॥
mamārjitaṃ yadindriyaiḥ sukhaṃ sugātri pañcabhiḥ ।
tadamba tubhyamarpitaṃ sudhākhyapañcakāyatām ॥ 734 ॥
vasiṣṭhagotrajanmanā dvijena nirmitaṃ śive ।
idaṃ śarīrameva me tavāstu divyamaṃśukam ॥ 735 ॥
vicitrasūkṣmatantubhṛnmameyamātmanāḍikā ।
sukhaprabodhavigrahe makhopavītamastu te ॥ 736 ॥
mahadvicinvato mama svakīyatattvavittijam ।
idaṃ tu cittasaurabhaṃ śive tavāstu candanam ॥ 737 ॥
maheśanāriniḥśvasaṃstathā'yamucchvasaṃstadā ।
tavāniśaṃ samarcako mamāstu jīvamārutaḥ ॥ 738 ॥
vipākakālapāvakapradīptapuṇyagugguluḥ ।
suvāsanākhyadhūpabhṛd bhavatvayaṃ mamāmba te ॥ 739 ॥
guhāvatāramauninā mayīśvari pradīpitā ।
iyaṃ prabodhadīpikā pramodadāyikā'stu te ॥ 740 ॥
imāmayi priyātpriyāṃ mahārasāmahaṅkṛtim ।
nivedayāmi bhujyatāmiyaṃ tvayā nirāmaye ॥ 741 ॥
sarasvatī sudhāyate mano dadhāti pūgatām ।
hṛdeva patramambike trayaṃ sametya te'ryyate ॥ 742 ॥
vinīlatoyadāntare virājamānavigrahā ।
nijāvibhūtirastu te taṭillatā prakāśikā ॥ 743 ॥
svaro'yamantarambike dvirephavatsvaraṃstadā ।
mamābhimantrya dhīsumaṃ dadāti devi te'ṅghraye ॥ 744 ॥
tavārcanaṃ nirantaraṃ yato vidhātumasmyaham ।
na viśvanāthapatni te visarjanaṃ vidhīyate ॥ 745 ॥
viyoga indudhāriṇā na ceha viśvanāyike ।
madamba so'tra rājate taṭillatāśikhāntare ॥ 746 ॥
idaṃ śarīramekakaṃ vibhāvya navyamandiram ।
vihāramatra seśvarā bhavāni kartumarhasi ॥ 747 ॥
jaḍeṣvivālaseṣviva prayojanaṃ na nidrayā ।
vihartumeva yācyase hṛdīśasadmarājñi me ॥ 748 ॥
ayaṃ tavāgrimaḥ sutaḥ śrito manuṣyavigraham ।
tanūjaveśmasauṣṭhavaṃ mṛḍāni paśya kīdṛśam ॥ 749 ॥
gaṇeśiturmahākaverasau pramāṇikāvalī ।
manombuje maheśvarīprapūjaneṣu śabdyatām ॥ 750 ॥