kāvyakaṇṭha vāsiṣṭha śrī gaṇapati muni viracitam umāsahasram
Uma Sahasram
pañcamaḥ stabakaḥ – upajātivṛttam
The fifth Stabaka, entitled **Pariṇayaḥ — “The Divine Marriage”**, celebrates the union of Umā and Maheśvara. The opening verses dwell on the radiance of the Goddess’s smile, but the Stabaka soon unfolds into the story and deeper meaning of their marriage: Śiva beholds Umā’s beauty, mutual love arises, tapas prepares the way, and their union is celebrated by gods, siddhas, gaṇas and sages. The title is thus fully justified, for these verses do not merely describe a wedding episode; they present the **cosmic union of Śakti and Śiva as the archetype of all sacred companionship and the source of divine manifestation**.
Muni treats the familiar Purāṇic narrative with philosophical depth. Verse after verse suggests that the marriage of Śiva and Umā is not an accidental coming together of two separate beings, but the reunion of two inseparable principles. This reaches a particularly profound expression in the declaration that none other can truly reach or comprehend either of them: **Umā belongs to Śiva alone, and Śiva to Umā alone**. Even Śiva’s fearsome ascetic appearance becomes a vehicle for insight—the Goddess’s love for Him proves that genuine love does not depend upon external attractiveness. The Stabaka also gives spiritual value to effort and tapas: even what is destined or inherently connected is attained through disciplined striving.
Muni’s poetic skill is especially evident in the **Upajāti metre**, where devotional beauty, humour, śṛṅgāra, philosophical reflection and Purāṇic narration flow naturally together. He moves effortlessly from delicate images of moonlight, camphor and smiles to Śiva’s skulls, serpents, ashes and cremation-ground imagery, turning apparent contrasts into expressions of a deeper unity. His expertise lies in making mythology simultaneously **aesthetic, symbolic and metaphysical**. The final verse aptly calls these compositions *sandarbha-śuddhā Upajātayaḥ*—well-formed and contextually refined verses—offered for the joy of the noble while recounting the auspicious marriage of the Mother of the worlds.
dvitīyaṃ śatakam
pañcamaḥ stabakaḥ – upajātivṛttam
pariṇayaḥ
śrīkhaṇḍacarcāmiva kalpayantyo muhuḥ kapoleṣu sakhījanasya ।
śrīkaṇṭhakāntāhasitāṅkurāṇāṃ śrīmanti kurvantu jaganti bhāsaḥ ॥ 101 ॥
kīrtirvalakṣā kusumāyudhasya svarṇādrikodaṇḍajayonnatasya ।
darasmitaśrīrdviradāsyamāturdrāghīyasīṃ vo vitanotu bhūtim ॥ 102 ॥
pramathyamānāmṛtarāśivīciprodgacchadacchācchatuṣārakalpāḥ ।
yuṣmākamicchāṃ vidadhatvamoghāṃ vighneśamāturdarahāsaleśāḥ ॥ 103 ॥
candrātapaḥ kaścana samprasanno maheśanetrātithitarpaṇo naḥ ।
manobhilāṣaṃ saphalīkarotu maheśvarīhāsalavaprakāśaḥ ॥ 104 ॥
valakṣavakṣojapaṭāñcalena calena sārdhaṃ kṛtakelayo naḥ ।
puratrayārātikalatrahāsa bhāso nirāsaṃ vipadāṃ kriyāsuḥ ॥ 105 ॥
bhūyāsurāyāsaharāṇi tāni smitāni bhūteśamṛgīdṛśo naḥ ।
yeṣāṃ tviṣo bibhrati digvadhūṭīgaṇḍeṣu karpūraparāgalīlām ॥ 106 ॥
kurvantu kāmaṃ saphalaṃ madīyaṃ kulādrikanyāhasitāni tāni ।
yeṣāṃ mayūkhaiḥ kriyate sitādrerudyānavāṭīṣu navo vasantaḥ ॥ 107 ॥
āmreḍitaṃ bhūṣaṇacandrabhāsāṃ nāsāvibhūṣāmahasāṃ dviruktiḥ ।
purārinārīsmitakāntayo me pūrṇāni kurvantu samīhitāni ॥ 108 ॥
nirmāya viśvālayamamba śarvastvayā samaṃ śilpavidā sa śilpī ।
vihartumicchannayi voḍhumaicchanārīṃ bhavantīṃ puruṣo bhavaṃstvām ॥ 109 ॥
divyaṃ dukūlaṃ dhavalaṃ dadhānā veṇyā phaṇīndropamayā lasantī ।
praphullarājīvavilocanā tvaṃ prapañcabharturnayanānyahārṣīḥ ॥ 110 ॥
pratyaṅgabandhaṃ jvaladuttamaṃ te bhujaṅgarājopamaveṇirūpam ।
ātmaikaniṣṭhasya ca viśvabharturārādhayāmāsa vilocanāni ॥ 111 ॥
abhūstvamādyasya manomadāya sa cāpi te prītipadaṃ babhūva ।
na kevalaṃ vāṃ sakalasya cāsīddāmpatyabandhasya tadamba bījam ॥ 112 ॥
tavātikāntā nayanāntavṛttirhāsaḥ purāreśca navenduhārī ।
ubhau vivāhotsavapūrvaraṅgaṃ nirvartayāmāsaturādirāme ॥ 113 ॥
dātuṃ prabhuḥ sāntvayituṃ samarthaḥ kartuṃ kṣamastarjayituṃ ca śaktaḥ ।
saṃrakṣatānmāṃ tava sarvavandye karastuṣārāṃśubhṛtā gṛhītaḥ ॥ 114 ॥
spraṣṭuṃ na śakyā parame paraistvaṃ sa cānyayā cintayituṃ na śakyaḥ ।
tvameva śarvasya sa eva te'mba dāmpatyamevaṃ yuvayostu satyam ॥ 115 ॥
nijādvataṃsenduta indumanyamutpādya te śambhuradādvataṃsam ।
mūrtāmivāsau śubhagātri rātriṃ prāpya tvadīyāṃ kabarīṃ cakāse ॥ 116 ॥
babhūvithāgendragṛhe yadā tvaṃ sa ceśvarastatra cakāra vāsam ।
vilokamānastava devi vidyutpāñcālikāyāḥ kamanīyabhāvam ॥ 117 ॥
siddhaṃ sa vāṃ sādhayituṃ pravṛtto yogaṃ pradagdho madanaśca kalpe ।
vaśīti kīrtiṃ giriśasya bhartuṃ tubhyaṃ tvaparṇeti yaśaśca kartum ॥ 118 ॥
ghoraṃ tapaścadracitaṃ tvayā'pi prāgrūpabhartuḥ samanugrahāya ।
vihāya yatnaṃ ka ihākhilā'mba sambaddhamapyarthamupaitu jantuḥ ॥ 119 ॥
jvalatkapardo dahanāṅkabhālaḥ kapālamālī karikṛttivāsāḥ ।
bhujaṅgabhūṣo bhasitāṅgarāgaḥ puṣpeṣu vairī paruṣāṭṭahāsaḥ ॥ 120 ॥
śmaśānavāsī puruṣastriśūlī jahāra te cedanaghāṅgi cetaḥ ।
dṛṣṭāntamartho'yamavāpa naiva prītirbahiḥkāraṇamāśriteti ॥ 121 ॥
rūpaṃ purārerathavā tadetat seyaṃ ca ceṣṭā samayāntareṣu ।
kāntaṃ vapuḥ kāntatarāśca līlāstvayā samaṃ khelitumeṣa dhatte ॥ 122 ॥
prahṛṣṭayakṣaḥ samavetasiddho nṛtyadgaṇendro vikasanmunīndraḥ ।
bhūyo'pi yogo yuvayorhimādrau babhāra mātarmahamadvitīyam ॥ 123 ॥
maheśvarastvāṃ pariṇīya lebhe yāvātmajau dvāvanaghāṅgi mukhyau ।
ekastayorbhrāmyati viśvamattuṃ bhūbhṛttaṭīrāśrayate batānyaḥ ॥ 124 ॥
saṅkīrtayantyo jagatāṃ jananyāḥ kalyāṇavārtāḥ kamanīyakīrteḥ ।
imāḥ pramodāya satāṃ bhavantu sandarbhaśuddhā upajātayo naḥ ॥ 125 ॥