Sri Vadiraja Tirtha woke up one morning at Brahmi Muhurta and composed this song. Five hundred years later, you still cannot have a Madhva wedding without it. It is in Kannada, not Sanskrit. It tells the story of how Mahalakshmi rose out of the churning ocean of milk, and how Vishnu took her hand. The sumangalis gather around the bride and groom and lift the refrain: 'Shōbhāne, shōbhāne, shubha-shōbhāne.' For as long as the song lasts, the couple are not themselves. They are Lakshmi and Narayana, and the song is the blessing. The form is the shōbhane, a Kannada folk genre of auspicious wedding-song with a returning chorus. Unmarried girls sing it for a good husband. Newlyweds sing it for a long marriage. Mothers sing it for daughters who are about to leave the house. It is a raksha. A protection.
Chant the full Lakshmi Shobhane in ChantWise
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Chant all 119 verses → The opening verses are below.
Refrain (Pallavi)
1
lakshmeenaaraayanara caranakkè sharanèmbè
pakshivaahannagèraguvè
pakshivaahannagèraguvè anudina
rakshisali namma vadhoovarara
Lakshmi Shobhane
2
paalasaagaravannu leelèyali kadèyalu
baalè mahaalakshumi udisidal̤u
baalè mahaalakshumi udisidal̤aa devi
paalisali namma vadhoovarara
3
bòmmana pral̤ayadali tannarasiyòdagoodi
summanèyaagi malagippa
namma naaraayanagu ee rammègadigadigu
janmavèmbudu avataara
4
kambukamthada sutta kattida mamgal̤asootra
ambujavèradu karayugadi
ambujavèradu karayugadi dharisi
peetaambaravanuttu mèrèdal̤è
5
òmdu karadimda abhayavaneeval̤è
mattòmdu kaiyimda varagal̤a
kumdillaladaanamdasamdoha unisuva
imdirè namma salahali
Lakshmi Shobhane
119
muttaidèyarèllaroo muttinaaruti ètti
hattaavataarada hayavadanaga
hattaavataarada hayavadana devaga
hòsa muttinaarutiya bèl̤agirè || shobhaanè
That's the opening and the closing. The full Lakshmi Shobhane continues for 113 more verses in between.
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Chant all 119 verses → Frequently asked about Lakshmi Shobhane
- Who composed Lakshmi Shobhane?
- Lakshmi Shobhane is traditionally attributed to Sri Vadiraja Tirtha (Vadirajaru), 16th-century Madhva saint of Sode Mutt (Sri Vadiraja Tirtha's Lakshmi Shobhana Pada).
- How many verses are in Lakshmi Shobhane?
- Lakshmi Shobhane has 119 verses, set in the Shobhane - Kannada Folk/lullaby metre.
- Which deity is Lakshmi Shobhane addressed to?
- Lakshmi Shobhane is a prayer to Mahalakshmi.
- In which languages can I read Lakshmi Shobhane?
- ChantWise offers Lakshmi Shobhane in English, Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati. This page is the English (Simplified) version, written in Simplified Phonetic script.
