Lakshmi Shobhane

ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ಶೋಭಾನೆ

Sri Vadiraja Tirtha's Lakshmi Shobhana Pada Deity: Mahalakshmi Metre: Shobhane - Kannada Folk/lullaby 58 verses

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.

The opening verses are below. The full stotra is in ChantWise.

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Pallavi

1
shobhaanavènnirè suraròl̤u shubhaganigè
shobhaanavènni sugunanigè
shobhaanavènnirè trivikramaraayagè
shobhaanavènni surapriyagè shobhaanè

Lakshmi Shobhane

2
lakshmeenaaraayanara caranakkè sharanèmbè
pakshivaahannagèraguvè
pakshivaahannagèraguvè anudina
rakshisali namma vadhoovarara
3
paalasaagaravannu leelèyali kadèyalu
baalè mahaalakshumi udisidal̤u
baalè mahaalakshumi udisidal̤aa devi
paalisali namma vadhoovarara
4
bòmmana pral̤ayadali tannarasiyòdagoodi
summanèyaagi malagippa
namma naaraayanagu ee rammègadigadigu
janmavèmbudu avataara
5
kambukamthada sutta kattida mamgal̤asootra
ambujavèradu karayugadi
ambujavèradu karayugadi dharisi
peetaambaravanuttu mèrèdal̤è

Pallavi

58
shobhaanavènnirè suraròl̤u shubhaganigè
shobhaanavènni sugunanigè
shobhaanavènnirè trivikramaraayagè
shobhaanavènni surapriyagè shobhaanè

That's the opening and the closing. The full Lakshmi Shobhane continues for 52 more verses in between.

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