Sri Subramanya Moola Mantra Stava

Ten verses from the Kumara Tantra

The Subramanya Moola Mantra Stava is a short hymn of ten verses, and its colophon places it in the Kumara Tantra. The first two verses introduce it: athatah sampravakshyami moolamantrastavam shivam, now I shall tell the auspicious hymn of the root mantra. They say it gives both worldly enjoyment and liberation to those who chant or hear it, and that it removes enemies and illness.

The six-syllable key

The heart of the hymn is verses 3 to 8. Their opening syllables are sha, ra, va, na, bha and va, which together spell Sharavanabhava, the six-syllable mantra of Subrahmanya. Verse 9 calls the hymn a shadakshara stotra for this reason. Each of these six verses ends with the same plea, dehi me vipulam shriyam, grant me abundant prosperity.

What the six verses say

Verse 3 seeks refuge in Skanda, shararanyodbhava, born in the reed forest. Verse 4 praises his lotus eyes and a beauty greater than a crore of Manmathas. Verse 5 calls on the husband of Valli and of Indra's daughter Devasena. Verse 6 has Narada, siddhas, gandharvas and the nine heroes worshipping his feet. Verse 7 addresses him as Parvatisuno and asks for devotion to his feet, and verse 8 asks for wealth, grain, fame and an unbroken family line.

The closing verses

Verse 9 says whoever reads it regularly gains more than he had hoped for, and verse 10 asks that it be chanted on rising each morning with Subrahmanya held in the heart.