श्लोकपाठShlokpath

वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय

Vakratuṇḍa Mahākāya

The Invocation to Gaṇeśa

  • Invocatory śloka · anuṣṭubh
  • Sanskrit
  • Traditional invocatory verse
Translation
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वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभ ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥

vakratuṇḍa mahākāya sūryakoṭisamaprabha |
nirvighnaṃ kuru me deva sarvakāryeṣu sarvadā ||

हे वक्रतुंडा, महाकाया, कोटी सूर्यांसारख्या तेजस्वी देवा, माझी सर्व कार्ये सदैव निर्विघ्न कर.

हे वक्रतुण्ड, महाकाय, करोड़ों सूर्यों के समान तेजस्वी देव, मेरे सभी कार्यों को सदा निर्विघ्न करें।

O god of the curved trunk and mighty form, radiant as ten million suns — make all my undertakings free of obstacles, always.

Word by word (English) & note
वक्रतुण्ड
of the curved trunk
महाकाय
of mighty form
सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभ
radiant as ten million suns
निर्विघ्नम्
free of obstacles
कुरु
make
मे
for me
देव
O god
सर्वकार्येषु
in all undertakings
सर्वदा
always

Many recite ‘koṭi-sūrya-samaprabha’ — the same words in a different order, with the same meaning.

Translations stay close to the words; words we supply are in [brackets]. Where a line is read in more than one way, the note beside it says so. How we edit → Found an error in this text? Tell us.

श्रवणListen

  • Rajshri SoulPāṭha · recitationRecommended
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परंपराProvenance

Unattributed

अज्ञात

Unattributed

Undated

Like many of the short ślokas said at the start of every undertaking, this verse has no known author. It circulates in countless ritual handbooks and is sometimes loosely ascribed to the Purāṇas, but no single textual source is agreed on.

Source
Traditional invocatory verse
Text checked against
  • The common printed text; the one variant in circulation is noted beside the verse
Context
Gaṇeśa is Vighneśvara, lord of obstacles, who both places and removes them — so he is honoured first, before any other deity and before any task. This single verse is how countless Maharashtrian days begin: said before an exam, at the start of a journey, at the threshold of a new house. It asks for one thing only — that the work ahead be free of obstacles, always.
Recited
  • Before any beginning — study, travel, a new home, a wedding
  • The opening of every pūjā

उगमOrigin

सिंधुकृष्णागंगागोदावरीनर्मदायमुनामुंबईपुणेदिल्लीकोलकाताचेन्नई
Recited across IndiaWhere and when it was composed is unrecorded.
  • Precise place
  • Associated place
  • Region
  • Uncertain
  • Pan-Indian

Every chant on the map →

पुढेContinue

Festivals: Ganeshotsav

Guides: Lakṣmī pūjā at home: the texts, in order · Navrātri at home: the ghaṭasthāpanā and the nine days