Shiva Dhyana
कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारम् ।
संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् ॥
सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे ।
भवं भवानि सहितं नमामि ॥
karpūragauraṃ karuṇāvatāram ।
saṃsārasāraṃ bhujagendrahāram ॥
sadā vasantaṃ hṛdayāravinde ।
bhavaṃ bhavāni sahitaṃ namāmi ॥
Camphor-pure and compassion incarnate,
Essence of existence, adorned with the serpent-king,
Ever dwelling in the heart's lotus,
To Bhava with Bhavānī united, I bow.
Musical Accompaniment
This sublime dhyāna-śloka presents Śiva in his dual aspect as both transcendent consciousness and immanent presence. The camphor imagery (karpūragaura) signifies the pure, self-luminous nature of consciousness that burns without residue - consuming all limiting identifications while leaving awareness pristine and radiant.
As karuṇāvatāra (compassion incarnate), Śiva embodies the heart's natural movement toward all existence. The bhujagendrahāra (serpent-king as ornament) represents kuṇḍalinī-śakti, the coiled divine energy that adorns consciousness as its own power of manifestation and recognition.
The verse locates this supreme reality not in distant heavens but in the hṛdayāravinda - the lotus of the heart-center where individual and universal consciousness recognize their non-difference. The final salutation to Bhava-Bhavānī acknowledges the inseparable unity of consciousness (Śiva) and its creative power (Śakti), the fundamental non-duality at the heart of existence itself.
This ārti transforms devotional practice into direct recognition, where worship becomes the spontaneous celebration of our own essential nature as consciousness-bliss.