ദൈവമേ! കാത്തുകൊള്‍കങ്ങു
കൈവിടാതിങ്ങു ഞങ്ങളേ;
നാവികന്‍ നീ ഭവാബ്ധിക്കോ‌-
രാവിവന്‍തോണി നിന്‍പദം.

ഒന്നൊന്നായെണ്ണിയെണ്ണി ത്തൊ-
ട്ടെണ്ണും പൊരുളൊടുങ്ങിയാല്‍
നിന്നിടും ദൃക്കുപോലുള്ളം
നിന്നിലസ്‌പന്ദമാകണം.

അന്നവസ്ത്രാദി മുട്ടാതെ
തന്നു രക്ഷിച്ചു ഞങ്ങളെ
ധന്യരാക്കുന്ന നീയൊന്നു-
തന്നെ ഞങ്ങള്‍ക്കു തമ്പുരാന്‍.


ആഴിയും തിരയും കാറ്റും-
ആഴവും പോലെ ഞങ്ങളും
മായയും നിന്‍ മഹിമയും
നീയുമെന്നുള്ളിലാകണം.


നീയല്ലോ സൃഷ്ടിയും സ്രഷ്ടാ-
വായതും സൃഷ്ടിജാലവും
നീയല്ലോ ദൈവമേ,സൃഷ്ടി-
യ്ക്കുള്ള സാമഗ്രിയായതും


നീയല്ലോ മായയും മായാ-
വിയും മായാവിനോദനും
നീയല്ലോ മായയെനീക്കി -
സായൂജ്യം നല്‍കുമാര്യനും.


നീ സത്യം ജ്ഞാനമാനന്ദം
നീ തന്നെ വര്‍ത്തമാനവും
ഭൂതവും ഭാവിയും വേറ-
ല്ലോതും മൊഴിയുമോര്‍ക്കില്‍ നീ.


അകവും പുറവും തിങ്ങും
മഹിമാവാര്‍ന്ന നിന്‍ പദം
പുകഴ്ത്തുന്നൂ ഞങ്ങളങ്ങു
ഭഗവാനേ, ജയിയ്ക്കുക.


ജയിയ്ക്കുക മഹാദേവ,
ദീനാവന പരായണാ,
ജയിയ്ക്കുക ചിദാനന്ദ,
ദയാസിന്ധോ ജയിയ്ക്കുക.


ആഴമേറും നിന്‍ മഹസ്സാ-
മാഴിയില്‍ ഞങ്ങളാകവേ
ആഴണം വാഴണം നിത്യം
വാഴണം വാഴണം സുഖം.

Daiva Dasakam Meaning and description in English.

Sree Narayana Guru was a not only a great philosopher but also a great poet. "Daiva Dasakam" or "Ten Verses To God" is a prayer written by Sri Narayana Guru. Guru's eternal message was "One caste, One religion, One god for mankind", The same is reflected in this prayer. The beauty of this prayer is that it can be sung by all. There is no mention of any religion or any particular God. God referred here is the God of everyone.

Daiva Dasakam is in malayalam click here ദൈവ ദശകം for the malayalam. Following is the meaning in english.

O God! Do Thou grand us, and forsake us not;
Thou art sailor across the sea of suffering
Thy Feet a Mighty Steam  boat.

One by One, when all have been told,
as none is left over, Save the teller
So may the inner Self, be firmly fixed in Thee!

Giver of never failing gifts of food
and clothing and other things,
Our Guardian, Thou , Who enriches our lives
Thou, and thou alone art, to us O! Lord.  

Like the sea and the waves and the wind
and the deep may we and the great illusion and Thy Might and Thyself
be comprehended by me!




Thou art Creation itself, the Creator and the Universe of created Things and Thou art
O! God! Like wise the Material , Apparatus and Furniture of creation
 
Thou art the great illusion, and also the Author and the one who enjoys that illusion,
and Thou art the master who can remove illusion and grant the Supreme Union

Thou art the truth and Wisdom and joy
Thou art likewise the present, Past and Future,
Nor art Thou really separate from the spoken Word

Thy Being filled intensely,
to overflowing,
With transcendent Glory
We praise, "O! Great One"
Victory to Thee who art full of Auspicious Marks
 
Victory to thee, O! Great shining One, Protector of the week.
Victory to thee, O! Blissful thriving ,Ocean of love, to Thee all Victory
 
In the Deep Sea ,of Thy Majestic Splendor May we all be deeply
immersed and forever may Bliss Eternal reign supreme!

Adi Shankaracharya ('the first Shankara' in his lineage) also known as Bhagavatpada Acharya (the teacher at the feet of Lord) was a great Indian philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta (principles of non dualism). His teachings are based on the unity of the soul and Brahman. Consciousness is Brahman.

Shankara was born to Kaippilly Sivaguru Nambuthiri and Aryamba Antharjanam in Kalady, central Kerala. Shankara's parents had no child for a long time, and prayed at Vadakkumnathan temple in Thrissur, Kerala. Legend has it that the Lord Shiva appeared before the devout couple and offered them a choice of a mediocre son who would live a long life, or an extraordinary son who would not live long. The couple chose the latter. The son was named Shankara, in honor of the Lord Shiva.

Shivaguru died while Shankara was very young. The child showed remarkable scholarship, and is said to have mastered the four Vedas by the age of eight. Following the common practice, Shankara stayed at a teacher's house.

From a young age, Shankara was inclined towards sannyasa. His mother however would not give her permission to do so. Once it so happened, Shankara was bathing in the river, when a crocodile caught him. He asked for his mother's permission to adopt sannyasa (the ascetic life), and when his mother agreed, the crocodile released him.

Shankara travelled all over India in his quest for knowledge. Adi Shankara founded four Mathas to guide the Hindu religion. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south, Dwaraka in Gujarat in the west, Puri in Orissa in the east, and Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand in the north. Hindu tradition states that he put in charge of these mathas his four main disciples: Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya, Padmapadacharya, and Totakacharya respectively.

In 1983 a film was directed by G. V. Iyer named Adi Shankaracharya was premiered, the first film ever made entirely in Sanskrit language in which all of Adi Sahankaracharya's works were compiled. The movie received the National Film Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Audiography and has been known as a master piece. You might have reached this page out of interest of Adi Shankaracharya. I strongly recommend you to see this movie. It has English subtitles.

Here is the link from Google Videos

Vayalvaram Veedu (Veedu meaning house) was where Sree Narayana Guru was born. Vayalvaram compound was about one acre in area. It is situated on Sreekaryam-Potencode road about 2 kms from  Sreekaryam junction. It was an tradinational house of those times. It was a small house with three rooms. On the south side of the compound is a temple called "Manackal Bhagavathi Temple". This small 18th century thatched house was in the orininal form untill 2007. In 2007 a building was built around the house to proctect the house. However I along with many others feel that if the 18th century house could have been preserved in its original state till 2007, it could have been preserved in the same way without losing the sernity. The old feel has now gone. Almost everyone apart from the people who built it would have felt the same.

See the photograph below of the old house and the New Vayalvaram Veedu enclosed in a hall of another house.