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!

Aruvippuram is located near Trivandrum at the bank of river Neyyar. It is a beautiful place. The word literally means bank of river. Aruvi means river and puram means bank. Sree Narayana Guru used to like Aruvippuram and used to stay here for a while whenever he used to pass by Aruvippuram while traveling. After attaining enlightenment he made Aruvippuram his resting place. People slowly came to know about Guru and started coming to Aruvippuram to visit him and to seek his blessings from faraway places.

Sree Narayana Guru used to cure people of aliments. Many of the people were cured just by seeing the Guru. Guru used to give some herbs after which almost all the diseases would disappear. Guru's fame started spreading and more and more people started visiting him in Aruvippuram offering him fruits and food.

Guru had the policy of "drink no alcohol, make no alcohol and sell no alcohol". Alcoholic men after seeking Guru's blessing to get cured will have the tendency of vomiting when they tried to have alcohol again. There was soon an immense following of Guru and there were many disciples.

Sree Narayana Guru expressed his wish to have a Siva temple in Aruvippurami to his disciples. He decided to have a temple on Maha Siva rathri of that year 1063 Malayalam year (Kollavarsham) . As per Guru's wish arrangements were made for the same. Ezhava's and the other lower caste people were not allowed to worship Suvarna gods forget about of Prathistha (installation) of a Siva idol. Kerala at that time of full of caste system and only Brahmins had the authority to do Prathistha.

Guru on Maha Shiv rathri of 1063 installed a Shiv idol (rock which Guru carefully selected from the Neyyar River) in the presence of hundreds of people who came to Aruvippuram to witness this great event. This was an important event of history. As this incident change the whole course of caste system which was then followed in Kerala. As the news of this temple spread like a wild fire, people from all over Kerala started flooding Aruvippuram. Aruvippuram soon became a pilgrimage spot. Lower caste people who did not have access to temples suddenly had a temple where they could offer prayers.

It was obvious that people from upper caste could not tolerate this installation of idol by a non Brahmin. Many so called learned men from the upper caste visited Guru, not for his blessing of course but to question Guru's authority to do Prathistha. Guru's answer for very simple

"We worship our own Siva".

Guru's philosophy was "One caste, One religion, One god for mankind". For Guru everyone was the same. It does not matter if the person is from the any caste, any religion or any country. These so called learned men could not understand the inner meaning of "Our Siva" and thought the Guru has installed Siva of his own community and left the place satisfied. Guru meant by our Siva was the Siva of the entire mankind. Guru was also questioned about the right time to do the Prathistha. He again had a very simple answer.
"As the child's delivery does not depend on any auspicious moment and everything else revolves around the birth time the same way auspicious moment may be calculated after the installation of idol." Only Guru could have done this. Even the upper caste people respected him.

This incident can sure be marked as an event in the history as lower caste people got a stand after this incident. Their self confidence level came up and so did their ability to question. What they used to accept as it told by the upper caste slowly started to go and over a period of years they realized their rights. After the installation of idol Aruvippuram they could now do what they could never have done before. Pray to lord Siva in temple.

After the installation ceremony Guru constructed an Ashram in Aruvippuram near the temple. He inscribed the following on the wall of the Ashram

"This is a model abode, where all men shall live, without caste distinction and religious rivalries".

Aruvippuram Siva Temple is now owned by Sivagiri Madam. Shiv rathri is celebrated every year as a major festival in Aruvippuram.

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.