Bhakti in Śivānandalaharī

Abstract

Bhakti finds an important place in Hinduism. Bhakti is a Sanskrit word, which originates from the Sanskrit verb root ͼí (bhaj). This means to divide, distribute, share with, enjoy, and so on. As such the word bhakti goes to mean distribution, partition and so forth. But the word Bhakti generally and most predominantly denotes devotion or attachment, faith or love towards God. Devotion is counted as a religious principle or means of salvation together with Karman (works) and Jñana (spiritual knowledge). Bhakti is a sort of bhāva or indescribable feeling that arises through an uninterrupted relationship between human and God, which is called as an association between Ātman and Brahman. When a man loves the God eternally and unconditionally, it takes him to the state of Bhakti. In fact, this cannot be described in words, but has to be experienced. Many Hindu treatises deal with Bhakti. The Srīmat Bhāgavata, a famous Vaiṣṇava religious work, gives an utmost place to Bhakti. It emphasizes that there should not be any expectation or cause for Bhakti. It calls this as AhEtukI Éi´ Bhakti should flow spontaneously and it should be an unconditional love towards God. Bhagavadgita, the well-known philosophical work in Sanskrit too defines and describes Bhakti, and further treats it as Bhakti yoga. Nārada Bhakti Sūtra and śāandilya Bhakti Sūtra also deal with Bhakti. Śivānandalaharī is a stotra literature, which is one of the compositions of Adi Śaṅkarāccārya. In this, His Majesty praises Lord Śivā in hundred verses. The word Śivānandalaharī could be disjoined as Śivā + ānanda + laharī: ‘Śivā’ here means ‘Lord Siva’, ‘ānanda’ means ‘bliss or pure happiness’, and ‘laharī’ means ‘waves’. When one loves Lord Śivā or attached to Him out of devotion, he/she indulges in pure happiness. By putting the word laharī, Śaṅkarāccārya aptly compares the experience of so called ‘bliss’ with the nature of the waves, which come uninterruptedly and unconditionally in the ocean. It is invariable, and it never retreats. In Śivānandalaharī, Śaṅkarāccārya delineates the experience of bliss that arises through Bhakti towards Lord Śivā. This study would elaborate the unique verses in Śivānandalaharī, which specifically address Bhakti.