Guru Stuthi | Acharya Vandanam Lyrics With Full Meanings - Hindi | English | Telugu Version

Before starting the daily puja or any kind of special worship, it is customary to offer respect to the teachers, preachers, and saints of your family creed. This is known as the Guru Stuthi and Acharya Vandanam while starting a puja.

This Guru Stuthi is done after Ganesh stuthi or even before that depending upon the practices prevalent in your family traditions and faith.

I am giving here my own experience or methods of offering prayer. In our Vaishnava sampradaya, we respect our acharyas from the oldest to the most recent ones chronologically. But, first of all, we offer pranams to our mother and father within our mind. Then do the Guru Stuti.

The acharya vandanam order provided below is in all three languages of Sanskrit, Telugu, and English with their full meanings in the English language at the end.

So, first, let me start with the Sanskrit/ Hindi version of the lyrics and, after that, the Telugu version and the English version.

Sanskrit (& Hindi) Version of Acharya Vandanam

1) श्रीशैलेश दयापात्रम् धीभक्त्यादि गुणार्णवम् 
    यतीन्द्र प्रवणम् वन्दे रम्यजा मातरम मुनीम ||

2) लक्ष्मीनाथ समारम्भम् नाथयामुनि मध्यमाम् 
    अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्ताम् वन्दे गुरू परम्पराम्  ||

3) यो नित्य मच्युत पदाम्बुज युग्म रुक्म 
    व्यामोहतः तद  इतराणि तृणाय मेने       
   अस्मतगुरोः भगवतोस्य दयैकसिन्धोः 
   रामानुजस्य चरणौ शरणम प्रपद्ये    || 

4) माता पिता युवतयस  तनया विभूतिः 
   सर्वम् यदेव नियमेन मदनवायानाम  
   आद्यस्य नः कुलपतेः वकुलाभिरामम् 
   श्रीमत् अदंघ्रियुगलम् प्रणमामि मूर्ध्ना  ||

5) भूतम् , सरश्च महदहव्यः , भट्टनाथ ,
    श्री भक्तिसार , कुलशेखर , योगिवाहन ,
    भक्तांघ्रिरेणु , परकाल , यतीन्द्र , मिश्रााण ,
   श्रीमत् परांकुश मुनिम प्रणतोस्मि नित्यम्  ||

Telugu Version of Guru Stuthi

గురుస్తుతి / ఆచార్య వందనము 

1) శ్రీ శైలేశ దయాపాత్రం ధీ భక్త్యాది గుణార్ణవం 
    యతీంద్ర ప్రవణం వందే రమ్యజా మాతరమ్ మునీం | 

2) లక్ష్మినాథ సమారంభం నాథయా ముని మధ్యమామ్ 
    అస్మదాచార్య పర్యంతాం వందే గురు పరంపరాం || 

3) యో నిత్య మచ్యుత పదాంబుజ యుగ్మ రుక్మ 
    వ్యామోహతః తదితరాని తృణ ఆయమేనే 
    అస్మత్ గురోహ్ భగవతః  అస్య  దయైకసిందో 
    రామానుజస్య చరణౌ శరణం ప్రపద్యే || 

4) మాతా పితా యువతయస్  తనయా విభూతిహి 
    సర్వం యదేవ నియమేన మదన్వయానాం 
    ఆద్యస్య న కులపతే వకుళాభిరామం 
   శ్రిమత్తదంఘ్రి యుగళం ప్రణమామి మూర్ధ్నా || 

5) భూతం, సరశ్చ మహదాహ్వయ, భట్టనాథ,
    శ్రీ భక్తిసార, కులశేఖర, యోగివాహాన్,
    భక్తాంఘ్రిరేణు, పరకాల, యతీంద్ర, మిశ్రాన్,
    శ్రీమత్ పరాంకుశ మునిం ప్రణతోస్మి నిత్యం || 

English Version (Transliteration)

1) srisailEsa dayApAtram, dhii bhaktyaadi guNaarNavam
    Yatiindra pravaNam, vandE Ramyajaa maataram muniim

2) Laxmiinaatha samaarambhaam, Naathayaa muni madhyamaam
    asmadaachaarya paryamtaam vandE guru paramparaam

3) yO nityam achyutha padaambuja yugma rukma
    vyaamOhatah taditaraani truNaaya mEnE
    asmat gurOh bhagavathOsya dayaika sindhO
    Raamaanujasya charaNau sharaNam prapadyE

4) Maataa pitah yuvatayas tanayaa vibhootihi
    sarvam ya dEva niyamEna madanvayaanaam
    aadyasya nah kulapatEh vakuLaabhiraamam
    Srimat adamghri yugaLam praNamaami moordhnaa

5) Bhuutam, Sarascha mahadaahvaya, Bhattanaatha,
    Shri, Bhaktisaara, KulasEkhara, Yogivaahaan,
    BhaktaanghrirENu, Parakaala, Yatindra, Mishraan,
    Srimat Paraamkusha munim, praNatOsmi nityam


Meanings & Explanation for Hymns of Guru Stuthi

1) The first verse pays respect to MaNavaaLa maamuni also known as  MaNavaaLa MaamunigaL who is a great sage. He took birth to complete the work that is left behind by Sri Ramanujacharya, who lived only for 120 years instead of 200 years. So, MaNavaLa took birth and completed all those works of spreading illumination to people. 

It is believed that this verse was rendered by Lord Sri Ranganatha Swamy himself in appreciation of the deep knowledge and contributions made to the bhakti Sahitya (devotional literature) by ManavaaLa MaamunigaL.

Sri sailEsha refers to his Guru or Acharya, Thiruvai Mozhi Pillai. He was a resident of Srisailam. Lord says that Manavala Mamuni is the possessor of Thiruvai Mozhi Pillai's grace. But, this can be interpreted as being equally true for Lord Srisaila Himself, ie., Ranganatha Swamy Himself. Manavala Mamuni obtained the grace of God Sri Ranganatha Swamy, who came in the form of a small child and accepted  Manavala Mamuni as his own teacher or Acharya and rendered this taniyan or verse praising his greatness that Manavala Mamuni himself is SrisailEsha dayapatran meaning that he has the grace of his teacher or Guru, Thiruvai Mozhi Pillai (and God's own grace). 

It is further said that Manavala muni has the qualities of wisdom and devotion ( dhibhaktyaadi gunaarnavam). 

Further, it is stated that he is the 'yatindra pravana' meaning that he has an unparallel attachment to the yatindrar ie., Sri Ramanuja Achariyar. MaNavaaLa is closely attached to Ramanujacharya. 

So, God in the form of a child says that He is bowing to such a great Ramyajamatru muni (Vande means bowing to). Ramyajamatru muni is another name of Manavala Mamuni. 

So, through this verse, God has established the greatness of Manavala Mamuni and instructed all people to render this verse at the starting of all worships to Him.

2) The second hymn offers credits and respect starting from God, considered the foremost teacher or Acharya, and till your present teacher.

It is an established belief that God offered the first mantra to Badari Narayana and then, in the Vishnu form, to Goddess Lakshmi. 

In the chain of Acharyas come many great teachers chronologically after God and up to our present Guru. 

So in the second sloka, we are offering respects to all our teachers starting with "Lakshminatha samaarambhaam" meaning starting with God who is Lakshmi Devi husband and in the middle of teachers come the names of "Naatha muni and Yaamuna muni" (madhyamam means in the middle order); And up to our present teachers ("asmad aacharya paryantaam" means up to our present teacher). 

"Vande guru paramparaam" means - I bow to all these teachers' lineage. So, we are bowing to all the lineage of gurus starting from God and with Naatha muni and Yaamuna muni in the middle order and up to until our present teacher.

3) Then comes our most respectable Ramanujacharya, who is the founder guru of the "Srivaishnavism" way of living that has been preached by him for our salvation; which we are following now. 

This third verse says that the great preacher, who always considered God's lotus feet only as his most lovable and dearest asset, and thereby rejected everything else as some useless grass, that great person is our teacher who is an ocean of kindness and is equal to God. We are bowing to the feet of that great Ramanujacharya.

4) In the fourth sloka or hymn, we are bowing to the dearest saint Nammalwar, who is the first saint of this Kaliyuga born in the first year of kali yuga and lived only for 32 years doing great service to God and all people. ( It is believed that out of the 12 great saints of Vaishnavism, 5 were born in Dwapara Yuga and the rest in kali yuga). 

Nammalwar is considered to be nearest to God in the Acharya parampara tree-line. Sriman Narayana is first, then Goddess Lakshmi, then again God in the form of Vishwaksena or Badari Narayan and then, the next place is given to Nammalwar.

The hymn says that we bow to the feet of Nammalwar, which smell with beautiful odours of the flower known as 'pogada puvvu'; which feet bestow us with the sweet love of mother and father, which help us in crossing these worldly sins and attachments just like a son leads us to heaven by performing rituals; and which feet provide us all the heavenly pleasures of happiness and even to our future generations also. 

We bow our head to such blessed feet of Nammalwar.

5) Now, in the last hymn, we are paying our respects to all the 12 alwars or saints (known as yogi-s in Sanskrit language) of vaishnava sampradayam chronologically- Bhutha yogi or pudatta alwar, Saro yogi or poygai alwar, Maha yogi or Peyalwar, (mahadahvaya refers to Maha yogi), Bhattanatha yogi or Periya alwar, Sri refers to Andal saintess, then Bhaktisara yogi or Thirumazhi Sayya alwar, Kulasekhara alwar, Yogivahan refers to Tiruppan alwar, Bhaktanghrirenu refers to Thondarappodi alwar, then Parakala muni or Thirumanghai alwar, Yatindra refers to Ramanujachariyar, mishran refers to Mishra Kavi or Madhura Kavi alwar and lastly Parankusha muni refers to Nammalwar. So we are bowing our heads to all these great saints daily ( pranatosmi nityam means I am bowing with respect daily).

It is considered in this hymn that Nammalwar is the central body, and all others as the other parts and limbs of the body.

So, this is the importance of chanting all these hymns and verses or slokas before starting the daily prayer. We remember all those great saints and teachers including God and pay respects to them and then start the worship.

How to worship, I have already described in my other blog at this Link.

12 Alwars (Saints) of Sri Vaishnava Sampradayam in Hinduism

Who are Alwars?

Alwar was a title in the Tamil language given to Seers.

Alwar or Azhwar is one who is immersed in the Almighty's devotion, and thereby, setting an example to people as to how to attain the self-realization. They can be classified as Saints.

The Vaishnavas of the Vaishnava Sampradayam, the followers, and worshippers of God Vishnu, (popularly known as Srivaishnavas), boast of their 12 Alwars as the great seers of enlightenment.

Alwars are those who preached and practiced the lifestyle of Sri Vaishnava sampradaya and showed to people how to reach God through their unconditional devotion.

Each Alvar is an embodiment of a certain part or element of Lord Vishnu. So, the Alwars represent God's own form in human form.

They were sent to this world to restore dharma and spirituality among people.

The Alwars stressed the importance of surrendering before the Almighty with pure devotion as the only way of attaining moksha or Salvation.

The title "Alwar" or "Alvar" (sometimes written as 'Azvar' to stress its Tamil pronunciation) refers to people (saints) immersed in God - in God's bhakti and knowledge. Alwars wrote songs showing their utter, pure devotion and profound love towards God. They practiced everything they preached and got themselves reunited with God after leaving their body.

To know more about them, click here.

Twelve Alvar Saints and One Sage/ Guru

There are 12 Alwars according to this Sri Vaishnava sampradaya.

A poetic verse or stanza (in Sanskrit) designed for prayer describes the names of these Azvars and one more sage or Guru as follows:

"Bhutam Sarascha Mahadahvaya Bhattanatha
Sri Bhaktisara Kulasekhara Yogivahan
Bhaktanghrirenu Parakala Yatindra Mishran
Srimat Paramkusha munim pranatosmi nityam"

So, the twelve names according to above verse are as follows:

Sanskrit Name                                  Dravida (Tamil) Name

1) Bhuta Yogi                                             Poothatta Alwar
2) Saro Yogi                                               Poigai Alwar
3) Mahadahvaya  Yogi                                Peyalwar
4) Bhattanatha  (Vishnu Chitta)                    Periyalwar
5) Sri or Andal (Goda Devi)                        Andal (Chudi Kodutha Nachiyar)
6) Bhakti Sara                                             Tirumozhi sayyalwar or Thirumalisai Alvar
7) Kulasekhara                                            Kulasekhara Alwar
8)Yogi Vahana                                            Thiruppani Alwar
9) Bhaktan Ghrirenu (Vipranarayana)             Thondaradippodi Alwar
10)Parakala (Kalivairi)                                Thirumangai Alwar
11)Mishra Kavi (Madhura Kavi)                  Madhura Kavi
12)Parankusa (Satakopa)                            Nammalwar (Karimaran)

In the above verse, one more name "Yatindra" is also mentioned (after Parakala in the third line). This "Yatindra" refers to Sri Ramanujacharya, the great sage, and preacher of srivaishnavism. But his name is not included in the 12 Alwars. In the above verse, it is stated that we are bowing with great devotion and respect to all these 12 alvars and also to the great sage Ramanujacharya. Yatindra means the great sage.

Chronological Order
The names in the above verse have been placed to rhyme for prayer purpose even though all of them have been mentioned in the serial order.

But, the exact chronological order of these Alwars or saints has been established by many seers as follows:

1)Poigai Alwar:
He lived during 4200 BCE and believed to have lived for 3000 years along with Poothatta and Peyalvar. He rendered 100 verses in praise of God Vishnu.

2)Poothatta Alwar:
He is also believed to have lived during Poigai Alvar time for 3000 years and rendered 100 verses in praise of God Vishnu.

3)Peyalvar:  
Lived along with Poigai Alwar during the same period for 3000 years. He also rendered 100 verses.

4)Thirumalisai Alvar:
He also lived round about the same period of 4200 BCE but for how many years not confirmed. He created 96 verses and another 120 verses.

5)Madhurakavi Alvar:
He lived during 3100 BCE for about 450 years and created Kanninun Siruthambu 11 verses. He got drawn by some amazing light and went in search of that light crossing hills and forests through thousands of miles. There he met Nammalvar under a tree and was inspired by him and became his disciple.

6)Nammalvar:
Nammalvar lived also during 3100 BCE but he lived only for 32 years. He spent most of his life from early childhood without eating anything and sitting under a tree in meditation. Madhurakavi Alvar reached him and tested his knowledge and became his disciple. Nammalvar composed the most number of hymns and verses and was the topmost contributor for spreading the Vaishnavism. He is the author of Thiruvaimozhi with 1102 verses. He also wrote many other works like Thiruvasinyam,  Periya Thiruvandhadhi, Thiruvirutham.

7)Kulasekhara Alvar:
He was a Chera dynasty king who lived during 3075 BCE for about 67 years and developed love towards Lord Vishnu in the form of Sri Ram and renounced the kingdom. He composed Perumal Thirumozhi with 105 verses.

8)Periyalvar:
Periyalvar lived around 3050 BCE and is the father of Goda Devi or Andal. He was also known as Vishnu Chitta. He lived for 87 years. He was a priest in Villiputtur temple. He found Goda Devi in his Tulasi plants and brought her up. He composed Periyalvar Thirumozhi with 473 verses.

9)Andal:
Andal previously known as Goda Devi appeared as a baby to Vishnu Chitta in 3005 BCE in his tulsi plants and was brought up by him. She developed utter love towards Sri Krishna and worshipped Him and determined to marry Him. She used to wear the flower garlands that she made for God to test them and then offer to God. God also liked those garlands and insisted that Vishnu Chitta should bring only those garlands worn by her for his worship. Andal composed Thiruppavai with 30 verses in praise of God which are recited by people during the Pongal month culminating into Makar Sankranti for attaining the blessings of God and attain moksha. She also composed some erotic verses in love of God known as Nachiyar Thirumozhi numbering to 143 verses. She united with God by marrying Him after completion of the Thiruppavai and settled in the temple with God as an idol. To read the full story of Andal or Goda Devi click here.

10)Thondaradippodi Alvar:
Thondaradippodi Alvar lived around 2800 BCE. He composed Thirumalai and Thirupalliezhuchi.

11)Thiruppan Alvar:
Thiruppan Alvar lived around 2760 BCE and composed 10 verses.

12)Thirumangai Alvar:
Thirumangai Alvar lived around 2700 BCE for 108 years. Just like Nammalvar, he also contributed much to the Vaishnavism literature by composing many works. He composed Periya Thirumozhi with 1084 verses and some other verses.

All these compositions of these Alvars are combinedly known as "Nalayira Divya Prabandham" meaning a holy book of 4000 verses. This Nalayira Prabhandam is the sacred epic book for all the Vaishnavites. These verses are recited at all important festivals and spiritual ceremonies of the Vaishnava community.

You can view these verses at this Link of Ramanuja Organisation website.