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Home › Mantras › Ganesha Pancharatnam
Ganapathi Ganesha Pancharatnam: Ganesha hurling his broken tusk at the demon Gajamukhasura, who shrinks into a mouse
Ganesha hurling his tusk at the elephant demon, who shrinks into the mouse
Mantra · Shankara's five jewels to Vinayaka, the modaka held in his hand

Ganesha Pancharatnam

मुदाकरात्तमोदकं सदा विमुक्तिसाधकं कलाधरावतंसकं विलासिलोकरक्षकम् । अनायकैकनायकं विनाशितेभदैत्यकं नताशुभाशुनाशकं नमामि तं विनायकम् ॥

Also known as Mudakaratta Modakam

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

What the Ganesha Pancharatnam is

The Ganesha Pancharatnam, the 'five jewels' of Ganesha, is a short Sanskrit hymn whose closing colophon names Adi Shankaracharya as its author. Its five main verses are set in the pancha-chamara metre: four quarters of sixteen syllables each, alternating short and long, which gives the lines their quick, even step and their inner rhymes. Each verse is a string of epithets ending in a verb of devotion, and the verb deepens as the hymn goes on: 'I bow' in verse 1, 'I take refuge' in verse 2, 'I salute' in verse 3, 'I worship' in verse 4 and 'I meditate constantly' in verse 5. The portrait moves the same way, from the outward figure holding a modaka and wearing the crescent moon, to the lord of gods, treasures and ganas, to the one-tusked presence dwelling in the hearts of yogis. A sixth verse, the phala shruti, names the hymn Maha Ganesha Pancharatnam.

The elephant-faced demon behind verse 1

No account survives of the day Shankara composed these verses; the tradition preserves only his name in the colophon. The hymn does, however, point to a story of its own. Verse 1 calls Ganesha vinashitebhadaityaka, the one who destroyed the elephant-demon, and verse 3 repeats the image as nirastadaityakunjara, the one who threw down the demon-elephant. That demon is Gajamukhasura. According to the account carried in the Mudgala Purana, he won near-invulnerability through austerities offered to Shiva and turned that strength against the three worlds, and Shiva declared that only Ganesha could subdue him. Ganesha snapped off one of his own tusks and drove it at the demon as a lance. Defeated, Gajamukhasura shrank into a mouse to slip away; Ganesha, seeing through the disguise, did not strike again but took the mouse as his mount. Temple tradition in Tamil Nadu sets the battle at Thiruchengattankudi near Thiruvarur, where the demon's blood is said to have reddened the ground, giving the village its name, and where Shiva is worshipped as Ganapatheeswarar, the lord whom Ganesha himself worshipped afterwards. The same temple keeps the image of Vatapi Ganapathi brought from Badami by the Pallava general Paranjothi.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiमुदाकरात्तमोदकं सदा विमुक्तिसाधकं कलाधरावतंसकं विलासिलोकरक्षकम् । अनायकैकनायकं विनाशितेभदैत्यकं नताशुभाशुनाशकं नमामि तं विनायकम् ॥
Tamilமுதாகராத்தமோதகம் ஸதா விமுக்திஸாதகம் கலாதராவதம்ஸகம் விலாஸிலோகரக்ஷகம் । அநாயகைகநாயகம் விநாஶிதேபதைத்யகம் நதாஶுபாஶுநாஶகம் நமாமி தம் விநாயகம் ॥
Teluguముదాకరాత్తమోదకం సదా విముక్తిసాధకం కలాధరావతంసకం విలాసిలోకరక్షకమ్ । అనాయకైకనాయకం వినాశితేభదైత్యకం నతాశుభాశునాశకం నమామి తం వినాయకమ్ ॥
Kannadaಮುದಾಕರಾತ್ತಮೋದಕಂ ಸದಾ ವಿಮುಕ್ತಿಸಾಧಕಂ ಕಲಾಧರಾವತಂಸಕಂ ವಿಲಾಸಿಲೋಕರಕ್ಷಕಮ್ । ಅನಾಯಕೈಕನಾಯಕಂ ವಿನಾಶಿತೇಭದೈತ್ಯಕಂ ನತಾಶುಭಾಶುನಾಶಕಂ ನಮಾಮಿ ತಂ ವಿನಾಯಕಮ್ ॥
Malayalamമുദാകരാത്തമോദകം സദാ വിമുക്തിസാധകം കലാധരാവതംസകം വിലാസിലോകരക്ഷകമ് । അനായകൈകനായകം വിനാശിതേഭദൈത്യകം നതാശുഭാശുനാശകം നമാമി തം വിനായകമ് ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationmudākarāttamodakaṃ sadā vimuktisādhakaṃ kalādharāvataṃsakaṃ vilāsilokarakṣakam | anāyakaikanāyakaṃ vināśitebhadaityakaṃ natāśubhāśunāśakaṃ namāmi taṃ vināyakam ||
“He joyfully holds sweet modakas in his hand, ever brings about liberation, wears the crescent moon as an ornament and protects the people of the world. He is the one leader of those who have no leader, the slayer of the elephant-demon, and he quickly destroys the misfortunes of those who bow to him; I bow to that Vinayaka.”
मुदाकरात्तमोदकं
mudākarāttamodakaṃ — joyfully holding a modaka in hand
सदा
sadā — always
विमुक्तिसाधकं
vimuktisādhakaṃ — bringing about liberation
कलाधरावतंसकं
kalādharāvataṃsakaṃ — crowned with the crescent moon
विलासिलोकरक्षकम्
vilāsilokarakṣakam — protector of the world's people
अनायकैकनायकं
anāyakaikanāyakaṃ — sole leader of the leaderless
विनाशितेभदैत्यकं
vināśitebhadaityakaṃ — slayer of the elephant-demon
नताशुभाशुनाशकं
natāśubhāśunāśakaṃ — swiftly ending the ills of those who bow
नमामि
namāmi — I bow
तं
taṃ — to that
विनायकम्
vināyakam — Vinayaka

Ganesha Pancharatnam lyrics in full

Five verses in the pancha-chamara metre, followed by the verse that names the hymn and its fruits.

All 6 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Ganesha Pancharatnam PDFAll 6 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

मुदाकरात्तमोदकं सदा विमुक्तिसाधकं कलाधरावतंसकं विलासिलोकरक्षकम् ।
अनायकैकनायकं विनाशितेभदैत्यकं नताशुभाशुनाशकं नमामि तं विनायकम् ॥

He joyfully holds sweet modakas in his hand, ever brings about liberation, wears the crescent moon as an ornament and protects the people of the world. He is the one leader of those who have no leader, the slayer of the elephant-demon, and he quickly destroys the misfortunes of those who bow to him; I bow to that Vinayaka.

Verse 2

नतेतरातिभीकरं नवोदितार्कभास्वरं नमत्सुरारिनिर्जरं नताधिकापदुद्धरम् ।
सुरेश्वरं निधीश्वरं गजेश्वरं गणेश्वरं महेश्वरं तमाश्रये परात्परं निरन्तरम् ॥

He is fearsome to those who will not bow, bright as the newly risen sun, honoured by gods and demons alike, and he lifts his devotees out of great troubles. He is lord of the gods, lord of treasures, lord of elephants, lord of the ganas and the great lord; I always take refuge in him, higher than the highest.

Verse 3

समस्तलोकशङ्करं निरस्तदैत्यकुञ्जरं दरेतरोदरं वरं वरेभवक्त्रमक्षरम् ।
कृपाकरं क्षमाकरं मुदाकरं यशस्करं मनस्करं नमस्कृतां नमस्करोमि भास्वरम् ॥

He brings good to all the worlds and drove off the elephant-like demon; he has a large belly, is the best, has the face of a noble elephant and is imperishable. He is a mine of compassion, patience and joy, gives fame, and gives a good mind to those who bow to him; I bow to that shining one.

Verse 4

अकिञ्चनार्तिमार्जनं चिरन्तनोक्तिभाजनं पुरारिपूर्वनन्दनं सुरारिगर्वचर्वणम् ।
प्रपञ्चनाशभीषणं धनञ्जयादिभूषणं कपोलदानवारणं भजे पुराणवारणम् ॥

He wipes away the pain of the destitute, is the vessel of the ancient sacred words, the elder son of Shiva, the destroyer of the cities, and he crushes the pride of the enemies of the gods. He is terrible at the dissolution of the world, adorned with Dhananjaya and other serpents, an elephant with ichor on his cheeks; I worship that ancient elephant.

Verse 5

नितान्तकान्तदन्तकान्तिमन्तकान्तकात्मजं अचिन्त्यरूपमन्तहीनमन्तरायकृन्तनम् ।
हृदन्तरे निरन्तरं वसन्तमेव योगिनां तमेकदन्तमेव तं विचिन्तयामि सन्ततम् ॥

He has a tusk of surpassing beauty and is the son of Shiva, the ender of Death; his form is beyond thought, he has no end, and he cuts away obstacles. He dwells ever within the hearts of yogis; on him alone, the one-tusked, I meditate constantly.

Phala Shruti 1

महागणेशपञ्चरत्नमादरेण योऽन्वहं प्रजल्पति प्रभातके हृदि स्मरन् गणेश्वरम् ।
अरोगतामदोषतां सुसाहितीं सुपुत्रतां समाहितायुरष्टभूतिमभ्युपैति सोऽचिरात् ॥

The verse says that whoever recites these five jewels of Maha Ganesha with reverence every day at dawn, holding Ganesha in the heart, soon gains health, freedom from faults, skill in learning and speech, good children, a long and settled life and the eight kinds of prosperity.

The syllable people get wrong

The opening word mudākarāttamodakaṃ is often sung as 'muda-karatha modakam', but it is mudā kara-ātta modakaṃ, 'with joy, the modaka taken in the hand'. Say moo-DAA-ka-RAAT-ta, with a doubled, unaspirated tt and no 'th' sound.

When the Ganesha Pancharatnam is chanted

Weekday. Tuesday

Festival. Vinayaka Chaturthi

Questions

The first word joins three parts: muda, with joy; kara, the hand; and atta, taken or held, describing the modaka, the sweet dumpling. So the line opens 'He who joyfully holds a modaka in his hand'. The next words, sada vimukti sadhakam, add 'who always brings about liberation'. The verse then lists the crescent moon he wears, his protection of the world, his leadership of the leaderless and the slaying of the elephant-demon, before closing with 'I bow to that Vinayaka'.
Printed texts end with a colophon that names Shankara, the 8th-century teacher of Advaita, which places the hymn in the large body of devotional verse credited to him. Several other five-verse 'pancharatnam' hymns carry the same attribution, including one to Meenakshi of Madurai. The attribution is traditional; no manuscript dates the composition, and nothing in the text records where or why it was written.
It describes Ganesha as adorned by Dhananjaya and the others. Here Dhananjaya is not Arjuna but one of the great serpents of the naga lineages, and the phrase pictures Ganesha wearing snakes as ornaments, as his father Shiva does. The same verse gives two more elephant images: kapola-dana-varanam, an elephant with ichor flowing on its cheeks, and purana-varanam, the ancient elephant, the epithet the verse ends on.
The sixth verse, beginning Mahaganesha pancharatnam, is the phala shruti; the five verses before it are the 'jewels' of the title. The verse says that one who recites these five jewels with reverence each day at dawn, holding Ganesha in the heart, soon gains health, freedom from faults, skill in learning and speech, good children, a long and settled life and the eight kinds of prosperity. Some printed texts read pragayati, sings, in place of prajalpati, recites.
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