Sri Arunachala Stuti Panchakam - a summary

श्रीः

ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीरमणाय

Sri Arunachala Stuti Panchakam 

Sri Arunachala Stuti Panchakam is the name given to the collection of 5 works on Arunachala, composed by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. They are Arunachala Aksharamanamalai, Arunachala Navamanimalai, Arunachala Padigam, Arunachala Ashtakam and Arunachala Pancharatnam.

Arunachala is a manifestation of Paramatma's grace, a vibhuti. When we recognise this as a vibhuti, the ever-flowing grace from him has no obstruction because one is able to surrender to this vibhuti. The mind is cleansed and the intellect becomes one-pointed. Surrender happens naturally. External anchors are let go of.

Bhagavan Sri Krishna explains this in chapter 10. 

एतां विभूतिं योगं च मम योग वेत्ति तत्त्वत:।

सोऽविकम्पेन योगेन युज्यते नात्र संशयः।।(10.7)

He who understands my manifested glory and creative power, is endowed with unwavering yoga or steady abidance in knowledge of the self.

Recognition of a vibhuti outside, leads to manifestation of yoga within by destruction of the ego through surrender and enquiry. 

This process was evident in Bhagavan's life - hearing the name Arunachala and recognising it to be Paramatma, surrendering to it and eventual realisation by aatma-vichara.

Bhagavan had already had an indication of his realisation, much before he arrived in Arunachala. It was this that took him to the physical proximity of his Guru. In Arunachala Padigam, he says that he had been taken over by grace (he calls Arunachala the 'kaanta-parvatam' - the magnetic mountain, which pulls the seeker towards itself). It is a hill which has always attracted people dedicated to the tapas of knowledge.

This blog is an attempt to capture the (superficial) meaning of these highly esoteric literary works, purely for the sake of anusandhanam while doing parayanam. It is my belief and hope that deep contemplation on the verses, will serve as their own commentary.

In Arunachala tattvam, Sri Muruganar says Arunachala is the heart which rises and shines when the ego is vanquished. In Deepa Darshana tattvam, Bhagavan explains that experiencing the nondual light of the self by turning inwards, having rejected the notion that the body is the real "I", is the real significance of seeing the light on Arunachala. 

Read Arunachala Tattvam and Deepa Darshana Tattvam https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2025/11/sri-arunachala-tattvam-deepa-darshana.html

In Arunachala Mahatmyam, Bhagavan recounts the puranic incident which led to the manifestation of Arunachala, and reiterates that merely by thinking of Arunachala, one is liberated. 

Read Arunachala Mahatmyam https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2025/11/sri-arunachala-mahatmyam.html

Sri Arunachala Stuti Panchakam 

1. In Navamanimalai, he describes the achala-tattvam of Arunachala. The crowning glory of this work is the 7th verse, where he says எனக்கோர் குறையுண்டோ? - can I have any complaint ever since you took me over. This teaches us how to surrender - to refuse to look at transient inconveniences but focus on the eternal truth. This is the way to contentment and peace. He reiterates that Arunachala had given him his own state by destroying his ego and individuality - உன் பதத்தில் இருத்தினை. When we allow the grace to fall upon us, he enters the mind and removes the ahankara - there is the realisation that I am purna / complete, and that I have always been purna.

Read Arunachala Navamanimalai https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2025/12/sri-arunachala-navamanimalai.html

2. Devotees frequently asked Bhagavan to compose literary works, but he usually declined to because he felt that many works had been created by the Nayanmars and other saints. Aksharamanamalai was composed when devotees requested him for something to chant during bhiksha-atanam. When someone handed him a sheet of paper, he simply wrote "Arunachala" because that was what he usually did when an empty sheet of paper was given to him. Later, he finished it pouring out both the highest nondual truth of Arunachala - that of oneness with Arunachala and also the highest level of bhakti, which is that of union with the Lord.  Aksharamanamalai is a veritable symphony of bhakti and jnanam going hand in hand.

Read Aksharamanamalai Introduction and the subsequent blogs (verses 1 to 108) https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2024/09/aksharamanamalai-introduction.html

Aksharamanamalai - key learnings for contemplation https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2026/02/sri-arunachala-aksharamanamalai.html?m=1

3. On another occasion, the words 'karunaiyaal' had been reverberating in his mind for some time before and when it formed into a full verse, Bhagavan wrote it down as  the first verse of Sri Arunachala Padigam. Subsequently, the rest of the verses spontaneously flowed one after the other by a similar sphuranam. This is fashioned as an 'anthaadi' - the last word of each verse is the first word of the following verse.

This is a work which predominantly overflows with bhakti. The highlight of Padigam is the total and unconditional surrender of Bhagavan, at the feet of his guru - Arunachala, who is Ishvara and also the self. He says from now onwards, your wish is my wish - nin ishtam en ishtam (# 2). He offers himself to the lotus feet of Arunachala.

A bhakta / sadhaka tends to follow the path the jnani walks, to arrive at the destination. In Bhagavad Gita Bhashyam, before describing the qualities of the jnani / sthitaprajna, Shankaracharya explains why this section is in the Gita - सर्वत्रैव हि अध्यात्मशास्त्रे कृतार्थलक्षणानि यानि तान्येव साधनानि उपदिश्यन्ते यत्नसाध्यत्वात्। - In the adhyatma marga, the qualities of the jnani, are the means for the sadhaka. If the sadhaka models himself on how he sees the jnani go about his life, it is his sadhana. Following the path of a jnani, he will reach the goal himself. this is why we read about jnanis and yearn for satsanga with a jnani. Herein lies the value of the Padigam, to us as seekers. 

Read Arunachala Padigam https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2025/12/sri-arunachala-padigam.html

4. In Arunachala Ashtakam, Bhagavan explains the process of Naan yaar vichara - self-enquiry. He starts with his own experience of turning inwards and asking "Who", which was followed by the disappearance of his ego and the manifestation of the one reality as the self. 

As far as God-realisation goes, Bhagavan emphasises on not restricting Ishvara to a name and form. When one sees the self in all, he is a sama-darshi. This is the only way to see the divine everywhere. Thereby he worships the divine in every breath and his very life is enveloped by the divine.

The true nature of the self is understood to be the underlying truth of Ishvara - in the third shloka, Bhagavan says when I truly understand my self, it turns out to be you - என்னையான் அறிவுற என்னுரு வேறு ஏது. The separate "I" ceases to exist, only Paramatma exists. This is Advaita.

Read Arunachala Ashtakam https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2026/01/sri-arunachala-ashtakam.html

5. Arunachala Pancharatnam - Bhagavan outlines the role of self-enquiry, the importance of a pure mind, bhakti, dhyanam and total surrender. There is a synthesis of bhakti and jnanam in the last verse, by which we understand that the highest state of bhakti (ananya bhakti or aatma nivedanam) is the same as abidance in jnanam - the state where all differences between Ishvara and the jeeva vanish totally. This is why Krishna says repeatedly in the Gita - the jnani is the same as me (ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् - 7.18) and I am the dearest to him and he is the dearest to me (प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः - 7.17).

Read Arunachala Pancharatnam https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2026/01/sri-arunachala-pancharatnam-sanskrit.html

In all of these beautiful works, Bhagavan has taught us what to pray for, and how to surrender. He is verily proof that a jeevan-mukta may practice the highest bhakti but does not ever waver from his svarupam. He upholds that knowledge of the self is the only goal, but teaches us how to develop and use bhakti as the means to cleanse the mind and focus on the eternal truth. Bhagavan lived as Brahman all his life and this itself is the lesson for devotees.

When there is a deep desire for bhagavat-praapti but sadhana does not seem to be working, one feels like the bhakta who has left home but has not reached the temple. What we can do, is to ask the Lord to endow us with bhakti and the ability to surrender. This helps us to shed the ego, cleanse the mind of desires and remove the limited sense of 'I am this person - a man, a woman, a student, a mother, etc'. When the ripples in the mind (of desires and negativities, likes and dislikes) are silenced, knowledge dawns.

Paul Brunton writes in his book 'The search in secret India' - "There is a mysterious property in this man which differentiates him from all others I have met. I feel, somehow, that he does not belong to us, the human race, so much as he belongs to Nature, to the solitary peak which rises abruptly behind the hermitage, to the rough tract of jungle which stretches away into the distant forests, and to the impenetrable sky which fills all space. Something of the stony, motionless quality of the lonely Arunachala seems to have entered into the Maharishee." This achala-tattvam that he was, kept him in peace.

By the unlimited grace of Bhagavan, may we reach this achala state of abiding in the self, constantly contemplate on the sweet nectar of the Arunachala Stuti Panchakam and use it in our sadhana. There does not seem to be a more joyful way to approach sadhana than this.

सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु

Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam (Sanskrit)

 

श्रीः

ॐ नमो भगवते श्रीरमणाय

Sri Arunachala Pancharatnam (Five verses) 

1. करुणापूर्णसुधाब्धे कबलितघनविश्वरूप किरणावल्या अरुणाचल परमात्मन् अरुणो भव चित्तकञ्जसुविकासाय।

Ocean of ambrosia, over-flowing with grace, Arunachala the paramatma, whose rays swallow the solid form of the universe. May you be the sun for the complete blossoming of heart-lotus.

Bhagavan gets into the heart of atma-vidya straightaway, describing the svarupa-lakshanam of Brahman, ie, jnana svarupam. Arunachala is Parabrahman, Lord Shiva himself, who shines in the heart as 'I'. 

When the self is seen as Arunachala svarupam, one's heart-lotus can be said to have blossomed. But one's own nature is misunderstood to be the body or mind. When attention is drawn to the self on enquiry, the darkness of ignorance about the self, is swallowed by the light of consciousness. Everything around us is also seen as the self. This sarvaatma-bhava distinguishes the jnani from the others.

When, as a young boy, Bhagavan was gripped by the fear of death, he did not look outside for an answer. Instead, turned within and enquired into 'Who'. Thereby he understood his own deathless nature.

2. त्वय्यरुणाचल सर्वं भूत्वा स्थित्वा प्रलीनमेतच्चित्रं हृद्यहमित्यात्मतया नृत्यसि भोस्ते वदन्ति हृदयं नाम।

From you, Arunachala, all this universe comes into existence, it is sustained in you and is subsumed into you. You dance in the heart as ‘I’. Your name is 'heart.

The substratum on which the universe is superimposed, is described here, as the tatastha lakshanam of Arunachala. This shows the seeker the lens with which to view the perceivable world. Shankaracharya says in Manisha Panchakam - यद्भासा हृदयाक्षदेहविषया भान्ति स्वतोऽचेतना - By the reflection of this chaitanyam, the mind, senses and body are illumined despite their being insentient. This consciousness is the substratum of the world of objects that we perceive as apart from us.

Without the light of consciousness, the world of names and forms would not be perceived. Bhagavan Sri Krishna says in Gita - मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव (7.7) - everything is strung on me like gems on a string. When we see beyond the superimposed, and instead recognise the substratum, it is revealed to be the self of all, Arunachala.

3. अहमिति कुत आयातीत्यन्विष्यान्तः प्रविष्टया अत्यमलधिया अवगम्य स्वं रूपं शाम्यत्यरुणाचल त्वयि नदीवाब्धौ।

On enquiring into from where the ‘I’ has arisen, turning inwards with a pure and cleansed mind, and coming to know one’s own nature, one will dissolve in you, Arunachala, like a river merges in the ocean.

In this one and the next 2 shlokas, the sadhana is explained. The first one is atma vichara - self enquiry.

A mind which is made pure by karma yoga and bhakti, and which is facing inwards towards the self, can perceive the self. A pure mind is needed for the ahankara / individuality to be destroyed and for knowledge of the self to dawn. Performing karma as yoga (as an instrument of Ishvara) and bhakti are needed as means to this.

4. त्यक्त्वा विषयं बाह्यं रुद्धप्राणेन रुद्धमनसा अन्तस्त्वां ध्यायन् पश्यति योगी दीधितिमरुणाचल त्वयि महीयन्ते।

Renouncing external phenomena and contemplating on you with a restrained mind and restrained breath, the yōgi sees the light and he rejoices in you.

Dhyana marga is described here. Due to the onslaught of vasanas, it is difficult to focus on the self. Here is the role of breath control, as an aid to mind control. Not only is mind control needed, one also needs to turn inwards and focus on the self, to perceive the light. 

The dhyanam that Bhagavan Sri Krishna talks about in Chapter 6, culminates in the mind abiding in the self - आत्मसंस्थं मनः कृत्वा न किञ्चिदपि चिन्तयेत् (6.25) - Letting go of desires, withdraw the mind and focus the intellect, and without giving up, place the mind in the self and cease thinking. This is the yogi who sees the light.

5. त्वय्यर्पितमनसा त्वां पश्यन् सर्वं तवाकृतितया सततं भजतेऽनन्यप्रीत्या स जयत्यरुणाचल त्वयि सुखे मग्नः

Seeing you by a mind that is surrendered in you, one who sees you everywhere and as every form, one who incessantly worships you not as another but as his own self, he triumphs, being immersed in happiness in you.

Bhakti marga is described here. In Upadesha saram, Bhagavan says - 

ईशजीवयोर्वेषधीभिदा सत्स्वभावतो वस्तु केवलम्। 

वेषहानतः स्वात्मदर्शनम् ईशदर्शनं स्वात्मरूपतः। (24 & 25)

From the viewpoint of the upadhis, the jeeva is alpa-shaktiman and alpajna (with limited powers and limited knowledge). Ishvara is sarva-shaktiman and sarvajna. But when these upadhis are removed, the wrong idea that I am this limited jeeva, is surrendered and the pure self, which is of the nature of sat-cit-ananda, is realised. This is also the nature of Ishvara. Therefore, the realisation of one's true nature, is the same as the realisation of God. This is like how there are big waves, small waves, bubbles, etc in water but the underlying reality is water.

Now, having destroyed the mind and individuality by surrender, one can see everything as the self. Ishvara also becomes an object of nithya-smaranam and one need not make a effort to remember him. There is no other, other than Ishvara. To quote Bhagavan Sri Krishna in the Gita verse quoted earlier - मत्तः परतरं नान्यत् किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय (7.7) - There is nothing higher than me or other than me.

Having understood this underlying truth of the self and Ishvara, one has ananya-bhakti, which is not any more a means to cleanse the mind but the jnani's way of expressing his love and joy.

The result of this realisation, is the goal of this human life - happiness and peace. 

इति श्रीमद्रमणमहर्षेर्दर्शनमरुणाचलस्य देवगिरा पञ्चकमार्यागीतौ रत्नं  त्विदमौपनिषदं हि॥ (concluding verse composed by Daivarata )

These five verses in praise of Arunachala, are a revelation of Srimad Ramana Maharshi, composed in Sanskrit in AryaGita meter, are indeed Upaniṣadic gems.

सर्वं श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु

Back to Arunachala Stuti Panchakam https://vedantalearning.blogspot.com/2026/01/sri-arunachala-stuti-panchakam-summary.html?m=1