Śrī-gaṇeśa-durga-stotram (श्रीगणेशदुर्गस्तोत्रम्)

Source: sanskritdocuments.org

Prologue:

This stotram is for all devotees of Lord Gaṇeśa. No special initiation is required. Just faith in Him will suffice. He shall never fail to come to the rescue of His devotees and will offer His protection at all times. He shall dispel all types of obstacles and remove all the difficulties faced by His sincere devotees. One must repeat this stotram three times a day, at dawn, noon and dusk, in order to obtain His complete grace.

prācyāṃ rakṣatu herambaśc-āgneyyāṃ agni-tejasaḥ ।

yāmyāṃ lambodaro rakṣe-nairṛtyāṃ pārvatī-sutaḥ ॥ 1 ॥

प्राच्यां रक्षतु हेरम्बश्चाग्नेय्यां अग्नितेजसः ।

याम्यां लम्बोदरो रक्षेनैरृत्यां पार्वतीसुतः ॥ १ ॥

Complete protection from the Eastern direction is offered by the grace of the Divine Lord Heramba, an aspect of Lord Gaṇeśa, who represents the five cosmic acts of Creation, Preservation, Destruction, Annihilation and Resurrection. The South Eastern direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Agnitejasa, an attribute of Lord Gaṇeśa, signifying His resplendent energy resembling the luster of fire. The Southern direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Lambodara, an aspect of Lord Gaṇeśa, whose pot-bellied countenance signifies His ability to carry the entire Creation in His belly. The South Western direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Gaṇeśa, described as Pārvatī-suta, the son of the Divine Mother Pārvatī.

pratīcyāṃ vakratuṇḍastu vāyavyāṃ varadaḥ prabhuḥ ।

udīcyāṃ gaṇapaḥ pātu īśānyāṃ īśa-nandanaḥ ॥ 2 ॥

प्रतीच्यां वक्रतुण्डस्तु वायव्यां वरदः प्रभुः ।

उदीच्यां गणपः पातु ईशान्यां ईशनन्दनः ॥ २ ॥

The western direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Vakratuṇḍa, an aspect of Lord Gaṇeśa, signifying His flexibility to accept all forms of prayers and devotion as well as His adaptability to offer solutions to alleviate the distress of His devotees. The North Western direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Varada, an attribute ascribed to Lord Gaṇeśa, the One who never fails to grant the wishes of His devotees and fulfill all their cherished desires! The Northern direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Gaṇapa, an attribute of Lord Gaṇeśa, signifying His leadership of the entire Creation. The North Eastern direction is always protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Īśa-nandana, the son of Lord Śiva.

ūrdhvaṃ rakṣed-dhūmra-varṇo hy-adhastāt-pāpa-nāśanaḥ ।

evaṃ daśa diśo rakṣet-sumukho vighnanāyakaḥ ।

herambasya durgam-idaṃ trikālaṃ yaḥ paṭhen-naraḥ ।

jvare ca saṅkaṭe ghore saṅgrāme mucyate bhayāt ॥ 3 ॥

ऊर्ध्वं रक्षेद्धूम्रवर्णो ह्यधस्तात्पापनाशनः ।

एवं दश दिशो रक्षेत्सुमुखो विघ्ननायकः ।

हेरम्बस्य दुर्गमिदं त्रिकालं यः पठेन्नरः ।

ज्वरे च सङ्कटे घोरे सङ्ग्रामे मुच्यते भयात् ॥ ३ ॥

The upper direction is protected by the grace of the dark-complexioned Divine Lord Dhūmra-varṇa, an attribute and aspect of Lord Gaṇeśa, signifying the infinite dark space and matter. The lower direction is protected by the grace of the Divine Lord Pāpa-nāśana, an attribute of Lord Gaṇeśa, signifying His grace to remove all sins and bad karmas of His devotees. Protection from all the ten directions is offered by the grace of the most pleasing Lord Vighna-nāyaka, an attribute of Lord Gaṇeśa, signifying His dominance over all kinds of obstacles and impediments obstructing one’s growth, progress and rise in life on all fronts, material and spiritual. The Divine Lord Heramba, will surely destroy all types of miseries, misfortune and obstacles affecting the sincere devotees of Lord Gaṇeśa.

Those who recite this stotram three times a day, at dawn, noon and dusk, shall overcome all types of miseries, misfortune, disease and even extreme dangers such as bloody wars as well as all types of bad karma. Such a devotee has absolutely nothing to fear from and shall always be blessed with prosperity, peace and happiness, by the grace of Lord Gaṇeśa.

This article is written by Krishna Vallapareddy and can be contacted at krishna@manblunder.com