Prostrations to the divine couple Shiva and Shivaa, who are endowed with ever new and eternal youth, whose bodies are in a mutual embrace, clinging on to each other and supporting one another; Prostrations to the daughter of Himavan and the one who has bull as His sign. Saluatations again and again to Lord Shankara and Parvati devi. (1)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shrii Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who rejoice the in the sport of mystic union, who bestow boons to fulfil the desires of their devotees, and whose feet are worshipped by Lord Narayana himself. I bow again and again to Parvati-Devi and Lord Shiva. (2)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shrii Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who has a bull as their vehicle, who is worshipped by Lord brahma, Lord Vishnu and Indra, and whose body is smeared with sandalwood paste and vibhuti (ash). I bow again and again to Parvati-Devii and Lord Shiva. (3)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who are the controllers and Lord of the Universe, who are ever victorious, who are worshipped by Lord Indra and others. I bow again and again to to Parvati-Devi and Lord Shiva. (4)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who are the supreme medicine to those who are afflicted by the disease of samsara, who rejoice listening to panchakshari and parrot (trishatii calles ambaaL as hriiMkaarapanjarasukhii), and who create, maintain and destroy this Universe. I bow again and again to to Parvati-Devi and Lord Shiva.(5)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who are exceedingly beautiful, whose lotus heart is ever established in the highest (Brahman), and who are the only beneficial ones to all in the innumerable worlds. I bow again and again to Parvati-devi and Lord Shiva. (6)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who destroy the evil effects of Kali, who bear a body with one half famished and skeleton-like and the other half auspicious with a wonderful beauty, and whose abode is mount Kailasa. I bow again and again to to Parvati-Devi and Lord Shiva. (7)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shivaa and Lord Shiva, who dispel the unauspicious, who are unique in all the worlds, whose intellect is sharp, whose is knowledge/memory is well collected and deep, to that Shiva-Parvati I bow again and again. (8)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shiva and Lord Shiva, who has a chariot as their vehicle, whose eyes are Sun, Moon, and Fire, whose lotus face resembles full moon in its beauty, to that Shiva Parvati I bow again and again. (9)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shiva and Lord Shiva, who bear a jaTa (knotted hair), who are devoid of imperfections like old age and death (by this other things like birth, growth, and change are also implied), who are adored by Lord Vishhnu and Lord Brahma, to that Shiva-Parvati I bow again and again. (10)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shiva and Lord Shiva, who have three eyes, who are adorned (or who bear) garlands made of jasmine flowers and bilva leaves, who rule this universe and are endowed with divine qualities like replendence and peace (or who have lordship over these kalyANa guNa-s), to that Shiva Parvati I bow again and again. (11)

Prostrations to the divine couple Shri Shiva and Lord Shiva, who protect and govern the jivas, whose hearts are bound to protect the three worlds (Sthula, Sukshma, and Karana), who are worshipped by all devas and asuras, to that Shiva Parvati I bow again and again. (12)

(phala shruti): Whoever reads these 12 verses on Shiva-Parvati with devotion thrice a day (morning, noon, and evening) will attain all auspicious things to enjoy here for a 100 years and at emancipation attain the Shiva loka.

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ambaaL is fond of sandalwood paste. shrii lalitaa sahasranaamam celebrates HER as chandana drava digdhaangi and shrii miinaakshii asshTottaram praises HER as divya chandana digdhaangii. (back)

parrot denotes veda-s. For instance shrii miinaaxii is seen holding a parrot beacuse of that she is called shukapriya in HER ashhTottaram and

shukadharaaM in the navaratnamaala. It is said that the parrot chants veda-s and sings HER glories. Or we can take it as chanting the hriiM biijaakshaara which is very special for ambaaL in the lines the trishatii naama.

shivam means auspiciousness, they are all auspicious and no wonder they are called ashubhApahAbhyAm. Being the parents of all the worlds and beings, they are the only unique.

The tamil text thiruvAsagam calls the Lord as "aazhnthaganRa nuNNiyane". aazhndu means deep, denotes the depth of knowledge, aganRa means wide and nuNNiya indicates even minute details. It indicates that they (shiva-shakti) know everything, to its ultimate depth, and with all great details. Such range, in all things is possible only for God. The whole Universe is their body, and not even a sparrow falls without the knowledge of our Father-Mother (shiva-shakti), and not an atom moves without their knowledge/will. On the contrary, our knowledge is limited. Knowing our limitations shiva-shakti have made most of the actions of our body as involuntary (like digestion, blood flow) with no knowledge or memory of them, otherwise, probably we will mess it up. But their knowledge is complete and well organized, and they know everything of everything.

There are many references to the comparison of eyes of shiva-shakti to Sun, Moon, and Fire. For instance, the verse:

ahaH suute savyaM tava nayanamarkaatmakatayaa

triyaamaaM vaamaM te sR^ijati rajaniinaayakatayaa .

tR^itiiyaa te dR^iShtirdaradalitahemaambujaruciH

samaadhatte saMdhyaaM divasanishayorantaracariim.h .. 48..

of saundarya lahari, and the verse:

vasishhTha\-kumbhodbhava\-gautamAryamunIndra\-devArchitashekharAya |

chandrArka\-vaishvAnaralochanAya tasmai vakArAya namaH shivAya || 4||

refer to this.

Lalita sahasranAm celebrates ambaaL as vayovasthA vivarjitA and sarvAvasthA vivarjitA. Because they are devoid of these imperfections they are able to bestow that on their devotees as mentioned by jarA dhvAnta ravi prabhA, janma mR^ityu jarA tapta jana vishrAnti dAyinI, bhava rogaghnI, etc.

Abja means lotus, that is born in water (ap + ja). The name abjodbhava refers to lord brahma.

The name janArdana occurs in vishhNu sahasranAma. For this name shrI shankara gives two interpretations:

a) One who destroys those who are wicked - janAn - durjanAn, ardayati - hinasti (destroys).

b) ard also means to beg, to ask - gatau yAcane ca. janaih ardyate - yAcyate - One who is approached by His devotees for whatever they want.

refer to janArdanah

Kanchi paramAcharya in one of the talks remarks that by saying namaH

twice, countless or infinite times is implied. When we say namo namaH

or namaste namaste, we imply that we are doing this again and again,

many many times.

The term vishhamexaNa also comes in ardhanArishhvara stotram (verse 4). ixaNa means eye or look. vishhama means odd or different. It here refers to the three eyes of shiva-shakti svarUpam.

The term vati comes from the root van, one of the meaning of which is to possess or endowed it. It also means that they can endow that on others. shobha has many meanings such as, splendour, brilliance,

lustre, beauty, grace, loveliness, etc. And shAnta is unruffled peace. It is quality of brahman reflecting contentment and fullness (pUrNatvam). Then that phrase can be interpreted as: They have lordship over all these kalyaNa guNa-s. Other possible interpretation is, They rule the universe and are endowed with all these divine qualities.

Probably the term "jagatrayiiraxaNa baddhahR^idbhyaam.h" can be interpreted as: they protect the three bodies (at microcosmic level) by being established/bound in the heart of jIva-s. Or taking hR^ita as "devoid of" , one can say that, they protect the three worlds and at the same time are devoid of any bonds. (any suggestions and corrections are welcome, I apologize for any errors).

Once swami paramaarthaananda said this, "This guy is asking for shataayur. So even when he is 100 he would chant the shloka and ask for another 100. This could be a continuous process. If paramaatma is not going to grant that the shloka is a myth. It's impossible to live forever. So what does this shataayuH mean? It means, O! Lord give me a long life, within that span let me know what is to be known that would lead from mR^ityu to amR^ita. In that way it means an eternal life. In short the prArtana is for AuShprApti dvArA Atama vichArAnukUla prApti, Atma vichArAt GYAna prApti, GYAnAt amR^ita prApti."