लवथवती विक्राळाLavthavti Vikrala

A vast and terrifying presence sways, and the whole chain of universes sways with it.

The most contested line in this aarti. Three published readings exist: the garland of universes trembling at the halahal poison; a garland of planets and constellations on Shankar's neck; or Rudra himself dancing in a fearsome form.

The poison has turned his throat dark, and flames burn in his three eyes.

On his head sits a beautiful young woman: the river Ganga.

'Bala' literally means a girl or a child. Here it means the river Ganga, so the literal sense would mislead completely.

And from there clear water flows down, murmuring.

Glory to the god, glory to the god, glory to Shri Shankar.

We circle the aarti lamp before you, you who are fair as camphor.

'Karpuragaura' is an epithet describing Shiva's complexion as white as camphor, not a statement about camphor being present.

Fair as camphor, guileless, with wide eyes.

'Bhola' is not negative here. It is a settled devotional epithet, 'Bhola Shankar', meaning artless and quick to be pleased.

Parvati occupies half his body, and he wears garlands of flowers.

'Ardhangi' points to the Ardhanarishvara form, in which Shiva and Parvati share one body, rather than merely meaning 'his wife'.

Sacred ash is scattered over him, and his throat is dark blue.

So Shankar shines, doting on Uma.

Most sources read the compound as an epithet of Shiva, 'beloved of Uma'. Some printed texts split it in two, making it an epithet of Uma instead.

Glory to the god, glory to the god, glory to Shri Shankar.

Refrain, same as line 5.

We circle the aarti lamp before you, you who are fair as camphor.

Refrain, same as line 6.

The gods and the demons churned the ocean together.

Out of it, without warning, rose halahal, a poison deadly enough to burn up the whole world.

You drank it down without hesitating.

'Asurpane' literally means 'in the manner of a demon' and is not an insult. It describes the reckless, unhesitating way he gulped the poison down. This is the word here most likely to be mistranslated.

And that is how the name Nilkanth, the blue-throated one, became famous.

Glory to the god, glory to the god, glory to Shri Shankar.

Refrain, same as line 5.

We circle the aarti lamp before you, you who are fair as camphor.

Refrain, same as line 6.

Clothed in tiger skin, wearing the great serpent as an ornament, beautiful, the destroyer of Madana.

'Madanari' means enemy of Madana, that is Kamadeva the god of desire, whom Shiva burned with his third eye.

Five-faced, captivating to the mind, the giver of peace to sages.

He ceaselessly utters the seed-syllable that carries the fruit of a hundred crore repetitions: the name of Rama.

Contested subject. One source makes Shiva the one chanting Rama's name endlessly; another makes the reciter, Ramdas, the one uttering it.

Rama, the ornament of the Raghu line, lives inside Ramdas.

The composer's signature line, the Marathi convention of naming yourself in the closing verse. Sources read lines 21 and 22 as one sentence.

Glory to the god, glory to the god, glory to Shri Shankar.

Refrain, same as line 5.

We circle the aarti lamp before you, you who are fair as camphor.

Refrain, same as line 6.