Can I list all Your virtues?

The Shloka

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असित गिरि समं स्यात् ।

कज्जलम् सिन्धु पात्रे ।

सुरतरुवर शाखा लेखनी पत्रम् उर्वी ।

लिखति यदि गृहित्वा शारदा सर्वकालं ।

तदपि तव गुणानां ईश पारं न याति ॥

———

asita giri samaṁ syāt kajjalaṁ sindhu pātre surataruvara śākhā lekhanī patram urvī।

likhati yadi gṛhītvā śāradā sarvakālaṁ tadapi tava guṇānāṁ īśa pāraṁ na yāti॥

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Meaning / Summary

The shloka emphasizes the limitless and transcendental nature of the divine. It highlights the devotion and the inability to fully comprehend the divine attributes through any means of expression, no matter how grand.

If the ink were a mountain of blackness, the paper the ocean, the pen a branch from a heavenly tree, and Goddess Saraswati wrote for eternity, even then, the limits of your virtues, O Lord, could not be reached.

This shloka describes the immeasurable virtues of the divine, stating that even with infinite resources and time, it’s impossible to fully describe them.

This shloka is a hymn praising the boundless virtues of a deity (typically Lord Shiva or Vishnu, depending on the tradition). It uses hyperbole to emphasize the impossibility of fully describing the Lord’s qualities. The poet imagines a scenario where the ink is as vast as a black mountain, the writing surface is the entire ocean, the pen is a branch from a wish-fulfilling tree, and the writer is Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, writing continuously. Despite all these extraordinary conditions, the poet asserts that even then, the virtues of the Lord remain immeasurable and beyond complete description.

Sentence - 1

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असित गिरि समं स्यात् कज्जलम्

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Meaning

Let the kohl (or black pigment/ink) be equal to a black mountain.

Meaning of Words

असित	asita
Black Dark; also refers to a mountain of black color or made of black stone.
गिरि	giri	Mountain
समं	samaṁ	Equal to
स्यात्	syāt	Let it be
कज्जलम्	kajjalam
Kohl Ink or black pigment, traditionally used for writing or drawing, especially eyeliner.

Sentence - 2

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सिन्धु पात्रे सुरतरुवर शाखा लेखनी पत्रम् उर्वी ।

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Meaning

Let the ocean be the inkpot, the branch of a celestial tree be the pen, and the Earth be the paper.

Meaning of Words

सिन्धु	sindhu	Ocean
पात्रे	pātre
In a vessel or container Refers to a receptacle or inkpot.
सुरतरुवर	surataruvara	Celestial, divine
शाखा	śākhā	Branch
लेखनी	lekhanī	Pen
पत्रम्	patram	Paper
उर्वी	urvī	Earth

Sentence - 3

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लिखति यदि गृहित्वा शारदा सर्वकालं

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Meaning

If Sharada (Goddess Saraswati) takes and writes for all time,

Meaning of Words

लिखति	likhati	Writes
यदि	yadi	If
गृहित्वा	gṛhītvā	Having taken Having accepted; taking hold of.
शारदा	śāradā
Sharada Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom, and learning.
सर्वकालं	sarvakālaṁ	All time For eternity; always.

Sentence - 4

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तदपि तव गुणानां ईश पारं न याति

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Meaning

Even then, O Lord, the limit of your virtues is not reached.

Meaning of Words

तदपि	tadapi	Even then
तव	tava	Your
गुणानां	guṇānāṁ	Of the virtues Qualities; good attributes.
ईश	īśa	O Lord
पारं	pāraṁ	Limit The end; boundary.
न	na	Not
याति	yāti	Reaches

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