Samudravasane Devi
Samudravasane Devi
समुद्रवसने देवि पर्वतस्तनमण्डले
विष्णुपत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं पादस्पर्शं क्षमस्वमे
samudravasane devi parvatastanamaṇḍale
viṣṇupatni namastubhyaṃ pādasparśaṃ kṣamasvame
O Goddess who is clothed with the ocean and whose body is adorned by the mountains, wife of Lord Vishnu, I bow to you. Please forgive me for touching you with my feet.
समुद्रवसने samudravasane – Clothed with the ocean. Refers to the Earth Bhūmi who is depicted as wearing the oceans like a garment
देवि devi – O Goddess. Refers to Bhūmi Mother Earth who is worshipped as a Goddess
पर्वतस्तनमण्डले parvatastanamaṇḍale – Whose bosom is adorned by the mountains
विष्णुपत्नी viṣṇupatnī – Wife of Lord Viṣṇu. Refers to Bhūmi as the consort of Lord Viṣṇu
नमः namaḥ – I bow. A gesture of respect and reverence to the Goddess Bhūmi
तुभ्यं tubhyaṃ – To you. Refers to addressing the Goddess directly
पादस्पर्शं pādasparśaṃ – Touching with the feet. pāda means foot and sparśa means touch. Refers to stepping on the ground which is considered disrespectful to Goddess Bhūmi
क्षमस्व kṣamasva – Please forgive. A request for forgiveness
मे me – Me. Refers to the person seeking forgiveness for stepping on the Earth
Description
This verse is a prayer to Bhūmi Devi, the personification of Earth, who is considered the consort of Lord Vishnu. This verse is a respectful address to her, acknowledging her divine status and asking for forgiveness for the unavoidable act of walking on her. Hence this Shloka is often recited when waking up in the morning, just before one’s feet touch the ground, as a way of showing respect to Mother Earth and starting the day with a humble, reverent attitude.
The verse begins with “Samudravasane devi” (O Goddess clothed in oceans) and “Parvatastanamandale” (with mountains as your bosom), painting a vivid, poetic image of the Earth as a divine feminine entity. The prayer then addresses the Earth as “Vishnupatni” (consort of Lord Vishnu), who is the preserver of the entire cosmic order. The verse concludes with “Paadasparsham kshamasvame” (forgive me for touching you with my feet), a humble request for forgiveness from the Goddess for the act of walking upon her.
From a Vedāntic perspective, we discern that the “Goddess” here is Prakṛti (Śakti), the manifesting power of the Absolute. The oceans, mountains, and all the elements are her garment and body, which means that the entire phenomenal universe is her expression. But Prakṛti by herself has no independent existence. She is energized, sustained, and given direction only because of Puruṣa (Śiva/Viṣṇu/Consciousness). The verse poetically captures the truth that what we see including the vast oceans, the immovable mountains, the very Earth, is the living manifestation of Consciousness, not apart from it. Prakṛti (creative power/nature) is the field of names and forms (nāma–rūpa), while Puruṣa (consciousness) is the immutable substratum (sat–cit), pure being-awareness, in which those names and forms appear. To contemplate the Earth as the Goddess wrapped in oceans and adorned with mountains is to recognize that all manifestation is Prakṛti, but inseparably married to Puruṣa. The beauty and variety of the world are nothing but Consciousness appearing as form. Without Consciousness, oceans and mountains would be inert matter; without Prakṛti, Consciousness would remain unexpressed potential.
And this is our direct experience. When we look around us, especially amidst nature, when we really look without thought, without naming, without separating things, something interesting happens. There is only Seeing. Not a seeing of things. And furthere more there is no more a division of seer and seen either. In the absence of this separation of name and form, there is just the direct experience of THAT which is beyond words (mind). As soon as thought enters, it separates the mountain from the ocean from the trees, and from me, and so on, by assigning names to forms. But we don’t experience the name ‘Ocean’. A name is just a symbol, a thought. We experience the totality. Even that is inaccurate, since there is no separate ‘We’ that experiences. There is only Experienc-ING. The inseparability of Puruṣa and Prakṛti.
