Upsarghar stotra
Intent
- To praise Parshvanath Bhagwan, reflect on his qualities, and ask for bodhi (right spiritual understanding / awakening), not merely worldly relief.
- The stotra moves from protection from upasarga (affliction), through the fruit of reverence, to samyaktva (right faith) and finally the request for bodhi in every birth.
- My working interpretation: Parshvanath Bhagwan is an alamban (आलंबन), a support for directing attention toward the qualities of a Jina : equanimity, freedom from attachment and aversion, fearlessness, and liberation from karma. The story of his meditation under attack can make these qualities vivid and memorable.
- This is not the same as believing that the Jina intervenes like a creator God. In Jain doctrine, a Tirthankar after liberation does not create outcomes or personally rearrange another soul's karma. The Jina is a model, teacher, and object of reverence; the soul's own effort and karmic conditions remain central.
- Devotional traditions also associate Parshvanath with attendant deities such as Dharanendra and Padmavati, and some interpretations read the first pasam as Parshva Yaksha. Their protective assistance belongs to the tradition's devotional account.
- Personal aim while reciting: use devotion to become more attentive, less reactive, and more oriented toward right understanding and conduct. Do not treat the stotra as a guarantee that illness, danger, or misfortune will be removed.
Stotra
उवसग्गहरं पासं,
पासं वंदामि कम्मघणमुक्कं।
विसहर-विसनिन्नासं,
मंगल-कल्लाण-आवासं।।
विसहर-फुलिंग-मंतं,
कंठे धारेइ, जो सया मणुओ।
तस्स गह-रोग-मारी,
दुट्ठजरा जंति उवसामं।।
चिट्ठउ दूरे मंतो,
तुज्झ पणामो वि बहुफलो होइ।
नरतिरिएसु वि जीवा,
पावंति न दुक्ख-दोहग्गं।।
तुह सम्मत्ते लद्धे,
चिंतामणि-कप्पपायवब्भहिए।
पावंति अविग्घेणं,
जीवा अयरामरं ठाणं।।
इय संथुओ महायस!
भत्तिब्भर निब्भरेण हियएण।
ता देव! दिज्ज बोहिं,
भवे भवे पास जिणचंद।।
Stotra with meaning
उवसग्गहरं पासं,
Simple meaning
मैं उपसर्गों (कष्टों और बाधाओं) का नाश करने वाले पार्श्वनाथ प्रभु को वंदन करता हूँ।
I bow to Lord Parshvanath, who removes obstacles and sufferings.
Word breakdown
- Uvasagga (उवसग्ग; Sanskrit upasarga, उपसर्ग): affliction, obstruction, assault, or distress encountered by a being; in Jain usage, an external disturbance that obstructs or troubles someone.
- Haram (हरं; from Sanskrit root √hr, हृ, “to take away/remove”): remover
- Pasam (पासं; Pasa / Parshva): commonly understood here as Parshvanath; some commentaries read the first occurrence as Parshva Yaksha.
Meaning: I bow to Parshvanath, the remover of afflictions.
Nuance: “Remover” is devotional praise; it need not mean that every external problem is guaranteed to disappear.
पासं वंदामि कम्मघणमुक्कं।
Simple Meaning
मैं उन प्रभु को नमस्कार करता हूँ जो कर्मों के घने बंधनों से मुक्त हैं।
I bow to the Lord who is free from the heavy bondage of karma.
Word breakdown
- Pasam (पासं): Parshvanath Bhagwan;
- Vandami (वंदामि; Sanskrit vandami, वन्दामि; root √vand, वन्द् + आमि meaning I): I bow to, pay homage to, revere.
- Kamma (कम्म; Sanskrit karma, कर्म): karma.
- Ghana (घण; Sanskrit ghana, घन): dense, thick, compact, massive.
- Mukkam (मुक्कं; Sanskrit mukta, मुक्त): released, freed, liberated.
Meaning: I bow to Parshvanath, who is free from the dense mass of karma.
Nuance: The line praises the Jina's complete freedom from karma. It should not be paraphrased as “the Jina automatically removes all karma from devotees.”
विसहर-विसनिन्नासं,
Simple Meaning
जो विष और विष से उत्पन्न संकटों का नाश करते हैं।
He destroys poison and the troubles caused by poison.
Word breakdown
- Visa (विस; Sanskrit visha, विष): poison, venom.
- Hara (हर; from √hr, हृ): remover, dispeller. Visahara becomes poison-remover
- Ninnasam (निन्नासं; related to Sanskrit nir-nasha / vinasha, नाश): destruction, eradication, removal.
- Visa-ninnasam (विसनिन्नासं): destroyer of poison
Meaning: The remover and destroyer of poison.
Why poison?
Parshvanath Bhagwan's traditional story-cycle includes a serpent, Kamatha's attack, and protection by Dharanendra and Padmavati who were serpants saved by Parshvanath Bhagwan when he was a young prince.
Commentaries also interpret poison as a metaphor for harmful inner states such as anger, pride, deceit, and greed.
मंगल-कल्लाण-आवासं।।
Simple Meaning
जो मंगल और कल्याण के निवास स्थान हैं।
He is the abode of auspiciousness and welfare.
Word breakdown
- Mangala (मंगल): auspiciousness, good fortune, what is conducive to well-being.
- Kallana (कल्लाण; Sanskrit kalyana, कल्याण): welfare, benefit, spiritual good, auspicious well-being.
- Avasam (आवासं; Sanskrit avasa / avasatha related to dwelling): abode, dwelling, seat.
Meaning: The abode of auspiciousness and welfare.
विसहर-फुलिंग-मंतं,
Simple Meaning
विष का नाश करने वाला यह प्रभावशाली मंत्र।
This powerful mantra destroys poison.
Word breakdown
- Visahara (विसहर): poison-removing / poison-dispelling.
- Phuling (फुलिंग; often explained as sphulinga, स्फुलिंग): spark, tiny flame, spark-like force.
- Mantam (मंतं; Sanskrit mantra, मन्त्र): mantra, sacred formula or recited utterance.
Meaning: The poison-dispelling, spark-like mantra.
Nuance: Phuling is commonly explained through the image of a spark.
कंठे धारेइ, जो सया मणुओ।
Simple Meaning
जो मनुष्य इस मंत्र को सदा अपने कंठ में धारण (स्मरण/जप) करता है।
Whoever always holds this mantra in his throat, reciting and remembering it.
Word breakdown
- Kanthe (कंठे; Sanskrit kantha, कण्ठ): at/in the throat.
- Dharei (धारेइ; Sanskrit dharayati / dharati, धारयति / धरति; root √dhr, धृ): holds, bears, keeps, retains.
- Jo (जो; Sanskrit yah, यः): whoever / the one who.
- Saya (सया; commonly understood as sada, सदा): always, continually.
- Manuo (मणुओ; Sanskrit manushya, मनुष्य): human being / person.
Meaning: Whoever continually holds this mantra at the throat.
तस्स गह-रोग-मारी,
Simple Meaning
उसके ग्रहदोष, रोग और महामारियाँ।
His planetary afflictions, diseases, and epidemics.
Word breakdown
- Tassa (तस्स; Sanskrit tasya, तस्य): for that person.
- Gaha (गह; Sanskrit graha, ग्रह): a planet or ग्रह-related influence; in traditional usage, an affliction attributed to a planetary force.
- Roga (रोग): disease, illness.
- Mari (मारी): epidemic, pestilence, widespread disease or deadly affliction.
Meaning: For that person, planetary afflictions, disease, and epidemics...
दुट्ठजरा जंति उवसामं।।
Simple Meaning
तथा अन्य कष्ट शांत हो जाते हैं।
And other sufferings become pacified.
Word breakdown
- Duttha (दुट्ठ; Sanskrit dushta, दुष्ट): fierce, harmful, severe, bad.
- Jara (जरा ): ageing as in opposite of Ajar or jwar as in fever?; in this compound and traditional translations, severe fever or harsh affliction is also given as a reading. The exact compound interpretation should be checked against the commentary followed.
- Janti (जंति; Sanskrit yanti, यान्ति): go, become, reach.
- Uvasamam (उवसामं; Sanskrit upashama, उपशम): calming, pacification, subsiding.
Meaning: ...and severe afflictions subside.
Nuance: Some translations take dutthajara as severe fever; others retain the sense of harsh ageing or affliction. Keep the translation used in your lineage/commentary consistent rather than pretending this lexical point is completely settled.
चिट्ठउ दूरे मंतो,
Simple Meaning
मंत्र की शक्ति की बात तो दूर रहे।
Let alone the power of the mantra itself.
Word breakdown
- Chitthau (चिट्ठउ; Sanskrit tisthatu, तिष्ठतु): let it remain, let it stand.
- Dure (दूरे; Sanskrit dure, दूरे): far away, aside.
- Manto (मंतो; Sanskrit mantra, मन्त्र): mantra.
Meaning: Let the mantra itself stand aside / let the mantra be put to one side.
Nuance: This is a rhetorical turn: the poet says that even apart from the mantra's claimed power, bowing to the Jina has great fruit. It does not necessarily mean the mantra is worthless, the intent is to highlight the power of bowing and doing anumodna of jin.
तुज्झ पणामो वि बहुफलो होइ।
Simple Meaning
केवल आपको किया गया प्रणाम भी बहुत फलदायी होता है।
Even bowing to you alone brings great benefits.
Word breakdown
- Tujjha (तुज्झ; Sanskrit tubhya / tava, तुभ्य / तव): to you / your.
- Panamo (पणामो; Sanskrit pranama, प्रणाम): bowing, salutation, reverential homage.
- Vi (वि; Sanskrit api, अपि): even, also.
- Bahu (बहु): much, many, abundant.
- Phalo (फलो; Sanskrit phala, फल): fruit, result, benefit.
- Hoi (होइ; Sanskrit bhavati, भवति): becomes, is.
Meaning: Even a bow to you is highly fruitful.
नरतिरिएसु वि जीवा,
Simple Meaning
मनुष्य और तिर्यंच योनि के जीव भी।
Beings in human and tiryanch forms as well.
Word breakdown
- Nara (नर): human.
- Tirie(su) (तिरिएसु; Sanskrit tiryak, तिर्यक्): animals / non-human mobile beings; here, human and animal realms.
- Vi (वि / अपि): even, also.
- Jiva (जीवा; Sanskrit jiva, जीव): living beings / souls.
Meaning: Even beings in human and tiryanch forms...
पावंति न दुक्ख-दोहग्गं।।
Simple Meaning
दुःख और दुर्भाग्य को प्राप्त नहीं होते।
Do not suffer misery and misfortune.
Word breakdown
- Pavanti (पावंति; Sanskrit prapnuvanti / prapnanti, प्राप्नुवन्ति): attain, experience, come to.
- Na (न): not.
- Dukkha (दुक्ख; Sanskrit duhkha, दुःख): suffering, pain.
- Dohaggam (दोहग्गं; related to Sanskrit durbhagya, दुर्भाग्य): misfortune, wretchedness, ill fate.
Meaning: ...do not come to suffering and misfortune.
Nuance: Read this as the hymn's devotional assurance, not a literal empirical guarantee that a devotee will never suffer.
तुह सम्मत्ते लद्धे,
Simple Meaning
आपके सम्यक्त्व को प्राप्त कर लेने पर।
Upon attaining right faith in you.
Word breakdown
- Tuha (तुह; Sanskrit tava, तव): your / of you.
- Sammatte (सम्मत्ते; Sanskrit samyaktva, सम्यक्त्व): right faith, right view, or right orientation toward reality.
- Laddhe (लद्धे; Sanskrit labdhe, लब्धे): when gained / on attaining.
Meaning: When your samyaktva is attained or gained.
Nuance: “Attaining your samyaktva” should not be read as acquiring the Tirthankar's personal state. It means attaining the right faith / right view taught and embodied by the Jina. Samyaktva is a turning point in the soul's orientation, not merely admiration for a revered person.
चिंतामणि-कप्पपायवब्भहिए।
Simple Meaning
जो चिंतामणि और कल्पवृक्ष से भी बढ़कर है।
Which is greater than a wish-fulfilling gem or celestial tree.
Word breakdown
- Chintamani (चिंतामणि): a legendary wish-fulfilling jewel.
- Kappapayava (कप्प; Sanskrit kalpa, कल्प | पायव; Sanskrit pादप / पादप, tree): here, kalpvriksh, a celestial or wish-granting tree.
- Abbhahie (अब्भहिए; usually interpreted as abhyadhika, अभ्यधिक): superior to, exceeding, greater than.
Meaning: Right faith, which is greater than the wish-fulfilling jewel and celestial tree.
Nuance: The comparison ranks spiritual orientation above objects that fulfil worldly wishes. The verse points beyond material fulfilment.
पावंति अविग्घेणं,
Simple Meaning
जीव बिना किसी बाधा के प्राप्त कर लेते हैं।
Souls attain without any obstacles.
Word breakdown
- Pavanti (पावंति): attain, reach.
- Avigghenam (अविग्घेणं; Sanskrit avighnena, अविघ्नेन): without obstruction, without impediment.
Meaning: Beings attain without obstruction...
जीवा अयरामरं ठाणं।।
Simple Meaning
अमर और शाश्वत मोक्ष पद को।
The eternal and immortal state of liberation.
Word breakdown
- Jiva (जीवा): souls / living beings.
- Ayara-maram (अयरामरं; Sanskrit ajara-amara, अजर-अमर): free from ageing and death; ageless and deathless.
- Thanam (ठाणं; Sanskrit sthana, स्थान): state, place, condition.
Meaning: ...the ageless and deathless state.
Jain doctrinal note: In this context, the state is understood as liberation (moksha), not an immortal body or an endless worldly life. The path to it is through right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct.
इय संथुओ महायस!
Simple Meaning
हे महान यश वाले प्रभु! इस प्रकार आपकी स्तुति की गई है।
O greatly glorious Lord! Thus your praise is sung.
Word breakdown
- Iya (इय; Sanskrit evam, एवम्): thus, in this way.
- Santhuo (संथुओ; Sanskrit samstuta, संस्तुत): praised, lauded, eulogised.
- Mahayasa (महायस; Sanskrit mahayashas, महायशस्): of great fame / great glory.
Meaning: Thus praised, O greatly glorious one!
भत्तिब्भर निब्भरेण हियएण।
Simple Meaning
पूर्ण भक्ति से भरे हुए हृदय द्वारा।
With a heart completely filled with devotion.
Word breakdown
- BhattiBBhar (भत्ति; Sanskrit bhakti, भक्ति | ब्भर Full ): Full of devotion, reverent attachment or dedication.
- Bibbhara (निब्भर | Overflowing ): overflowing with it.
- Hiyaena (हियएण; Sanskrit hridayena, हृदयेन): with the heart.
Meaning: With a heart full with, infact overflowing with devotion.
Nuance: In Jain terms, devotion is most spiritually useful when it supports right view and conduct rather than intensifying possessiveness, fear, bargaining, or dependence on supernatural rescue.
ता देव! दिज्ज बोहिं,
Simple Meaning
इसलिए हे देव! मुझे बोधि (आध्यात्मिक जागृति) प्रदान करें।
Therefore, O Lord, grant me Bodhi (spiritual enlightenment).
Word breakdown
- Ta (ता; Sanskrit tatah, ततः): therefore, then.
- Deva (देव): revered one / divine being, a respectful address to the Jina.
- Dijja (दिज्ज; Sanskrit dadatu / diyatam, ददातु / दीयताम्): may you give / grant.
- Bohim (बोहिं; Sanskrit bodhi, बोधि): awakening, spiritual understanding, insight; in Jain devotional usage, often the attainment of right faith and the conditions leading toward liberation.
Meaning: Therefore, O revered Lord, may I attain bodhi.
Doctrinal nuance: The wording is a prayer. In strict Jain metaphysics, a liberated Jina does not act as a creator or bestow liberation by overriding the soul's own nature and effort. The prayer can be understood as expressing aspiration, seeking the Jina's teaching as an alamban, and wishing for the causes of bodhi to arise.
भवे भवे पास जिणचंद।।
Simple Meaning
हे पार्श्व जिनचन्द्र! हर जन्म में मुझे आपका सान्निध्य मिले।
O Lord Parshva Jinchandra! May I remain close to you in every birth.
Word breakdown
- Bhave bhave (भवे भवे; Sanskrit bhave bhave, भवे भवे): in each existence / birth after birth.
- Pasa (पास): Parshva, Parshvanath Bhagwan .
- Jinachanda (जिणचंद; Sanskrit Jinachandra, जिनचन्द्र): “Moon among the Jinas”; a poetic honorific comparing the Jina to the moon in radiance and serenity.
Meaning: In every birth, O Parshva, Moon among the Jinas, may I attain bodhi.
Nuance: The final request is for bodhi birth after birth, not merely continued proximity to Parshvanath as a person. It can be read as the aspiration to encounter, remember, and follow the path of the Jinas until liberation.
Story references
- The rescued snakes: a widely told account says Parshvanath, while still a prince or ascetic depending on the version, noticed two snakes trapped in a log being burned as part of Kamatha's austerities and had them released. They later took birth as Dharanendra and Padmavati. This story explains why serpent imagery and protective deities are closely associated with Parshvanath; it is a traditional narrative, not a historical claim independently established by the hymn itself.
- Parshvanath, Kamatha, and the storm: Jain narrative tradition tells that Kamatha, an adversary from an earlier life, later became a powerful being and subjected Parshvanath Bhagwan, while he was in meditation, to a severe storm and other disturbances. Parshvanath Bhagwan remained equanimous. Dharanendra, traditionally linked to the male serpent saved by Parshvanath in an earlier birth, sheltered him; Padmavati is also associated with this protective episode in many tellings. Details vary by text and tradition.
- Why is poison referred so much in the stotra? visahara is read as poison-remover / one associated with removing poison, and visa-ninnasa means destruction or removal of poison. The wording can refer to literal venom and its dangers, while devotional commentaries also read poison symbolically as harmful passions or defilements. The Kamatha-serpent-storm cycle makes the literal serpent imagery especially resonant. The text itself does not spell out every symbolic layer, so keep the literal meaning and interpretive meaning distinct.
- The two “pasam” words: the first verse says uvasaggaharam pasam, pasam vandami... Some traditional commentaries distinguish the first Pasam as Parshva Yaksha / attendant deity and the second as Parshvanath Tirthankar. Other readings take both as referring to Parshvanath or construe the syntax differently. The Prakrit line alone is not enough to claim one interpretation is the only possible one.
- Attribution: the stotra is traditionally attributed to Acharya Bhadrabahu. The exact historical date and authorship are not securely established by the verses alone; describe the attribution as traditional.
How it works
What can be said with confidence:
Recitation can focus attention, evoke reverence, rehearse a chosen ideal, and steady the mind. Understanding the words can make the practice less mechanical and can repeatedly bring the mind back to the qualities being praised.
Jain karmic lens:
Intention, passions (kashaya), attachment, aversion, and conduct matter. A devotional act performed with humility and reduced passions may support auspicious bhava leading to nirjara and punya, and can contribute to spiritual progress. The karmic result depends on the actual inner state and conduct, not merely on the sound of the words or the number of repetitions.
Nirjara is not automatic:
Do not assume every recitation sheds karma. In Jain analysis, nirjara is the shedding of bound karma; austerity, restraint, awareness, and the relevant inner disposition matter. Bhakti may support these, but bhakti and nirjara are not interchangeable terms.
Punya is not a universal payment token:
Punya can condition pleasant experiences and supportive circumstances, but it does not simply purchase liberation or mechanically cancel any chosen karma. Liberation requires the destruction of the relevant karmas through the path of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. Auspicious karma is still karma.
How to understand claims of protection:
The verses promise relief from poison, planetary afflictions, disease, epidemics, and harsh fever in the language of the hymn and its devotional tradition. These are religious claims, not medically verified guarantees. Recitation should not replace medical care or practical action.
A balanced working model:
The stotra gives an alamban for remembering the Jina's qualities; that remembrance may shape attention, emotion, intention, and conduct. Those inner and behavioural changes can support the Jain path. Traditional belief may additionally affirm help from attendant deities, but the exact metaphysical mechanism should be labelled as traditional belief unless grounded in a specific source.