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कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः करमध्ये सरस्वती ।

karāgre vasate lakṣmiḥ karamadhye sarasvati ।

करमूले तु गोविन्दः प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ॥

karamūle tu govindaḥ prabhāte karadarśanam ॥

 

English Meaning

At the tip of the hand (i.e., top part of the palm) dwells Devi Lakshmi. In the middle of the palm dwells Devi Saraswati. At the base of the palm dwells śri Govinda. Therefore, one should Look at one's hands (palms) early in the morning and contemplate on them.

 

पदच्छेदः padacchedaḥ

कराग्रे, वसते, लक्ष्मीः, करमध्ये, सरस्वती, करमूले, तु, गोविन्दः, प्रभाते, करदर्शनम्

karāgre, vasate, lakṣmiḥ, karamadhye, sarasvati, karamūle, tu, govindaḥ, prabhāte, karadarśanam

 

अन्वयः anvayaḥ

लक्ष्मीः कराग्रे वसते । सरस्वती करमध्ये ।

गोविन्दः तु करमूले । प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ।

karāgre vasate lakṣmiḥ karamadhye sarasvati ।

karamūle tu govindaḥ prabhāte karadarśanam ॥

 

पदार्थः padārthaḥ

कराग्रे karāgre = In the front (tips) of the hands (palms)

लक्ष्मीः lakṣmīḥ = Devi Lakshmi

वसते vasate = resides  

करमध्ये karamadhye = In the center of the hands (palms)  

सरस्वती sarasvatī = Devi Saraswati

करमूले karamūle = At the base (corners) of the hands (palms)

तु tu = indeed

गोविन्दः govindaḥ = Bhagavan Govinda (Krishna)

प्रभाते prabhāte = at early morning

करदर्शनम्  karadarśanam = (one should) see the palms (to contemplate on the divine)

 

Significance of the Shloka

We do most of the everyday tasks with our hands. They are the most important tools (karmendriyas) we have.

 

The same hands can be used to do good or do bad. For example, we can use our hands to donate. Or use our hands to steal. So, our hands are our practical application of Dharma or Adharma.

 

This shloka teaches us that each morning we must look at our palms as instruments of action. We do this by remembering that Lakshmi - the devi of wealth, Sarasvati - the devi of knowledge, and Govinda - the deva who grants moksha, manifest themselves in different parts of our palms. We then fold our palms in respect to these powers and prepare to do the best actions throughout the day. This is done because a positive vision can lead to positive actions.

 

Let us chant this Shloka every morning when we wake up and remember to begin our day with a positive mindset which will lead us to perform good actions all day.

 

Story - The Villager’s Dream

There once lived a man in a village, who was very poor. He would scavenge for food, sometimes eating the leaves off the trees.

 

One day he got a pot of milk. Though he was hungry, he did not drink the milk right away. Instead, he took the pot to his hut and hung it from the ceiling.

 

The poor man, gazing at the pot lovingly, started to daydream. “I will take this pot of milk to the market and sell it. I will get a lot of money for it. Using that money, I will buy a pair of goats. When the goats have kids, maybe ten of them, I will sell them to a rich man. Then, with all that money, I will buy two cows, large and hefty. My beautiful cows with skin as smooth as silk will give me many calves and plenty of milk. I will then open a shop to sell milk, yogurt, butter, paneer and ice-cream. With all the money, I will get into a business selling precious stones. Then, I will make a beautiful necklace with rubies and diamonds and take it to the king. The king will buy them for his queen.”

 

The daydream continued, “The king will be happy and give his only daughter’s hand in marriage to me. We will live in a big house and have children. I will care for my children well and play with them. But sometimes, they may become very noisy and disturb me. If that happens, I will shoo them away.”

 

Imagining himself shooing away the kids, he swung his arms hard and hit the pot of milk, which fell to the ground. The crash woke the man up from his daydream. He saw the broken pot and the spilled milk and started weeping. He was back to square one. Once again, he had nothing to eat.

The villager had spent all his time daydreaming instead of drinking the milk and working hard toward his goals. He forgot that hard work is necessary to achieve the desired outcomes.

 

This prayer reminds us that our life is in our hands. Have faith in our abilities. Work towards what we desire and help and serve others. Our hands are the most important tool to achieve this goal. Use them wisely. Remind yourself every morning about the importance and divinity of your hands.