Hymn to the Lord
Dakshinamurti
A Commentary by
Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao
Translator’s Note
Late Shri Yellamraju Srinivasa Rao was born in Andhra Pradesh, India on the 19th of July, 1927. He worked as a Lecturer and Head of the department of Telugu in several government colleges. He retired from service voluntarily in 1982 and dedicated the rest of his life to the study and teaching of Advaita Vedanta. Shri Srinivasa Rao passed away on the 19th of Dec, 2015. Shri Y.S Rao was a staunch practitioner and renowned teacher of Advaita Vedanta. He made Shri Shankara Bhagavatpada’s clarion call for Advaita his own, and tirelessly explained the fundamental principles and nuances of the Advaita doctrine to his students, taught them how to study and practice Advaita, encouraged them to stay fully committed to the teaching, and challenged them to make their Advaitic understanding an every-day experience. Shri Y.S. Rao left behind, as part of his legacy to the world, several Advaita texts in Telugu and Sanskrit. I chose to translate Shri Y.S. Rao’s commentary on the Hymn to Dakshinamurti, because it is a crest jewel amongst Shankara’s hymns, and Shri Y.S Rao does full justice to this treasure by providing a panoramic and in-depth vision of the profound Advaitic insights buried in it through his commentary. Shri Y.S Rao titled the original Telugu version Dakshinamurti Pradakshina, which translates literally into “Circumambulating the Lord Dakshinamurti.” He explains in the Author’s Preface that he chose this title for his book because the hymn starts with Lord Dakshinamurti (Supreme Guru/Supreme Self), and ends with Dakshinamurti. The translation from Telugu to English is sometimes literal, sometimes interpretative, but, at all times, effort has been made to make sure it is accurate. To throw a bridge across the barrier of language, I had to make some painful, but conscientious decisions to slightly drift from the narrative Telugu idiom and style of Shri Y.S Rao. I have, however, taken extreme care not to violate the doctrine that Shri Y.S Rao so lucidly explains. I reworded some sentences occasionally for conciseness, added a word or a sentence occasionally to remove ambiguity and ensure clarity, and slightly rearranged some paragraphs to improve the overall flow. If any errors have crept into the translation because of this process, I offer my sincere apologies. These errors are entirely my responsibility and may not be attributed to Shri Yellamraju Srinivas Rao or his original Telugu text. I hope I have succeeded in presenting an insightful and joyful reading of Shri. Y.S Rao’s insightful commentary on one of Shankara’s greatest works to the modern readers in the West and the East.
Padma Neppalli Fremont, CA, US March 2023
Key to Transliteration
| Letters | Sound Like | Sanskrit Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | o in come | amsa |
| A | a in calm | atma, avidyA |
| i | i in gift | aAsti |
| I | ee in feel | Ishwara |
| u | u in full | duddhi |
| U | oo in spoon | pUrna |
| ai | ai in tail | dvaita |
| c or ch | ch in church | cit, sancita, chAndogya |
| d | soft as in French | dama, nididhyAsa |
| N | Retroflex consonant | prANa, pramANa |
| Sh | sh in shut | anuShThAna |
| t | soft as in French | karta, nitya |
| th | th in thumb | mithya |
| Th | Retroflex consonant | anuShThAna |
| jn | Hard gy in English | jnana |
Note: The letter “s” is added to the end of the Sanskrit terms to indicate plural. It is preceded by a hyphen (-) to avoid confusion as being part of the Sanskrit word.