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What is Thotaka Ashtakam?

Thotaka Ashtakam (also spelled Totakashtakam or Thotaka Aṣṭakam) is a Sanskrit devotional hymn composed by Totakacharya, one of the foremost disciples of Adi Shankaracharya. It consists of eight verses (aṣṭakam) written in a lyrical meter. The hymn is a tribute to Adi Shankaracharya’s grace and wisdom and expresses the devotee’s deep reverence and humble yearning for the Guru’s blessings. 

This hymn is widely sung in traditional Advaita Vedanta and Shankaracharya lineages during worship, pujas, and Guru shraddha (devotion to the spiritual teacher).

Thotaka refers to Totakacharya, the author of the hymn.

So Thotaka Aṣṭakam means “the eight-verse poem of Totaka.”” 

There’s a traditional story that Totakacharya was not academically gifted but was deeply devoted to his teacher. Adi Shankaracharya, to encourage him, bestowed wisdom upon him. Totakacharya then composed this hymn out of love and gratitude. 

Sample Opening Verse (from Sanskrit)

Here’s the first verse in Sanskrit (devanagari) — this is widely documented in traditional sources:

नयनिरितमानसभूमि: शिरसि प्रचलप्रचलाकशिखः ।

मुरलीध्वनिभिः सुरभिस्त्वरयन्

पशुपीविरहव्यसनं तिरयन् (1).

Each verse of Thotaka Ashtakam praises the Guru (Adi Shankaracharya) by describing his divine attributes and recounting the effect of his grace on the devotee. The central themes are:

 1. Reverence for the Guru

The hymns describe the teacher as the embodiment of supreme wisdom, whose very presence dispels ignorance and suffering.

2. Devotion, Not Scholarship

Totakacharya emphasizes that devotion and grace are greater than mere book knowledge. His own limitations in scholarship did not stop him from receiving the Guru’s blessings — highlighting that true spiritual progress is through devotion and the Guru’s grace.

 3. Inner Transformation

The verses speak of how the Guru transforms the heart and mind, much like how spiritual insight uproots the weeds of ego and delusion.

4. Path of Advaita (Non-Dual Wisdom)

Underlying the devotional exultation is the non-dual philosophy advaita, teaching that the self and the absolute (Brahman) are one, and the Guru reveals this truth. 

In short, the hymn is less about literal concepts and more an expression of bhakti (devotion) and guru-prapatti (surrender to the Guru) — common in Shankaracharya traditions.

Totakashtakam celebrates Adi Shankaracharya’s wisdom and benevolence.

It expresses devotional surrender and the profound transformation that comes from the Guru’s grace.

It teaches that pure devotion and grace are what liberate the mind more than intellectual prowess. L

This hymn is addressed to Adi Śaṅkarācārya by his disciple Śrī Totakācārya, overflowing with gratitude for the Guru’s grace.

Śrī Totakāṣṭakam

(Eight verses in praise of Adi Śaṅkarācārya)

Verse 1

Sanskrit (IAST)

viditākhila-śāstra-sudhā-jala-dhe

mahita-upaniṣat-kathitārtha-nidhe

bhava-bhaya-haraṃ tava suprasādaṃ

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

O Śaṅkara, my revered Guru!

You are an ocean of the nectar of all scriptures,

The very treasury of the truths declared in the Upaniṣads.

Destroyer of the fear of worldly existence,

I seek refuge in your supreme grace.

Verse 2

karuṇā-varuṇālaya pālaya mām

bhava-sāgara-duḥkha-vidūna-hṛdām

racayākhila-darśana-tattva-vidāṃ

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

O ocean of compassion, protect me!

My heart is tormented by the sorrows of worldly life.

You are the knower and revealer of the essence of all philosophies.

O Śaṅkara, my Guru, I take refuge in you.

Verse 3

bhavataḥ pada-yoḥ śaraṇaṃ karavāṇi

na hi me gatir anyā bhavānīśa jāni

anukampayā māṃ kuru deśika me

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

At your sacred feet alone I take shelter,

For I know there is no other refuge for me.

Out of compassion, uplift me, O my Guru.

O Śaṅkara, I surrender unto you.

Verse 4

aviditākhila-śāstra-sudhā-jala-dhe

durita-kṣaya-kāraṇa he karuṇā-nidhe

bhava-bhītaṃ mām uddhara deśika me

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

Though I am ignorant of the ocean of scriptural wisdom,

You are the compassionate one who destroys all sins.

Lift me up, who am terrified of worldly bondage.

O Śaṅkara, my Guru, I seek refuge in you.

Verse 5

na hi śaṅkara te śaraṇāgata-vatsala

bhava-duḥkha-tamohara bhāskara bhāsura

bhava-bhītaṃ mām uddhara deśika me

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

O Śaṅkara, you are ever affectionate to those who surrender to you.

You shine like the sun, dispelling the darkness of worldly sorrow.

Rescue me, who am fearful of samsāra.

O Guru, I take refuge in you.

Verse 6

viditākhila-darśana-tattva-bodha

vicakṣaṇa he karuṇāika-sindho

kuru māṃ tava pāda-saroruha-bhaktaṃ

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

O knower of the essence of all philosophies,

O wise one, ocean of boundless compassion!

Make me a devoted servant of your lotus feet.

O Śaṅkara, I surrender unto you.

Verse 7

bhava-duḥkha-janita-klamaṃ karuṇayā

bhava-bandha-vimocana-sādhu-dayayā

kuru māṃ tava pāda-parāyaṇaṃ

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

Wearied by the sorrows born of worldly life,

Free me from bondage through your saintly compassion.

Make me wholly devoted to your feet.

O Śaṅkara, my Guru, I seek refuge in you.

Verse 8 (Phala Śruti – Concluding Verse)

totakena kṛtaṃ śaṅkarāṣṭakam etat

paṭhati ya iha bhaktyā sa labhate muktiṃ

bhaja śaṅkara deśika me śaraṇam

This Śaṅkarāṣṭakam was composed by Totaka.

Whoever recites it here with devotion attains liberation.

O Śaṅkara, my Guru, I take refuge in you.

Essence of Totakāṣṭakam

Guru-bhakti surpasses scholarship

Grace dissolves ignorance instantly

True knowledge flows from surrender

Adi Śaṅkara is seen as compassion incarnate

This hymn is especially powerful when chanted before study, during spiritual confusion, or on Guru Pūrṇimā.