Karpur Gauram Karunavataram Samsara Saram Bhujagendra Haram / Sadavasantam Hridayaravinde Bhavam Bhavani Sahitam Namami.
I bow to Shiva — white as camphor, the very embodiment of compassion, the essence drawn from the endless cycle of existence, adorned with the king of serpents — who dwells always in the lotus of the heart, together with Bhavani, his consort.
This verse is recited specifically during arati, the ritual of waving a lit lamp, often camphor itself, before a deity’s image — and its opening image is a deliberate echo of the substance being burned in the very moment of recitation. Camphor’s particular property — burning completely away, leaving no residue — is frequently read as symbolic of the ego’s own ideal dissolution in devotion.
Its closing image — that Shiva dwells always within the lotus of the heart — shifts the entire verse’s register from external ritual to internal reality.
When it’s said: During evening arati in temples and homes alike, at the close of any Shiva-focused worship, and by anyone wanting a brief, complete expression of devotion.
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