.. Â:i l:el:t:a c:t:ØH\:\®Øp:c:ars:ög:ÒhH ..

 Five, ten, sixteen and twenty-four Upacharas are generally offered
to deities during Pooja or Archana. However, sixty-four Upacharas are
prescribed during the Navavarana Pooja of Shri Lalita Mahatripurasundari
Rajarajeshwari Paraabhattaarikaa in the Shrichakra. These sixty-four
Upacharas are detailed in Vamakeshwara Tantra and in the Parashurama
Kalpasutras. Though it is not possible to physically offer all these
sixty-four Upacharas to Shridevi, by mentioning these Upacharas and
offering the same at the lotus feet of Shridevi using one's imagination,
the merit of actually offering these Upacharas to Shridevi are
obtained. The truth of this statement is confirmed by Shri Bhaskararaya
in his Setubandha and also by Shri Rameshwara Suri in his 
commentary on the Parashurama Kalpasutras.

Shri Lalita Chatuhshashtyupachara Samgraha is a hymn, which
beautifully summarizes these sixty-four Upacharas. This hymn, composed
from a high state of consciousness, is the masterpiece of Brahmasri 
K. P. Narayana Shastrigal, the late Asthana Vidwan of Mysore State and
Dakshinamnaya Shringeri Sharada Peetham and retired professor of
Advaita Vedanta, Chamarajendra Sanskrit College, Bangalore. A scholar par
excellence and a highly accomplished Upasaka of Shri Mahatripurasundari
and Shri Chandramoulishwara, Shri Narayana Shastrigal was held in a very
high regard by the Shankaracharyas of the Amnaya mutts and by scholars
across the sub-continent. Most of his disciples went on to become
Mahamahopadhyayas and scholars of great repute. He spent a greater part
of his life in the holy city of Varanasi and was popularly referred to
as 'Kashivasi' Narayana Shastrigal. He was instrumental in editing and
publishing the first ever copy of Skandadeva's Rudra Bhashya. He accepted
Turiyashrama towards the end of his life. It is popularly remembered
to this day in Kashi that when the great man attained Siddhi, a Bana
Linga had materialized on his body. It is indeed due to the limitless
compassion of Shridevi that I was fortunate to have as my Guru Brahmasri
K. P. Shankara Shastrigal, younger brother of Shri Narayana Shastrigal,
an equally brilliant scholar and an equally accomplished Shrividya
Upasaka. It is recorded that one afternoon, after performing Nirajana to
Shridevi, Narayana Shastrigal burst into a hymn and a disciple noted it
down. The then Shankaracharya Mahaswamigal of Shringeri read the hymn and
declared that it was indeed Shridevi who had spoken through Shastrigal.
The following hymn, which is a composition of Brahmasri Narayana Shastrigal,
has been reproduced over the ages in various books like the Shrividya
Ratnakara of Karapatri Swamin, Saubhagya Ratnakara Valli of Purnananda,
Shrividya Saparya of Dattatreyanandanatha, by various Guhananda Mandali
books and many books dealing with Shrichakra Pooja and Devi Stotras in
Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and Malayalam. One may
estimate the greatness of this hymn by simply considering the fact that
this hymn was included in their Saparya Paddhatis by great men like
Chidanandanatha and Karapatri Swamin. It is unfortunate however that
none of these publications have given any credit to the author of this
supremely beautiful hymn by at least mentioning his name.

! Ænm:Dy:en:l:y:ð dðev: l:el:t:ð p:rdðv:t:ð .
c:t:Ø\\:\®Øp:c:araöst:ð B:Vty:a m:at:H s:m:p:üy:ð .. 1..
kam:ðS::ðts:¤en:l:y:ð p:a½ö g:àÇi\v: s:adrm:Î .
B:Ü\:N:aen: s:m:ض:ay:ü g:nD:t:òl:ö c: t:ð|p:üy:ð .. 2..
sn:an:S:al:aö )ev:Sy:a|T: t:*:sT: m:eN:p:iYkñ .
up:ev:Sy: s:ØK:ðn: tv:ö dðh:ð¾t:ün:m:ac:r .. 3..
u\N::ðdkñn: l:el:t:ð sn:ap:y:amy:T: B:eVt:t:H .
AeB:e\:Wc:aem: p:Á:a¶v:aö s::òv:N:ükl:S::ðdkóH .. 4..
D::òt:v:s*:):ðcCn:ö c:arVt:x::òm:amb:rö t:T:a .
kÙc::ð¶:riy:m:,N:m:p:üy:aem: m:hðÃ:er .. 5..
t:t:H )ev:Sy: c:al:ðp:m:NXp:ö p:rm:ðÃ:er .
up:ev:Sy: c: s::òv:N:üp:iYð g:nD:aenv:l:ðp:y: .. 6..
kal:g:,j:D:Üp:òÁ: D:Üp:y:ð kñS:p:aS:km:Î .
Ap:üy:aem: c: m:aly:aed s:v:üt:ØükÙs:Øm:+j:H .. 7..
B:Ü\:am:NXp:m:aev:Sy: esT:tv:a s::òv:N:üp:iYkñ .
m:aeN:Vy:m:ØkÙXö m:Üe¿:ü dy:y:a sT:ap:y:aemb:kñ .. 8..
S:rtp:av:üN:c:ndÓsy: S:kl:ö t:*: S::ðB:t:am:Î .
es:ndÝrðN: c: s:im:nt:m:l:¢Û, dy:aen:D:ð .. 9..
B:al:ð c: et:l:kö ny:sy: n:ð*:y::ðrWj:n:ö eS:v:ð .
v:al:iy:Øg:Lm:py:mb: B:Vty:a t:ð ev:en:v:ðdy:ð .. 10..
m:eN:kÙNRl:m:py:mb: n:as:aB:rN:m:ðv: c: .
t:aX¢y:Øg:Lö dðev: y:av:kWc:aD:rð|p:üy:ð .. 11..
A:½B:Ü\:N:s::òv:N:üec:nt:akp:dkaen: c: .
m:hap:dkm:ØVt:av:ly:ðkav:ly:aedB:Ü\:N:m:Î .. 12..
CÀv:irö g:àhaN:amb: kñy:Üry:Øg:l:ö t:T:a .
v:l:y:av:el:m:¤Ûly:aB:rN:ö l:el:t:aemb:kñ .. 13..
A:ð´aN:m:T: k®nt:ð keXs:Ü*:Wc: s:Ønder .
s::òB:agy:aB:rN:ö p:adkXkö n:Üp:Ør¾y:m:Î .. 14..
Ap:üy:aem: j:g:nm:at:H p:ady::ðÁ:a¤Ûl:iy:km:Î .
p:aS:ö v:am::ðDv:ühst:ð t:ð dx:hst:ð t:T:a¢ÛS:m:Î .. 15..
Any:esm:nv:am:hst:ð c: t:T:a p:ØöRÕðx:Øc:ap:km:Î .
p:Ø\p:b:aN:aöÁ: dx:aD:H p:aN::ò D:ary: s:Ønder .. 16..
Ap:üy:aem: c: m:aeN:Vy:p:adÙkñ p:ady::ðH eS:v:ð .
A:r:ðhav:àet:dðv:ieB:H c:#ö p:reS:v:ð m:Øda .. 17..
s:m:an:v:ð\:B:Ü\:aeB:H s:akö e*:p:Ørs:Ønder .
t:*: kam:ðS:v:am:a¢p:y:ü¢:ðp:en:v:ðeS:n:im:Î .. 18..
Am:àt:as:v:p:an:ðn: m:Øedt:aö tv:aö s:da B:j:ð .
S:عðn: g:a¤t::ðy:ðn: p:Øn:rac:m:n:ö kÙ, .. 19..
kp:Üürv:ieXkam:asy:ð t:t::ð|mb: ev:en:v:ðS:y: .
A:n:nd:ðll:as:has:ðn: ev:l:s:nm:ØK:p:¢j:am:Î ..  20..
B:eVt:m:tklp:el:et:kaö kát:isy:aö tv:aö sm:rn:Î kda .
m:¤l:araet:ükö C*:ö c:am:rö dp:üN:ö t:T:a .
t:aLv:àöt:ö g:nD:p:Ø\p:D:Üp:dip:aöÁ: t:ð|p:üy:ð .. 21..
Â:ikam:ðÃ:er t:pt:haXkkát:òH sT:al:is:h+òB:àüt:m:Î
edvy:aÀö G:àt:s:Üp:S:akB:ert:ö ec:*:aÀB:ðdòy:Øüt:m:Î .
dÙgD:aÀö m:D:ØS:kýradeD:y:Øt:ö m:aeN:Vy:p:a*:aep:üt:m:Î
m:a\:ap:Üp:kp:Üerkaeds:eht:ö n:òv:ð½m:mb:a|p:üy:ð .. 22..
s:ag:Òev:öS:et:p:½:ðVt:c:t:Ø\\:\®Øp:c:art:H .
Ænm:Dy:en:l:y:a m:at:a l:el:t:a p:ert:Ø\y:t:Ø .. 23..
Â:im:ØK:aKy:sy: v:\:üsy: t:Øl:ay:aö S:ØVl:p:x:kñ .
c:t:ØTy:aüm:p:raÇñ c: l:el:t:aep:üt:m:an:s:H .. 24..
s:ag:Òev:öS:et:p:½òst:Ø c:t:Ø\\:\®Øp:c:arkan:Î .
s:m:g:Òhitp:ramb:ay:aH )ity:ò n:aray:N::ð m:Øda .. 25..
n:aray:N:H Â:ip:Ø,\::ð¶:m:atm:j::ð|el:K:nm:hi\:Ürp:Ørð v:s:nkát:i .
dðv:is:p:y:aüm:eK:l:aeB:l:a\:daö kam:ðS:v:am:a¢g:t:a )s:idt:Ø ..
.. Eet: eS:v:m:Î ..

Encoded, proofread, and text introduction by
Harsha Ramamurthy harsha\__ramamurthy@yahoo.com