Shri Swaminarayan Aarti – Jay Swaminarayan Lyrics, Meaning & Significance
Shri Swaminarayan Aarti Lyrics (हिंदी में)
जय स्वामीनारायण, जय अक्षरपुरुषोत्तम ।
अक्षरपुरुषोत्तम जय, दर्शन सर्वोत्तम ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण
मुक्त अनंत सुपुजित, सुंदर साकारम् ।
सर्वोपरी करुणाकर, मानव तनुधारम् ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण ॥१॥
पुरूषोत्तम परब्रह्म, श्रीहरि सहजानन्द ।
अक्षरब्रह्म अनादि, गुणातीतानंद ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण ॥२॥
प्रकट सदा सर्वकर्ता, परम मुक्तिदाता ।
धर्म एकान्तिक स्थापक, भक्ति परित्राता ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण ॥३॥
दासभाव दिव्यता सह, ब्रह्मरूपे प्रीति ।
सुह्राद्भाव अलौकिक, स्थापित शुभ रीति ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण ॥४॥
धन्य धन्य मम जीवन, तव शरणे सुफलम् ।
यज्ञपुरुष प्रवर्तित, सिद्धांतम् सुखदम् ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण ॥५॥
जय स्वामीनारायण, जय अक्षरपुरुषोत्तम ।
अक्षरपुरुषोत्तम जय, दर्शन सर्वोत्तम ॥
जय स्वामीनारायण
Shri Swaminarayan Aarti – Transliteration (English)
Jay Swaminarayan, Jay Akshar-Purushottam.
Akshar-Purushottam jay, darshan sarvottam.
Jay Swaminarayan.
Mukta anant supujit, sundar saakaram.
Sarvopari karunakar, maanav tanudharam.
Jay Swaminarayan. ||1||
Purushottam Parabrahma, Shri Hari Sahajanand.
Aksharbrahma anaadi, Gunatiitanand.
Jay Swaminarayan. ||2||
Prakat sada sarvakarta, param muktidaata.
Dharma ekaantik sthaapak, bhakti paritraata.
Jay Swaminarayan. ||3||
Daasabhaav divyata sah, brahmarupe preeti.
Suhradbhav alaukik, sthapit shubh riti.
Jay Swaminarayan. ||4||
Dhanya dhanya mam jivan, tav sharane sufalam.
Yagnapurush pravartit, siddhantam sukhadam.
Jay Swaminarayan. ||5||
Meaning & Significance
The Shri Swaminarayan Aarti opens with a dual salutation - to Swaminarayan as the supreme Purushottam (the Highest Being) and to Akshar-Purushottam, the divine pairing of the eternal abode (Akshar) and the supreme soul. This theological understanding lies at the heart of the Swaminarayan Sampraday: the Divine manifests as both Akshar (the perfect devotee, the abode of God) and Purushottam (the supreme God himself). The second verse praises Lord Swaminarayan as one honoured by countless liberated souls (muktas), who took human form out of supreme compassion. The third verse identifies him as the primordial cause of all, as Sahajanand - the one who is innately blissful - and as the eternal Aksharbrahman who is beyond all attributes (Gunatiit). Subsequent verses celebrate his role as establisher of Ekantik Dharma (the code of righteous devotion) and the extraordinary path of service-as-divinity that he revealed. The closing verse is a grateful surrender: "Blessed, thrice blessed is my life, finding its fulfilment in your shelter."
About Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781–1830 CE), born as Ghanshyam Pande in Chhapaiya (Uttar Pradesh), is revered as the supreme being (Purna Purushottam Narayan) within the Swaminarayan Sampraday. At the age of eleven he began a seven-year walking pilgrimage across India (Akshardham yatra), covering over 12,000 kilometres. He was initiated into the Uddhav Sampraday by Ramanand Swami, and at twenty-one became its spiritual head. Over the next three decades he established a living tradition of ethical reformation, women's empowerment, the abolition of widow immolation, and the construction of six grand temples (mandir) across Gujarat. His teachings, compiled in the Vachanamrut and Shikshapatri, continue to guide millions of devotees globally through various institutions rooted in the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
Benefits of Reciting the Shri Swaminarayan Aarti
- Daily recitation is believed to purify the mind and gradually dissolve the ego, aligning the devotee with the divine will.
- Singing the aarti with sincerity fosters the spiritual quality of dasatva (servant-hood) that Lord Swaminarayan described as the highest form of devotion.
- It creates an auspicious atmosphere in the home and is said to attract peace and harmony into family life.
- The aarti deepens one's understanding of the Akshar-Purushottam philosophy and the relationship between the devotee and God.
- Recitation during major occasions such as Swaminarayan Jayanti and Diwali is considered especially meritorious.
How to Perform the Aarti (Pooja Vidhi)
- Bathe, wear clean clothes, and set up a clean altar with a murthi (image or idol) of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
- Prepare five lamps (pancha diya) with ghee and arrange them symmetrically for the aarti plate (thaal).
- Offer flowers, tulsi leaves, incense, and a sweet (pedha or prasad) before the murthi.
- Light all five lamps and begin the aarti, waving the thaal in a clockwise circle before the Lord as the hymn is sung.
- After the aarti, perform a minute of silent meditation (upasana) with eyes gently closed.
- Distribute the prasad among all family members and share the merits of the aarti with all.
Best Day & Time to Recite
The Shri Swaminarayan Aarti is performed five times daily in major Swaminarayan temples (mandir) - at mangala, shangar, rajbhog, sandhya, and shayan darshan. For home worship, morning and evening are the recommended times. Swaminarayan Jayanti (Chaitra Shukla Navami) is the most auspicious day for performing this aarti with expanded ceremony. Saturday evenings are also considered particularly favourable by many sampraday communities for group kirtan and aarti.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "Akshar-Purushottam" mean in the aarti?
"Akshar" means the eternal, indestructible abode - both the divine habitat and the ideal spiritual devotee who has become one with God. "Purushottam" means the supreme being who transcends all creation. Together, Akshar-Purushottam denotes the indivisible divine duo at the centre of the Swaminarayan Sampraday's theology: the eternal abode and the supreme Lord residing within it.
Is this aarti sung in all Swaminarayan temples?
This aarti in Devanagari (Hindi) is commonly used across various Swaminarayan institutions. Different sampraday branches (such as Ahmedabad and Vadtal dioceses, and BAPS) may have their own traditional aarti formats - the classic "Jay Sadguru Swami" in Gujarati being another widely beloved version. The present aarti reflects the broader theological teachings of the tradition.
What is the Shikshapatri and how does it relate to the aarti?
The Shikshapatri is a code of conduct of 212 verses authored by Bhagwan Swaminarayan himself in 1826, outlining ethical and devotional guidelines for his followers. Regular worship including the aarti forms a key practice prescribed within the Shikshapatri framework, ensuring that devotion is grounded in righteous living.
Jay Swaminarayan: faith, form, and the living lineage of Akshar-Purushottam
The Swaminarayan tradition, rooted in the teachings of Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781–1830), has produced a rich body of devotional literature in Gujarati and Sanskrit that continues to nourish millions of followers both in India and across the world. The aarti Jay Swaminarayan is among the most central ritual expressions of this sampraday, sung at the conclusion of puja in Swaminarayan mandirs and in devotee homes as a joyful, loving offering to the divine form of the Lord as manifested in the tradition. Its verses affirm the core theological conviction of the sampraday: that the Lord himself descended in human form to reveal the path of liberation through righteous living, devotion, and the company of the eternal Akshar.
What gives this aarti its distinctive character within the broader landscape of Indian devotional music is its combination of philosophical depth and communal celebration. It is not merely a hymn of praise to a personal deity but an affirmation of an entire way of life - the ethical, devotional, and community-centered path that Bhagwan Swaminarayan articulated. In the Swaminarayan faith, no pooja or satsang programme is considered complete without this aarti, and the moment of its singing often brings the congregation to a peak of collective joy. For followers, it is a daily reminder that they stand within a living spiritual lineage that continues through the present Akshar, making each recitation an act of renewed commitment to that path.