Suprabhatam

Suprabhatam () is a Sanskrit prayer of the Suprabhātakāvya genre. It is a collection of hymns or verses recited early morning to awaken the deity in Hinduism. The metre chosen for a Suprabhātam poem is usually Vasantatilaka.

The most well-known Suprabhātam work is the Veṅkaṭeśvarasuprabhātam recited to awaken the deity Venkateswara. A rendition of the poem by renowned Carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi is extremely popular which is played daily in many homes and temples (especially Tirumala Tirupati) in the wee hours of morning.

History

The genre of Suprabhātakāvya traces its origin to a single verse (1.23.2) in the Bālakāṇḍa of Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa, where Viśvāmitra calls out to Rāma to wake up.

The Veṅkaṭeśvarasuprabhātam begins with this very verse.

Suprabhatam Works

The Veṅkaṭeśa Suprabhātam is by far the most popular and iconic work composed in the Suprabhātam format.

There are many other lesser-known Suprabhātam works apart from the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam. Some of these are -

• ŚrÄ« Vighneśvara Suprabhātam. A Suprabhātam composition eulogizing Gaṇeśa.
• ŚrÄ« Siddhivināyaka Suprabhātam. A work praising Siddhivināyaka. Composed by M. Ramakrishna Bhat, retired professor of Benares Hindu University.
• ŚrÄ« Kāśīviśvanātha Suprabhātam. A Suprabhātam dedicated to Kāśī Viśvanātha.
• ŚrÄ«sÄ«tārāma Suprabhātam. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing SÄ«tā and Rāma. Composed by Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.
• Kāmākshi Suprabhātam'; A unique composition by Sri LakshmÄ« Kāntha Sharma, dedicated to Goddess Kāmākshi at Kanchipuram
• Vedavyasa Suprabhatam written by Sudhindra Thirtha (Kashi Math) of Kashi Math samsthan.
• Sri Guruvayoorappa Suprabhatam by P Leela
• ŚrÄ« Veṅkaá¹­eśa Suprabhatham in Malayalam by S Balakrishnan Karippara Dharmooth
• ŚrÄ« LakshmÄ« Suprabhātam by Anuradha Paudwal
• ŚrÄ« Durgā Suprabhātam by N.S. Praskah and Gopika Poornima