Details about the verse: "Tvameva Mata Ca Pita Tvameva"?

Question

There is a famous verse as follows:

त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव बन्धुश्च सखा त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव विद्या द्रविणम् त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव सर्वम् मम देव देव ॥

You Truly are my Mother And You Truly are my Father .

You Truly are my Relative And You Truly are my Friend.

You Truly are my Knowledge and You Truly are my Wealth.

You Truly are my All, My God of Gods.

I want to know its origin and is there any specific deity addressed in it or it is a general Shloka that can be dedicated to any God?

Answer 1

The sloka is from the Pandava Gita.

It was said by Gandhari & addressed to Lord Krishna.

Gandhari Uvacha:- (Queen Gandhari said:- )

Thwameva matha cha pitha thwameva, Thwameva bhandusha , sakha thwameva, Thwameva vidhya, dravinam thwameva, Thwameva sarvam mama deva deva. 27

Of my god of gods, you are my mother and father, You are my relations, you are my friend, You are my knowledge as well as wealth, And you are everything for me.

Answer 2

Sri Ramanujacharya (11th century) has written 3 Gadyas (Saranagathi gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam and Vaikuntha gadyam)

In Saranagathi Gadyam, Swami Ramanujacharya performs saranagathi to Sri Ranganatha and SriRanga nayaki (Lord Narayana and Goddess Lakshmi).

In Saranagathi Gadyam in 12th churnikka Sri Ramanujacharya uses verse quotes verses from PUranas and Bhagavad Gita. He quotes the following :

ananya SaraNa: tvat pAdAravinda yugaLam SaraNam aham prapadye |

pitaram mAtaram dArAn putrAn bandhUn sakhI gurUn | ratnAni dhanadhAnyAni kshetrANi ca grhANi ca ||

Meaning : (I do prostrate before Thee) -- Renouncing my Father, Mother, Wife, Children, relatives, Friends, even my teacher, precious stones, wealth and goods, my field, my house, etc, all desires, and actions relating to them, as well as Kaivalya. I prostrate at Thine feet, which bestrode the Three worlds.

sarvadharmASca samtyajya sarvakAmASca sAksharAn | lokavikrAntacaraNau SaraNam te-avrajam vibho! ||

tvameva mAtA ca pitA tvameva tvameva bandhuSca gurustvameva | tvameva vidyA draviNam tvameva tvameva sarvam mama devadeva ||

12.2: tvameva mAtA -- Oh Lord! I surrender myself unto Thee. Thou alone art My Mother, My Father, Thou art My relations; even My Teacher Thou alone art; So also My learning, My wealth. Indeed Thou art My All.

Sri Ramanuja goes on to give the full meaning of "ananya SaraNa: SaraNam aham prapadye" by referring to quotations and passage from the PurANaas.

Calling himself as an ananya SaraNa (helpless person), RaamAnuja makes the surrender. "tvat pAadAravinda yugaLam" points out that He is possessed of all various virtues and qualities mentioned before and hence the person to be approached.

"aravinda" because such prayer at His feet is a pleasant performance. YugaLa can be said to be explanatory of the dual (caraNau) mentioned in dvaya mantra. "aham" denotes the thought: "I" who am a great sinner, who has accumulated an ocean of sins.

"prapadye" - I surrender. Up to this, the first portion of dvaya Mantra (pUrva bhAgam) has been expounded.

Then Sri Ramanuja goes on to give the full meaning of "ananya SaraNa: SaraNam aham prapadye" by referring to quotations and passage from the PurANaas.

In the slokAs quoted, all the things mentioned up to and including "gurUn" (i.e.,the first portion) denote upAyAs (means to attain the goal). In this case dArA (wife) is included in the first portion as she is the means as well as bhogya. The second half of the sloka mentions other things such as ratna etc., as they are considered valuable in this world. Then in the next sloka beginning with " sarva dharmASca", is set out the upAyAs to be used in the Paraloka (the other world) and the gains to be obtained through them. The word "akshara" denotes Kaivalyam (enjoyment by the soul of itself only). By the word loka vikrAnta and vibho are denoted His qualities of easy accessibility and almightiness.

Then the word "SaraNam" is expounded in the next slokam (tvameva mAtA….) where the idea is conveyed that BhagavAn is the real Father and relation in the matter of protection etc., and to show that He does this function fully and better than the natural father and others. The words "tvam eva" is repeated at intervals. The idea that "not only is He my Father but He is also the Father of the whole world" is sought to be conveyed by sloka

So, the verse "tva meva mata pita tvameve..." is from Upabrahmanas viz Smritis Ithihasas, Puranas etc

Answer 3

This famous verse is from Skanda Mahāpurāṇna, Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, Kedārakhaṇḍa, 7th chapter,10-12th verse.

🍁 This famous verse is dedicated to Pārameśvara Sadaśiva .

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Skand Puran, 1.1.7.8-9 :-

8. The sages who were desirous of eulogizing Maheśvara, the sinless one, eulogized with very great eagerness and respect by means of excellent words recorded in the Vedas.

The sages said:

9. We are all ignorant. On account of lust, we do not recognise your status. Indeed you are the Soul, the Supreme Soul. You are the Prakṛti, the evolver (of everything).

त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव त्वमेव बंधुश्च सखा त्वमे । त्वमीश्वरो वेदविदेकरूपो महानुभावैः परिचिंत्यमानः ॥ १० ॥

त्वमात्मा सर्वभूतानामेको ज्योतिरिवैधसाम् । सर्वं भवति यस्मात्त्वत्तस्मात्सर्वोऽसि नित्यदा ॥ ११ ॥ यस्माच्च संभवत्येतत्तस्माच्छंभुरिति प्रभुः ॥ १२ ॥

~ Skanda Mahapurana, 1.1.7.10-12

10. You are our mother. You alone are our father. You are our kinsman. You alone are our friend. You alone are īśvara. You are conversant with the Vedas. You are always meditated upon by persons of great magnanimity.

11-12. You are the immanent Soul of all living beings, like flame of all fuel. Since everything takes its origin from you, you are forever Sarva. The lord is called Śaṃbhu because Śaṃ (happiness) takes its origin from him.

Answer 4

Yes, Tvameva Mata cha Pita Tvameva can be dedicated to any God.

सदा च सर्वत्र नमो नमस्ते नमो नमस्तेऽखिलविग्रहायै । प्रसीद देवेशि मम प्रतिज्ञां पुरा कृतां पालय भद्रकालि ॥ २,३९.४४ ॥

त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव जगत्त्रयस्यापि नमो नमस्ते ।

44. Repeated obeisance to you everywhere and at all times. Bows to you whose body is identified with everything, O goddess of the Devas, be pleased O Bhadrakālī, keep my vow taken formerly (see that it is realised).

45a.You alone are the mother, you alone are the father of the three worlds. Obeisance, obeisance to you.

~ Brahmanda Purana , Upodghāta-pāda, Chapter 39