Sukhkarta Dukhharta — Ganpati Aarti
sukhakartā duḥkhahartā vārtā vighnācī | nuravī puravī prema kṛpā jayācī | sarvāṅgī sundara uṭī śendurācī | kaṇṭhī jhaḷake māḷa muktāphaḷāñcī || jaya deva jaya deva jaya maṅgalamūrtī | darśanamātre mana kāmanā puratī || dhṛ || ratnakhacita pharā tuja gaurīkumarā | candanācī uṭī kuṅkumakeśarā | hirejaḍita mukuṭa śobhato barā | ruṇajhuṇatī nūpure caraṇī ghāgariyā || jaya deva jaya deva jaya maṅgalamūrtī | darśanamātre mana kāmanā puratī || dhṛ || lambodara pītāmbara phaṇivarabandhanā | saraḷa soṇḍa vakratuṇḍa trinayanā | dāsa rāmācā vāṭa pāhe sadanā | saṅkaṭī pāvāve nirvāṇī rakṣāve suravaravandanā || jaya deva jaya deva jaya maṅgalamūrtī | darśanamātre mana kāmanā puratī || dhṛ ||
Sukhkarta Dukhharta ("bringer of happiness, remover of sorrow") is the principal Ganpati aarti sung in Maharashtrian households, traditionally attributed to the 17th-century saint-poet Samarth Ramdas, said in tradition to have composed it on seeing the Mayureshwar murti at Morgaon. It is traditionally sung in Raga Jogiya, with the "Jai Dev" refrain (dhrupad) repeated after each verse. Verse 1 hails Ganesha as the one who brings happiness and dissolves sorrow and the news of obstacles, describes his beauty — the vermilion mark, the garland of pearls — and says his very darshan (sight) is traditionally held to fulfil the heart's longing. Verse 2 describes his ornaments in more detail: the jewel-studded ornament he wears as Gauri's son, sandalwood paste with saffron-kumkum, the diamond-studded crown, and the anklets that chime softly at his feet. Verse 3 names his form directly — Lambodara (large-bellied), wearing yellow silk, adorned with a serpent, both straight-trunked and Vakratunda (curved-trunked) at once, three-eyed — and closes with a devotee's plea, asking his presence in difficulty and his protection at the end, he before whom even the gods bow.
This is the aarti most households sing first and most closely identify with Ganeshotsav — but on its own it is only the opening movement of the household aarti liturgy, not the whole of it. In an actual Maharashtrian home the aarti continues through the household's other kuladaivat aartis and closes every single night with an invariant terminal block (Ghalin Lotangan, Mantrapushpanjali, and the ghosh) that does not change with which deity's aarti preceded it — authored as its own companion item (mantra.aarti_terminal_block) so the two are never presented apart. The Ramdas attribution and the Morgaon origin story are traditional and widely held; no manuscript evidence has been located confirming either, so they are presented here as tradition holds them, not as settled literary history.
Open KalpX, select this mantra from the library, and use Quick Chant to begin your japa practice. Set a count goal — 11, 108, or 1008 repetitions — and chant at a pace that feels natural.