He who wears the king of serpents as a garland, the three-eyed one, whose body is anointed with ash, the great Lord, eternal and pure, clothed by the directions alone: to that Shiva, who is the syllable “na”, salutations.
He who is worshipped with the water of the Mandakini (Ganga) and with sandal paste, the great Lord, master of Nandishvara and of the pramatha hosts, beautifully worshipped with mandara and many other flowers: to that Shiva, who is the syllable “ma”, salutations.
Verse 3 (shi)
शिवाय गौरीवदनाब्जवृन्दसूर्याय दक्षाध्वरनाशकाय।
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय वृषध्वजाय तस्मै शिकाराय नमः शिवाय॥३॥
He who is auspiciousness itself, the sun that makes the lotus of Gauri’s face bloom, the destroyer of Daksha’s sacrifice, the blue-throated one, whose banner bears the bull: to that Shiva, who is the syllable “shi”, salutations.
He whose head is worshipped by Vasishtha, Agastya (born from a pot), Gautama and other great sages, and by the gods, whose three eyes are the moon, the sun and fire: to that Shiva, who is the syllable “va”, salutations.
He who takes the form of a yaksha, who wears matted locks, holds the Pinaka bow in his hand, the eternal, the divine god, clothed by the directions alone: to that Shiva, who is the syllable “ya”, salutations.
Panchaksharamidam Punyam Yah Pathechchhivasannidhau |
Shivalokamavapnoti Shivena Saha Modate ||
The hymn says: whoever recites this holy Panchakshara (hymn) in the presence of Shiva (before the linga) reaches Shiva’s world and rejoices with Shiva.
Meaning, sources and more prayers: sanatanbodh.in/en/prayers/shiv-panchakshar-stotram/
The Shiv Panchakshar Stotram is a short Sanskrit hymn to Shiva, attributed by tradition to Adi Shankaracharya. The five-syllable mantra “Namah Shivaya” has the syllables na, ma, shi, va and ya. The five verses of the hymn honour Shiva through these five syllables, each ending “tasmai …karaya namah shivaya”. A last verse is the phalashruti. The colophons of both the Gita Press and the sanskritdocuments.org texts name Shankaracharya as its author.
On the text: it was compared word by word on the pages of the Gita Press, Gorakhpur ‘Shiv Stotra Ratnakar’ (pp. 50–51), the sanskritdocuments.org text (panch.itx, Anand Hudli) and volume 17 of the Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam edition of Shankaracharya’s works (1910, pp. 119–120); where they differ, the reading two share was taken. Vani Vilas variants: verse 1 ‘vilochanaya’ (others ‘trilochanaya’), verse 2 ‘mandaramukhyabahupushpa’ (others ‘mandarapushpabahupushpa’) and ‘makaramahitaya’ (others ‘makaraya’); sanskritdocuments.org also lists both as alternatives. The first word of verse 2 is ‘mandakini’ with a short i in sanskritdocuments.org (Gita Press and Vani Vilas ‘mandakini’ with a long i). The phalashruti is in the Gita Press and sanskritdocuments.org texts, not in the Vani Vilas volume. Gita Press colophon: ‘thus ends the Shiva Panchakshara Stotra composed by Shri Shankaracharya’.
Each morning the tithi, Rahu Kaal and coming festivals, in one short WhatsApp message.Follow the channel
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the Shiv Panchakshar Stotram?
Tradition attributes it to Adi Shankaracharya. The Gita Press colophon says ‘composed by Shri Shankaracharya’, and the Vani Vilas Press printed it in the stotra volume of Shankaracharya’s works.
What does “panchakshar” mean?
Panchakshara means five syllables: na, ma, shi, va and ya of the mantra “Namah Shivaya”. Each verse of the hymn begins with one of these syllables and salutes Shiva as that syllable.
When is the Shiv Panchakshar Stotram recited?
The phalashruti speaks of reciting it in Shiva’s presence, that is, before the linga. By tradition it is sung during Shiva puja on Mondays, at Pradosha, in Sawan and on Maha Shivratri.
Add SanatanBodh to your phone as an appToday’s panchang and choghadiya in one tap. Free, no app store needed.Tap the Share button below, then “Add to Home Screen”. How?
