शिवाष्टकम्

• प्रभुम् (prabhum)the master
• प्राणनाथम् (prāṇanātham)lord of the life-breath
• विभुम् (vibhum)present everywhere
• विश्वनाथम् (viśvanātham)lord of the world
• जगन्नाथनाथम् (jagannāthanātham)lord even of the world's lords
• सदानन्दभाजाम् (sadānandabhājām)of those who live in unbroken joy
• भवद्भव्यभूतेश्वरम् (bhavadbhavyabhūteśvaram)ruler of what is, what will be and what has been
• भूतनाथम् (bhūtanātham)lord of the hosts
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya प्रभुम् प्राणनाथम् विभुम् विश्वनाथम् सदानन्दभाजाम् जगन्नाथनाथम् भवद्भव्यभूतेश्वरम् भूतनाथम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

ईडे I praise — From the old root īḍ, to praise, the same root the Rig Veda opens with in agnim īḷe. It is the one verb in the verse and it carries all eight.

भवद्भव्यभूत what is, what will be, what has been — Three time words in one compound: present, future, past.

भूतनाथम् lord of the hosts — The bhūtas are the attendants who go with Shiva. The word also means beings in general, and both senses are at work here.

note Every verse of the hymn ends on the same line, शिवं शङ्करं शम्भुमीशानमीडे, four names of the one god and then the verb. The metre is Bhujaṅgaprayāta, whose name means the gliding of a snake, and the pace of the recitation comes from it.

• गले (gale)at his throat
• रुण्डमालम् (ruṇḍamālam)wearing a garland of severed heads
• तनौ (tanau)on his body
• सर्पजालम् (sarpajālam)a mesh of snakes
• महाकालकालम् (mahākālakālam)death to death itself
• गणेशादिपालम् (gaṇeśādipālam)guardian of Ganesha and the rest
• जटाजूटगङ्गोत्तरङ्गैः (jaṭājūṭagaṅgottaraṅgaiḥ)by the high waves of the Ganga in his coiled hair
• विशालम् (viśālam)made vast
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya गले रुण्डमालम् तनौ सर्पजालम् महाकालकालम् गणेशादिपालम् जटाजूटगङ्गोत्तरङ्गैः विशालम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

महाकालकालम् death to death itself — Kāla is time and also death. Mahākāla is death at its greatest, and Shiva is called the kāla of that.

रुण्डमालम् wearing a garland of severed heads — Ruṇḍa is a headless body or a head cut from one. The ornament belongs to the same Shiva who lives at the burning ground.

गङ्गोत्तरङ्गैः with the Ganga's rising waves — The river came down from the sky and was caught in his hair, which is what keeps her fall from breaking the earth.

note The verse keeps the fierce side of Shiva and the protecting side in one breath: heads and snakes in the first line, the guarding of Ganesha and the gods in the second.

• मुदाम् (mudām)of gladness
• आकरम् (ākaram)the mine it is dug from
• मण्डनम् (maṇḍanam)the ornament itself
• मण्डयन्तम् (maṇḍayantam)who adorns
• महामण्डलम् (mahāmaṇḍalam)this great round world
• भस्मभूषाधरम् (bhasmabhūṣādharam)wearing ash for jewellery
• तम् (tam)him
• अनादिम् (anādim)without beginning
• हि (hi)indeed
• अपारम् (apāram)with no far shore
• महामोहमारम् (mahāmohamāram)who kills the great confusion
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya मुदाम् आकरम् मण्डनम् महामण्डलम् मण्डयन्तम् भस्मभूषाधरम् अनादिम् हि अपारम् महामोहमारम् तम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

भस्मभूषाधरम् wearing ash for jewellery — The ash is from the burning ground, smeared on in place of ornaments. It is what is left when everything else has gone.

आकरम् a mine — The place a metal or a gem is taken out of. Gladness is dug out of him as ore is dug out of a hill.

महामोहमारम् who kills the great confusion — Moha is the muddle in which a person takes one thing for another. Māra is the killing of it, from the same root as Kama's name Māra.

note The first line turns on one root: maṇḍana the ornament, maṇḍayantam adorning, mahāmaṇḍalam the great circle. Sanskrit poets prize that kind of play, and reading it aloud is where the effect is.

• वटाधोनिवासम् (vaṭādhonivāsam)living at the foot of the banyan
• महाट्टाट्टहासम् (mahāṭṭāṭṭahāsam)whose laughter rings out loud
• महापापनाशम् (mahāpāpanāśam)who undoes the worst of wrongs
• सदा (sadā)always
• सुप्रकाशम् (suprakāśam)plain to see
• गिरीशम् (girīśam)lord of the mountain
• गणेशम् (gaṇeśam)lord of the hosts
• सुरेशम् (sureśam)lord of the gods
• महेशम् (maheśam)the great lord
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya वटाधोनिवासम् महाट्टाट्टहासम् महापापनाशम् सदा सुप्रकाशम् गिरीशम् गणेशम् सुरेशम् महेशम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

वटाधोनिवासम् living at the foot of the banyan — Shiva as Dakshinamurti sits under a banyan and teaches four elderly sages without speaking.

अट्टाट्टहासम् loud laughter — The word is made by doubling, and the sound of it is the laugh. His laughter is told of as shaking the worlds.

note The second line is four names built the same way, each ending in īśa, lord: of the mountain, of the hosts, of the gods, and then simply the great one.

• गिरीन्द्रात्मजासङ्गृहीतार्धदेहम् (girīndrātmajāsaṅgṛhītārdhadeham)half of whose body the mountain king's daughter has taken
• गिरौ (girau)on the hill
• संस्थितम् (saṃsthitam)settled
• सर्वदा (sarvadā)always
• आपन्नगेहम् (āpannageham)a house for those in trouble
• परब्रह्म (parabrahma)the highest brahman
• ब्रह्मादिभिः (brahmādibhiḥ)by Brahma and the rest
• वन्द्यमानम् (vandyamānam)being bowed to
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya गिरीन्द्रात्मजासङ्गृहीतार्धदेहम् गिरौ संस्थितम् सर्वदा आपन्नगेहम् ब्रह्मादिभिः वन्द्यमानम् परब्रह्म शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

गिरीन्द्रात्मजा the mountain king's daughter — Parvati, daughter of Himavat. Her name itself means of the mountain.

आपन्नगेहम् a house for those in trouble — Āpanna is someone who has fallen into difficulty. The word for what he is to them is simply house.

note In the printed reading the third pāda sits a little loose against the metre. It is left as it stands.

• कपालम् (kapālam)a skull bowl
• त्रिशूलम् (triśūlam)a trident
• कराभ्याम् (karābhyām)in his two hands
• दधानम् (dadhānam)holding
• पदाम्भोजनम्राय (padāmbhojanamrāya)to the one who bows at his lotus feet
• कामम् (kāmam)what was asked for
• ददानम् (dadānam)giving
• बलीवर्धयानम् (balīvardhayānam)carried by the bull
• सुराणाम् (surāṇām)among the gods
• प्रधानम् (pradhānam)the first
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya कराभ्याम् कपालम् त्रिशूलम् दधानम् पदाम्भोजनम्राय कामम् ददानम् बलीवर्धयानम् सुराणाम् प्रधानम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

कपालम् a skull bowl — The begging bowl of a skull, one of the marks of Shiva as the ascetic who owns nothing.

बलीवर्धयानम् whose mount is the bull — Balīvarda is a bull. The bull is Nandi, who carries him and waits at the door of every Shiva shrine.

note Two hands, two things held, and between them the whole of him: the skull of the ascetic and the trident of the one who rules.

• शरच्चन्द्रगात्रम् (śaraccandragātram)whose body is the autumn moon
• गणानन्दपात्रम् (gaṇānandapātram)the cup his hosts' gladness is poured into
• त्रिनेत्रम् (trinetram)three-eyed
• पवित्रम् (pavitram)clean, and cleaning whoever comes near
• धनेशस्य (dhaneśasya)of the lord of wealth
• मित्रम् (mitram)the friend
• अपर्णाकलत्रम् (aparṇākalatram)whose wife is Aparna
• सदा (sadā)always
• सच्चरित्रम् (saccaritram)of good conduct
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya शरच्चन्द्रगात्रम् गणानन्दपात्रम् त्रिनेत्रम् पवित्रम् धनेशस्य मित्रम् अपर्णाकलत्रम् सदा सच्चरित्रम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

अपर्णा Aparna, Parvati — Parṇa is a leaf, and a-parṇā is without one. The name comes from her long fast for Shiva, in which she gave up even leaves.

धनेशस्य मित्रम् friend of the lord of wealth — Dhaneśa is Kubera, who keeps the wealth of the world. The god who owns nothing is his friend.

शरच्चन्द्र the autumn moon — After the rains the air is clear, so the autumn moon is the brightest of the year.

note Every pāda of this verse closes on the sound -tram, and the rhyme runs through all four.

• हरम् (haram)who takes everything away
• सर्पहारम् (sarpahāram)wearing a snake for a necklace
• चिताभूविहारम् (citābhūvihāram)who walks where the pyres burn
• भवम् (bhavam)Bhava, being itself
• वेदसारम् (vedasāram)the pith of the Veda
• सदा (sadā)always
• निर्विकारम् (nirvikāram)unchanging
• श्मशाने (śmaśāne)at the cremation ground
• वसन्तम् (vasantam)living
• मनोजम् (manojam)desire, born in the mind
• दहन्तम् (dahantam)burning
• शिवम् (śivam)Shiva
• शङ्करम् (śaṅkaram)Shankara
• शम्भुम् (śambhum)Shambhu
• ईशानम् (īśānam)Ishana
• ईडे (īḍe)I praise

anvaya हरम् सर्पहारम् चिताभूविहारम् भवम् वेदसारम् सदा निर्विकारम् श्मशाने वसन्तम् मनोजम् दहन्तम् शिवम् शङ्करम् शम्भुम् ईशानम् ईडे

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

मनोजम् दहन्तम् burning desire to ash — Manoja, born of the mind, is Kama. When he aimed at Shiva in meditation the third eye opened and burnt him where he stood.

हरम् who takes everything away — Hara is one of his commonest names. What he takes is read both as a person's wrongs and as everything that has an end.

निर्विकारम् unchanging — Vikāra is any change or alteration. The word puts the one who does all this outside change.

note The eighth and last verse of the set proper, and the one that stays longest at the burning ground. The verse after this one is the phalashruti and stands outside the eight.

• स्वयम् (svayam)himself
• यः (yaḥ)whoever
• प्रभाते (prabhāte)at daybreak
• नरः (naraḥ)a person
• शूलपाणे (śūlapāṇe)O you who hold the spear
• पठेत् (paṭhet)should recite
• स्तोत्ररत्नम् (stotraratnam)this jewel of a hymn
• तु (tu)indeed
• इह (iha)here, in this life
• प्राप्यरत्नम् (prāpyaratnam)the jewel worth getting
• सुपुत्रम् (suputram)a good son
• सुधान्यम् (sudhānyam)good grain
• सुमित्रम् (sumitram)good friends
• कलत्रम् (kalatram)a wife
• विचित्रैः (vicitraiḥ)with all these
• समाराध्य (samārādhya)having worshipped well
• मोक्षम् (mokṣam)release
• प्रयाति (prayāti)goes on to

anvaya शूलपाणे यः नरः प्रभाते स्वयम् इह प्राप्यरत्नम् स्तोत्ररत्नम् तु पठेत् सुपुत्रम् सुधान्यम् सुमित्रम् कलत्रम् विचित्रैः समाराध्य मोक्षम् प्रयाति

chandas Bhujaṅgaprayāta, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

स्तोत्ररत्नम् jewel of a hymn — A hymn called a gem among hymns. The verse then plays on it: the jewel recited brings the jewel worth having.

शूलपाणे O you who hold the spear — The one address in the hymn spoken straight to Shiva. Everywhere else he is spoken of.

note The closing verse, which says what comes of reciting: household good first, and release after it. Printed नरश्शूल पाणे, which is नरः and शूलपाणे run together in the sandhi.