Dasharatha Shani Stotra: Sanskrit Text, Meaning and Source

The Dasharatha Shani Stotra (Dasharatha-krita Shani Stotram) is a hymn of praise to Shani, the planet Saturn, that tradition places in the mouth of King Dasharatha of the Raghu line, the father of Rama. It begins namah krishnaya nilaya shitikantha-nibhaya cha, “salutation to the dark one, the blue-black one, who has the hue of the blue-throated Shiva”. It is one of the best-known Shani hymns and is read on Saturdays and during difficult Saturn periods.

The hymn is found in the Padma Purana, in the Uttara Khanda (chapter 34 in the Anandashram printing, chapter 33 in some others), where the god Mahadeva tells the sage Narada how Dasharatha pleased Shani. The Puranas are traditional texts of uncertain date, so no author or century is claimed here. The story, in short: astrologers warn the king that Saturn is about to pass through the Rohini nakshatra, a movement the tradition calls the rohini-shakata-bheda, and says it will bring a twelve-year famine. Dasharatha rides up to the heavens with his bow, but Shani, pleased by the king’s courage, offers him a boon. The king asks that Shani not pass through Rohini, and then that the twelve-year famine never come, and Shani grants both. Dasharatha then folds his hands and recites the hymn, and Shani offers a third boon.

Below are the hymn’s verses in Devanagari with transliteration and a plain meaning, the readings on which the printed editions differ, what the Purana says in the verses that follow, and a note on how the text was checked. Please read it as a devotional and cultural text. Shani in Vedic astrology is a planet of discipline, patience and the results of long effort, and no hymn changes a chart.

The text, transliteration and meaning

The Purana ends the hymn at the last line of the ninth verse below. In the printed Purana the lines are numbered together as verses 27 to 35.

Text: Padma Purana, Uttara Khanda, chapter 34, verses 27 to 35 (Anandashram Sanskrit Series, Pune, 1893), checked against the Gita Press Sankshipta Padma Purana, page 650, and a typed Sanskrit Wikisource text of the Purana. Transliteration is simplified; meanings are our own.

Where the printed editions differ

The Anandashram print of 1893 and the Gita Press print agree with each other except at one word, and they differ from the typed Wikisource text, and from common recitation, in three places. We viewed the page images of both prints.

Verse 3, first line. Anandashram reads sthula-romne cha vai namah, “salutation to the one with thick body hair”. Gita Press reads cha vai punah, “again”. Wikisource and most recordings read sthula-romne ’tha vai namah, with atha in place of cha. All three give the same sense. This page follows Anandashram.

Verse 4, second line. Both prints read bhishanaya karaline, “to the terrible, formidable one”. Wikisource and common recitation read bhishanaya kapaline, “to the one with the skull-bowl (the kapala)”, which is a name more often given to Shiva. The prints are the older witness and are followed here.

Verse 9, last line. Anandashram and Wikisource read vararho ‘ham upagatah, “I have come, fit for a boon”. The Gita Press print reads varaho ‘ham upagatah, which does not give a clear sense, and its own Hindi translation follows the first reading.

Verse 5, second line. The prints read bhaskare ‘bhayadaya cha; the Wikisource text omits the avagraha mark and reads as though bhayadaya, “who gives fear”. With the mark it is “who gives fearlessness”, which is the sense used here.

In the first verse the prints and Wikisource agree. Some booklets add further verses to the hymn, for example a prayer to be spared Saturn’s difficulties. These are not in the Purana’s text and are not given here.

What the Purana says next

After the hymn, Shani is pleased and offers a third boon. The king uses it to ask that Saturn trouble none of the gods, demons, people or animals. Shani answers, as the text has it, that every planet is called a graha because it “seizes”, and is remembered as one that brings affliction, so he cannot grant this in full; he will say something fitting instead. The Purana then reports Shani’s promise: whoever recites Dasharatha’s hymn once or twice a day will be freed from his troubles, and whoever, with faith and a pure mind, worships an iron image of Shani with shami leaves, offers sesame, black gram with rice, iron, and a black cow or bull to a brahmin, and recites the hymn on his day, will not be troubled by him, whether in transit, at birth or in the planetary periods.

This is what the Purana says, and we report it as the tradition’s view, not as a promise or as advice. The same chapter ends by saying that whoever recites the hymn on Saturday morning, or listens to it with faith, is released from sin. Households follow these customs in different ways, and many keep only the reading of the hymn, a lamp of sesame oil, and a gift to someone in need. For the weekly practice, see the Shani puja guide.

Shani, Sade Sati and how the hymn is used

The hymn is most often taken up during Sade Sati, the seven and a half years when Saturn passes over the sign before the Moon, the Moon’s sign and the sign after, during Shani Dhaiya, and in a Saturn mahadasha. Whether you are in one of these periods can be seen from your own chart: try the Sade Sati calculator, the Shani Dhaiya calculator, or the Saturn transit calculator. The guide to Sade Sati in 2026 and 2027 and the page on Saturn in all twelve houses explain what the placements mean in plain terms. These periods are often described as demanding, and they are also described as a time when effort and patience are rewarded. They are not described by any serious teacher as a sentence of ruin.

People who say the hymn do so on Saturdays, at dawn or at dusk, facing a picture or image of Shani or a Shiva shrine, after a bath, with a lamp of sesame oil. Nothing is required that you cannot do, and a reading that is calm and sincere is the point.

Another hymn credited to Dasharatha

A second Shani hymn, beginning konastho ’ntako raudro yamo ’tha babhruh, is also credited to Dasharatha in some printed collections. It lists ten names of Shani (Konastha, Pingala, Babhru, Krishna, Raudra, Antaka, Yama, Sauri, Shanaishchara and Manda) and is a separate text from the one on this page.

Pronunciation notes

The hymn is in the common anushtubh verse, in which each half-line has eight syllables. The vowel ṛ in kṛṣṇa is said like ri in “river”, ṣ as sh, and ṇ with the tongue curled back. Śitikaṇṭha is shi-ti-kan-tha, where ṭh is a hard, aspirated t. The word saṃvartaka has a nasal ṃ before v, said as san-var-ta-ka. In kāladaṃṣṭra hold the double consonant a little longer. The final ṃ of words such as namaḥ is a breathy h sound.

How the text on this page is sourced

The Devanagari follows the Padma Purana as printed in the Anandashram Sanskrit Series (Pune, 1893), Uttara Khanda chapter 34, which we read from the page image. It is the oldest printed edition we could read, and it is a scholarly printing of the Purana’s text. We checked it against the Gita Press Sankshipta Padma Purana (page 650, read from the page image) and against a typed text of the Purana on Sanskrit Wikisource, which numbers the chapter differently (33) but carries the same hymn. The readings on which these differ are listed above. The short Konastha hymn on Wikisource was not used, because it is a different text.

Related mantras and pages

• Shani puja on Saturday: how the weekly puja is performed
• Sade Sati calculator: check whether Saturn is over your Moon sign
• Shani Dhaiya calculator: the two and a half year Saturn periods
• Sade Sati in 2026 and 2027: which signs are affected
• Saturn in all twelve houses: what each placement means
• Navagraha Mantras: a verse for each of the nine planets
• Hanuman Chalisa: often read on Saturdays as well
• All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis

Frequently asked questions