Shivashtakam: Sanskrit Text, Meaning and How It Is Recited

The Shivashtakam that begins prabhum pranatham vibhum vishvanatham is a Sanskrit hymn of eight verses to Shiva, followed by a ninth verse naming its benefit. Each of the first eight verses ends with the same refrain, shivam shankaram shambhum ishanam ide, “I praise Shiva, Shankara, Shambhu, Ishana”, which makes it easy to learn and a pleasure to sing in a group. Its metre is a flowing line of twelve syllables, the bhujangaprayata (the serpent’s gait), whose rhythm suits the images of snakes and the dancing god.

There are other hymns called Shivashtakam, so it helps to name this one by its first words. Popular books often attribute it to Shankara, the eighth-century teacher. The printed editions we checked, which are old collections of stotras, do not name an author at all, so this page calls it a traditional hymn. A different Sanskrit Shivashtakam, attributed to the sage Markandeya, begins sada godavaryah and is a separate text.

Below you will find all nine verses in Devanagari with a simple transliteration and a plain meaning, notes on two readings that differ from the form many singers use, and a note on how the text was sourced. For other eight-verse hymns to Shiva see the Lingashtakam and the Rudrashtakam.

The text, transliteration and meaning

The refrain is written out in every verse so that each can be read on its own.

Text: printed editions of the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara (Nirnaya Sagar Press 1912; Bhargava Pustakalaya, Varanasi, 1957; and an undated print). Transliteration is simplified; meanings are our own. Verse numbers appear as labels above each verse.

Two readings that differ from the common form

In verse 2 the printed editions read jatajuta-bhangottaranga (“in the waves, the ripples, of his matted locks”), where many modern books and recordings sing jatajuta-gangottaranga, which names the Ganga, the river that Shiva is said to carry in his hair. In verse 4 the three prints read tatadho-nivasam (“living below the bank”), where many sing vatadho-nivasam (“living beneath the banyan”), the tree under which Shiva sits as the silent teacher Dakshinamurti. The two are close in sound and both give a clear picture, so a different reading in your family is quite normal. This page follows the printed text, and the meanings above give both pictures, since both are in use.

In verse 7 the prints give gunananda-patram (“a vessel of the joy of good qualities”), and some modern books have gananandapatram, “a cup of joy for his hosts”. In verse 9 the print has vichitram, and some editions have vichitraih.

When and how it is traditionally recited

The Shivashtakam is a short hymn that people take up on Mondays, the weekday of Shiva, in the evening at Pradosh, and on Maha Shivaratri. It is easy to add to a daily prayer, because eight verses take only a few minutes. The Somvar vrat guide and the Pradosh vrat guide describe the weekly and twice-monthly practices with which it is often paired.

The ninth verse says that the hymn is best read at dawn (“each morning”), and many people do read it then, but the rule is not strict. A group can sing the refrain together while one person leads the first two lines. There is no fixed number of readings, and families differ.

What the hymn describes

The picture of Shiva here is a mixture of the frightening and the tender, as in most Shiva hymns. The skull garland, the snakes, the burning ground and the ash set him outside ordinary life. The next verses bring in the half-form shared with Parvati (verse 5), the friendship with Kubera (verse 7) and the compassion for those who bow (verse 6). The last line of each verse, ishanam ide, uses the verb ide, “I praise”, which is the same verb that opens the Rigveda.

The last verse states a benefit: sons, wealth, friends and, in the end, liberation. This is the hymn’s own claim of faith, and a report of tradition, not a promise. If you are anxious about money or health, please speak to a doctor or an adviser as well as praying.

Pronunciation notes

The metre has twelve syllables in each half-line, in four groups of three, each group a short syllable followed by two long ones. Say each group evenly, and the line will find its own lilt. The refrain, shivam shankaram shambhum ishanam ide, is said shi-vam shan-ka-ram sham-bhu-mi-sha-na-mi-de.

The ng of shankaram is the ng of “sing”, and the mb of shambhu is a clear m followed by a breathy bh. The vowel ai is said like the ai in “aisle”, and au like the ow in “now”. In long compounds such as mahattattahasam in verse 4 hold the double consonant a little longer.

How the text on this page is sourced

Sanskrit Wikisource carries a typed Shivashtakam, but it differs from the printed editions in several places (for example gananandapatram and sada sachcharitram where the prints have gunananda and charitram vichitram), and its spacing is irregular, so it was not used as the base. The Devanagari here follows scans of the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara from archive.org: the Nirnaya Sagar Press edition of 1912, the edition of the Bhargava Pustakalaya, Varanasi (1957, edited by Madhav Prasad Vyas), and an undated print in the Cuddalore collection. The 1957 print was read from the page image, since the scanned text is noisy, and the other two were used to check it. Where the prints agree, their reading is given, and the two points on which singers often differ are listed in the section above.

Related mantras and pages

• Lingashtakam: eight verses to the Shiva linga
• Rudrashtakam: an eight-verse hymn to Rudra
• Shiva Panchakshara Stotram: five short verses on the five syllables of Shiva’s name
• Shiva Tandava Stotram: a hymn to Shiva’s dance
• Kalabhairava Ashtakam: an eight-verse hymn to Shiva as the guardian of Kashi
• Maha Shivaratri: the great night of Shiva, with dates for your city
• All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis

Frequently asked questions