Shiv Mahimna Stotra — Complete Lyrics

शिव महिम्न स्तोत्र

Sanskrit text with English transliteration and translation

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Verse 1

महिम्नः पारं ते परमविदुषो यद्यसदृशी स्तुतिर्ब्रह्मादीनामपि तदवसन्नास्त्वयि गिरः । अथाऽवाच्यः सर्वः स्वमतिपरिणामावधि गृणन् ममाप्येष स्तोत्रे हर निरपवादः परिकरः ॥ १॥

mahimnaḥ pāraṃ te paramaviduṣo yadyasadṛśī stutirbrahmādīnāmapi tadavasannāstvayi giraḥ | athā’vācyaḥ sarvaḥ svamatipariṇāmāvadhi gṛṇan mamāpyeṣa stotre hara nirapavādaḥ parikaraḥ || 1||

O Hara! If praise from one who does not truly know your greatness is unfitting, then even the words of Brahma and the gods fall short of you. And if all who praise you can only do so to the limit of their own understanding, then this effort of mine at a hymn is free of blame.

Verse 2

अतीतः पंथानं तव च महिमा वाङ्मनसयोः अतद्व्यावृत्त्या यं चकितमभिधत्ते श्रुतिरपि । स कस्य स्तोतव्यः कतिविधगुणः कस्य विषयः पदे त्वर्वाचीने पतति न मनः कस्य न वचः ॥ २॥

atītaḥ paṃthānaṃ tava ca mahimā vāṅmanasayoḥ atadvyāvṛttyā yaṃ cakitamabhidhatte śrutirapi | sa kasya stotavyaḥ katividhaguṇaḥ kasya viṣayaḥ pade tvarvācīne patati na manaḥ kasya na vacaḥ || 2||

Your greatness is beyond the reach of speech and mind; even the Veda, trembling, describes it only by turning away — 'not this, not this'. Who can praise that greatness? With how many qualities, and as whose object? Yet whose mind and speech do not turn to your later, manifest form?

Verse 3

मधुस्फीता वाचः परमममृतं निर्मितवतः तव ब्रह्मन् किं वागपि सुरगुरोर्विस्मयपदम् । मम त्वेतां वाणीं गुणकथनपुण्येन भवतः पुनामीत्यर्थेऽस्मिन् पुरमथन बुद्धिर्व्यवसिता ॥ ३॥

madhusphītā vācaḥ paramamamṛtaṃ nirmitavataḥ tava brahman kiṃ vāgapi suragurorvismayapadam | mama tvetāṃ vāṇīṃ guṇakathanapuṇyena bhavataḥ punāmītyarthe’smin puramathana buddhirvyavasitā || 3||

O Brahman, you who fashioned the honey-sweet, supremely nectar-like speech of the Vedas — can even the words of Brihaspati, the guru of the gods, cause you any wonder? O Destroyer of the Three Cities, my mind has resolved upon this: that by the merit of telling your virtues I shall purify my own speech.

Verse 4

तवैश्वर्यं यत्तज्जगदुदयरक्षाप्रलयकृत् त्रयीवस्तु व्यस्तं तिस्रुषु गुणभिन्नासु तनुषु । अभव्यानामस्मिन् वरद रमणीयामरमणीं विहन्तुं व्याक्रोशीं विदधत इहैके जडधियः ॥ ४॥

tavaiśvaryaṃ yattajjagadudayarakṣāpralayakṛt trayīvastu vyastaṃ tisruṣu guṇabhinnāsu tanuṣu | abhavyānāmasmin varada ramaṇīyāmaramaṇīṃ vihantuṃ vyākrośīṃ vidadhata ihaike jaḍadhiyaḥ || 4||

Your divine power creates, protects and dissolves the universe; the Vedas declare it, divided across the three bodies that differ by the three gunas. Yet, O Giver of Boons, certain dull minds in this world raise mocking arguments against it — delightful to the impious, but ruinous.

Verse 5

किमीहः किंकायः स खलु किमुपायस्त्रिभुवनं किमाधारो धाता सृजति किमुपादान इति च । अतर्क्यैश्वर्ये त्वय्यनवसर दुःस्थो हतधियः कुतर्कोऽयं कांश्चित् मुखरयति मोहाय जगतः ॥ ५॥

kimīhaḥ kiṃkāyaḥ sa khalu kimupāyastribhuvanaṃ kimādhāro dhātā sṛjati kimupādāna iti ca | atarkyaiśvarye tvayyanavasara duḥstho hatadhiyaḥ kutarko’yaṃ kāṃścit mukharayati mohāya jagataḥ || 5||

What desire moves him, what body has he, what plan, what support, what materials — how does the Creator fashion the three worlds? Such crooked quibbling against you, whose lordship is beyond the reach of reasoning, makes the witless noisy and serves only to delude the world.

Verse 6

अजन्मानो लोकाः किमवयववन्तोऽपि जगतां अधिष्ठातारं किं भवविधिरनादृत्य भवति । अनीशो वा कुर्याद् भुवनजनने कः परिकरो यतो मन्दास्त्वां प्रत्यमरवर संशेरत इमे ॥ ६॥

ajanmāno lokāḥ kimavayavavanto’pi jagatāṃ adhiṣṭhātāraṃ kiṃ bhavavidhiranādṛtya bhavati | anīśo vā kuryād bhuvanajanane kaḥ parikaro yato mandāstvāṃ pratyamaravara saṃśerata ime || 6||

Can whole worlds be without birth, O Best of the Immortals, though they have parts? Can the creation of the universe come about without a Lord presiding? Who but you could undertake the making of the worlds? — and yet the dull-witted raise their doubts about you.

Verse 7

त्रयी साङ्ख्यं योगः पशुपतिमतं वैष्णवमिति प्रभिन्ने प्रस्थाने परमिदमदः पथ्यमिति च । रुचीनां वैचित्र्यादृजुकुटिल नानापथजुषां नृणामेको गम्यस्त्वमसि पयसामर्णव इव ॥ ७॥

trayī sāṅkhyaṃ yogaḥ paśupatimataṃ vaiṣṇavamiti prabhinne prasthāne paramidamadaḥ pathyamiti ca | rucīnāṃ vaicitryādṛjukuṭila nānāpathajuṣāṃ nṛṇāmeko gamyastvamasi payasāmarṇava iva || 7||

The three Vedas, Sankhya, Yoga, the Pashupata way, the Vaishnava way — in all these differing paths, men say 'this is best, that is fitting'. But as the ocean is for all waters, you alone are the goal of all who travel the straight and the winding ways, each by his own taste.

Verse 8

महोक्षः खट्वाङ्गं परशुरजिनं भस्म फणिनः कपालं चेतीयत्तव वरद तन्त्रोपकरणम् । सुरास्तां तामृद्धिं दधति तु भवद्भूप्रणिहितां न हि स्वात्मारामं विषयमृगतृष्णा भ्रमयति ॥ ८॥

mahokṣaḥ khaṭvāṅgaṃ paraśurajinaṃ bhasma phaṇinaḥ kapālaṃ cetīyattava varada tantropakaraṇam | surāstāṃ tāmṛddhiṃ dadhati tu bhavadbhūpraṇihitāṃ na hi svātmārāmaṃ viṣayamṛgatṛṣṇā bhramayati || 8||

The great bull, the cot-leg club, the axe, the hide, the ashes, the serpents, the skull — these, O Boon-giver, are the whole apparatus of your household; yet the gods enjoy all their riches at a mere lift of your brow. Truly, the mirage of sense-objects cannot bewilder one who revels in the Self.

Verse 9

ध्रुवं कश्चित् सर्वं सकलमपरस्त्वध्रुवमिदं परो ध्रौव्याऽध्रौव्ये जगति गदति व्यस्तविषये । समस्तेऽप्येतस्मिन् पुरमथन तैर्विस्मित इव स्तुवन् जिह्रेमि त्वां न खलु ननु धृष्टा मुखरता ॥ ९॥

dhruvaṃ kaścit sarvaṃ sakalamaparastvadhruvamidaṃ paro dhrauvyā’dhrauvye jagati gadati vyastaviṣaye | samaste’pyetasmin puramathana tairvismita iva stuvan jihremi tvāṃ na khalu nanu dhṛṣṭā mukharatā || 9||

One declares all this eternal; another, transient; a third holds the world both enduring and passing, its aspects mixed. Bewildered, as it were, by these contradictions, O Destroyer of the Cities, I yet praise you unabashed — ah, surely my talkativeness is impudence!

Verse 10

तवैश्वर्यं यत्नाद् यदुपरि विरिञ्चिर्हरिरधः परिच्छेतुं यातावनिलमनलस्कन्धवपुषः । ततो भक्तिश्रद्धाभरगुरुगृणद्भ्यां गिरिश यत् स्वयं तस्थे ताभ्यां तव किमनुवृत्तिर्न फलति ॥ १०॥

tavaiśvaryaṃ yatnād yadupari viriñcirhariradhaḥ paricchetuṃ yātāvanilamanalaskandhavapuṣaḥ | tato bhaktiśraddhābharagurugṛṇadbhyāṃ giriśa yat svayaṃ tasthe tābhyāṃ tava kimanuvṛttirna phalati || 10||

Brahma above and Hari below strove with all effort to measure your form when you stood as a pillar of fire; and when, with faith and devotion heavy in their praise, they hymned you, O Girisha, you revealed yourself to them of your own accord. Does devoted service to you not bear fruit?

Verse 11

अयत्नादासाद्य त्रिभुवनमवैरव्यतिकरं दशास्यो यद्बाहूनभृतरणकण्डूपरवशान् । शिरःपद्मश्रेणीरचितचरणाम्भोरुहबलेः स्थिरायास्त्वद्भक्तेस्त्रिपुरहर विस्फूर्जितमिदम् ॥ ११॥

ayatnādāsādya tribhuvanamavairavyatikaraṃ daśāsyo yadbāhūnabhṛtaraṇakaṇḍūparavaśān | śiraḥpadmaśreṇīracitacaraṇāmbhoruhabaleḥ sthirāyāstvadbhaktestripurahara visphūrjitamidam || 11||

That the ten-headed Ravana made the three worlds free of rivals without effort, his arms itching restlessly for battle — this was the flowering of his steadfast devotion to you, O Destroyer of the Cities: he had offered the row of his lotus-heads as lotuses at your feet.

Verse 12

अमुष्य त्वत्सेवासमधिगतसारं भुजवनं बलात् कैलासेऽपि त्वदधिवसतौ विक्रमयतः । अलभ्यापातालेऽप्यलसचलितांगुष्ठशिरसि प्रतिष्ठा त्वय्यासीद् ध्रुवमुपचितो मुह्यति खलः ॥ १२॥

amuṣya tvatsevāsamadhigatasāraṃ bhujavanaṃ balāt kailāse’pi tvadadhivasatau vikramayataḥ | alabhyāpātāle’pyalasacalitāṃguṣṭhaśirasi pratiṣṭhā tvayyāsīd dhruvamupacito muhyati khalaḥ || 12||

But when that same Ravana, his arms grown mighty by serving you, stretched their strength against your own abode Kailasa, you barely stirred the tip of a toe — and he found no resting place even in the netherworld. Truly, when puffed up by power, the wicked are deluded.

Verse 13

यदृद्धिं सुत्राम्णो वरद परमोच्चैरपि सतीं अधश्चक्रे बाणः परिजनविधेयत्रिभुवनः । न तच्चित्रं तस्मिन् वरिवसितरि त्वच्चरणयोः न कस्याप्युन्नत्यै भवति शिरसस्त्वय्यवनतिः ॥ १३॥

yadṛddhiṃ sutrāmṇo varada paramoccairapi satīṃ adhaścakre bāṇaḥ parijanavidheyatribhuvanaḥ | na taccitraṃ tasmin varivasitari tvaccaraṇayoḥ na kasyāpyunnatyai bhavati śirasastvayyavanatiḥ || 13||

That Bana, who had the three worlds at his beck and call, brought even the towering wealth of Indra to nothing — what wonder in that, when he waited upon your feet? What head bowed to you, O Boon-giver, does not rise to greatness?

Verse 14

अकाण्डब्रह्माण्डक्षयचकितदेवासुरकृपा विधेयस्याऽऽसीद् यस्त्रिनयन विषं संहृतवतः । स कल्माषः कण्ठे तव न कुरुते न श्रियमहो विकारोऽपि श्लाघ्यो भुवनभयभङ्गव्यसनिनः ॥ १४॥

akāṇḍabrahmāṇḍakṣayacakitadevāsurakṛpā vidheyasyā’’sīd yastrinayana viṣaṃ saṃhṛtavataḥ | sa kalmāṣaḥ kaṇṭhe tava na kurute na śriyamaho vikāro’pi ślāghyo bhuvanabhayabhaṅgavyasaninaḥ || 14||

When you, O Three-eyed One, in compassion for gods and demons terrified at the untimely ruin of the universe, drank the poison of the churning sea, the dark stain it left on your throat did not disfigure you — it became your glory. Even a blemish is admirable in one devoted to breaking the world's fear.

Verse 15

असिद्धार्था नैव क्वचिदपि सदेवासुरनरे निवर्तन्ते नित्यं जगति जयिनो यस्य विशिखाः । स पश्यन्नीश त्वामितरसुरसाधारणमभूत् स्मरः स्मर्तव्यात्मा न हि वशिषु पथ्यः परिभवः ॥ १५॥

asiddhārthā naiva kvacidapi sadevāsuranare nivartante nityaṃ jagati jayino yasya viśikhāḥ | sa paśyannīśa tvāmitarasurasādhāraṇamabhūt smaraḥ smartavyātmā na hi vaśiṣu pathyaḥ paribhavaḥ || 15||

The arrows of Kama, the god of love, never returned unfulfilled anywhere — among gods, demons or men, his shafts were ever victorious. But looking on you, O Lord, as just another god, he became a mere memory, his body burnt away. Insult to the self-mastered brings no good.

Verse 16

मही पादाघाताद् व्रजति सहसा संशयपदं पदं विष्णोर्भ्राम्यद् भुजपरिघरुग्णग्रहगणम् । मुहुर्द्यौर्दौस्थ्यं यात्यनिभृतजटाताडिततटा जगद्रक्षायै त्वं नटसि ननु वामैव विभुता ॥ १६॥

mahī pādāghātād vrajati sahasā saṃśayapadaṃ padaṃ viṣṇorbhrāmyad bhujaparigharugṇagrahagaṇam | muhurdyaurdausthyaṃ yātyanibhṛtajaṭātāḍitataṭā jagadrakṣāyai tvaṃ naṭasi nanu vāmaiva vibhutā || 16||

The earth, struck suddenly by your feet, doubts its own survival; Vishnu's realm trembles as your club-like arms bruise the trains of planets; the heavens ache, their banks lashed by your loosened matted hair — see, the very dance you dance for the world's protection seems to work its opposite! Power, alas, is a troublesome thing.

Verse 17

वियद्व्यापी तारागणगुणितफेनोद्गमरुचिः प्रवाहो वारां यः पृषतलघुदृष्टः शिरसि ते । जगद्द्वीपाकारं जलधिवलयं तेन कृतमिति अनेनैवोन्नेयं धृतमहिम दिव्यं तव वपुः ॥ १७॥

viyadvyāpī tārāgaṇaguṇitaphenodgamaruciḥ pravāho vārāṃ yaḥ pṛṣatalaghudṛṣṭaḥ śirasi te | jagaddvīpākāraṃ jaladhivalayaṃ tena kṛtamiti anenaivonneyaṃ dhṛtamahima divyaṃ tava vapuḥ || 17||

The celestial stream that pervades the sky, its rising foam made lovelier by the clustered stars, shows on your head as a mere droplet; and that same stream girdles the earth, making it an island in the ringed sea. From this alone may be measured how vast, how divine your body is.

Verse 18

रथः क्षोणी यन्ता शतधृतिरगेन्द्रो धनुरथो रथाङ्गे चन्द्रार्कौ रथचरणपाणिः शर इति । दिधक्षोस्ते कोऽयं त्रिपुरतृणमाडम्बर विधिः विधेयैः क्रीडन्त्यो न खलु परतन्त्राः प्रभुधियः ॥ १८॥

rathaḥ kṣoṇī yantā śatadhṛtiragendro dhanuratho rathāṅge candrārkau rathacaraṇapāṇiḥ śara iti | didhakṣoste ko’yaṃ tripuratṛṇamāḍambara vidhiḥ vidheyaiḥ krīḍantyo na khalu paratantrāḥ prabhudhiyaḥ || 18||

The earth your chariot, Brahma your charioteer, the great mountain your bow, sun and moon your chariot-wheels, Vishnu himself your arrow — what was this pomp of preparation to burn the three cities, mere straw before you? The Lord's thought does not depend on instruments; he was but playing with things that obey his will.

Verse 19

हरिस्ते साहस्रं कमल बलिमाधाय पदयोः यदेकोने तस्मिन् निजमुदहरन्नेत्रकमलम् । गतो भक्त्युद्रेकः परिणतिमसौ चक्रवपुषः त्रयाणां रक्षायै त्रिपुरहर जागर्ति जगताम् ॥ १९॥

hariste sāhasraṃ kamala balimādhāya padayoḥ yadekone tasmin nijamudaharannetrakamalam | gato bhaktyudrekaḥ pariṇatimasau cakravapuṣaḥ trayāṇāṃ rakṣāyai tripurahara jāgarti jagatām || 19||

Hari laid a thousand lotuses at your feet each day; one day, one flower short, he plucked out his own lotus-eye and offered it. That overflowing surge of devotion ripened into the discus in his hand, with which, O Destroyer of the Cities, he keeps watch over the three worlds.

Verse 20

क्रतौ सुप्ते जाग्रत् त्वमसि फलयोगे क्रतुमतां क्व कर्म प्रध्वस्तं फलति पुरुषाराधनमृते । अतस्त्वां सम्प्रेक्ष्य क्रतुषु फलदानप्रतिभुवं श्रुतौ श्रद्धां बध्वा दृढपरिकरः कर्मसु जनः ॥ २०॥

kratau supte jāgrat tvamasi phalayoge kratumatāṃ kva karma pradhvastaṃ phalati puruṣārādhanamṛte | atastvāṃ samprekṣya kratuṣu phaladānapratibhuvaṃ śrutau śraddhāṃ badhvā dṛḍhaparikaraḥ karmasu janaḥ || 20||

When the sacrifice sleeps, you remain awake to join the act to its fruit; if action perishes once performed, how could it bear fruit at all without worship of the Lord? Therefore, seeing in you the guarantor of the fruit of sacrifice, men place their faith in the Veda and gird themselves firmly to their rites.

Verse 21

क्रियादक्षो दक्षः क्रतुपतिरधीशस्तनुभृतां ऋषीणामार्त्विज्यं शरणद सदस्याः सुरगणाः । क्रतुभ्रंशस्त्वत्तः क्रतुफलविधानव्यसनिनः ध्रुवं कर्तुं श्रद्धा विधुरमभिचाराय हि मखाः ॥ २१॥

kriyādakṣo dakṣaḥ kratupatiradhīśastanubhṛtāṃ ṛṣīṇāmārtvijyaṃ śaraṇada sadasyāḥ suragaṇāḥ | kratubhraṃśastvattaḥ kratuphalavidhānavyasaninaḥ dhruvaṃ kartuṃ śraddhā vidhuramabhicārāya hi makhāḥ || 21||

Daksha was skilled in ritual, lord of creatures, master of the sacrifice itself; the great rishis served as his priests, the hosts of gods sat in assembly — yet his rite, performed without faith in you, was wrecked by you, O Refuge-giver. Sacrifices that scorn the giver of their fruit destroy their own performers.

Verse 22

प्रजानाथं नाथ प्रसभमभिकं स्वां दुहितरं गतं रोहिद् भूतां रिरमयिषुमृष्यस्य वपुषा । धनुष्पाणेर्यातं दिवमपि सपत्राकृतममुं त्रसन्तं तेऽद्यापि त्यजति न मृगव्याधरभसः ॥ २२॥

prajānāthaṃ nātha prasabhamabhikaṃ svāṃ duhitaraṃ gataṃ rohid bhūtāṃ riramayiṣumṛṣyasya vapuṣā | dhanuṣpāṇeryātaṃ divamapi sapatrākṛtamamuṃ trasantaṃ te’dyāpi tyajati na mṛgavyādharabhasaḥ || 22||

When the Lord of Creatures, overcome by lust, pursued his own daughter — she fleeing in the form of a deer, he following in a stag's body — you, bow in hand, hunted him; pierced by your arrow he fled to the sky, and there, even today, he hangs trembling, never released from the fury of your hunter's chase.

Verse 23

स्वलावण्याशंसा धृतधनुषमह्नाय तृणवत् पुरः प्लुष्टं दृष्ट्वा पुरमथन पुष्पायुधमपि । यदि स्त्रैणं देवी यमनिरतदेहार्धघटनात् अवैति त्वामद्धा बत वरद मुग्धा युवतयः ॥ २३॥

svalāvaṇyāśaṃsā dhṛtadhanuṣamahnāya tṛṇavat puraḥ pluṣṭaṃ dṛṣṭvā puramathana puṣpāyudhamapi | yadi straiṇaṃ devī yamaniratadehārdhaghaṭanāt avaiti tvāmaddhā bata varada mugdhā yuvatayaḥ || 23||

She herself saw Kama, bow drawn for conquest, burnt to straw in an instant before her eyes, O Destroyer of the Cities; if Devi, because she shares the ascetic's half of your body, still fancies you subject to her charms — ah, Boon-giver, how young women deceive themselves!

Verse 24

श्मशानेष्वाक्रीडा स्मरहर पिशाचाः सहचराः चिताभस्मालेपः स्रगपि नृकरोटीपरिकरः । अमङ्गल्यं शीलं तव भवतु नामैवमखिलं तथापि स्मर्तॄणां वरद परमं मङ्गलमसि ॥ २४॥

śmaśāneṣvākrīḍā smarahara piśācāḥ sahacarāḥ citābhasmālepaḥ sragapi nṛkaroṭīparikaraḥ | amaṅgalyaṃ śīlaṃ tava bhavatu nāmaivamakhilaṃ tathāpi smartṝṇāṃ varada paramaṃ maṅgalamasi || 24||

Your sport is in the cremation grounds; your companions are the ghosts; your unguent is the ash of funeral pyres; your garland a string of human skulls — let your whole conduct, then, be called inauspicious! And yet, O Giver of Boons, to all who remember you, you are the supreme auspiciousness itself.

Verse 25

मनः प्रत्यक् चित्ते सविधमविधायात्तमरुतः प्रहृष्यद्रोमाणः प्रमदसलिलोत्सङ्गतिदृशः । यदालोक्याह्लादं ह्रद इव निमज्यामृतमये दधत्यन्तस्तत्त्वं किमपि यमिनस्तत् किल भवान् ॥ २५॥

manaḥ pratyak citte savidhamavidhāyāttamarutaḥ prahṛṣyadromāṇaḥ pramadasalilotsaṅgatidṛśaḥ | yadālokyāhlādaṃ hrada iva nimajyāmṛtamaye dadhatyantastattvaṃ kimapi yaminastat kila bhavān || 25||

The yogis who draw the breath inward, fix the mind in the heart and behold you there — their hair thrills with rapture, their eyes brim with tears of joy; plunging as into a lake of nectar, they taste an inner bliss beyond all telling. That truth within, O Lord, is verily you.

Verse 26

त्वमर्कस्त्वं सोमस्त्वमसि पवनस्त्वं हुतवहः त्वमापस्त्वं व्योम त्वमु धरणिरात्मा त्वमिति च । परिच्छिन्नामेवं त्वयि परिणता बिभ्रति गिरं न विद्मस्तत्तत्त्वं वयमिह तु यत् त्वं न भवसि ॥ २६॥

tvamarkastvaṃ somastvamasi pavanastvaṃ hutavahaḥ tvamāpastvaṃ vyoma tvamu dharaṇirātmā tvamiti ca | paricchinnāmevaṃ tvayi pariṇatā bibhrati giraṃ na vidmastattattvaṃ vayamiha tu yat tvaṃ na bhavasi || 26||

You are the sun, you the moon, you the wind, you the fire; you the waters, you the ether, you the earth, and you the Self — so men speak, marking you out attribute by attribute. But as for us, we know of nothing whatsoever, here or anywhere, that you are not.

Verse 27

त्रयीं तिस्रो वृत्तीस्त्रिभुवनमथो त्रीनपि सुरान् अकाराद्यैर्वर्णैस्त्रिभिरभिदधत् तीर्णविकृति । तुरीयं ते धाम ध्वनिभिरवरुन्धानमणुभिः समस्तव्यस्तं त्वां शरणद गृणात्योमिति पदम् ॥ २७॥

trayīṃ tisro vṛttīstribhuvanamatho trīnapi surān akārādyairvarṇaistribhirabhidadhat tīrṇavikṛti | turīyaṃ te dhāma dhvanibhiravarundhānamaṇubhiḥ samastavyastaṃ tvāṃ śaraṇada gṛṇātyomiti padam || 27||

The three Vedas, the three states of waking, dream and sleep, the three worlds, the three gods — the syllable OM names them all in its three letters a, u, m; and by its subtle resonance beyond them it embraces your fourth, transcendent abode. Thus, O Refuge-giver, the word OM declares you both in your parts and in your wholeness.

Verse 28

भवः शर्वो रुद्रः पशुपतिरथोग्रः सहमहान् तथा भीमेशानाविति यदभिधानाष्टकमिदम् । अमुष्मिन् प्रत्येकं प्रविचरति देव श्रुतिरपि प्रियायास्मैधाम्ने प्रणिहितनमस्योऽस्मि भवते ॥ २८॥

bhavaḥ śarvo rudraḥ paśupatirathograḥ sahamahān tathā bhīmeśānāviti yadabhidhānāṣṭakamidam | amuṣmin pratyekaṃ pravicarati deva śrutirapi priyāyāsmaidhāmne praṇihitanamasyo’smi bhavate || 28||

Bhava, Sharva, Rudra, Pashupati, then Ugra, Sahamahan, Bhima and Ishana — over this, your eightfold name, even the Shruti lingers, pondering each in turn. To you, the beloved abode of these names, I offer my devoted salutation.

Verse 29

नमो नेदिष्ठाय प्रियदव दविष्ठाय च नमः नमः क्षोदिष्ठाय स्मरहर महिष्ठाय च नमः । नमो वर्षिष्ठाय त्रिनयन यविष्ठाय च नमः नमः सर्वस्मै ते तदिदमतिसर्वाय च नमः ॥ २९॥

namo nediṣṭhāya priyadava daviṣṭhāya ca namaḥ namaḥ kṣodiṣṭhāya smarahara mahiṣṭhāya ca namaḥ | namo varṣiṣṭhāya trinayana yaviṣṭhāya ca namaḥ namaḥ sarvasmai te tadidamatisarvāya ca namaḥ || 29||

Salutations to you, O lover of the forest dwellings, the nearest — and salutations to you, the farthest; salutations, O Destroyer of Kama, to the minutest of the minute — and to the mightiest of the mighty; salutations, O Three-eyed One, to the most ancient — and to the ever-youngest; salutations to you who are all — and beyond all, salutations again!

Verse 30

बहुलरजसे विश्वोत्पत्तौ भवाय नमो नमः प्रबलतमसे तत् संहारे हराय नमो नमः । जनसुखकृते सत्त्वोद्रिक्तौ मृडाय नमो नमः प्रमहसि पदे निस्त्रैगुण्ये शिवाय नमो नमः ॥ ३०॥

bahularajase viśvotpattau bhavāya namo namaḥ prabalatamase tat saṃhāre harāya namo namaḥ | janasukhakṛte sattvodriktau mṛḍāya namo namaḥ pramahasi pade nistraiguṇye śivāya namo namaḥ || 30||

Salutations again and again to Bhava, abounding in rajas, for the world's creation; salutations again and again to Hara, mighty in tamas, for its dissolution; salutations again and again to Mrida, rich in sattva, for the joy of living beings; salutations again and again to Shiva, the resplendent state beyond the three gunas.

Verse 31

कृशपरिणतिचेतः क्लेशवश्यं क्व चेदं क्व च तव गुणसीमोल्लङ्घिनी शश्वदृद्धिः । इति चकितममन्दीकृत्य मां भक्तिराधाद् वरद चरणयोस्ते वाक्यपुष्पोपहारम् ॥ ३१॥

kṛśapariṇaticetaḥ kleśavaśyaṃ kva cedaṃ kva ca tava guṇasīmollaṅghinī śaśvadṛddhiḥ | iti cakitamamandīkṛtya māṃ bhaktirādhād varada caraṇayoste vākyapuṣpopahāram || 31||

Where is this mind of mine — shrunken, ruled by affliction — and where your blazing excellence, ever overflowing every limit of quality? The thought made me tremble; yet devotion would not let me hold back, and so, O Giver of Boons, I have laid at your feet this offering of flowers made of words.

Verse 32

असितगिरिसमं स्यात् कज्जलं सिन्धुपात्रे सुरतरुवरशाखा लेखनी पत्रमुर्वी । लिखति यदि गृहीत्वा शारदा सर्वकालं तदपि तव गुणानामीश पारं न याति ॥ ३२॥

asitagirisamaṃ syāt kajjalaṃ sindhupātre surataruvaraśākhā lekhanī patramurvī | likhati yadi gṛhītvā śāradā sarvakālaṃ tadapi tava guṇānāmīśa pāraṃ na yāti || 32||

Were the black mountain the ink and the ocean the inkwell, were a branch of the wish-granting tree the pen and the earth itself the page, and were Sharada, goddess of speech, to take them up and write for all eternity — even then, O Lord, the end of your virtues would not be reached.

Verse 33

असुरसुरमुनीन्द्रैरर्चितस्येन्दुमौलेः ग्रथितगुणमहिम्नो निर्गुणस्येश्वरस्य । सकलगणवरिष्ठः पुष्पदन्ताभिधानः रुचिरमलघुवृत्तैः स्तोत्रमेतच्चकार ॥ ३३॥

asurasuramunīndrairarcitasyendumauleḥ grathitaguṇamahimno nirguṇasyeśvarasya | sakalagaṇavariṣṭhaḥ puṣpadantābhidhānaḥ ruciramalaghuvṛttaiḥ stotrametaccakāra || 33||

Thus has Pushpadanta, foremost of all the gandharva hosts, composed this lovely hymn in stately metres to the Lord whose crest bears the moon — the Ishvara worshipped by demons, gods and the best of sages, whose greatness is strung upon qualities though he himself is beyond all quality.

Verse 34

अहरहरनवद्यं धूर्जटेः स्तोत्रमेतत् पठति परमभक्त्या शुद्धचित्तः पुमान् यः । स भवति शिवलोके रुद्रतुल्यस्तथाऽत्र प्रचुरतरधनायुः पुत्रवान् कीर्तिमांश्च ॥ ३४॥

aharaharanavadyaṃ dhūrjaṭeḥ stotrametat paṭhati paramabhaktyā śuddhacittaḥ pumān yaḥ | sa bhavati śivaloke rudratulyastathā’tra pracurataradhanāyuḥ putravān kīrtimāṃśca || 34||

The man who, pure in heart and with supreme devotion, daily recites this flawless hymn of Dhurjati (Shiva of the matted locks) — he attains hereafter the world of Shiva and becomes Shiva's equal; and in this world he is blessed with abundant wealth, long life, children and fame.

Verse 35

महेशान्नापरो देवो महिम्नो नापरा स्तुतिः । अघोरान्नापरो मन्त्रो नास्ति तत्त्वं गुरोः परम् ॥ ३५॥

maheśānnāparo devo mahimno nāparā stutiḥ | aghorānnāparo mantro nāsti tattvaṃ guroḥ param || 35||

There is no god beyond Mahesha; there is no hymn of praise beyond this Hymn of His Greatness; there is no mantra higher than Aghora (the name of Shiva); there is no truth beyond the Guru.

Verse 36

दीक्षा दानं तपस्तीर्थं ज्ञानं यागादिकाः क्रियाः । महिम्नस्तव पाठस्य कलां नार्हन्ति षोडशीम् ॥ ३६॥

dīkṣā dānaṃ tapastīrthaṃ jñānaṃ yāgādikāḥ kriyāḥ | mahimnastava pāṭhasya kalāṃ nārhanti ṣoḍaśīm || 36||

Initiation, charity, austerity, pilgrimage, sacred knowledge, the performance of sacrifices and the rest — none of these is worth even a sixteenth part of the recitation of this Hymn of Greatness.

Verse 37

कुसुमदशननामा सर्वगन्धर्वराजः शशिधरवरमौलेर्देवदेवस्य दासः । स खलु निजमहिम्नो भ्रष्ट एवास्य रोषात् स्तवनमिदमकार्षीद् दिव्यदिव्यं महिम्नः ॥ ३७॥

kusumadaśananāmā sarvagandharvarājaḥ śaśidharavaramaulerdevadevasya dāsaḥ | sa khalu nijamahimno bhraṣṭa evāsya roṣāt stavanamidamakārṣīd divyadivyaṃ mahimnaḥ || 37||

Kusumadashana — Pushpadanta — king of all the gandharvas, was the servant of the God of gods whose crest bears the lovely crescent moon. Fallen from his own glory through the Lord's displeasure, he composed this divinely beautiful hymn of Shiva's greatness.

Verse 38

सुरगुरुमभिपूज्य स्वर्गमोक्षैकहेतुं पठति यदि मनुष्यः प्राञ्जलिर्नान्यचेताः । व्रजति शिवसमीपं किन्नरैः स्तूयमानः स्तवनमिदममोघं पुष्पदन्तप्रणीतम् ॥ ३८॥

suragurumabhipūjya svargamokṣaikahetuṃ paṭhati yadi manuṣyaḥ prāñjalirnānyacetāḥ | vrajati śivasamīpaṃ kinnaraiḥ stūyamānaḥ stavanamidamamoghaṃ puṣpadantapraṇītam || 38||

If a man, with folded hands and undistracted mind, first worships the Teacher of the gods — the one cause of heaven and liberation — and then recites this unfailing hymn composed by Pushpadanta, he goes into the presence of Shiva, hymned on his way by the kinnaras.

Verse 39

आसमाप्तमिदं स्तोत्रं पुण्यं गन्धर्वभाषितम् । अनौपम्यं मनोहारि सर्वमीश्वरवर्णनम् ॥ ३९॥

āsamāptamidaṃ stotraṃ puṇyaṃ gandharvabhāṣitam | anaupamyaṃ manohāri sarvamīśvaravarṇanam || 39||

Here is completed this hymn of merit, spoken by the gandharva — incomparable, ravishing the heart, a description of the Lord of all in his entirety.

Verse 40

इत्येषा वाङ्मयी पूजा श्रीमच्छङ्करपादयोः । अर्पिता तेन देवेशः प्रीयतां मे सदाशिवः ॥ ४०॥

ityeṣā vāṅmayī pūjā śrīmacchaṅkarapādayoḥ | arpitā tena deveśaḥ prīyatāṃ me sadāśivaḥ || 40||

Thus is this worship wrought of words laid at the feet of Shri Shankara. May Sadashiva, the Lord of the gods, be ever pleased with me.

Verse 41

तव तत्त्वं न जानामि कीदृशोऽसि महेश्वर । यादृशोऽसि महादेव तादृशाय नमो नमः ॥ ४१॥

tava tattvaṃ na jānāmi kīdṛśo’si maheśvara | yādṛśo’si mahādeva tādṛśāya namo namaḥ || 41||

I do not know the truth of your being, O Maheshwara — of what nature you are. But whatever you are, O Mahadeva, to that very nature my salutations, again and again.

Verse 42

एककालं द्विकालं वा त्रिकालं यः पठेन्नरः । सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तः शिव लोके महीयते ॥ ४२॥

ekakālaṃ dvikālaṃ vā trikālaṃ yaḥ paṭhennaraḥ | sarvapāpavinirmuktaḥ śiva loke mahīyate || 42||

The man who recites this hymn once, twice or thrice a day is freed from every sin and is honoured with glory in the world of Shiva.

Verse 43

श्री पुष्पदन्तमुखपङ्कजनिर्गतेन स्तोत्रेण किल्बिषहरेण हरप्रियेण । कण्ठस्थितेन पठितेन समाहितेन सुप्रीणितो भवति भूतपतिर्महेशः ॥ ४३॥

śrī puṣpadantamukhapaṅkajanirgatena stotreṇa kilbiṣahareṇa harapriyeṇa | kaṇṭhasthitena paṭhitena samāhitena suprīṇito bhavati bhūtapatirmaheśaḥ || 43||

By this hymn — sprung from the lotus-mouth of Shri Pushpadanta, destroyer of sin, beloved of Hara — whether kept in the throat (learnt by heart) or recited with a collected mind, Mahesha, the Lord of all beings, is supremely pleased.

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