Shiv Sahasranama — Word-by-Word Meaning

Ever meditate on Mahesha — radiant as a silver mountain, crowned with the lovely crescent moon, His limbs ablaze with jewelled ornaments, His hands bearing the axe, the deer, the boon-gesture and the gesture of fearlessness, serene; seated in the lotus posture, praised on every side by the host of immortals, clad in a tiger-skin; the origin of the universe, adored by the universe, remover of every fear, five-faced and three-eyed. Upamanyu said: With the names spoken by Brahma and by the sages, arising from the Vedas and their limbs, renowned in all the worlds and worthy of praise, I shall praise Him — names ordained by the great, true and perfect, fulfilling every aim, composed in devotion by the sage Tandi whose very Self was shaped by the Veda. Now begins the recitation of the thousand names of Shiva. The firm and steadfast (Sthira), the immovable pillar (Sthanu), the Lord, the terrible Bhima, the foremost and best, the giver of boons; the Self of all, renowned everywhere, the All (Sarva), the doer of all, Bhava the source of existence. Bearing matted hair, deer-skin and crest, holding the sword; whole of limb, the creator of all states of being; Hara the dissolver, the deer-eyed, who withdraws all beings, the Lord. He who is engagement (pravritti) and withdrawal (nivritti), the regulated, the eternal, the ever-fixed; dweller in the cremation ground, the Lord, moving in the sky, moving on earth, the destroyer of foes. Worthy of salutation, of mighty deeds, the great ascetic, the source of beings; concealed in a mad guise (avadhuta), the lord of all the worlds' creatures. Of vast form and vast body, bull-formed, of great fame; the great Self, the soul of all beings, of universal form, of mighty jaw. Guardian of the worlds, the hidden indwelling Self, grace itself, drawn by horse and mule; the purifier, the great one, restraint itself, abiding in discipline. Doer of all deeds, self-existent, the first, the first cause, the treasure; the thousand-eyed, wide-eyed, the moon (Soma), the perfecter of the constellations. The moon, the sun, Saturn, Ketu, the planet and the lord of planets, the boon-giver; the sage Atri and the one saluted by Atri's wife, who took the deer-mark, the sinless one. Of great austerity and fierce austerity, the un-depressed who uplifts the lowly; maker of the year, the sacred Mantra, the measure of all, the supreme penance. The yogi, the goal of union, of mighty seed and mighty virility, of great strength; of golden seed, the all-knowing, of auspicious seed, the bearer of the seed. Ten-armed, unwinking, the blue-throated (Nilakantha), the Lord of Uma; of universal form, supreme of His own accord, mighty and heroic, strength itself, the lord of hosts (Gana). Maker and lord of the Ganas, sky-clad (Digvasa), and Desire (Kama) itself; the knower of mantra, the supreme Mantra, maker of every state of being, Hara. Bearing the water-pot, the bow, arrows in hand, and the skull; armed with thunderbolt, the Shataghni, sword and spear — the great wielder of weapons. Holding the sacrificial ladle, of beautiful form, radiance and maker of radiance, the treasure; turbaned, of fair face, lofty and humble alike. The tall, the tawny-haired, of holy fords, and Krishna (the dark); of jackal-form, of accomplished aim, shaven-headed, the doer of all good (Sarva-shubhankara). The unborn, of manifold forms, fragrance-bearing, of the matted lock (Kapardi); of upward-drawn seed, the upward emblem, sleeping upward, dwelling in the sky. Of three matted locks, clad in rags, Rudra, the commander of armies, the all-pervading; ranging by day and by night, of fierce wrath yet of brilliant splendour. Slayer of the elephant-demon and of the daityas, Time itself, sustainer of the worlds, the mine of virtues; lion- and tiger-formed, wrapped in a fresh hide. The yogi of the aeon, of mighty roar, fulfiller of all desire, of the four paths; ranging in the night, moving among spirits and ghosts, Maheshvara the great Lord. Of manifold forms, bearing all, the eclipse-light (Svarbhanu), of measureless gait; fond of dance, ever dancing, the dancer, eager for all. The terrible, the great ascetic, the noose (Pasha), the eternal, born of the mountain, vast as the sky; of a thousand hands, the victor, resolute effort, the untiring. The unassailable yet the assailing Self, destroyer of (Daksha's) sacrifice, slayer of desire; remover of Daksha's offering, the all-enduring, the central. Remover of others' power, slayer of pride, the joyful, the goal, the unconquered, the most excellent; of deep voice and deep nature, of profound strength and bearing. Of banyan-form, the banyan, abiding on its leaf, the all-pervading; of sharp teeth, of vast body and vast face. Vishvaksena, Hari, the sacrifice, borne into the press of battle; of fierce heat, of tawny steeds, the helper, knower of action and time. Propitiated by Vishnu, the sacrifice, the ocean and the mare's-mouth fire within it; companion of the fire, the tranquil Self, and the devouring fire itself. Of fierce splendour and mighty splendour, born of battle, knower of the hour of victory; the course of the lights (of heaven), perfection itself, and every form. The crested, the shaven, the matted, the flaming, born of (His own) image, crowning the head, the mighty; player of flute, drum and cymbal, the threshing one — Kalakatankata. Of star-bright intellect, of qualitied wisdom, dissolution and the goer; the lord of creatures, of universal arms, distribution itself, facing all as the cow-faced. The liberator, of good refuge, born of the golden armour (Hiranya-kavacha); the source of generation, ranging in strength, ranging the earth, the renowned (Sruta). Sounding all instruments, master of every music; serpent-formed, dwelling in the cave (Guha-vasi), the hidden, garlanded, knower of the wave (of existence). The thirty (gods), bearer of the three times, releaser from every bond of action; the binder of the asura-lords, slayer of foes in battle. Grace of the Sankhya, Durvasas, served by all the holy; the leaper-forth, knower of distinctions, the incomparable, knower of the sacrificial share. Dwelling everywhere, ranging everywhere, Durvasas, Indra (Vasava), the immortal; the golden, the gold-maker, the sacrifice, bearer of all, the best of upholders. Red-eyed, large-eyed, victory-eyed, the learned; gathering and restraining, the doer, clad in the serpent's slough. The chief and the un-chief, the embodied, the drum (Kahali), giver of all desires; gracious to every cough and ailment, of great strength, bearer of strength's form. The boon of all desires, the all-giving, facing every direction; formless as the sky, the swooping one, free and unbound, the sky-goer. Of fierce form, the radiant Sun of many rays and brilliant glow; swift as the Vasus, of mighty speed, swift as the mind, ranging the night. Dwelling in all, dwelling in prosperity (Shri), the giver of teaching, the inactive; the silent sage, self-luminous beyond sight, the sundered, the giver of thousands. The bird and of bird-form, the intensely radiant, lord of the people; frenzy, the maddener, Desire, the holy fig (Ashvattha), maker of wealth, glory. Vamadeva, the lovely, of the eastern and southern (faces), the dwarf (Vamana); the perfected yogi, the great seer, of accomplished aim, fulfiller of the perfected. The mendicant and of mendicant-form, the trader, gentle and imperishable; the great general (Mahasena/Skanda), Vishakha, the sixth portion, lord of cattle. Thunderbolt in hand, the prop, and the stupefier of armies; maker of the cycle and its breaking, the rhythm (Tala), the sweet, of honeyed eyes. Lord of speech, the swift-darting, ever worshipped in the hermitages; the celibate, ranging the worlds, ranging all, knower of right deliberation. Ishana the ruler, the Lord, Time, ranging the night, bearer of the Pinaka bow; standing as the cause and the very cause, Nandi and maker of joy, Hari. Nandishvara and Nandi, the joyous, increaser of joy; remover of fortunes (at dissolution), the slayer, Time, Brahma, the grandsire. The four-faced, of the great Linga and the lovely Linga; overseer of the Linga, of the gods, and of yoga, the bringer-on of the ages. Overseer of the seed (of creation) and its maker, the indwelling, the followed, the strong; History itself, with the Kalpa, Gautama, and the night-maker (moon). Pride and freedom from pride and the master of pride, the controllable and the controller, the strife (Kali); maker of the worlds, lord of creatures (Pashupati), great doer, needing no medicine. The imperishable supreme Brahman, the mighty Indra (Shakra); both law and beyond-law, the pure Self, the pure, the honoured, the goer-and-comer. Of abundant grace, of fair dreams, the mirror, conqueror of foes; maker of the Veda and of mantras, the wise, crusher in battle. Dwelling in the great cloud, the greatly terrible, the subduer; the fire, the flame and the great flame, the deeply smoke-dark, the oblation offered. The bull (and the showerer of grace), Shankara the doer of good, the ever-radiant, smoke-bannered; the dark blue, the seeker of devotion, the beautiful, the unobstructed. Giver of welfare, of welfare's nature, the sharer and maker of shares, the swift; of broad lap and mighty body, intent on the great cosmic womb. Dark-hued and golden-hued, the very sense-power of all embodied beings; of great feet, great hands, great body and great fame. Of great head, great measure, great eyes, the abode of night; the great ender, of great ears, great lips and mighty jaw. Of great nose, great neck (conch-like) and mighty throat, frequenter of the cremation ground; of broad chest and breast, the inner Self, the resting-place of the deer. Of pendant form and drooping lip, of great power of illusion (Maya), the ocean of milk; of great teeth and tusks, mighty tongue and great mouth. Of great nails, great hair, great locks and great matted mass; the gracious and grace itself, the conviction, accomplished on the mountain. The loving and the loveless (beyond attachment), the unconquered, the great sage; tree-formed, tree-bannered, the fire, borne by the wind. Of the cheek-ornament, abiding on Meru, and the very lord of the gods; whose head is the Atharva, whose face the Sama, of measureless vision through a thousand Rik verses. Whose feet and arms are the Yajus, the secret, the manifest, the moving; of unfailing purpose, grace, easy of approach, of beautiful sight (Sudarshana). The benefactor, the beloved, the All, gold, of golden lustre; the navel (centre), maker of joy, Being itself, abiding firm on the lotus. The twelve (Adityas), of the lion-seat, the primal, the sacrifice fully gathered; night, strife and Time, the Makara, worshipped through the ages. With His hosts and their maker, charioteer drawn by the host of spirits; reposing on ashes, guardian of ashes, become ash, the tree, the Gana. Guardian of the worlds, the world, the great Self, worshipped by all; the white, the thrice-white, the perfect, the pure, served by all beings. Abiding in the hermitage, established in action, of cosmic-architect mind, the best; of spreading branches, copper-lipped, lotus-netted, perfectly still. Tawny and brown and white, life-span itself, the higher and the lower; the Gandharva, Aditi, Garuda (Tarkshya), easily known, of fine wisdom. Wielding the battle-axe, the god, the imitator, the good kinsman; of the gourd-lute, of great wrath, of upward seed, reposing on the waters. The fierce, maker of the lineage, the lineage and its sound, the unblamed; whole-formed, the magician (master of Maya), the kind friend, the wind and the fire. The bond and its maker and the releaser from every bond; the foe of (Daksha's) sacrifice, the foe of Desire, of great tusks and mighty weapons. Variously praised, Sharva, Shankara the giver of peace, the unattached; lord of the immortals, the great God (Mahadeva), god of the universe, slayer of the gods' foes. Ahirbudhnya (the serpent of the deep), of windless lustre, Chekitana, the oblation; Ajaikapad, Kapali, Trishanku, the unconquered, Shiva the auspicious. Dhanvantari, the comet, Skanda, Vaishravana (Kubera); the upholder Dhata, Shakra, Vishnu, Mitra, Tvashta, the fixed (Dhruva), the upholder. Power and the all-pervader, the Wind, Aryaman, Savitr, the Sun; Ushanas, the ordainer Vidhata, Mandhata, the source of beings. The all-pervading, of varied light, bearer of all desires and qualities; the lotus-naveled, the great womb, moon-faced, the wind and the fire. The mighty and the deeply tranquil, the ancient, of holy renown; maker, dweller and being of the Kuru land, the medicine of the qualities. The refuge of all, ranging on the sacred grass, lord of all living creatures; God of gods, abiding in bliss, knower of being, non-being and all jewels. Dwelling on Mount Kailasa and resorting to the Himalaya; destroyer and maker of shores (limits), of manifold knowledge, the giver of much. The merchant, the carpenter, the tree, the Bakula, sandal and leaf; of firm neck and mighty collar, the un-restless, the great healing herb. Maker and possessor of the perfected aim, supreme in metre and grammar; of the lion's roar and lion's fang, lion-gaited, lion-borne. Of powerful Self, Time of the world, the cup, the world's benefactor, the tree; the dappled (Saranga), of the new wheel of nine, garlanded with banners, of fair intent. The abode of all beings, lord of beings, day-and-night itself, the unblamed. The bearer of all beings, the resting-place, the all-pervading Bhava; the unfailing, the controlled, the swift steed, the food, the upholder of life-breath. Of firm resolve, of wisdom, the able, the well-honoured, lord of the aeon; the cowherd, the cow-lord, the village, clad in cow-hide, Hari; of golden arms, guardian of the cave for those who enter, the great foe-queller, the greatly joyful, conqueror of desire and the senses. Of the Gandhara (note), of fair dwelling, intent on penance, delight and the (cosmic) Man; of great song and great dance, served by the hosts of Apsaras. Of the great banner and great element, of many ridges, the moving; worthy to be made known, the command, bringer of every fragrance and joy. The arch and the deliverer, the wind, the enclosure, lord of sky-rangers; union, increase, the aged, the very ancient, surpassing in virtue. The eternal, self-helped, lord of gods and asuras, the master; the joined and joined-armed, the god of the well-jointed in heaven. Ashadha and Sushandha, the fixed Dhruva, the deer (Harina), Hara; of body beyond the revolving (worlds), best of the Vasus, the great path. The head-bearer (of skulls), reflection itself, marked with every auspicious mark; the axis and the chariot-yoked, the all-yogi, of mighty strength. The tradition and beyond tradition, god of the sacred fords, the great charioteer; the lifeless and life-giving, the Mantra, of auspicious eyes, the very rugged. Born of jewels, jewel-limbed, knower of the great ocean's depths; the root, the vast, the immortal, manifest-and-unmanifest, the treasure of penance. The ascent and the over-ascent, bearer of right conduct, of great fame; ordainer of the army, of the great aeon, Yoga itself, maker of the ages, Hari. Of the form of the ages, of mighty form, slayer of the great serpent, the slayer; the dispenser of justice, the foot, the wise, like the unmoving mountain. Of many garlands and the great garland, the moon, of the beautiful eye that is Hara's; expansion, the salt-ocean, the well, of the three ages, of fruitful rising. The three-eyed (Trilochana), of drooping limb, jewel-pierced, bearing matted locks; the dot (Bindu) and its release (Visarga), of fair face, the arrow, all weapons, the enduring. The announcer, born of ease, of fair Gandhara, the great bow; keeper of fragrance, the Lord, the uprising of all actions. The churning-stick, the abundant, the Wind, the whole, the all-eyed; the surface, the rhythm, cup in hand, of upward frame, the great. The parasol and fair parasol, the renowned, the world, the refuge of all, the stride; the shaven and deformed and mis-shapen, the staff-bearer, the ring-bearer, the transformer; of the lion-eye, the peak, the thunderbolt, of a hundred tongues, thousand-footed, thousand-headed Indra of gods, made of all gods, the Guru. Of a thousand arms, whole of limb, the refuge, maker of all worlds; the holy, of the three peaks, the Mantra, the youngest, dark-and-tawny (Krishna-pingala); maker of Brahma's staff, wielding the Shataghni, noose and spear; lotus-wombed, great-wombed, Brahma-wombed, born of the waters. The ray of light, maker of Brahman and the Brahman, knower of Brahman, the Brahmana, the goal; of endless forms, of many Selves, of fierce splendour, self-existent. Of upward-moving Self, lord of creatures (Pashupati), swift as the wind, swift as the mind; the sandal-anointed, tip of the lotus-stalk, the deliverer of the divine cow, the Man. Garlanded with great Karnikara flowers, blue-crested, bearing the Pinaka; lord and beloved of Uma, bearer of the Ganga (Jahnavi), the consort of Uma. The boon and the Boar (Varaha), the boon-giver, the most worthy, of mighty sound; of great grace, the subduer, slayer of foes, white-and-tawny. The golden Self, the supreme Self, the controlled Self, upholder of the Pradhana; facing every side, three-eyed, the common ground of dharma, the excellent. Self of the moving and unmoving, the subtle Self, the immortal, lord of the bull and cow; the Sadhya-sage, Vasu, Aditya, Vivasvan, Savitr, the immortal; Vyasa, creation, fine abridgement and expansion, recurrence, the Man; season, year, month, fortnight, the completion of all reckoning. The kala, kashtha, lava, matra, muhurta, day, night and instant (the divisions of time); the field of the universe, the seed of beings, the emblem (Linga), the primal, the going-forth. Being and non-being, manifest and unmanifest, father, mother and grandsire; the door of heaven, the door of beings, the door of liberation, the celestial abode. Liberation (Nirvana) and the gladdener, the world of Brahma, the supreme goal; maker of gods and asuras, the refuge of gods and asuras. Guru of gods and asuras, the God, saluted by gods and asuras; the great minister of gods and asuras, the support of their hosts. Overseer of the hosts of gods and asuras, foremost among them; God beyond the gods, the divine sage, giver of boons to gods and asuras. Lord of gods and asuras, the universe, great Lord of gods and asuras; made of all gods, the inconceivable, the very soul of deity, self-born. The sprung-forth, Trivikrama, the physician, the passionless, the dustless, the immortal; the praiseworthy, lord of elephants, the tiger, the divine lion, the bull among men. The wise, foremost and best, the subtle, the all-god, made of penance; the well-joined, the resplendent, the thunderbolt-bearer, source of the lances, imperishable. The hidden (Guha), the beloved, the very own, creation, the holy, purifier of all; the horned, fond of the horn, the tawny (Babhru), king of kings, the diseaseless. The delightful, the host of gods, cessation, the means of all attainment; the fore-head-eyed (Lalataksha), the all-god, the deer, of Brahmic splendour. Lord of all unmoving things, increaser of the disciplined senses; of accomplished aim, of accomplished being and purpose, the inconceivable, of true vows, the pure. Lord of vows, the supreme Brahman, the highest goal of devotees; the liberated, of liberated splendour, the glorious, increaser of glory — He who is the world itself. The Phalashruti — the fruits of reciting these thousand names of Shiva: Praising the God Shiva with these names that increase well-being, the ever-devoted, pure devotee attains the Self by the Self. For this is the supreme Brahman, and by it one attains the supreme Brahman. This hymn is meritorious and holy, ever destroying sin; it bestows yoga, liberation, heaven and contentment. Those who recite it with single-pointed devotion to Shankara attain that very goal which the masters of Sankhya and Yoga reach. The devotee who earnestly recites this hymn for one whole year in the presence of Rudra obtains the fruit he longs for. This is the supreme secret, set in the very heart of Brahma. Thus concludes the Shiva Sahasranama Stotram from the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata. Om Namah Shivaya.