LORD SHIVA &ME

‘Shiva Mahimna Stotra’.

Lord Shiva became pleased by this Stotra, and returned Pushhpadanta’s divine powers.
The legend has some basis since the name of the author is mentioned in verse number 38 of the stotram. The recital of this stotra is very beneficial, therefore let its recitation be beneficial to all beings!

Text 1

mahimnah param te parama vidusho yadyasadrishi
stutir brahma dina mapitadava sannastvayi girah,
atha vacyah sarvah svamati parina mavadhi grinan
mamapyeshah stotre hara nirapavadah parikarah

Sri Pushpadanta said:
If it is unseemly to praise You when ignorant of the extent of’ Your greatness, then even the praises of Brahma and others are inadequate. If no one can be blamed when they praise You according to their intellectual powers, then my attempt to compose a hymn cannot be reproached. (1)

Text 2

Atitah panthanam tava ca mahima vanmanasayor
atad vyavrttya yam cakita mabhi dhatte shrutirapi,
sa kasya stotavyah katividha gunah kasya vishayah
pade tvarvacine patati na manah kasya na vacah.

Your greatness is beyond the reach of mind and speech. Who can properly praise that which even the Vedas describe with trepidation, by means of’ ‘neti-neti / not this, not this’? How many qualities does He possess? By whom can He be perceived? Yet whose mind and speech do not turn to the form later taken by Him (saguna) (2)

 Text 3

Madhu sphita vacah paramam amritam nirmitavatas
tava brahman kim vag api suraguror vismaya padam,
mama tvetam vanim guna kathana punyena bhavatah
punam ityarthe’smin puramathana buddhir vyavasita.

O Brahman! Do even Brihaspati’s praises cause wonder to You, the author of the nectar like sweet Vedas? 0 destroyer of the three cities, the thought that by praising Your glories I shall purify my speech has prompted me to undertake this work. (3)

Text 4

Tavaisvaryam yat taj jagadudaya raksa  pralayakrit
trayivastu vyastam tisrishu guna-bhinnasu tanushu,
abhavyanam asmin varada ramaniyama ramanim
vihantum vyakrosim vidadhata ihaike jadadhiyah.

O Giver of boons! Some stupid people produce arguments–pleasing to the ignorant but in fact hateful– to refute Your Divinity, which creates, preserves and destroys the world, which is divided into three bodies (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) according to the three gunas, and which is described in the three Vedas. (4)

Text 5

Kimihah kimkayah sa khalu kimupaya stribhuvanam
kimadharo dhata srijati kimupadana iti ca,
atarkyaish varye tvay yanavasara duhstho hatadhiyah
kutarko’yam kamshcin mukharayati mohaya jagatah.

To fulfill what desire, assuming what form, with what instruments, support and material does that Creator create the three worlds? This kind of futile argumentation about You whose divine nature is beyond the reach of intellect, makes the perverted vociferous, and brings delusion to men. (5)

Text 6

Ajanmano lokah kimavayava vanto’pi jagatam
adhisthataram kim bhavavidhir-anadritya bhavati,
anisho va kuryad bhuvana janane kah parikaro
yato mandastvam praty-amaravara samsherata ime.

O Lord of gods! Can the worlds be without origin, though they have bodies? Is their creation possible with­out a creator? Who else but God can initiate the creation of the worlds?  Because they are fools they raise doubts about Your existence. (6)

Text 7

Trayi sankhyam yogah pasupati matam vaishnavamiti
prabhinne prasthane paramidamadah pathyamiti ca,
rucinam vaicitryad riju kutila nana pathajusham
nrinameko gamyas tvamsasi payasa marnava iva.

Different paths (to realization) arc enjoined by the three Vedas, by Sankhya, Yoga, Pashupata (Shaiva) (doctrine and Vaishnava Shastras. People follow different paths, straight or crooked, according to their temperament, depending on which they consider best, or most appropriate–and reach You alone just as rivers enter the ocean. (7)

Text 8

Mahokshah khatvangam parashu-rajinam bhasma haninah
kapalam cetiyat tava varada tantro pakaranam,
surastam tamriddhim dadhati tu bhavad bhru pranihitam
na hi svatma ramam vishaya mriga trishna bhramayati.

 O Giver of boons! A great bull, a wooden hand rest, an axe, a tiger skin, ashes, serpents, a human skull and other such things–these are all You own, though simply by casting Your eyes on gods You gave them great treasures which they enjoy. Indeed one whose delight is in the Self cannot be deluded by the mirage of sense objects. (8)

Text 9

Dhruvam kascit sarvam sakala mapara stva dhruva midam
paro dhrau vyadhrauvye jagati gadati vyasta vishaye,
samaste’pye tasmin puramathana tair vismita iva
stuvan jihremi tvam na khalu nanu dhrishta mukharata.

O Destroyer of the demon Pura, some say that the whole universe is eternal while others say that all is transi­tory. Others still, hold that it is eternal and non-eternal — having different characteristics. Bewildered by all this, I do not feel ashamed to praise You; indeed my loquacity is an indication of my boldness. (9)

  Text 10

Tavaisvaryam yatnad yadupari virincir-hari-radhah
paricchettum yatav anala manala skandha vapushah,
tato bhakti sraddha bhara-guru-grinad-bhyam girisha yat
svayam tasthe tabhyam tava kim anuvrittir na phalati.

O Girisha, when You took the form of a pillar of fire, Brahma trying from above and Vishnu trying from below failed to measure You. Afterwards, when they praised You with great faith and devotion, You revealed yourself to them of Your own accord; does not surrender to You bear fruit? (10)

Text 11

Ayatnadapadya tribhuvanama-vairavya-tikaram
dashasyo yadbahun abhrita ranakandu paravashan,
sthirah padmasreni racita caranam bhoruhabaleh
sthiraya stvad bhaktes tripurahara visphur jitamidam.

O Destroyer of Tripura, it was because of that great devotion, which prompted him to offer his heads as lotuses to Your feet, that the ten-headed Ravana was still with arms and eager for fresh war after he had effortlessly rid the three worlds of all traces of enemies. (11)

Text 12

Amushya tvatseva samadhigata-saram bhujavanam
balat-kailase’pi tvadadhivasatau vikramayatah,
alabhya patale pyalasa-calitan-gustha-shirasi
pratishtha tvayyasid dhruvamupacito muhyati khalah

But when he (Ravana) extended the valour of his arms-whose strength was obtained by worshipping You- to Kailas, Your abode, You moved the tip of Your toe, and he did not find a resting place even in the nether world. Truly, when affluent the wicked become deluded. (12)

Text 13

Yadriddhim sutramno varada paramo-ccairapi satim
adhashcakre banah parijana vidheya tribhuvanah,
na taccitram tasmin varivasitari tvac caranayor
na kasya unnatyai bhavati srirasastvay yavanatih.

O Giver of boons, since Bana was the worshipper of Your feet is it to be wondered at that he had the three worlds at his command and put to shame the wealth of Indra? What prosperity does not come from bowing down the head to You? (13)

Text 14

Akanda brahmanda kshaya cakita devasura kripa
vidheya syasidyas trinayana visham samhrita vatah,
sa kalmashah kanthe tava na kurute na shriya maho
vikaro’pi shlaghyo bhuvana-bhaya-bhangavyasaninah.

O Three-Eyed One, who drank poison out of compassion for gods and demons when they were distraught at the sudden prospect of the destruction of the universe, surely the dark blue stain on Your throat has beautified You. Even deformity is to be admired in one who is given to freeing the world of fear. (14)

Text 15

Asiddhartha naiva kvacidapi sadeva suranare
nivartante nityam, jagati jayino yasya vishikhah,
sa pashyannisa tvam itara surasadharana mabhut
smarah smarta-vyatma na hi vasishu pathyah paribhavah

O Lord, the god of love, whose arrows never fail in the world of gods and men, become nothing but an object of memory because he looked on You as an ordinary god (his body being burnt by Your look of wrath). An insult to the self-controlled is not conducive to good. (15)

Text 16

Mahi padaghatad vrajati sahasa samshaya-padam
padam visnor-bhramyad bhujaparigha-rugna-graha-ganam,
muhur-dyaur-dausthyam yat-­yanibhrita-jata-taditatata
jagad-rakshayai tvam natasi nanu vamaiva vibhuta.

 When You danced to save the world, the earth was suddenly thrown into a precarious state at the striking of Your feet; the spatial regions and the hosts of stars felt oppressed by the movement of Your massive club-like arms; and the heavens became miserable as their sides were constantly struck by Your waving matted hair.  Indeed it is Your very mightiness which is the cause of the trouble. (16)

Text 17

Viyad-vyapi tara gana-gunita phenod-gama-rucih
pravaho varam yah prishata-laghu-dristah shirasi te,
jagad-dvipakaram jaladhivalayam tena kritami-
tyane-naivon-neyam dhrita-mahima divyam tava vapuh.

The river which pervades the sky and whose foam crests look all the more beautiful because of stars and planets, seems no more than a drop of water when on Your head. That same river has turned the world into islands surrounded by waters. From this can be judged  vastness of Your divine body. (17)

Text 18

Rathah kshoni yanta shata-dhriti-ragendro dhanuratho
rathange candrarkau rathacarana-panih shara iti,
didhakshoste ko’yam tripura-trina-madambara-vidhir
vidheyaih kridantyo na khalu paratantrah prabhu-dhiyah.

When You wanted to burn the three cities of the demons – which were but a piece of straw to You–the earth was Your chariot, Brahma Your charioteer, the great mountain Meru Your bow, the sun and the moon the wheels of Your chariot, Vishnu Your arrow. Why all this paraphernalia? The Lord is not dependent on others. He was only playing with things at His command. (18)

Text 19

Hariste sahasram kamala-balima-dhaya padayor
yadekone tasmin nija-mudaharan-netra-kamalam,
gato bhaktyu-drekah parinatim-asau cakra-vapusha
trayanam rakshayai tripura-hara jagarti jagatam.

O Destroyer of the three cities, Hari rooted out His own lotus-eye to make up the difference when one flower was missing in His offering of 1,000 lotuses to Your feet. For this great devotion You awarded the discus (Sudarshan Chakra) ~ with which Hari protects the three worlds. (19)

Text 20

Kratau supte jagrat tvamasi phalayoge kratumatam
kva karma pradhvastam phalati purusha-radhana-mrite,
atas-tvam sam-preksya kratusu phala-dana-pratibhuvam
shrutau shraddham baddhva dridha-parikarah karmasu janah.

When a sacrifice has ended, You ever keep awake to bestow its fruit on the sacrificer. How can any action bear fruit if not accompanied by worship of You, 0 Lord? Therefore, knowing You to be the Giver of fruits of sacrifices and putting faith in the Vedas, people become resolute about the performance of sacrificial acts. (20)

Text 21

Kriyadakso dakshah kratupati-radhisha-stanubhritam
rishinamartvijyam sharanada sadasyah suraganah,
kratu-bhramshas-tvattah kratuphala-vidhana-vyasanino
dhruvam kartuh sraddha vidhura-mabhicaraya hi makhah.

O Giver of refuge, even that sacrifice where Daksha, the Lord of creation and expert in sacrifices, was the sacrificer, rishis were priests, gods participants, was destroy­ed by You who are habitually the Giver of fruits of sacrifices. Surely sacrifices cause injury to the sacrificers in the absence of faith and devotion. (21)

Text 22

Praja-natham natha prasabha-mabhikam svam duhitaram
gatam rohid-bhutam rira-mayishumrishyasya vapusha,
dhanus paner yatam divamapi sapatra kritamamum
trasantam te’dyapi tyajati na mriga-vyadharabhasah.

O Lord, the fury of You who became a hunter with a bow in hand has not as yet left Brahma who, overcome by incestuous lust and finding his own daughter transforming herself into a hind, desired to ravish her in the body of a stag and keenly pierced by Your arrows, he (Brahma) has fled to the sky(22)

Text 23

Svalavanya-shamsa dhrita-dhanusha-mahnnaya trinavat
purah plustam drishtva pura-mathana pushpa-yudhamapi,
yadi strainam devi yama-nirata dehardha-ghatana
davaiti tvam-addha bata varada mugdha yuvatayah.

O Destroyer of the three cities, 0 Giver of boons, is Parvati who saw the god of love, bow in hand, burnt like a piece of straw in a minute by You, still proud of her beauty and believing that You are fascinated by her, because she was allowed to occupy half Your body because of her austerities?  Ah, surely all women are under delusion. You have completely conquered Your senses. (23)

Text 24

Shmashanesva-krida smarahara pishacah sahacarash
cita-bhasma-lepah sragapi nrikaroti-parikarah.
amangalyam shilam tava bhavatu namaiva-makhilam
tathapi smartrinam varada paramam mangalamasi.

O Destroyer of the god of love, 0 Giver of boons, Your play is in cremation grounds, Your companions are ghosts, You smear Your body with the ashes of burnt bodies, human skulls are Your garland-all Your conduct is indeed inauspicious. But You promote the greatest good of those who remember You. (24)

Text 25

Manah pratyak-citte savidha-mavadhayatta-marutah
prahrishyadromanah pramada-salilot-sangitadrisah
yada-lokyah-ladam hrada iva nimajya-mritamaye
dadhat-yantas-tattvam kimapi yaminas-tat kila bhavan.

You are indeed that inexpressible Truth which the yogis realize within through concentrating their minds on the Self and controlling the breath according to the directions laid down in the scriptures, and realizing which Truth they experience rapturous thrills and shed profuse tears of joy; swimming as it were in a pool of nectar they enjoy inner bliss. (25)

Text 26

Tvamarkas-tvam somas tvamasi pavanas tvam hutavahas
tvamapas-tvam vyoma tvamu dharanir-atma tvamiti ca,
paricchinnam-evam tvayi parinata bibhratu giram
na vidmas-tat-tattvam vayamiha tu yat-tvam na bhavasi.

The wise hold this limiting view of You: You are the sun, You are the moon, You are fire, You are air, You are water, You are space, You are the earth and You are the Self.  But we do not know the things which You are not. (26)

Text 27

Trayim tisro vrittis tribhuvana-matho trinapi sura
nakaradyair-varnais tribhir-abhi-dadhat-tirnavikriti,
turiyam te dhama dhvanibhi-rava-rundhana-manubhih
samastam vyastam tvam sharanada grinat-yomiti padam.

O Giver of refuge, with the three letters A, U, M, indicating the three Vedas, three states, three worlds and the three gods, the word AUM(Om) describes You separately.  By its subtle sound the word Om collectively denotes You – Your absolute transcendental state which is free from change. (27)

Text 28

Bhavah sarvo rudrah pasupati-rathograh sahamahan
statha bhime-shanav iti yadabhi-dhana-shtakam-idam,
amushmin-pratyekam pravicarati deva shrutirapi
priyayasmai dhamne pravihita-namasyo’smi bhavate.

O Lord! Bhava, Sharva, Rudra, Pashupati, Ugra, Mahadeva, Bhima, and Ishana-these eight names of Yours are each treated in detail in the Vedas.  To You, most beloved Lord Shankara, of resplendent form, I offer salutations. (28)

Text 29

Namo nedisthaya priyadava davishthaya ca namo
namah kshodisthaya smarahara mahishthaya ca namah
namo varshishthaya trinayana yavishthaya ca namo
namah sarvasmai te tadida-mitisarvaya ca namah.

O Lover of solitude, my salutations to You who are the nearest and the farthest. 0 Destroyer of the god of love, my salutations to You who are the minutest and also the largest. 0 Three-eyed one, my salutations to You who are the oldest and also the youngest. My salutations to You again and again who are all and also transcending all. (29)  

Text 30

Bahala-rajase vishvot-pattau bhavaya namo namah
prabala-tamase tat-samhare haraya namo namah,
jana-sukhakrite sattvo-driktau mridaya namo namah
pramahasi pade nistraigunye shivaya namo namah.

Salutations to You as Brahma in whom rajas prevails for the creation of the universe. Salutations to You as Rudra in whom tamas prevails for its destruction. Salutations to You as Vishnu in whom sattva prevails for giving happiness to the people. Salutations to You, 0 Shiva, who are effulgent and beyond the three attributes. (30)

Text 31

Krisha-parinati cetah klesha-vashyam kva cedam
kva ca tava gunasimol langhini shashva-driddhih,
iti cakita-mamandi kritya mam bhakti-radhad
varada caranayo-ste vakya-pushpo-paharam.

O Giver of boons, how poor is my ill-developed mind, subject to afflictions, and how boundless Your divinity- Eternal and possessing infinite virtues. Though terror–stricken because of this, I am inspired by my devotion to offer this hymnal garland at Your feet. (31)

Text 32

Asita-giri-samam syat kajjalam sindhu-patre
sura-taruvara-shakha lekhani patra-murvi,
likhati yadi grhitva sharada sarva-kalam
tadapi tava gunanam isha param na yati.

O Lord, if the black mountain be ink, the ocean the inkpot, the branch of the stout wish-fulfilling tree a pen, the earth the writing leaf, and if taking these the Goddess of Learning writes for eternity, even then the limit of Your virtues will not be reached. (32)

Text 33

Asura-sura-munindrair arcita-syendu-mauler
grathita-guna-mahimno nirguna-syesvarasya,
sakala-gana-varisthah pushpadanta-bhidhano
rucira-malaghu-vrittaih stotra-metac-cakara.

The best of Gandharvas, Pushpadanta by name, composed in great devotion this beautiful hymn to the Lord, who is worshipped by demons, gods, and the best of sages, whose praises have been sung, who has the moon on His forehead, and who is attributeless. (33)

Text 34

Ahara-harana-vadyam dhurjateh stotra-metat
pathati paramabhaktya shuddhacittah pumanyah.
sa bhavati shivaloke rudra-tulya-stathatra
pracuratara-dhanayuh putravan-kirtimanshca.

The person who with purified heart and in great devotion always reads this beautiful and elevating hymn to Shiva, becomes like Shiva (after death) in the abode of Shiva, and while in this world gets abundant wealth, long life, progeny and fame. (34)

Text 35

Maheshannaparo devo mahimno napara stutih,
aghorannaparo mantro nasti tattvam guroh param.

There is no God higher than Shiva, there is no hymn better than the hymn on the greatness of Shiva, there is no mantra more powerful than the name of Shiva, there is nothing higher to be known than the real nature of the Guru. (35)

Text 36

Diksha danam tapas tirtham jnanamyaga-dikah kriyah,
mahimnah stava pathasya kallam narhanti shodashim

Initiation into spiritual life, charities, austerities, pilgrimages, practice of yoga, performance of sacrificial rites – none of these give even a sixteenth part of the merit that one gets by reciting the hymn on the greatness of Shiva. (36)

Text 37

Kusuma-dashana-nama sarva-gandharva-rajah
shishu-shashadhara-mauler deva-devasya dasah
sa khalu nija-mahimno bhrashta evasya roshat
stavanamidamakarsid divya-divyam mahimnah.

The Lord of Gandharvas, Pushpadanta by name, is the servant of the God of gods who has the crescent moon on his forehead. Fallen from his glory due to the wrath of the Lord, he composed this very beautiful uplifting hymn on the greatness of Shiva to regain His favor. (37)

Text 38

Suravaramuni-pujyam sarvagamokshaikahetum
pathati yadi manushyah pranjalir-nanyacetah,
vrajati shiva-samipam kinnaraih stuyamanah
stavanamidamamogham puspadanta-pranitam.

If one with single-minded devotion and folded palms reads this unfailing hymn composed by Pushpadanta, which is adored by great gods and the best of sages and which grants heaven and liberation, one goes to Shiva and is worshipped by Kinnaras (celestial beings). (38)

Text 39

Asamapta-midam stotram punyam gandharva bhashitam,
anaupamyam manohari shiva-mishvara-varnanam.

Thus ends this unparalleled sacred hymn composed by Pushpadanta and describing the glory of God Shiva in a most fascinating manner. (39)

Text 40

Ityesa vanmayi puja shrimac shankara padayoh,
arpita tena devesah priyatam me sadashivah.

This hymn worship is offered at the feet of Shiva. May the ever beneficent Lord of gods be pleased with me at this! (40)

Text 41

Tava tattwamna janami kidrishosi maheshwara
yadrashosi mahadeva tadrashaya namo namah

I do not know the truth of your nature and who you are- O great God my salutations to your true nature. (41)

Text 42

Eka kalam dwikalam wa trikalam yah pathennarah
sarva papa vinirmuktah shivaloke mahiyate

Whoever reads this once, twice or thrice (in a day) revels in the domain of Shiva, bereft of all sins. (42)

Text 43

Sri pushpadanta mukha pankaja nirgatena
stotrena kilbisha harena hara-priyena,
kanthas thitena pathitena samahitena
suprinito bhavati bhutapatir maheshah.

If a person learns by heart and recites this hymn, which flowed from the lotus mouth of Pushpadanta, which destroys sins and is dear to Shiva and which equally promotes the good of all, Shiva, the Lord of creation, becomes very pleased. (43)

Ithi Sri Pushpadanta Virachith Shiva Mahimna Stotram Samaptham

this ends the hymn called – “Shiva Mahimna Stotra” composed by Pushpadanta

 tags: shivamanhimna stotra, siva mahimna stotram, shivamahimna storam, stotram online shiva mahimana stotram, shiva slokas, shiva mantra, pushpadanta

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AUM
A Free Rendering into English
of
Pushpadanta’s Shivamahimna Stotram
A Paean to Lord Shiva’s Power and Glory
V.V.B.Rama Rao 

.....................................................................................................................................

I remember with gratitude the blessings of His Holiness Mahamandaleswar,
Parama Poojya Vidyanandagiri Maharaj of hallowed memory,
of Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh,
He made available to devotees an excellent exegesis of the great paean in Hindi..
But for His Divine blessing, I could not have attempted this arduous task.

Introduction

Pushpadanta was a king of the divine species of Gandharvas, renowned for their powers of delectable singing. This Gandharva used to steal flowers for his daily worship of the Supreme Being, Lord Shiva from the flower gardens of a king’s flower gardens. Once the king came to know about this. He caused ‘nirmalya’ to be thrown in the Gandharva’s way in order to spell ruin on him. It is believed that ‘nirmalya’ flowers used once in worship, when crossed on the way, would render the transgressor lose all his brilliance. Unknowingly, Pushpadanta walked over the strewn flowers and suffered the loss of his brilliance. He was shocked, but being a blessed devotee, he realized why that happened. He composed his monumental Shivamahimna Stotram in expiation of his sin. Pleased, Lord Shiva blessed him and Pushpadanta regained his brilliance. The recitation of this great paean, or listening to it sung by a devotee would absolve the listener of his sins and leads him to the refuge of the Supreme Being, Lord Shiva.

Sloka.1

Compositions describing the glory of Lord Shiva can never be exhaustive for His Power and Glory are is impossible to describe in all their infinite variety. Even angels and deities would find it a baffling task. Still composers like me are free from blame for attempting in total devotion the impossible. Inspired by the Supreme Being, I offer this at His feet.

Sloka 2

The Vedas themselves are unequal to describe in entirety the nature and qualities of the formless divine and the divine with form, nirguna and saguna. But the devout and the blessed, learned or lay, who contemplate and realize the Supreme Being cannot desist from singing Your praise in humility, which endears them to You.

Sloka 3.

O Lord! The rich treasure of Vedas, the most sublime, musical and nectar-like would fill with wonder even Brihaspati, the preceptor of the angels and deities. With Your blessing I venture to attempt to sing Your manifold powers and glory. My attempt itself is inspired by Your Divine grace and I draw courage and strength from the mere thought of Your compassion.

Sloka. 4

O Shambhu! The ever auspicious and doer of good, giver of all! You are the splendid combination of the three attributes, sattwa, rajas and tamo gunas and the unique one combining in Your self the three deities entrusted with the three acts of Creation, Sustenance and Destruction. The thickheaded and the faithless attempt to mislead people around presenting the glorious and the most beautiful beliefs and grace as disagreeable.

Sloka. 5

Atheists and the dull-witted with their garrulousness and devious logic doubt and question as to how it would be possible for one without a body, substance or equipment to create sustain and destroy three worlds. With no understanding they prattle and mislead the ignorant and the weak-minded.

Sloka. 6

O Mahadeva! The faithless tossed by doubts ask as to how You could create the fourteen worlds with neither implements nor substance.

Sloka. 7

The faithless unbelievers wonder as to how to choose among the various darshanas (systems of philosophy like Sankhya, Yoga etc) and doctrines like Paashupata in Shaivism and Pananchraatra in Vaishnavism, little realizing that all paths lead to the one and only ultimate goal, the absolute peace which You are! Don’t the sacred Ganga and all the rivers run to the same destination, the ocean?

Sloka. 8

Wouldn’t You strike all the angels and deities aghast with Your extraordinary richness and limitless divine powers! The wealth of your tantra powers is in Your persona with an old bull for your mount, axe, tiger hide, sacred ash, serpents, cot-leg, skull-cup for your appurtenances. You bless deities like Indra with treasures of divine powers! Those with devotion to You are not enticed by or attracted to the mirage of affluence and bliss.

Sloka.9

O Slayer of Demon Tripura! Some call the world one without beginning and end. Some say it is not transient; some say it real, some say it is unreal. All these surprise me but through these very beliefs I sing your praise without any hesitation or shyness. For the garrulous also happen to be stubborn.

Sloka 10

O Gireesa! Your form with effulgent brilliance, Your pervasive light and inconceivably limitless hugeness could not be assessed or seen even by Brahma and Vishnu who tried to see the top and the bottom of the shape. They could find neither the end nor the beginning. But when once they sent up ardent prayers didn’t You in Your infinite love for the devout reveal Yourself! For those who seek refuge in you wholehearted and with a sense of total surrender there could never be any dearth of Your blessings!

Sloka. 11

Lord of the Mountain! Ravana conquered all the three worlds and made himself invincible, with no enemies or contenders. With his itch for battles and victories, he had twenty shoulders and ten heads. With intense and unwavering faith he offered his own heads as offering to you. Was not that the reason for his prowess and courage!

Sloka 12

With his extraordinary devotion and worship and the powers You bestowed on him, Ravana could shake Your abode, the Kailash mountain. But didn’t You, with the tip of Your little finger, when you crushed him, he could not find shelter. The one ungrateful would be enticed in moha, the undesirable sinful attachment.

Sloka 13

O Wish fulfilling Deity! It was with Your grace that the demon Banasura could subdue even Devendra, who had limitless wealth and power. Being obedient toYou would lead anyone to sublimity and height of glory.

Sloka 14

O three eyed Supreme! While the deities and demons were churning the ocean up came kalaakoota, the dire and deadly poison that would have burnt all the three worlds. With Your compassion You swallowed it in and retaining the poison in your throat saved the creation with the result that Your throat turned blue and left a stain there. You were given

the appellation of Neelkanth, the blue throated one. That very stain marks You out as the greatest, the most powerful and noble. That very stain is extremely praiseworthy for it could dispel the fears of all the deities and save all the worlds.

Sloka 15

O the Lord of the Universe! Manmadha, the love deity, the one who for the victory of the universe could shoot his arrows on anyone, remained just a memory for You burnt him down by opening Your third eye for belittling You by thinking that You would be won over by his proud arrow. Little did he realize that You were jitendriya, the one who conquers his own sensory organs.

Sloka 16:

While You were at Your cosmic dance, Tandava Nrutya, with the tread of Your feet, suddenly the earth and the sky fall into utter befuddlement. In Vishnu’s realm, space, the stars and planets break down when Your huge club-like shoulders hit them. With the strokes of Your matted plaits of hair, the borders of Indra’s kingdom, heaven, suffer often. Saviour of the Universe! The Tandava You perform for welfare surprisingly creates the contrary effect.

Sloka 17:

The effulgence of the flow of the Holy Ganga pervades and is reflected as little flakes of foam exceedingly brighter than the very stars. Those little droplets in the shape of the oceans built the world as a circular group of islands. This is proof of Your Divinity, Your extra-ordinary power and glory.

Sloka 18:

With Earth as chariot, Brahma as charioteer, Sumeru Mountain as the bow, the Sun and the Moon as wheel and Vishnu as arrow You charged to kill the demon Tripurasura. Was any help or any appurtenances really necessary for You to blow away that demon, a mere straw! Was it not Your whim to play giving Your obedient followers a sense of participation!

Sloka 19:

O Destroyer of Demon Tripura! While Sri Mahavishnu was worshipping Your feet as usual with a thousand lotuses, he suddenly found that he was short of one lotus. That very moment, in his sublime and unparalleled devotion he plucked the lotus of his own eye and offered it to complete the worship. Was it not for that, pleased as You were, You had given him the charge of the sustenance of all the three worlds and blessed him with the Sacred Discus, the powerful weapon, Sudarshana Chakra!

Sloka 20:

Parameshwara! You are ever ready and eager to bestow the fruit for performing fire rituals like Yagnas and Yagas as soon they come to completion: not the one who leads the performance or presides over the ritual. All those who have faith and all those true believers truly believe that the bestower is the Supreme Being, You. Without worshipping You nothing can be gained by the mere performance of a jad, lifeless, ritual. With the knowledge and understanding of the Vedas and shastras, performances according to those in firm faith in You alone Your blessing.

Sloka 21:

Parama Shiva! You are the one gives refuge to those without any other hope for the mere asking. Prajapati is the lord of those wearing the body performing fire rituals with competence and skill. With sages and seers as the conductors with strict adherence to the scriptures, with Brahma and other deities as audience and spectators, the performance by Daksha came to nothing. The simple reason is that Daksha Prajapati failed in his duty of offering worship to You, the Supreme Being. When basic duty is forgotten, would not the performance fail to end in utter destruction!

Sloka 22:

O the Supreme Maintainer of the Holy Law! Once Brahma was enamoured by his own creation Sandhya and wanted union with her. The damsel with a sense of shame transformed herself into an animal. When Brahma himself took the form of an animal, did You not in Your frightful ire take a bow and arrow to discipline him? This led to Brahma taking the form of the star Mrigashira in the firmament and still You as a skilled marksman stand close to him as the star Arudra observing him.

Sloka 23:

Paragon of discipline and acme of self-control! When Paravati, naturally the most beautiful, was aided by Manmadha who shot his arrow, in a trice You reduced him to ashes. Then, impressed by her devotion, You made Parvati, arthangini, Your half. What if the unknowing think that You are uxorious!

Sloka 24:

O Destroyer of desires foul! Playing blissfully in a graveyard with souls unearthly, ash-smeared, wearing an animal hide, a mendicant with a skull in Your hands, You are seemingly inauspicious. But are You not the one who blesses devotees with the fruit they pray for! For your devotees Your appearance and appurtenances are ever auspicious and welfare giving.

Sloka 25:

O Mahadev! I realize that You are the very form of that very bliss, which those performing praanaayaama as laid down in the scriptures to retain the movement of life force with the universal soul experience personally. Those who experience that bliss have their eyes filled with tears and their bodies have divinely caused horripilation. In such a blessed state of mind they would be taking dips continuously in the lake of nectar with inward bliss.

Sloka 26:

O Deva! The learned see in You (ashtha moorti) the eight icons. You are Wind, You are Water, Your are Sky, You are Earth, You are Fire, You are the Soul and so on in the constricted vocabulary at their disposal. It can be more appropriately declared that there is absolutely nothing in this vast universe that is not You, Your creation or Your manifestation.

Sloka 27:

Oh Deva! Refuge to the seekers! Omkara, the pranava naada inheres the three sounds ‘a’ ‘u’ and ‘m’; the three Vedas, Rig, Yaju and Sama and the three states of Wakefulness, Dream and Sleep as also Creation, Being, and Destruction. The sound also includes in itself the Creator Brahma, the Sustainer Vishnu and the Destroyer Shiva. OM thus perceived represents YOU in all Your effulgence and power.

Sloka 28:

O Mahadev! Only the Holy Scriptures and the Vedas can describe You fully. You are the basis for creation, bhava, destroyer sarva, the and one who punishes and disciplines, rudra, the lord of the beings, pashupati, the annihilator of ignorance and sin ferociously, ugra, the ones dealing out strong and frightful punishments, mahaan, bheemaa and eesaana. By the eight names seers and saints like Narada and the scriptures like the Vedas rightly extolled You. I am too small and insignificant to describe You exhaustively. I prostrate and offer my salutation toYou as the form of effulgent light.

Slokla 29:

O Lord! My salutation to You. You are very near and very far too: near to the knowing ones, jnaanis and far, far away to the ignorant and faithless, pervading the entire universe. You are the tiniest among the tiny and the most voluminous among the voluminous: I offer salutation toYou again and again. O Three eyed one! O the most pristine! O the one without beginning or end! I saluteYou again and again, the One and All, the Present and the Non-present and the Complete and Perfect and the Supreme too!

Sloka 30:

O Deva Deva! I salute You who creates as Brahma all the animate, those with chaitnaya and those without it becoming a personification of rajo guna, the attribute of passion. I salute you who bless all creation as Vishnu with Your satwa guna, the attribute of kindness and compassion. I salute You who as Rudra becomes a personification of tamo guna, the attribute of Darkness. I salute You Perfect and the Greatest, becoming one or the other at Your will, going beyond the tri gunas, the three attributes mentioned above. You are both the One with (gunas) attributes and (nirguna) the One without any attribute.

Sloka 31:

O the bountiful one! I am susceptible to disease, just a bubble to burst any moment, weak, subject to various kinds of infliction (aadi vyaadhis), one utterly poor in deserts and ineligible for anything, Meekly I prostrate before You the One transcending gunas and the One with limitless powers and effulgence. Utterly scared, I seek solace in devotion to You by submitting this paean as a flower at Your glorious feet.

Sloka 32:

O Maheswara! The goddess of Saraswati would ever be scripting Your delectable divine qualities endlessly using the ink mixing the blackness of the Anjanadri (Black Mount Anjana), in the oceans (abdhi), with the earth as the ink container, the branches of the Wish-fulfilling (Kalpa taru) tree as pen.

Sloka 33:

Chandrasekhara, Chandramouli, the deity who wears the crescent moon on the head, the One sung about and lauded extensively by sacred sages and seers, is described in this lovely song of praise shiva mahimna stotra by the emperor of Gandharvas, the consummate poet Pushpadanta in Sanskrit in a metre called laghu vritta.

Sloka 34:

The one who reads with a clean conscience this paean to the pristine and flawless Being every day with devotion would be bless with health, wealth, fine offspring, fame and long life in this life and in proximity to the Supreme Being in the life to come.

Sloka 35:

Singing of this paean in a devout frame of mind gives fruit more valuable than ‘daana’ giving away wealth etc., and cows in charity, performing arduous tapas (contemplation) or performing elaborate fire rituals. Even shodashi kaLaa upasanaa (contemplation and worship of the sixteen forms of ‘divine radiance’) do not stand comparison with repetition of this paean.

Sloka 36:

Pushpadanta’s devout song-offering extolling Parama Shiva’s power and glory and descriptions of His form, nature and attributes is replete with incomparable beauty

Sloka 37:

Sankara is the deity incomparable with none above Him. There is no song of praise greater or more welfare bestowing than this. There is no chant or hymn, no incantation, which excels AUM. There is no principle (Tattwa) which can excel guru, the preceptor.

Sloka 38:

O Mahadeva! Wearing the Crescent Moon on your crown You are at the top of the list of deities! The emperor of Gandharvas called Pushpadanta, when incurred Your wrath for transgressing the nirmalya, forfeited his powers of withdrawing by his gift of Vanishing. Caught in a tight corner in a moment he composed this paean and You in Your infinite mercy restored his powers.

Sloka 39:

Those who recite or read the song of praise extolled by the sacred seers and sages with folded hands in supplication as a gesture of salutation and with heart-mind-feeling would obtain salvation and get the greatest good fortune of staying in proximity to the Divine Supreme.

Sloka 40

His devotees would delight Sarva bhoota pati, the Lord of All Beings, by singing this hymn with complete devotion.

Sloka 42:

May Sadaashiva, the ever auspicious and the ever desire fulfilling, be compassionately inclined towards us all!

AUM TAT SAT