śivapañcākṣaramantrastotra Lyrics in English:
The term Shiva means “auspicious. ” The God Shiva is all-auspiciousness . The mantra namah Shivaya, used to offer salutations to Shiva, is an effective prayer to propitiate Shiva . This mantra appears in many places in Vedic and Puranic literature. For example, the famous shri Rudram hymn from the Yajur Veda, commonly employed to perform the worship of the Shiva linga, says:
namaḥ sivaya ca ।
The daridrya dahana stotra of Vasishtha says:
daridryaduhkha-dahanaya namaḥ sivaya ।
Salutations to Shiva who burns up the grief caused by poverty! Here poverty does not necessarily mean material poverty; it also means spiritual poverty.
This panchakshara (five syllabled) mantra namah Shivaya is sometimes called the mula mantra or basic mantra of Shiva . Each of the five syllables, na, ma, shi, va, and ya, is held to be so sacred that it represents Shiva even by itself.
The following is the ShivapanchakShara stotra composed by Adi Sankaracharya . One may worship the Shiva linga by reciting this stotra and offering bilva leaves.
sivapamcasarastotra
nagendraharaya trilocanaya bhasmāṅgaragaya mahesvaraya ।
nityaya suddhaya digambaraya tasmai nakaraya namaḥ sivaya ॥ 1 ॥
Salutations to Shiva, who wears the King of snakes as a garland, the Three-eyed God, whose body is smeared with ashes, the great Lord, the eternal and pure One, who wears the directions as His garment, and who is represented by the “na ” kara (term).
mandakini-salilacandana-carcitaya nandīsvara-pramathanatha- mahesvaraya ।
mandarapuspa-bahupuspa-supujitaya tasmai makaraya namah sivaya ॥ 2॥
I bow to Shiva, who has been worshipped with water from the ganga (mandakini) and anointed with sandalwood paste, the Lord of nandi, the Lord of the host of goblins and ghosts, the great Lord, who is worshiped with mandara and many other kinds of flowers, and who is represented by the
syllable “ma. ”
sivaya gaurivadanabja-vrnda-suryaya daksadhvaranasakaya ।
srinilakanthaya vrsadhvajaya tasmai sikaraya namah sivaya ॥ 3 ॥
Salutations to Shiva, who is all-auspiciousness, Who is the sun that causes the lotus face of Gauri (ParvatI) to blossom, Who is the destroyer of the Yajna of daksha, whose throat is blue (nilakantha), whose flag bears the emblem of the bull, and who is represented by the syllable “shi. ”
vasistha-kumbhodbhava-gautamaryamunindra-devarcitasekharaya ।
candrarka-vaisvanaralocanaya tasmai vakaraya namah sivaya ॥ 4 ॥
Vasishtha, agastya, Gautama, and other venerable sages, and Indra and other Gods have worshipped the head of (Shiva’s linga). I bow to that Shiva whose three eyes are the moon, sun and fire, and who is represented by the syllable “va. ”
yaksasvarūpaya jatadharaya pinakahastaya sanatanaya ।
divyaya devaya digambaraya tasmai yakaraya namah sivaya ॥ 5॥
Salutations to Shiva, who bears the form of a Yaksha, who has matted hair on His head, Who bears the pinaka bow in His hand, the Primeval Lord, the brilliant God, who is digambara (naked), and who is represented by the syllable “ya. ”
pamcaksaramidam punyam yaḥ pathecchivasannidhau ।
sivalokamavapnoti sivena saha modate ॥
Anyone who recites this sacred five-syllabled mantra, (namah shivaya) near the Shiva (linga), attains the abode of Shiva and rejoices there with Shiva.
॥ iti srimacchamkaracaryaviracita sivapancaksara stotram samaptam ॥
sivapaṃcaksarastotra
nagendraharaya trilocanaya bhasmaṅgaragaya mahesvaraya ।
nityaya suddhaya digambaraya tasmai nakaraya namah sivaya ॥ 1 ॥
mandakini-salilacandana-carcitaya nandīsvara-pramathanatha- mahesvaraya ।
mandarapuspa-bahupuspa-supujitaya tasmai makaraya namah sivaya ॥ 2 ॥
sivaya gaurīvadanabja-vṛnda- suryaya daksadhvaranasakaya ।
srīnīlakanthaya vṛsadhvajaya tasmai sikaraya namah sivaya ॥ 3 ॥
vasistha-kumbhodbhava-gautamaryamunīndra-devarcitasekharaya ।
candrarka-vaisvanaralocanaya tasmai vakaraya namah sivaya ॥ 4 ॥
yaksasvarupaya jatadharaya pinakahastaya sanatanaya ।
divyaya devaya digambaraya tasmai yakaraya namah sivaya ॥ 5 ॥
paṃcaksaramidaṃ punyaṃ yah pathecchivasannidhau ।
sivalokamavapnoti sivena saha modate ॥