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Shiva Sahasra Namam
[Thousand Names of Lord Shiva from Mahabharata]
Translation & Transliteration by P. R. Ramachander

There are two versions of Shiva sahasranama-one in lInga Purana (Being taught by Lord Krishna to sage Markandeya) and the other which occurs in Anushasanika Parva of Mahabaratha.

In the Mahabaratha version (which I am giving here) Yudishtra after hearing the Vishnu Sahasranama from Bheeshma requests him also to teach the thousand names of Lord Shiva. Bheeshma expresses his inability to the same and requests Lord Krishna to teach it to Yudishtra. Then Lord Krishna who has learnt it from Sage Upamanyu teaches it to Yudishtra. A bhashya (explanation) for this was written by7 Sri Chathurthara Neela Kanda called “Bharatha bhava pradheepam”. Based on this Sri.N.Subramanya Iyer (lovingly called “Anna (elder brother) by his admirers wrote a detailed interpretation in Tamil which was published initially by the Sarada Peetham, Sringeri. Later they gave the publishing rights to Ramakrishna Mutt of Madras. My feeble attempt, to give an English meaning to this Shiva Sahasranama is based on this great book. I have not attempted to give meaning with interpretation as done in the above book.

This book gives 1008 names of Lord Shiva. While 45 names are repeated twice, 11 are repeated thrice and three names are repeated four times .Readers may observe that different meanings are given to these repetitions.


Mangala Charanam

Shuklam Baradaram Vishnum, Sasi Varnam Chatur Bhujam,
Prasanna Vadanan Dyayet, Sarva Vignoba Santhaye 1

Dressed in white you are,
Oh, all pervading one,
And glowing with the colour of moon,
With four arms, you are, the all knowing one
I meditate on your ever-smiling face,
And pray, “Remove all obstacles on my way”.

Namosthuthe vyasa vishala budhe,
Phullaravindaayatha pathra nethra,
Yena thwaya bhaaratha thaila poorna,
Prajwalitho gnanamaya pradheepa. 2

My salutations to sage Vyasa,
Who had all compassing intellect,
And who has broad eyes like the lotus leaf.
Was not this great lamp full of wisdom,
Filled up by the oil of Bharatha, lit by you?

Vande Shambum umapathim sura gurum vande jagatkaranam,
Vande pannaga bhooshanam mrugadharam, vande pasoonaam pathim,
Vande surya sasanka vahni nayanam, vande mukunda priyam,
Vande bhaktha janasrayam cha varadam, Vande shivam sankaram. 3

I salute the great God Shambhu,
Who is the consort of Uma,
Who is the teacher of devas,
I salute the cause of this universe,
I salute who wears snake as ornament,
Who caries a deer in his hand,
I salute the Lord of all beings,
I salute him who has sun, moon and fire as eyes,
I salute him who is dear to Mukunda,
I salute him who is the refuge of his devotees,
Who is the one who gives them great status,
And I salute Shiva and Shankara.

Poorva Bhaga
Early Part

Yudhishtra Uvacha:-
Thwayaapagheya naamani sruthaniha jagatpathe,
Pithamahesaaya vibhor namanyaa chakshwa sambhave. 1
Bhabhrave viswaroopaya, mahabhagyam cha thathwatha,
Surasura gurou deve shankaravyaktha yonaye. 2

Yudhishtra asked:-
Oh my dearest grandpa,
Be pleased to tell me the various names,
Of him who is the lord of the universe,
Who is Shambhu with a gold coloured body,
Whose form is of the universe,
Who is the teacher of Asuras and devas,
Who is the god of all devas,
Who does all good,
And who is the cause of the eternal basis,
And also his fame,
As you have heard from others.

Bheeshma Uvacha:-
Asakthoham gunaan vakthum maha devasya dheematha,
Yo hi sarva gatho na cha sarvathra drusyathe. 3

Bheeshma replied:-
Incapable I am to tell about the properties,
Of the great God who is very great,
For he is seen everywhere but seen nowhere.

Brahma Vishnu suresaanaam srushtaa cha prabhureva cha,
Brahmaadaya pisachaantha yam hi deva upasathe. 4

He is the one who created Brahma, Vishnu and other devas,
He is their Lord and he is worshipped by,
Brahma , devas, ghosts and others.

Prakrutheenaam parathwena purushasya cha ya para,
Chinthyathe yo yogavidhbhi rishibhi Thathwa darshibhi.,
Aksharam para Brahma asacha sadasacha ya. 5

He is greater than nature and the masculine concept,
He is being meditated upon by great sages who know the truth,
He is the causal universe, cause as well as the effect.

Prakruthim purusham chaiva kshobhayithwa tswathejasa,
Brahmana masrujath thasmad Dheva dheva prajapathi. 6

He who is the God of gods and God of all beings,
Through his power destabilizes Purusha and nature ,
And creates Brahma out of it.

Ko hi shaktho gunaan vakthum deva devasya dheematha,
Garbha janma jara yuktho marthyo mruthyu samanvitha. 7

Which man who is subject of birth, growing up and death,
Would be capable of telling the properties,
Of him who is the God of gods and knower of all?

Ko hi saktho bhavam gnathum madhwidha parameshwaram,
Rithe narayanath puthra Shanka chakra Gada dharath. 8

Oh Son, Is it possible for an ordinary mortal to know.
That great god like him , rather it is possible,
For the Lord Narayana who carries mace, conch and wheel,
To know about Sankara who is the greatest God.

Esha vidhwan guna sreshto Vishnu parama durjaya,
Divya chakshur maha theja veekshyathe yoga chakshsha. 9

That Vishnu who knows ever thing,
Who has greatest qualities,
Who cannot be won over by anybody,
Who has special holy sight,
And who is greatly resplendent,
Sees him by his eyes of yoga.

Rudra bhakthya thu krishnena jagat vyaptham mahathmana,
Tham prasadhya thadha devam bhadaryam kila bharatha. 10

Arthath priya harathwam cha sarva lokeshu vai yadhaa,
Prapthavaaneva rajendra suvarnaakshan maheswaraath. 11

The great Lord Krishna, due to his devotion to Rudra,
Has spread all over the universe, Oh Bharatha, Oh king of kings,
After making Lord Shiva pleased by his penance in Bhadrinath,
He has attained the state of being more dear,
Than all the worlds and all aspects of knowledge.

Poornam varsha sahasram thu thaptha vaanesha maadhava,
Prasadhya varadam devam chara chara gurum shivam. 12

This Lord Madhava has done penance for a full thousand years,
And has pleased him who is the teacher of all beings,
And the giver of all boons.

Yuge yuge thu krushnena thoshitho vai maheswara,
Bhakthya paramaya chaiva prathi sruthwa mahatmana. 13

Lord Parameshwara becomes pleased and happy
Eons after eons, by this Krishna who is devotee of Lord Shiva.

Iswarya yadrusam thasya jagadyoner mahatmana,
Thadayam drushtavaan sakshath puthrartho Harir achyutha. 14

This Krishna who is Hari, who did penance for getting a son*,
Has seen the greatness of Maheswara who is the origin of the world.

*(Lord Krishna did penance to get a son out of Jhambhavati, the daughter of Jhambhavan)

Yasyath paratharam chaiva naanyam pasyami bharatha,
Vykyathum deva devasya shaktho naamanyaseshatha. 15

Hey Bharatha, I do not find any one else suitable,
To tell you about the various names of the god of gods.

Esha shaktho maha bahur vakthum bhagawatho gunaan,
Vibhuthim chaiva karthsynyena sathyaam Maheeswari nrupa. 16

Oh king , that great armed one ,
Is the one capable of telling the properties of God,
And capable of fully telling you truthfully,
The powers of The great God.

Sura sura guro deva vishno thwam vakthumarhasi,
Shivaaya shiva roopaya yanma aprucha yudishtra. 17

Hey Teacher of Devas and asuras, Hey Vishnu,
It is but very proper, that you tell,
About the great god, which Yudishtra asked.

Naamnam sahasram devasya thandinaa Brhama vadinaa,
Niveditham brhma loke brahmano yath puraa Abhvath. 18

Dwaipayana prabhu thasyasthadha cheme thpodhana,
Rishaya suvrutha danthaa srunvanthu gadahsthava. 19

Those thousand names of God told by sage Dandi,
Who was the knower of Brahmam,
Which was told in the land of Brahmas,
With lord Brahma as a witness,
May please be heard by these sages,
Like Dvaipayana who have done great penance,
And have won control over their sense organs.

Vasudeva Uvacha:-
Na gathi karmaanam saakya vethumeesasya thathwatha.,
Hiranyagarbha pramukha deva sendraa maharshaya. 20

Vasudeva told:-
Neither gods like Brahma and Indra,
Nor the several great sages,
Are capable of understanding,
The philosophy behind the great lord.

Na vidhuryasya nidhana maadhim vaa sookshma darshana,
Sa kadham nama mathrena sakhyo gnathum sathaam gathi. 21

How can one understand Him,
Just by the mention of his name,
Who is capable of seeing minutest things,
Who does not have an end nor beginning,
And who is the refuge of saints.

Thasyaha masuragnasya kamschid bhagawatho gunaan,
Bhavathaam Keerthiyishyaami vrathesaya yathathadam. 22

I would tell you, few properties of that great God,
Who is the God of all penances and,
Who is the destroyer of asuras.

Vaisampayana Uvacha:-
Evamukthwa thu bhagwan gunaamsthasya mahaathmana,
Upasprusya suchir bhoothwa, kadhyamaasa dheematha. 23

Vaisampayana told:-
After telling like this Lord Krishna,
Sat down did the act f cleaning himself,
And started telling about that great Lord,
Who was the Lord of all good natured.

Vasudeva Uvacha:-
Thatha sa prayatho boothwa mama thaha Yudishtra,
Pranjali praha viprarishinaam samgrahamaditha. 24

Vasudeva told:-
Oh my cousin Yudishtra who is dear to me,
The sage Abhimanyu with folded hands,
After concentrating his mind in to one,
Told me about the several names of Shiva.

Upamanyu Uvacha:-
Brahma prokthou rishi prokthou veda vedanga sambhavai,
Sarva lokeshu –vikhyatham sthuthyam sthoshyami namabhi. 25

Sage Upamanyu told:-
I pray him , using those names,
Which have been read by Brahma and other sages,
Which have arisen from Vedas and Vedangas,
And which are famous throughout the world.

Mahadhbhir vihithaisathyai Sidhai sarvartha sadhakhai,
Rishinaa thandinaa bhakthya kruthai –veda kruthathmana. 26

These names have been praises by the great,
They are true and give occult powers,
They help you to get any job done,
And have been told by Sage Dandi,
Whose heart is immersed in Vedas.

Yadhokthai Sadhubhi khyathai munibhisthathwa darshibhi,
Pravaram pradhamam swarga sarva bhootha hitham shubham. 27

I pray ,who does good to all beings,
Who is worshipped by good me,
Who is worshipped by sages and philosophers,
Who is the first among all,
And who can grant us heaven,
Using those famous , well known names.

Sruthai sarvathra jagathi Brhma loka avatharithai,
Sathyai sthath pramam , brhma brhma proktham sanathanam,
Vakshye yadu kula sreshta srunushvava hitho mama. 28

Oh Chief of the clan of Yadus,
Please here from me with concentration those names
Which came from the world of Brahma,
Which are found based in the Vedas,
Which are every where,
And which are truth
And I salute that great God who is Brahmam,
And is worshipped by Lord Brahma.

Varayainam bhavam devam bhakthasthvam parameshvaram,
Thena they sraviyishyami yahad brahma sanathanam. 29

Oh Krishna , who is his devotee,
Please worship that Parameshwara,
Who is the source of the world,
And Who is the god of gods,
And for that purpose,
I am making you hear the following.

Na sakyam vistharath kruthsnam vakthum sarvasya kenachith,
Yukthenaapi vibhoothinaa Mapi varsha sathair api. 30

Even though one has all abilities and fame,
It is just impossible for them to narrate fully,
All the greatness of Shiva even in hundred years.

Yasyadhir Madhya mantham cha surair api na gamyahe,
Kasthasya shakthuyadwaktham gunaan karsnyena madhava. 31

Hey Madhava,, Who will have the ability ,
To describe in full, the qualities of him,
Whose head or foot was not found by the devas?

Kinthu devasya mahatha samkshipthartha padaksharam,
Shakthi thascharitham vakshye prasadathasya dheematha. 32

In spite of that I would tell you in short,
According to my limited capacity,
Using limited words and letters,
The story of him, who is the source of wisdom,
Because of his grace and blessing.

Aaprapya thu thatho anugnaam na sakya sthothumeeswara,
Yada thennabhyanugnath sthutho vai sa thada maya. 33

Since it is not feasible to pray him ,
Without his permission and grace,
I was able to sing his prayers,
When I was blessed by him.

Anaadi nidanasyaaham jagadyoner mahatmana,
Naamnaam kanchith samudhesyam vakshamya vaktha yonina. 34

I will tell you a few names approximately ,
Of that great one who is the origin of the world,
And who cannot find origin for himself.

Varadasya varenayasya viswaroopasya dheematha,
Srunu naamnam chayam Krishna yaduktham padma yonina. 35

Please hear the collection of names ,
As revealed by Lord Brahma,
Who is the greatest among those who give boons,
Who is the form of the universe,
And who is personification of wisdom.

Dasa nama sahasraani yaanyaaha prapithamaha,
Thaani nirmadhya manasa dhadhno druthamivodhbudham. 36

These thousand names are the result of churning,
Similar to getting butter from curd,
Out of the ten thousand names told by Brahma.

Gire saaram yadha hema pushpasaaram yadha madhu,
Gruthatsaaram yadha mandastha Dhaithath sara samudrutham. 37

This essence has been taken after serious thought,
Like the gold is taken out of mines,
Honey is taken out of flowers,
And ghee is taken out of butter.

Sarva paapahamidham chathur veda samanvitham,
Prayathnenadhi ganthavyam dharyanj cha prayathathmana. 38

This removes all committed sins,
Is one with the four great Vedas,
Could be understood by great effort,
And could be committed to memory through effort.

Sarva bhoothathma bhoothasya harasyamitha thejasa,
Ashtothara sahasram thu naamnam sarvasya may srunu,
Yacchuthwa manuja vyagra sarvaan kaamaanvapsyathi. 39

Hey tiger among men, be pleased to hear from me,
Those one thousand eight names of Him,
Who is the soul of all souls,
Who has greatly remarkable prowess,
And who is called “hara(stealer)” and Sarva(all)”,
Because he attracts every thing to himself,
And attain fruition of all your desires.

NYASA
Asya shiva sahasranama stotra maha mantrasya Upamanyu rishi, Anushtup Chanda,
Sri Sambha sadashivo devatha.

Sthira sthanur eethi Bheejam, Srimaan sri vardhano jagah ithi Sakthi, Devathipathi ithi
Keelakam , Sri Samba sada shiva Prasada sidhyarthe jape Viniyoga.

Nyasa (Preliminary chant)
The sage for this “thousand names of Shiva” is sage Upamanyu, meter is “anushtup”, and the God is “Sambha sada shiva”.

The root is “motionless shiva” , power is “Sri vardhano jagad”, Keelaga is “Devathipathi and is being chanted to get the grace of Sri Sambha Sada Shiva.

DHYANAM
Santham padmasanastham sasi dara makutam pancha vakthram trinethram,
Soolam vajram cha gadgam parasumabhayadham dakshabhage vahantham,
Nagam pasam gantam pralayahuthavaham sangusam vaama bhage,
Nanalankara yuktham sphatikamani niham parvatheesam namaami.

I salute the lord of Parvathy,
Who is ever peaceful,
Who sits in the lotus pose,
Who wears the crescent on his crown,
Who has five faces,
Who has three eyes,
Who carries on his right side,
Trident, vajra, sword, axe and sign of refuge,
Who carries on his left side,
Snake, rope, bell, eternal, fire and goad,
Who has been decorated in various ways,
And who is like bead of crystal.

Lam pruthvyathmane Gandham samarpayami
Ham Aakasthmane Puspai poojayami
Yam vaayvathmane dhoopamagrapayami
Ram agneyathmane deepam darsayami
Vam amruthathmane amrutham mahe naivedhyam nivedhyamai

Using “lam” which is the root of earth, I offer sandal to the earth
Using “ham” which is the root of sky, I offer flowers to the sky
Using “yam” which is the root of air, I offer myrrh to the air
Using “ram” which is the root of fire, I offer light to the fire
Using “vam” which is the root of nectar, I offer the great offering to the nectar
Using “sam” which is the root of all souls, I offer the complete worship to all the souls.

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