Eight verses to Shiva as Neelakantha, the Blue-Throated One who drank the world-poison to save creation — the cause of all causes, the light in the heart’s lotus that yogis meditate on — each ending “Sri Nilakanthaya Namah Shivaya.”
Traditional; said to come from the Garalapurinatha Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana
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Neelakantha Ashtakam
Son of Kali · Power of Shiva
0:004:52
Deity
Shiva
Type
Ashtakam
Verses
9
Language
Sanskrit
NeelakanthaAshtakamLyricswithMeaning
Each line shows an easy way to say it, with its English meaning. Turn on the Sanskrit, the exact pronunciation or the word-by-word meaning whenever you want to go deeper.
Verse 1
नमो नमः कारणकारणाय
Namo Namah Karanakaranaya
namo namaḥ kāraṇakāraṇāya
Salutations again and again to the cause of all causes,
जगन्मयायाहितपाशकाय ।
Jaganmayayahitapashakaya
jaganmayāyāhitapāśakāya
who fills the world, who cuts the noose of harm,
त्वत्पादपद्माश्रितरक्षकाय
Tvatpadapadmashritarakshakaya
tvatpādapadmāśritarakṣakāya
who protects those who shelter at his lotus feet —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ १ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 2
ध्यायन्ति ये त्वां यतयः स्तुवन्ति
Dhyayanti Ye Tvam Yatayah Stuvanti
dhyāyanti ye tvāṃ yatayaḥ stuvanti
The ascetics who meditate on you and praise you —
हृदम्बुजे दीपसमप्रकाशम् ।
Hridambuje Dipasamaprakasham
hṛdambuje dīpasamaprakāśam
shining like a lamp in the lotus of the heart —
नासाग्रविन्यस्तविलोचनाय
Nasagravinyastavilochanaya
nāsāgravinyastavilocanāya
to him on whom they fix their eyes at the tip of the nose,
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ २ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 3
सर्गस्थितिध्वंसनकारणाय
Sargasthitidhvamsanakaranaya
sargasthitidhvaṃsanakāraṇāya
To the cause of creation, preservation and dissolution,
यमादियोगाष्टकसिद्धिदाय ।
Yamadiyogashtakasiddhidaya
yamādiyogāṣṭakasiddhidāya
giver of perfection in the eight limbs of yoga beginning with restraint,
तपस्विनां शीघ्रफलप्रदाय
Tapasvinam Shighraphalapradaya
tapasvināṃ śīghraphalapradāya
who swiftly gives ascetics the fruit of their effort —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ ३ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 4
वेदादिरूपाय त्रिलोचनाय
Vedadirupaya Trilochanaya
vedādirūpāya trilocanāya
To the source of the Vedas, the three-eyed one,
वेदान्तवेद्याय दिगम्बराय ।
Vedantavedyaya Digambaraya
vedāntavedyāya digambarāya
known through the Vedanta, clothed in the directions,
विभूतिशुभ्राय जटाधराय
Vibhutishubhraya Jatadharaya
vibhūtiśubhrāya jaṭādharāya
white with sacred ash, wearing matted hair —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ ४ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 5
उग्राय संसारभयापहाय
Ugraya Samsarabhayapahaya
ugrāya saṃsārabhayāpahāya
To the fierce one who removes the fear of worldly life,
ज्ञानप्रदायशुसुखप्रदाय ।
Jnanapradayashusukhapradaya
jñānapradāyaśusukhapradāya
who gives wisdom and swiftly gives happiness,
कालान्तकाय प्रलयानिलाय
Kalantakaya Pralayanilaya
kālāntakāya pralayānilāya
the end of Death, the wind of the final dissolution —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ ५ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 6
विधातृरूपाय जगद्धिताय
Vidhatrirupaya Jagaddhitaya
vidhātṛrūpāya jagaddhitāya
To him who takes the form of the Creator, who is the world’s good,
रमेशरूपाय सदाशिवाय ।
Ramesharupaya Sadashivaya
rameśarūpāya sadāśivāya
who takes the form of Lakshmi’s Lord, the ever-auspicious Sadashiva,
अनन्तरूपाय चतुर्भुजाय
Anantarupaya Chaturbhujaya
anantarūpāya caturbhujāya
of endless forms, four-armed —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ ६ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 7
विश्वैकवन्द्याय कलाधराय
Vishvaikavandyaya Kaladharaya
viśvaikavandyāya kalādharāya
To the one honoured by the whole universe, bearer of the moon’s crescent,
समस्तलोकैकसमाश्रयाय ।
Samastalokaikasamashrayaya
samastalokaikasamāśrayāya
the one refuge of all the worlds,
कुठारपाशाङ्कुशपालिने च
Kutharapashankushapaline Cha
kuṭhārapāśāṅkuśapāline ca
who holds the axe, the noose and the goad —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ ७ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Verse 8
शर्वाय सर्वप्रियकारणाय
Sharvaya Sarvapriyakaranaya
śarvāya sarvapriyakāraṇāya
To Sharva, the cause of all that is dear,
पिनाकिने बाणधराय तुभ्यम् ।
Pinakine Banadharaya Tubhyam
pinākine bāṇadharāya tubhyam
to you, who bear the Pinaka bow and the arrow,
गौरीप्रियायाखिलपालकाय
Gauripriyayakhilapalakaya
gaurīpriyāyākhilapālakāya
beloved of Gauri, protector of all —
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय नमः शिवाय ॥ ८ ॥
Shrinilakanthaya Namah Shivaya
śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya
to blessed Neelakantha, salutations to Shiva.
Closing verse
इति स्तुत्वा महादेवं प्रणम्य च पुनः पुनः ।
Iti Stutva Mahadevam Pranamya Cha Punah Punah
iti stutvā mahādevaṃ praṇamya ca punaḥ punaḥ
Having praised Mahadeva like this and bowed again and again,
विदध्यू ऋषयस्तत्र सुराः पद्मभुवादयः ॥ ९ ॥
Vidadhyu Rishayastatra Surah Padmabhuvadayah
vidadhyū ṛṣayastatra surāḥ padmabhuvādayaḥ
the sages, the gods, Brahma and the others meditated on him there.
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AboutNeelakanthaAshtakam
Neelakantha means “blue-throated”. When the gods and demons churned the ocean of milk for the nectar of immortality, the deadly poison Halahala rose first and began to burn the worlds. Shiva drank it to save creation, and Parvati held his throat so it would go no further — leaving his throat blue for ever.
This ashtakam weaves that title into the five-syllable mantra: every verse ends “śrī nīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ śivāya”. In between, it praises Shiva as the cause of all causes, the protector of those who take refuge at his feet, the light like a lamp in the heart’s lotus on which yogis meditate with eyes fixed at the tip of the nose, the giver of the eight limbs of yoga, the ash-white, matted-haired, sky-clad Lord of the Vedanta.
The sanskritdocuments.org edition notes that it is said to come from the Garalapurinatha Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana — Garalapuri, “the city of the poison”, being a temple of Neelakantha — though it is not easily found in printed editions of the Purana.
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TheStoriesInsidetheHymn
Thepoisonandthebluethroat
As the ocean was churned with Mount Mandara and the serpent Vasuki, the poison Halahala poured out, so fierce that gods and demons alike fled to Shiva. Out of compassion he gathered it in his palm and drank it.
Parvati pressed his throat so it would not reach his heart, where the worlds are held. The poison stayed in his throat, and he has been Neelakantha, the Blue-Throated, ever since — the god who takes the world’s poison into himself.
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HowtoChantNeelakanthaAshtakam
When to chant
✦Mondays
✦Pradosham
✦Maha Shivaratri
✦The month of Shravan
How many times
Once, or eleven times on Shivaratri.
1
Offer water or milk to a Shiva Linga, or sit before an image of Shiva.
2
Chant each verse, letting the refrain become the five-syllable mantra.
3
In verse 2, rest your gaze softly at the tip of your nose and picture a lamp in your heart.
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PronunciationGuide
The sounds that trip people up most in this hymn, and how to say them.
nīlakaṇṭha
nee-la-kun-tha — “blue-throated.”
kāraṇakāraṇāya
kaa-ra-na-kaa-ra-naa-ya — “to the cause of causes.”
digambarāya
di-gum-ba-raa-ya — “clothed in the directions, sky-clad.”
