Shiva — The still point at the centre of the cosmic dance

The still point at the centre of the cosmic dance

Shiva Mantras & Stotras

Shiva is the great yogi of the Himalayas — the destroyer of ignorance, the lord of meditation, and the stillness out of which the whole dance of creation arises. He is worshipped as a serene ascetic on Mount Kailash, as Nataraja the cosmic dancer, and in the formless shape of the lingam, a pillar of light with no beginning and no end.

The hymns below are some of the most loved in the Hindu tradition. Each one is given in full, with an easy way to read it aloud, the exact Sanskrit, and a line-by-line English meaning — so you can understand what you are chanting, not just repeat the sounds.

Shiva oracle reading

Shiva Hymns with Meaning

A radiant Shiva Linga adorned with gold, jewels, a cobra, sandalwood paste and lotus garlands, as described in the Lingashtakam

Ashtakam · 9 verses

Lingashtakam

Eight short verses praising the Shiva Linga — the formless symbol of Shiva — each ending with the same heartfelt refrain: “to that Linga, the ever-auspicious Shiva, I bow.”

Mount Kailash reflected in a still lake at dawn, with the serene face of Shiva appearing in the clouds above and a sadhu chanting on the shore

Mantra · 1 verses

Om Namah Shivaya

The great five-syllable mantra of Shiva — “Om, I bow to Shiva” — one of the oldest and most widely chanted prayers in the world.

Shiva meditating at the centre of a circle of the five elements — earth and flowers, a swirling stream of water, a ring of fire, wind and clouds, and open starry space

Stotram · 6 verses

Shiva Panchakshara Stotram

Five verses for the five sacred syllables of Na-Ma-Shi-Va-Ya — each verse paints a portrait of Shiva and ends by bowing to him as one syllable of his great mantra.

Shiva as Nataraja dancing the cosmic Tandava inside a ring of fire, his matted locks flying, amid a storm of thunder and galaxies

Stotram · 17 verses

Shiva Tandava Stotram

Ravana’s thunderous hymn to Shiva’s cosmic dance — drums pounding, serpents hissing, the Ganga whirling in his hair — one of the most powerful and rhythmic hymns in Sanskrit.

The boy sage Markandeya clinging to a Shiva Linga as Shiva bursts forth with his trident to protect him from Yama, the lord of death, who stands back on his buffalo

Mantra · 1 verses

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

The great “death-conquering” mantra from the Rig Veda — a prayer to the three-eyed Shiva to be released from fear and death like a ripe fruit falling gently from its vine.

The young sage Adi Shankaracharya in saffron robes meditating on a Himalayan rock, his form dissolving into starlight and the cosmos

Stotram · 6 verses

Nirvana Shatakam

Six verses by Adi Shankaracharya that strip away everything we are not — body, mind, emotions, even religion — until only one truth is left: “I am consciousness and bliss. I am Shiva.”

Shiva, pale and luminous as camphor, seated with Parvati inside a glowing lotus within a heart of light, with a camphor aarti lamp burning before them

Mantra · 1 verses

Karpur Gauram

The beautiful four-line verse sung at the end of almost every aarti — praising Shiva, white as camphor, compassion in human form, who lives in the lotus of the heart with Parvati.

A towering serene Shiva made of soft white light meditating above the peaks of Kailash, with the poet-saint Tulsidas kneeling in prayer below

Ashtakam · 9 verses

Shiva Rudrashtakam

Tulsidas’s eight verses to Shiva, beginning “Namāmīśam īśāna” — a hymn that moves from the formless, infinite Shiva to the gentle, blue-throated lord, ending in a heartfelt plea: “I know no yoga, no ritual — protect me, Shambhu.”

A devotee’s hands offering a single three-leafed bilva leaf onto a Shiva Linga bathed in milk, with Shiva’s face glowing above in the temple darkness

Ashtakam · 9 verses

Bilvashtakam

Eight verses on offering a single three-leafed bilva leaf to Shiva — each ending ekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam, “one bilva leaf, offered to Shiva” — the simplest and most loved of all Shiva offerings.

Kala Bhairava, dark-blue and three-eyed with trident and drum, his black dog at his feet, before the lamp-lit ghats of Varanasi at night

Ashtakam · 9 verses

Kalabhairava Ashtakam

Adi Shankaracharya’s eight verses to Kala Bhairava, Shiva’s fierce form as master of time and guardian of Kashi — each ending “I worship Kala Bhairava, lord of the city of Kashi.”

Shiva meditating on a Himalayan ledge at sunrise with a vast golden halo of the sun behind him and a rishi tending a Vedic fire

Gayatri Mantra · 1 verses

Shiva Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri of Shiva — “May we know the Supreme Being, may we meditate on the Great God; may Rudra awaken us” — a short Vedic prayer for clarity and inner strength.

A cosmic map of India at night with twelve pillars of golden light rising from the twelve Jyotirlinga sites, Shiva’s face in the clouds above

Stotram · 4 verses

Dvadasha Jyotirlinga Stotram

Four short verses that name all twelve Jyotirlingas — Shiva’s twelve sacred “lingas of light” across India — so that remembering them morning and evening is like a pilgrimage in itself.

A devotee meditating with closed eyes as a golden vision of inner worship rises from their heart, Shiva on a jewelled throne receiving offerings of light

Stotram · 5 verses

Shiva Manasa Puja

Adi Shankaracharya’s hymn of “mental worship” — offering Shiva a jewelled throne, a feast, music and dance entirely in the imagination — ending with the realisation that every action of life can be worship.

Shiva as Chandrashekhara, moon-crowned and radiant on the silver peak of Kailash with a huge full moon behind him, the young sage Markandeya kneeling unafraid at his feet

Ashtakam · 10 verses

Chandrashekhara Ashtakam

The young sage Markandeya’s hymn to Shiva the moon-crowned, sung as death approached him — eight verses that each end, “I take refuge in Chandrashekhara — what can death do to me?”

Shiva as Dakshinamurthy, the youthful silent teacher seated under a great banyan tree with his hand in the gesture of knowledge, four elderly sages before him

Stotram · 10 verses

Dakshinamurthy Stotram

Adi Shankaracharya’s profound hymn to Shiva as Dakshinamurthy, the silent teacher under the banyan tree — ten verses that teach, through vivid images, that the whole world shines within one’s own Self.

A humble devotee kneeling in tears before a softly glowing Shiva Linga in a dim temple, Shiva’s compassionate face and blessing hand appearing above in golden light

Stuti · 1 verses

Karacharana Kritam Vaa

A tender prayer asking Shiva to forgive every wrong — done by hands or feet, speech or body, eyes or ears or mind, knowingly or unknowingly — ending “Glory to you, ocean of compassion.”