Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram
Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram
Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram
devyaparādha kṣamāpaṇa stotram
na mantraṃ no yantraṃ tadapi ca na jāne stutimaho
na cāhvānaṃ dhyānaṃ tadapi ca na jāne stutikathāḥ |
na jāne mudrāste tadapi ca na jāne vilapanaṃ
paraṃ jāne mātastvadanusaraṇaṃ kleśaharaṇam || 1 ||
vidherajñānena draviṇaviraheṇālasatayā
vidheyāśakyatvāttava caraṇayoryā cyutirabhūt |
tadetat kṣantavyaṃ janani sakaloddhāriṇi śive
kuputro jāyeta kvacidapi kumātā na bhavati || 2 ||
pṛthivyāṃ putrāste janani bahavaḥ santi saralāḥ
paraṃ teṣāṃ madhye viralataralo'haṃ tava sutaḥ |
madīyo'yaṃ tyāgaḥ samucitamidaṃ no tava śive
kuputro jāyeta kvacidapi kumātā na bhavati || 3 ||
jaganmātarmātastava caraṇasevā na racitā
na vā dattaṃ devi draviṇamapi bhūyastava mayā |
tathāpi tvaṃ snehaṃ mayi nirupamaṃ yatprakuruṣe
kuputro jāyeta kvacidapi kumātā na bhavati || 4 ||
parityaktā devānvividhavidhisevākulatayā
mayā pañcāśīteradhikamapanīte tu vayasi |
idānīṃ cenmātastava yadi kṛpā nāpi bhavitā
nirālambo lambodarajanani kaṃ yāmi śaraṇam || 5 ||
śvapāko jalpāko bhavati madhupākopamagirā
nirātaṅko raṅko viharati ciraṃ koṭikanakaiḥ |
tavāparṇe karṇe viśati manuvarṇe phalamidaṃ
janaḥ ko jānīte janani japanīyaṃ japavidhau || 6 ||
citābhasmālepo garalamaśanaṃ dikpaṭadharo
jaṭādhārī kaṇṭhe bhujagapatihārī paśupatiḥ |
kapālī bhūteśo bhajati jagadīśaikapadavīṃ
bhavānī tvatpāṇigrahaṇaparipāṭī phalamidam || 7 ||
na mokṣasyākāṅkṣā na ca vibhavavāñchāpi ca na me
na vijñānāpekṣā śaśimukhi sukhecchāpi na punaḥ |
atastvāṃ saṃyāce janani jananaṃ yātu mama vai
mṛḍānī rudrāṇī śiva śiva bhavānīti japataḥ || 8 ||
nārādhitāsi vidhinā vividhopacāraiḥ
kiṃ rūkṣacintanaparairna kṛtaṃ vacobhiḥ |
śyāme tvameva yadi kiñcana mayyanāthe
dhatse kṛpāmucitamamba paraṃ tavaiva || 9 ||
āpatsu magnaḥ smaraṇaṃ tvadīyaṃ
karomi durge karuṇārṇave śive |
naitacchaṭhatvaṃ mama bhāvayethāḥ
kṣudhātṛṣārtāḥ jananīṃ smaranti || 10 ||
jagadamba vicitramatra kiṃ
paripūrṇā karuṇāsti cenmayi |
aparādhaparamparāvṛtaṃ
na hi mātā samupekṣate sutam || 11 ||
matsamaḥ pātakī nāsti pāpaghnī tvatsamā na hi |
evaṃ jñātvā mahādevī yathā yogyaṃ tathā kuru || 12 ||
iti śrīmacchaṅkarācārya viracitaṃ devyaparādhakṣamāpaṇa stotram |
About This Stotram
Overview
The Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram is a 12-verse Sanskrit hymn in which the devotee seeks forgiveness from the Divine Mother (Devi) for offenses committed unknowingly — through ignorance of proper ritual, lack of devotion, or distraction. The text belongs to the Shakta tradition and expresses the theological position that sincere contrition matters more than ritual correctness.
What are the benefits of chanting Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram?
- The hymn provides a formal framework for acknowledging ritual shortcomings and seeking the goddess's pardon.
- Recitation is used to close a worship session when the devotee feels they may have made errors in procedure.
- The text cultivates humility and the attitude of surrender toward the Divine Mother.
- Chanting is associated with purification of sins committed through ignorance.
- The stotram reinforces the theological principle that Devi's compassion extends to sincere but imperfect devotees.
When is the best time to recite this?
This stotram is traditionally recited at the end of Devi puja or Navaratri observances to seek forgiveness for any inadvertent errors. Morning and evening worship sessions are also appropriate occasions. It can be recited at any time one feels the need to seek the goddess's pardon.
What is the historical and traditional background?
The Devi Aparadha Kshamapana Stotram circulates widely in Shakta and Tantric devotional traditions, but its authorship is unknown and it is not traced to a single canonical scripture. Kshamapana (forgiveness-seeking) hymns form a recognized genre in Hindu devotional literature, addressed to various deities, and this text follows that format for goddess worship. The style suggests a composition from the post-Puranic period of devotional literature. The text is commonly attributed in oral tradition to Adi Shankaracharya, though this attribution is not uniformly accepted by scholars.
Available scripts
This text is available in 14 scripts: devanagari, tamil, telugu, kannada, malayalam, gujarati, bengali, iast, gurmukhi, oriya, assamese, sinhala, itrans, hk. Use the script selector above to switch between them.
Related Texts
- Soundarya Lahari — an extended Sanskrit hymn to Devi attributed to Shankaracharya, sharing the same goddess-centered devotional tradition.
- Lalita Sahasranama — the thousand-name hymn to Goddess Lalita Tripurasundari, commonly recited in the Shakta tradition.
- Mahishasura Mardini Stotram — a hymn celebrating Devi's victory over Mahishasura, often recited in the same Navaratri devotional context.