Vedic Tithi
VedicTithi

Stotram - Sacred Scripture

Shiva Namavalyashtakam (Namavali Ashtakam)

Shiva Namavalyashtakam (Namavali Ashtakam)

Shiva Namavalyashtakam (Namavali Ashtakam)

Stotram
Shiva
9 Verses
110%

shiva nAmAvalyaShTakaM (nAmAvalI aShTakaM)

he chandrachUDa madanAntaka shUlapANe

sthANo girIsha girijesha mahesha shambho |

bhUtesha bhItabhayasUdana mAmanAthaM

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 1 ||

he pArvatIhRRidayavallabha chandramaule

bhUtAdhipa pramathanAtha girIshachApa |

he vAmadeva bhava rudra pinAkapANe

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 2 ||

he nIlakaNTha vRRiShabhadhvaja pa~nchavaktra

lokesha sheShavalaya pramathesha sharva |

he dhUrjaTe pashupate girijApate mAM

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 3 ||

he vishvanAtha shiva sha~Nkara devadeva

ga~NgAdhara pramathanAyaka nandikesha |

bANeshvarAndhakaripo hara lokanAtha

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 4 ||

vArANasIpurapate maNikarNikesha

vIresha dakShamakhakAla vibho gaNesha |

sarvaj~na sarvahRRidayaikanivAsa nAtha

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 5 ||

shrImanmaheshvara kRRipAmaya he dayAlo

he vyomakesha shitikaNTha gaNAdhinAtha |

bhasmA~NgarAga nRRikapAlakalApamAla

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 6 ||

kailAsashailavinivAsa vRRiShAkape he

mRRityu~njaya trinayana trijagannivAsa |

nArAyaNapriya madApaha shaktinAtha

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 7 ||

vishvesha vishvabhavanAshaka vishvarUpa

vishvAtmaka tribhuvanaikaguNAdhikesha |

he vishvanAtha karuNAmaya dInabandho

saMsAraduHkhagahanAjjagadIsha rakSha || 8 ||

gaurIvilAsabhavanAya maheshvarAya

pa~nchAnanAya sharaNAgatakalpakAya |

sharvAya sarvajagatAmadhipAya tasmai

dAridryaduHkhadahanAya namaH shivAya || 9 ||

iti shrImatparamahaMsaparivrAjakAchAryasya shrIgovindabhagavatpUjyapAdashiShyasya shrImachCha~NkarabhagavataH kRRitau shrIshivanAmAvalyaShTakaM sampUrNam ||

About This Stotram

Overview

The Shiva Namavalyashtakam is a Sanskrit devotional hymn of 9 verses that enumerates a garland of Shiva's names and epithets, including Chandrachuda, Madanantaka, Shulapane, Girisha, Mahesh, and Jagadisha. Each verse invokes a different cluster of Shiva's divine attributes, asking for rescue from worldly suffering. It belongs to the Shaiva stotra tradition; the author is unknown.

What are the benefits of chanting Shiva Namavalyashtakam?

  • Supports liberation from the cycle of worldly sorrow through repeated invocation of Shiva's names
  • Offers protection by invoking Shiva's role as Pashupati, lord of all beings
  • Purifies the mind through systematic meditation on Shiva's attributes
  • Cultivates devotion and deepens familiarity with Shiva's many forms

When is the best time to recite this?

The Shiva Namavalyashtakam is typically recited during morning and evening prayers, during Shiva Puja, and on auspicious days such as Maha Shivaratri, the Shravana month, and Mondays dedicated to Shiva.

What is the historical and traditional background?

The Shiva Namavalyashtakam does not appear in any single canonical Vedic or Puranic text and has no identified author. The format — presenting Shiva's epithets in clustered verse form — is characteristic of the Bhakti devotional literature that developed through the Puranic and medieval periods. Hymns of this type were composed to give devotees an accessible, structured means of connecting with the divine through the recitation of divine names (nama japa). The text is included in several collected editions of Shaiva stotra literature.

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

  • Shiva Mahimna Stotram — a 43-verse philosophical hymn to Shiva that similarly draws on a wide range of divine epithets
  • Shiva Sahasra Namavali — the thousand-name listing of Shiva's epithets, representing the extended form of the namavali tradition