Sri Sankaracharya Varyam

Overview

Sri Sankaracharya Varyam is a Sanskrit stotram of six verses in praise of Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century philosopher and founder of Advaita Vedanta. The verses praise his lineage, his discipleship under Govinda Bhagavatpada, and his role in upholding Vedic dharma. It belongs to the Advaita Vedanta tradition and is recited as a guru stotram.

What are the benefits of chanting Sri Sankaracharya Varyam?

• Recitation is said to bring clarity in spiritual study and practice.
• Devotees chant it to seek the grace and guidance of the guru lineage.
• It supports removal of doubt and ignorance in philosophical inquiry.
• Regular recitation fosters reverence for the Shankaracharya tradition.

When is the best time to recite this?

Sri Sankaracharya Varyam is recited on Guru Purnima and on the Shankaracharya Jayanti. Morning and evening prayers in Advaita Vedanta institutions include this text. It is also recited before philosophical study sessions.

Historical and traditional background

Adi Shankaracharya (c. 788–820 CE) established the Advaita Vedanta school, wrote commentaries on the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita, and founded four monastic centers across India. This stotram was composed after his era by a follower within the Advaita tradition to honor his contributions. The author is not recorded. Such guru stotrams are standard in the tradition of the Shankaracharya mathas.

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 to read it in your preferred script.

Related Texts

• Dakshinamurti Stotram — composed by Adi Shankaracharya himself in praise of Shiva as the teacher.
• Bhaja Govindam — another composition attributed to Shankaracharya, widely recited in the Advaita tradition.