Shiva Panchakshara Stotram — Lyrics, Meaning & Benefits

Five Verses for Five Syllables

The Shiva Panchakshara Stotram (panchakshara = five syllables) is a masterpiece of devotional poetry by Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE), the great philosopher and saint who revived Advaita Vedanta across India. Each of the five verses is dedicated to one syllable of the sacred Panchakshara mantra Om Namah Shivaya:

• Verse 1 — Na (न) — Earth element; Shiva wearing the king of serpents as garland, having three eyes, smeared with sacred ash
• Verse 2 — Ma (म) — Water element; Shiva anointed with Ganga water and sandalwood, Lord of Nandi and the Pramathas
• Verse 3 — Shi (शि) — Fire element; Shiva as the sun to the lotus-face of Parvati, destroyer of Daksha’s sacrifice, the blue-throated one
• Verse 4 — Va (व) — Air element; Shiva worshipped by the great sages Vasishtha, Agastya, and Gautama, the three-eyed one
• Verse 5 — Ya (य) — Space element; Shiva in the form of a yaksha, bearing matted locks and the Pinaka bow, the eternal sky-clad one

Shankaracharya’s Gift

Adi Shankaracharya composed this stotram as a teaching tool — each verse is a complete meditation on Shiva’s attributes while simultaneously honoring one syllable of the most fundamental Shaiva mantra. By the time you recite all five verses, you have meditated on the full Panchakshara.

The closing line of each verse — “Tasmai [syllable]-kaaraaya namah Shivaaya” — “To that [syllable] of Namah Shivaya, salutations” — ties the devotional and the meditative together beautifully.