Skip to main content
YatraBeyondYatraBeyond
StotramShiv JiSanskrit / Pan-India

Shiva Raksha Stotram

viniyoga

अस्य श्रीशिवरक्षास्तोत्रमन्त्रस्य याज्ञवल्क्य ऋषिः। श्रीसदाशिवो देवता। अनुष्टुप् छन्दः।

Asya śrī-śivarakṣā-stotra-mantrasya Yājñavalkya ṛṣiḥ; Śrī-Sadāśivo devatā; Anuṣṭup chandaḥ

श्रीसदाशिवप्रीत्यर्थं शिवरक्षास्तोत्रजपे विनियोगः।

Śrī-Sadāśiva-prītyarthaṃ śivarakṣā-stotra-jape viniyogaḥ

Meaning

For this Shri Shivaraksha Stotra mantra, the sage (seer) is Yajnavalkya; the deity is Shri Sadashiva; the meter is Anushtup.

The application (viniyoga) of this stotra is the recitation of the Shivaraksha for the pleasure of Shri Sadashiva.

verse 1

चरितं देवदेवस्य महादेवस्य पावनम्।

Caritaṃ deva-devasya mahādevasya pāvanam

अपारं परमोदारं चतुर्वर्गस्य साधनम्॥1॥

Apāraṃ paramodāraṃ catur-vargasya sādhanam

Meaning

The purifying life-story of Mahadeva, the god of gods,

is boundless, supremely generous, and the very means of attaining the four goals of life (dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation).

verse 2

गौरीविनायकोपेतं पञ्चवक्त्रं त्रिनेत्रकम्।

Gaurī-vināyakopetaṃ pañca-vaktraṃ tri-netrakam

शिवं ध्यात्वा दशभुजं शिवरक्षां पठेन्नरः॥2॥

Śivaṃ dhyātvā daśa-bhujaṃ śivarakṣāṃ paṭhen naraḥ

Meaning

Accompanied by Gauri and Vinayaka (Ganesha), five-faced, three-eyed,

and ten-armed -- meditating on Shiva in this form, one should recite the Shivaraksha.

verse 3

गंगाधरः शिरः पातु भालं अर्धेन्दुशेखरः।

Gaṃgādharaḥ śiraḥ pātu bhālaṃ ardhendu-śekharaḥ

नयने मदनध्वंसी कर्णो सर्पविभूषण॥3॥

Nayane madana-dhvaṃsī karṇo sarpa-vibhūṣaṇa

Meaning

May Gangadhara (the bearer of the Ganga) protect my head; may the one crowned with the crescent moon protect my forehead;

may the destroyer of Madana (the love-god) protect my eyes; may the one adorned with serpents protect my ears.

verse 4

घ्राणं पातु पुरारातिः मुखं पातु जगत्पतिः।

Ghrāṇaṃ pātu purārātiḥ mukhaṃ pātu jagatpatiḥ

जिह्वां वागीश्वरः पातु कंधरां शितिकंधरः॥4॥

Jihvāṃ vāgīśvaraḥ pātu kaṃdharāṃ śiti-kaṃdharaḥ

Meaning

May the enemy of the (triple) city protect my nose; may the lord of the universe protect my mouth;

may the lord of speech protect my tongue; may the dark-throated one (who drank the poison) protect my neck.

verse 5

श्रीकण्ठः पातु मे कण्ठं स्कन्धौ विश्वधुरन्धरः।

Śrīkaṇṭhaḥ pātu me kaṇṭhaṃ skandhau viśva-dhurandhraḥ

भुजौ भूभारसंहर्ता करौ पातु पिनाकधृक्॥5॥

Bhujau bhū-bhāra-saṃhartā karau pātu pināka-dhṛk

Meaning

May Shrikantha protect my throat; may the bearer of the world's burden protect my shoulders;

may the remover of the earth's burden protect my arms; may the wielder of the Pinaka bow protect my hands.

verse 6

हृदयं शंकरः पातु जठरं गिरिजापतिः।

Hṛdayaṃ śaṃkaraḥ pātu jaṭharaṃ girijāpatiḥ

नाभिं मृत्युञ्जयः पातु कटी व्याघ्राजिनाम्बरः॥6॥

Nābhiṃ mṛtyuñjayaḥ pātu kaṭī vyāghrājinā-mbaraḥ

Meaning

May Shankara protect my heart; may the lord of Girija (Parvati) protect my belly;

may Mrityunjaya (the conqueror of death) protect my navel; may the one clad in tiger-skin protect my waist.

verse 7

सक्थिनी पातु दीनार्तशरणागतवत्सलः।

Sakthinī pātu dīnārta-śaraṇāgata-vatsalaḥ

उरू महेश्वरः पातु जानुनी जगदीश्वरः॥7॥

Urū maheśvaraḥ pātu jānunī jagadīśvaraḥ

Meaning

May the one affectionate toward the distressed, the afflicted, and those who take refuge protect my shanks;

may Maheshvara protect my thighs; may the lord of the universe protect my knees.

verse 8

जङ्घे पातु जगत्कर्ता गुल्फौ पातु गणाधिपः।

Jaṅghe pātu jagat-kartā gulphau pātu gaṇādhipaḥ

चरणौ करुणासिंधुः सर्वाङ्गानि सदाशिवः॥8॥

Caraṇau karuṇā-sindhuḥ sarvāṅgāni sadāśivaḥ

Meaning

May the creator of the universe protect my calves; may the lord of the Ganas protect my ankles;

may the ocean of compassion protect my feet; may Sadashiva protect all my limbs, head to toe.

verse 9

एतां शिवबलोपेतां रक्षां यः सुकृती पठेत्।

Etāṃ śiva-balopetāṃ rakṣāṃ yaḥ sukṛtī paṭhet

स भुक्त्वा सकलान्कामान् शिवसायुज्यमाप्नुयात्॥9॥

Sa bhuktvā sakalān-kāmān śiva-sāyujyam-āpnuyāt

Meaning

Whoever, being virtuous, recites this protective hymn charged with Shiva's power,

he, having enjoyed all his desires, attains union with Shiva.

verse 10

ग्रहभूतपिशाचाद्यास्त्रैलोक्ये विचरन्ति ये।

Graha-bhūta-piśācādyās-trailokye vicaranti ye

दूरादाशु पलायन्ते शिवनामाभिरक्षणात्॥10॥

Dūrād-āśu palāyante śiva-nāmābhi-rakṣaṇāt

Meaning

The malefic grahas, spirits (bhutas), pishachas, and other such beings that wander through the three worlds,

flee swiftly from afar, warded off by the protection of Shiva's name.

verse 11

अभयङ्करनामेदं कवचं पार्वतीपतेः।

Abhayaṃkara-nāmedaṃ kavacaṃ pārvatī-pateḥ

भक्त्या बिभर्ति यः कण्ठे तस्य वश्यं जगत्त्रयम्॥11॥

Bhaktyā bibharti yaḥ kaṇṭhe tasya vaśyaṃ jagat-trayam

Meaning

This armor of the lord of Parvati is named 'Abhayankara', the bestower of fearlessness;

whoever wears it with devotion around the neck, the three worlds become subject to him.

verse 12

इमां नारायणः स्वप्ने शिवरक्षां यथाऽऽदिशत्।

Imāṃ Nārāyaṇaḥ svapne śivarakṣāṃ yathā'diśat

प्रातरुत्थाय योगीन्द्रो याज्ञवल्क्यः तथाऽलिखत्॥12॥

Prātar-utthāya yogīndro Yājñavalkya tathā'likhat

Meaning

Just as Narayana revealed this Shivaraksha in a dream,

the great yogi Yajnavalkya, rising in the morning, wrote it down exactly as it was revealed.

colophon

॥ इति श्रीयाज्ञवल्क्यप्रोक्तं शिवरक्षास्तोत्रं (अथवा अभयङ्करकवचं) सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Iti śrī-yājñavalkya-proktaṃ śivarakṣāstotraṃ (athavā abhayaṅkarakavacaṃ) sampūrṇam

Meaning

Thus concludes the Shivaraksha Stotram (also known as the Abhayankara Kavacham) spoken by Shri Yajnavalkya.

Original text: public domainAuthor: Yajnavalkya RishiPeriod: ancientTranslation & transliteration © YatraBeyond

Kavacham pattern stotra

Sourced and cross-checked against two independent sources; our meanings are written in our own words, never copied. Personal, devotional use — including printing and sharing short excerpts with attribution — is free and encouraged.

Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will check it against the sources.

Everything on Shiv Ji