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Home › Mantras › Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram
Rudra (Shiva) Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram: Rama kneeling before a sand lingam on the Rameswaram shore as two-armed Shiva appears in light to bless him
On the shore at Rameswaram, Rama worships a lingam of sand and Shiva appears to bless him
Mantra · Vasishtha's eight verses to Shiva as burner of poverty's sorrow

Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram

विश्वेश्वराय नरकार्णवतारणाय कर्णामृताय शशिशेखरधारणाय । कर्पूरकान्तिधवलाय जटाधराय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Also known as Vishveshvaraya Narakarnava Taranaya

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

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What the Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram is

The Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram, widely searched as the Daridrya Dahana Stotram, is a Sanskrit hymn to Shiva whose title means 'the hymn that burns up poverty'. It opens with the words vishveshvaraya narakarnava taranaya and runs to eight verses, a closing verse on the fruit of recitation and a printed colophon. Each verse is a string of names in the dative case, every one meaning 'to the one who...', and all of them lead into the same last line, daridrya-duhkha-dahanaya namah shivaya, 'salutation to Shiva, who burns the sorrow of poverty'. Between them they gather Shiva's familiar marks: the crescent moon and the Ganga in his hair, serpent ornaments, the eye on the forehead, ash from the cremation ground, the elephant hide, the five faces and the bull he rides. The ninth verse names the sage Vasishtha as its maker, and the colophon repeats the name.

Vasishtha, Rama and the boon at Rameswaram

No account of when or why the hymn was made has travelled with it; the attribution rests on its own ninth verse, vasishthena kritam stotram, 'a hymn made by Vasishtha'. The name carries weight. Vasishtha is one of the seven great rishis, the poet credited with the seventh book of the Rigveda, and in the Ramayana he is the family priest of the Raghu line and the teacher of Rama and his brothers. That gives verse 7 a natural place in a hymn under his name: it calls Shiva ramapriya, 'dear to Rama', and raghunatha-varaprada, 'giver of a boon to the lord of the Raghus'. The Shiva Purana relates that Rama worshipped Shiva as a lingam on the shore at Rameswaram before crossing to Lanka, and that Shiva appeared and granted him victory over Ravana; the Ramanathaswamy temple on the island keeps that lingam as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Two more stories sit inside single words. Kalantaka, 'ender of Death', in verses 2 and 6, recalls the youth Markandeya, who held fast to a lingam when Yama came for him at sixteen, until Shiva emerged and struck Death down. Gajaraja-vimardana in verse 2 and matanga-charma-vasana in verse 8 belong to one episode: the Kurma Purana tells how Shiva rose from the Krittivasa lingam at Varanasi, slew a demon in elephant form and wore its hide.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiविश्वेश्वराय नरकार्णवतारणाय कर्णामृताय शशिशेखरधारणाय । कर्पूरकान्तिधवलाय जटाधराय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥
Tamilவிஶ்வேஶ்வராய நரகார்ணவதாரணாய கர்ணாம்ருதாய ஶஶிஶேகரதாரணாய । கர்பூரகாந்திதவலாய ஜடாதராய தாரித்ர்யதுஃகதஹநாய நமஃ ஶிவாய ॥
Teluguవిశ్వేశ్వరాయ నరకార్ణవతారణాయ కర్ణామృతాయ శశిశేఖరధారణాయ । కర్పూరకాన్తిధవలాయ జటాధరాయ దారిద్ర్యదుఃఖదహనాయ నమః శివాయ ॥
Kannadaವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರಾಯ ನರಕಾರ್ಣವತಾರಣಾಯ ಕರ್ಣಾಮೃತಾಯ ಶಶಿಶೇಖರಧಾರಣಾಯ । ಕರ್ಪೂರಕಾನ್ತಿಧವಲಾಯ ಜಟಾಧರಾಯ ದಾರಿದ್ರ್ಯದುಃಖದಹನಾಯ ನಮಃ ಶಿವಾಯ ॥
Malayalamവിശ്വേശ്വരായ നരകാര്ണവതാരണായ കര്ണാമൃതായ ശശിശേഖരധാരണായ । കര്പൂരകാന്തിധവലായ ജടാധരായ ദാരിദ്ര്യദുഃഖദഹനായ നമഃ ശിവായ ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationviśveśvarāya narakārṇavatāraṇāya karṇāmṛtāya śaśiśekharadhāraṇāya | karpūrakāntidhavalāya jaṭādharāya dāridryaduḥkhadahanāya namaḥ śivāya ||
“Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: lord of the universe, who carries beings across the ocean of hell, nectar to the ears, who wears the crescent moon on his head, white as the glow of camphor, bearer of matted locks.”
विश्वेश्वराय
viśveśvarāya — to the lord of the universe
नरकार्णवतारणाय
narakārṇavatāraṇāya — to the one who carries beings across the ocean of hell
कर्णामृताय
karṇāmṛtāya — to nectar for the ears
शशिशेखरधारणाय
śaśiśekharadhāraṇāya — to the wearer of the moon on his crest
कर्पूरकान्तिधवलाय
karpūrakāntidhavalāya — to the one white as the glow of camphor
जटाधराय
jaṭādharāya — to the bearer of matted locks
दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय
dāridryaduḥkhadahanāya — to the burner of the sorrow of poverty
नमः
namaḥ — salutation
शिवाय
śivāya — to Shiva

Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram lyrics in full

Eight verses and the phala shruti verse that names Vasishtha. The printed closing line is given at the end.

All 10 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram PDFAll 10 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

विश्वेश्वराय नरकार्णवतारणाय कर्णामृताय शशिशेखरधारणाय ।
कर्पूरकान्तिधवलाय जटाधराय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: lord of the universe, who carries beings across the ocean of hell, nectar to the ears, who wears the crescent moon on his head, white as the glow of camphor, bearer of matted locks.

Verse 2

गौरीप्रियाय रजनीशकलाधराय कालान्तकाय भुजगाधिपकङ्कणाय ।
गङ्गाधराय गजराजविमर्दनाय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: beloved of Gauri, bearer of the digit of the moon, ender of Death itself, who wears the king of serpents as a bracelet, bearer of the Ganga, crusher of the elephant demon.

Verse 3

भक्तिप्रियाय भवरोगभयापहाय उग्राय दुर्गभवसागरतारणाय ।
ज्योतिर्मयाय गुणनामसुनृत्यकाय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: who loves devotion, who removes the fear of the disease of worldly existence, the fierce one, who carries beings across the hard-to-cross ocean of birth, made of light, the graceful dancer rich in virtues and names.

Verse 4

चर्माम्बराय शवभस्मविलेपनाय भालेक्षणाय मणिकुण्डलमण्डिताय ।
मञ्जीरपादयुगलाय जटाधराय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: clothed in a hide, smeared with the ash of the cremation ground, with an eye on his forehead, adorned with jewelled earrings, with anklets on both feet, bearer of matted locks.

Verse 5

पञ्चाननाय फणिराजविभूषणाय हेमांशुकाय भुवनत्रयमण्डिताय ।
आनन्दभूमिवरदाय तमोमयाय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: the five-faced one, adorned with the king of hooded serpents, clad in golden cloth, the ornament of the three worlds, giver of boons to the land of bliss, the one in whom darkness and dissolution rest.

Verse 6

भानुप्रियाय भवसागरतारणाय कालान्तकाय कमलासनपूजिताय ।
नेत्रत्रयाय शुभलक्षणलक्षिताय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: dear to the Sun, who carries beings across the ocean of worldly life, ender of Death, worshipped by Brahma who sits on the lotus, the three-eyed one, marked with every auspicious sign.

Verse 7

रामप्रियाय रघुनाथवरप्रदाय नागप्रियाय नरकार्णवतारणाय ।
पुण्येषु पुण्यभरिताय सुरार्चिताय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: dear to Rama, giver of boons to the lord of the Raghus, fond of serpents, who carries beings across the ocean of hell, the most holy among the holy, worshipped by the gods.

Verse 8

मुक्तेश्वराय फलदाय गणेश्वराय गीतप्रियाय वृषभेश्वरवाहनाय ।
मातङ्गचर्मवसनाय महेश्वराय दारिद्र्यदुःखदहनाय नमः शिवाय ॥

Salutations to Shiva, burner of the sorrow of poverty: lord of liberation, giver of the fruits of action, lord of the ganas, lover of song, whose mount is the lord of bulls, clothed in an elephant hide, the great lord.

Phala Shruti 1

वसिष्ठेन कृतं स्तोत्रं सर्वरोगनिवारणम् ।
सर्वसम्पत्करं शीघ्रं पुत्रपौत्रादिवर्धनम् ।
त्रिसन्ध्यं यः पठेन्नित्यं स हि स्वर्गमवाप्नुयात् ॥

This hymn was composed by Vasishtha. The verse says it removes all illness, quickly brings every kind of prosperity and increases children and grandchildren, and that one who recites it daily at the three junctions of the day attains heaven.

Closing

इति श्रीवसिष्ठविरचितं दारिद्र्यदहनशिवस्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Thus ends the Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram composed by Sri Vasishtha.

The syllable people get wrong

The refrain's first word, dāridrya (दारिद्र्य), is often said 'daridra' or 'daridraya'. Say 'DAA-rid-rya': a long first a, a short i, and the cluster d-r-y spoken together in a single last syllable, so the word has three syllables, not four.

When the Daridrya Dahana Shiva Stotram is chanted

Weekday. Monday

Questions

Daridrya is poverty or want, duhkha is sorrow, and dahana is burning; the ending -aya makes the compound 'to the one who burns'. Namah shivaya is 'salutation to Shiva'. The whole line reads 'salutation to Shiva, who burns the sorrow of poverty'. The compound names the sorrow that want brings, not want alone, and because it closes all eight verses, every epithet before it in a verse describes that same burner of sorrow.
The hymn itself names the sage Vasishtha: its ninth verse opens vasishthena kritam stotram, 'a hymn made by Vasishtha', and the printed colophon calls it the work of Sri Vasishtha. No date is known. Its Puranic imagery, such as Rama's boon and the elephant hide, belongs to the later stotra literature rather than to the Rigveda hymns credited to the same sage, so tradition's attribution is best read as devotional.
The commonly recited form has eight verses followed by the phala shruti, which is longer than a usual verse, with six short quarters instead of four. The verse says the hymn removes illness, brings prosperity and increases children and grandchildren, and that the one who recites it attains heaven. Some versions add an extra opening verse beginning gaurivilasa bhuvanaya, and some give a different half-line in the phala shruti; neither belongs to the form printed here.
No. The Lingashtakam is a separate eight-verse hymn to the lingam, and only its seventh verse touches the theme, calling the lingam ashta-daridra-vinashana, remover of eight kinds of poverty. In the Daridrya Dahana Stotram the theme is the refrain itself, repeated at the end of every verse, and the one addressed is Shiva with eyes, ornaments, garments and mount rather than the aniconic lingam. Only this hymn also names its maker inside its own verses.
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