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Mantra · The eight verses to the lingam.

Lingashtakam

ब्रह्ममुरारिसुरार्चितलिङ्गं निर्मलभासितशोभितलिङ्गम् । जन्मजदुःखविनाशकलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

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

What the Lingashtakam is

The Lingashtakam addresses Sadashiva in the form of the lingam, the aniconic shaft that Shaiva tradition holds as the primary visible mark of the formless Absolute. Unlike anthropomorphic murtis that show Shiva with matted locks, trident or bull, the lingam stands without face or limb, its curved top and squared base marking the union of pure consciousness and manifest energy. Temples from Kedarnath to Rameswaram install it as the garbha-griha’s sole focus; the eight verses of this stotra circle that stone or crystal form alone, naming it the object worshipped by Brahma and Murari, the destroyer of the sorrow born with each birth, and the eternally auspicious lingam. Every verse returns in its refrain to the upright emblem itself, even where its epithets recall episodes of Shiva’s mythology: the burning of Kama, the humbling of Ravana’s pride and the destruction of Daksha’s sacrifice.

The Endless Pillar of Light

The Shiva Purana and the Linga Purana recount that Brahma and Vishnu once disputed which of them was supreme. In the midst of their contention a boundless pillar of fire rose between them, without top or bottom. Vishnu took the form of a boar and dug downward for a thousand years; Brahma became a swan and flew upward the same span. Neither found an end. Returning, they met a sage who was Shiva himself and learned that the pillar was the lingam, the sign of that which precedes and outlasts every creator and preserver. Brahma’s false claim to have reached the summit brought the curse that he would lack temples on earth, while Vishnu’s honest failure won him the right to be honored beside the lingam. The Lingashtakam’s opening verse still names both gods as the first worshippers of that same shaft of light, fixing the hymn inside this primordial episode rather than any later narrative of marriage or battle.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiब्रह्ममुरारिसुरार्चितलिङ्गं निर्मलभासितशोभितलिङ्गम् । जन्मजदुःखविनाशकलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

Tamilப்ரஹ்மமுராரிஸுரார்சிதலிங்கம் நிர்மலபாஸிதஶோபிதலிங்கம் । ஜந்மஜதுஃகவிநாஶகலிங்கம் தத்ப்ரணமாமி ஸதாஶிவலிங்கம் ॥

Teluguబ్రహ్మమురారిసురార్చితలిఙ్గం నిర్మలభాసితశోభితలిఙ్గమ్ । జన్మజదుఃఖవినాశకలిఙ్గం తత్ప్రణమామి సదాశివలిఙ్గమ్ ॥

Kannadaಬ್ರಹ್ಮಮುರಾರಿಸುರಾರ್ಚಿತಲಿಙ್ಗಂ ನಿರ್ಮಲಭಾಸಿತಶೋಭಿತಲಿಙ್ಗಮ್ । ಜನ್ಮಜದುಃಖವಿನಾಶಕಲಿಙ್ಗಂ ತತ್ಪ್ರಣಮಾಮಿ ಸದಾಶಿವಲಿಙ್ಗಮ್ ॥

Malayalamബ്രഹ്മമുരാരിസുരാര്ചിതലിങ്ഗം നിര്മലഭാസിതശോഭിതലിങ്ഗമ് । ജന്മജദുഃഖവിനാശകലിങ്ഗം തത്പ്രണമാമി സദാശിവലിങ്ഗമ് ॥

EnglishRoman transliterationbrahmamurārisurārcitaliṅgaṃ nirmalabhāsitaśobhitaliṅgam | janmajaduḥkhavināśakaliṅgaṃ tatpraṇamāmi sadāśivaliṅgam ||

“I bow to that Sadashiva-lingam which is worshipped by Brahma, Murari and the gods, which shines pure and radiant, and which destroys the sorrow born of birth.”

ब्रह्म: brahma — Brahma
मुरारि: murāri — Murari (Vishnu)
सुरार्चित: surārcita — worshipped by the gods
लिङ्गं: liṅgaṃ — lingam
निर्मल: nirmala — pure
भासित: bhāsita — shining
शोभित: śobhita — radiant
लिङ्गम्: liṅgam — lingam
जन्मज: janmaja — born of birth
दुःख: duḥkha — sorrow
विनाशक: vināśaka — destroyer
लिङ्गं: liṅgaṃ — lingam
तत्: tat — that
प्रणमामि: praṇamāmi — I bow
सदाशिव: sadāśiva — Sadashiva
लिङ्गम्: liṅgam — lingam

Lingashtakam lyrics in full

All 9 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Lingashtakam PDFAll 9 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

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Verse 1

ब्रह्ममुरारिसुरार्चितलिङ्गं निर्मलभासितशोभितलिङ्गम् ।
जन्मजदुःखविनाशकलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu (Murari) and the gods, shining with pure radiance, the destroyer of the sorrow that comes with birth. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 2

देवमुनिप्रवरार्चितलिङ्गं कामदहं करुणाकरलिङ्गम् ।
रावणदर्पविनाशनलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga worshipped by the gods and the foremost sages, the burner of Kama, the source of compassion, which humbled the pride of Ravana. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 3

सर्वसुगन्धसुलेपितलिङ्गं बुद्धिविवर्धनकारणलिङ्गम् ।
सिद्धसुरासुरवन्दितलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga anointed with every fragrance, the cause of the growth of understanding, revered by the siddhas, the gods and the asuras. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 4

कनकमहामणिभूषितलिङ्गं फणिपतिवेष्टितशोभितलिङ्गम् ।
दक्षसुयज्ञविनाशनलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga adorned with gold and great gems, beautiful with the king of serpents coiled around it, which brought Daksha's grand sacrifice to an end. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 5

कुङ्कुमचन्दनलेपितलिङ्गं पङ्कजहारसुशोभितलिङ्गम् ।
सञ्चितपापविनाशनलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga smeared with kumkum and sandal paste, lovely with garlands of lotuses, praised as the destroyer of accumulated sins. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 6

देवगणार्चितसेवितलिङ्गं भावैर्भक्तिभिरेव च लिङ्गम् ।
दिनकरकोटिप्रभाकरलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga worshipped and served by the hosts of gods with heartfelt feeling and devotion, radiant as ten million suns. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 7

अष्टदलोपरिवेष्टितलिङ्गं सर्वसमुद्भवकारणलिङ्गम् ।
अष्टदरिद्रविनाशनलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga encircled by eight petals, the cause from which all things arise, praised as the remover of the eight kinds of poverty. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Verse 8

सुरगुरुसुरवरपूजितलिङ्गं सुरवनपुष्पसदार्चितलिङ्गम् ।
परात्परं परमात्मकलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥

The Linga worshipped by Brihaspati, teacher of the gods, and by the best of the gods, ever honoured with flowers from the celestial gardens, higher than the highest, the very nature of the Supreme Self. To that Linga of Sadashiva I bow.

Phalashruti

लिङ्गाष्टकमिदं पुण्यं यः पठेच्छिवसन्निधौ ।
शिवलोकमवाप्नोति शिवेन सह मोदते ॥

The closing verse says that whoever recites this sacred Lingashtakam in Shiva's presence reaches Shiva's realm and rejoices there with Shiva.

The syllable people get wrong

In liṅgaṃ the velar nasal ṅ before g is the sound of English “ng” in “finger”, made with the back of the tongue against the soft palate. The common fault is to replace it with a dental n, saying “lin-gam” with the tongue tip at the teeth; the correct touch keeps the back of the tongue raised and the sound humming through the nose before the g is released.

When the Lingashtakam is chanted

Weekday. Monday

Festival. Maha Shivaratri, when the lingam is bathed through the four night watches

Questions

Because its object is the lingam itself, the mark that Shaiva Agama treats as prior to every iconic form. Its epithets do recall episodes of Shiva’s mythology, the burning of Kama and the humbling of Ravana’s pride in the second verse and the destruction of Daksha’s sacrifice in the fourth, but each is attached to the lingam rather than to an image with face and weapons.

Sadashiva is the five-faced, ten-armed transcendental form whose uppermost face, turned to the zenith, is Ishana; the lingam addressed here is understood as that same reality condensed into the aniconic shaft, so the epithet binds the silent stone to the highest philosophical category of Shaiva Siddhanta.

The text itself names only the lingam worshipped by the gods and shining without stain; tradition applies the same eight verses to stone, crystal, mercury or light-formed lingams alike, since the stotra’s concern is the principle, not the substance.

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Lingashtakam

What the Lingashtakam is

The Endless Pillar of Light

The mantra, in six scripts

Lingashtakam lyrics in full

The syllable people get wrong

When the Lingashtakam is chanted

Questions

Have your chart read before you decide

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