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Home › Mantras › Om Jai Shiv Omkara Aarti
Rudra (Shiva) Om Jai Shiv Omkara Aarti: five-faced Shiva with Parvati, Brahma and Vishnu as a family waves an aarti lamp
Shiva on Kailasa with Brahma on his swan and Vishnu on Garuda, and an aarti below
Mantra · Hindi aarti hailing Shiva as Om, in whom Brahma and Vishnu are one

Om Jai Shiv Omkara Aarti

ॐ जय शिव ओंकारा, स्वामी जय शिव ओंकारा । ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव अर्द्धांगी धारा ॥

Also known as Shiv Ji Ki Aarti

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

What the Om Jai Shiv Omkara Aarti is

Om Jai Shiv Omkara is the Hindi aarti widely sung as the lamp is waved before Shiva, and it is popularly called Shiv ji ki aarti. Its refrain hails Shiva as Omkara, the syllable Om itself, and names Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva together in him, the god who carries his consort as half his body. Stanzas 1 to 5 then work in threes: one face, four faces and five faces; the swan, Garuda and the bull; the rosary, the forest garland and the garland of skulls; the water pot, the discus and the trident. Each set joins an emblem of Brahma, one of Vishnu and one of Shiva, so the singer is shown three gods in one body before stanza 6 states the point outright. Stanzas 7 to 10 turn to Shiva's own world, from Kailasa and the Ganga in his locks to Kashi, and stanza 11 carries the signature of Shivanand Swami.

A signed aarti that kept growing

Nothing is recorded about when or where this aarti was composed. Its only author's name is the one it gives itself: the closing stanza says 'kahat Shivanand Swami', the signature line by which a Hindi devotional poet places a name in the last verse. No dated life of a Shivanand Swami has been tied to the text, and the attribution rests on that line alone. What can be traced is how the aarti has grown in print. Older bazaar aarti books and vrat booklets give seven stanzas: the six built on the threefold emblems, and the signature. A second group adds an eighth, on Vishvanatha enthroned in Kashi with Nandi beside him. The form sung today, already printed in Delhi aarti books by 1987, carries four stanzas the shorter books lack: Lakshmi, Savitri and Parvati together; Parvati on the mountain and Shankara on Kailasa, with bhang and datura for food and ash for a dwelling; the Ganga in the matted locks with Shesha coiled about him; and the Kashi stanza. These anonymous folk additions move the hymn from doctrine to picture. Wording also travels between aartis: some printings replace the sixth stanza with the Madhu-Kaitabha line of the Durga aarti Jai Ambe Gauri, a line that praises the Goddess rather than Shiva.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiॐ जय शिव ओंकारा, स्वामी जय शिव ओंकारा । ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव अर्द्धांगी धारा ॥
Tamilௐ ஜய ஶிவ ஓம்காரா, ஸ்வாமீ ஜய ஶிவ ஓம்காரா । ப்ரஹ்மா விஷ்ணு ஸதாஶிவ அர்த்தாம்கீ தாரா ॥
Teluguఓం జయ శివ ఓంకారా, స్వామీ జయ శివ ఓంకారా । బ్రహ్మా విష్ణు సదాశివ అర్ద్ధాంగీ ధారా ॥
Kannadaಓಂ ಜಯ ಶಿವ ಓಂಕಾರಾ, ಸ್ವಾಮೀ ಜಯ ಶಿವ ಓಂಕಾರಾ । ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾ ವಿಷ್ಣು ಸದಾಶಿವ ಅರ್ದ್ಧಾಂಗೀ ಧಾರಾ ॥
Malayalamഓം ജയ ശിവ ഓംകാരാ, സ്വാമീ ജയ ശിവ ഓംകാരാ । ബ്രഹ്മാ വിഷ്ണു സദാശിവ അര്ദ്ധാംഗീ ധാരാ ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationoṃ jaya śiva oṃkārā, svāmī jaya śiva oṃkārā | brahmā viṣṇu sadāśiva arddhāṃgī dhārā ||
“Om, victory to Shiva, the Omkara; victory, Lord, to Shiva, the sacred syllable Om. Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva are all in you, and you bear your consort as half of your own body.”
ॐ
oṃ — Om
जय
jaya — victory
शिव
śiva — to Shiva
ओंकारा
oṃkārā — the syllable Om
स्वामी
svāmī — O Lord
जय
jaya — victory
शिव
śiva — to Shiva
ओंकारा
oṃkārā — the syllable Om
ब्रह्मा
brahmā — Brahma
विष्णु
viṣṇu — Vishnu
सदाशिव
sadāśiva — Sadashiva
अर्द्धांगी
arddhāṃgī — consort as half the body
धारा
dhārā — bearing

Om Jai Shiv Omkara lyrics in full

A refrain and eleven stanzas in Hindi, in the form widely sung today. The refrain returns after every stanza.

All 12 verses, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Om Jai Shiv Omkara PDFAll 12 verses with their meanings, in Hindi. Free to print and keep.

Refrain

ॐ जय शिव ओंकारा, स्वामी जय शिव ओंकारा ।
ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव अर्द्धांगी धारा ॥

Om, victory to Shiva, the Omkara; victory, Lord, to Shiva, the sacred syllable Om. Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva are all in you, and you bear your consort as half of your own body.

Stanza 1

एकानन चतुरानन पञ्चानन राजे ।
हंसासन गरुड़ासन वृषवाहन साजे ॥

You shine as the one-faced, the four-faced and the five-faced. You appear seated on the swan, on Garuda, and riding the bull.

Stanza 2

दो भुज चार चतुर्भुज दसभुज अति सोहे ।
त्रिगुण रूप निरखते त्रिभुवन जन मोहे ॥

With two arms, with four arms and with ten arms you look most splendid. Beholding your form of the three gunas, the people of the three worlds are enchanted.

Stanza 3

अक्षमाला वनमाला मुण्डमाला धारी ।
त्रिपुरारी कंसारी कर माला धारी ॥

You wear the rosary of beads, the garland of forest flowers and the garland of skulls. You are the foe of Tripura and the foe of Kamsa, holding a rosary in your hand.

Stanza 4

श्वेताम्बर पीताम्बर बाघम्बर अंगे ।
सनकादिक गरुणादिक भूतादिक संगे ॥

White cloth, yellow cloth and the tiger skin adorn your body. Sanaka and the other sages, Garuda and the others, and the hosts of spirits are in your company.

Stanza 5

कर के मध्य कमण्डलु चक्र त्रिशूलधारी ।
सुखकारी दुखहारी जगपालन कारी ॥

In your hands you hold the water pot, the discus and the trident. You give happiness, take away sorrow and sustain the world.

Stanza 6

ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव जानत अविवेका ।
प्रणवाक्षर मध्ये ये तीनों एका ॥

The undiscerning take Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva to be separate. Within the syllable Om these three are one.

Stanza 7

लक्ष्मी व सावित्री पार्वती संगा ।
पार्वती अर्द्धांगी, शिवलहरी गंगा ॥

Lakshmi, Savitri and Parvati are together with the three. Parvati is Shiva's other half, and the Ganga flows as Shiva's own wave.

Stanza 8

पर्वत सोहैं पार्वती, शंकर कैलासा ।
भांग धतूर का भोजन, भस्मी में वासा ॥

Parvati graces the mountain, and Shankara dwells on Kailasa. Bhang and datura are his food, and he lives amid sacred ash.

Stanza 9

जटा में गंगा बहत है, गल मुण्डन माला ।
शेष नाग लिपटावत, ओढ़त मृगछाला ॥

The Ganga flows in his matted locks, and a garland of skulls hangs at his throat. The serpent Shesha coils around him, and he wraps himself in a deer skin.

Stanza 10

काशी में विराजे विश्वनाथ, नन्दी ब्रह्मचारी ।
नित उठ दर्शन पावत, महिमा अति भारी ॥

In Kashi he is enthroned as Vishvanatha, with Nandi the celibate attendant. Devotees rise each day to have his darshan; his glory is very great.

Stanza 11

त्रिगुणस्वामी जी की आरती जो कोइ नर गावे ।
कहत शिवानन्द स्वामी, मनवान्छित फल पावे ॥

Whoever sings this aarti of the Lord of the three gunas, says Shivanand Swami - the verse says that person obtains the fruit the heart desires.

The syllable people get wrong

In stanza 6, praṇavākṣara (प्रणवाक्षर), 'the syllable Om', is one word joined from praṇava and akṣara: the ṇ is retroflex, the vā is long, and kṣ is said as 'ksh', so pra-na-VAAK-sha-ra. Breaking it into 'pranav akshar' with a short a hides the long vowel the joining creates.

When the Om Jai Shiv Omkara Aarti is chanted

Weekday. Monday

Festival. Maha Shivaratri and the Mondays of Shravan

Questions

He is known only from the aarti's last stanza: 'kahat Shivanand Swami', 'so says Shivanand Swami', followed by the statement that whoever sings this aarti of the Lord of the three gunas obtains the fruit the heart desires. His identity, place and dates are not established, and no dated record links a particular Shivanand to the text. The aarti is therefore described as traditional, carrying his signature.
Stanza 6 says that only the undiscerning, the aviveka, take Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva to be separate; within pranavakshar, the syllable Om, the three are one. The stanza states in plain words what stanzas 1 to 5 have shown through paired emblems, and it explains the refrain: Shiva is hailed as Omkara because the syllable holds all three. Some books read 'pranavakshar mein shobhit', 'shining in the syllable Om', with the same sense.
That is an older printed wording of the same aarti, found in some aarti collections, including the Gita Press aarti book. It opens 'jai Shiv Omkara, bhaj Shiv Omkara', 'victory to Shiva the Omkara, worship Shiva the Omkara', and its refrain closes with 'Om Har Har Mahadev' in place of the 'Swami' line. It has seven stanzas, without the Lakshmi, Kailasa, Ganga and Kashi verses, and differs in small readings such as 'tinon roop' for 'trigun roop'.
Because the first five stanzas describe one form that holds all three gods. Garuda is Vishnu's mount and Kamsari, 'foe of Kamsa', is Krishna, while the swan and the four faces belong to Brahma and the bull and the five faces to Shiva. In stanza 3, Tripurari, Shiva as the destroyer of the three cities, stands beside Kamsari, and in stanza 4 Sanaka and the sages keep company with Garuda and Shiva's spirit hosts. The pairing prepares for stanza 6.
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