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Home › Mantras › Pranamya Shirasa Devam
Sankata Hara Ganesha Pranamya Shirasa Devam: the sage Narada with his veena singing before single-tusked Ganesha with the moon on his forehead
The sage Narada sings the twelve names before Ganesha, the moon shining on his forehead
Mantra · Narada's twelve names of Ganesha, from Vakratunda to Gajanana

Pranamya Shirasa Devam

प्रणम्य शिरसा देवं गौरीपुत्रं विनायकम् । भक्तावासं स्मरेन्नित्यमायुःकामार्थसिद्धये ॥

Also known as Sankatanashana Ganesha Stotram

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

Sankata Hara Ganesha HomamThe Sankata Hara Ganesha Homam, performed for youBook →

What the Pranamya Shirasa Devam is

Pranamya Shirasa Devam, the Sankatanashana Ganesha Stotram (also printed Sankashta Nashana Ganesha Stotram), is a short Sanskrit hymn in which the sage Narada teaches twelve names of Ganesha, the son of Gauri. Its closing line places it in the Narada Purana. The hymn has eight verses in the anushtubh metre and falls into two equal halves. Verse 1 tells the listener to bow the head and keep Vinayaka in mind, the one in whom devotees take shelter. Verses 2 to 4 then count the names off by number, first to twelfth: Vakratunda, Ekadanta, Krishnapingaksha, Gajavaktra, Lambodara, Vikata, Vighnaraja, Dhumravarna, Bhalachandra, Vinayaka, Ganapati and Gajanana. Each name is a single picture of him: the curved trunk, the one tusk, the smoke-grey colour, the moon on the brow. Verses 5 to 8 are the phala shruti. They say what tradition holds the names give, and they close by asking that the hymn be written out and given to eight Brahmins.

Narada's Names and Their Purana

The hymn has no tale of composition. Its whole setting is one line, 'Narada said', and its colophon names it a hymn of the Narada Purana. Narada is the wandering sage of the Puranas who carries teachings between gods and people, so a list of names handed on in his voice fits his usual part. The attribution is traditional. The hymn is not readily found in the printed Narada Purana, however, and it has come down instead through the old stotra anthologies of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where it sits among the Ganesha hymns. Even the title varies between printings: Sankata, a difficulty, in some, and Sankashta, distress, in others. Many of the names carry pictures and stories of their own. Vakratunda is the curved trunk, Ekadanta the single tusk, Dhumravarna the smoke-grey colour. Bhalachandra, the ninth name, is Ganesha with the moon on his forehead. The moon matters on Sankashti Chaturthi, the fourth day of the waning fortnight, when those keeping the fast wait for moonrise before they break it. Tradition commonly recites this hymn of twelve names on that night.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiप्रणम्य शिरसा देवं गौरीपुत्रं विनायकम् । भक्तावासं स्मरेन्नित्यमायुःकामार्थसिद्धये ॥
Tamilப்ரணம்ய ஶிரஸா தேவம் கௌரீபுத்ரம் விநாயகம் । பக்தாவாஸம் ஸ்மரேந்நித்யமாயுஃகாமார்தஸித்தயே ॥
Teluguప్రణమ్య శిరసా దేవం గౌరీపుత్రం వినాయకమ్ । భక్తావాసం స్మరేన్నిత్యమాయుఃకామార్థసిద్ధయే ॥
Kannadaಪ್ರಣಮ್ಯ ಶಿರಸಾ ದೇವಂ ಗೌರೀಪುತ್ರಂ ವಿನಾಯಕಮ್ । ಭಕ್ತಾವಾಸಂ ಸ್ಮರೇನ್ನಿತ್ಯಮಾಯುಃಕಾಮಾರ್ಥಸಿದ್ಧಯೇ ॥
Malayalamപ്രണമ്യ ശിരസാ ദേവം ഗൌരീപുത്രം വിനായകമ് । ഭക്താവാസം സ്മരേന്നിത്യമായുഃകാമാര്ഥസിദ്ധയേ ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationpraṇamya śirasā devaṃ gaurīputraṃ vināyakam | bhaktāvāsaṃ smarennityamāyuḥkāmārthasiddhaye ||
“Narada said: Bowing the head to the god Vinayaka, son of Gauri, one should remember him daily, the dwelling place of his devotees, for the fulfilment of long life, desires and wealth.”
प्रणम्य
praṇamya — having bowed
शिरसा
śirasā — with the head
देवं
devaṃ — to the god
गौरीपुत्रं
gaurīputraṃ — son of Gauri
विनायकम्
vināyakam — Vinayaka, the leader
भक्तावासं
bhaktāvāsaṃ — dwelling place of devotees
स्मरेन्नित्यमायुःकामार्थसिद्धये
smarennityamāyuḥkāmārthasiddhaye — one should remember daily, for long life, desires and wealth

Pranamya Shirasa Devam lyrics in full

Eight verses: the opening verse, three verses of the twelve names, and four verses of phala shruti.

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

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

Verse 1

प्रणम्य शिरसा देवं गौरीपुत्रं विनायकम् ।
भक्तावासं स्मरेन्नित्यमायुःकामार्थसिद्धये ॥

Narada said: Bowing the head to the god Vinayaka, son of Gauri, one should remember him daily, the dwelling place of his devotees, for the fulfilment of long life, desires and wealth.

Verse 2

प्रथमं वक्रतुण्डं च एकदन्तं द्वितीयकम् ।
तृतीयं कृष्णपिङ्गाक्षं गजवक्त्रं चतुर्थकम् ॥

First, Vakratunda, the one with the curved trunk; second, Ekadanta, the one with a single tusk; third, Krishnapingaksha, the one with dark and tawny eyes; fourth, Gajavaktra, the elephant-mouthed one.

Verse 3

लम्बोदरं पञ्चमं च षष्ठं विकटमेव च ।
सप्तमं विघ्नराजं च धूम्रवर्णं तथाष्टमम् ॥

Fifth, Lambodara, the one with the large belly; sixth, Vikata, the formidable one; seventh, Vighnaraja, the king who rules over obstacles; and eighth, Dhumravarna, the smoke-coloured one.

Verse 4

नवमं भालचन्द्रं च दशमं तु विनायकम् ।
एकादशं गणपतिं द्वादशं तु गजाननम् ॥

Ninth, Bhalachandra, who bears the moon on his forehead; tenth, Vinayaka, the supreme leader; eleventh, Ganapati, lord of the ganas; and twelfth, Gajanana, the elephant-faced one.

Phala Shruti 1

द्वादशैतानि नामानि त्रिसन्ध्यं यः पठेन्नरः ।
न च विघ्नभयं तस्य सर्वसिद्धिकरं प्रभो ॥

O Lord, the verse says that a person who recites these twelve names at the three junctions of the day - dawn, noon and dusk - has no fear of obstacles, and that this recitation brings every kind of accomplishment.

Phala Shruti 2

विद्यार्थी लभते विद्यां धनार्थी लभते धनम् ।
पुत्रार्थी लभते पुत्रान्मोक्षार्थी लभते गतिम् ॥

The verse says that one who seeks learning gains learning, one who seeks wealth gains wealth, one who seeks children gains children, and one who seeks liberation reaches the final goal.

Phala Shruti 3

जपेद्गणपतिस्तोत्रं षड्भिर्मासैः फलं लभेत् ।
संवत्सरेण सिद्धिं च लभते नात्र संशयः ॥

One should chant this hymn to Ganapati; the verse says the fruit is gained within six months, and fulfilment within a year, and that there is no doubt about this.

Phala Shruti 4

अष्टभ्यो ब्राह्मणेभ्यश्च लिखित्वा यः समर्पयेत् ।
तस्य विद्या भवेत्सर्वा गणेशस्य प्रसादतः ॥

The verse says that whoever writes out this hymn and offers it to eight Brahmins gains all learning by the grace of Ganesha.

Closing

इति श्रीनारदपुराणे सङ्कटनाशनं गणेशस्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Thus ends the Sankata Nashana Ganesha Stotram from the Narada Purana.

The syllable people get wrong

The third name, kṛṣṇapiṅgākṣaṃ (verse 2), is often flattened to 'krishna-pinga-ksham'. Say kri-shna-ping-GAAK-sham: ṛ is a short vowel like the ri in 'rib', ṣ is a retroflex sh, ṅg is the ng of 'finger', and the long ā carries the stress before the kṣ cluster.

When the Pranamya Shirasa Devam is chanted

Weekday. Tuesday

Festival. Sankashti Chaturthi

Questions

Verses 5 to 8, the second half of the hymn. Verse 5 says that whoever recites the twelve names at dawn, noon and dusk has no fear of obstacles. Verse 6 pairs four seekers with what they seek: learning, wealth, children and liberation. Verse 7 speaks of fruit within six months and fulfilment within a year. Verse 8 says that whoever writes the hymn out for eight Brahmins gains all learning by Ganesha's grace.
Vakratunda is the one with the curved trunk, Ekadanta the single-tusked, Krishnapingaksha the one with dark and tawny eyes, and Gajavaktra the elephant-mouthed. Lambodara has the large belly, Vikata is the formidable one, Vighnaraja is king over obstacles, and Dhumravarna is smoke-coloured. Bhalachandra bears the moon on his forehead, Vinayaka is the supreme leader, Ganapati is lord of the ganas, and Gajanana is the elephant-faced.
Its closing line says so, and it is spoken by Narada. The hymn is not easily traced in the printed Narada Purana, however, and has survived chiefly through the stotra anthologies, where it is printed under that attribution. It is best described as a traditional hymn attributed to the Narada Purana. Its author and date are unknown, and the attribution does not change how the text is read.
The standard printed text of verse 3 reads saptamam vighnarajam cha, 'seventh, Vighnaraja', and that is the reading given here. A popular sung version replaces the last two words with vighnarajendram, 'Vighnarajendra, the lord among kings of obstacles', and the Hindi gloss in the standard edition also uses that longer name. Both readings name the seventh form, and the line keeps its metre either way.
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