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Home › Mantras › Rudrashtakam
Rudra (Shiva) Rudrashtakam: a Brahmin guru singing before a Shiva lingam in Ujjain as Lord Shiva appears
The guru of the Ujjain story singing before Shiva, the crow on the pillar
Mantra · Tulsidas's eight verses a guru sang to soften Shiva's curse

Rudrashtakam

नमामीशमीशान निर्वाणरूपं विभुं व्यापकं ब्रह्मवेदस्वरूपम् । निजं निर्गुणं निर्विकल्पं निरीहं चिदाकाशमाकाशवासं भजेऽहम् ॥

Also known as Namami Shamishan

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

What the Rudrashtakam is

The Rudrashtakam is addressed to Shiva as Rudra, and it is not a free-standing hymn: Goswami Tulsidas set it inside the Uttara Kanda of his Ramcharitmanas, written in the 1570s, where it follows Doha 107 (kha). The eight verses run in bhujangaprayata, a twelve-syllable metre whose short-long-long beat gives the hymn its rolling sound; a closing anushtubh verse makes nine. The sequence moves in a clear arc. Verses 1 and 2 speak of Shiva without form: the root of Om, the fourth state beyond waking, dream and sleep, beyond speech and the senses. Verses 3 and 4 turn to his form, white as the snowy Himalaya, with Ganga in his hair, the young moon on his brow and a blue throat. Verses 5 and 6 gather titles such as foe of Tripura and enemy of Kamadeva, and repeat the plea prasida, be pleased. Verses 7 and 8 drop all praise and ask for refuge, the singer admitting that they know no yoga, japa or ritual.

A guru's plea in an Ujjain temple

In the Ramcharitmanas the hymn belongs to someone else's life story. The crow-sage Kakabhushundi, telling Garuda how he came to love Rama, describes an earlier birth. He had left Ayodhya in a time of famine and settled in Ujjain, where a gentle Brahmin teacher, a devotee of Shiva who also honoured Vishnu, took him in. The disciple's devotion to Shiva had hardened into contempt for Vishnu's devotees, and the guru's advice did not reach him. One day, while he sat repeating Shiva's name in a Shiva temple, the guru walked in and the disciple, out of pride, did not rise or bow. A voice from the sky, Shiva's own, pronounced a curse: he would become a serpent and pass through a thousand births. Seeing the terror on his pupil's face, the guru did not plead his own injury. He folded his hands and sang these eight verses on the disciple's behalf, which is why the closing verse says the hymn was 'spoken by a Brahmin'. According to the Manas, Shiva let the sentence stand but softened it: the births would come without the pain of dying, and his knowledge would carry over from body to body. Some popular retellings name the singer as the sage Lomasha; in the Manas text Lomasha appears only later in the story, and the singer is the unnamed Ujjain guru.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiनमामीशमीशान निर्वाणरूपं विभुं व्यापकं ब्रह्मवेदस्वरूपम् । निजं निर्गुणं निर्विकल्पं निरीहं चिदाकाशमाकाशवासं भजेऽहम् ॥
Tamilநமாமீஶமீஶாந நிர்வாணரூபம் விபும் வ்யாபகம் ப்ரஹ்மவேதஸ்வரூபம் । நிஜம் நிர்குணம் நிர்விகல்பம் நிரீஹம் சிதாகாஶமாகாஶவாஸம் பஜேஹம் ॥
Teluguనమామీశమీశాన నిర్వాణరూపం విభుం వ్యాపకం బ్రహ్మవేదస్వరూపమ్ । నిజం నిర్గుణం నిర్వికల్పం నిరీహం చిదాకాశమాకాశవాసం భజేఽహమ్ ॥
Kannadaನಮಾಮೀಶಮೀಶಾನ ನಿರ್ವಾಣರೂಪಂ ವಿಭುಂ ವ್ಯಾಪಕಂ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮವೇದಸ್ವರೂಪಮ್ । ನಿಜಂ ನಿರ್ಗುಣಂ ನಿರ್ವಿಕಲ್ಪಂ ನಿರೀಹಂ ಚಿದಾಕಾಶಮಾಕಾಶವಾಸಂ ಭಜೇಽಹಮ್ ॥
Malayalamനമാമീശമീശാന നിര്വാണരൂപം വിഭും വ്യാപകം ബ്രഹ്മവേദസ്വരൂപമ് । നിജം നിര്ഗുണം നിര്വികല്പം നിരീഹം ചിദാകാശമാകാശവാസം ഭജേഽഹമ് ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationnamāmīśamīśāna nirvāṇarūpaṃ vibhuṃ vyāpakaṃ brahmavedasvarūpam | nijaṃ nirguṇaṃ nirvikalpaṃ nirīhaṃ cidākāśamākāśavāsaṃ bhaje'ham ||
“I bow to the Lord, the ruler of all, whose very form is liberation, the all-pervading, all-encompassing one who is Brahman and the Veda itself. I worship him who rests in his own nature, beyond qualities, beyond distinctions and beyond desire, who is consciousness like the sky and who wears the sky as his garment.”
नमामीशमीशान
namāmīśamīśāna — I bow to the Lord, the ruler
निर्वाणरूपं
nirvāṇarūpaṃ — whose form is liberation
विभुं
vibhuṃ — the mighty one
व्यापकं
vyāpakaṃ — all-pervading
ब्रह्मवेदस्वरूपम्
brahmavedasvarūpam — Brahman and the Veda in essence
निजं
nijaṃ — resting in his own nature
निर्गुणं
nirguṇaṃ — beyond qualities
निर्विकल्पं
nirvikalpaṃ — beyond distinctions
निरीहं
nirīhaṃ — beyond desire
चिदाकाशमाकाशवासं
cidākāśamākāśavāsaṃ — consciousness like sky, sky-clad
भजेऽहम्
bhaje'ham — I worship

Rudrashtakam lyrics in full

As printed in the Gita Press Ramcharitmanas: eight verses and a closing verse on the fruit of reciting it. Other printings differ in a few words; the questions on this page list them.

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

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

Verse 1

नमामीशमीशान निर्वाणरूपं विभुं व्यापकं ब्रह्मवेदस्वरूपम् ।
निजं निर्गुणं निर्विकल्पं निरीहं चिदाकाशमाकाशवासं भजेऽहम् ॥

I bow to the Lord, the ruler of all, whose very form is liberation, the all-pervading, all-encompassing one who is Brahman and the Veda itself. I worship him who rests in his own nature, beyond qualities, beyond distinctions and beyond desire, who is consciousness like the sky and who wears the sky as his garment.

Verse 2

निराकारमोङ्कारमूलं तुरीयं गिराज्ञानगोतीतमीशं गिरीशम् ।
करालं महाकालकालं कृपालं गुणागारसंसारपारं नतोऽहम् ॥

I bow to the formless one, the root of Om, the fourth state beyond waking, dream and sleep, the Lord beyond speech, knowledge and the senses, the Lord of the mountain. He is fearsome, the death even of Mahakala, yet compassionate; he is the abode of all virtues and stands beyond worldly existence.

Verse 3

तुषाराद्रिसङ्काशगौरं गभीरं मनोभूतकोटिप्रभाश्रीशरीरम् ।
स्फुरन्मौलिकल्लोलिनी चारुगङ्गा लसद्भालबालेन्दु कण्ठे भुजङ्गा ॥

He is white like the snowy Himalaya and profound, his body glowing with the radiance and beauty of countless Kamadevas. On his head sparkles the lovely river Ganga, on his brow shines the young crescent moon, and serpents adorn his throat.

Verse 4

चलत्कुण्डलं भ्रूसुनेत्रं विशालं प्रसन्नाननं नीलकण्ठं दयालम् ।
मृगाधीशचर्माम्बरं मुण्डमालं प्रियं शङ्करं सर्वनाथं भजामि ॥

His earrings sway; his brows are fine and his eyes large; his face is serene, his throat blue, and he is merciful. I worship Shankara, beloved of all and Lord of all, who wears the lion's skin as his garment and a garland of skulls.

Verse 5

प्रचण्डं प्रकृष्टं प्रगल्भं परेशं अखण्डं अजं भानुकोटिप्रकाशम् ।
त्रयःशूलनिर्मूलनं शूलपाणिं भजेऽहं भवानीपतिं भावगम्यम् ॥

He is fierce, supreme, bold and radiant, the highest Lord, undivided and unborn, shining like millions of suns. I worship the husband of Bhavani, who holds the trident, who uproots the three kinds of suffering, and who is reached through loving devotion.

Verse 6

कलातीतकल्याणकल्पान्तकारी सदासज्जनानन्ददाता पुरारी ।
चिदानन्दसन्दोहमोहापहारी प्रसीद प्रसीद प्रभो मन्मथारी ॥

He is beyond all parts and measures, auspicious, the one who brings the aeon to its end, ever the giver of joy to the good, the foe of the demon Tripura. O Lord, fullness of consciousness and bliss, remover of delusion, enemy of Kamadeva, be pleased, be pleased.

Verse 7

न यावद् उमानाथ पादारविन्दं भजन्तीह लोके परे वा नराणाम् ।
न तावत्सुखं शान्ति सन्तापनाशं प्रसीद प्रभो सर्वभूताधिवासम् ॥

O Lord of Uma, as long as people do not worship your lotus feet, they find neither happiness nor peace, nor an end to their suffering, in this world or the next. O Lord who dwells in all beings, be pleased.

Verse 8

न जानामि योगं जपं नैव पूजां नतोऽहं सदा सर्वदा शम्भु तुभ्यम् ।
जराजन्मदुःखौघतातप्यमानं प्रभो पाहि आपन्नमामीश शम्भो ॥

I know neither yoga, nor japa, nor worship; O Shambhu, I simply bow to you always and at every moment. O Lord, protect me, a sufferer burning in the flood of sorrows of old age and birth; O Lord Shambhu, I bow to you.

Phala Shruti 1

रुद्राष्टकमिदं प्रोक्तं विप्रेण हरतोषये ।
ये पठन्ति नरा भक्त्या तेषां शम्भुः प्रसीदति ॥

This Rudrashtakam was spoken by a Brahmin to please Hara (Shiva). The verse says that Shambhu is pleased with those who recite it with devotion.

The syllable people get wrong

The opening word namāmīśamīśāna is often broken as 'namami shamishan', but it joins namāmi + īśam + īśāna ('I bow to the Lord, the ruler'), so say it na-maa-MEE-sha-MEE-shaa-na, with every ī and ā held long and each ś a soft 'sh'.

When the Rudrashtakam is chanted

Weekday. Monday

Festival. Maha Shivaratri and the Mondays of Shravan

Questions

It is in Sanskrit, which makes it unusual inside the Ramcharitmanas, a poem otherwise written in Awadhi. The Gita Press Manas prints it with some Awadhi spellings, such as gira gyana for girajnana, while stotra editions use Sanskrit spelling. Some word forms, including kripalam and dayalam, do not follow strict Sanskrit grammar; traditional commentators treat these as arsha prayoga, irregular usages accepted in a revered author's work.
The phala shruti is the ninth verse, in anushtubh metre, beginning rudrashtakam idam proktam. It says the hymn was spoken by a vipra, a Brahmin, to please Hara, and that Shambhu is pleased with those who read it with devotion. In the Manas setting, that Brahmin is the Ujjain guru of Kakabhushundi, who sang it to ask mercy for his cursed disciple.
Verse 8 begins na janami yogam japam naiva pujam: I know neither yoga, nor japa, nor worship. The singer offers only a constant bow to Shambhu and asks protection for one burning in the flood of sorrows of old age and birth. The final words pahi apannam call Shiva to guard someone who has fallen into distress, which matches the story of a guru pleading for a cursed pupil.
Several printings circulate. Most agree with the Gita Press Manas, but a separate stotra recension has readings such as kripalum for kripalam, shubhranetram for bhrusunetram, bhaje for ajam in verse 5, deva tubhyam for shambhu tubhyam and shapan for apannam in verse 8. Other differences are only spacing, for example whether namamishamishana is printed as one word or two. This page follows the Gita Press reading.
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