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Home › Mantras › Shiva Raksha Stotram
Indrakshi Shiva Shiva Raksha Stotram: the sage Yajnavalkya writing on a palm leaf at dawn as four-armed Narayana, who taught him in a dream, fades from the sky
At daybreak Yajnavalkya writes down the hymn that Narayana taught him in a dream
Mantra · Yajnavalkya's 12-verse armour, taught by Narayana in a dream

Shiva Raksha Stotram

चरितं देवदेवस्य महादेवस्य पावनम् । अपारं परमोदारं चतुर्वर्गस्य साधनम् ॥

Also known as Abhayankara Kavacham

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

Indrakshi Shiva Kavacha HomamThe Indrakshi Shiva Kavacha Homam, performed for youBook →

What the Shiva Raksha Stotram is

The Shiva Raksha Stotram, also printed as the Abhayankara Kavacham, is a twelve-verse armour hymn addressed to Shiva and attributed to the sage Yajnavalkya. No Purana or Agama is named as its source; it circulates as an independent stotra among collections of Shiva hymns. The first verse praises the story of Mahadeva as the means to all four aims of life, and the second sets the image to be held in mind: Shiva with five faces, three eyes and ten arms, with Gauri and Vinayaka beside him. Verses 3 to 8 then move down the body from crown to feet, giving each part to a named form of Shiva: the bearer of the Ganga for the head, the destroyer of Kama for the eyes, the blue-throated one for the neck, Mrityunjaya for the navel, the wearer of the tiger skin for the waist, and Sadashiva for every limb. Verses 9 to 11 are the phala shruti, and verse 12 tells how the text came to be written.

Narayana's dream lesson to Yajnavalkya

The only account of this hymn's origin is inside the hymn itself. Verse 12 says that Narayana taught the Shiva Raksha in a dream, and that Yajnavalkya, called there the foremost of yogis, rose at daybreak and recorded it in the same form. No Purana adds a fuller narrative, and the stotra has no known date. The standard printed edition places it among Shiva hymns with a short viniyoga that names Yajnavalkya as its seer, Sadashiva as its deity and Anushtubh as its metre. The seer it names is the sage of the Shukla Yajurveda, whose debate at King Janaka's assembly in Mithila and whose dialogue with his wife Maitreyi fill the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The opening verse of the Yajnavalkya Smriti calls him yogeshvara, lord of yogis, much the same title the hymn gives him as yogindra. According to tradition, then, the lesson passed from Vishnu to a Vedic master, and from him to anyone who reads these twelve short verses. The arrangement has a well-known counterpart. In the Rama Raksha Stotram it is Shiva who gives a hymn of Rama in a dream; here Vishnu gives a hymn of Shiva, so each god appears as the teacher of the other's protection.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiचरितं देवदेवस्य महादेवस्य पावनम् । अपारं परमोदारं चतुर्वर्गस्य साधनम् ॥
Tamilசரிதம் தேவதேவஸ்ய மஹாதேவஸ்ய பாவநம் । அபாரம் பரமோதாரம் சதுர்வர்கஸ்ய ஸாதநம் ॥
Teluguచరితం దేవదేవస్య మహాదేవస్య పావనమ్ । అపారం పరమోదారం చతుర్వర్గస్య సాధనమ్ ॥
Kannadaಚರಿತಂ ದೇವದೇವಸ್ಯ ಮಹಾದೇವಸ್ಯ ಪಾವನಮ್ । ಅಪಾರಂ ಪರಮೋದಾರಂ ಚತುರ್ವರ್ಗಸ್ಯ ಸಾಧನಮ್ ॥
Malayalamചരിതം ദേവദേവസ്യ മഹാദേവസ്യ പാവനമ് । അപാരം പരമോദാരം ചതുര്വര്ഗസ്യ സാധനമ് ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationcaritaṃ devadevasya mahādevasya pāvanam | apāraṃ paramodāraṃ caturvargasya sādhanam ||
“The story of Mahadeva, god of the gods, is purifying, boundless and most generous; it is the means to all four aims of life (dharma, wealth, desire and liberation).”
चरितं
caritaṃ — the story, the deeds
देवदेवस्य
devadevasya — of the god of gods
महादेवस्य
mahādevasya — of Mahadeva
पावनम्
pāvanam — purifying
अपारं
apāraṃ — boundless
परमोदारं
paramodāraṃ — supremely generous
चतुर्वर्गस्य
caturvargasya — of the four aims of life
साधनम्
sādhanam — the means

Shiva Raksha Stotram lyrics in full

Twelve verses, from the praise of Mahadeva's story to the verse that tells of Yajnavalkya's dream. The printed closing line is given at the end.

All 13 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Shiva Raksha Stotram PDFAll 13 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

चरितं देवदेवस्य महादेवस्य पावनम् ।
अपारं परमोदारं चतुर्वर्गस्य साधनम् ॥

The story of Mahadeva, god of the gods, is purifying, boundless and most generous; it is the means to all four aims of life (dharma, wealth, desire and liberation).

Verse 2

गौरीविनायकोपेतं पञ्चवक्त्रं त्रिनेत्रकम् ।
शिवं ध्यात्वा दशभुजं शिवरक्षां पठेन्नरः ॥

Having meditated on Shiva with five faces, three eyes and ten arms, accompanied by Gauri and Vinayaka, one should recite this Shiva Raksha.

Verse 3

गङ्गाधरः शिरः पातु भालमर्धेन्दुशेखरः ।
नयने मदनध्वंसी कर्णौ सर्पविभूषणः ॥

May the bearer of the Ganga protect my head, and he who wears the half-moon as a crest my forehead. May the destroyer of Kama protect my eyes, and he who is adorned with serpents my ears.

Verse 4

घ्राणं पातु पुरारातिः मुखं पातु जगत्पतिः ।
जिह्वां वागीश्वरः पातु कन्धरां शितिकन्धरः ॥

May the enemy of the three cities protect my nose, and the lord of the world my mouth. May the lord of speech protect my tongue, and the blue-throated one my neck.

Verse 5

श्रीकण्ठः पातु मे कण्ठं स्कन्धौ विश्वधुरन्धरः ।
भुजौ भूभारसंहर्ता करौ पातु पिनाकधृक् ॥

May Shrikantha protect my throat, and he who bears the burden of the universe my shoulders. May he who removes the burden of the earth protect my arms, and the holder of the Pinaka bow my hands.

Verse 6

हृदयं शङ्करः पातु जठरं गिरिजापतिः ।
नाभिं मृत्युञ्जयः पातु कटी व्याघ्राजिनाम्बरः ॥

May Shankara protect my heart, and the husband of Girija my belly. May the conqueror of death protect my navel, and he who wears the tiger skin my waist.

Verse 7

सक्थिनी पातु दीनार्तशरणागतवत्सलः ।
ऊरू महेश्वरः पातु जानुनी जगदीश्वरः ॥

May he who is tender to the poor, the suffering and those who seek refuge protect my hips. May Maheshvara protect my thighs, and the lord of the world my knees.

Verse 8

जङ्घे पातु जगत्कर्ता गुल्फौ पातु गणाधिपः ।
चरणौ करुणासिंधुः सर्वाङ्गानि सदाशिवः ॥

May the maker of the world protect my shins, and the lord of the ganas my ankles. May the ocean of compassion protect my feet, and Sadashiva every limb.

Verse 9

एतां शिवबलोपेतां रक्षां यः सुकृती पठेत् ।
स भुक्त्वा सकलान् कामान् शिवसायुज्यमाप्नुयात् ॥

The verse says that the fortunate person who recites this protection, filled with Shiva's power, enjoys all wishes and then attains union with Shiva.

Verse 10

ग्रहभूतपिशाचाद्यास्त्रैलोक्ये विचरन्ति ये ।
दूरादाशु पलायन्ते शिवनामाभिरक्षणात् ॥

The verse says that planetary afflictions, ghosts, pishachas and the like that roam the three worlds quickly flee far away because of the protection of Shiva's name.

Verse 11

अभयङ्करनामेदं कवचं पार्वतीपतेः ।
भक्त्या बिभर्ति यः कण्ठे तस्य वश्यं जगत्त्रयम् ॥

This armour of the husband of Parvati is named Abhayankara, the giver of fearlessness. The verse says that the three worlds come under the sway of one who wears it at the throat with devotion.

Verse 12

इमां नारायणः स्वप्ने शिवरक्षां यथाऽऽदिशत् ।
प्रातरुत्थाय योगीन्द्रो याज्ञवल्क्यः तथाऽलिखत् ॥

Just as Narayana taught this Shiva Raksha in a dream, so Yajnavalkya, the foremost of yogis, rising at dawn, wrote it down.

Closing

इति श्रीयाज्ञवल्क्यप्रोक्तं शिवरक्षास्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

Thus ends the Shiva Raksha Stotram, spoken by Shri Yajnavalkya.

The syllable people get wrong

In verse 4, śitikandharaḥ (the dark-necked one) is often read as if it began with śiva; say shi-ti-KAN-dha-rah, with a short i in śiti (dark blue) and an aspirated dh in kandhara (neck), so that it echoes kandharāṃ, the word for neck just before it.

When the Shiva Raksha Stotram is chanted

Weekday. Monday

Questions

No. Both are armour hymns of Shiva, but they are different texts. The Shiva Raksha Stotram is a short independent stotra of twelve verses attributed to Yajnavalkya, which names itself the Abhayankara Kavacham in verse 11. The Shiva Kavacham is the much longer armour that the yogi Rishabha teaches Prince Bhadrayu in the Skanda Purana, with its own meditation verses, prose mantra and closing story; it is given on our Shiva Kavacham page (/mantra/shiva-kavacham/).
The verse simply states that Narayana taught it in a dream and Yajnavalkya wrote it down at dawn; it gives no reason. Readers often set it beside the Rama Raksha Stotram (/mantra/rama-raksha-stotram/), where the roles are reversed and Hara, that is Shiva, gives the hymn of Rama to Budha Kaushika in a dream. Read together, the two hymns are a matched pair, each god handing on a hymn of the other.
The words are bhaktya bibharti yah kanthe, literally one who bears it at the throat with devotion. A kavacha is pictured as armour put on the body, so the verse speaks of it as something worn. Sanskrit also calls a text that has been learned by heart kanthastha, standing in the throat, and the line can be read in that sense too. The verse says that the three worlds come under the sway of such a devotee.
Yajnavalkya is the Vedic teacher linked with the Shukla Yajurveda and the Shatapatha Brahmana, and the central figure of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, where he outargues the scholars at King Janaka's court and teaches his wife Maitreyi about the Self. The Yajnavalkya Smriti, a law book, also carries his name. The hymn's own title for him, yogindra, matches the yogeshvara of that Smriti. Like many stotras, the attribution is traditional rather than historical.
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