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Home › Mantras › Subramanya Karavalamba Stotram
Subramanya Subramanya Karavalamba Stotram (Subramanya Ashtakam): boy Murugan as Swaminatha teaching Om to Shiva
The boy Swaminatha explaining Om to his father Shiva, as Brahma stands by
Mantra · Eight verses asking Valli's lord, Swaminatha, to lend his hand

Subramanya Karavalamba Stotram

हे स्वामिनाथ करुणाकर दीनबन्धो श्रीपार्वतीशमुखपङ्कजपद्मबन्धो । श्रीशादिदेवगणपूजितपादपद्म वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

Also known as Subramanya Ashtakam

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

What the Subramanya Karavalamba Stotram is

The Subramanya Karavalamba Stotram, popularly called the Subramanya Ashtakam, is an eight-verse Sanskrit hymn to Murugan, addressed by his names Swaminatha, Kartikeya and Subrahmanya. Popular tradition attributes it to Adi Shankaracharya, though the older printed stotra collections, among them the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara printed at Madras in 1927, carry it without an author's name. Every verse is a string of epithets that closes on the same request: vallisha-natha mama dehi karavalambam, 'lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.' The epithets move in order. Verses one and two place him in his family and among the gods, with the sage Narada singing his fame. Verse three turns to his generosity, naming him a constant giver of food. Verses four to six recall his weapons, the splitting of Krauncha and the defeat of Shura and Taraka. Verse seven describes his crowning by Indra and the sages, and verse eight asks his glance to wash the mind clean of desire. Two short closing verses state the merit of reciting it.

A life of Skanda told in epithets

No composition legend is attached to this hymn in the way one is told for its namesake, the seventeen-verse Lakshmi Narasimha Karavalamba Stotram, which tradition says Shankara sang to calm Narasimha after the god had risen in his disciple Padmapada to rescue him from a Kapalika's sacrificial altar. The Subrahmanya hymn borrows that form, a closing line repeated as a refrain, and fills it with the story of Skanda himself. The first name it uses is Swaminatha, 'teacher of the lord', a title that according to tradition belongs to Swamimalai near Kumbakonam: Brahma could not explain the syllable Om when the young god questioned him, and when Shiva then asked for the meaning, the son gave it to the father. Verse three echoes that episode in calling his own nature the thing that Om declares. The middle verses run through the war against the asuras: the spear that split Krauncha, the firm bow in his hand when Shura fell, the victory over Taraka. Verse seven pictures the coronation that followed, with Indra and the sages bathing him in Ganges water and the five nectars. Throughout, he is named as the lord of Valli, the forest-born maiden who became his consort, so that the warrior and the bridegroom are held in a single refrain.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiहे स्वामिनाथ करुणाकर दीनबन्धो श्रीपार्वतीशमुखपङ्कजपद्मबन्धो । श्रीशादिदेवगणपूजितपादपद्म वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥
Tamilஹே ஸ்வாமிநாத கருணாகர தீநபந்தோ ஶ்ரீபார்வதீஶமுகபங்கஜபத்மபந்தோ । ஶ்ரீஶாதிதேவகணபூஜிதபாதபத்ம வல்லீஶநாத மம தேஹி கராவலம்பம் ॥
Teluguహే స్వామినాథ కరుణాకర దీనబన్ధో శ్రీపార్వతీశముఖపఙ్కజపద్మబన్ధో । శ్రీశాదిదేవగణపూజితపాదపద్మ వల్లీశనాథ మమ దేహి కరావలమ్బమ్ ॥
Kannadaಹೇ ಸ್ವಾಮಿನಾಥ ಕರುಣಾಕರ ದೀನಬನ್ಧೋ ಶ್ರೀಪಾರ್ವತೀಶಮುಖಪಙ್ಕಜಪದ್ಮಬನ್ಧೋ । ಶ್ರೀಶಾದಿದೇವಗಣಪೂಜಿತಪಾದಪದ್ಮ ವಲ್ಲೀಶನಾಥ ಮಮ ದೇಹಿ ಕರಾವಲಮ್ಬಮ್ ॥
Malayalamഹേ സ്വാമിനാഥ കരുണാകര ദീനബന്ധോ ശ്രീപാര്വതീശമുഖപങ്കജപദ്മബന്ധോ । ശ്രീശാദിദേവഗണപൂജിതപാദപദ്മ വല്ലീശനാഥ മമ ദേഹി കരാവലമ്ബമ് ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationhe svāminātha karuṇākara dīnabandho śrīpārvatīśamukhapaṅkajapadmabandho | śrīśādidevagaṇapūjitapādapadma vallīśanātha mama dehi karāvalambam ||
“O Swaminatha, merciful one, friend of the humble; O sun that opens the lotus of the face of Shiva, lord of Parvati. You whose lotus feet are worshipped by Vishnu and the hosts of gods, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.”
हे
he — O
स्वामिनाथ
svāminātha — Swaminatha, teacher of the lord
करुणाकर
karuṇākara — source of mercy
दीनबन्धो
dīnabandho — friend of the humble
श्रीपार्वतीशमुखपङ्कजपद्मबन्धो
śrīpārvatīśamukhapaṅkajapadmabandho — sun to the lotus face of Parvati's lord
श्रीशादिदेवगणपूजितपादपद्म
śrīśādidevagaṇapūjitapādapadma — lotus feet worshipped by Vishnu and the gods
वल्लीशनाथ
vallīśanātha — lord of Valli
मम
mama — to me
देहि
dehi — give
करावलम्बम्
karāvalambam — support of your hand

Subramanya Ashtakam lyrics in full

Eight verses, each closing on the plea to the lord of Valli, followed by two verses on the merit of recitation.

All 10 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Subramanya Ashtakam PDFAll 10 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

हे स्वामिनाथ करुणाकर दीनबन्धो श्रीपार्वतीशमुखपङ्कजपद्मबन्धो ।
श्रीशादिदेवगणपूजितपादपद्म वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O Swaminatha, merciful one, friend of the humble; O sun that opens the lotus of the face of Shiva, lord of Parvati. You whose lotus feet are worshipped by Vishnu and the hosts of gods, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 2

देवादिदेवसुत देवगणाधिनाथ देवेन्द्रवन्द्य मृदुपङ्कजमञ्जुपाद ।
देवर्षिनारदमुनीन्द्रसुगीतकीर्ते वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O son of the god of gods, commander of the divine hosts, you whose soft and lovely lotus feet are honoured by Indra. You whose fame is sung well by the divine sage Narada, chief of sages, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 3

नित्यान्नदाननिरताखिलरोगहारिन् तस्मात्प्रदानपरिपूरितभक्तकाम ।
श्रुत्यागमप्रणववाच्यनिजस्वरूप वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O remover of every illness, ever devoted to the giving of food; you who fulfil the wishes of devotees through your giving. You whose true nature is what the Vedas, the Agamas and the syllable Om declare, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 4

क्रौञ्चासुरेन्द्रपरिखण्डनशक्तिशूलचापादिशस्त्रपरिमण्डितदिव्यपाणे ।
श्रीकुण्डलीशधरतुण्डशिखीन्द्रवाह वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O you whose divine hands are adorned with the spear, the trident, the bow and other weapons that split apart Krauncha, chief of the asuras. You who ride the king of peacocks, whose beak holds the lord of serpents, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 5

देवादिदेव रथमण्डलमध्यवेद्य देवेन्द्रपीठनगरं दृढचापहस्तम् ।
शूरं निहत्य सुरकोटिभिरीड्यमान वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O god of gods, known at the centre of the ring of chariots; having slain Shura, who held the seat and city of Indra, firm bow in hand, you are praised by countless gods. O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 6

हारादिरत्नमणियुक्तकिरीटहार केयूरकुण्डललसत्कवचाभिरामम् ।
हे वीर तारक जयाऽमरबृन्दवन्द्य वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O handsome one, wearing a crown and necklaces set with jewels and gems, with armlets, earrings and gleaming armour. O hero, victor over Taraka, saluted by the host of immortals, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 7

पञ्चाक्षरादिमनुमन्त्रितगाङ्गतोयैः पञ्चामृतैः प्रमुदितेन्द्रमुखैर्मुनीन्द्रैः ।
पट्टाभिषिक्त हरियुक्त परासनाथ वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O you who were crowned and consecrated by joyful Indra and the great sages with Ganges water sanctified by the five-syllable mantra and other mantras, and with the five nectars. O lord of the supreme seat, joined with Vishnu, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Verse 8

श्रीकार्तिकेय करुणामृतपूर्णदृष्ट्या कामादिरोगकलुषीकृतदुष्टचित्तम् ।
सिक्त्वा तु मामव कलाधर कान्तिकान्त्या वल्लीशनाथ मम देहि करावलम्बम् ॥

O Kartikeya, with your glance full of the nectar of compassion, sprinkle my mind, made foul and impure by desire and the other diseases, and protect me. O you who shine with the radiance of the moon, O lord of Valli, give me the support of your hand.

Phala Shruti 1

सुब्रह्मण्याष्टकं पुण्यं ये पठन्ति द्विजोत्तमाः ।
ते सर्वे मुक्तिमायान्ति सुब्रह्मण्यप्रसादतः ॥

The verse says that those excellent twice-born who recite this holy Subrahmanya Ashtakam all reach liberation by the grace of Subrahmanya.

Phala Shruti 2

सुब्रह्मण्याष्टकमिदं प्रातरुत्थाय यः पठेत् ।
कोटिजन्मकृतं पापं तत्क्षणादेव नश्यति ॥

The verse says that for one who rises at dawn and recites this Subrahmanya Ashtakam, the sin committed over ten million births is destroyed that very moment.

The syllable people get wrong

The refrain word करावलम्बम् (karāvalambam) joins kara, 'hand', with avalamba, 'support', so the second syllable carries a long ā: say ka-RAA-va-lam-bam, not a clipped 'kara-valambam' that splits the word in the wrong place.

When the Subramanya Karavalamba Stotram is chanted

Weekday. Tuesday

Festival. Skanda Shashti

Questions

Vallisha-natha is 'the lord who is husband of Valli', Murugan's forest-born consort. Mama dehi means 'give to me', and karavalambam is the support of a hand, the grip offered to someone who has stumbled or is crossing difficult ground. Each of the eight verses builds a picture of his might or his kindness and then closes on this same plain request, so the hymn reads as eight approaches to one plea.
It is widely attributed to Adi Shankaracharya and is printed under his name in many devotional books. The attribution is a popular one: the older Sanskrit stotra anthologies, including the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara printed at Madras in 1927, give the hymn without naming an author. Its form, a refrain asking for the god's hand, matches the Lakshmi Narasimha Karavalamba Stotram, which tradition also assigns to Shankara.
The two short verses after the eighth stanza form the phala shruti. The first says that those who recite this holy Subrahmanya Ashtakam reach liberation through Subrahmanya's grace. The second says that for one who rises at dawn and reads it, the sins gathered over ten million births are destroyed at that very moment. These are the hymn's own statements of merit, reported as tradition holds them.
Script is not the cause; the differences go back to the printed Sanskrit sources. The version commonly chanted today reads tasmat-pradana in verse three and pithanagaram in verse five, while the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara reads bhagya-pradana and pithanakaram. Some prints also spell the refrain vallisa rather than vallisha. Books in Telugu, Tamil or Devanagari script follow one family or the other, so a word may change while the sense of the verse stays close.
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