Śivapañcākṣarastotram
Creators: name: Timalsina, Staneshwar
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Spanda
shakti
Kula
yantra
Īśāna
saivadvaita
Chandi
Shiva
sthaneshwar timalsina
trika
Tantra
Camunda
Kali
Durga
mahadeva
Vasugupta
Saundaryalahari
vedanta
vimarsha-foundation
Tantric philosophy
anava upaya
Devi Mahatmya
sarvamnaya
Sarvamnaya
Sadāśiva
shakta upāya
sarvamnaya-oral-tradition-archive
advaita vedanta
agama
Shaiva
amnaya
Tripurasundari
tantraloka
tripura
Bhairava
Abhinavagupta
krama
Divine Mother
Kubjika
shambhava
Kaula
timalsina
Mahakali
consciousness
Mālinīvijayottaratantra
Tripura Rahasya
Shiva Sutra
Guhyakālī
Kashmir Shaivism

description: शिवपञ्चाक्षरस्तोत्रम्
śivapañcākṣarastotram
The Five-Letter Mantra Prayer to Lord Shiva

From all the Āgamas, the five letter mantra of Shiva, Om Namaḥ Shivāya, remains primary. The five stanzas in this prayer invoke Lord Shiva with an initial of each letter from the five-syllable-mantra. The first verse praises Lord Shiva as bestower of liberation, with the fearsome echoing sound emitting from the absolute phoneme A. Shiva is of universal form, with neither beginning nor end, and is summoned here in the form of the sky. The second stanza begins with the phoneme ma, supplicating Lord Shiva as an essence of mantra. He is invoked as the remover of defilements who assumes his body made of the material forms of all the principles by relying on his magical power. He is the death even of death, and he depicts that by wearing the crescent moon. In this verse, Shiva is described as identical to the air. The third verse that starts with Sha praises Lord Shiva of the character of fire, comparable to the void of the form of pure consciousness. While he is eternal, he covers himself with differentiating factors imposed by time and space. He is the truth of truth, and eternally devoid of defilements. The fourth verse invokes Lord Shiva with an initial letter Va and identifies him with water. He is called forth with the echoing sound of Vam Vam, and by relying on his power of absolute freedom, he assumes manifold forms. Even while everything is his own form, he also assumes the most pristine form of Shiva with Gaurī in his embrace. The final phoneme of the mantra is ya and this last verse begins with ya and invokes Lord Shiva in the form of earth. Lord Shiva comprises every single possible form and all possible names but at the same time, he is beyond name and form. He is one but also of universal form. He is the absolute truth.

Composed by AcharyaJi Dr. Sthaneshwar Timalsina
Vocals - Vidushi Sivasri Skandaprasad
Flute - Vidushi Varijashree Venugopal
Sitar - Vidushi Shruti Kamath
Veena - Vidushi Pushpa Kashina
Keyboards - Pt. Praveen D Rao
Tabla - Pt. Gurumurthy Vaidya
Mridangam and creative percussions - Vidwan Sai Vamshi
Original music score by Pt. Praveen D Rao
Recorded at Prabhath Studios, Bangalore by Rangaswamy
Mixed and Mastered by Ashwin Prabhath

शिवपञ्चाक्षरस्तोत्रम्
. śivapañcākṣarastotram

nādisvarūpāya nivṛttidāyine
anuttaradhvānasubhairavāya ॥
ādyantaśūnyāya jaganmayāya 
vyomasvarūpāya namaḥ śivāya ॥1||

I bow to Lord Shiva of the form of sky and also of [mantra] that begins with the phoneme na [referring to namah shivaya], the bestower of liberation. Lord Shiva is both of transcendental nature while of the character of the ferocious Bhairava sound. He is both devoid of beginning and ending, while at the same time of the nature of the world.   


mantrārtharūpāya malāpahāriṇe,
māyāsuvisphāritatattvakāya ॥
kālasya kālāya kalādharāya |
vāyusvarūpāya namaḥ śivāya ॥2||

I bow to Shiva of the form of the air and also of the nature of the meaning of mantras which removes all defilements and whose body is expressed relying on māyā. He is the death even of death and he is the one who wears the crescent moon [indicating the digits of time]. 

śivāya śūnyāya cidātmakāya ।
dikkālabhedāvṛtaśāśvatāya ॥
satyasya satyāya nirañjanāya
agnyaikarūpāya namaḥ śivāya ॥3||


I surrender to Shiva, the peaceful one, who is also of the form of fire. Shiva is empty [of forms] and of the character of consciousness. Even when conditioned by limitations imposed by space and time, he is eternal. He is the truth beneath all truth and free of all defilements. 


vaṃ-vaṃ-dhvani-dhvānta -digantakāya 
svātantryaśaktyā bahurūpakāya ।  
gaurīsamāliṅgitavigrahāya ।
apāṃ svarūpāya namaḥ śivāya ॥4||

I bow to Shiva of the character of water who permeates all regions with the echoing sound of Vam Vam. Shiva assumes manifold forms by means of the power of freedom but at the same time manifests as being embraced by Gaurī. 


yadyatsvarūpāya samagranāmne।
nāmasvarūpādibahiṣkṛtāya ॥
eko'pi viśvaikamayāya tatsate।
bhūmisvarūpāya namaḥ śivāya ॥ 5||

I bow to Shiva of the form of earth, who is of all possible forms and of all possible names but at the same time who is devoid of name and form. He is one but also of the character of everything. He is an absolute being. 


pañcākṣaramidaṃ stotraṃ yaḥ paṭhedbhaktibhāvitaḥ।
sa svayaṃ śivarūpaḥ syādyatra kutrāśrame sthitaḥ॥

One who reads this prayer of five phonemes [of Namah Shivaya] filled with devotion, he is himself of the nature of Shiva, no matter in whichever Ashrama he lives. 
iti śrī ācāryasthāneśvarapraṇītaṃ śivapañcākṣarastotraṃ sampūrṇam।

Original YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR8h3MOlqOI

This presentation is part of the Sarvāmnāya Oral Tradition Archive.
Vimarsha Foundation. (2025). The Sarvāmnāya Oral Tradition Archive [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15188107