Lord Shiva: Who He Is, With His Mantras and Prayers

Who is Lord Shiva?

Shiva is revered in Hindu tradition as the god of transformation. His wife is the goddess Parvati. He is depicted with a third eye. Maha Shivaratri, the Great Night of Shiva, is the year's most important celebration of him.

Shiva mantras with meaning

Below are the 15 mantras and verses to Lord Shiva in Diya's prayer library, in Sanskrit and in English letters, each with its meaning in plain English.

Mantra (Sanskrit and transliteration)	Meaning in English
Invocation to Shiva ॐ नमः शिवाय । oṃ namaḥ śivāya |	Om. I bow to Shiva, the auspicious Lord.
Invocation to Mahadeva ॐ श्री महादेवाय नमः । oṃ śrī mahādevāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to revered Mahadeva, Shiva, the Great God.
Invocation to Shankara ॐ श्री शङ्कराय नमः । oṃ śrī śaṅkarāya namaḥ |	Om. I bow to revered Shankara, Shiva, the bringer of blessing.
Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥ oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukamiva bandhanānmṛtyormukṣīya māmṛtāt ||	Om. We worship Tryambaka, the three-eyed Lord, fragrant and nourishing life. As a ripe cucumber is freed from its stem, may I be released from death’s bondage, without being parted from immortality.
Karpūra Gauraṃ Karuṇāvatāraṃ कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् । सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि ॥ karpūragauraṃ karuṇāvatāraṃ saṃsārasāraṃ bhujagendrahāram | sadā vasantaṃ hṛdayāravinde bhavaṃ bhavānīsahitaṃ namāmi ||	I bow to Bhava, Shiva, white as camphor, compassion embodied, the very essence of worldly existence, wearing the king of serpents as a garland. With Bhavani, Parvati, he dwells forever in the lotus of the heart.
Nāgendrahārāya नागेन्द्रहाराय त्रिलोचनाय भस्माङ्गरागाय महेश्वराय । नित्याय शुद्धाय दिगम्बराय तस्मै नकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥ १॥ nāgendrahārāya trilocanāya bhasmāṅgarāgāya maheśvarāya | nityāya śuddhāya digambarāya tasmai nakārāya namaḥ śivāya || 1||	I bow to Shiva in the syllable “na”: the three-eyed Great Lord, wearing the serpent king as a garland and sacred ash upon his body, eternal and pure, clothed in the directions themselves.
Śiva Pañcākṣara Stotra 2 मन्दाकिनिसलिलचन्दनचर्चिताय नन्दीश्वरप्रमथनाथमहेश्वराय । मन्दारपुष्पबहुपुष्पसुपूजिताय तस्मै मकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥ २॥ mandākinisalilacandanacarcitāya nandīśvarapramathanāthamaheśvarāya | mandārapuṣpabahupuṣpasupūjitāya tasmai makārāya namaḥ śivāya || 2||	I bow to Shiva in the syllable “ma”: the Great Lord of Nandi and the spirit hosts, anointed with Mandakini’s sacred waters and sandalwood, richly worshipped with mandara blossoms and many other flowers.
Śiva Pañcākṣara Stotra 3 शिवाय गौरीवदनाब्जवृन्दसूर्याय दक्षाध्वरनाशकाय । श्रीनीलकण्ठाय वृषध्वजाय तस्मै शिकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥ ३॥ śivāya gaurīvadanābjavṛndasūryāya dakṣādhvaranāśakāya | śrīnīlakaṇṭhāya vṛṣadhvajāya tasmai śikārāya namaḥ śivāya || 3||	I bow to Shiva in the syllable “shi”: the auspicious one, the sun to the lotus face of Parvati, called Gauri; destroyer of Daksha’s sacrifice; the revered blue-throated Lord whose banner bears the bull.
Śiva Pañcākṣara Stotra 4 वसिष्ठकुम्भोद्भवगौतमार्यमुनीन्द्रदेवार्चितशेखराय । चन्द्रार्कवैश्वानरलोचनाय तस्मै वकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥ ४॥ vasiṣṭhakumbhodbhavagautamāryamunīndradevārcitaśekharāya | candrārkavaiśvānaralocanāya tasmai vakārāya namaḥ śivāya || 4||	I bow to Shiva in the syllable “va”: whose crown is worshipped by Vashishtha, Agastya the jar-born sage, Gautama, other noble sages, and the gods; whose eyes are the moon, sun, and fire.
Śiva Pañcākṣara Stotra 5 यक्षस्वरूपाय जटाधराय पिनाकहस्ताय सनातनाय । दिव्याय देवाय दिगम्बराय तस्मै यकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥ ५॥ yakṣasvarūpāya jaṭādharāya pinākahastāya sanātanāya | divyāya devāya digambarāya tasmai yakārāya namaḥ śivāya || 5||	I bow to Shiva in the syllable “ya”: appearing as a mysterious yaksha spirit, with matted hair and the Pinaka bow in his hand, eternal and divine, clothed in the directions themselves.
Brahmamurāri Surārcita Liṅgaṃ ब्रह्ममुरारिसुरार्चितलिङ्गं निर्मलभासितशोभितलिङ्गम् । जन्मजदुःखविनाशकलिङ्गं तत्प्रणमामि सदाशिवलिङ्गम् ॥ १॥ brahmamurārisurārcitaliṅgaṃ nirmalabhāsitaśobhitaliṅgam | janmajaduḥkhavināśakaliṅgaṃ tatpraṇamāmi sadāśivaliṅgam || 1||	I bow to the linga, the sacred form of Sadashiva, the ever-auspicious Lord: worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu as Murari, and the gods, shining with spotless radiance, and destroying the suffering that comes with birth.
Namāmīśamīśāna नमामीशमीशाननिर्वाणरूपं विभुं व्यापकं ब्रह्मवेदस्वरूपम् । निजं निर्गुणं निर्विकल्पं निरीहं चिदाकाशमाकाशवासं भजेऽहम् ॥ १॥ namāmīśamīśānanirvāṇarūpaṃ vibhuṃ vyāpakaṃ brahmavedasvarūpam | nijaṃ nirguṇaṃ nirvikalpaṃ nirīhaṃ cidākāśamākāśavāsaṃ bhaje’ham || 1||	I bow to Shiva, the supreme Lord, whose nature is liberation: all-pervading, the embodiment of Brahman, the ultimate reality, and of the Vedas. I worship him, abiding in his own nature, beyond qualities, divisions, and desire, the boundless expanse of consciousness whose dwelling is space.
Śiva Tāṇḍava Stotram — Verse 1 जटाटवीगलज्जलप्रवाहपावितस्थले गलेऽवलम्ब्य लम्बितां भुजङ्गतुङ्गमालिकाम् । डमड्डमड्डमड्डमन्निनादवड्डमर्वयं चकार चण्डताण्डवं तनोतु नः शिवः शिवम् ॥ १॥ jaṭāṭavīgalajjalapravāhapāvitasthale gale’valambya lambitāṃ bhujaṅgatuṅgamālikām | ḍamaḍḍamaḍḍamaḍḍamanninādavaḍḍamarvayaṃ cakāra caṇḍatāṇḍavaṃ tanotu naḥ śivaḥ śivam || 1||	May Shiva grant us blessing: he performed the fierce tandava dance, his neck purified by water streaming through the forest of his matted hair, a great serpent garland hanging around it, while his damaru drum resounded “dam, dam, dam.”
Nirvāṇa Ṣaṭkam — Verse 1 मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कारचित्तानि नाहं न च श्रोत्रजिह्वे न च घ्राणनेत्रे । न च व्योम भूमिर्न तेजो न वायुश्- चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ manobuddhyahaṅkāracittāni nāhaṃ na ca śrotrajihve na ca ghrāṇanetre | na ca vyoma bhūmirna tejo na vāyuś- cidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||	I am neither mind, intellect, ego, nor memory; neither ears, tongue, nose, nor eyes. I am neither space, earth, fire, nor air. My nature is consciousness and bliss: I am Shiva, I am Shiva.
Śiva Mānasa Pūjā 1 रत्नैः कल्पितमासनं हिमजलैः स्नानं च दिव्याम्बरं नानारत्नविभूषितं मृगमदामोदाङ्कितं चन्दनम् । जातीचम्पकबिल्वपत्ररचितं पुष्पं च धूपं तथा दीपं देव दयानिधे पशुपते हृत्कल्पितं गृह्यताम् ॥ १॥ ratnaiḥ kalpitamāsanaṃ himajalaiḥ snānaṃ ca divyāmbaraṃ nānāratnavibhūṣitaṃ mṛgamadāmodāṅkitaṃ candanam | jātīcampakabilvapatraracitaṃ puṣpaṃ ca dhūpaṃ tathā dīpaṃ deva dayānidhe paśupate hṛtkalpitaṃ gṛhyatām || 1||	Compassionate Lord, Pashupati, Lord of living beings, accept these offerings imagined in my heart: a jeweled seat, a cooling bath, heavenly clothing, many jewels, musk-scented sandalwood, jasmine and champaka flowers with bilva leaves, incense, and a lamp.

Diya's English gives the meaning of each verse in plain language; it is not a word-for-word translation.

Prayers to Lord Shiva

• Om Namah Shivaya Mantra: Text, Transliteration, and Context
• Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra: Lyrics, Meaning, and Context
• Lingashtakam Lyrics in English, With Meaning
• Shiv Aarti Lyrics in English: Om Jai Shiv Omkara
• Rudrashtakam Lyrics in English, With Meaning
• Shivashtakam Lyrics in English, With Meaning

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Related reading

• Hindu Gods and Goddesses: Who They Are and Their Prayers
• Maha Shivaratri: meaning and approaches to observance
• About the Diya app