Sacred Stotras of Shiva

Salutation to Shambhu, and salutation to him who brings happiness; salutation to Shankara, and to him who creates happiness; salutation to Shiva, and to him who is more auspicious still.

At dawn I remember Isha, the remover of the fear of worldly existence, the lord of the gods, the bearer of the Ganga, whose vehicle is the bull, the lord of Ambika, holding in his hands the skull-staff, the trident, and the gestures of boon-giving and fearlessness - the unique, unparalleled medicine that removes the disease of worldly existence.

A seat fashioned of jewels, a bath of icy water, a divine garment adorned with various gems, sandal-paste marked with the fragrance of musk, a flower arrangement made of jasmine, champak and bilva leaves, and likewise incense and a lamp - O god, ocean of compassion, Pashupati, accept these, fashioned in my heart.

To him whose garland is the king of serpents, three-eyed, whose bodily paste is ash, eternal, pure, clad in the directions, anointed with the Mandakini's water and sandal, Maheshvara - to him, of the form of the syllable "na," salutation to Shiva.

Somanatha in Saurashtra, and Mallikarjuna on Shri Shaila; Mahakala in Ujjayini, Omkara, Amaleshvara.

Salutations to you, O Guru of the world, Shiva, the bestower of auspiciousness! Lord of the lords of yogis, Guru of gurus, salutations!

Salutations be to Shiva who is free of disease; salutations be to Shiva who is formed of mind; salutations be to Shiva who is worshipped by the gods; to you who are ever intent on grace to devotees!

Salutations to Shri Vishwanath, whose feet are worshipped by gods, cause of all causes; O God of gods, incarnation of the Lord of Kashi, instruct me!

To her whose half-body is fair as champaka flower, to him whose half-body is fair as camphor, to her with beautiful braided hair and to him bearing matted hair, salutations to Shivaa (Parvati) and salutations to Shiva!

May that one protect you all, in whose matted locks the moon rests, fair as a bright garland, like a swan dozing among the stalks of blue lotuses in autumn.

Rudra alone is one, not standing for a second - he who rules over these worlds by his own ruling powers. He stands facing all creatures; having brought the worlds together, he, their protector, draws them back in at the time of ending.

May we meditate upon that Shiva - who, resorting to rajas, as creator possessed of qualities bears the seven worlds; who, possessed of tamas, as destroyer brings dissolution; and who, having passed beyond the qualified Maya, stands established in his own nature - who is of the nature of true bliss, infinite awareness, stainless, the ground of the names beginning with Brahma, ever attained only through union with sattva, the full one.

First, through the chain of my own actions, I am made impure and placed, soiled, within my mother's womb; there, amid that unclean mass of stool and urine, the belly's fire cooks me through and through. Whatever sorrows afflict me there without end - by whom can they even be told? Forgive my offence, O Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambhu.

I remember the lord of beasts, the destroyer of sin, the supreme lord, the great lord, the lord of gods, who wears the hide of the king of elephants, the most excellent, with the shimmering water of the Ganga, the one Mahadeva, the enemy of Kama.

In the pure, exceedingly charming land of Saurashtra, luminous, crowned with the crescent moon, descended out of compassion to grant devotion - I take refuge in that Somanatha.

Whose dwelling is on the peak of the silver mountain, whose bow is the jewelled ridge, who made the lord of serpents his bowstring and the imperishable Vishnu his fiery arrow, who swiftly burned the three cities, worshipped by the dwellers of the gods' abodes - I take refuge in Chandrashekhara. What then can Yama do to me?

You are Brahma, the creator of creation, and you are Vishnu, the sustainer; you are Shiva, the giver of auspiciousness, infinite, the cause of the destruction of all.

I take refuge in that Lord Shankara, giver of refuge, who is the creator of this entire world with all moving and unmoving beings, the cause of joy and sorrow of what is made, and who is the cause of destruction at the time of the end.

I bow to Shambhu, the ancient Purusha; I bow to the omniscient of boundless nature; I bow to Rudra, the imperishable Lord; I bow to Sharva, with head bowed I bow.

Victory, O Shankara, peaceful, radiant as the moon, bestower of desired objects, all-giver, pure in all! Accepting great offerings given by the pure, destroyer of the intense burning afflictions of your devotees!

Salutations to you of infinite forms, O Nilakantha, salutations to you! Whose true nature is unknown, embodiment of liberation and immortality!

"O gods and guardians of directions, depart far away; rain-clouds, clear the sky; earth, go to netherworld; mountains, enter beneath the earth; Brahma, raise your realm far above; all this is a hindrance to our Lord Shambhu as he dances" - may this proclamation of Nandi protect you all!

I take refuge in the boon-giver who wears the smearing of ash, the Lord of Kashi, bearer of the Ganga, bearer of the young moon, bearer of the protection of the three worlds, bearer of the moon and triple-streamed Ganga upon his forehead, holding the divine gaze of the mountain-king's daughter.

O Hara! If a praise unequal to the farthest limit of your glory, composed by one who does not fully know that glory even to the extent that it is known by Brahma and the other gods, nevertheless falls short of you, then let it be so - since everyone speaks only to the limit of their own understanding, let this effort of mine to praise you also be blameless.

At the place purified by the stream of water falling from the forest of his matted locks, letting hang a lofty garland of serpents, with the resounding damaru making the sound "ḍama-ḍama-ḍama-ḍama" - he performed the fierce Tandava; may that Shiva extend auspiciousness to us.

I bow to the essence of the gods, the lord of gods, dark-blue and red in hue, the lord of yogis, the seed of yoga, and the guru of the gurus of yogis.

To him who sees the universe - like a city seen in a mirror - resting within himself, yet appearing outside as if produced by Maya like in a dream, and who directly realises his own non-dual Self upon awakening, salutations to that Dakshinamurti, embodied as the glorious Guru.