Note: The complete namavali contains one thousand and eight names of Lord Shiva (from the Mahabharata). A verified opening portion is reproduced below; for a full traditional recitation, use an authorised edition of the complete text.
ॐ स्थिराय नमः।
ॐ स्थाणवे नमः।
ॐ प्रभवे नमः।
ॐ भीमाय नमः।
ॐ प्रवराय नमः।
ॐ वरदाय नमः।
ॐ वराय नमः।
ॐ सर्वात्मने नमः।
ॐ सर्वविख्याताय नमः।
ॐ सर्वस्मै नमः।
ॐ सर्वकराय नमः।
ॐ भवाय नमः।
ॐ जटिने नमः।
ॐ चर्मिणे नमः।
ॐ शिखण्डिने नमः।
ॐ सर्वाङ्गाय नमः।
ॐ सर्वभावनाय नमः।
ॐ हराय नमः।
ॐ हरिणाक्षाय नमः।
ॐ सर्वभूतहराय नमः।
ॐ प्रभवे नमः।
ॐ प्रवृत्तये नमः।
ॐ निवृत्तये नमः।
ॐ नियताय नमः।
ॐ शाश्वताय नमः।
ॐ ध्रुवाय नमः।
ॐ श्मशानवासिने नमः।
ॐ भगवते नमः।
ॐ खचराय नमः।
ॐ गोचराय नमः।
ॐ अर्दनाय नमः।
ॐ अभिवाद्याय नमः।
ॐ महाकर्मणे नमः।
ॐ तपस्विने नमः।
ॐ भूतभावनाय नमः।
ॐ उन्मत्तवेषप्रच्छन्नाय नमः।
ॐ सर्वलोकप्रजापतये नमः।
ॐ महारूपाय नमः।
ॐ महाकायाय नमः।
ॐ वृषरूपाय नमः।
ॐ महायशसे नमः।
ॐ महात्मने नमः।
ॐ सर्वभूतात्मने नमः।
ॐ विश्वरूपाय नमः।
ॐ महाहनवे नमः।
ॐ लोकपालाय नमः।
ॐ अन्तर्हितात्मने नमः।
ॐ प्रसादाय नमः।
ॐ हयगर्दभये नमः।
ॐ पवित्राय नमः।
।। … इत्यादि शिवसहस्रनामावली ।। (continues to 1008 names)
oṁ sthirāya namaḥ |
oṁ sthāṇave namaḥ |
oṁ prabhave namaḥ |
oṁ bhīmāya namaḥ |
oṁ pravarāya namaḥ |
oṁ varadāya namaḥ |
oṁ varāya namaḥ |
oṁ sarvātmane namaḥ |
oṁ sarvavikhyātāya namaḥ |
oṁ sarvasmai namaḥ |
oṁ sarvakarāya namaḥ |
oṁ bhavāya namaḥ |
oṁ jaṭine namaḥ |
oṁ carmiṇe namaḥ |
oṁ śikhaṇḍine namaḥ |
oṁ sarvāṅgāya namaḥ |
oṁ sarvabhāvanāya namaḥ |
oṁ harāya namaḥ |
oṁ hariṇākṣāya namaḥ |
oṁ sarvabhūtaharāya namaḥ |
oṁ prabhave namaḥ |
oṁ pravṛttaye namaḥ |
oṁ nivṛttaye namaḥ |
oṁ niyatāya namaḥ |
oṁ śāśvatāya namaḥ |
oṁ dhruvāya namaḥ |
oṁ śmaśānavāsine namaḥ |
oṁ bhagavate namaḥ |
oṁ khacarāya namaḥ |
oṁ gocarāya namaḥ |
oṁ mahārūpāya namaḥ |
oṁ mahākāyāya namaḥ |
oṁ vṛṣarūpāya namaḥ |
oṁ viśvarūpāya namaḥ |
oṁ lokapālāya namaḥ |
oṁ pavitrāya namaḥ |
A sahasranamavali is a "garland of a thousand names," each chanted with Om and the salutation namaḥ. The Shiva Sahasranamavali opens by saluting Mahadeva as the Steady (Sthira) and the unmoving pillar (Sthanu); the Source (Prabhu); the Terrible (Bhima); the most excellent and the boon-giver (Pravara, Varada); the Self of all (Sarvatma) and the all-renowned. He is hailed as the matted-haired ascetic (Jati), the wearer of the hide (Charmi), the crested one (Shikhandi); as Hara the remover; the one who withdraws all beings at dissolution (Sarvabhutahara). He is praised as both engagement and renunciation (Pravritti and Nivritti), the eternal and fixed (Shashvata, Dhruva), the dweller in the cremation ground (Shmashanavasi), the Lord (Bhagavan), the sky-mover and earth-mover. Further names extol him as the great ascetic (Tapasvi), the source of beings (Bhutabhavana), the one disguised in the garb of a madman, the Lord of all worlds, of great form and great body, the bull-formed (Vrisharupa), the Self of all beings, the cosmic form (Vishvarupa), the guardian of the worlds, and the purifier (Pavitra). The thousand and eight names together encompass every aspect of Shiva — auspicious and fierce, transcendent and immanent.
The Shiva Sahasranamavali — the litany of Shiva's 1008 names — is one of the most revered hymns in the Shaiva tradition. The best-known version comes from the Mahabharata (where it is taught to Yudhishthira and elsewhere praised by Krishna), beginning with the names Sthira and Sthanu. Reciting all the names in the "namavali" form (each name framed by Om and namaḥ) is a complete archana (worship by names) of Mahadeva, often performed while offering bilva leaves or water to a Shiva linga, one offering per name.
Chanting the Shiva Sahasranamavali is held to bestow Shiva's boundless grace: protection from fear and untimely death, removal of sins and diseases, peace of mind, fulfilment of righteous desires, and ultimately liberation (moksha). Because the names span Shiva's every aspect — the auspicious Shankara, the fierce Rudra, the supreme ascetic, the cosmic Self — the recitation is regarded as a total surrender to the Absolute. It is especially powerful when offered as bilva-archana to a Shiva linga, and is believed to purify the worshipper at the deepest level and bestow both worldly well-being and spiritual freedom.
Lord Shiva is the supreme deity of Vedic remedial astrology, and his worship is the foremost remedy across many planetary afflictions. Shiva wears the Moon on his crest, so his worship strengthens and calms an afflicted Moon (mind, emotions, mother). As the lord of time and the great ascetic, his names are the classic remedy for Saturn (Shani) — for Sade Sati, dhaiya and Shani dasha — and for Rahu and Ketu (the shadow planets), bringing protection from sudden fears and karmic difficulties. Reciting the Sahasranamavali is also prescribed for relief from chronic illness, untimely-death fears (Mrityunjaya grace), and for longevity (8th house). Offering the names with bilva and water to a linga on Mondays and during Shiva periods is a deeply trusted remedial practice.
Bathe and sit before a Shiva linga or image, facing east or north. Light a lamp and keep water, bilva (bel) leaves and white flowers ready. After a brief dhyana and sankalpa, recite the names, ideally offering one bilva leaf or a little water to the linga with each name (bilva-archana). The full 1008-name recitation is a focused sadhana; if time is short, recite a verified portion daily and complete the whole on special days. Maintain purity and devotion, and conclude with abhisheka (water offering) and salutations to Mahadeva.
Monday (Somvar), Shiva's own day, is the most auspicious, especially during the holy month of Shravan. Pradosha (the thirteenth tithi twilight), Maha Shivaratri, and the monthly Shivaratri are supremely powerful occasions. The pre-dawn Brahma-muhurta and the Pradosha dusk hour are ideal times.
Its most famous version is found in the Mahabharata, where the 1008 names of Lord Shiva are taught and praised; it begins with the names Sthira and Sthanu.
This article reproduces a verified opening excerpt and focuses on the namavali's meaning and benefits. For a complete recitation, please use an authorised printed or traditional edition of the full text.
It is chanted for Shiva's grace — protection, removal of sins and disease, peace of mind, longevity, fulfilment of righteous wishes, and liberation. It is also a key remedy for the Moon, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu.
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A thousand names as a map of Mahadeva's infinite nature
The Shiva Sahasranamavali drawn from the Mahabharata is one of the great devotional monuments of the tradition. Unlike a short mantra or a single-verse dhyana, a sahasranamavali asks the devotee to dwell with the deity across one thousand distinct attributes and epithets, each name a window into a different facet of Shiva's reality. Mahadeva appears here as destroyer, healer, ascetic, dancer, father, liberator, lord of the elements, and the primordial sound itself. Moving through this garland of names is not merely an act of recitation — it is, the tradition understands, a gradual immersion in Shiva's totality, a way of allowing the multiplicity of his nature to slowly reorganise the practitioner's perception of the world and of the self.
Mondays, which are sacred to Shiva in the weekly rhythm of devotional life, and the great Shivaratri are the most auspicious occasions for reciting the Sahasranamavali, though devoted Shaivites incorporate it into regular practice throughout the month. In the Jyotish tradition, Shiva is inseparable from Saturn — both embody the principle of time, dissolution, renunciation, and the liberation that comes through surrender to what cannot be controlled. Devotees believe that reciting the thousand names with attentive sincerity gradually loosens the practitioner's attachment to the superficial layers of identity that cause suffering, opening space for the deeper equanimity that Mahadeva himself embodies. The very length of the text is part of its gift: it requires sustained presence.