Composed by devotee poet Ayodhya Das, this revered forty-chaupai hymn glorifies Mahadeva—the compassionate Lord of Mount Kailash, drinker of the Halahala poison (Nilakantha), and bestower of supreme fearlessness and peace.
Invoking Lord Ganesha, the divine son of Goddess Parvati, seeking the auspicious boon of fearlessness before praising Lord Shiva.
Glory to Lord Ganesh, the Divine Son of Goddess Girija, the cause of all auspiciousness and intelligence. Ayodha Dass (the composer of these verses) humbly requests that every one be blessed with the boon of being fearless.
Arranged in sequential order with Roman transliteration, sacred Devanagari script, and English translations describing Lord Shiva's divine ornaments, the descent of Ganga, churning of the ocean (Amrit Manthan), the testing of Shri Ram's devotion, and boons for all devotees.
O Glorious Lord, consort of Parvati You are most merciful. You always bless the poor and pious devotees. Your beautiful form is adorned with the moon on Your forehead and on your ears are earrings of snakes' hood.
The holy Ganges flows from your matted hair. The saints and sages are attracted by Your splendid appearance. Around Your neck is a garland of skulls. White ash beautifies Your Divine form and clothing of lion's skin adorns Your body.
O Lord, the beloved daughter of Maina on Your left adds to Your splendid appearance. O Wearer of the lion's skin, the trishul in Your hand destroys all enemies.
Nandi and Shri Ganesh along with Lord Shiva appear as beautiful as two lotuses in the middle of an ocean. Poets and philosophers cannot describe the wonderful appearance of Lord Kartikeya and the dark complexioned Ganas (attendants).
O Lord, whenever the Deities humbly sought Your assistance, You kindly and graciously uprooted all their problems. You blessed the Deities with Your generous help when the demon Tarak outraged them and You destroyed him.
O Lord, You sent Shadanan without delay and thus destroyed the evil ones Lava and Nimesh. You also destroyed the demon Jalandhara. Your renown is known throughout the world.
O Lord, Purari, You saved all Deities and mankind by defeating and destroying the demons Tripurasura. You blessed Your devotee Bhagirath and he was able to accomplish his vow after rigorous penance.
O Gracious One, devotees always sing Your glory. Even the Vedas are unable to describe Your greatness. No one is as generous as You.
Lord, when the ocean was churned and the deadly poison emerged, out of Your deep compassion for all, You drank the poison and saved the world from destruction. Your throat became blue, thus You are known as Nilakantha.
When Lord Rama worshipped You, He became victorious over the king of demons, Ravan. When Lord Rama wished to worship Thee with one thousand lotus flowers, the Divine Mother, to test the devotion of Shri Ram, hid all the flowers at Your request.
O Lord, You kept on looking at Shri Ram, who wished to offer His lotus-like eyes to worship Thee. When You observed such intense devotion, You were delighted and blessed Him. You granted His heart's desire.
Glory be unto You O Gracious, Infinite, Immortal, All-pervading Lord. Evil thoughts torture me and I keep on travelling aimlessly in this world of mundane existence. No relief seems to be coming my way.
O Lord! I beseech Your help and seek your divine blessing at this very moment. Save and protect me. Destroy my enemies with Your Trishul. Release me from the torture of evil thoughts.
O Lord, when I am in distress, neither my parents, brothers, sisters nor loved ones can relieve my suffering. I depend only on You. You are my hope. Eliminate the cause of this tremendous torture and bless me with Your compassion.
O Lord, You bless the down-trodden with prosperity and grant wisdom to the ignorant. Lord, due to my limited knowledge, I omitted to worship Thee. Please forgive me and shower Your grace upon me.
O Lord Shankar, You are the destroyer of all miseries. You remove the cause of all obstacles and grant Your devotees eternal bliss. The saints and sages meditate upon Thy most beautiful form. Even celestial beings like Sharad and Narad bow in reverence to You.
O Lord, prostrations to You. Even Brahma is unable to describe Thy greatness. Whosoever recites these verses with faith and devotion receives Your infinite blessings.
Devotees who chant these verses with intense love become prosperous by the grace of Lord Shiva. Even the childless wishing to have children, have their desires fulfilled after partaking of Shiva-prasad with faith and devotion.
On Trayodashi (13th day of the dark and bright fortnights) one should invite a pandit and devoutly make offerings to Lord Shiva. Those who fast and pray to Lord Shiva on Trayodashi are always healthy and prosperous.
Whosoever offers incense, prasad and performs arti to Lord Shiva, with love and devotion, enjoys material happiness and spiritual bliss in this world and hereafter ascends to the abode of Lord Shiva. The poet prays that Lord Shiva removes the suffering of all and grants them eternal bliss.
The daily vow of recitation to fulfill noble aspirations, concluding with the supreme Shiva Mahamantra.
O Universal Lord, every morning as a rule I recite this Chalisa with devotion. Please bless me so that I may be able to accomplish my material and spiritual desires. Aum Namah Shivay!!
When the cosmic ocean was churned and deadly poison threatened creation, Lord Shiva drank it out of infinite compassion, holding it in his throat without swallowing or releasing it. It teaches the spiritual practice of neutralizing negativity within ourselves rather than projecting it outward.
Before crossing to Lanka, Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva with 1,000 blue lotuses. When the Divine Mother concealed one flower to test his devotion, Rama unhesitatingly prepared to pluck out his own lotus-like eye (Kamalnayan) to complete the ritual. Delighted by such supreme devotion, Shiva blessed him with victory.
The Trishul (trident) represents mastery over the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas) and the three dimensions of time (past, present, future). Sitting upon the tiger skin symbolizes victory over unrestrained instinct and sensory desires.
The Chalisa mentions the auspicious 13th lunar day (Trayodashi/Pradosham). Worshipping Lord Shiva during the twilight of Trayodashi brings mental clarity, health, and liberation from karmic debts.
