Lord Shiva on Nandi
Shivananda Lahari is a stotra written by the Advaita Philosopher and the great Shiva devotee Sri AdiShankara. It contains the praise of Lord Shiva, his holiness, supreme powers, and the Divine Bliss, one would attain by worshipping him. Sri AdiShankara had written this famous stotra at Srisailam Temple, a sacred Temple located in Andhra Pradesh. He has written this song in praise of Lord Mallikarjuna, a form of Lord Shiva and Bhramarambika, a form of Mata Parvati, and they are the chief deities of Srisailam Temple.
Srisailam Temple is one of the Jyotirlinga Temples, and by visiting this sacred temple, and by reciting the famous Shivananda Lahari Stotra, our sins would be relieved, and we would get great interest in travelling in the spiritual path.
AdiShankara is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He has written various stotras on Shiva and Parvati, and also used to recite it in the Shiva Temples. Once, even after writing various divine works on Shiva, he was not satisfied with his work, and his mind was not clear. At that time, he heard a divine voice from the sky, and it informed him to write the Shivananda Lahari Stotra, in order to get peace of mind.Hence AdiShankara had started writing this beautiful stotra, and dedicated it to Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati.
Some of the verses from the famous Shivananda Lahari Stotra are as follows:
1. Oh! Lord Shiva! You are the lord of the lords and the wire puller of the universe!
2. You are the worshipful god, having three eyes on your face and holding the Trident on your hand!
3. You contain shining body, wearing the divine snake on your neck and the tiger skin on your body, and holding the moon on your head.
4. Oh Shiva! Please dwell in the souls of your devotees, and protect them throughout their life.
5. In this miserable kali yuga, you are the only saviour for us, and without your help we can’t survive in this earth.
6. Your consort Mata Annapoorneshwari is providing plenty of food to all the living beings in the earth.
7. By reciting your holy names, we are getting the feeling of tasting the divine nectar from the heaven.
8. You have been always worshipped by the gods, demi gods, sages, saints and by the ordinary people.
9. If we didn’t worship Lord Shiva, then we have to face lot of difficulties in our life.
10. Please remove the darkness in the lives of the people and show the divine light to them.
11. Lord Shiva is the source of knowledge, courage and wisdom.
12. Lord Shiva is called by innumerable names such as Paramasiva, Pasupati, Shambhu and Sadashiva.
13. Oh Shiva! You are the giver of boons and the fulfiller of our wishes.
14. Oh Shiva! You are the beloved god to the demons like Banarasura and through your blessings he has become your divine attendant, and serving you sincerely in the Kailasa.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR