Shivaparadha Kshamapana Stotram

शिवापराधक्षमापणस्तोत्रम्

Śivāparādhakṣamāpaṇastotram

All 8 verses

Verse 1

आदौ कर्मप्रसङ्गात्कलयति कलुषं मातृकुक्षौ स्थितं मां विण्मूत्रामेध्यमध्ये क्वथयति नितरां जाठरो जातवेदाः । यद्यद्वै तत्र दुःखं व्यथयति नितरां शक्यते केन वक्तुं क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥१॥

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आदौ कर्मप्रसङ्गात्कलयति कलुषं मातृकुक्षौ स्थितं मां: At first, through the force of karma, impurity touches me while I dwell in the mother's womb,
विण्मूत्रामेध्यमध्ये क्वथयति नितरां जाठरो जातवेदाः ।: and the belly-fire of digestion constantly boils me amid excrement, urine, and impurity.
यद्यद्वै तत्र दुःखं व्यथयति नितरां शक्यते केन वक्तुं: Whatever suffering there torments exceedingly, by whom can it be told?
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

Impurity and pain precede every conscious act of devotion, yet the Lord is asked to forgive what karma began before the 'I' knew itself; grace meets the soul not after purity is achieved but at the honest confession of an unchosen beginning.

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Verse 2

बाल्ये दुःखातिरेको मललुलितवपुः स्तन्यपाने पिपासा नो शक्तश्चेन्द्रियेभ्यो भवगुणजनिताः जन्तवो मां तुदन्ति । नानारोगादिदुःखाद्रुदनपरवशः शङ्करं न स्मरामि क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥२॥

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बाल्ये दुःखातिरेको मललुलितवपुः स्तन्यपाने पिपासा: In childhood excessive suffering, body smeared with filth, thirst in drinking mother's milk,
नो शक्तश्चेन्द्रियेभ्यो भवगुणजनिताः जन्तवो मां तुदन्ति ।: unable to ward off creatures born of the gunas of becoming that pierce me through the senses,
नानारोगादिदुःखाद्रुदनपरवशः शङ्करं न स्मरामि: from various illnesses and sorrows, overcome by weeping, I do not remember Shankara.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

Childhood's helpless pain and forgetfulness of the Lord expose the gap between suffering and remembrance; forgiveness is sought not for malice but for the natural blindness in which the Self remains unthought while the body weeps.

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Verse 3

प्रौढोऽहं यौवनस्थो विषयविषधरैः पञ्चभिर्मर्मसन्धौ दष्टो नष्टो विवेकः सुतधनयुवतिस्वादुसौख्ये निषण्णः । शैवीचिन्ताविहीनं मम हृदयमहो मानगर्वाधिरूढं क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥३॥

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प्रौढोऽहं यौवनस्थो विषयविषधरैः पञ्चभिर्मर्मसन्धौ: Grown proud in youth, bitten at the vital joints by the five serpents that are sense objects,
दष्टो नष्टो विवेकः सुतधनयुवतिस्वादुसौख्ये निषण्णः ।: bitten, discernment lost, seated in the sweet comfort of sons, wealth, and young women,
शैवीचिन्ताविहीनं मम हृदयमहो मानगर्वाधिरूढं: ah, my heart devoid of Shiva-thought, mounted on the elephant of pride and arrogance.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

Youth's serpents of sense and the elephant of pride crowd out Shiva-thought because the mind mistakes sweet comfort for fulfillment; the prayer admits that viveka was lost not by fate alone but by choosing objects over the inner Lord.

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Verse 4

वार्धक्ये चेन्द्रियाणां विगतगतिमतिश्चाधिदैवादितापैः पापै रोगैर्वियोगैस्त्वनवसितवपुः प्रौढहीनं च दीनम् । मिथ्यामोहाभिलाषैर्भ्रमति मम मनो धूर्जटेर्ध्यानशून्यं क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥४॥

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वार्धक्ये चेन्द्रियाणां विगतगतिमतिश्चाधिदैवादितापैः: In old age too, senses without movement, intelligence likewise gone, with torments from fate and the like,
पापै रोगैर्वियोगैस्त्वनवसितवपुः प्रौढहीनं च दीनम् ।: with sins, diseases, and separations, body unsteady, strengthless and wretched,
मिथ्यामोहाभिलाषैर्भ्रमति मम मनो धूर्जटेर्ध्यानशून्यं: my mind wanders in false delusion and desire, empty of meditation on Dhurjati.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

When body and mind fail yet meditation on the Lord stays absent, the waste of a life becomes visible; the plea for pardon at life's end confesses that delusion outlasted strength, and only grace can redeem years given to wandering.

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Verse 5

स्नात्वा प्रत्यूषकाले स्नपनविधिविधौ नाहृतं गाङ्गतोयं पूजार्थं वा कदाचिद्बहुतरगहनात्खण्डबिल्वीदलानि । नानीता पद्ममाला सरसि विकसिता गन्धधूपैः त्वदर्थं क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥५॥

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स्नात्वा प्रत्यूषकाले स्नपनविधिविधौ नाहृतं गाङ्गतोयं: After bathing at dawn, in the rite of ablution, Ganga water was not brought,
पूजार्थं वा कदाचिद्बहुतरगहनात्खण्डबिल्वीदलानि ।: nor at times for worship from the deep thicket were broken bilva leaves gathered,
नानीता पद्ममाला सरसि विकसिता गन्धधूपैः त्वदर्थं: nor was a lotus garland brought from the blossoming lake, nor incense for you.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

Neglected water, leaves, flowers, and incense name the gap between intended worship and performed duty; forgiveness is asked because ritual slips reveal a heart not yet steady in offering, and the Lord is invoked as the one who accepts imperfect service.

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Verse 6

दुग्धैर्मध्वाज्ययुक्तैर्दधिसितसहितैः स्नापितं नैव लिङ्गं नो लिप्तं चन्दनाद्यैः कनकविरचितैः पूजितं न प्रसूनैः । धूपैः कर्पूरदीपैर्विविधरसयुतैर्नैव भक्ष्योपहारैः क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥६॥

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दुग्धैर्मध्वाज्ययुक्तैर्दधिसितसहितैः स्नापितं नैव लिङ्गं: The linga was not bathed with milk, honey, ghee, curd, and sugar together,
नो लिप्तं चन्दनाद्यैः कनकविरचितैः पूजितं न प्रसूनैः ।: nor anointed with sandal and the like, nor worshipped with flowers fashioned in gold.
धूपैः कर्पूरदीपैर्विविधरसयुतैर्नैव भक्ष्योपहारैः: Nor with incense, camphor lamps, various tasty offerings and food offerings.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

The unbathed linga and unoffered feast confess that outward honor to the symbol was withheld; in Advaita the form points to formless being, and pardon is sought for failing to honor the visible gate to the invisible Self.

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Verse 7

नो शक्यं स्मार्तकर्म प्रतिपदगहनप्रत्यवायाकुलाख्यं श्रौते वार्ता कथं मे द्विजकुलविहिते ब्रह्ममार्गानुसारे । ज्ञातो धर्मो विचारैः श्रवणमननयोः किं निदिध्यासितव्यं क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥७॥

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नो शक्यं स्मार्तकर्म प्रतिपदगहनप्रत्यवायाकुलाख्यं: Smartta rites dense with intricate consequences day by day are not possible,
श्रौते वार्ता कथं मे द्विजकुलविहिते ब्रह्ममार्गानुसारे ।: how can there be talk of Vedic rites for me, in the path of Brahman ordained for the twice-born?
ज्ञातो धर्मो विचारैः श्रवणमननयोः किं निदिध्यासितव्यं: Dharma is known through inquiry, through hearing and reflection, yet what was to be meditated upon was not meditated upon.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

Confusion of rites and failure to carry hearing into steady meditation name the central fault of the seeker who knows the path but does not walk it; Shiva is asked to forgive the gap between shravana-mana and nididhyasana where liberation actually lives.

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Verse 8

ध्यात्वा चित्ते शिवाख्यं प्रचुरतरधनं नैव दत्तं द्विजेभ्यो हव्यं ते लक्षसङ्ख्यैर्हुतवहवदने नार्पितं बीजमन्त्रैः । नो तप्तं गाङ्गातीरे व्रतजपनियमैः रुद्रजाप्यैर्न वेदैः क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥८॥

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ध्यात्वा चित्ते शिवाख्यं प्रचुरतरधनं नैव दत्तं द्विजेभ्यो: Though Shiva's name was meditated in the heart, abundant wealth was not given to brahmins,
हव्यं ते लक्षसङ्ख्यैर्हुतवहवदने नार्पितं बीजमन्त्रैः ।: nor was your oblation offered by the hundred-thousandfold into the fire-mouth with seed-mantras,
नो तप्तं गाङ्गातीरे व्रतजपनियमैः रुद्रजाप्यैर्न वेदैः: nor was austerity practiced on Ganga's bank with vows, japa, discipline, Rudra recitation, or Vedas.
क्षन्तव्यो मेऽपराधः शिव शिव शिव भो श्रीमहादेव शम्भो: My offence must be forgiven, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, O glorious Mahadeva, Shambho.

Knowing Shiva's name yet withholding charity, fire-offering, and austerity exposes devotion that stops at thought; the final plea asks the Lord to forgive the whole life in which inner remembrance never ripened into the giving and discipline that purify the knower.

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