Om Namah Shivaya by Shri Adi Shankarcharya (Shiva Panchakshara Stotram)

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For centuries, temples across India have reverberated with the terse yet tremendously potent mantra Om Namah Sivāya. In fact, such is the appeal of the five-syllable (Pañcākşari) phrase as well as the deity it celebrates that the great philosopher-cum-reformer of yore, Śri Adi Sankarācārya, made the mantra the very basis of a hymn he wrote in praise of Lord Shiva. And a delightful, exemplary meditation that hymn is, given that a mantra is intended to be not just repeated mechanically, but also reflected upon by the chanter.

But whilst the Pańcåkşari Mantra itself has inherited a special place in the heart and life of every Hindu, in literally every corner of the country, it is remarkable that there has not been a proper commentary on Adi Sankarācārya's Pañcāksara Stotram... until now. To the Advaita Master's musings, simultaneously pregnant with devotion and thought, Swami Swaroopananda brings in this book his own meditations, drenched in the desire to experience Shiva the way the original author did. In the process, the reader is benefitted with not just knowledge but also inspiration... to see the Divine not just as a definite form, but as the magnificent, ineffable spirit that supreme Reality truly is.

A bonus dividend of Swamiji's labour of love is that the reader will find the resources to uncover and overcome the five fundamental fears that afflict every human being, no matter their age or stature. This is emancipation of the most practical kind.

Chinmaya Prakashan has great pleasure in presenting a new publication titled 'Shiva Pañcākşara Stotram' commented by Swami Swaroopananda.

Shiva Pañcākşara Stotram is composed by Adi Guru Śańkarācārya, who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Shiva Pañcākşara Stotram is based on the Pañcākşari Mantra 'Namah Sivāya'. 'Pañcākşara' literally means 'five syllables', referring to the five syllables of the Mantra - Na, Ma, Śi, Vă and Ya. This hymn explains the significance of these five syllables and their affiliation with the deity.

May this composition and commentary enable seekers to understand the Pañcākşari Mantra, Namah Sivāya, easily and thoroughly.

Of the vast body of Hindu literature dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the most popular pieces is the Pañcākşara Stotram by the pre-eminent philosopher-monk Śri Adi Sankarācārya. As its name suggests, this stotram or 'hymn of praise' revolves around the Pañcākşari Mantra, which literally translates as 'the mantra comprising five letters'. These five letters - Na, Ma, Śi, Va, Ya' - constitute one of the most powerful mantras revealed in the Vedas and subsequently popularized in the Puranas. Thus every Hindu is familiar with it. But the prevalence of this mantra owes not only to Lord Shiva's trait as sugandhim or 'fragrant' - for, like a scent that wafts everywhere, God's glory pervades everything there is -but also to a more practical fact: this mantra is extremely easy to remember and recite.