Shiva Bhujanga Prayatha Stotram– with English Translations

Composition Adi Sankaracharya
Courtesy Anubhavananda Saraswati
Rendering Unknown

Translation Ramesh Krishnakumar August 2023

Bhujanga prayata is a meter which has twelve syllables in each quarter (pada). Only the first, fourth, seventh and tenth are light. The rest of the syllables are heavy syllables.
The meter is named as Bhujanga because its composition resembles the serpentine movement of a snake. Prayata means advancement or movement.
Lord Shiva is the most magnanimous and altruistic god, also called Bholenath (one who is easily pleased).. He has a heart of gold and gives away blessings with the smallest of devotion and love. He is also associated with time and is the creator and destroyer.
Lord Shiva destroys a cycle to create a new one with a fresh beginning. Lord Shiva is an abstainer and does not indulge in any kind of pleasures of the world. He is often depicted in a meditating pose to spread happiness.
He is also known as Shambhu (abode of joy ), Shankara ( remover of doubts), Mahesha( great lord) and Mahadeva (Great God). There are various forms in which lord shiva is represented.
• in a pacific mood with happiness apparent on his face along with his consort Parvati and children Ganesha and Kartikeya - Shambhu
• in the cosmic dancer Nataraj form,
• in a fearsome Rudra or Bhairava form
• in the half male half female form, (Ardhanarishvara).
He is both the abstainer and the symbol of fertility, and the master of both poison and the medicine.
Considering his ambivalent power over snakes Shivabhujanga Stotra is composed in a serpentine… slithering rhythmic flow.