Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva Nāmāvaliḥ (drawn from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)
Foreword
This nāmāvali has been composed in with inspiration, drawing directly from the words, phrases, and vision of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 7, verses 30 through 46.
These verses first reveal the transcendent greatness of our Swami as the Supreme Light beyond the three guṇas, inaccessible even to Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Indra. They then portray the boundless compassion of Mahādeva, who, seeing the suffering of all beings, gathers the all-pervading Hālāhala poison into his palm and consumes it for the protection of the worlds. The blue mark left upon his throat becomes not a blemish, but the ornament of the great and compassionate Swami.
The purpose of this nāmāvali is twofold.
First, it is meant to help us repeatedly contemplate the divine līlā of Swāmī and his immeasurable compassion as Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva.
Second, it is an attempt at Bhāgavata-pānam, drinking deeply from the nectar of the Bhāgavata.
May the repetition of these names bring to the heart the vision of Mahādeva standing before the frightened beings of the universe, declaring:
8.7.38
aho bata bhavāny etat
prajānāṃ paśya vaiśasam |
kṣīroda-mathanodbhūtāt
kālakūṭād upasthitam ||
O Bhavānī, behold the terrible danger that has overtaken these beings because of the Kālakūṭa poison produced from the churning of the ocean of milk.
Here Śiva lovingly addresses Devī as Bhavānī, the consort and śakti of Bhava.
8.7.39
āsāṃ prāṇa-parīpsūnāṃ
vidheyam abhayaṃ hi me |
etāvān hi prabhor artho
yad dīna-paripālanam ||
These beings desperately wish to preserve their lives. I must therefore grant them freedom from fear. The true purpose of possessing power and lordship is to protect those who are helpless and afflicted.
This verse reveals the very definition of Swāmī’s lordship:
The greatness of the powerful lies in protecting the vulnerable.
He is:
- Prabhu: the sovereign Lord
- Abhayada: the giver of fearlessness
- Dīna-paripālaka: the protector of the helpless
etāvān hi prabhor artho yad dīna-paripālanam
“The true purpose of lordship is the protection of the helpless.”
8.7.42
evam āmantrya bhagavān
bhavānīṃ viśva-bhāvanaḥ |
tad viṣaṃ jagdhum ārebhe
prabhāva-jñānvamodata ||
Having thus addressed Bhavānī, Bhagavān, the sustainer and benefactor of the universe, prepared to consume the poison. Bhavānī, fully aware of his immeasurable power, gave her consent.
Śiva is called:
- Bhagavān: the possessor of divine sovereignty and glory
- Viśva-bhāvana: the sustainer, benefactor and protector of the universe
8.7.46
niśamya karma tac chambhor
deva-devasya mīḍhuṣaḥ |
prajā dākṣāyaṇī brahmā
vaikuṇṭhaś ca śaśaṃsire ||
On witnessing this deed of Śambhu, the God of gods and the gracious bestower of blessings, all beings, together with Dākṣāyaṇī, Brahmā and Lord Vaikuṇṭha, extolled and glorified him.
May the mind dwell upon the compassionate līlā of Śambhu, and may the words of the Bhāgavata become living prayer.
oṃ karuṇā-mūrti-nīlakaṇṭha-mahādevāya namah
Śrī Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva Nāmāvaliḥ
1
oṃ sattva rajas tamo maya netra trayāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose three eyes embody sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Meaning: The entire dṛśya prapañca is triguṇātmaka.
2
oṃ sāṅkhyātmane namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the essential Reality revealed through Sāṅkhya.
Meaning: Parameśvara is known through ātma anātma viveka.
3
oṃ śāstra kṛd dṛṣṭaye namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose very glance brings forth the śāstras.
Meaning: Śāstrayonitvāt. Parameśvara is the source from whom the śāstras arise.
Brahma Sūtra 1.1.3
4
oṃ chandomayāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the embodiment of the Vedas.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the very embodiment of the Vedas and the means through which Vedic knowledge is revealed.
5
oṃ purāṇa ṛṣaye namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the primordial Seer.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the ancient and primordial Maharṣi.
yo devānāṃ prathamaṃ purastād
viśvādhiko rudro maharṣiḥ
Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad
6
oṃ giritre namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the Lord and protector of the mountain.
Meaning: Here, giri or adri may also signify the Veda. Parameśvara is the eternal protector of the Veda and the Vaidika sampradāya.
7
oṃ akhila loka pālāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who protects all the worlds.
Meaning: Bhuvanasya goptā. Parameśvara is the guardian of the entire universe.
Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad
8
oṃ viriñci vaikuṇṭha surendrāgamyāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose supreme nature cannot be fully comprehended even by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Indra.
Meaning: The true nature of Parameśvara is Ātma, which is aprameyam.
9
oṃ para jyotiṣe namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the Supreme Light.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the Light because of whose presence every experience, thought, and object becomes known.
ārdraṃ jvalati jyotir aham asmi
jyotir jvalati brahmāham asmi
Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad
jyotiṣām api taj jyotis
tamasaḥ param ucyate
jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ jñānagamyaṃ
hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam
Bhagavad Gītā 13.17
na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṃ
nemā vidyuto bhānti kuto yam agniḥ
tam eva bhāntam anu bhāti sarvaṃ
tasya bhāsā sarvam idaṃ vibhāti
Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.15
10
oṃ sattva rajas tamo'tītāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who transcends sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Meaning: Nirguṇāya namaḥ. Parameśvara is pure Awareness, beyond the three guṇas and the witness of every intellect.
kevalānubhavānanda svarūpaḥ parameśvaraḥ
māyayāntarhitaiśvarya īyate guṇasargayā
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.6.23
vidito'si bhavān sākṣāt
puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ
kevalānubhavānanda
svarūpaḥ sarva buddhi dṛk
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.3.13
11
oṃ nirasta bheda brahma svarūpāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose nature is Brahman, free from every distinction.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the nondual Reality in which all distinctions are resolved.
śāntaṃ śivam advaitam
Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 7
12
oṃ kāma dahanāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who consumed Kāma in the fire of his eye.
Meaning: Kāma is Manmatha, that which churns and agitates the mind. Parameśvara burns the attachment to dṛśya through Advaita jñāna.
13
oṃ dakṣādhvara dhvaṃsine namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who destroyed Dakṣa’s sacrifice.
Meaning: Parameśvara destroys ego centered ritualism and teaches Karma Yoga through Īśvara arpaṇa buddhi and Īśvara prasāda buddhi.
14
oṃ tripura saṃhāriṇe namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who destroyed the three cities.
Meaning: Parameśvara destroys the false reality attributed to the three bodies, the deha trayam.
15
oṃ kāla kālāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the destroyer even of Time and Death.
Meaning: Parameśvara reveals our true nature as beyond time, space, cause, effect, name, and form. All these are appearances in the Self, which is pure Awareness.
16
oṃ garādy aneka bhūta druh kṣayakarāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who destroys poison and the many forces that harm living beings.
Meaning: Sense pleasures that repeatedly externalize and bind the mind are poison. Parameśvara is the divine bhiṣak, the physician who cures this addiction.
17
oṃ antakāla sva netra vahni sphuliṅga śikhā bhasmīkṛta viśvāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who, at the end of time, reduces the universe to ashes with the flaming sparks arising from his own eye.
Meaning: The true end of time is the dawn of Self knowledge. The sacred bhasma reminds us that Parameśvara alone is satyam, while the world is mithyā.
18
oṃ ātma rāma gurubhir hṛdi cintitāṅghri dvandvāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose pair of feet is contemplated within the heart by great teachers who delight in the Self.
Meaning: The feet of Parameśvara are contemplated by great Ātmarāmas such as Śrī Śaṅkara, Bhagavān Ramana, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, and Śrī Mahāperiyavā.
19
oṃ umā sahacarāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who moves in the company of Umā.
Meaning: Umā is eternally associated with the omniscient Lord.
nityam eva sarvajñena īśvareṇa saha vartate
Kena Upaniṣad Bhāṣya
20
oṃ tapasābhitaptāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is wholly devoted to austerity.
Meaning: The tapas of Parameśvara is Jñāna itself.
yasya jñānamayaṃ tapaḥ
21
oṃ śmaśāna niratāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who abides in the cremation ground.
Meaning: The cremation ground is the one place where every dehābhimānī inevitably encounters Parameśvara, whether āstika or nāstika.
22
oṃ loka dṛṣṭyā ugra rūpāya paramārthataḥ śivāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who appears fierce to ordinary vision, but whose true nature is pure auspiciousness.
Meaning: Viewed as the world, Īśvara may appear frightening. Known as Ātma svarūpa, Parameśvara is the most beloved.
ātmanas tu kāmāya sarvaṃ priyaṃ bhavati
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
23
oṃ sad asatoḥ parāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is beyond both the manifest and the unmanifest, cause and effect.
Meaning: Salutations to Parameśvara, the adhiṣṭhāna upon which the entire mithyā jagat appears.
24
oṃ parāt parāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is beyond even the highest.
Meaning: Parameśvara is beyond the manifest and the unmanifest.
nārāyaṇaḥ paro'vyaktāt
aṇḍam avyaktasambhavam
25
oṃ brahmādibhir aprāpya svarūpāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose true nature cannot be fully reached even by Brahmā and the other gods.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the immeasurable Light whom even Hari and Ayan could not comprehend.
Hariyum Ayanum kāṇa ariya jyōti
Aruṇācala, Aruṇācala, Aruṇācala
26
oṃ bhūmne namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is limitless fullness.
Meaning: Parameśvara is infinite fullness and infinite ānanda, the only true source of joy.
27
oṃ maheśvarāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara, our Great Svāmī.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the Īśvara of all those who are themselves regarded as īśvaras.
28
oṃ avyakta karmaṇe namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose cosmic activity is subtle, hidden, and inscrutable.
Meaning: The ways of Parameśvara cannot be fully understood. Only Svāmī knows.
29
oṃ loka mṛḍanāya vyakta rūpa dhāriṇe namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who assumes a visible form solely for the protection, happiness, and welfare of the worlds.
Meaning: Out of infinite compassion, Parameśvara assumes forms that devotees can approach, contemplate, and play with Him.
30
oṃ sarva bhūta suhṛde namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is the friend and well wisher of every being.
Meaning: Parameśvara is never distant from any being. He is the inner friend of all.
31
oṃ dīna paripālanāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose lordship is expressed through the protection of the helpless.
Meaning: The true purpose of strength and lordship is the protection of those who are vulnerable.
etāvān hi prabhor artho
yad dīna paripālanam
32
oṃ sarva prāṇi abhaya pradāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who grants fearlessness to all living beings.
Meaning: Through surrender to Parameśvara as our Guru, we truly discovers freedom from fear.
33
oṃ sva prāṇair api prāṇi rakṣaṇa tatparāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is prepared to protect living beings even at the cost of his own life.
Meaning: Parameśvara embodies the ideal of the sādhu who accepts suffering for the protection of others.
34
oṃ sarva bhūta kṛpā parāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is supremely compassionate toward all beings.
Meaning: His compassion is universal, unconditional, and free from all distinction.
35
oṃ prajānāṃ svasti kāmakāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who desires the welfare and safety of all creatures.
Meaning: The saṅkalpa of Parameśvara is the well being of the entire creation.
prajānāṃ svastir astu
36
oṃ viśva bhāvanāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who sustains, nourishes, and protects the universe.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the source, sustainer, and inner support of the entire universe.
37
oṃ karatalī kṛta vyāpi hālāhala viṣāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who gathered the all pervading Hālāhala poison into the palm of his hand.
Meaning: That which threatened the entire universe became small enough to rest in the palm of Mahādeva and later an ornament in his throat. We need to dissolve all our problems in the ocean of compassion called Parameśvara
38
oṃ sarva bhūta kṛpayā hālāhala bhakṣakāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who drank the Hālāhala poison out of compassion for all beings.
Meaning: For our sake!
39
oṃ mahādevāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara, the the deva or all devas (i.e. the one shining within all devas as thier very Self)
40
oṃ bhūta bhāvanāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who protects, nourishes, and promotes the welfare of all creation.
Meaning: Every being is sustained ONLY ONLY ONLY by the grace of Parameśvara
41
oṃ loka rakṣārthaṃ gale viṣa dhāriṇe namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who retained the poison in his throat for the protection of the worlds.
Meaning: Parameśvara neither released the poison into the world nor allowed it to enter and destroy the body. He held it in his throat for the welfare of all.
42
oṃ nīlakaṇṭhāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara, the blue throated Lord.
Meaning: The blue throat is the eternal sign of Mahādeva’s Love for us.
43
oṃ sarva jana kṛpā janita nīlakaṇṭha vibhūṣaṇāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who bears the blue throat as an ornament born of compassion for all beings.
Meaning: The mark created by poison became an ornament because it arose from universal compassion.
44
oṃ viṣa kalmaṣam api vibhūṣaṇī kṛtavate namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who transformed even the stain of poison into an ornament.
Meaning: Parameśvara teaches us that even suffering accepted for the welfare of others becomes sacred and beautiful.
yac cakāra gale nīlaṃ
tac ca sādhor vibhūṣaṇam
45
oṃ loka tāpena tapyamāna sādhu svarūpāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose compassionate heart is afflicted by the suffering of the world.
Meaning: Swami shows that a true sādhu cannot remain unmoved by the pain of other beings.
tapyante loka tāpena
sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ
46
oṃ akhilātma puruṣa paramārādhakāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose compassion toward all beings constitutes the highest worship of the Supreme Person, the Self of all.
Meaning: Swami shows that Service to living beings, when born of the recognition of the one Self in all, is the highest worship.
paramārādhanaṃ tad dhi
puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ
47
oṃ śambhave namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara as Śambhu, the source of happiness and auspiciousness.
Meaning: Parameśvara is the source of śam, lasting peace, happiness, and auspiciousness.
48
oṃ deva devāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara, the Self (Shining Reality) of all gods.
Meaning: All devatās derive their power, light, and function from Parameśvara, the Self of all.
49
oṃ mīḍhuṣe namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara, the gracious and bountiful bestower of blessings.
Meaning: Parameśvara pours forth grace without measure.
50
oṃ brahma viṣṇv ādi deva saṃstutāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara who is praised by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and all the gods.
Meaning: After the drinking of Hālāhala, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Devī, and all beings praised the greatness of Śambhu.
51
oṃ karuṇā mūrti nīlakaṇṭha mahādevāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara as Nīlakaṇṭha Mahādeva, the very embodiment of compassion.
Meaning: The form of Nīlakaṇṭha is compassion itself made visible.
52
oṃ satya śiva nitya śubha sundara svarūpāya namaḥ
Salutations to Parameśvara whose nature is Truth, Auspiciousness, Eternity, Blessedness, and Beauty.
Meaning: Parameśvara is satyam, śivam, nityam, śubham, and sundaram.
Śivam Śubham Sundaram.
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