निर्वाणषट्कम्
Nirvāṇaṣaṭkam
Six Verses on Liberation
Nirvāṇaṣaṭkam (Nirvana Shatkam) or “Six Verses on Liberation” is a hymn (stotram) composed by Adi Shankara. This article contains the Sanskrit text, along with English translation and word-for-word meaning of the hymn. It also contains a brief commentary, Roman transliteration, prose order in Sanskrit and an audio file containing the chanting of the hymn.
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Sanskrit Text, English Transliteration and English Translation
Sanskrit Text, English Transliteration and English Translation
मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कारचित्तानि नाहं
न कर्णं न जिह्वा न च घ्राणनेत्रे ।
न च व्योम भूमिर्न तेजो न वायु-
श्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ १ ॥
manobuddhyahaṅkāracittāni nāhaṃ
na karṇaṃ na jihvā na ca ghrāṇanetre |
na ca vyoma bhūmirna tejo na vāyu-
ścidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||1||
I am not the mind, intellect, ego or memories.
I am not the ear, tongue, nose or eyes.
I am not space, earth, fire or air.
I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
न च प्राणसंज्ञो न वै पञ्चवायु-
र्न वा सप्तधातुर्न वा पञ्चकोशः ।
न वाक्पाणिपादौ न चोपस्थपायू
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ २ ॥
na ca prāṇasaṃjño na vai pañcavāyu-
rna vā saptadhāturna vā pañcakośaḥ |
na vākpāṇipādau na copasthapāyū
cidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||2||
I am neither the so-called ‘prana’ (vital air), nor indeed the five vital airs.
I am neither the seven dhatus (tissues) nor the five sheaths.
I am not speech, hands, feet, genitals or anus.
I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
न मे द्वेषरागौ न मे लोभमोहौ
मदो नैव मे नैव मात्सर्यभावः ।
न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो न मोक्ष-
श्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ ३ ॥
na me dveṣarāgau na me lobhamohau
mado naiva me naiva mātsaryabhāvaḥ |
na dharmo na cārtho na kāmo na mokṣa-
ścidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||3||
I do not have aversion, desire, greed or delusion.
I not not have arrogance or envy.
I do not acquire merit, wealth, pleasure or liberation.
I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दुःखं
न मन्त्रो न तीर्थं न वेदा न यज्ञाः ।
अहं भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता
चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ ४ ॥
na puṇyaṃ na pāpaṃ na saukhyaṃ na duḥkhaṃ
na mantro na tīrthaṃ na vedā na yajñāḥ |
ahaṃ bhojanaṃ naiva bhojyaṃ na bhoktā
cidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||4||
I do not have merit or sin, happiness or sorrow.
I do not chant mantras, or undertake pilgrimage, or follow the Vedas, or perform sacrificial rites.
I am neither enjoyment, nor the enjoyed, nor even the enjoyer.
I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
न मृत्युर्न शङ्का न मे जातिभेदः
पिता नैव मे नैव माता च जन्म।
न बन्धुर्न मित्रं गुरुर्नैव शिष्य-
श्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥५॥
na mṛtyurna śaṅkā na me jātibhedaḥ
pitā naiva me naiva mātā ca janma|
na bandhurna mitraṃ gururnaiva śiṣya-
ścidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||5||
I do not have death or doubt. I have caste difference.
I do not not have father or mother or even birth.
I do not have relative, friend, master or disciple.
I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकाररूपो
विभुत्वाच्च सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम्।
न चासङ्गतं नैव मुक्तिर्न बन्ध-
श्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥६॥
ahaṃ nirvikalpo nirākārarūpo
vibhutvācca sarvatra sarvendriyāṇām|
na cāsaṅgataṃ naiva muktirna bandha-
ścidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham ||6||
I am changeless and formless,
since I pervade all places and all sense organs.
I am not uneven (i.e., I am homogeneous). There is neither liberation not bondage for me.
I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!
Nirvāṇaṣaṭkam (Nirvana Shatkam) or “Six Verses on Liberation” is a hymn (stotram) composed by Adi Shankaracharya, and consists of 6 verses (ślokas) that are help the seeker in overcoming mis-identification with the non-self. The ability to differentiate the non-self from the Self is an important requirement for self-realization.
The entire hymn is composed in the first person singular, thus making it ideal for meditation and internalizaion. As we chant this hymn (either aloud or silently in the mind), it is a re-affirmation of our own true nature. This is not an instruction or a teaching coming from some third person. This is me, talking about my true Self, and thus it is introspective by nature.
Each verse ends with cidānandarūpaḥ śivo’haṃ śivo’ham (“I am of the form of Awareness-Bliss. I am Shiva! I am Shiva!”). The term “form of Awareness-Bliss” refers to the essencce of the true Self which is "Existence-Awareness-Bliss". No experience or cognition is possible without awareness or consciousness. This Awareness is the essence of the true Self. Everything else about the self is a false assumption, caused by ignorance. The bold claim “I am Shiva! I am Shiva!” may appear as blasphemous at first glance, but really speaking, it is only an assertion of the Upanishadic mahavakya “Aham Brahma asmi”, I am Brahman (I am God). In this case, Shiva is the name used for that nameless Reality that is called God. It reiterates the non-difference between the individual soul and the Cosmic Soul.
In each verse, the first three quarters (dispel false notions of the true Self ; they describe what is not the true Self. The fourth quarter (which is the constant refrain across the hymn) gives a positive description of what is the true Self.
A very important aspect of self-realization is the removal of false notions about the self. We are so closely identified with our physical, mental and intellectual persona that we develop a lot of false notions about ourselves – these are mostly based on the roles that we perform, or our memories of the past, or our expectations of the future. This hymn takes up some of the widely prevalent false notions, and negates them one by one.
In the first verse, the the hymn negates the internal organ (which consists of four faculties – mind, intellect, memory and ego), and the five sense organs of knowledge. It also negates the five elements (which are representatives of the physical properties that can perceived by the five sense organs – sound, touch, form, taste and smell). All of these (including the mind and intellect) belong to the inert category of matter. I, the true Self or Awareness, am not inert and so cannot be any of these.
In the second verse, the five vital airs (representing the physiological systems of respiration, excretion, digestion, circulation and reversal), the seven dhatus (representing various tissues of the body such as plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow/nerve and reproductive tissue) and the five sheaths (physical body, vital airs, mind, intellect and causal body) and the five organs of action (speech, hands, leg, anus and genitals) are negated. All these are inert in nature therefore belong to the non-self category.
The third verse addresses some of the more subtle aspects that we identify with. The various types of emotions are also not part of the true Self. These are also inert matter (albeit, subtle matter). Here the hymn uses the well-known set of six emotions called the six enemies (desire, anger, greed, infatuation, arrogance and envy) as representatives of the range of emotions.
This verse also negates identification with human pursuits and accomplishments; it negates all four categories of human pursuit – righteousness, prosperity, pleasure and liberation. Y As the true Self is neither doer nor enjoyer, it is not affected by any of these pursuits. Moreover, all accomplishments are limited by time and space, whereas the true Self is beyond space and time. It is worth stressing that even liberation (moksha) is not for the true Self, because the true Self is never-bound and ever-free. Just as the bondage is an illusion of the ego, similarly even liberation is required only for the ego (the false sense of “I” that is assumed by the mind).
The fourth verse negates all dualities such as “merit and sin” “happiness and sorrow”. The true Self is non-dual, and all dualities are illusions created by the mind and the latent tendencies (vasanas). This verse also boldly negates identification even with vedic activities such as chanting and performing sacrificial rites. Again, all activities - whether “good” or “bad”, do not belong to the true Self, because the Self is not the doer.
This verse also talks about the Self being beyond the triad of subject-object-experience (triputi). When the true Self is realized, then the triad of enjoyer, object enjoyed, and enjoyment dissolves. Only the non-dual Self remains.
The fifth verse negates identification with our relationship with other people, especially those who are dear to us. Human beings are social animals by nature; our entire upbringing is focused on how to behave in the “society”; all social, economic and cultural phenomena are based on the “group behaviour” aspect of humans. Thus it is a challenge for the spiritual seeker to negate the significant others in his life – especially those who are important to him, such as mother, guru, etc. However, unless we overcome this notion of being a particular mother’s son or a particular guru’s disciple, we will be stuck in the world of duality – of “me” and “ the other”. This does not mean that we should disown our near and dear ones. We need to rise above the indivudality of personhood, and identify wiht that Universal Consciousness which is present in all of us – in me, in my mother and my guru. When we look at rivers, there are many different rivers, each having its unique features. But when we look at all of them as flowing water, there is only water.
The sixth verse, though it too uses the language of negation (without changes, without form, etc.), actually provides a positive description of this elusive true Self. The most popular positive description of the true Self (Atman or Brahman) in Vedanta is that of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (sat-chit-ananda). In this verse, we find changeless and formless are aspects of Sat (Existence), the all-pervasiveness (including the sense organs) refers to the Chit (Consciousness) aspect and finally “neither liberation nor bondage” refers to the Ananda (Bliss of contentment) aspect.
Split-sandhis, Prose Order and Word-for-word Meaning
Verse-1
मन:-बुद्धि-अहङ्कार-चित्तानि न-अहं
न कर्णं न जिह्वा न च घ्राण-नेत्रे ।
न च व्योम भूमि:-न तेज: न वायु:
चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव:-अहं शिव:-अहम् ॥ १ ॥
अहं न मन:-बुद्धि-अहङ्कार-चित्तानि, न कर्णं, न जिह्वा, न घ्राण-नेत्रे च, न व्योम भूमि: च, न तेज:, न वायु: । चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव: अहं शिव: अहम् ॥
अहं I am न not मन:-बुद्धि-अहङ्कार-चित्तानि the mind, intellect, ego or memories न कर्णं not the ear न जिह्वा not the tongue न घ्राण-नेत्रे च not the nose and eyes न व्योम भूमि: च not space and earth न तेज: not light (fire) न वायु: not air चित्-आनन्द-रूपः of the form of Awareness-Bliss शिव: अहं I am Shiva शिव: अहम् I am Shiva
Verse-2
न च प्राण-संज्ञ: न वै पञ्च-वायु:
न वा सप्त-धातु:-न वा पञ्च-कोशः ।
न वाक्-पाणि-पादौ न च-उपस्थ-पायू
चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव:-अहं शिव:-अहम् ॥ २ ॥
न च प्राण-संज्ञ:, न वै पञ्च-वायु:, न वा सप्त-धातु:, न वा पञ्च-कोशः, न वाक्-पाणि-पादौ, न च उपस्थ-पायू । चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव: अहं शिव: अहम् ॥
न not च also प्राण-संज्ञ: what is called ‘prana’ (vital air) न not वै indeed पञ्च-वायु: the five vital airs न वा neither सप्त-धातु: the seven dhatus (tissues) न वा neither पञ्च-कोशः the five sheaths न not वाक्-पाणि-पादौ speech, hands and feet न not च also उपस्थ-पायू genital and anus चित्-आनन्द-रूपः of the form of of Awareness-Bliss शिव: अहं I am Shiva शिव: अहम् I am Shiva
Verse-3
न मे द्वेष-रागौ न मे लोभ-मोहौ
मद: न-एव मे न-एव मात्सर्य-भावः ।
न धर्म: न च-अर्थ: न काम: न मोक्ष:
चित् आनन्द-रूपः शिव:-अहं शिव:-अहम् ॥ ३ ॥
न मे द्वेष-रागौ, न मे लोभ-मोहौ, न एव मे मद:, न एव मात्सर्य-भावः, न धर्म:, न च अर्थ:, न काम:, न मोक्ष: । चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव: अहं शिव: अहम् ॥
न not मे for me द्वेष-रागौ अवेर्स् aversions and desires न not मे for me लोभ-मोहौ greed and delusion न एव not at all मे for me मद: arrogance न एव not at all मात्सर्य-भावः the envious attitude न not धर्म: dharma (merit) न not च also अर्थ: artha (wealth) न not काम: pleasure न not मोक्ष: liberation चित्-आनन्द-रूपः of the form of Awareness-Bliss शिव: अहं I am Shiva शिव: अहम् I am Shiva
Verse-4
न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दुःखं
न मन्त्र: न तीर्थं न वेदा न यज्ञाः ।
अहं भोजनं न-एव भोज्यं न भोक्ता
चित् आनन्द-रूपः शिव:-अहं शिव:-अहम् ॥ ४ ॥
न पुण्यं, न पापं, न सौख्यं, न दुःखं, न मन्त्र:, न तीर्थं, न वेदा:, न यज्ञाः । अहं न भोजनं, (न) भोज्यं, न भोक्ता एव । चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव: अहं शिव: अहम् ॥
न not पुण्यं merit न not पापं sin न not सौख्यं happiness न not दुःखं sorrow न not मन्त्र: mantra न not तीर्थं pilgrimage न not वेदा: the Vedas न not यज्ञाः sacrificial rites अहं I am न not भोजनं enjoyment न not भोज्यं the enjoyed न not भोक्ता the enjoyer एव also चित्-आनन्द-रूपः of the form of Awareness-Bliss शिव: अहं I am Shiva शिव: अहम् I am Shiva
Verse-5
न मृत्यु:-न शङ्का न मे जाति-भेदः
पिता न-एव मे न-एव माता च जन्म।
न बन्धु:-न मित्रं गुरु:-न-एव शिष्य:
चित् आनन्द-रूपः शिव:-अहं शिव:-अहम् ॥५॥
न मृत्यु:, न शङ्का, न मे जाति-भेदः, मे न पिता एव, न माता एव च जन्म । न बन्धु:, न मित्रं, न गुरु:, (न) शिष्य: एव । चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव: अहं शिव: अहम् ॥
न not मृत्यु: death न not शङ्का doubt न not मे for me जाति-भेदः difference of caste मे for me न no पिता father एव even न no माता mother एव even च and जन्म birth न no बन्धु: relative न no मित्रं friend न no गुरु: guru (master) न no शिष्य: disciple एव even चित्-आनन्द-रूपः of the form of Awareness-Bliss शिव: अहं I am Shiva शिव: अहम् I am Shiva
Verse-6
अहं निर्विकल्प: निराकार-रूप:
विभुत्वात् च सर्वत्र सर्व-इन्द्रियाणाम्।
न च-असङ्गतं न-एव मुक्ति:-न बन्ध:
चित् आनन्द-रूपः शिव:-अहं शिव:-अहम् ॥६॥
अहं निर्विकल्प: निराकार-रूप:, सर्वत्र सर्व-इन्द्रियाणाम् च विभुत्वात् । न च असङ्गतं, न एव मुक्ति:, न बन्ध: । चित्-आनन्द-रूपः शिव: अहं शिव: अहम् ॥
अहं I am निर्विकल्प: changeless निराकार-रूप: formless सर्वत्र everywhere सर्व-इन्द्रियाणाम् of all sense organs च and विभुत्वात् prevasiveness न not च also असङ्गतं uneven न not एव even मुक्ति: liberation न not बन्ध: bondage चित्-आनन्द-रूपः of the form of Awareness-Bliss शिव: अहं I am Shiva शिव: अहम् I am Shiva
Prosody (Chandas)
Nirvāṇaṣaṭkam is composed in the Bhujangaprayata chandaḥ (metre), which consists of 12 syllables in each pāda (quarter), with the heavy (guru) and light (laghu) syllables arranged as follows:
U-- U-- U-- U—
Notation:
-denotes guru (heavy) syllable
U denotes laghu (light) syllable
The pause (yati) is after the 6th syllable of each pāda
Chanting (audio file in mp3 format)
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