Original text
मनोबुद्ध्यहङ्कारचित्तानि नाहं न च श्रोत्रजिह्वे न च घ्राणनेत्रे । न च व्योम भूमिर्न तेजो न वायुश्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ १ ॥ न च प्राणसंज्ञो न वै पञ्चवायुर्न वा सप्तधातुर्न वा पञ्चकोशः । न वाक्पाणिपादौ न चोपस्थपायू चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ २ ॥ न मे द्वेषरागौ न मे लोभमोहौ मदो नैव मे नैव मात्सर्यभावः । न धर्मो न चार्थो न कामो न मोक्षश्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ ३ ॥ 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 ॥ न मृत्युर्न शङ्का न मे जातिभेदः पिता नैव मे नैव माता न जन्म । न बन्धुर्न मित्रं गुरुर्नैव शिष्यश्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ ५ ॥ अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकाररूपो विभुर्व्याप्य सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम् । सदा मे समत्वं न मुक्तिर्न बन्धश्चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहं शिवोऽहम् ॥ ६ ॥ ॥ इति श्रीमच्छङ्कराचार्यविरचितं आत्मषट्कं सम्पूर्णम् ॥
Transliteration
Manobuddhyahankarachittani naham na cha shrotrajihve na cha ghrananetre Na cha vyoma bhumirna tejo na vayushchidanandarupah shivo'ham shivo'ham ||1|| Na cha pranasanjno na vai panchavayurna va saptadhaturna va panchakoshah Na vakpanipadau na chopasthapayu chidanandarupah shivo'ham shivo'ham ||2|| Na me dvesharagau na me lobhamohau mado naiva me naiva matsaryabhavah Na dharmo na chartho na kamo na mokshashchidanandarupah shivo'ham shivo'ham ||3|| Na punyam na papam na saukhyam na duhkham na mantro na tirtham na veda na yajnah Aham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhokta chidanandarupah shivo'ham shivo'ham ||4|| Na mrityurna shanka na me jatibhedah pita naiva me naiva mata na janma Na bandhurna mitram gururnaiva shishyashchidanandarupah shivo'ham shivo'ham ||5|| Aham nirvikalpo nirakararupo vibhurvyapya sarvatra sarvendriyanam Sada me samatvam na muktirna bandhashchidanandarupah shivo'ham shivo'ham ||6|| Iti shrimachchhankaracharyavirachitam atmashatkam sampurnam ||
"Who are you?"
Tradition tells that when the young Shankara reached the banks of the Narmada and met his guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada, the teacher asked him, "Who are you?" The boy answered with these six verses. Whether or not it happened that way, the hymn is the answer Advaita Vedanta gives to that question. It is also called the Atma Shatakam, "six verses on the Self".
How it works: neti, neti
The Upanishads describe the Self by negation — neti, neti, "not this, not this". The Nirvana Shatakam does exactly that, removing every layer a person might take for "I", and then, in the last line of each verse, stating what remains: "Chidananda roopah Shivoham Shivoham" — "I am the form of consciousness and bliss; I am Shiva, I am Shiva." Shiva here means the auspicious, absolute Self, not only the deity.
- Not the inner instruments: not mind, intellect, ego or memory (manas, buddhi, ahankara, chitta); not the ears, tongue, nose or eyes; not space, earth, fire or wind.
- Not the body's machinery: not the prana or the five vital airs, not the seven tissues (dhatus), not the five sheaths (koshas), not the organs of action.
- Not the emotions or goals: no hatred or attachment, greed or delusion, pride or envy — and not even the four aims of life, dharma, artha, kama, or moksha.
- Not the experiences: not merit or sin, pleasure or pain; not mantra, pilgrimage, Veda or sacrifice; "I am not the eating, nor what is eaten, nor the eater."
- Not a person: no death, no fear, no caste; no father, mother or birth; no relative, friend, guru or disciple.
- What remains: "I am without attributes, without form, all-pervading, present everywhere behind every sense; always the same; neither bound nor free."
The third and fourth verses are the most startling: the Self is not seeking moksha, and needs no mantra or tirtha. Shankara spent his life teaching and establishing worship — the point is not that practice is useless, but that what practice uncovers was never bound.
How to use it
- As a meditation: read one verse slowly, then sit with each negation — "not this" — until the refrain arrives on its own.
- As chant: it is in bhujangaprayata metre, which gives it the rolling rhythm that has made it popular in modern renditions.
- Recited on Mahashivaratri, Mondays, and at the end of a Shiva puja; also used at funerals and in moments of loss, as a reminder of what does not die.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the Nirvana Shatakam?
Adi Shankaracharya, according to tradition — composed, it is said, in answer to his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada's question "Who are you?"
What does "Shivoham" mean?
"I am Shiva" — the pure, auspicious Self of the nature of consciousness and bliss, not the individual body-mind.
Why is it also called Atma Shatakam?
Because it is six verses (shatakam) about the Atma, the Self.
Why does verse 3 deny even moksha?
Because, in Advaita, the Self was never bound; liberation is the recognition of what already is, not something to be gained.
Can I chant it without being a Vedantin?
Yes. Many devotees chant it simply as a hymn to Shiva; its meaning deepens with reflection.
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