Kṛshṇa and Arjuna’s Stotra to Śiva
The Kṛshṇārjuna Śiva Stotra is a hymn that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Arjuna offered together to Bhagavān Parameśvara (Bhagavān Śiva). They sang it in a vision, on the night before the fourteenth day of the war at Kurukshetra. It is found in the Droṇa Parva of the Mahābhārata, in Chapter 80.
In the vision, Kṛshṇa and Arjuna are known as Nara and Nārāyaṇa. They flew together to the Himālaya and saw Bhagavān Parameśvara with Pārvatī Devī and his gaṇas. They stood before him with folded hands and sang this stotra before they asked for the Pāśupatāstra. The stotra names Bhagavān Śiva in many forms. It moves from the great and the far-reaching to the tender, and it ends with a prayer that their wish be fulfilled.
The setting
It was the night between the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the war at Kurukshetra. Arjuna had sworn a terrible oath: he would kill Jayadratha before sunset, or enter fire. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa told Arjuna to do Śivapūjā (worship of Bhagavān Śiva) and then to sleep while reciting the Śaiva mantra that Vyāsa Mahāmuni had taught him in the twelve years of his forest exile.
In the brahma-muhūrta before dawn, a great vision came. Kṛshṇa took Arjuna by the right hand, and they flew north through the sky. They passed over the Himālaya ranges named Maṇimanta, Śveta, Mandara and Mahāmandara. At last they came to a peak that blazed with the light of a thousand suns.
There Bhagavān Parameśvara sat with Pārvatī Devī. His gaṇas were around him with music and dance, and assemblies of maharshis praised him. He held a divine bow. He had a thousand eyes (sahasra-netra), and his presence filled all directions.
As soon as they saw him, Kṛshṇa and Arjuna bowed down at his feet. Then Bhagavān Parameśvara spoke: “Narōttamās (best of men)! Welcome! What do you wish? I will fulfil it.” Kṛshṇa and Arjuna stood with folded hands and answered with this stotra, before they made their request.
The stotra
Namo bhavāya śarvāya rudrāya varadāya ca |
Paśūnāṃ pataye nityam ugrāya ca kapardine ||
Obeisance to Bhava (the one from whom all existence arises), to Śarva (the one who destroys all), to Rudra (the one who removes all sorrow) and to Varada (the giver of vara, boons). Obeisance to Paśupati (the protector and master of all living beings), to the ever-fierce one, and to the one who wears matted locks.
Mahādevāya bhīmāya tryambakāya ca śāntaye |
Īśānāya makhaghnāya namo’ndhaka-ghātine ||
Obeisance to the great Deva, to the fierce one, to Tryambaka (the three-eyed), to Śānti himself (peace and good fortune), to Īśāna (the supreme ruler of all), to the destroyer of Daksha’s yajña, and to the slayer of Andhaka.
Kumāra-gurave tubhyaṃ nīlagrīvāya vedhase |
Pinākinē havishyāya satyāya vibhave sadā ||
Obeisance to you, the teacher and father of Kumāra (Kārttikeya). Obeisance to Nīlagrīva (the blue-throated), to Vedhas (the creator), to the wielder of the Pināka bow, to the master of all offerings (havi), to Satya (truth itself), and to the one who is always everywhere.
Vilohitāya dhūmrāya vyādhāyāna-parājite |
Nitya-nīla-śikhaṇḍāya śūline divya-cakshushe ||
Obeisance to Vilohita (the one of mixed white and red colour), to Dhūmra (the one of deep dark-red colour), to the one who took the form of the hunter (who chased Prajāpati when he had become a deer), and to the undefeated one. Obeisance to the one who always has black hair (nīla-śikhaṇḍa), to the wielder of the trident, and to the one of divine sight.
Hantre goptre tri-netrāya vyādhāya vasu-retase |
Acintyāya ambikā-bhartre sarva-deva-stutāya ca ||
Obeisance to the destroyer, to the protector, to the three-eyed one, to the one who hunts down evil in the form of beasts, and to Vasuretas (the one whose energy is the substance of all wealth). Obeisance to Acintya (the unthinkable), to the husband of Ambikā, and to the one praised by all the devas.
Vṛshadhvajāya muṇḍāya jaṭine brahmacāriṇe |
Tapyamānāya salile brahmaṇyāyājitāya ca ||
Obeisance to the one whose banner bears the bull, to the shaven-headed one (who is also the one with matted locks), to the brahmacārī, to the one who does tapas in the waters, to the one who is kind to brāhmaṇas, and to the undefeated one.
Viśvātmane viśva-sṛje viśvam āvṛtya tishṭhate |
Namo namas te sevyāya bhūtānāṃ prabhave sadā ||
Obeisance to Viśvātman (the ātmā of all the universe), to Viśvasṛj (the creator of the universe), and to the one who stands covering the whole universe. Obeisance, obeisance to you, who are worthy of all service, and who are always the source and master of all beings.
Brahmavakrāya sarvāya śaṃkarāya śivāya ca |
Namo’stu vācaspataye prajānāṃ pataye namaḥ ||
Obeisance to Brahmavakra (the one who has brāhmaṇas as his face), to Sarva (the all-pervading), to Śaṃkara (the auspicious one), and to Śiva (the pure one). Obeisance to Vācaspati (master of speech, the husband of Sarasvatī) and to the master of all creatures (prajāpati).
Namo viśvasya pataye mahatāṃ pataye namaḥ |
Namaḥ sahasra-śirase sahasra-bhuja-mṛtyave ||
Sahasra-netra-pādāya namo’saṃkhyeya-karmaṇe ||
Obeisance to the master of the universe and the master of the great ones. Obeisance to the one of a thousand heads, to Mṛtyu (death himself) with a thousand arms, to the one of a thousand eyes and a thousand feet, and to the one whose deeds are beyond number.
Namo hiraṇyavarṇāya hiraṇya-kavacāya ca |
Bhaktānukampine nityaṃ siddhyatāṃ no varaḥ prabho ||
Obeisance to Hiraṇyavarṇa (the one of golden colour) and to the one who wears golden armour. O Bhagavān Parameśvara, you always show kindness to your devotees. May our prayer for a vara be fulfilled.
What followed the stotra
When Kṛshṇa and Arjuna had finished the stotra, Bhagavān Parameśvara was fully pleased. He showed them where his divine bow and arrow lay. They were two great serpents in a lake of divine amṛta (nectar) close by.
Kṛshṇa and Arjuna went to the lake and did the Śatarudra pārāyaṇa, the recitation of the hundred Rudra mantras of the Yajurveda. The serpents shed their forms and became the divine weapons. Arjuna brought them to Bhagavān Śiva. Then Bhagavān Śiva gave Arjuna the Pāśupatāstra, for the keeping of his oath to slay Jayadratha.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 80 (the setting and the stotra)
- Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapters 80 to 81 (what followed the stotra)