Śiva’s Śatanāma Stava
The Śatanāma Stava is a hymn of one hundred names (śatanāma) in praise of Bhagavān Vishṇu, sung by Bhagavān Śiva. It is the last act of praise before Bhagavān Vishṇu rose on Garuḍa to Vaikuṇṭha at the end of the Rāma avatāra. It is found in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa, chapter 6.
The setting
Rāmacandra’s human form had dissolved. In its place the devas saw Bhagavān Mahāvishṇu, four-armed, dark blue in colour (nīla-kānti), wearing the Kaustubha gem and marked with the Śrīvatsa. They offered many praises. Brahmā, Indra and all the immortals sang stotras.
Then Bhagavān Śiva himself stepped forward to offer a formal stava of one hundred names. He stood by the Bhāgīrathī before the whole gathering. The text names Vishṇu with the names Trilokyapālaka (protector of the three worlds) and Vanamālādhārī (wearer of the forest garland) in this scene.
This stava comes at the close of the earthly part of the Tretā Yuga avatāra. Sītā had already left Rāma’s right side and risen as Mahālakshmī. The divine qualities had departed. The people of Ayodhyā had given up their lives (prāṇa-tyāga). Only the mounting of Garuḍa remained.
It was also Bhagavān Śiva who told Bhagavān Vishṇu that the full time of the avatāra had been completed: 11,011 years, 11 months, 11 days and 11 nāḍīs. The time to mount Garuḍa had come. Bhagavān Vishṇu then went up to Vaikuṇṭha on Chaitra Śukla Pañcamī.
The opening verse
The Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa keeps the opening verse of the hundred names. In it Bhagavān Śiva calls on Bhagavān Vishṇu with a chain of names, each one a quality or form:
Rāghavā! Karuṇākarā! Bhavanāśanā! Duritāpahā! Mādhavā! Garuḍavāhanā! Jalarūpā! Parameśvarā! Pālakā! Janatārakā! Bhavahārakā! Ripumārakā! Jagadīśvarā! Nararūpā! Raghunandanā!
The verse ends with the words “I worship you”.
The names in the opening verse
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rāghavā | Descendant of Raghu; the avatāra of the solar line |
| Karuṇākarā | Mine of compassion |
| Bhavanāśanā | Destroyer of saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) |
| Duritāpahā | Remover of pāpa (sin) |
| Mādhavā | Consort of Lakshmī; Mādhava |
| Garuḍavāhanā | Carried by Garuḍa |
| Jalarūpā | Whose form is the cosmic waters |
| Parameśvarā | The Supreme Īśvara |
| Pālakā | The Protector |
| Janatārakā | Deliverer of the people |
| Bhavahārakā | Carrier away of worldly existence |
| Ripumārakā | Slayer of enemies |
| Jagadīśvarā | Master of the universe |
| Nararūpā | Who took human form |
| Raghunandanā | Joy of the line of Raghu |
The phalaśruti
After the full hundred-name stava, Bhagavān Śiva spoke to the gathering about the fruit of reciting it. He said: “Those devotees who read this hundred-name stava at dawn will, together with their relatives, wives and children, live for a long time at your lotus feet and stay devoted to serving you.”
The fruit reaches the whole family, not only the one who recites.
Sources
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa, chapter 6