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shivapratah-smaranamorning-prayeradi-shankaracharya

ශිව ප්රාතඃ ස්මරණ ස්තෝත්රම්

Shiva Pratah Smarana Stotram in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ hindu·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 At dawn, immediately upon waking, before beginning the day's activities·📜 Pratah Smarana Stotram tradition, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya
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Origin & Story

Pratah Smarana Stotram tradition, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya · Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankaracharya · Classical (associated with the 8th century CE)

The 'Pratah Smarana' (dawn remembrance) hymns form a cherished class of morning prayers in the Hindu tradition, with verses devoted to Shiva, Vishnu and the Devi. The Shiva Pratah Smarana Stotram, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, was composed so that a devotee's very first thought on waking would be of Lord Shiva. Its three verses deliberately ascend from Shiva as the loving, ornament-bearing Lord, to the cosmic cause of the universe, to the attributeless Absolute of Vedanta — teaching that the same Shiva is both the personal deity of devotion and the infinite reality of knowledge.

As told in scripture

Sages teach that the mind takes on the quality of whatever it dwells upon first at dawn; by remembering Shiva — the 'peerless medicine for the disease of worldly existence' — at the very start of the day, the devotee is said to be guarded through the day from fear and turned steadily toward liberation.

Complete Text with Meaning

Tap any line — or the ▶ button — to hear it recited

Verse 1

ප්රාතඃ ස්මරාමි භවභීතිහරං සුරේශං ගඞ්ගාධරං වෘෂභවාහනමම්බිකේශම්. ඛට්වාඞ්ගශූලවරදාභයහස්තමීශං සංසාරරෝගහරමෞෂධමද්විතීයම්..

Pratah Smarami Bhava-bhiti-haram Suresham Gangadharam Vrishabha-vahanam-ambikesham Khatvanga-shoola-varadabhaya-hastam-isham Samsara-roga-haram-aushadham-advitiyam

Meaning:At dawn I remember Shiva, the remover of the fear of worldly existence, the Lord of the gods, the bearer of the Ganga, whose vehicle is the bull, the Lord of Ambika; whose hands hold the skull-staff and the trident and show the gestures of boon-giving and fearlessness — the peerless medicine that cures the disease of worldly existence.

Verse 2

ප්රාතර්නමාමි ගිරිශං ගිරිජාර්ධදේහං සර්ගස්ථිතිප්රලයකාරණමාදිදේවම්. විශ්වේශ්වරං විජිතවිශ්වමනෝභිරාමං සංසාරරෝගහරමෞෂධමද්විතීයම්..

Pratar-namami Girisham Girija-ardha-deham Sarga-sthiti-pralaya-karanam-adi-devam Vishveshvaram Vijita-vishva-manobhiramam Samsara-roga-haram-aushadham-advitiyam

Meaning:At dawn I bow to Shiva, the Lord of the mountain, whose body is half Parvati (the mountain's daughter), the primordial God who is the cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution, the Lord of the universe, who has conquered the universe and is the delight of every mind — the peerless medicine that cures the disease of worldly existence.

Verse 3

ප්රාතර්භජාමි ශිවමේකමනන්තමාද්යං වේදාන්තවේද්යමනඝං පුරුෂං මහාන්තම්. නාමාදිභේදරහිතං ෂඩ්භාවශූන්යං සංසාරරෝගහරමෞෂධමද්විතීයම්..

Pratar-bhajami Shivam-ekam-anantam-aadyam Vedanta-vedyam-anagham Purusham Mahantam Nama-adi-bheda-rahitam Shad-bhava-shoonyam Samsara-roga-haram-aushadham-advitiyam

Meaning:At dawn I worship Shiva, the One, the infinite, the primordial, knowable through Vedanta, the sinless Supreme Person, the great One, free of all distinctions of name and form, beyond the six modifications of all that exists — the peerless medicine that cures the disease of worldly existence.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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ප්රාතඃ ස්මරාමි🔊Pratah SmaramiAt dawn I remember / call to mind
භවභීතිහරං🔊Bhava-bhiti-haramThe remover of the fear of worldly existence (samsara)
සුරේශං🔊SureshamThe Lord of the gods
ගඞ්ගාධරං🔊GangadharamThe bearer of the Ganga in his matted locks
වෘෂභවාහනම්🔊Vrishabha-vahanamOne whose vehicle is the bull (Nandi)
අම්බිකේශම්🔊AmbikeshamThe Lord of Ambika (Parvati)
ඛට්වාඞ්ගශූලවරදාභයහස්තම්🔊Khatvanga-shoola-varadabhaya-hastamOne whose hands hold the skull-staff and trident and show the boon-giving and fear-dispelling gestures
සංසාරරෝගහරම්🔊Samsara-roga-haramThe remover of the disease of worldly existence
ඖෂධමද්විතීයම්🔊Aushadham-advitiyamThe one without a second — the peerless medicine
ප්රාතර්නමාමි🔊Pratar-namamiAt dawn I bow down
ගිරිශං🔊GirishamThe Lord of the mountain (Kailasa)
ගිරිජාර්ධදේහං🔊Girija-ardha-dehamOne whose body is half the daughter of the mountain (Parvati) — Ardhanarishvara
සර්ගස්ථිතිප්රලයකාරණම්🔊Sarga-sthiti-pralaya-karanamThe cause of creation, preservation and dissolution
ආදිදේවම්🔊Adi-devamThe primordial God
විශ්වේශ්වරං🔊VishveshvaramThe Lord of the universe
ප්රාතර්භජාමි🔊Pratar-bhajamiAt dawn I worship
ශිවමේකමනන්තමාද්යං🔊Shivam-ekam-anantam-aadyamShiva, the One, the infinite, the primordial
වේදාන්තවේද්යම්🔊Vedanta-vedyamKnowable through Vedanta (the Upanishads)
අනඝං🔊AnaghamThe sinless, the flawless one
නාමාදිභේදරහිතං🔊Nama-adi-bheda-rahitamFree of all distinctions such as name and form
ෂඩ්භාවශූන්යං🔊Shad-bhava-shoonyamDevoid of the six modifications (birth, existence, growth, change, decay, death)

Benefits of Chanting Shiva Pratah Smarana Stotram

An auspicious way to begin the day by remembering Lord Shiva at dawn

Removes the fear of samsara (bhava-bhiti) and steadies the mind for the day

Each verse leads from Shiva's personal form to his formless, infinite nature

Hailed as the 'peerless medicine' for the disease of worldly existence

Short and easy to memorise, making daily morning recitation effortless

Cultivates devotion, wisdom, and inner peace from the very start of the day

Traditionally attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, carrying his blessing

How to Chant Shiva Pratah Smarana Stotram

Repetitions3times
Best TimeAt dawn, immediately upon waking, before beginning the day's activities

Recite the three verses first thing in the morning, ideally after washing, sitting up in bed or before your altar facing east. Remember Lord Shiva with each refrain — 'I remember,' 'I bow,' 'I worship.' Because it is short, it can be committed to memory and recited daily as the first prayer of the day to set a calm, devotional tone.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Shiva Pratah Smarana Stotram written in the Sinhala script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.
Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.
'Pratah Smarana' means 'remembrance at dawn.' It is a short three-verse hymn recited first thing in the morning to remember, bow to, and worship Lord Shiva, beginning the day with his name and grace.
Each verse ends with 'Samsara-roga-haram-aushadham-advitiyam' — 'the one without a second, the medicine that removes the disease of worldly existence.' Shiva is the cure for samsara, the endless cycle of birth, fear and suffering, healed by his remembrance and grace.
The first verse describes Shiva's gracious personal form (Gangadhara, bull-rider, Lord of Ambika). The second describes his cosmic role as cause of creation, preservation and dissolution. The third describes his absolute, formless nature — infinite, knowable through Vedanta, beyond name and change.
It is traditionally attributed to Adi Shankaracharya. As a 'pratah smarana' (dawn remembrance), it is ideally chanted at sunrise or immediately upon waking, as the first devotional act of the day.

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