Vishnu Bhujanga Prayata Stotram — Benefits & How to Chant
विष्णु भुजङ्गप्रयात स्तोत्रम्
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Vishnu Bhujanga Prayata Stotram
Unites the highest Advaitic vision of Vishnu as Para Brahman with loving devotion to Narayana
Considered a powerful prayer for a peaceful death and liberation (moksha)
Traditionally recited at the bedside of the dying and during sandhya worship of Vishnu
Cultivates vairagya (dispassion) by reflecting on the impermanence of body and possessions
The closing verse promises that devoted recitation dissolves delusion and grants union with the Lord
Calms fear of old age, disease and death, replacing it with surrender to Hari
How to Chant Vishnu Bhujanga Prayata Stotram
Instructions
Sit facing east before an image of Vishnu, steady the mind, and recite the fourteen verses slowly in the lilting bhujangaprayata metre. Begin by visualising the four-armed Narayana described in the early verses, then offer the closing verses of surrender from the heart. It may be chanted once with full attention daily, or read at the bedside of one who is gravely ill, as Shankaracharya is said to have done for his own mother.
Spiritual Significance
It is said that when Adi Shankaracharya's mother lay dying and feared the fierce messengers she beheld, Shankara sang the praises of Vishnu, and the gentle servants of the Lord at once descended to carry her soul to Vaikuntha. Devotees therefore cherish this Bhujangam as a hymn that turns the terror of death into the grace of liberation.
Origin & History
Source: Composition of Adi Shankaracharya (Shankara Bhagavatpada)
Author: Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE)
This stotram is counted among Adi Shankaracharya's devotional hymns in the bhujangaprayata metre. Tradition relates that Shankara, the great teacher of Advaita Vedanta, composed and recited such Vishnu hymns out of deep bhakti even while expounding the formless Absolute, showing the harmony of jnana and devotion. By one account he sang a Vishnu hymn so that the attendants of the Lord came to escort his departing mother to the higher worlds — fitting the stotram's theme of surrender at life's end.