vishnushankaracharyasurrenderbhakti

Vishnu Shatpadi

विष्णु षट्पदी

🕉️ hindu·📿 6× repetitions·🕐 Morning after bath, at dusk, or on Ekadashi and other Vishnu-related days·📜 Shatpadi Stotram composed by Adi Shankaracharya in praise of Lord Vishnu

Also known as: vishnu shatpadi · shatpadi stotram · avinayam apanaya vishno · vishnu shatpadi stotram · shatpadi stotra

📜 Complete Lyrics 📖 Word-by-Word Meaning ✨ Benefits & How to Chant ⬇️ PDF Download

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हिन्दी / देवनागरीతెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ English සිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

The Vishnu Shatpadi ('Six-Verse hymn to Vishnu') is a deeply moving prayer of surrender composed by Adi Shankaracharya, beginning 'Avinayam apanaya Vishno'. In six tender verses the devotee begs the Lord to remove ego, control the mind, quell desire and grant compassion, and offers the celebrated image: 'I am yours, you are not mine — the wave belongs to the ocean, but the ocean never to the wave.' It closes with total refuge at Narayana's feet and the wish that the hymn dwell forever in the devotee's mouth.

Origin & Story

Shatpadi Stotram composed by Adi Shankaracharya in praise of Lord Vishnu · Adi Shankaracharya · 8th century CE (circa 788-820)

The Vishnu Shatpadi (also called simply the Shatpadi Stotra) is one of Adi Shankaracharya's most beloved short devotional poems to Lord Vishnu. Though Shankara is best known as the expounder of Advaita Vedanta, here he sings as a humble devotee, asking the Lord to purify his mind and senses and to grant the grace of surrender. The hymn's third verse — the wave and the ocean — is among the most quoted lines in all of bhakti literature, capturing how devotion and non-duality meet: the liberated soul knows itself as one with God, yet lovingly remains 'the wave that belongs to the ocean'.

✦ As told in scripture

Tradition holds that the Shatpadi was sung by Shankaracharya himself as an outpouring of surrender, and devotees believe that one who recites it daily with the same spirit of self-offering is freed from the fear of samsara and kept ever under the protecting feet of Narayana, as the closing verse prays.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

अविनयमपनय विष्णो दमय मनः शमय विषयमृगतृष्णाम् । भूतदयां विस्तारय तारय संसारसागरतः ॥ १॥

avinayamapanaya viṣṇo damaya manaḥ śamaya viṣayamṛgatṛṣṇām | bhūtadayāṃ vistāraya tāraya saṃsārasāgarataḥ || 1||

Meaning:O Vishnu, take away my unruliness, subdue my mind, still my thirst for sense-pleasures (that fleeting mirage chased by the deer of the senses); expand my compassion for all beings, and carry me across the ocean of worldly existence.

Verse 2

दिव्यधुनीमकरन्दे परिमलपरिभोगसच्चिदानन्दे । श्रीपतिपदारविन्दे भवभयखेदच्छिदे वन्दे ॥ २॥

divyadhunīmakarande parimalaparibhogasaccidānande | śrīpatipadāravinde bhavabhayakhedacchide vande || 2||

Meaning:I bow to the lotus-feet of Shripati (the Lord of Lakshmi) — feet that are nectar honey of the divine Ganga, fragrant and enjoyable, of the very nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, which sever the fear and sorrow of mundane life.

Verse 3

सत्यपि भेदापगमे नाथ तवाहं न मामकीनस्त्वम् । सामुद्रो हि तरङ्गः क्वचन समुद्रो न तारङ्गः ॥ ३॥

satyapi bhedāpagame nātha tavāhaṃ na māmakīnastvam | sāmudro hi taraṅgaḥ kvacana samudro na tāraṅgaḥ || 3||

Meaning:O Lord, even when all difference between us has vanished (in the highest truth), still I belong to you and you do not belong to me — for the wave belongs to the ocean, but the ocean never belongs to the wave.

Verse 4

उद्धृतनग नगभिदनुज दनुजकुलामित्र मित्रशशिदृष्टे । दृष्टे भवति प्रभवति न भवति किं भवतिरस्कारः ॥ ४॥

uddhṛtanaga nagabhidanuja danujakulāmitra mitraśaśidṛṣṭe | dṛṣṭe bhavati prabhavati na bhavati kiṃ bhavatiraskāraḥ || 4||

Meaning:O Lord who lifted up the mountain (Govardhana), younger brother of Indra who split the mountains, foe of the demon clans, whose eyes are the friendly sun and the cooling moon — once you are truly seen, what power, what fear, what scorn of the world can prevail any longer?

Verse 5

मत्स्यादिभिरवतारैरवतारवताऽवता सदा वसुधाम् । परमेश्वर परिपाल्यो भवता भवतापभीतोऽहम् ॥ ५॥

matsyādibhiravatārairavatāravatā'vatā sadā vasudhām | parameśvara paripālyo bhavatā bhavatāpabhīto'ham || 5||

Meaning:Through your incarnations beginning with the Fish, O Supreme Lord, you ever descend to protect the earth; therefore I, terrified by the burning torments of worldly existence, am surely worthy to be protected by you.

Verse 6

दामोदर गुणमन्दिर सुन्दरवदनारविन्द गोविन्द । भवजलधिमथनमन्दर परमं दरमपनय त्वं मे ॥ ६॥

dāmodara guṇamandira sundaravadanāravinda govinda | bhavajaladhimathanamandara paramaṃ daramapanaya tvaṃ me || 6||

Meaning:O Damodara, temple of all virtues, lotus-faced beautiful Govinda, O Mandara mountain that churns the ocean of samsara — remove from me this deepest dread.

Verse 7

नारायण करुणामय शरणं करवाणि तावकौ चरणौ । इति षट्पदी मदीये वदनसरोजे सदा वसतु ॥

nārāyaṇa karuṇāmaya śaraṇaṃ karavāṇi tāvakau caraṇau | iti ṣaṭpadī madīye vadanasaroje sadā vasatu ||

Meaning:O compassionate Narayana, let me take refuge at your two feet. May this Shatpadi (this hymn of six verses) ever abide in the lotus of my mouth.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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अविनयम् अपनय🔊avinayam apanayaRemove (apanaya) my lack of humility / bad conduct (avinaya)

विष्णो🔊viṣṇoO Vishnu!

दमय मनः🔊damaya manaḥSubdue / control my mind

शमय विषयमृगतृष्णाम्🔊śamaya viṣaya-mṛga-tṛṣṇāmQuench my thirst for sense-objects, (which is like) the mirage chased by a deer

भूतदयां विस्तारय🔊bhūta-dayāṃ vistārayaExpand / increase my compassion for (all) beings

तारय संसारसागरतः🔊tāraya saṃsāra-sāgarataḥCarry me across the ocean of worldly existence (samsara)

श्रीपतिपदारविन्दे🔊śrīpati-pada-aravindeAt the lotus-feet of Shripati (the Lord of Lakshmi, Vishnu)

सच्चिदानन्दे🔊sat-cit-ānandeOf the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda)

भवभयखेदच्छिदे🔊bhava-bhaya-kheda-cchideWhich cuts off the fear and sorrow of worldly life

वन्दे🔊vandeI bow / I salute

सत्यपि भेदापगमे🔊satyapi bheda-apagameEven though difference (between us) has departed (in the absolute sense)

तवाहं न मामकीनस्त्वम्🔊tava-ahaṃ na māmakīnas-tvamI am yours, you are not mine (the wave belongs to the ocean, not the ocean to the wave)

सामुद्रो हि तरङ्गः🔊sāmudro hi taraṅgaḥThe wave indeed belongs to (arises from) the ocean

समुद्रो न तारङ्गः🔊samudro na tāraṅgaḥBut the ocean does not belong to the wave

मत्स्यादिभिरवतारैः🔊matsya-ādibhir-avatāraiḥThrough (your) incarnations beginning with the Fish (Matsya)

अवता सदा वसुधाम्🔊avatā sadā vasudhāmEver protecting the earth

भवतापभीतोऽहम्🔊bhava-tāpa-bhīto'hamI am frightened by the torments of worldly existence

दामोदर🔊dāmodaraO Damodara (Krishna, bound at the waist by a rope)

भवजलधिमथनमन्दर🔊bhava-jaladhi-mathana-mandaraO Mandara-mountain that churns the ocean of worldly existence

परमं दरमपनय त्वं मे🔊paramaṃ daram-apanaya tvaṃ meRemove my deepest fear / dread

नारायण करुणामय🔊nārāyaṇa karuṇāmayaO Narayana, full of compassion

शरणं करवाणि तावकौ चरणौ🔊śaraṇaṃ karavāṇi tāvakau caraṇauLet me take refuge at your two feet

इति षट्पदी मदीये वदनसरोजे सदा वसतु🔊iti ṣaṭpadī madīye vadana-saroje sadā vasatuMay this Shatpadi (six-versed hymn) ever dwell in the lotus of my mouth

Benefits of Chanting Vishnu Shatpadi

✦

A complete prayer of surrender (sharanagati) at the feet of Lord Vishnu

✦

Composed by Adi Shankaracharya — concise yet spiritually profound

✦

Helps subdue the restless mind and quell the thirst for sense-pleasures

✦

Cultivates bhuta-daya (compassion for all beings) and humility

✦

Teaches the supreme truth of the soul's relationship to God through the wave-and-ocean image

✦

Invokes fearlessness and refuge from the torments of samsara

✦

Short enough to memorise and recite daily as a heartfelt offering

How to Chant Vishnu Shatpadi

Repetitions6times

Best TimeMorning after bath, at dusk, or on Ekadashi and other Vishnu-related days

Sit calmly facing east or north before an image of Vishnu, Krishna or Narayana. After a bath, light a lamp and recite the six verses (plus the closing line) slowly, feeling the mood of surrender in each plea. Dwell especially on the third verse — 'I am yours, you are not mine' — as a meditation on the soul's relationship to God. Recite once or three times daily; conclude by mentally placing yourself at Narayana's feet.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is attributed to Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE), the great Advaita teacher who, despite his non-dualist philosophy, composed many tender devotional hymns to Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. 'Shatpadi' literally means 'six-versed' (and also playfully evokes a bee, shat-pada).

In the third verse Shankaracharya says, 'Even though difference has departed, I am yours and you are not mine, for the wave belongs to the ocean but the ocean never belongs to the wave.' It expresses the loving paradox of bhakti within non-duality: the devotee surrenders as a small wave to the infinite ocean of God.

It has six main verses (hence 'Shatpadi'), followed by a concluding line in which the poet prays that this six-versed hymn may forever dwell in the lotus of his mouth.

It can be chanted any day with devotion, and is especially suited to mornings after bathing, to Ekadashi, and to other days sacred to Vishnu, as a short and powerful prayer of surrender.