vishnushankaracharyasurrenderbhakti

Vishnu Shatpadi

Vishnu Shatpadi in English · English

🕉️ 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

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click any word to hear its pronunciation

avinayam apanaya🔊Remove (apanaya) my lack of humility / bad conduct (avinaya)

viṣṇo🔊O Vishnu!

damaya manaḥ🔊Subdue / control my mind

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

bhūta-dayāṃ vistāraya🔊Expand / increase my compassion for (all) beings

tāraya saṃsāra-sāgarataḥ🔊Carry me across the ocean of worldly existence (samsara)

śrīpati-pada-aravinde🔊At the lotus-feet of Shripati (the Lord of Lakshmi, Vishnu)

sat-cit-ānande🔊Of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda)

bhava-bhaya-kheda-cchide🔊Which cuts off the fear and sorrow of worldly life

vande🔊I bow / I salute

satyapi bheda-apagame🔊Even though difference (between us) has departed (in the absolute sense)

tava-ahaṃ na māmakīnas-tvam🔊I am yours, you are not mine (the wave belongs to the ocean, not the ocean to the wave)

sāmudro hi taraṅgaḥ🔊The wave indeed belongs to (arises from) the ocean

samudro na tāraṅgaḥ🔊But the ocean does not belong to the wave

matsya-ādibhir-avatāraiḥ🔊Through (your) incarnations beginning with the Fish (Matsya)

avatā sadā vasudhām🔊Ever protecting the earth

bhava-tāpa-bhīto'ham🔊I am frightened by the torments of worldly existence

dāmodara🔊O Damodara (Krishna, bound at the waist by a rope)

bhava-jaladhi-mathana-mandara🔊O Mandara-mountain that churns the ocean of worldly existence

paramaṃ daram-apanaya tvaṃ me🔊Remove my deepest fear / dread

nārāyaṇa karuṇāmaya🔊O Narayana, full of compassion

śaraṇaṃ karavāṇi tāvakau caraṇau🔊Let me take refuge at your two feet

iti ṣaṭpadī madīye vadana-saroje sadā vasatu🔊May 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

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Composed by Adi Shankaracharya — concise yet spiritually profound

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

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

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

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Invokes fearlessness and refuge from the torments of samsara

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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

This page shows the complete Vishnu Shatpadi written in the English 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.

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.