Nirvana Shaktam

It’s said that when Adi Shankara was only eight years old, he met the sage Govindapada, who would later become his guru.

Govindapada asked the young boy, “Who are you?”

The story goes that Shankara spontaneously recited the following six verses, which later became known as Nirvana Shaktam.

Nirvana means complete peace and equanimity, and shaktam refers to the number of verses. Needless to say, Govindapada immediately accepted the boy as his disciple! Wouldn’t you?

This succinct yet powerful composition negates our misidentification with the body-mind and its aggregates. It reveals Self-Knowledge as a shift from false identification with the material components of our being to the Awareness in which all things appear and have their being.

What follows is a somewhat loose translation, designed for clarity ease of reading. You may find these verses make an excellent tool for meditation and contemplation. Read each verse slowly and thoughtfully, allowing yourself to fully contemplate the meaning of each sentence as you do.

Each verse ends with the exhortation, “I am Shiva! I am Shiva!” In this instance, it’s not referring to Shiva as a particular deity or name and form, but as the formless, all-pervading Self; Existence/Awareness/Consciousness.

I am neither the mind, the intellect, the ego nor thought.

I am neither the ears, the tongue, the nose nor the eyes.

I am neither fire, water, air nor earth.

My nature is Eternal Bliss and Awareness;

I am Shiva, I am Shiva!

I am neither the vital energy nor the body’s physiology.

I am neither the elements nor the five sheaths.

I am neither the internal organs, nor the hands, nor the feet, nor tongue.

My nature is Eternal Bliss and Awareness;

I am Shiva, I am Shiva!

I am free of greed and delusion, aversion and attachment.

I am free of pride and ego, seeking and attaining.

I have neither desires of mind nor craving for objects.

My nature is Eternal Bliss and Awareness;

I am Shiva, I am Shiva!

I am free of virtue and vice, pleasure and pain.

I am free of religious duty and observance.

I am neither the one that eats nor that which is eaten.

My nature is Eternal Bliss and Awareness;

I am Shiva, I am Shiva!

I have neither fear nor death, nor distinction of caste.

I have neither father nor mother, nor even birth.

I have neither friends nor comrades, disciples nor guru.

My nature is Eternal Bliss and Awareness;

I am Shiva, I am Shiva!

I am without form or limitation, for I pervade all.

I exist everywhere but am subtler than the body and senses.

I have no need of salvation, for I am already free.

My nature is Eternal Bliss and Awareness;

I am Shiva, I am Shiva!