Six verses, including the names and closing prayer.
This hymn gathers twenty-eight names of Chandra into verses. Reading the names in their original sequence shows how the Moon is imagined through light, coolness, the night sky and its place in sacred stories.
Prayer text
Sanskrit in Roman letters (IAST transliteration). Pronunciation guide
candrasya śṛṇu nāmāni śubhadāni mahīpate |
yāni śrutvā naro duḥkhānmucyate nātra saṃśayaḥ || 1 ||
sudhākaraśca somaśca glaurabjaḥ kumudapriyaḥ |
lokapriyaḥ śubhrabhānuścandramā rohiṇīpatiḥ || 2 ||
śaśī himakaro rājā dvijarājo niśākaraḥ |
ātreya induḥ śītāṃśuroṣadhīśaḥ kalānidhiḥ || 3 ||
jaivātṛko ramābhrātā kṣīrodārṇavasambhavaḥ |
nakṣatranāyakaḥ śambhuśiraścūḍāmaṇirvibhuḥ || 4 ||
tāpahartā nabhodīpo nāmānyetāni yaḥ paṭhet |
pratyahaṃ bhaktisaṃyuktastasya pīḍā vinaśyati || 5 ||
taddine ca paṭhedyastu labhetsarvaṃ samīhitam |
grahādīnāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ bhaveccandrabalaṃ sadā || 6 ||
Understanding this prayer
Names such as Himakara and Shitamshu refer to coolness; Nabhodipa compares the Moon to a lamp in the sky. The ending asks for the devotee’s difficulties to ease. This verse text replaces an older numbered list whose final entry did not belong to the name sequence in the referenced edition.
Words to recognise
- Shitamshu: one with cool rays.
- Nabhodipa: lamp of the sky.
- Rohinipati: a name linking the Moon with Rohini.
This is a summary of the prayer’s themes, rather than a word-for-word translation. Traditional blessings in a hymn express faith and hope; they do not guarantee health, wealth or protection from harm.
Reading help
Start with a few lines at a comfortable pace. A single bar (|) marks a pause and a double bar (||) marks the end of a verse. Where numbers appear, they refer to the hymn’s verses, not a required number of repetitions.
How to read the Roman letters
Long vowels ā, ī and ū are held longer than a, i and u. The letter c is like “ch” in “church”; ś and ṣ are two Sanskrit “sh” sounds. The dots in ṭ, ḍ and ṇ mark sounds made with the tongue curled back. ṛ is a vowel; ṃ marks a nasal sound and ḥ a light release of breath. A mark like ’ indicates an omitted a at a word boundary.
In simple spelling, aa, ii and uu usually stand for the long vowels, while sh stands for a “sh” sound. Written spelling is a starting point; listening to a knowledgeable reciter helps with sounds that English does not distinguish.
Do I need to perform a full ritual?
You may read the hymn and its explanation as devotional literature. This page does not prescribe fasting, costly offerings or a compulsory daily count. Formal practices, including mantra initiation and nyasa (ritual placement of mantras), vary by tradition and are best learned with a teacher.
Text reference: Chandra 28 Names Stotram at Sanskrit Documents. Readings and verse numbering can vary between editions. This page focuses on the hymn text; separate ritual preliminaries and closing source attributions are not reproduced.