All 26 numbered verses.
This longer Shani prayer opens with Narada describing King Yudhishthira’s praise of Shanaishchara. It combines protective verses, a sequence of names and closing blessings. It should not be confused with the Dasharatha Shani Stotram.
Prayer text
Sanskrit in Roman letters (IAST transliteration). Pronunciation guide
dhyātvā gaṇapatiṃ rājā dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ |
dhīraḥ śanaiścarasyemaṃ cakāra stavamuttamam || 1 ||
śiro me bhāskariḥ pātu bhālaṃ chāyāsuto’vatu |
koṭarākṣo dṛśau pātu śikhikaṇṭhanibhaḥ śrutī || 2 ||
ghrāṇaṃ me bhīṣaṇaḥ pātu mukhaṃ balimukho’vatu |
skandhau saṃvartakaḥ pātu bhujau me bhayado’vatu || 3 ||
saurirme hṛdayaṃ pātu nābhiṃ śanaiścaro’vatu |
graharājaḥ kaṭiṃ pātu sarvato ravinandanaḥ || 4 ||
pādau mandagatiḥ pātu kṛṣṇaḥ pātvakhilaṃ vapuḥ |
rakṣāmetāṃ paṭhennityaṃ saurernāmabalairyutām || 5 ||
sukhī putrī cirāyuśca sa bhavennātra saṃśayaḥ |
sauriḥ śanaiścaraḥ kṛṣṇo nīlotpalanibhaḥ śaniḥ || 6 ||
śuṣkodaro viśālākṣo durnirīkṣyo vibhīṣaṇaḥ |
śikhikaṇṭhanibho nīlaśchāyāhṛdayanandanaḥ || 7 ||
kāladṛṣṭiḥ koṭarākṣaḥ sthūlaromāvalīmukhaḥ |
dīrgho nirmāṃsagātrastu śuṣko ghoro bhayānakaḥ || 8 ||
nīlāṃśuḥ krodhano raudro dīrghaśmaśrurjaṭādharaḥ |
mando mandagatiḥ khaṃjo tṛptaḥ saṃvartako yamaḥ || 9 ||
graharājaḥ karālī ca sūryaputro raviḥ śaśī |
kujo budho guruḥ kāvyo bhānujaḥ siṃhikāsutaḥ || 10 ||
keturdevapatirbāhuḥ kṛtānto nairṛtastathā |
śaśī marutkuberaśca īśānaḥ sura ātmabhūḥ || 11 ||
viṣṇurharo gaṇapatiḥ kumāraḥ kāma īśvaraḥ |
kartā hartā pālayitā rājyabhug rājyadāyakaḥ || 12 ||
chāyāsutaḥ śyāmalāṅgo dhanahartā dhanapradaḥ |
krūrakarmavidhātā ca sarvakarmāvarodhakaḥ || 13 ||
tuṣṭo ruṣṭaḥ kāmarūpaḥ kāmado ravinandanaḥ |
grahapīḍāharaḥ śānto nakṣatreśo graheśvaraḥ || 14 ||
sthirāsanaḥ sthiragatirmahākāyo mahābalaḥ |
mahāprabho mahākālaḥ kālātmā kālakālakaḥ || 15 ||
ādityabhayadātā ca mṛtyurādityanandanaḥ |
śatabhirukṣadayitā trayodaśītithipriyaḥ || 16 ||
tithyātmā tithigaṇano nakṣatragaṇanāyakaḥ |
yogarāśirmuhūrtātmā kartā dinapatiḥ prabhuḥ || 17 ||
śamīpuṣpapriyaḥ śyāmastrailokyābhayadāyakaḥ |
nīlavāsāḥ kriyāsindhurnīlāñjanacayacchaviḥ || 18 ||
sarvarogaharo devaḥ siddho devagaṇastutaḥ |
aṣṭottaraśataṃ nāmnāṃ saureśchāyāsutasya yaḥ || 19 ||
paṭhennityaṃ tasya pīḍā samastā naśyati dhruvam |
kṛtvā pūjāṃ paṭhenmartyo bhaktimānyaḥ stavaṃ sadā || 20 ||
viśeṣataḥ śanidine pīḍā tasya vinaśyati |
janmalagne sthitirvāpi gocare krūrarāśige || 21 ||
daśāsu ca gate saurau tadā stavamimaṃ paṭhet |
pūjayedyaḥ śaniṃ bhaktyā śamīpuṣpākṣatāmbaraiḥ || 22 ||
vidhāya lohapratimāṃ naro duḥkhādvimucyate |
bādhā yā’nyagrahāṇāṃ ca yaḥ paṭhettasya naśyati || 23 ||
bhīto bhayādvimucyeta baddho mucyeta bandhanāt |
rogī rogādvimucyeta naraḥ stavamimaṃ paṭhet || 24 ||
putravāndhanavān śrīmān jāyate nātra saṃśayaḥ || 25 ||
nārada uvāca ||
stavaṃ niśamya pārthasya pratyakṣo’bhūt śanaiścaraḥ |
dattvā rājñe varaḥ kāmaṃ śaniścāntardadhe tadā || 26 ||
Understanding this prayer
The names portray Shani through dark colours, slow movement, time and many divine forms. The ending returns to the story and describes Shani’s appearance before the king. Reading it as a narrative prayer helps make sense of its changes in voice and imagery.
Words to recognise
- Stavaraja: a title meaning a foremost hymn of praise.
- Sauri: a name of Saturn referring to the Sun.
- Chhayasuta: son of Chhaya.
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: Shanaishchara Stavaraja 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.