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Vaidyanatha Ashtakam

The Vaidyanatha Ashtakam - eight verses to Lord Shiva as Vaidyanatha, the supreme physician who heals all disease.

श्रीरामसौमित्रिजटायुवेद
षडाननादित्यकुजार्चिताय।
श्रीनीलकण्ठाय दयामयाय
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥१॥

गङ्गाप्रवाहेन्दुजटाधराय
त्रिलोचनाय स्मरकालहन्त्रे।
समस्तदेवैरभिपूजिताय
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥२॥

भक्तप्रियाय त्रिपुरान्तकाय
पिनाकिने दुष्टहराय नित्यम्।
प्रत्यक्षलीलाय मनुष्यलोके
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥३॥

प्रभूतवातादिसमस्तरोग
प्रणाशकर्त्रे मुनिवन्दिताय।
प्रभाकरेन्द्वग्निविलोचनाय
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥४॥

वाक्श्रोत्रनेत्राङ्घ्रिविहीनजन्तोः
वाक्श्रोत्रनेत्राङ्घ्रिसुखप्रदाय।
कुष्ठादिसर्वोन्नतरोगहन्त्रे
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥५॥

वेदान्तवेद्याय जगन्मयाय
योगीश्वरध्येयपदाम्बुजाय।
त्रिमूर्तिरूपाय सहस्रनाम्ने
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥६॥

स्वतीर्थमृद्भस्मभृताङ्गभाजां
पिशाचदुःखार्तिभयापहाय।
आत्मस्वरूपाय शरीरभाजां
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥७॥

श्रीनीलकण्ठाय वृषध्वजाय
स्रक्कण्ठहाराय च मल्लिकाय।
सुवर्णवर्णाय सुखप्रदाय
श्रीवैद्यनाथाय नमः शिवाय॥८॥

बालाम्बिकेशवैद्येश भवरोगहराविति।
जपेन्नामत्रयं नित्यं महारोगनिवारणम्॥

shriramasaumitrijatayuveda
shadananadityakujarchitaya।
shrinilakanthaya dayamayaya
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥1॥

gangapravahendujatadharaya
trilochanaya smarakalahantre।
samastadevairabhipujitaya
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥2॥

bhaktapriyaya tripurantakaya
pinakine dushtaharaya nityam।
pratyakshalilaya manushyaloke
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥3॥

prabhutavatadisamastaroga
pranashakartre munivanditaya।
prabhakarendvagnivilochanaya
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥4॥

vakshrotranetranghrivihinajantoh
vakshrotranetranghrisukhapradaya।
kushthadisarvonnatarogahantre
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥5॥

vedantavedyaya jaganmayaya
yogishvaradhyeyapadambujaya।
trimurtirupaya sahasranamne
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥6॥

svatirthamridbhasmabhritangabhajam
pishachaduhkhartibhayapahaya।
atmasvarupaya sharirabhajam
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥7॥

shrinilakanthaya vrishadhvajaya
srakkanthaharaya cha mallikaya।
suvarnavarnaya sukhapradaya
shrivaidyanathaya namah shivaya॥8॥

balambikeshavaidyesha bhavarogaharaviti।
japennamatrayam nityam maharoganivaranam॥

Frequently asked questions about Vaidyanatha Ashtakam

Who is Vaidyanatha?

Shiva as the physician - vaidya, the healer, natha, the lord. He is worshipped under that name at Deoghar in Jharkhand and at Vaitheeswaran Koil in Tamil Nadu, both places devotees visit for illness.

What is the hymn recited for?

Health and recovery. Its eight verses each end shri vaidyanathaya namah shivaya, and families recite it during illness, before surgery, and for someone in long treatment.

Does it replace medical treatment?

No, and the tradition never claimed it. It is recited alongside treatment, for the patient's courage and the family's steadiness. Keep the doctor and keep the hymn - the two were never set against each other.

When is it recited?

Mondays and at Pradosh, and daily where there is illness in the house, often as a sankalpa of a fixed count over a fixed number of days. Water offered on the linga during it is given to the patient as prasad in many families.

Which other hymn is recited with it?

The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra above all, and the Mrita Sanjivani form where the illness is grave - the akshara mantra page gives that text.

About the Vaidyanatha Ashtakam

The Vaidyanatha Ashtakam - eight verses to Lord Shiva as Vaidyanatha, the supreme physician who heals all disease.

Meaning

Each verse bows to Shiva as Vaidyanatha, the divine doctor (vaidya) who cures the disease of worldly existence as well as bodily ailments.

Benefits

Recited for good health and recovery from illness; believed to cure diseases and bestow well-being through the grace of Shiva the healer.

The Vaidyanatha Ashtakam above is given in both Devanagari (Sanskrit) and Roman transliteration so you can read it in whichever script you are comfortable with - switch between the two using the buttons above, share the link, or download a PDF.

A stotram is a longer Sanskrit hymn of praise, not a forty-verse chalisa and not the lamp-song of an aarti. Browse every stotra on the Stotram index. For japa of a short formula use a mantra. The steps of worship around the recitation are in Puja Vidhi.