Kalabhairava Ashtakam — verse 3
The four things in his hands, and the dance he loves: the verse that fixes Bhairava's iconography.
Kalabhairava Ashtakam verse 3edition
Sanskrit · संस्कृत
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Meaning
In his hands the trident, the chisel-axe, the noose and the staff; the first cause; dark-bodied, the primal god, imperishable, free from all affliction; of terrible stride, the lord, who delights in the wondrous tāṇḍava — I worship Kala Bhairava, lord of the city of Kashi.
This rendering is by a DharmSetu editor, not a quotation from a published translation. Compare with the public-domain translation.
A Hindi meaning has not been written for this mantra yet. Hindi is authored by a named editor rather than machine-translated, so it arrives more slowly.
How to recite
- Repetitions
- 1 · 3
- Time
- brahma muhurta, sandhya
Pronunciation key — sounds commonly got wrong
- ट ठ ड ढ ण · ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ
- Retroflex — the tongue curls back and touches the roof of the mouth. Distinct from the dental त थ द ध न, where the tongue touches the teeth.
- श ष स · ś ṣ s
- Three different sounds: ś as in “shy”, ṣ retroflex and further back, s plain. Collapsing them changes words.
- ः · ḥ (visarga)
- A soft outward breath echoing the preceding vowel — not a hard “ha”.
- ं · ṃ (anusvara)
- Nasalises the vowel; the closing sound follows the consonant that comes next.
- Long vs short vowels — a / ā, i / ī, u / ū
- Vowel length is meaningful in Sanskrit. Hold the macron vowels roughly twice as long.
- Aspirated consonants — kh, gh, ch, th, dh, ph, bh
- A distinct puff of breath. ph is an aspirated p, never an English “f”.
Word by word
- शूलटङ्कपाशदण्डपाणिम्śūlaṭaṅkapāśadaṇḍapāṇim
- holding trident, chisel-axe, noose and staff in hand(acc. sg.)
- आदिकारणम्ādikāraṇam
- the first cause(acc. sg.)MW1899-CDSL p.137
- श्यामकायम्śyāmakāyam
- dark-bodied(acc. sg.)
- आदिदेवम्ādidevam
- the primal god(acc. sg.)MW1899-CDSL p.137
- अक्षरम्akṣaram
- imperishable(acc. sg.)MW1899-CDSL p.3
- निरामयम्nirāmayam
- free from affliction(acc. sg.)MW1899-CDSL p.540
- भीमविक्रमम्bhīmavikramam
- of terrible stride
Context
Shadanga — the six limbs
The traditional analytic frame for a mantra. Blank limbs are simply not recorded for this text.
- devata
- Kala Bhairava
Recited at / traditionally recited for
Classified as Stotra — Devotional hymn literature — praise poetry rather than a Vedic formula. Basis for this classification.
Related mantras
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
The Tryambaka verse of the Rigveda, addressed to Rudra — a prayer for release, likening it to a ripe fruit loosening from its stem.
Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
Three movements — from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to what does not die. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.
Sangachhadhvam Samvadadhvam
The closing hymn of the Rigveda, on moving together and speaking together — Rigveda 10.191.2.