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{{Short description|Nondual Hindu text}}
The '''''Nirvanashatkam ''''' (निर्वाणषट्कम्, {{IAST|Nirvāṇaṣatkam}}), also known as '''''Atmashatkam''''' ({{lang|sa|आत्मषट्कम्}}, {{IAST|ātmaṣatkam}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sankaracharya.org/nirvana_shatkam.html |title=Nirvana Shatkam - Works of Sankaracharya, Advaita Vedānta and Hindu Sacred Scriptures |publisher=Sankaracharya.org |date=2007-09-22 |accessdate=2014-02-07}}</ref> is a [[Nondualism|non-dual]] [[Shaivism|Saivite]] composition consisting of six verses or [[shlokas|ślokas]], attributed by the early modern Advaita Vedanta tradition to [[Adi Shankara]].{{sfn|Sadhguru}}

==Etymology==
"[[Nirvana|Nirvāṇa]]" can be roughly translated as complete equanimity, peace, tranquility, freedom and joy. "[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]" is the True Self. "Shatakam" is a [[Sanskrit]] term meaning "consisting of six", used to refer to six-verse compositions in Hindu tradition.<ref>Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit, [https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/index.php?mode=3&direct=au&script=hk&tran_input=shatkam shatkam]</ref>

==Origin==
Shankara's hagiographies (15th-17th c. CE), showing the influence of Yoga-traditions on the Advaita-tradition of that time, narrate that when [[Adi Shankara]] (8th c. CE) was eight years old, he encountered the seer [[Govinda Bhagavatpada]]. Govinda asked Shankara, "Who are you?", to which he answered with these stanzas, whereafter Govinda accepted Shankara as his disciple.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Editor |date=2025-02-07 |title=“Nirvana Shatakam” : A Gateway to the Infinite |url=https://integralyogamagazine.org/nirvana-shatakam-a-gateway-to-the-infinite/ |access-date=2026-03-26 |website=Integral Yoga® Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

The knowledge of '''Shivoham''<nowiki/>' (I am [[Shiva]]) is a core concept in [[Kashmir Shaivism]], as conveyed in ''[[Pratyabhijnahridayam]]'' ('recognition ([[pratyabhijna]]) of the heart', [[Aham (Kashmir Shaivism)|hridayam]]), the knowledge of ''Shivoham'', "I am Shiva",<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&dq=Pratyabhijnahridayam&pg=PT696|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|date=2014-04-18|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-81-8475-277-9|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wilberg|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWE0HcgTmGAC|title=Heidegger, Phenomenology and Indian Thought|date=2008|publisher=New Gnosis Publications|isbn=978-1-904519-08-9|language=en}}</ref> with ''hridayam'' originating in [[Kaula (Hinduism)#The Heart|Kaula Shaivism]]. As Flood explains, in Kashmir Shaivism, the method (''[[upaya]]'') of ''saktopaya'' is related to cognition (''jnana''), "focusing on a pure thought construction (''suddhavikalpa'') that corresponds to a true state of affairs, such as "I am Siva".{{sfn|Flood|2003|p=221}} Tagare also mentions ''[[Soham (Sanskrit)|sóham]]'', establishing the consciousness that one is not different from "the Supreme Self", a method proposed by [[Utpaladeva]] and [[Abhinavagupta|Abhinavgupta]].{{sfn|Tagare|2002|p=124-125}}

== Text ==
{{See also|Aham (Kashmir Shaivism)|l1=||l2=||l3=}}

A quite literal English translation of the composition is as follows:{{efn|This text has been transliterated at 19 july 2011 from the sources at [http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~siva/nirvana.pdf G. Sivakumar, ''Nirvashtakam''],<ref>[http://www.stutimandal.com/new/poemgen.php?id=30 stutimandal.com], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719154549/http://www.stutimandal.com/new/poemgen.php?id=30 |date=2011-07-19 }}</ref> with some corrections made based on HinduPedia, "Nirvana Shatakam.<ref>[http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Nirvana_shatakam HinduPedia, "Nirvana Shatakam]</ref> It was retranslated at 26 march 2026, based on shlokam.org, [https://shlokam.org/shloka/nirvana-shatakam.htm Nirvana Shatkam (Atma Shatakam) of Adi Sankara].}}

Mind, intellect, ego (''manobuddhyahaṅkāra''{{sfn|Sastri}}{{efn|''mano'', [[Manas (early Buddhism)|manas]], mind; ''[[buddhi]]'', intellect, "the power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand"; ''[[Ahamkara|ahaṅkāra]]'', 'ego-making'}}), [my] state of mind (''[[citta|cittani]]''), [are] not (''naham''{{sfn|Sastri}}{{efn|Sanskrit Dictionary [naha]: "tying, trap, obstrucion, binding"; 'I am not bound by'; compare [[nisprapanca]].}}) [heart, center, essence] 
not [the] five senses. 
not [the] five elements, 
Consisting of pure awareness and delight (''cidānandarūpaḥ''{{efn|* ''[[Chit (consciousness)|cid]], (spiritual) consciousness, the core of the mind * ''[[Ānanda (Hindu philosophy)|ananda]]: "bliss", "delight",'the realization of something being perfectly itself' * ''[[Rūpa|rūpaḥ]]'': form;{{sfn|Sastri}} "appearance";<ref name="ss_rupa"/> 'value', the most essential; "consisting of"<ref name="ss_rupa">Spoken Sanskrit, [https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=rupa&dir=au rupa]</ref>}}), [[Shiva]], [is] [heart, center of being-aware] (''śivo'[[Kaula (Hinduism)#The Heart|ham]]''){{efn|''śivo'', Shiva; ''[[Kaula (Hinduism)#The Heart|aham]]'', 'I am', 'the [spiritual] heart', 'the center of what "I" am'. Compare [[Svayam prakāśa]] and [[Aham Brahmasmi]].}} 

Not [[Prana|prāṇa]] (vital breath), not [the] five types of breath ([[Prana|vāyus]] - [[Prana|Prāṇa]], Apāna, Vyāna, [[Udāna]], Samāna), 
not [the] seven material essences, not [the] five sheaths ([[Panchakosha|pañca-kośa]]). 
Not [the] organ of speech, not [the] organs for holding (hand), movement (feet) or excretion, 
Consisting of pure awareness and delight, Shiva [is] [heart, center of being-aware].

Not [my] hatred or dislike, not [my] affiliation or liking, not [my] greed, not [my] delusion, 
not [my] pride or haughtiness, not [my] feelings of envy or jealousy. 
Not [my] duty ([[dharma]]), desire for wealth ([[artha]]), lust ([[Kama|kāma]]), liberation ([[Moksha|mokṣa]]). 
Consisting of pure awareness and delight, Shiva [is] [heart, center of being-aware].

Not merit (virtue), not sin, not ''[[sukkha]]'' (wordly pleasure), not ''[[dukkha]]'' (suffering due to attachement), 
Not ''[[Mantra|mantras]]'', [[Tirtha (Hinduism)|holy places]], scriptures ([[Vedas]]), rituals or sacrifices ([[Yajna|yajñas]]). 
Not [the] object being enjoyed, not the enjoyer. 
Consisting of pure awareness and delight, Shiva [is] [heart, center of being-aware].

Not death, not fear, not [[Caste system in India|caste-distinctions]], 
Not father, not mother, not birth. 
Not relatives, not friends, not [[guru]], not disciple. 
Consisting of pure awareness and delight, Shiva [is] [heart, center of being-aware].

[Essence, heart] (''aham'') [is] without erroneous [[Prapanca|thought-constructions]] (''nirvikalpaḥ''), formless-form (''nirākārarūpaḥ''), 
omnipresent (''vibhutvāt'') and everywhere (''sarvatra''), [beyond] all sense-faculties (''sarven[[Indriya#Five material or six sensory faculties|driyāṇām]]''). 
Not unattached, not liberated ([[Moksha|mukti]]), not measurable. 
Consisting of pure awareness and delight, Shiva [is] [heart, center of being-aware].{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}}

== Interpretations ==
Swami Chinmayananda's interprets Nirvana Shatakam as a systematic method of self-analysis through negation (neti-neti), guiding the seeker to identify the eternal Self by eliminating all false identifications. According to his commentary, the first two verses reject the gross and subtle aspects of existence the mind, intellect, ego, thought, five elements, five vital airs (prana, apana, samana, vyana, udana), and the five sheaths (pancha koshas) that constitute the human personality. The third verse demonstrates the liberated soul's detachment from likes and dislikes, rising even beyond the four human attainments of dharma, artha, kama, and moksha itself. The remaining verses establish that such a Self has no need for scriptures, rituals, chants, birth, death, human relationships, or caste distinctions. The refrain "Chidananda Rupah Shivoham" (I am the form of consciousness and bliss) reinforces that the true Self is nothing but pure, formless, all-pervasive consciousness the ultimate reality behind all existence.<ref>Śaṅkarācārya. *Adi Shankaracharya's Maneesha panchakam*. Commentary by Swami Chinmayananda. Bangalore: Chinmaya Movement Silver Jubilee Committee, c. 1980. "Text and translation of 'Nirvana shatkam' and 'Guru stotram' also included."</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Śaṅkarācārya |url=https://archive.org/details/wg894/page/16/mode/2up |title=Shree Sankaracharya's Nirvana Shatakam |publisher=Central Chinmaya Mission Trust |others=Commentary by Swami Tejomayananda |access-date=2026-04-05 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

[[Sadhguru]] comments:
{{blockquote|Nirvana means [[Nisprapanca|"formless."]] The Nirvana Shatakam is towards this – you don’t want to be either this or that. If you don’t want to be this nor that, then what do you want to be? Your mind cannot understand this because your mind always wants to be something. If I say, “I don’t want to be this; I don’t want to be that,” you would think, “Oh something super!” Not super. “Oh, so emptiness?” Not emptiness. “Nothingness?” Not nothingness. That’s what is being conveyed through this chant.{{sfn|Sadhguru}}}}

==Notes==
{{Noteslist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}

* {{cite book | last =Flood | first =Gavin | year =2003 | chapter =The Śaiva Traditions | editor-last =Flood | editor-first =Gavin |title =The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism | publisher =Wiley-Blackwell | location =Malden, MA | isbn =978-1405132510}}

* {{Cite web | last =Sadhguru | title =Nirvana Shatakam - Shivoham Shivoham Lyrics and Meaning | website =isha.sadhguru.org | url =https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/blog/article/nirvana-shatakam-lyrics-meaning | access-date =2026-03-26 | language =en}}
* {{cite web | last =Sastri | first =S. N. | url =https://shlokam.org/shloka/nirvana-shatakam.htm | title = Nirvana Shatkam | access-date =2026-03-26}}
* {{cite book | last =Tagare | first =G.V. | year =2002 | title =The Pratyabhijna Philosophy | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass | url =https://archive.org/details/ThePratyabhijnaPhilosophyG.V.Tagare}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* Yogapedia, [https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/10977/soham-shivoham-mantra Soham Shivoham Mantra]
* mooji.org, [https://mooji.org/music/sahaja-samadhi/8 Nirvana Shatakam]

[[Category:Hindu texts]]
[[Category:Adi Shankara]]
[[Category:8th-century Sanskrit literature]]
[[Category:Advaita Vedanta]]
[[Category:Advaita Vedanta texts]]

Nirvanashatkam - Revision history

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