''Shiva Mahimna Stotra'' ( sa, शिवमहिम्न:स्तोत्र , śiva-mahimnah stotra , translit-std=IAST , Hymn about the greatness of Shiva) is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

composition (

Stotra ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...

) in devotion of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

that is believed has been composed by a ''

gandharva A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

'' (heavenly being) named Pushpadanta. It essentially lists Shiva's various achievements and qualities.

The context

Pushpadanta was a ''gandharva'', a celestial musician, in the court of god

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

, but also a lover of flowers and a devotee of

. Once he happened to see a beautiful garden adorned with charming flowers. It was the garden of king Chitraratha who was also a devotee of Shiva. The king used to offer flowers from his palatial garden as a symbol of his devotion to Shiva. Pushpadanta was awestruck by the beauty of the garden and plucked flowers from the garden. Every day he tried to stop himself in vain, but plucked flowers. In the end, king Chitraratha was left with no flowers for his prayers to Shiva. The king tried to find the thief, but Pushpadanta had a divine power of invisibility. The king then had an idea – he spread

bilva ''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a rare species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is pr ...

leaves in his garden. Pushpadanta unknowingly stepped on the leaves. This act of desecration infuriated Shiva and he punished Pushpadanta by taking away his divine powers. Pushpadanta knew the reason and in order to seek forgiveness, he composed a ''

stotra ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...

'' (song of praise) in which he praised Shiva's greatness. Pleased with the poem, Shiva absolved him and returned his divine powers. This prayer became known as ''Shiva Mahimna Stotra''.

References

External links

This link contains Sanskrit text of the strotram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiva Mahimna Stotram Hindu devotional texts Shaivism Sanskrit texts

The context

References

Further reading

External links