Bilvashtakam

Note: For the alternate version of Bilvashtakam with 14 verses please click here.

Composed by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the famous Bilvashtakam extols the virtues of the Bilva leaf (also spelt Vilva, Bilwa) and Lord Shiva’s love for it. Shri Shiva Bilvashtakam is a very powerful chant that describes the power and glory of offering bilva leaves to Lord Shiva.

They are to be offered in a group of three leaves and are said to have features that identify them with Lord Shiva himself. The Bilva leaf is trifoliate which signifies the holy Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. It also signifies the three eyes of Shiva.

According to Shiva Purana, the Bilva is the symbol of Lord Shiva. It is adored even by the Gods. It is difficult to understand its greatness. Blessed are the ones who offer the Bilva. One Bilva is equal to a thousand lotuses, says the Shiva Purana.

According to the Skanda Purana, the Bilva (Bel) tree grew from the sweat droplets of Parvati which fell on the Mandrachal mountain. Hence, it is believed that the Goddess resides in this tree in all Her forms — as Girija in the roots, Maheshwari in the trunk, Dakshayani in the branches, Parvati in the leaves, Katyayani in the fruit, and Gauri in the flowers. Therefore, as Parvati resides in Her various forms in this tree, Shiva is extremely fond of its leaves.

The following commentary is from SanskritDocuments.org by N. Balasubramanaiam

These verses in this poem Bilvashtakam highlight some of Shiva’s glories and draw one’s mind to Him. Each verse is a couplet with two lines. The first eight verses identify features of Lord Shiva with the Bilva leaf. Verse 9 is the phalaśruti (the benefit one gains by reciting this hymn).

Verse 1 Commentary

tridalaṃ triguṇākāraṃ trinetraṃ triyāyudham . trijanmapāpasaṃhāraṃ ekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇm .. 1..

Word-by-word:

• tridalam — having three petals

• triguṇākāraṃ — constituted of the three gunas (Satva, Rajas, Tamas). These three qualities constitute Maya, the creative power of Ishvara, and pervade all of creation. One of Shiva’s names is guṇatrayasvarūpaḥ — He is the cause behind creation.

• trinetram — having three eyes (the sun, the moon, and Agni/fire). Shiva is known as triṇetraḥ, somasūryāgnilocanaḥ, tryaṃbakaḥ, and trilocanaḥ. The third eye stands for His infinite wisdom.

• triyāyudham — having three kinds of weapons:

  1. Striking weapons (sword, mace)
  2. Projectile weapons (discus, spear, trident)
  3. Released weapons (arrow from bow)

  Shiva wields the mace, trident, and the bow Pinaka. These weapons show He is ever ready to protect His devotees. Among His names are śūlahastaḥ, vajrī, dhanvī, and pinākī.

• trijanmapāpasaṃhāram — He who destroys sins accumulated over three (many) births. Even uttering His names destroys sins: smṛti mātreṇa pāvayan śivaḥ. For this reason He is known as bhargaḥ.

• eka bilvam — one cluster of bilva leaves

• śivārpaṇam — offered to Lord Shiva

A bilva leaf offered to the Lord with devotion is of great merit. As Krishna says in the Gita (9.26):

patraṃ puṣpaṃ phalaṃ toyaṃ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati . tadahaṃ bhaktyupahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ..

“When one offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water with pure devotion, I accept that offering.”

The refrain eka bilvaṃ śivārpaṇam occurs in all the verses and is not repeated in the translation.

Meaning: I offer to Lord Shiva a cluster of three bilva leaves, which represent the three gunas that constitute His Maya, His three eyes, the three kinds of weapons He bears, and whose very thought destroys one’s accumulated sins.

Verse 2 Commentary

triśākhaiḥ bilvapatraiśca hyacchidraiḥ komalaiḥ śubhaiḥ . śivapūjāṃ kariṣyāmi hyekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 2..

• triśākhaiḥ — with three shoots/branches
• acchidraiḥ — not damaged, without holes or defects
• komalaiḥ — tender, soft
• śubhaiḥ — auspicious, good
• bilvapatraiḥ — with bilva leaves (as described)
• kariṣyāmi — I perform
• śivapūjāṃ — puja to Lord Shiva

Meaning: I perform puja to Lord Shiva with a bunch of bilva leaves that are auspicious, soft, tender, have three leaves, and are not damaged or defective in any manner.

Verse 3 Commentary

akhaṇḍa bilvapatreṇa pūjite nandikeśvare . śuddhyanti sarvapāpebhyo hyekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 3..

• akhaṇḍa — unbroken, whole
• bilvapatreṇa — with the bilva leaf
• nandikeśvare — Shiva, the Lord of Nandi
• pūjite — if worshipped
• sarvapāpebhyo — from all sins
• śuddhyanti — are purified

Nandi’s story is mentioned in the Kurma Purana. He was a great devotee of Shiva and was blessed by Him with a form similar to His own and a prominent position among His retinue.

Meaning: By offering puja to Shiva — the Lord of Nandi — with a bilva leaf that is whole and without defects, one is freed from all sins.

Verse 4 Commentary

śāligrāma śilāmekāṃ viprāṇāṃ jātu cārpayet . somayajña mahāpuṇyaṃ ekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 4..

• ekāṃ — one
• śāligrāmaśilāṃ — a Shaligrama stone (sacred fossil stone, worshipped as a form of Vishnu)
• viprāṇāṃ — to a brahmin equipped with knowledge of the Self
• jātu — at any time
• arpayet — if one gives
• somayajña mahāpuṇyam — the great merit of performing a Soma Yaga (Vedic sacrifice)

A Shaligrama is a spherical or ellipsoidal stone, considered sacred in worship. The Lord can be worshipped in two aspects — with form and without form. The Shaligrama stone, because of its shape, serves as a via media: it has form yet hints at the formless. Gifting it to a deserving person aids their spiritual progress.

Krishna says in the Gita (17.20) that a gift given to one who cannot return the favor, at a proper place and time, to a worthy person, is a gift of purity (sāttvika dāna):

dātavyamiti yaddānaṃ dīyate’nupakāriṇe . deśe kāle ca pātre ca taddānaṃ sātvikaṃ smṛtam ..

Shankaracharya defines a “worthy person” (vipra) as one who has studied the Vedas with all six branches. If, beyond study, he has acquired knowledge of the Self, his worth increases a thousandfold — such a person is as rare as the Lord Himself. As Krishna says, jñānī tvātmaiva me matam — “the wise one is My very Self.”

Meaning: If one gifts a sacred Shaligrama stone to a brahmin who has realized the Self, he earns merit equal to that of performing a great sacrifice.

Verse 5 Commentary

dantikoṭi sahasrāṇī vājapeya śatāni ca . koṭikanyā mahādānaṃ ekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 5..

• danti — elephant
• koṭiḥ — crore (ten million)
• sahasrāṇi — thousands (i.e., thousands of crores of elephants)
• vājapeya — a type of Vedic sacrifice
• śatāni — hundreds (hundreds of Vajapeya sacrifices)
• koṭikanyā — millions of young maidens
• mahādānaṃ — great gift
• dānaṃ — giving, presenting

These three gifts — thousands of crores of elephants, hundreds of Vajapeya sacrifices, and gifting millions of daughters in marriage — are considered supremely meritorious. Yet even these cannot match the offering of a single Bilva leaf to Lord Shiva.

Acts of material charity, however great, produce finite merit that exhausts itself in time. Even the heavens are impermanent — as Krishna says (Gita 7.16):

ābrahmabhuvanāllokāḥ punarāvartino’rjuna . māmupetya tu kaunteya punarjanma na vidyate ..

“All worlds, up to Brahma’s realm, are subject to rebirth. But having come to Me, there is no rebirth.”

Worshipping Shiva with Bilva leaves, with proper understanding, confers wisdom that leads to liberation. The Gita (4.33) declares:

śreyān dravyamayādyajñāt jñānayajñaḥ parantapa . sarvaṃ karmākhilaṃ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate ..

“The sacrifice of knowledge is superior to material sacrifice. All actions culminate in knowledge.”

As Shankaracharya explains, material sacrifices produce finite results, but the sacrifice of knowledge yields liberation.

Meaning: Gifting of thousands of elephants, performing hundreds of great sacrifices, or giving millions of daughters in marriage — none of these compare to offering a single Bilva leaf to Lord Shiva.

Verse 6 Commentary

lakṣmyāstanuta utpannaṃ mahādevasya ca priyam . bilvavṛkṣaṃ prayacchāmi hyekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 6..

• lakṣmyāstanuta — from the body of Lakshmi
• utpannaṃ — born, originated
• mahādevasya priyaṃ — dear to Mahadeva (Shiva)
• bilvavṛkṣaṃ — a bilva tree
• prayacchāmi — I give, I offer

The Bilva tree is unique — it bears fruit without apparent flowering. Hence it is known as vanaspatiḥ, the master of trees. Its fruit symbolizes wisdom born of a ripened mind — wisdom that annihilates ignorance and confers liberation.

The Skanda Purana describes the Bilva tree springing from the right hand of Lakshmi Devi. Vishnu worshipped Lord Shiva with its leaves, and Shiva declared the tree would be known as Śrīvṛkṣaḥ (“the blessed tree”) and would embody the three Vedas. The Śrī Sūktam prays to Lakshmi:

ādityavarṇe tapasodhijāto vanaspatistava vṛkṣo’tha bilvaḥ . tasyaphalāni tapasānudantu māyāntarāyāśca bāhyā alakṣmīḥ ..

“May the Bilva fruit that arose from your penance dispel ignorance and its cause, Maya, and remove all obstacles and misfortune.”

Since Lakshmi resides in the Bilva leaf (bilvanilayā is one of Her names), worshipping the Lord with it blesses the devotee with wisdom and dispels poverty and sickness.

Meaning: I offer the Bilva tree that sprang from the body of Lakshmi Devi and is dear to Lord Mahadeva.

Verse 7 Commentary

darśanaṃ bilvavṛkṣasya sparśanaṃ pāpanāśanam . aghorapāpasaṃhāraṃ ekabilvaṃ śivarpaṇam .. 7..

• darśanaṃ — seeing, looking at
• bilvavṛkṣasya — of the Bilva tree
• sparśanaṃ — touching
• pāpanāśanaṃ — destruction of sins
• aghorapāpasaṃhāraṃ — destroys even the most horrible sins. The word aghora normally means “not terrible,” but here it means “extremely terrible” — even the gravest sins are destroyed.

The reason seeing or touching the Bilva tree is so purifying is that it represents all the gods, as described in the commentary for Verse 9 below.

Meaning: Even having a look at the Bilva tree or touching it destroys the most horrible sins one might have committed.

Verse 8 Commentary

kāśīkṣetranivāsaṃ ca kālabhairavadarśanam . prayāghamādhavaṃ dṛṣṭvā hyekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 8..

• kāśīkṣetranivāsaṃ — residing in the holy city of Kasi (Varanasi)
• kālabhairavadarśanam — having the darshan of Lord Kalabhairava
• prayāghamādhavaṃ dṛṣṭvā — seeing Lord Madhava at Prayag (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati)

On Kasi and Kalabhairava: Kasi is one of the mokṣapurīs — cities that can grant liberation. The Agni Purana declares that bathing, chanting, performing homa, or even dying in Kasi ensures liberation. Lord Kalabhairava, the guardian deity of Kasi, grants freedom from rebirth to those who have His darshan. As Shankaracharya sings in his Kalabhairavashtakam:

bhānukoṭibhāsvaraṃ bhavābdhitārakaṃ paraṃ nīlakaṇṭhamīpsitārthadāyakaṃ trilocanam . kālakālamambujākṣamastaśūnyamakṣaraṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje ..

On Prayaga: Prayaga (modern Prayagraj) is known as tīrtharājā — the king of holy places. It is the confluence of the three sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. In yogic terms, Prayaga corresponds to the Ājñā Chakra (the sixth energy center between the eyebrows), where the three nāḍīs — Śuṣumṇā, Iḍā, and Piṅgalā — converge. This is the seat of Lord Maheśvara, also known as Madhava. Meditating on this chakra at the time of death leads to the supreme Spirit (Gita 8.10).

On Tirtha (sacred places): The Puranas teach that true pilgrimage is inward. Feeding one’s parents, speaking truth, controlling the senses — these are the real holy baths. As the Mahabharata says:

nodakaklinnagātrastu snāta ityabhidhīyate . sa snāto yo damasnātaḥ sa bāhyāntaraḥ śuciḥ ..

“One whose body is merely wet by water is not truly bathed. Only one who has bathed in self-control is pure within and without.”

Shankaracharya, in his Kāśīpañcakam, declares that the body itself is Kasi, knowledge is the Ganga, devotion is Gaya, and meditation on the guru’s feet is Prayaga. If all this is within our own body, what need is there for any other pilgrimage?

Meaning: If one resides in Kasi, has darshan of Lord Kalabhairava, visits Prayag and sees Lord Madhava, and also worships Lord Shiva with a Bilva leaf — such a one is assured of the Lord’s grace.

Verse 9 Commentary

mūlato brahmarūpāya madhyato viṣṇurūpiṇe . agrataḥ śivarūpāya hyekabilvaṃ śivārpaṇam .. 9..

• mūlataḥ — at the root level
• brahmarūpāya — having the form of Brahma the creator
• madhyataḥ — in the middle portion
• viṣṇurūpiṇe — having the form of Vishnu, the sustainer
• agrataḥ — at the top portion
• śivarūpāya — having the form of Shiva the destroyer

The Bilva tree is conceived as the Supreme Being, taking the forms of Brahma (creator), Vishnu (sustainer), and Shiva (destroyer). The Vedic hymn Śrī Rudram salutes the Lord: namo vṛkṣebhyo harikeśebhyaḥ — “salutations to the Lord who assumes the form of trees.”

The root, hidden underground, represents the mystery of creation — anādi (beginningless), beyond comprehension. The visible stem corresponds to the manifest world, sustained by Vishnu. The top portion, where the tree meets the sky, represents Shiva, the destroyer who resolves all creation back into itself.

Worshipping the Bilva tree with this understanding purges sins and confers supreme benefit.

Meaning: Worshipping Lord Shiva with a leaf from the Bilva tree — which represents Brahma in the root, Vishnu in the middle, and Shiva at the top — one attains the supreme benefit.

Phalaśruti (The Blessings)

bilvāṣṭakamidaṃ puṇyaṃ yaḥ paṭhet śivasannidhau . sarvapāpa vinirmuktaḥ śivalokamavāpnuyāt .. 10..

• bilvāṣṭakaṃ — the Bilvashtakam hymn
• idaṃ — this
• puṇyaṃ — meritorious, sacred
• yaḥ — whosoever
• paṭhet — recites, reads
• śivasannidhau — in the presence/proximity of Shiva
• sarvapāpa vinirmuktaḥ — freed from all sins
• śivalokaṃ — the world/realm of Shiva
• āpnuyāt — attains, reaches

This is the phalaśruti — the declaration of benefits gained by reciting the hymn. Whoever reads these sacred verses in the presence of Lord Shiva (in a temple or one’s home shrine), with faith and devotion, will be absolved of all sins and attain the abode of Shiva.

Such declarations in all stotras serve two purposes: they inspire one to recite, and they plant the seed of devotion, making the devotee a recipient of the Lord’s grace.

Meaning: Whoever reads these sacred verses of Bilvashtakam in the proximity of Lord Shiva will be freed of all sins and attain the abode of Shiva.

.. oṃ tatsat ..