Navaratna Malika Stotram
नवरत्नमालिका स्तोत्रम्
What is the Navaratna Malika Stotram?
Navaratna Malika Stotram The Navaratna Malika Stotram is a nine-verse Sanskrit hymn to the Goddess (Devi), traditionally attributed to Adi Shankaracharya. Each of the nine verses works like a single gem strung into one garland, building a head-to-toe picture of the Divine Mother, so the whole hymn is often called a navaratna, a string of nine jewels, offered in her praise.
Some hymns describe the Goddess in broad strokes. The Navaratna Malika Stotram does something more patient. It moves verse by verse, almost gem by gem, tracing her crown, her earrings, her smile, her seat, her very form, until nine short verses have built one complete image of the Divine Mother in the mind of the person reciting them. That is where the name comes from: navaratna, nine gems, malika, a garland, one jewel added at a time until the necklace is whole.Tradition places the composition of this stotram with Adi Shankaracharya, the eighth-century philosopher-saint whose stotras to the Goddess (alongside his philosophical works) are still recited daily across India. The closing verse names him directly, describing him as a disciple of Govinda Bhagavatpada, the same lineage credited with the Soundarya Lahari and several other Devi hymns. If you are chanting this stotram, you are joining a practice that has carried the same nine verses forward for well over a thousand years.
Navaratna Malika Stotram Lyrics (Sanskrit & English)
Verified against the Devanagari edition and itx metadata at sanskritdocuments.org (devii_navaratna.itx, filed under devii/dashamahAvidyA/stotra/shankarAchArya) and cross-checked word-for-word against the roman transliteration at hindupad.com and the sanskritdocuments mirror hosted at stotram.co.in. All three agree on the nine verses and the closing Phalashruti reproduced below.
haaranuupurakiriitakundalavibhooshitaavayavashobhineem
kaaraneshavaramaulikoti parikalpyamaana padapeethikaam
kaalakaalaphanipaashabaana dhanurankushaa maruna mekhalaam
phaalabhootilakalochanaam manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
हारनूपुरकिरीटकुण्डलविभूषितावयवशोभिनीं
कारणेशवरमौलिकोटिपरिकल्प्यमानपदपीठिकाम्
कालकालफणिपाशबाणधनुरङ्कुशामरुणमेखलां
फालभूतिलकलोचनां मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
The opening verse sets the Goddess before the mind's eye fully adorned, garland, anklets, crown and earrings catching the light, seated so high that even the crowns of lesser rulers become the footstool beneath her feet. She holds the noose, the arrow, the bow and the goad, wears a red girdle at her waist, and carries the sacred mark on her brow. The verse closes with the refrain that repeats through the whole hymn: I hold the Supreme Goddess in my mind.
gandhasaara ghanasaara chaaru nava naagavalli rasavaasineem
saandhyaraaga madhuraadharaa bharana sundaraananaa shuchismitaam
mandharaayata vilochanaa mamalabaala chandrakruta shekhareem
indiraaramana sodareem manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
गन्धसारघनसारचारुनवनागवल्लिरसवासिनीं
सान्ध्यरागमधुराधराभरणसुन्दराननशुचिस्मिताम्
मन्धरायतविलोचनाममलबालचन्द्रकृतशेखरीं
इन्दिरारमणसोदरीं मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
Here the focus turns gentle, fragrant sandal and camphor, the fresh taste of betel leaf on her lips, a mouth coloured like twilight and a smile as pure as it is sweet. Her eyes are wide and unhurried, a young crescent moon rests in her hair, and she is named as the sister figure connected to Vishnu, placing her within the same divine family that devotees already know and love.
smera chaarumukha mandalaam vimala gandalambimani mandalaam
haaradaama parishobhamaana kuchabhaara bheerutanumadhyamaam
veeragarvaharanuupuraam vividhakaaraneshavarapeethikaam
maaravairisahachaarineem manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
स्मेरचारुमुखमण्डलां विमलगण्डलम्बिमणिमण्डलां
हारदामपरिशोभमानकुचभारभीरुतनुमध्यमाम्
वीरगर्वहरनूपुरां विविधकारणेशवरपीठिकां
मारवैरिसहचारिणीं मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
The third verse lingers on her smiling face and gem earrings brushing her cheeks, then contrasts a full, garland-draped upper body with a waist so slender it seems almost too delicate to bear it. Her anklets are said to outshine the pride of any warrior, and she sits enthroned above every kind of causal power, always in the company of the one who conquered desire itself, a quiet reference to Shiva.
bhooribhaaradhara kundaleendramanibaddha bhoovalayapeethikaam
vaariraashimanimekhalaavalayavahnimandalashareerineem
vaarisaaravahakundalaam gaganashekhareem cha paramaatmikaam
chaaruchandraravilochanaam manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
भूरिभारधरकुण्डलीन्द्रमणिबद्धभूवलयपीठिकां
वारिराशिमणिमेखलावलयवह्निमण्डलशरीरिणीम्
वारिसारवहकुण्डलां गगनशेखरीं च परमात्मिकां
चारुचन्द्ररविलोचनां मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
The scale widens here until she becomes cosmic in proportion, the whole circle of the earth is her pedestal, the ocean her jewelled girdle, a ring of fire her very body. She wears the sky itself as a crown, the sun and moon serve as her eyes, and the verse names her plainly as the Supreme Self behind all this imagery, reminding the reciter that the physical description is a doorway, not the destination.
kundalatrividhakonamandalavihaara shaddalasamullasat pundareekamukhabhedineem cha prachandabhaanubhaasamujjvalaam
mandalenduparivaahitaamruta tarangineem arunaroopineem
mandalaantamanideepikaam manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
कुण्डलत्रिविधकोणमण्डलविहारषड्दलसमुल्लस-
त्पुण्डरीकमुखभेदिनीं च प्रचण्डभानुभासमुज्ज्वलाम्
मण्डलेन्दुपरिवाहितामृततरङ्गिणीमरुणरूपिणीं
मण्डलान्तमणिदीपिकां मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
This verse turns inward toward the subtle geometry that yogic and tantric tradition maps onto the body and the mind, the triangle within the six-petaled circle, a white lotus opened at its centre, a flow of nectar streaming from the circle of the moon. She is pictured as reddish-hued light itself, a lamp of gems glowing at the innermost point of that circle, radiant rather than merely decorated.
vaaranaananamayuuravaahamukhadaahavaaranapayodharaam
chaaranaadisurasundareechikurashekareekrutapadaambujaam
kaaranaadhipatipanchakaprakrutikaaranaprathamamaatrukaam
vaaranaantamukhapaaranaam manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
वारणाननमयूरवाहमुखदाहवारणपयोधरां
चारणादिसुरसुन्दरीचिकुरशेकरीकृतपदाम्बुजाम्
कारणाधिपतिपञ्चकप्रकृतिकारणप्रथममातृकां
वारणान्तमुखपारणां मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
Here she is seen as mother in the most literal sense, nourishing the elephant-faced Ganesha and the peacock-riding Kartikeya at her own body, while celestial dancers rest their hair against her lotus feet in devotion. She is called the first cause behind the five great presiding powers of creation, the original mother-syllable from which those powers unfold, and the one who satisfies hunger down to its very last trace.
padmakaanti padapaanipallava payodharaananasaroruhaam
padmaraagamanimekhalaavalayaneevishobhitanitambineem
padmasambhavasadaashivaantamayapancharatnapadapeethikaam
padmineem pranavaroopineem manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
पद्मकान्तिपदपाणिपल्लवपयोधराननसरोरुहां
पद्मरागमणिमेखलावलयनीविशोभितनितम्बिनीम्
पद्मसम्भवसदाशिवान्तमयपञ्चरत्नपदपीठिकां
पद्मिनीं प्रणवरूपिणीं मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
The lotus becomes the running image of this verse, lotus-coloured skin, hands and feet like tender lotus shoots, a face like a lotus in bloom, a girdle of ruby set at her hips. Her seat is built from five sacred elements spanning Brahma to Shiva, and the verse ends by naming her as the very form of the sacred syllable Om, the sound from which the whole tradition is said to begin.
aagamapranavapeethikaam amalavarnamangalashareerineem
aagamaavayavashobhineem akhilavedasaarakrutashekhareem
moolamantramukhamandalaam muditanaadabindunavayauvanaam
maatrukaam tripurasundareem manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
आगमप्रणवपीठिकाममलवर्णमङ्गलशरीरिणीं
आगमावयवशोभिनीमखिलवेदसारकृतशेखरीम्
मूलमन्त्रमुखमण्डलां मुदितनादबिन्दुनवयौवनां
मातृकां त्रिपुरसुन्दरीं मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
This verse names her plainly at last, Tripurasundari, the beauty of the three worlds, seated at the very foundation of the sacred texts and crowned with the essence drawn from every Veda. Her face is described as the root-mantra itself, and her youth is said to be renewed constantly through the joy of nada and bindu, the subtle sound and point from which tantric tradition says all mantra unfolds.
kaalikaatimirakuntalaantaghanabhrungamangalaviraajineem
choolikaashikharamaalikaavalayamallikaasurabhisaurabhaam
vaalikaamadhuragandamandalamanoharaananasaroruhaam
baalikaamakhilanaayikaam manasi bhaavayaami paradevataam
कालिकातिमिरकुन्तलान्तघनभृङ्गमङ्गलविराजिनीं
चूलिकाशिखरमालिकावलयमल्लिकासुरभिसौरभाम्
वालिकामधुरगण्डमण्डलमनोहराननसरोरुहां
बालिकामखिलनायिकां मनसि भावयामि परदेवताम्
Meaning
The final descriptive verse gathers everything into one closing picture, dark tresses that gleam like a cluster of auspicious dark bees, a crown wreathed with jasmine whose fragrance spreads outward, and a sweet, lotus-like face untouched by age despite the immense authority she holds. She is called the maiden who is mistress of every being, young in form yet supreme over all.
Meaning & Significance
Read straight through, the nine verses work like a single unhurried darshan, a devotee’s gaze moving from crown to feet and back to the whole. Nothing in the sequence is decorative for its own sake. The jewels, the fragrance, the lotus imagery and even the mention of Ganesha and Kartikeya at her side all point toward the same idea repeated at the end of every verse: manasi bhavayami paradevatam, I hold the Supreme Goddess in my mind. The stotram is less a description meant to be admired and more an instruction, verse by verse, on how to actually build that mental picture until it steadies into meditation.
The ninth verse also does something the others do not: it names her outright as Tripurasundari, the beauty of the three worlds, tying the whole hymn to a specific and widely worshipped form of the Goddess rather than leaving her generic. That is worth knowing if you come to this stotram through a general search for Devi hymns and want to understand exactly which aspect of the Goddess you are addressing.
How to Chant the Navaratna Malika Stotram
- Sit facing east or north – Settle into a steady, comfortable seated posture, ideally in front of a Devi image or a simple lamp.
- Begin with a short invocation – A single line to Ganesha or a moment of quiet breathing helps settle the mind before starting.
- Chant verse by verse, unhurried – Let each verse build its own image in the mind rather than rushing to the next; the refrain manasi bhavayami paradevatam is the anchor point of the whole hymn.
- Close with the Phalashruti – Recite the final verse, which names Shankara as the composer, then sit quietly for a minute before rising.
What Are the Benefits of Chanting?
The stotram’s own closing verse, its Phalashruti, states its intended benefit directly rather than leaving it to speculation.
- Steadies focused meditation: Building the Goddess's form verse by verse gives the mind a concrete, structured object to hold onto during dhyana.
- Draws on a Devi-centred practice: Regular recitation is a simple way to bring Devi worship into a daily or weekly routine without needing an elaborate puja.
- Fulfils desired outcomes, per tradition: The Phalashruti itself promises bhukti and mukti, worldly fulfilment and liberation, to the sincere and disciplined reciter.
- Fits naturally into Navratri: Its nine verses pair well with the nine nights of Navratri, one verse a night if a devotee prefers to spread the recitation out.
- Connects to a long unbroken lineage: Chanting words attributed to Adi Shankaracharya links a modern reciter to a tradition of Devi stotras that stretches back over a millennium.
- Short enough for daily use: Nine verses plus a Phalashruti make this an approachable addition to a morning routine, unlike far longer Devi hymns.
Who Composed This Stotram?
Tradition credits the Navaratna Malika Stotram to Adi Shankaracharya, the philosopher-teacher whose stotras to the Goddess sit alongside his better known philosophical commentaries. The colophon that closes the hymn identifies him as a disciple of Govinda Bhagavatpada, the same teacher-lineage credited with several other well-loved Devi compositions. That colophon is the same one attached to a number of authentic Shankara stotras, which is part of why the attribution is considered reliable rather than a later, loosely borrowed label.
It is worth being honest about one thing: some manuscript collections preserve a longer variant of this hymn with a few extra introductory verses, taking the total closer to eleven. The nine-verse-plus-Phalashruti version reproduced on this page is the one found consistently across independent transliterated sources, and it is the version most commonly recited and shared today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who composed the Navaratna Malika Stotram?
Tradition attributes it to Adi Shankaracharya. The hymn's own closing verse names him as a disciple of Govinda Bhagavatpada, the standard signature line found on several of his authenticated Devi stotras.
Which goddess is praised in this stotram?
Devi in her form as Tripurasundari, named directly in the eighth verse. The stotram builds a detailed head-to-toe picture of her rather than praising Devi only in general terms.
Why is it called Navaratna Malika?
Navaratna means nine gems and malika means a garland. The name reflects the structure of the hymn itself, nine verses strung together like nine jewels on one garland offered to the Goddess.
Is the Navaratna Malika Stotram connected to Mahalakshmi or Vedanta Desika?
Some listings pair this title with Mahalakshmi and the acharya Vedanta Desika (Swami Desikan), but that pairing does not hold up against the verified text. The verses here describe Devi as Tripurasundari and carry Adi Shankaracharya's signature colophon, not any composition associated with Vedanta Desika's Sri Vaishnava corpus.
How many verses does the Navaratna Malika Stotram have?
Nine principal verses plus a closing Phalashruti verse describing the hymn's benefit, which is the version reproduced on this page. A separate manuscript variant with a few extra introductory verses also exists in some collections.
When is the best time to chant this stotram?
Early morning or during evening twilight are traditionally preferred, and Friday is considered especially suited to Devi worship, though the stotram can be recited any day, including throughout Navratri.
॥ श्री मात्रे नमः ॥