Venkatesha Stotram
श्री वेङ्कटेश स्तोत्रम्
What is the Venkatesha Stotram?
Venkatesha Stotram The Venkatesha Stotram is a Sanskrit hymn from the Brahmanda Purana that strings together the names of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala – Vasudeva, Govinda, Shrinivasa, Venkatanayaka and more – across eight verses, followed by eight verses of phalashruti describing what regular recitation is said to bring. It is also called the Venkatesha Ashtakam after its eight opening name-verses.
Tirumala’s seven hills hold one deity under many names, and this stotram is the verse that lists them out. It comes from the Brahmanda Purana, from a section where Brahma answers Narada’s question about the greatness of Venkata hill, and it does its work the way a lot of old Sanskrit hymns do – not through long description, but by naming. Vasudeva, Govinda, Shrinivasa, Venkatanayaka: each name in the first eight verses picks up a different thread of who this god is, until the picture is complete.The second half of the hymn is the phalashruti, the part that tells you what reciting it is meant to do – protection in a difficult meeting or dispute, relief from illness, children for a couple who has wanted them, and finally a striking closing claim, that no place equals Venkatadri and no god equals Venkatesha, present, past or future. That last line is the Kali Yuga varada idea in one sentence: whatever age you are living in, this hill and this god are held out as a sure refuge.
Venkatesha Stotram Lyrics in Sanskrit and English
Verses 1-8 are the name-litany (also known on its own as the Venkatesha Ashtakam); verses 9-16 are the phalashruti, the traditional statement of what reciting the hymn is said to bring. The transliteration below is plain Roman without diacritic marks, so it reads the same whether or not you know Sanskrit.
Venkatesho Vasudevah Pradyumnomitavikramah
Sankarshano Aniruddhashcha Sheshadripatireva Cha
वेङ्कटेशो वासुदेवः प्रद्युम्नोऽमितविक्रमः
सङ्कर्षणोऽनिरुद्धश्च शेषाद्रिपतिरेव च
Meaning
He is Venkatesha, Vasudeva, Pradyumna of measureless might, Sankarshana, Aniruddha, and the very lord of Sheshadri hill. This opening verse folds the four vyuha forms of Vishnu into the single figure standing on the seven hills, telling the listener at once that the hill deity holds the whole of Vishnu within him.
Janardanah Padmanabho Venkatachalavasanah
Srishtikarta Jagannatho Madhavo Bhaktavatsalah
जनार्दनः पद्मनाभो वेङ्कटाचलवासनः
सृष्टिकर्ता जगन्नाथो माधवो भक्तवत्सलः
Meaning
He is Janardana who stirs the hearts of people, Padmanabha with the lotus at his navel, dweller on the Venkata hill, creator of the universe, lord of all worlds, Madhava, and one who is fond of his devotees. The verse moves from cosmic titles straight into bhaktavatsalah, the quality most pilgrims actually come to Tirumala looking for.
Govindo Gopatih Krishnah Keshavo Garudadhvajah
Varaho Vamanashchaiva Narayana Adhokshajah
गोविन्दो गोपतिः कृष्णः केशवो गरुडध्वजः
वराहो वामनश्चैव नारायण अधोक्षजः
Meaning
He is Govinda, lord of cows, Krishna, Keshava of the flowing hair, the one who rides Garuda, the boar, the dwarf, Narayana, and the one beyond the senses. Krishna, Varaha and Vamana are named in one breath here, a reminder that the hill god is the same Vishnu who has come down in every avatara.
Shridharah Pundarikakshah Sarvadevastuto Harih
Shrinrisimho Mahasimhah Sutrakarah Puratanah
श्रीधरः पुण्डरीकाक्षः सर्वदेवस्तुतो हरिः
श्रीनृसिंहो महासिंहः सूत्राकारः पुरातनः
Meaning
He is Shridhara who holds Lakshmi, lotus-eyed, praised by every god, Hari, the man-lion Narasimha, the great lion, the one who holds the thread of creation, and the ancient one. Placing fierce Narasimha beside the gentler names says something the temple itself teaches through its layered shrines – the same god can be terrifying to the wicked and tender toward his own within a single verse.
Ramanatho Mahibharta Bhudharah Purushottamah
Cholaputrapriyah Shanto Brahmadinam Varapradah
रमानाथो महीभर्ता भूधरः पुरुषोत्तमः
चोळपुत्रप्रियः शान्तो ब्रह्मादीनां वरप्रदः
Meaning
He is Ramanatha, lord of the earth, one who bears the earth, the best among men, dear as a son to the Chola king, peaceful, and the giver of boons even to Brahma and the other gods. Cholaputrapriyah nods to an old South Indian devotion that treats the hill lord as kin, not only as a distant sovereign to be feared.
Shrinidhih Sarvabhutanam Bhayakridbhayanashanah
Shriramo Ramabhadrashcha Bhavabandhaikamochakah
श्रीनिधिः सर्वभूतानां भयकृद्भयनाशनः
श्रीरामो रामभद्रश्च भवबन्धैकमोचकः
Meaning
He is the treasure of Lakshmi, refuge of every being, one who can inspire fear and also dissolve it, Rama, Ramabhadra, and the single door out of worldly bondage. Bhayakrit and bhayanashanah sit side by side on purpose – the god who can frighten is the same god who removes fear, which is the reassurance a worried devotee is looking for on the climb up.
Bhutavaso Giravasah Shrinivasah Shriyahpatih
Achyutanantagovindo Vishnurvenkatanayakah
भूतावासो गिरावासः श्रीनिवासः श्रियःपतिः
अच्युतानन्तगोविन्दो विष्णुर्वेङ्कटनायकः
Meaning
He is the resting place of all beings, dweller on the hill, Shrinivasa in whom Lakshmi lives, lord of fortune, the imperishable, the infinite, Govinda, Vishnu, and lord of Venkata. Shrinivasa, the name Tirumala pilgrims use most often, sits right at the center of this verse, tying every cosmic title back to the specific hill the hymn is describing.
Sarvadevaikasharanam Sarvadevaikadaivatam
Samastadevakavacham Sarvadevashikhamanih
सर्वदेवैकशरणं सर्वदेवैकदैवतम्
समस्तदेवकवचं सर्वदेवशिखामणिः
Meaning
He is the sole refuge of all gods, the one deity common to every god, the armor that protects every god, and the crown jewel among all gods. This closing name-verse raises Venkateswara above the pantheon he was just listed alongside – not one god among many but the shelter and ornament of all of them together.
Phalashruti
Itidam Kirtitam Yasya Vishnoramitatejasah
Trikale Yah Pathennityam Papam Tasya Na Vidyate
इतीदं कीर्तितं यस्य विष्णोरमिततेजसः
त्रिकाले यः पठेन्नित्यं पापं तस्य न विद्यते
Meaning
Whoever recites daily, three times a day, this hymn to the boundlessly radiant Vishnu that has just been sung, that person's sin ceases to exist. The stotram turns here from naming to promise, and the promise is stated plainly – regular recitation, not occasional recitation, is what the text asks for.
Phalashruti
Rajadvare Pathedghore Sangrame Ripusankate
Bhutasarpapishachadibhayam Nasti Kadachana
राजद्वारे पठेद्घोरे सङ्ग्रामे रिपुसङ्कटे
भूतसर्पपिशाचादिभयं नास्ति कदाचन
Meaning
Whoever recites it in a fearsome royal court, in the danger of battle, or when cornered by an enemy has nothing to fear from ghosts, serpents, or evil spirits either. Courtrooms and battlefields were the live anxieties of the age this hymn comes from; today devotees read the same verse before a difficult meeting, a legal matter, or any confrontation where they feel outmatched.
Phalashruti
Aputro Labhate Putran Nirdhano Dhanavan Bhavet
Rogarto Muchyate Rogad Baddho Muchyeta Bandhanat
अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रान् निर्धनो धनवान् भवेत्
रोगार्तो मुच्यते रोगाद् बद्धो मुच्येत बन्धनात्
Meaning
The childless obtain children, the poor become wealthy, the sick are freed from illness, and the bound are freed from bondage. Four concrete forms of hardship are named one after another, which is part of why this hymn has stayed in daily household use rather than becoming a purely ceremonial text.
Phalashruti
Yadyadishtatamam Loke Tattatprapnotyasamshayah
Aishvaryam Rajasammanam Bhaktimuktiphalapradam
यद्यदिष्टतमं लोके तत्तत्प्राप्नोत्यसंशयः
ऐश्वर्यं राजसम्मानं भक्तिमुक्तिफलप्रदम्
Meaning
Whatever is most desired in this world, that a person attains without doubt – prosperity, respect in society, devotion, and the fruit of liberation. The verse widens from material relief to the highest goal, moksha, placed in the very same breath as worldly honor.
Phalashruti
Vishnorlokaikasopanam Sarvaduhkhaikanashanam
Sarvaishvaryapradam Nrinam Sarvamangalakarakam
विष्णोर्लोकैकसोपानं सर्वदुःखैकनाशनम्
सर्वैश्वर्यप्रदं नॄणां सर्वमङ्गलकारकम्
Meaning
It is the one stairway to Vishnu's world, the single remover of every sorrow, the giver of all prosperity to human beings, and the cause of all that is auspicious. Sopanam, a stairway, is a striking image for a hymn – each recitation is framed as one more step climbed toward the god, much as the pilgrim actually climbs the hill at Tirumala.
Phalashruti
Mayavi Paramanandam Tyaktva Vaikunthamuttamam
Swamipushkarinitire Ramaya Saha Modate
मायावी परमानन्दं त्यक्त्वा वैङ्कुण्ठमुत्तमम्
स्वामिपुष्करिणीतीरे रमया सह मोदते
Meaning
Leaving behind even the excellent Vaikuntha of boundless bliss, the lord of maya delights on the banks of the Swami Pushkarini together with Ramaa. This verse carries the central legend of Tirumala itself – that Vishnu chose to leave his own heaven and settle on this hill beside its sacred tank, which is why the temple tank still bears the name Swami Pushkarini today.
Phalashruti
Kalyanadbhutagatraya Kamitarthapradayine
Shrimadvenkatanathaya Shrinivasaya Te Namah
कल्याणाद्भुतगात्राय कामितार्थप्रदायिने
श्रीमद्वेङ्कटनाथाय श्रीनिवासाय ते नमः
Meaning
Salutations to you, of auspicious and wondrous form, giver of whatever is desired, glorious lord of Venkata, Shrinivasa. This short verse of direct namaskara breaks from the earlier listing into a face-to-face address, the way a devotee's own prayer naturally turns from describing god to speaking with him.
Phalashruti
Venkatadrisamam Sthanam Brahmande Nasti Kinchana
Venkateshasamo Devo Na Bhuto Na Bhavishyati
Etena Satya Vakyena Sarvarthan Sadayamyaham
वेङ्कटाद्रिसमं स्थानं ब्रह्माण्डे नास्ति किञ्चन
वेङ्कटेशसमो देवो न भूतो न भविष्यति
एतेन सत्य वाक्येन सर्वार्थान् सादयाम्यहम्
Meaning
There is no place equal to Venkatadri anywhere in the universe, and there has been and will be no god equal to Venkatesha; by the strength of this true statement, may all these fruits come to pass. This final verse is the hymn's own seal – this hill and this god are named as the one certain refuge, present, past and future, closing the stotram on the same note of assurance it opened with.
Meaning of the Venkatesha Stotram
Read straight through, the Venkatesha Stotram works in two movements. The first eight verses are a naama-mala, a garland of names, and each name adds one more layer to who Venkateswara is – creator, protector, the man-lion, the boar, the earth-bearer, the refuge of the other gods. None of these names is decorative; each one points to a story or a quality that a devotee is expected to already half-know, so the verse works like a fast recap of everything Vishnu has done and been, all resting on the one figure standing on Venkata hill.
The second movement, the phalashruti from verse 9 onward, shifts from telling you who he is to telling you what calling on him by these names is said to do. It moves from removing sin, to protection in specific worldly troubles, to children and prosperity, to the largest claim of all in the final verse – that in the current age, no place and no deity equal this hill and this god. That last line is the hymn’s Kali Yuga varada theme: whatever difficulty a devotee names, the text answers it by pointing back up the hill, to the specific god it spent its first eight verses describing.
When and How to Chant the Venkatesha Stotram
- – Bathe or at least wash your hands and face, then sit facing an image or picture of Venkateswara or Balaji.
- – Light a lamp or incense if you have them at hand; they help settle the mind but are not compulsory.
- – Begin with a short prayer, or simply the closing invocation Om Namo Venkateshaya, to steady your attention.
- – Recite the eight name verses slowly, letting each name register rather than rushing through the string of names.
- – Continue into the eight phalashruti verses, which state in the text's own words what the recitation is understood to bring.
- – Repeat the full stotram three times if you are reciting for a specific difficulty, following verse 9's own instruction to read it thrice daily, or once if it is part of a regular practice.
- – Close by naming, even silently, whatever you are asking for, or simply sit for a moment before returning to your day.
Benefits of Reciting the Venkatesha Stotram
The stotram states its own fruits in verses 9 through 16, rather than leaving them to later tradition, so the list below follows what the text itself says.
- : Clears the mind of guilt and past wrongdoing when recited daily, as stated in verse 9.
- : Traditionally read for protection before a court appearance, a dispute, or any confrontation with an opponent, per verse 10.
- : Said to ease fear of the unknown, spirits, snakes and ill omens, for those who recite it, also from verse 10.
- : Invoked by couples wishing for children and by anyone facing financial hardship, following verse 11.
- : Read by the unwell and by anyone feeling trapped by circumstance, tied to the promise of release from illness and bondage in verse 11.
- : Chanted for success in a specific desire, along with standing and respect in one's community, as verse 12 states.
- : Framed by the text itself as a stairway toward Vishnu's world and the source of general wellbeing, not only a wish-granting formula, per verse 13.
Origin: The Brahmanda Purana and Tirumala
The Venkatesha Stotram is set inside the Brahmanda Purana, in the passage where Brahma answers a question from the sage Narada about the greatness of Venkata hill, the Venkatagiri Mahatmya. The closing line of the text names this setting directly: iti brahmandapurane brahmanaradasamvade shri venkateshastotram sampurnam, here ends the Venkatesha Stotram in the Brahmanda Purana, in the dialogue of Brahma and Narada. Its eight opening verses are also known on their own as the Venkatesha Ashtakam.
Verse 14 carries the legend most closely tied to the temple site itself – that Vishnu left even his own Vaikuntha to settle on this hill beside the Swami Pushkarini, the sacred tank that still sits within the Tirumala temple complex today. That single verse is the textual root of why pilgrims visit the tank as part of darshan, and why the hill is treated as Vishnu’s chosen residence rather than just another shrine to him.
Do not confuse this hymn with the Venkatesha Suprabhatam, a separate and much later composition (traditionally credited to the 15th-century poet Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan) sung to wake the deity before dawn. The two are different works from different periods with different purposes, even though both are addressed to the same Tirumala deity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Venkatesha Stotram?
It is a Sanskrit hymn from the Brahmanda Purana that lists the names of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala across eight verses, followed by eight verses of phalashruti describing the fruits of reciting it. Its eight name-verses are also known as the Venkatesha Ashtakam.
Where does the Venkatesha Stotram come from?
It appears in the Brahmanda Purana, in a dialogue between Brahma and the sage Narada on the greatness of Venkata hill, the Venkatagiri Mahatmya. The colophon at the end of the traditional text names this source directly.
Is this the same as the Venkatesha Suprabhatam?
No. The Suprabhatam is a separate, much later composition, traditionally credited to the 15th-century poet Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan, sung to wake the deity before dawn temple rituals. This stotram is an older name-litany with its own phalashruti, meant for a devotee's personal recitation at any time, not a dawn wake-up hymn.
How many verses does the Venkatesha Stotram have?
The traditional text runs to 16 verses: eight name verses (also called the Venkatesha Ashtakam) followed by eight verses of phalashruti, ending in a colophon naming the Brahmanda Purana as its source.
What are the benefits of reciting the Venkatesha Stotram?
The phalashruti verses state relief from sin, protection in disputes or confrontation, ease from fear, children for the childless, relief from illness and financial hardship, fulfillment of desires, and standing in one's community, with the closing verses describing it as a step toward Vishnu's world.
What is the best time to recite the Venkatesha Stotram?
Verse 9 itself recommends reciting it three times a day for its stated effect. In practice, many devotees read it in the morning after bathing, on Saturdays, or before a difficult undertaking such as a court matter, an exam, or travel to Tirupati for darshan.
Can anyone chant the Venkatesha Stotram?
Yes. It is open to any sincere devotee. Bathing beforehand and reciting with attention are traditional courtesies rather than restrictions, and it is commonly recited at home, not only by priests in the temple.
How is the Venkatesha Stotram connected to Tirupati or Tirumala darshan?
Many devotees recite it while preparing for or waiting for darshan at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. Verse 14 recalls the legend that Vishnu himself chose to leave Vaikuntha and settle on this hill beside the Swami Pushkarini, which is part of what pilgrims are visiting when they go for darshan.
॥ ॐ नमो वेङ्कटेशाय ॥