Vishnu Shatpadi Stotram
श्री विष्णु षट्पदी स्तोत्रम्
What is the Vishnu Shatpadi Stotram?
Vishnu Shatpadi The Vishnu Shatpadi Stotram is a six-verse Sanskrit hymn composed by Adi Shankaracharya, in which the devotee approaches Vishnu as a humble bee circling his lotus feet, asking for a calmer mind, deeper compassion and freedom from worldly fear.
The Vishnu Shatpadi Stotram is a short, intense prayer of six verses that Adi Shankaracharya addressed directly to Vishnu. Shatpadi carries a double meaning in Sanskrit: it names a poem built on six feet, or padas, and it also means a honeybee, a creature that stands on six legs. Shankara leans on both senses at once, picturing himself as the bee drawn to the honey at Vishnu’s lotus feet, asking to be freed from arrogance, fear and the endless pull of worldly craving.
Vishnu Shatpadi Stotram Lyrics in Sanskrit and Transliteration
Each verse below pairs the Sanskrit in Devanagari with a plain Roman transliteration, so you can read along whether or not you know the script. The seventh verse is Shankara's own closing line, naming the hymn as a shatpadi and asking that it stay on his lips.
Avinayam apanaya Vishno, damaya manah shamaya vishaya-mriga-trishnam
Bhuta-dayam vistaraya, taraya samsara-sagaratah
अविनयमपनय विष्णो दमय मनः शमय विषयमृगतृष्णाम्
भूतदयां विस्तारय तारय संसारसागरतः
Meaning
Vishnu, take away my lack of discipline and tame this restless mind. Quiet its thirst for sense pleasures, that mirage that keeps chasing itself. Widen my compassion for every living being, and carry me across the ocean of birth and rebirth.
Divya-dhuni-makarande parimala-paribhoga-sac-cid-anande
Shripati-padaravinde bhava-bhaya-kheda-cchide vande
दिव्यधुनीमकरन्दे परिमलपरिभोगसच्चिदानन्दे
श्रीपतिपदारविन्दे भवभयखेदच्छिदे वन्दे
Meaning
I bow to the lotus feet of Lakshmi's Lord, sweet as the pollen carried on a heavenly river, fragrant with pure being, awareness and bliss. Those feet cut straight through the fear and weariness of worldly life.
Satyapi bhedapagame natha tavaham na mamakinas tvam
Samudro hi tarangah kvachana, samudro na tarangah
सत्यपि भेदापगमे नाथ तवाहं न मामकीनस्त्वम्
सामुद्रो हि तरङ्गः क्वचन समुद्रो न तारङ्गः
Meaning
Even once the sense of separation dissolves, Lord, I remain yours, though you are never simply mine. A wave belongs to the ocean, but the ocean is never held inside a single wave.
Uddhrita-naga naga-bhid-anuja danuja-kulamitra mitra-shashi-drishte
Drishte bhavati prabhavati na bhavati kim bhava-tiraskarah
उद्धृतनग नगभिदनुज दनुजकुलामित्र मित्रशशिदृष्टे
दृष्टे भवति प्रभवति न भवति किं भवतिरस्कारः
Meaning
You who lifted the mountain, younger to the mountain-splitter Indra, foe to the clans of demons, with sun and moon as your eyes: once you are truly seen, what power does worldly existence still hold over anyone?
Matsyadibhir avatarair avataravata avata sada vasudham
Parameshvara paripalyo bhavata bhava-tapa-bhito ‘ham
मत्स्यादिभिरवतारैरवतारवताऽवता सदा वसुधाम्
परमेश्वर परिपाल्यो भवता भवतापभीतोऽहम्
Meaning
Through your descents beginning with the fish, you have watched over this earth again and again. Supreme Lord, I come before you shaken by the suffering of worldly life. Take me under your protection.
Damodara gunamandira sundara-vadana-ravinda Govinda
Bhava-jaladhi-mathana-mandara paramam daram apanaya tvam me
दामोदर गुणमन्दिर सुन्दरवदनारविन्द गोविन्द
भवजलधिमथनमन्दर परमं दरमपनय त्वं मे
Meaning
Damodara, home of every good quality, Govinda with a lotus face beyond compare, you who churn the ocean of worldly life the way Mount Mandara once churned the sea of milk: take away this deep fear of mine.
Verse 7 (Closing)
Narayana karunamaya sharanam karavani tavakau charanau
Iti shatpadi madiye vadana-saroje sada vasatu
नारायण करुणामय शरणं करवाणि तावकौ चरणौ
इति षट्पदी मदीये वदनसरोजे सदा वसतु
Meaning
Compassionate Narayana, let me take shelter at your two feet. May this six-footed prayer live on always at the lotus of my lips.
What Shatpadi Means: The Bee at Vishnu's Feet
Shatpadi literally means ‘the one with six feet.’ In Sanskrit it is used for a bee, since a bee stands on six legs, and also for a verse form built from six padas. Shankara plays on both meanings through the whole hymn: he is the bee, and Vishnu’s lotus feet are the flower he circles, hoping for a single drop of nectar.
The prayer opens with confession, not praise. The first verse has the devotee own up to a lack of discipline and ask Vishnu to tame the mind and dry up its thirst for sense objects, replacing that thirst with compassion for other beings. Every later verse builds on that ground – nothing is asked here for the self alone.
The middle verses turn to the puzzle of closeness and distance between devotee and God. The third verse states it plainly: even when the boundary between the two dissolves, the devotee still belongs to God in a way God does not belong back, the way a wave is part of the ocean but the ocean is never contained in one wave. It is a humble non-duality, not a triumphant one.
The closing verses ask for shelter. Vishnu is remembered through his incarnations, the fish among them, and asked to remove the devotee’s fear the way Mount Mandara once churned the sea. The final verse folds the whole hymn back into its own name, asking that this shatpadi, this six-footed prayer, settle on the devotee’s lips like a bee that has found its flower and has no wish to leave.
How to Chant the Vishnu Shatpadi
- – Sit facing east or north after washing your hands and face. A simple altar with a Vishnu image or a lit diya is enough; no elaborate setup is required.
- – Begin with a brief invocation to your own ishta devata, as is customary before reciting any Vishnu stotra.
- – Recite the seven verses slowly and in order, pausing after each one to let the meaning settle rather than rushing through the Sanskrit.
- – The fourth verse carries dense wordplay. On early attempts, read the transliteration and meaning side by side before trying it from memory.
- – Close with the seventh verse and a short silence, or follow it with Om Namo Narayanaya japa if you have more time.
- – Return to it daily, or specifically on Thursdays and Ekadashi, rather than treating it as a one-time recitation.
Benefits of Chanting the Vishnu Shatpadi
Tradition ties steady recitation of this stotram to a handful of everyday benefits. These reflect what devotees across generations have reported, not medical or guaranteed outcomes.
- : A calmer mind, since the opening verse is a direct request to tame restlessness rather than indulge it.
- : Less pull toward compulsive desire, as the first line specifically asks Vishnu to dry up the thirst for sense objects.
- : A gentler view of other people and creatures, since compassion for all beings is asked for in the same breath as inner discipline.
- : Comfort during periods of fear or overwhelm, which the fifth and sixth verses name directly and ask Vishnu to remove.
- : A short daily anchor, since all seven verses can be recited in under five minutes yet still form a complete surrender prayer.
- : A closer look at Adi Shankara's devotional side, which gets less attention than his Advaita philosophy but is fully present in stotras like this one.
Origin and Author: Adi Shankaracharya
Adi Shankaracharya, traditionally dated to the 8th century CE, is remembered chiefly as the philosopher who systematized Advaita Vedanta, the teaching that the individual self and the absolute are ultimately one. Alongside that philosophical work, he composed a wide range of devotional stotras to Shiva, Devi and Vishnu, and the Vishnu Shatpadi is one of the shorter, more personal examples.
The hymn sits in the same family as his better-known Bhaja Govindam: short, direct Sanskrit, addressed to a personal God, written by a teacher whose formal philosophy held that the personal and the absolute are not, in the end, two separate things. The third verse of the Shatpadi makes that tension explicit, describing a devotee who remains part of God even after the sense of separation has fallen away.
No specific occasion for its composition survives in the record. It has simply been passed down alongside Shankara’s other stotras in the Sanskrit manuscript tradition and continues to be recited today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Shatpadi mean?
Shatpadi means 'the one with six feet.' In Sanskrit it names both a bee, which stands on six legs, and a six-line verse form. This stotram plays on both meanings, since the devotee pictures himself as a bee at Vishnu's lotus feet.
Who wrote the Vishnu Shatpadi Stotram?
It is attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century Advaita Vedanta philosopher, who also composed Bhaja Govindam and several other short Sanskrit devotional hymns.
How many verses does the Vishnu Shatpadi have?
Six main verses, plus a seventh closing verse in which Shankara names the hymn and asks that it remain on his lips. Some printings treat the seventh as a coda rather than a numbered verse.
What does the opening line 'Avinayam apanaya Vishno' mean?
It means roughly 'Vishnu, take away my lack of discipline.' It is a direct plea for Vishnu to tame the mind and quiet its craving for sense pleasures before anything else in the hymn is asked.
When is the best time to chant this stotram?
There is no single prescribed time. Many devotees recite it on Thursdays or on Ekadashi, or simply as part of a morning or evening routine, since it is short enough to complete in a few minutes.
Is the Vishnu Shatpadi connected to Bhaja Govindam?
They are separate texts, but both are short devotional Sanskrit hymns attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, and both are often studied or recited together as examples of his bhakti poetry.
What does the third verse's comparison of a wave and the ocean mean?
It says that even when the sense of separation between devotee and God dissolves, the devotee still belongs to God in a way God does not belong back, the way a wave is part of the ocean but the ocean can never be held inside a single wave.
Can beginners chant this stotram without knowing Sanskrit?
Yes. The transliteration on this page uses plain Roman letters, and reading the meaning alongside each verse for the first few recitations makes the pronunciation and intent easier to hold onto.
॥ ॐ नमो नारायणाय ॥