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Śivastotrāvalī

Śivastotrāvalī — “a string of hymns to Śiva,” twenty hymns by Utpaladeva

Source of Sanskrit: sanskrit-trikashaivism.com — the Devanagari and IAST have been transferred from there unchanged, along with the entire Sanskrit apparatus of Gabriel Pradīpaka. The translation is from two different lineages, and the pages name them individually, with stanza numbers: why so.

What is this text

Śivastotrāvalī (Śiva-stotra-āvalī — “Śiva-hymn-string”, a string of hymns to Śiva) — a well-known collection of hymns composed by the great sage Utpaladeva (10th century). Some of them were gathered by himself, some — by his disciples and others. In total, this scripture contains twenty hymns, 450 stanzas. The venerable Kṣemarāja described in detail the composition of this work in his “Vivṛtti” — a thorough commentary on the “Śivastotrāvalī”.

Who is Utpaladeva? He is the famous disciple of Somānanda. Somānanda is the sage who wrote the “Śivadṛṣṭi](/en/ksh/scriptures/),” the foundational scripture of the Pratyabhijñā section within Trika Shaivism; in this section, the teachings of Trika receive a rational justification, whereas in the Āgama and Spanda sections they were presented more dogmatically. The son and chief disciple of Somānanda is Utpaladeva, the celebrated author of the “Īśvarapratyabhijñā-kārikā,” the principal scripture of the same section.

And — if the translator’s memory serves — Utpaladeva was the only sage of this system who composed works of devotion in honor of Śiva. The Trika Śaivism is very speculative; Utpaladeva wanted to add to it what is called devotion, and thereby enrich it.

After four hundred pages of the “Parātriśikā-vivaraṇa](/en/ksh/pv/)” and twenty-two chapters of the “Tantrasāra](/en/ksh/tantrasara/)” this is a change of breath: not a treatise, but verses. Short stanzas, direct speech to Śiva, no scholasticism.

Whose work is this translation

Two different ones, and the difference between them is essential. It is the assembly that counts them, not a person: 6 stanzas and 444.

Stanzas 1.1–1.6 are translated from the English exposition of Gabriel Pradīpaka — just as the entire section «Paratriśika-vivaraṇa». Between the Sanskrit and the Russian stands his work: he analyzed the stanza, labeled each word, and added explanations.

The remaining 444 are translated directly from Sanskrit, here. There was no other way: the source has a single word under them — Untranslated. No English rendering exists for them, nothing to rely on. All twenty hymns, all 450 stanzas, are translated.

What this means for the reader should be said directly:

there is nothing to check this translation against. Two complete English translations of the “Śivastotrāvalī” exist — by N. K. Kotru (Motilal Banarsidass, 1985) and by Constance Rhodes Bailey (SUNY Press, 1987) — but both are under copyright, and they were not used in this work. There is no Russian translation of these hymns at all: another book by Utpaladeva, “Recognition of Īśvara,” has been translated into Russian;
in open access there is only the Sanskrit — the edition from the Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies with Kṣemarāja’s commentary, on archive.org, CC0. There is no translation in it, but it can be used to verify the Sanskrit itself where the reading is disputed;
therefore the translation is made as a literal gloss, not as smooth verse: above each Russian word stands the Sanskrit word it renders. Anyone who knows the language even a little can check it line by line, without looking anywhere else;
where the reading is doubtful, this is stated in place, — with a mark like this —, and not glossed over with a pretty phrase.

The caption under each page names both genealogies with stanza numbers— and it cannot diverge from what lies on the page.

Why is this here

Then, for the same reason the “Tantrasāra](/en/ksh/tantrasara/)” was transferred: site search searches the pages of this repository, not others. The text left at the link is not in the index at all — a query for “bhakti” or “saṁvinmaya” simply will not find the “Śivastotrāvalī”, even though it is there.

Moreover, neighboring pages refer to these hymns. In «Tantrāloka» 13.290 Abhinavagupta quotes in full the stanza 13.11 — the one where Utpaladeva asks the Lord why He delays the Revelation — and until now there was nowhere to refer to in response. Now every stanza has its own address: /ksh/sv/ch13/#v13.11.

How to read these pages

In reddish the Sanskrit is set, and under each of its lines — the same line in IAST transliteration. The color is the same as that in which the /ksh/pv/ stanzas of the scripture itself are set, not the commentaries on it: “Śivastotrāvalī” — from the first line to the last, the words of Utpaladeva.
Above the hymn — two buttons: to take its Devanagari or its transliteration in full. The lines alternate, and one cannot select a single script with the mouse.
The translation stands under its own stanza, marked off on the left. In it, above the Russian word, in small type stands the Sanskrit (saṁskṛta) — the very one by which it is rendered. The brackets have not gone anywhere: they are visible when copying and in search.
A word that has an article in the glossary of terms — a link there; from the glossary the links lead back, straight to those stanzas where the term sounds most densely.
Italics in parentheses — words added for the coherence of the phrase; they are absent in Sanskrit. — Between double dashes — — explanations and caveats about where the reading is disputed.

Hymns

The number of stanzas in each hymn is not our count, but that declared in the introduction of the source; with the stanzas on the pages it matched to the last one.

Hymn 1 — Bhaktivilāsākhyaṁ stotram — the play of devotion — 26 verses, translated
Hymn 2 — Sarvātmaparibhāvanākhyaṁ dvitīyaṁ stotram — contemplation of the Self of all — 29 verses, translated
Hymn 3 — Praṇayaprasādākhyaṁ tṛtīyaṁ stotram — grace in response to devotion — 21 verses, translated
Hymn 4 — Surasodbalākhyaṁ caturthaṁ stotram — strength from the sweet essence — 25 verses, translated
Hymn 5 — Svabalanideśanākhyaṁ pañcamaṁ stotram — instruction on one's own strength — 26 verses, translated
Hymn 6 — Adhvavisphuraṇākhyaṁ ṣaṣṭhaṁ stotram — striving on the path — 11 verses, translated
Hymn 7 — Vidhuravijayanāmadheyaṁ saptamaṁ stotram — victory over the anguish of separation — 9 verses, translated
Hymn 8 — Alaukikodbalanākhyamaṣṭamaṁ stotram — unearthly strength — 13 verses, translated
Hymn 9 — Svātantryavijayākhyaṁ navamaṁ stotram — victory of Absolute Freedom — 20 verses, translated
Hymn 10 — Avicchedabhaṅgākhyaṁ daśamaṁ stotram — the rupture of continuity — 26 verses, translated
Hymn 11 — Autsukyaviśvasitanāmaikādaśaṁ stotram — longing and assurance — 15 verses, translated
Hymn 12 — Rahasyanirdeśanāma dvādaśaṁ stotram — instruction on the secret — 29 verses, translated
Hymn 13 — Saṅgrahastotranāma trayodaśaṁ stotram — a hymn become a compendium — 20 verses, translated
Hymn 14 — Jayastotranāma caturdaśaṁ stotram — hymn of victory — 24 verses, translated
Hymn 15 — Bhaktistotranāma pañcadaśaṁ stotram — hymn of devotion — 19 verses, translated
Hymn 16 — Pāśān-udbhedanāma ṣoḍaśaṁ stotram — the breaking of bonds — 30 verses, translated
Hymn 17 — Divyakrīḍābahumānanāma saptadaśaṁ stotram — the gift of divine Play — 48 verses, translated
Hymn 18 — Āviṣkāranāmāṣṭādaśaṁ stotram — revelation — 21 verses, translated
Hymn 19 — Udyotanābhidhānamekonaviṁśaṁ stotram — illumination — 17 verses, translated
Hymn 20 — Carvarṇābhidhānaṁ viṁśaṁ stotram — tasting — 21 verses, translated

What these hymns are about

The goal of life is Liberation. Throughout his history, man has always sought freedom, but, according to the teaching of Trika, this is not true Liberation: the true one is not about the body leaving some prison. True Liberation is equivalent to attaining His Svātantrya — Absolute Freedom. When the Svātantrya of the Great Lord is attained, one sees unity in everything, that is, one ceases to see duality as one did before. Everything is always identified with Svātantrya, with Him — and this ends the story called “you are in captivity.” From that moment, nothing will stand in your way: if something seems to stand, it is again Svātantrya. This unceasing awareness of unity in everything is true Freedom. There is no higher attainment.

Keeping this in mind, now read the “Śivastotrāvalī” and experience the Supreme Bliss, dear Śiva.

Thus the introduction to the scripture is set forth by Gabriel Pradīpaka; here it is rendered into Russian.

About the Source

Sanskrit is carried over unchanged from sanskrit-trikashaivism.com, where Gabriel Pradīpaka collects the scriptures of Trika and translates them from Sanskrit. The Russian branch of “Śivastotrāvalī” is not set up there at all: /ru/node/1005 does not open the scriptures but redirects to the Russian main page.

What of the Trika scriptures has already been read in Russian and what has not is summarized on a separate page: Trika Scriptures.