Kalabhairava Ashtakam
devarājasevyamānapāvanāṃghripaṅkajaṃ vyālayajñasūtraminduśekharaṃ kṛpākaram| nāradādiyogivṛndavanditaṃ digaṃbaraṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||1||
bhānukoṭibhāsvaraṃ bhavābdhitārakaṃ paraṃ nīlakaṇṭhamīpsitārthadāyakaṃ trilocanam| kālakālamaṃbujākṣamakṣaśūlamakṣaraṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||2||
śūlaṭaṃkapāśadaṇḍapāṇimādikāraṇaṃ śyāmakāyamādidevamakṣaraṃ nirāmayam| bhīmavikramaṃ prabhuṃ vicitratāṇḍavapriyaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||3||
bhuktimuktidāyakaṃ praśastacāruvigrahaṃ bhaktavatsalaṃ sthitaṃ samastalokavigraham| vinikvaṇanmanojñahemakiṅkiṇīlasatkaṭiṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||4||
dharmasetupālakaṃ tvadharmamārganāśakaṃ karmapāśamocakaṃ suśarmadāyakaṃ vibhum| svarṇavarṇaśeṣapāśaśobhitāṃgamaṇḍalaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||5||
ratnapādukāprabhābhirāmapādayugmakaṃ nityamadvitīyamiṣṭadaivataṃ niraṃjanam| mṛtyudarpanāśanaṃ karāladaṃṣṭramokṣadaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||6||
aṭṭahāsabhinnapadmajāṇḍakośasaṃtatiṃ dṛṣṭipātanaṣṭapāpajālamugraśāsanam| aṣṭasiddhidāyakaṃ kapālamālikādharaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||7||
bhūtasaṃghanāyakaṃ viśālakīrtidāyakaṃ kāśivāsalokapuṇyapāpaśodhakaṃ vibhum| nītimārgakovidaṃ purātanaṃ jagatpatiṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||8||
kālabhairavāṣṭakaṃ paṭhaṃti ye manoharaṃ jñānamuktisādhanaṃ vicitrapuṇyavardhanam| śokamohadainyalobhakopatāpanāśanaṃ prayānti kālabhairavāṃghrisannidhiṃ narā dhruvam||
devarājasevyamānapāvanāṃghripaṅkajaṃ vyālayajñasūtraminduśekharaṃ kṛpākaram| nāradādiyogivṛndavanditaṃ digaṃbaraṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||1||
bhānukoṭibhāsvaraṃ bhavābdhitārakaṃ paraṃ nīlakaṇṭhamīpsitārthadāyakaṃ trilocanam| kālakālamaṃbujākṣamakṣaśūlamakṣaraṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||2||
śūlaṭaṃkapāśadaṇḍapāṇimādikāraṇaṃ śyāmakāyamādidevamakṣaraṃ nirāmayam| bhīmavikramaṃ prabhuṃ vicitratāṇḍavapriyaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||3||
bhuktimuktidāyakaṃ praśastacāruvigrahaṃ bhaktavatsalaṃ sthitaṃ samastalokavigraham| vinikvaṇanmanojñahemakiṅkiṇīlasatkaṭiṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||4||
dharmasetupālakaṃ tvadharmamārganāśakaṃ karmapāśamocakaṃ suśarmadāyakaṃ vibhum| svarṇavarṇaśeṣapāśaśobhitāṃgamaṇḍalaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||5||
ratnapādukāprabhābhirāmapādayugmakaṃ nityamadvitīyamiṣṭadaivataṃ niraṃjanam| mṛtyudarpanāśanaṃ karāladaṃṣṭramokṣadaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||6||
aṭṭahāsabhinnapadmajāṇḍakośasaṃtatiṃ dṛṣṭipātanaṣṭapāpajālamugraśāsanam| aṣṭasiddhidāyakaṃ kapālamālikādharaṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||7||
bhūtasaṃghanāyakaṃ viśālakīrtidāyakaṃ kāśivāsalokapuṇyapāpaśodhakaṃ vibhum| nītimārgakovidaṃ purātanaṃ jagatpatiṃ kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje||8||
kālabhairavāṣṭakaṃ paṭhaṃti ye manoharaṃ jñānamuktisādhanaṃ vicitrapuṇyavardhanam| śokamohadainyalobhakopatāpanāśanaṃ prayānti kālabhairavāṃghrisannidhiṃ narā dhruvam||
Introduction
The Kalabhairava Ashtakam is an eight-verse hymn in praise of Kala Bhairava, the fierce form of Lord Shiva. Every verse closes on the same refrain — kāśikāpurādhināthakālabhairavaṃ bhaje, “I worship Kalabhairava, lord of the city of Kashi.”
Kala Bhairava is regarded as the kotwal — the guardian magistrate — of Kashi. Tradition holds that none enters the city without his leave, and that he keeps the account of the merit and sin of those who dwell there. The verses describe him wearing a serpent for his sacred thread and a garland of skulls, blazing like ten million suns, the Death of death who shatters the arrogance of mortality.
The hymn is attributed to Adi Shankaracharya and is collected in his Complete Works (Volume 18, page 89). A closely related recension appears in the Shiva Rahasya, spoken by Ishvara to Parvati, which reorders the verses and differs in a number of readings.
The closing phalashruti verse promises that whoever recites it is freed from the torment of grief, delusion, wretchedness, greed and anger, and assuredly attains the presence of Kalabhairava’s feet.
How to Recite
- It is especially recited on Kalashtami — the eighth day of every waning fortnight — and on Bhairava Ashtami (Kala Bhairava Jayanti), which falls in the waning fortnight of Margashirsha.
- Sundays and Tuesdays are also held auspicious for the worship of Kala Bhairava.
- The customary time is evening or night, with a lamp lit before the recitation.
- Recite the eight verses in order with clear pronunciation and a calm devotional mind, closing with the phalashruti.
Sources 2
- kAlabhairavAShTakaM (sanskritdocuments.org) — doc_shiva/kaalabhairava.itx — encoded by Narayanaswami Pallasena, proofread with Sunder Hattangadi
Canonical witness for the Shankaracharya recension, traced there to Complete Works of Shankaracharya, Volume 18, page 89. The Devanagari here reproduces that file akshara-for-akshara, including its anusvara spellings (पावनांघ्रि, दिगंबरं, कालकालमंबुजाक्ष, शूलटंक, निरंजनम्, संततिं, पठंति). The file also records variant readings, omitted from the verse text above: v4 स्थिरम् for स्थितं and निक्वणन् for विनिक्वणन्; v5 नाशनं for नाशकं and केशपाश / निर्मलं for शेषपाश / मण्डलं; v6 भूषणं for मोक्षदं; v8 काशिवासि for काशिवास; phalashruti लोभदैन्य for दैन्यलोभ, and the closing pada as ते प्रयान्ति कालभैरवांघ्रिसन्निधिं ध्रुवम्.
- kAlabhairavAShTakam from shivarahasya (sanskritdocuments.org) — doc_shiva/kAlabhairavAShTakam1.itx — Shivarahasya, mahAdevAkhya amsha 11, adhyaya 34.53-61
A second, near-identical recension of the same hymn, spoken by Ishvara to Parvati. It shares the refrain and most padas but reorders the verses and differs in several readings — consulted as a cross-check, not as the text reproduced here. Note that the separate file named kAlabhairavAShTakam.itx is a different hymn altogether (the Shringeri one, refrain शृङ्गशैलवासिनं नमामि कालभैरवम्).
Meanings are compiled and edited by the Ved Path team, and are being progressively reviewed for accuracy.
