Shiv Ashtakam: Complete Sargam Notation Guide
Doctorate in World Music, University of Oxford · teaching since 1992. More about the teacher.
Students often approach Shivashtakam notation expecting a song score that dictates tempo, expression, and rhythmic certainty. This lesson exists to correct that assumption. The notation presented here is a pedagogical reference designed to stabilise pitch, diction, and breath within a chant-based learning system.
Contextual Grounding
Shivashtakam belongs to a tradition where repetition, restraint, and internal steadiness take precedence over melodic expansion. As a result, its musical rendering relies on limited melodic material reused across verses. The notation reflects this intent through two recurring melodic frameworks, labelled as Verse 1 and Verse 2.
A related devotional lesson from the studio's channel — the Shiv Stuti in sargam notation with chords, taught the same way — tap to play, loads only on tap:
Direct link if embed does not load: Shiv Stuti Sargam Notation & Chords Lesson: Invoke the Divine | Learn Devotional Music
Complete Svara–Shabda Notation of Shivashtakam
Note for readers:
The following notation is presented exactly as a reference text. Line breaks, alignment, and spacing are pedagogically significant and must be preserved during practice.
VERSE 1
S Re Ga Ga ReGaGa ReGa Ga ReGaGa
W Prabhum prananatham vibhum visvanatham
S PaGa ReRe Re.Dha .DhaGaRe Re Re Re
W Jagannatha natham sa--dananda bhaajam
S Sa Re Re Sa Re Re SaRe Ga ReSa.Dha
W Bhavadbhav-ya bhutesvaram bhutanatham
S .DhaSa Sa .DhaSa Sa Sa GaPaGaSaSa
W Si--vam sanka--ram sambhu misanamide
----Played as same as VERSE 1-----
Gale rundamalam tanau sarpapajalam
Mahakala kalam ganesadi palam
Jatajuta gangottarangai rvisalam
Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamamide
VERSE 2
S GaPaPaPaPa Ga PaPa Ga PaPa Pa
W Mudamakaram mandanam mandayantam
S GaPa Pa GaPa Pa Pa Pa DhaPa Dha Dha
W Maha mandalam bhasma bhusa-dharam tam
S DhaDhaPa Ga DhaPa GaDhaSa'DhaPaGa
W A--na-dim hyapa-ram maha-mo-ha-maram
S GaDha Pa GaRe Sa Sa GaPaGaSaSa
W Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamide
----Played as Same as VERSE 1----
Vatadho nivasam mahattattattahasam
Mahapapa nasam sada suprakasam
Girisa ganesam suresam mahesam
Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamamide
----Played as Same as VERSE 1----
Girindratmaja sangrhitardhadeham girau
Samsthitam sarvadapanna geham
Parabrahma brahmadibhir-vandyamanam
Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamamide
----Played as Same as VERSE 2----
Kapalam trisulam karabhyam dadhanam
Padambhoja namraya kamam dadanam
Balivarddhamananam suranam pradhanam
Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamide
----Played as Same as VERSE 1----
Saraccandra gatram gananandapatram
Trinetram pavitram dhanesasya mitram
Aparna kalatram sada saccaritram
Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamamide
----Played as Same as VERSE 1----
Haram sarpaharam cita bhuviharam
Bhavam vedasaram sada nirvikaram
Smasane vasantam manojam dahantam
Sivam sankaram sambhu misanamamide
----Played as Same as VERSE 2----
Svayam yah prabhate narassula pane
Pathet stotraratnam tvihaprapyagratnam
Suputram sudhanyam sumitram kalatram
Vicitraissamaradhya moksam prayati
Om Namah Shivaay!!How to Read the Above Notation
Each line is divided into two functional layers:
S – Svara (melodic movement)
W – Words (Sanskrit text)
These layers are intentionally separated and must be learnt independently before being combined.
Capital letters represent shuddha swaras in the middle octave. A preceding dot indicates the lower octave. No upper-octave markings are used, reinforcing grounded vocal placement rather than display.
Repeated swaras indicate rhythmic articulation and syllabic alignment, not speed. Hyphenated syllables in the text indicate vowel elongation across multiple swaras and must be respected to preserve diction and meaning.
Understanding “Played as Same as Verse 1 / Verse 2”
The repeated instruction does not imply repetition for convenience. It signals a strophic pedagogical structure where the melodic contour remains constant while the text changes. This reduces melodic load and allows deeper attention to pronunciation, breath, and steadiness.
Verse 1 and Verse 2 function as two melodic archetypes rather than sections in a compositional sense.
What This Notation Does Not Provide
This notation does not specify tala.
It does not encode expressive intent.
It does not replace oral guidance or listening.
Treating it as a complete musical authority leads to mechanical chanting and pedagogical failure.
Applied Practice Method
A disciplined approach would involve chanting the text alone, then singing the svara lines on a neutral vowel, and only later combining the two. The refrain must remain even and unornamented, functioning as a stabilising anchor rather than a climax.
Broader Pedagogical Implication
This lesson demonstrates a central principle of Indian music education: notation supports memory, not meaning. Meaning emerges through time, repetition, and correction. When students understand this, chant-based learning regains its depth and purpose.
Shivashtakam, approached through this notation, trains far more than pitch accuracy. It cultivates restraint, patience, and structural listening—qualities that cannot be notated, only developed.
Related study
This song is taught as part of the singing classes and Indian classical music classes at Dr Banerjee Music, in the studio in Jalandhar and live online.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the Shiv Ashtakam notation read?
Two aligned rows per line: S carries the sargam for the phrase, W carries the words underneath. Matching the columns tells you which syllable sits on which note — the reading is vertical, phrase by phrase.
What does "played as same as verse 1" mean?
Several verses of the hymn reuse the melodic setting of the first. Rather than reprint identical notation, the guide marks those verses and expects the singer to return to the verse 1 map — itself a small exercise in musical memory.
What does the notation not provide?
The things a notation cannot hold: the tradition-specific pronunciation, the rhythm of a live recitation, and the devotional contour that comes from learning the hymn from someone who already sings it. The guide says so plainly, and points to a teacher for the rest.
Questions about this lesson? WhatsApp 62800-75157 or drbnrj@gmail.com.