Shatpadi Stotram: Adi Shankaracharya's Six-Verse Surrender to Lord Vishnu

Quick answer: The Shatpadi Stotram is a six-verse devotional hymn to Lord Vishnu composed by Adi Shankaracharya. 'Shatpadi' means 'six-footed' (six verses) and also 'bee'. It is a plea for humility, control of the mind, restraint of the senses and forgiveness of sins, expressing complete surrender to Hari with the attitude of dasoham — 'I am your servant'. It is chanted daily and at the close of puja to cultivate bhakti and humility.

The Shatpadi Stotram is one of the most beloved short hymns attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, the great 8th-century philosopher-saint. Though best known for his non-dualist (Advaita) teachings, Shankara also composed many tender devotional stotras, and the Shatpadi Stotram is among the most intimate. In just six verses it lays bare the human condition — pride, a restless mind, sense-hunger and countless faults — and offers it all at the feet of Lord Vishnu with a single, disarming request: forgive me, for I am your servant.

The name itself carries a beautiful double meaning. 'Shatpadi' literally means 'six-footed' — referring to the hymn's six verses (padas). But 'shatpadi' is also the Sanskrit word for a bee. Just as a bee hovers at a lotus to drink its nectar, the devotee's mind hovers at the lotus feet of the Lord, longing for the sweetness of His grace. This image of the bhramara (bee) at the divine lotus runs quietly through the whole prayer.

Who composed the Shatpadi Stotram?

The Shatpadi Stotram is traditionally attributed to Sri Adi Shankaracharya (Shankara Bhagavatpada). Alongside towering commentaries on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras, Shankara left a large body of devotional poetry — hymns such as the Bhaja Govindam, the Kanakadhara Stotram, the Soundarya Lahari and this Shatpadi. These stotras show that for Shankara, the highest wisdom and the deepest devotion were never in conflict. Even one who knows the Self to be Brahman may still, out of love, stand before the Lord as a humble servant.

The six-verse structure

As its name promises, the stotram is built from six compact verses. Each verse turns a slightly different facet of the devotee's need toward the Lord — the removal of pride, the taming of the mind, the offering of good conduct, and above all the plea for forgiveness. The hymn is short enough to memorise in a single sitting, yet dense enough to reflect on for a lifetime. Different manuscripts and reciters order and phrase the verses slightly differently, but the arc is always the same: it moves from confession, through surrender, to the request for grace.

• A plea to remove pride and control the wandering mind
• A confession of the soul's helplessness and dependence on the Lord
• The offering of one's actions, virtues and faults alike to Hari
• The recognition of the Lord as the only refuge and protector
• A prayer that the mind rest, like a bee, at the divine lotus feet
• The great closing plea for forgiveness in the spirit of dasoham

Two famous verses and their meaning

The opening plea

The stotram opens with one of Shankara's most quoted devotional lines, a rapid series of imperatives asking the Lord to reshape the devotee's inner life:

"Avinayam apanaya Vishno, damaya manah, shamaya vishaya-mriga-trishnam."

In English: 'O Vishnu, remove my lack of humility; discipline my mind; quell my thirst for sense-objects, which runs after them like a deer chasing a mirage.' The image is striking. The mind is compared to a thirsty deer (mriga) racing toward the shimmering illusion of water in a desert (mriga-trishna, literally 'deer-thirst', the classic Sanskrit metaphor for a mirage). Our craving for pleasures, Shankara says, is exactly this — an exhausting chase after something that was never really there. The devotee does not claim the strength to stop chasing; he simply asks the Lord to quench the thirst itself.

The closing plea for forgiveness

If the opening verse is the most quoted for its imagery, the closing sentiment is the most quoted for its humility. It is a line countless devotees whisper at the end of any worship, aware that even their prayers are imperfect:

"Aparadha-sahasrani kriyante aharnisham maya, dasoyam iti mam matva kshamasva Parameshvara."

In English: 'I commit thousands of offences day and night; but considering that this one is Your servant, please forgive me, O Supreme Lord.' Here is the heart of the whole stotram. The devotee makes no defence. He does not list good deeds or bargain for mercy. He offers only one claim on the Lord's grace — the relationship itself: dasoyam, 'this one is Your servant'. A master forgives a servant not because the servant is faultless, but because the servant belongs to him. This is the attitude of dasoham — 'I am Yours' — that the entire hymn cultivates.

The theme: humility, surrender and forgiveness

Humility (removing pride)

The prayer begins by asking for the removal of avinaya — the absence of humility, that subtle pride which quietly poisons devotion. Before the mind can be still or the senses restrained, the ego must bow. Shankara places this first because humility is the doorway; without it, even worship becomes another form of self-display.

Surrender (dasoham)

The middle of the hymn is pure surrender. The devotee stops trying to control the mind and senses by his own effort and hands the whole task to the Lord — 'You discipline my mind; You quell my thirst.' This is not laziness but trust: the recognition that the small self cannot win the battle alone, and that grace does what effort cannot. And it closes by acknowledging the reality of sin — thousands of faults, day and night — asking not to be perfect but to be forgiven. This honesty is itself a kind of purity: by naming his faults and claiming only the servant's bond, the devotee is already halfway home.

Verse meanings at a glance

When and how the Shatpadi Stotram is chanted

Because it is short, memorable and emotionally direct, the Shatpadi Stotram fits naturally into daily practice. Devotees commonly recite it as part of their morning or evening sadhana, and especially at the close of a puja or vishnu-sahasranama recitation — using its forgiveness verse as a kshama-prarthana, a request to pardon any errors in the worship just performed.

1. Sit facing your altar or an image of Lord Vishnu, after your regular puja or on its own.
2. Begin with a moment of stillness, then recite the opening 'Avinayam apanaya Vishno...' slowly, letting each imperative sink in.
3. Move through the six verses without hurry; the hymn is meant to be felt, not raced.
4. Close with the forgiveness verse, 'Aparadha-sahasrani...', offering all faults in the worship and in life to the Lord.
5. Bow with the attitude of dasoham — 'I am Your servant' — and sit quietly for a few breaths.

Why this little hymn still matters

There are no rigid rules of eligibility or timing; the stotram's whole spirit is that it can be offered by anyone, exactly as they are, faults and all — which is why it has stayed on the lips of devotees for more than a thousand years. In an age that prizes self-assertion, it teaches the harder art of self-offering. It does not ask us to become worthy before we approach the divine; it asks us to come as servants and let grace do the rest. To chant it sincerely is to practise humility, to loosen the grip of craving, and to rest — like a bee at a lotus — in the sweetness of surrender to Lord Hari.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Shatpadi Stotram?

It is a short devotional hymn of six verses composed by Adi Shankaracharya, addressed to Lord Vishnu. It is a plea for humility, control of the mind and senses, and forgiveness of sins, expressing total surrender to the Lord in the spirit of dasoham, 'I am your servant'.

What does the word 'Shatpadi' mean?

'Shatpadi' means 'six-footed', referring to the hymn's six verses. It is also the Sanskrit word for a bee — evoking the image of the devotee's mind hovering, like a bee at a lotus, at the feet of the Lord to drink the nectar of His grace.

Who composed the Shatpadi Stotram?

It is traditionally attributed to Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century saint and philosopher, who alongside his Advaita commentaries composed many devotional hymns such as the Bhaja Govindam and Kanakadhara Stotram.

What does the opening verse mean?

The opening line, 'Avinayam apanaya Vishno, damaya manah, shamaya vishaya-mriga-trishnam', means: 'O Vishnu, remove my lack of humility, discipline my mind, and quell my thirst for sense-objects that chases them like a deer after a mirage.'

What is the meaning of the famous forgiveness verse?

The verse 'Aparadha-sahasrani kriyante aharnisham maya, dasoyam iti mam matva kshamasva Parameshvara' means: 'I commit thousands of offences day and night; but considering that this one is Your servant, please forgive me, O Supreme Lord.'

What is the main theme of the Shatpadi Stotram?

Its three interwoven themes are humility (asking the Lord to remove pride), surrender (handing the mind and senses over to Him), and forgiveness (asking pardon for countless faults on the strength of the servant-master bond, dasoham).

When should the Shatpadi Stotram be chanted?

It can be recited daily as part of morning or evening worship, and is especially chanted at the close of a puja as a request to forgive any errors in the worship. There are no rigid rules; its spirit is that anyone may offer it, exactly as they are.

What does 'dasoham' mean and why is it central?

'Dasoham' means 'I am (Your) servant'. It is the central attitude of the hymn: the devotee claims no merit and offers no defence, resting only on the relationship of servant to Lord — for a master forgives a servant not because he is faultless, but because he belongs to him.