Skip to content Sri Adi Shankaracharya’s Bilvastakam
‘Sri Shiva Bilvastakam’ is one of the most significant and divine compositions of Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya, eulogizing the magnificence of ‘bilva’ leaf. Lord Shiva is very much fond of ‘bilva’ leaf, the prime reason being that, per the ‘Skanda Purana’, the ‘bilva’ tree grew from the sweat droplets of mother Parvati which fell on the Mandrachal mountain the birthplace of ‘bilva’ tree.
About Bilva Tree
It is believed that Goddess Parvati resides in this tree in Her various forms.
- She dwells as ‘Girija’ in the roots of the tree,
- as ‘Maheshwari’ in its trunk,
- as ‘Dakshayani’ in its branches,
- as ‘Parvati’ in its leaves,
- as ‘ Katyayani’ in its fruit and
- as ‘Gauri’ in its flowers.
The ‘bilva dalam’ endowed with a cluster of three leaves symbolically represents the holy Trinity i.e., Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Maheswara.
The ‘Shiva Purana’ means offering one ‘bilva’ ‘dalam’ to Lord Shiva equals offering one thousand lotuses.
The uniqueness of the ‘ Sri Shiva Bilvastakam’ is that every verse of the ‘ashtakam’ ends with the line, ‘Eka Bilvam Shivarpanam’.
Let us explore ‘Sri Shiva Bilvastakam’, to invoke the divine significance of ‘bilva’ leaf.
I, with much reverence as a divine ritual during the worship of Maha Shiva, offer Lord Shiva one ‘bilva’ leaf which by itself is a cluster of three leaves. By offering one ‘bilva’ leaf to Lord Shiva, I heartfully surrender my three attributes namely ‘satva,’ ‘rajas’ and ‘tamas’ at His holy feet. The cluster of three ‘bilva’ leaves signifies the three eyes of Lord Shiva. ‘Bilva’ leaf symbolically represents the prime weapon ‘Trishul’ (Trident) of Lord Maheswara.
The ‘bilva’ is as resplendent and powerful as the Sun, the Moon and Agni. Just by offering one ‘bilva’ leaf during the worship of Lord Shiva, all the accumulated sins of the previous three births get cleansed away. I, with heartful devotion, offer one ‘bilva’ which is devoid of holes in it, perfectly flawless, smooth and freshly collected from the tree and brings all auspiciousness by the bountiful grace of Lord Shiva.
The devotee prays to Lord Shiva to accept ‘bilva’ which itself is his inner self which is full of pure and sacred thoughts and is flawless in its all aspects, which he is surrendering at the holy feet of Lord Shiva with ardent devotion.
I, with much reverence, as a divine ritual during the worship of Sri Nandikeswara, offer one wholesome, soft, fresh and fragrant ‘bilva’ leaf. By this offering, all my sins will get cleansed away. Lord ‘Nandikeswara’ is the Lord of Nandi, the blessed son of the sage Shilada. Nandi is endowed with immense power. He is the means of transport to Lord Shiva and he has surrendered himself to serve Lord Shiva.
In this verse, the devotee invokes Mahashiva as ‘Nandikeswara’ and the devotee identifies himself with Nandi, the true and committed servant of Lord Shiva.
The devotee earnestly requests Lord Shiva to accept him as His servant like Nandi and bestow His divine grace upon him. I worship Lord Shiva by offering one flawless ‘bilva’ leaf to him because this divine act is equal to the good deed of donating ‘saligrama’
(It is the sacred stone which is found in the river Gandaki near Muktinath in Nepal, considered the abstract form of Lord Vishnu and the worship with ‘saligrama’ imbibes the following six virtues namely righteous living, wealth, protection, good health, pleasures and spiritual enlightenment)
to an enlightened Brahman and also it is equal to the bountiful auspicious blessings that could be imparted to the performer of ‘Soma Yagna’, the rituals of which are based on procedures as described in the Vedas and this Yagna’ is most prominent among the ‘yagnas,’ performed to propitiate the deities.
I worship Lord Shiva by offering one flawless ‘bilva’ leaf to him because this divine act is many times greater than donating thousands of crores of mighty elephants. The Scriptures declare that by the act of donating an elephant the donor is blessed to reside in ‘Shivaloka’.
Offering one Bilva Leaf
Offering one bilva leaf to Lord Shiva is truly much greater than performing hundreds of ‘Vajapeya’ sacrifices which is of the highest form among ‘Soma Yajnas’ usually performed by the brahmins and kings.
The prime ritual in the ‘Vajapeya’ sacrifice is to organise a race among the horse-driven chariots. Then the king and the queen ascend the victorious chariot, travel extensively and at every place people celebrate to mark the event.
Offering one bilva to Lord Shiva is certainly higher than giving away one crore maidens by their parents in marriage to an eligible bachelor (bridegroom). The Hindu ‘dharma’ considers the bridegroom in a marriage as Lord Vishnu Himself and the parents of the bride virtually give away their daughter to Lord Vishnu. Hence the ‘Kanyadan’ is considered the most prominent among all kinds of donations.
O! Bilva Vruksha! You are very much dearer to Lord Shiva and you are born from goddess Mahalakshmi the loving consort of Lord Vishnu. O! Bilva Vruksha! I pray you to grant me one flawless, wholesome ‘bilva’ leaf to offer it to Lord Shiva during His worship.
In the ‘Brihad Dharma Purana,’ it is said that once Sri Mahalakshmi was worshipping daily with one thousand lotus buds.
According to the Vaikhanasa Bhrigu Samhita, bilva flower is one among eight kinds of flowers that are to be used in the worship of Lord Vishnu. In Venkateswara Ashtottara, Lord Venkateswara is praised as ‘Bilva patraarchana priya namaha.’
In Sri Suktam, the goddess Mahalakshmi is praised as,
“aadityavarne tapasodhijaato Vanaspatistava vrukshotha bilvaha ||
This means: “O! Lakshmi! You are as bright as the Sun, that noble tree, ‘bilva’ was brought forth by Your devout austerities”. The very sight of ‘Bilva Vruksham’ and a gentle touch of it can cleanse away even the most heinous sins committed by an individual.
Bilva Tree – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
In the bilva tree,
- Lord Brahma, the Creator of the Universe, resides in its roots,
- Lord Vishnu, the Sustainer of the Universe, resides in its middle portion and
- Lord Shiva, the Destroyer of the Universe, resides at the upper portion of the Bilva Vruksham.
Hence I pray and beseech ‘Bilva Vruksham’ to grant me one fresh, wholesome ‘bilva’ leaf to offer that ‘bilva’ leaf to Lord Shiva. An individual who daily recites ‘Sri Shiva Bilvastakam’ and offers one ‘bilva’ leaf will be relieved from all his sins and will be granted a boon that gives an abode in ‘Shivaloka’.
