The Eighth Stanza

The Śiva Kalpataru Hymn is an anonymous, late-classical/medieval devotional hymn rooted in regional Shaiva temple traditions. It is different from the Twelve-Syllable Bhujangaprayāta Śivāṣṭakam attributed to Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, that is composed in the Bhujangaprayāta meter (literally "the gliding motion of a snake").

The Śiva Kalpataru Hymn survived and spread not through royal courts or famous philosopher-saints, but through generations of devotees chanting it together as a living prayer to Lord Śiva, the Wish-Fulfilling Tree. This Hymn is particularly prominent in the devotional Shaiva traditions of Eastern and Coastal India -- most notably in Odisha, Bengal, and parts of Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

Because it was preserved as an oral chant rather than a rigidly fixed scholarly treatise, the text exhibits classic features of a fluid folk-liturgical origin. This is apparent from

• Modular Stanzas: Over centuries, lines from other popular Shaiva hymns (such as descriptions of Tripurāntaka or the Pramathas) migrated into its verses.  
• Variable Refrains & Interpolations: Because it was sung locally, different regions inserted their own local variants for the 8th stanza (or Phala-Śruti), which is why regional variant -- including the current,  custom-written Śrī Vidyā finale --integrate into its structure so naturally.

The first seven are from the traditional Śiva Kalpataru Stotram (often cataloged in Stotra-Mālā collections and devotional manuals as the Praṇamāmi Śivaṁ Śivakalpatarum hymn). 

The eighth stanza is my custom-integrated Śrī Vidyā finale.

The Modified Text

प्रभुमीशमनीशमशेषगुणं गुणहीनमहीशगलाभरणम् ।

रणनिर्जितदुर्जयदैत्यपुरं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ १ ॥

Prabhum-īśam-anīśam-aśeṣa-guṇaṁ

guṇa-hīnam-ahīśa-galābharaṇam |

Raṇa-nirjita-durjaya-daitya-puraṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 1 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, who fulfills all desires like the divine wish-fulfilling tree (Kalpataru). He is the supreme Lord (Prabhu), master of all (Īśa), yet has no master over Himself (Anīśa). He embodies all endless virtues (Aśeṣa-guṇa), yet remains untouched by the three material qualities (Guṇa-hīna). His neck is adorned with the king of serpents, and He conquered the invincible fortress of demons in battle.

गिरिराजसुतान्वितवामतनुं तनुनिन्दितराजितकोटिविभुम् ।

विधिविष्णुशिरोधृतपादयुगं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ २ ॥

Girirāja-sutānvita-vāma-tanuṁ

tanu-nindita-rājita-koṭi-vibhum |

Vidhi-viṣṇu-śirodhṛta-pāda-yugaṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 2 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, who is the wish-fulfilling tree. His left side is graced by Parvatī, daughter of the mountain king. The splendor of His radiant form outshines a million moons, and His divine feet are reverently placed upon the heads of Brahma (Vidhi) and Vishnu.

शशलाञ्छितरञ्जितसन्मुकुटं कटिलम्बितसुन्दरकृत्तिपटम् ।

सुरसङ्गलिनीकृतपूतजटां प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ३ ॥

Śaśa-lāñchita-rañjita-san-mukuṭaṁ

kaṭi-lambita-sundara-kṛtti-paṭam |

Sura-saṅga-linīkṛta-pūta-jaṭaṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 3 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, the wish-fulfilling tree. His noble crown is adorned with the soft glow of the crescent moon. Around His waist hangs a beautiful garment made of tiger hide, and His matted locks are purified by the celestial river Ganga as it merges into Him.

नयनत्रयभूषितचारुमुखं मुखपद्मविनिन्दितकोटिविधुम् ।

विधुखण्डविमण्डितभालतटं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ४ ॥

Nayana-traya-bhūṣita-cāru-mukhaṁ

mukha-padma-vinindita-koṭi-vidhum |

Vidhu-khaṇḍa-vimaṇḍita-bhāla-taṭaṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 4 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, the wish-fulfilling tree. His attractive face is embellished with three eyes. His lotus-like countenance eclipses the radiance of millions of moons, and His broad forehead is beautifully decorated with a segment of the crescent moon.

वृषराजनिकेतनमादिगुरुं गरलाशनमाजिविषाणधरम् ।

प्रमथाधिपसेवकरञ्जनकं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ५ ॥

Vṛṣarāja-niketanam-ādi-guruṁ

garalāśanam-āji-viṣāṇa-dharam |

Pramathādhipa-sevaka-rañjanakaṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 5 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, the wish-fulfilling tree. He rides upon Nandi, the king of bulls, and is the primordial spiritual master (Ādi-guru). He swallowed deadly poison for the world, holds the horn (Viṣāṇa) as a weapon in battle, and brings supreme delight to His devoted attendants and spirits (Pramathas).

मकरध्वजमत्तमातङ्गहरं करुणाकरमम्बुजपत्रदृशम् ।

अमराधिपपूजितपादयुगं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ६ ॥

Makaradhvaja-matta-mātaṅga-haraṁ

karuṇākaram-ambuja-patra-dṛśam |

Amarādhipa-pūjita-pāda-yugaṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 6 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, the wish-fulfilling tree. He subdued the wild-elephant-like pride of Kamadeva (Makaradhvaja, god of love). He is an ocean of mercy whose eyes resemble lotus petals, and His pair of lotus feet are worshiped by Indra and all the gods.

जगदुद्भवपालननाशकरं भुवनैकपितरं करुणाजलधिम् ।

प्रियमानवसाधुजनैकगतिं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ७ ॥

Jagad-udbhava-pālana-nāśa-karaṁ

bhuvanaika-pitaraṁ karuṇā-jaladhim |

Priya-mānava-sādhu-janaika-gatiṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 7 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, the wish-fulfilling tree. He is the creator, sustainer, and dissolver of the entire cosmos. He is the sole father of the universe, an endless ocean of compassion, and the ultimate refuge for seekers, saints, and beloved humans.

सत् व्याकुलसेवकरञ्जनकं साधुसाधकनयनप्रदायकम् ।

शृङ्गारघनश्रीयन्त्ररूपम् प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ८ ॥

Sat-vyākula-sevaka-rañjanakaṁ

sādhu-sādhaka-nayana-pradāyakam |

Śṛṅgāra-ghana-śrīyantra-rūpaṁ

praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 8 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, who fulfills all desires like the divine wish-fulfilling tree. He brings joy to His distressed and faithful servants, and grants divine inner vision to pure spiritual seekers. He is the very embodiment of the sacred Śrī Yantra, dense with the ultimate bliss of divine love (Śṛṅgāra).

The Original 8th Stanza

हृदयस्थतमःप्रकरापहरं बहुसम्पददायकमादिगुरुम् ।

अमराधिपपूजितपादयुगं प्रणमामि शिवं शिवकल्पतरुम् ॥ ८ ॥

Hṛdayastha-tamaḥ-prakarāpaharaṁ bahu-sampada-dāyakam-ādi-gurum |

Amarādhipa-pūjita-pāda-yugaṁ praṇamāmi śivaṁ śivakalpatarum || 8 ||

I bow to Lord Śiva, who fulfills all desires like the divine wish-fulfilling tree. He removes the dense darkness residing within the heart, bestows abundant material wealth, and is the primordial spiritual master. His lotus feet are devoutly worshiped by Indra, the king of the celestial gods.

Technical and Poetic Critique of the Original

The canonical eighth stanza stumbles on two distinct fronts: semantic focus and prosodic construction. On a spiritual level, ending a sublime devotional hymn with the epithet bahu-sampada-dāyakam reduces the grand climax of the chant to a request for material prosperity. This transactional shift drops the spiritual register precisely when the poem should reach its transcendental peak.

Beyond this thematic drop, the stanza suffers from a distinct lack of metrical momentum and poetic freshness. The line Amarādhipa-pūjita-pāda-yugaṁ is not an original line for the finale; it is a direct verbatim repetition of the third line of the sixth stanza. Throughout the first seven stanzas of the hymn, each verse establishes a vibrant internal cadence and unique rhyming end-phrases that give the chanting its characteristic musical bounce. By lazily recycling a line from earlier in the text, the original eighth stanza breaks this established rhyming symmetry. It deprives the reciter of a fresh, climax-building internal rhyme, resulting in a flat, repetitive finish that fails to carry the musical momentum into the ultimate refrain.

How the Replacement Stanza Resolves These Flaws

The replacement stanza restores both the spiritual elevation and the rhythmic integrity of the hymn. By introducing the internal rhyme scheme of rañjanakaṁ and pradāyakam, it rebuilds the active, bouncing internal cadence that characterizes the rest of the hymn, completely eliminating the stagnant repetition of the recycled line.

Furthermore, the new stanza shifts the focus away from material wealth toward spiritual illumination. It progresses naturally from soothing the distressed devotee (vyākula-sevaka) to bestowing divine vision upon the spiritual practitioner (sādhu-sādhaka). It then culminates in the resonant description Śṛṅgāra-ghana-śrīyantra-rūpam, revealing Lord Śiva as the non-dual embodiment of the Śrī Yantra, dense with the bliss of divine love. Fits perfectly into the native thirteen-syllable measure of the Śiva Kalpataru refrain, this replacement provides both the prosodic symmetry and the non-dual philosophical resolution that a proper finale demands.