Navagraha Stotram
About this text: The Navagraha Stotram is a nine-verse hymn, one for each graha (planetary force) in the Jyotish system: Surya, Chandra, Mangala, Budha, Brihaspati, Shukra, Shani, Rahu, and Ketu. The text appears in various Puranic and liturgical compilations within the Smarta tradition. Each verse invokes the graha not as an astronomical body but as a karmic and psychological force governing specific dimensions of human experience.
“One who recites these nine verses at dawn, facing the sun, is freed from the obstacles born of planetary affliction.”
Verse-by-Verse Study
Click any verse to read the full Sanskrit, transliteration, translation, and contemplative commentary.
जपाकुसुमसङ्काशं काश्यपेयं महद्युतिम्।
japākusuma saṅkāśaṁ kāśyapeyaṁ mahadyutim
दधिशङ्खतुषाराभं क्षीरोदार्णवसम्भवम्।
dadhiśaṅkha tuṣārābhaṁ kṣīrodārṇava sambhavam
धरनीगर्भसम्भूतं विद्युत्कान्तिसमप्रभम्।
dharanīgarbha sambhūtaṁ vidyutkānti samaprabham
प्रियङ्गुकलिकाश्यामं रूपेणाप्रतिमं बुधम्।
priyaṅgu kalikā śyāmaṁ rūpeṇāpratimaṁ budham
देवानां च ऋषीणां च गुरुं काञ्चनसन्निभम्।
devānāṁ ca ṛṣīṇāṁ ca guruṁ kāñcana sannibham
हिमकुन्दमृणालाभं दैत्यानां परमं गुरुम्।
himakunda mṛṇālābhaṁ daityānāṁ paramaṁ gurum
नीलाञ्जनसमाभासं रविपुत्रं यमाग्रजम्।
nīlāñjana samābhāsaṁ raviputraṁ yamāgrajam
अर्धकायं महावीर्यं चन्द्रादित्यविमर्दनम्।
ardhakāyaṁ mahāvīryaṁ candrāditya vimardanam
पलाशपुष्पसङ्काशं तारकाग्रहमस्तकम्।
palāśapuṣpa saṅkāśaṁ tārakāgraha mastakam
About the Navagraha Stotram
The nine grahas in Jyotish do not map directly to the Western astronomical concept of planets. They include the Sun (Surya) and Moon (Chandra), which are luminaries, and Rahu and Ketu, which are the lunar nodes with no physical body. The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, the foundational text of Jyotish attributed to the sage Parashara, describes each graha as a manifestation of Vishnu governing specific aspects of karma and temporal experience.
The stotram is traditionally recited on Saturdays and during Navagraha Puja, particularly when a practitioner is undergoing a difficult planetary period (dasha or transit). The practice is not fatalistic petition but a contemplative reframing: each graha represents an internal principle (discipline, desire, intellect, expansion) that can be understood and worked with rather than feared.