When it is sung
Sung at the end of Shiva puja — daily in many homes and temples, and especially on Mondays, on Mahashivratri, and through the month of Shravan. It is the Shaiva counterpart to Om Jai Jagdish Hare and follows the same tune.
Full text, with meaning
Each line of the verse, with its romanisation beneath and what the verse says after it.
Verse 1
ॐ जय शिव ओंकारा, प्रभु जय शिव ओंकारा।
Om jai Shiv Omkara, Prabhu jai Shiv Omkara
ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव, अर्द्धांगी धारा ॥
Brahma Vishnu Sadashiv, ardhangi dhara
Meaning
Victory to Shiva who is Omkara — not a god who owns the syllable Om but one identified with it. Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva are named together in the opening line, and Shiva is the one who carries his consort as half of his own body.
Refrain — sung after every verse
ॐ हर हर हर महादेव ॥
Om Har Har Har Mahadev
Meaning
Har is a name of Shiva and also the verb "to take away". The refrain is both an address and a request: Mahadev, the great god, remover.
Verse 2
एकानन चतुरानन पंचानन राजे। शिव पंचानन राजे।
Ekanan chaturanan panchanan raje, Shiv panchanan raje
हंसासन गरुड़ासन वृषवाहन साजे ॥
Hansasan Garudasan vrishvahan saje
Meaning
One-faced, four-faced, five-faced — the three preside. The forms are matched to their mounts in the same order: the swan seat of Brahma, the Garuda seat of Vishnu, and the bull that carries Shiva.
Verse 3
दो भुज चार चतुर्भुज दस भुज अति सोहे। प्रभु दस भुज अति सोहे।
Do bhuj char chaturbhuj das bhuj ati sohe, Prabhu das bhuj ati sohe
तीनों रूप निरखते। त्रिभुवन मन मोहे ॥
Teenon roop nirakhte, tribhuvan man mohe
Meaning
Two arms, four arms, ten arms — each form beautiful in its own count. Looking upon all three forms at once, the three worlds are enchanted.
Verse 4
अक्षमाला बनमाला मुण्डमाला धारी। शिव मुण्डमाला धारी।
Akshamala banmala mundmala dhari, Shiv mundmala dhari
चंदन मृगमद चंदा, सोहे त्रिपुरारी ॥
Chandan mrigmad chanda, sohe Tripurari
Meaning
He wears the rosary of rudraksha, the garland of wild flowers, and the garland of skulls — the three strung together in one line, ornament and cremation ground at once. Sandal paste, musk and the crescent moon adorn Tripurari, the destroyer of the three cities.
Verse 5
श्वेताम्बर पीताम्बर बाघम्बर अंगे। शिव बाघम्बर अंगे।
Shvetambar pitambar baghambar ange, Shiv baghambar ange
ब्रह्मादिक सनकादिक भूतादिक संगे ॥
Brahmadik Sanakadik bhutadik sange
Meaning
White cloth, yellow cloth, tiger skin — again the three deities distinguished by what they wear. In his company are Brahma and the gods, Sanaka and the ascetic sages, and the hosts of spirits.
Verse 6
कर के मध्य कमंडलु चक्र त्रिशूल धर्ता। शिव कर में त्रिशूल धर्ता।
Kar ke madhya kamandalu chakra trishul dharta, Shiv kar mein trishul dharta
जगकर्ता जगहर्ता जगपालनकर्ता ॥
Jagkarta jagharta jagpalankarta
Meaning
In the hands: the water pot, the discus, the trident. Then the three functions in one breath — maker of the world, remover of the world, sustainer of the world.
Verse 7
ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव जानत अविवेका। स्वामी जानत अविवेका।
Brahma Vishnu Sadashiv janat aviveka, Swami janat aviveka
प्रणवाक्षर के मध्ये ये तीनों एका ॥
Pranavakshar ke madhye ye teenon eka
Meaning
To hold Brahma, Vishnu and Sadashiva apart as three is a failure of discernment. Within the syllable of the Pranava — Om — these three are one. This is the verse the whole aarti has been building towards.
Verse 8 — closing
त्रिगुण शिवजी की आरती जो कोई नर गावे। प्रभु प्रेम सहित गावे।
Trigun Shivji ki aarti jo koi nar gave, Prabhu prem sahit gave
कहत शिवानन्द स्वामी मनवांछित फल पावे ॥
Kahat Shivanand Swami manvanchhit phal pave
Meaning
Whoever sings this aarti of the Shiva of the three qualities — and sings it with love, not merely recites it — receives the fruit their heart wished for. The composer signs his own name in the last line, which is the usual way a bhajan closes.
About this aarti
The aarti is built on a single idea carried through every verse: the three gods of the Hindu triad are three aspects of one reality. Verse after verse lists attributes in threes — faces, mounts, arms, garlands, garments, hands — and the seventh verse states the conclusion outright, that within Om the three are one.
It shares its tune with Om Jai Jagdish Hare, the Vishnu aarti, and the two are often sung one after the other at the close of a puja.
A note on the text
Attribution is not settled. The closing verse signs itself "kahat Shivanand Swami", which is the conventional way a composer names himself in the final line, and that is the attribution followed here. The Hindi Wikipedia article that carries this text instead credits Pandit Shraddha Ram Phillauri (1837–1881) in its prose — he is the securely attested author of Om Jai Jagdish Hare, whose tune this aarti shares, which may be how the two became associated. Both claims are recorded rather than resolved. The text itself is reproduced as the cited source has it; regional sung variants differ in small ways, particularly in the half-line repetitions.
Sources
These texts are in the public domain. The verse is reproduced from the cited source; the English meaning and the background notes on this page are original writing.