Kalabhairava Ashtakam is Adi Shankaracharya's eight-verse hymn to Kalabhairava, the fierce guardian of Kashi and lord of time — the text's own colophon names Shankara as its author. Each verse ends kāśikāpurādhinātha kālabhairavaṃ bhajē, "I worship Kalabhairava, lord of the city of Kashi." He is praised as the destroyer of death's pride, keeper of the dharma bridge, giver of the eight siddhis, wearing a garland of skulls and a golden girdle of tinkling bells. The closing verse promises that those who recite it reach his feet.
The full recitation, in the order it is chanted. Pick a section to begin.
9 passages in all