mahaadEva shiva shambhO
raagam: rEvati

2 ratnaangi janya
Aa: S R1 M1 P N2 S
Av: S N2 P M1 R1 S

taaLam: aadi
Composer: Tanjavur Shankara Iyer
Language: Sanskrit

pallavi

mahAdEva shiva shambhO mArakOTi sundara prabhO shrI

anupallavi

sahasrakOTi jana pAlana sAdhu samrakSaNa pAvana

caraNam

sarvEshvara karuNAkara mUrtE sAmagAna priya vEda pUrtE
paramEshvara gangAdhara kIrtE patita pAvana shrI pashupatE (mahaa)

Meaning:

By Aparna from Neccheli (original article here, reproduced with permission)

Carnatic Compositions - The Essence and Embodiment
-Aparna Munukutla Gunupudi

Sri mahAdEva - supreme lord
siva shambhO - Siva Sambho
mArakOTi - one crore cupids
Sundara - beautiful
prabhO - lord

sahasrakOTi - thousands of crores
Jana - people
pAlana - ruler
sAdhu samrakshaNa - protector of good people
pAvana - pious one

sarvEsvara - lord of everything
karuNAkara mUrtE - embodiment of kindness
sAmagAna priya - enjoys melodious music
vEda pUrtE - fully knowledgeable in vedas
paramEsvara - lord of the universe
gangAdhara - who holds the Ganga
kIrtE - praised
patita pAvana - rescuer of sinned
srI pasupatE - lord of animals

Summary:

This krithi is in praise of lord Siva in a very lilting and melodious rAgam Revathi. In this song, lord Siva is described as beautiful as one crore cupids together. He rules over thousands of crores of people and provides protection to the good and gentle people. He is the lord of the universe with people and animals and an embodiment of kindness. He enjoys melodious music, is learned in the vedas, is the one who is associated with the river Ganga and he is the rescuer for all the sinned people.

The rAgam Revathi has a special attribute that it is most popularly used for chanting mantras and Vedas, which fits this song that is all in praise of lord Siva. Siva, the lord of the universe is also known as the origin of the energy “aum” that pervades the universe. He balances the universes with the circle of life of creation and destruction. He is the one who creatively tamed mighty river Ganges as a calmer and controlled river for regeneration of life. He is the father of syllables/script and dance. He is “Nataraja” the supreme cosmic dancer who enchanted his subjects with “Lasya”, the gentle form representing creation and “Tandava”, the more vigorous form representing destruction. While lord Siva is worshiped year round everywhere, the month of Karthikam is noted as very auspicious time and chanting the simple yet a very powerful mantra “Om namah SivAya” is soothing and calms the mind and brings peace.

Other information:
Lyrics from book of Thanjavur Shankara Iyer's compositions. Some corrections from Sathyaprakasan Pulickel and Lakshman Ragde. Meaning contributed by Aparna Gunupudi via Neccheli.

Song performed for karnATik by Manda Krishna Mohan.