Shubham Karoti Kalyanam शुभं करोति कल्याणम्

Word-by-word meaning

śubham

auspiciousness, good

karoti

brings about, does

kalyāṇam

welfare, well-being

ārogyam

good health

dhanasampadā

with the abundance of wealth

śatrubuddhi

hostile thinking, enmity

vināśāya

for the destruction of

dīpajyotiḥ

O light of the lamp

namo'stu te

salutations be to you

When and how to recite

1. At dusk, clean the puja area and prepare a diya with ghee or oil and a cotton wick.
2. Light the lamp and place it before the deity or at the entrance of the home.
3. Join your palms, look at the flame and recite the shloka.
4. Follow it with Deepa Jyoti Parabrahma and your usual evening prayers.

Significance

Shubham Karoti Kalyanam is the shloka recited while lighting the lamp at dusk, the sandhya time when day turns into night. Families gather before the home shrine, light the diya and salute the flame, which brings auspiciousness, well-being, health and prosperity, and destroys hostile thoughts. Generations of children have learned it as part of the evening prayer, often recited together with Deepa Jyoti Parabrahma. It fills the home with light and calm as evening falls.

Sandhya, the meeting of day and night, is traditionally a time for prayer. Lighting a lamp then is both practical and symbolic: outer light pushes back the darkness, and the flame is a reminder of the inner light of awareness. 'Shatrubuddhi' is best understood as the enemy-like thoughts within us, anger, jealousy and ill will, which the prayer asks to be dispelled. The second half of the first line is also heard as 'dhanasampadaḥ' or 'dhanasampadam'; 'dhanasampadā' is the most commonly printed form.

Frequently asked questions