नाद ब्रह्म

Sacred Mantras of Shiva

In the Shaiva tradition, sound is not a description of the divine — it is the divine. These mantras are Mahadev in the form of vibration. Chant slowly, with attention on the meaning.

The Panchakshara — Five Sacred Syllables

Om Namah Shivaya

ॐ नमः शिवाय

oṁ namaḥ śivāya

“Om — salutations to Shiva, the Auspicious One.” The most beloved of all Shiva mantras, found at the heart of the Shri Rudram in the Yajurveda. Its five syllables — Na, Ma, Śi, Vā, Ya — are said to hold the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, space) and thus the entire manifest world. With Om before them, the unmanifest joins the manifest: six syllables containing everything. It needs no initiation, no ritual, no qualification — anyone, anywhere, may take refuge in it.

Source: Shri Rudram, Yajurveda Japa: 108 repetitions

The Great Death-Conquering Mantra

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ॥

oṁ tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭi-vardhanam
urvārukam iva bandhanān mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt

“We worship the Three-Eyed One, fragrant, who nourishes all beings. As the ripe cucumber slips effortlessly from its vine, so may we be released from death — never from immortality.” From the Rigveda (7.59.12), this is the mantra sage Markandeya chanted to conquer death itself. It is chanted for healing, for protection of loved ones, and at times of fear — not to escape death, but to slip free of its grip the way ripe fruit leaves the vine: naturally, without struggle.

Source: Rigveda 7.59.12 Chanted for healing & protection

The Gayatri of Rudra

Rudra Gayatri Mantra

ॐ तत्पुरुषाय विद्महे महादेवाय धीमहि ।
तन्नो रुद्रः प्रचोदयात् ॥

oṁ tatpuruṣāya vidmahe mahādevāya dhīmahi
tan no rudraḥ pracodayāt

“We know that Supreme Being; we meditate upon Mahadev, the Great God. May Rudra impel and illuminate us.” Cast in the ancient gayatri metre, this mantra asks not for things but for direction — that the fierce, awakening energy of Rudra turn the mind toward truth. It is traditionally chanted at dawn and during abhishekam.

Metre: Gayatri Chanted at dawn & abhishekam

Hymn of the Five Syllables — Adi Shankaracharya

Shiva Panchakshara Stotram (opening verse)

नागेन्द्रहाराय त्रिलोचनाय भस्माङ्गरागाय महेश्वराय ।
नित्याय शुद्धाय दिगम्बराय तस्मै नकाराय नमः शिवाय ॥

nāgendra-hārāya trilocanāya bhasmāṅga-rāgāya maheśvarāya
nityāya śuddhāya digambarāya tasmai nakārāya namaḥ śivāya

“To the one garlanded with the king of serpents, three-eyed, anointed with sacred ash, the great Lord — eternal, pure, clothed in the very directions — to that ‘Na’, salutations to Shiva.” Adi Shankaracharya composed five verses, one for each syllable of Namah Shivaya, each painting the Lord's form in a handful of words. Reciting the stotram is said to carry the devotee to Shiva's own abode.

Author: Adi Shankaracharya 5 verses — one per syllable

The Aarti Shloka

Karpura Gauram

कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् ।
सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि ॥

karpūra-gauraṁ karuṇāvatāraṁ saṁsāra-sāraṁ bhujagendra-hāram
sadā vasantaṁ hṛdayāravinde bhavaṁ bhavānī-sahitaṁ namāmi

“White as camphor, the embodiment of compassion, the essence of existence, garlanded with the king of serpents — I bow to Bhava, together with Bhavani, who ever dwells in the lotus of the heart.” Sung across India at the close of every aarti, as the camphor flame burns itself out leaving nothing behind — just as the ego should dissolve before the Lord.

Sung at the close of aarti

Universal Peace Invocation

Shanti Mantra

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

oṁ sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ
sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścid duḥkha-bhāg bhavet
oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

“May all beings be happy; may all be free of illness; may all behold what is auspicious; may no one suffer. Om — peace, peace, peace.” The prayer of one who has understood Shiva: when the Lord of all beings is your Lord, every being's welfare becomes your own.

Traditional shanti patha

Digital Japa Mala

Count Your Japa

Tap the rudraksha bead with each repetition of the mantra. A full mala is 108. Your count is saved on this device, so you can continue where you left off.

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How to practise: sit comfortably, spine easy and tall. Let the breath settle. Chant aloud softly, or in the mind, keeping the meaning present. Tradition favours dawn and dusk, and the thirteenth-to-fourteenth lunar nights — but Bholenath hears the mantra whenever it is offered.