Mantra
Sacred Sanskrit sound formulas, with meaning, correct pronunciation and guidance on when to chant them.
Gayatri Mantra
One of the oldest and most revered mantras in the Vedas, a prayer for wisdom and spiritual illumination.
Read more →MantraMahamrityunjaya Mantra
A powerful mantra to Lord Shiva, chanted for healing, protection and release from fear of death.
Read more →MantraOm Namah Shivaya
The Panchakshari — the five-syllable mantra of Lord Shiva from the Shri Rudram of the Yajurveda, chanted by Shiva devotees everywhere and open to all.
Read more →MantraHanuman Namaskar Mantra
A Sanskrit verse of salutation from the opening of Tulsidas's Sundarkand (Ramcharitmanas), describing Hanuman's strength, wisdom and devotion.
Read more →MantraGanesh Gayatri Mantra
A Gayatri-pattern mantra invoking Ganesha as Ekadanta, the one-tusked remover of obstacles.
Read more →MantraVishnu Gayatri Mantra
A Gayatri-pattern mantra invoking Vishnu as Narayana, the preserver of the universe.
Read more →MantraHanuman Manokamna Purti Mantra
A simple namaskara mantra chanted 108 times with a specific wish held in mind.
Read more →MantraShani Mantra: Mool, Beej & Tantrokta
Three traditional Shani mantras — the basic Mool Mantra, the seed Beej Mantra, and the Tantrokta Mantra — with proper japa niyam.
Read more →MantraHare Krishna Mahamantra
The sixteen-word "great mantra" made only of three names: Hare, Krishna and Rama. It comes from the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, where Brahma tells Narada it is the surest way across the Kali age. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made it the heart of congregational kirtan, and ISKCON carried it around the world.
Read more →MantraOm Gam Ganapataye Namah
Ganesha's best-known japa mantra, built around his seed syllable "Gam". It appears word for word in the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, which also explains how the syllable is assembled, letter by letter, and names the mantra's seer, metre and deity. It is chanted 108 times before new beginnings, exams and journeys.
Read more →MantraVakratunda Mahakaya
The four-line Ganesh shloka recited before starting anything, asking the curved-trunked Lord, brilliant as ten million suns, to keep every undertaking free of obstacles.
Read more →MantraOm Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
The Dvadashakshari — the twelve-syllable mantra of Lord Vishnu and Shri Krishna, which opens the Shrimad Bhagavatam and which Narada gave the child Dhruva.
Read more →MantraShri Ram Mantra
A simple, widely chanted mantra invoking Lord Rama as the embodiment of righteousness.
Read more →MantraGurur Brahma (Guru Mantra)
"Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwarah", the salutation to the teacher said before lessons, recitals and on Guru Purnima. It comes from the Guru Gita of the Skanda Purana, where Shiva teaches it to Parvati, and is followed there by two verses on the guru who opens the eyes blinded by ignorance.
Read more →MantraAsato Ma Sadgamaya (Pavamana Mantra)
"Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality." These three lines come from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.3.28), where they were spoken during the Soma sacrifice's Pavamana chants, and the Upanishad itself explains that all three mean one thing: make me immortal.
Read more →MantraSaraswati Vandana: Ya Kundendu
The classic two-verse Sanskrit prayer to Saraswati, sung in school assemblies and on Vasant Panchami, asking the white-robed goddess to remove every trace of dullness.
Read more →MantraKaragre Vasate Lakshmi (Morning Prayer)
The first prayer of the day in many Hindu homes, said on waking while looking at one's open palms: Lakshmi lives at the fingertips, Saraswati in the middle of the hand, and Govinda at its base. It turns the first thing you see each morning, your own hands, into a reminder of what they are for.
Read more →MantraSarve Bhavantu Sukhinah (Prayer for All)
The four-line prayer for the welfare of everyone: may all be happy, may all be free from illness, may all see what is good, may no one have a share in sorrow. It names no god and asks nothing for the one praying, which is why it closes pujas, classes and gatherings across traditions.
Read more →MantraNavarna Mantra
Om Aim Hreem Kleem Chamundayai Vichche: the nine-syllable root mantra of the Durga Saptashati, addressed to Chamunda as Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati.
Read more →MantraOm Purnamadah Purnamidam (Shanti Mantra)
"That is full, this is full; from the full, the full comes forth; take the full from the full, and the full remains." The opening verse of the fifth chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and the peace invocation of the Isha Upanishad, it is the Upanishads' most compact statement about the infinite and the world.
Read more →MantraOm Saha Navavatu (Shanti Mantra)
The peace invocation that opens sections of the Taittiriya Upanishad, spoken by teacher and student together before study: may we both be protected, nourished and strengthened, may our learning shine, and may we never resent each other. Today it also begins yoga classes and, in many schools and ashrams, meals.
Read more →MantraAditya Hridaya Stotra
The hymn to the Sun that sage Agastya taught Shri Ram before his final battle with Ravana — 31 verses from the Valmiki Ramayana, recited for courage, clarity and victory over obstacles.
Read more →MantraKrishnaya Vasudevaya Haraye Paramatmane
A verse from the Bhagavata Purana (10.73.16), first spoken by kings Krishna had freed from Jarasandha's prison, and chanted as a mantra for relief from suffering.
Read more →MantraRudra Gayatri Mantra (Shiva Gayatri)
The Gayatri of Shiva: "Om Tatpurushaya vidmahe, Mahadevaya dhimahi, tanno Rudrah prachodayat." It comes from the Mahanarayana Upanishad, which gives a whole series of Gayatris for different gods and repeats this one as the mantra of Tatpurusha, the eastern of Shiva's five faces.
Read more →What makes a mantra a mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word or short verse — most often in Sanskrit — repeated with focused intention, either aloud or silently. Unlike an ordinary prayer composed freely in the moment, a mantra is fixed: the same exact words, in the same order, said to work through the vibration and rhythm of the sound itself as much as through its literal meaning.
How mantras on this site are organised
Each mantra page gives you the original Sanskrit, an English transliteration so you can pronounce it correctly even without reading Devanagari script, its meaning, and practical guidance — how many times it's traditionally chanted, on which day, and for what purpose. Some, like the Gayatri Mantra, are meant for universal daily use; others, like a specific deity's Beej (seed) mantra, are more targeted.
Getting started with japa
If you're new to mantra chanting, our guide on japa, the practice of mantra repetition, explains how a 108-bead mala is used and the traditional forms of chanting — spoken, whispered and silent.