Navarna Mantra

Why "nine-syllabled"

Navarna means "of nine letters" (nava, nine; arna, syllable). Count them: Aim · Hreem · Kleem · Cha · Mun · Da · Yai · Vi · Chche. Om is placed in front, as with most mantras, but it isn't one of the nine. The mantra is also called the Chandi mantra or Chamunda mantra, after the goddess it names.

What each part carries

• Aim (ऐं): the vak bija, seed syllable of speech and knowledge, traditionally connected with Mahasaraswati.
• Hreem (ह्रीं): the maya bija of the Goddess as sovereign of the worlds, traditionally connected with Mahalakshmi.
• Kleem (क्लीं): the kama bija of attraction and will, traditionally connected with Mahakali.
• Chamundayai: "to Chamunda". In the seventh chapter of the Devi Mahatmya, Kali kills the demon generals Chanda and Munda, and Ambika names her Chamunda for it.
• Vichche: the closing word. It has no simple dictionary meaning, and different commentators explain it in different ways. It is best received as part of the mantra's sound rather than translated.

The three bijas line up with the three sections (charitra) of the Durga Saptashati. The first charitra belongs to Mahakali, the middle to Mahalakshmi and the last to Mahasaraswati. So the Navarna holds the whole Saptashati in nine syllables.

The formal viniyoga

When the mantra is taken up formally, it is prefaced by a viniyoga, a statement of its seers, metres, deities and seed. For the Navarna, that is:

ॐ अस्य श्रीनवार्णमन्त्रस्य ब्रह्म विष्णु रुद्रा ऋषयः,
गायत्र्युष्णिगनुष्टुभश्छन्दांसि,
श्रीमहाकाली महालक्ष्मी महासरस्वती देवताः,
ऐं बीजं ह्रीं शक्तिः क्लीं कीलकं,
श्रीमहाकाली महालक्ष्मी महासरस्वती प्रीत्यर्थे जपे विनियोगः ॥

In plain terms: the seers of this Navarna mantra are Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. Its metres are Gayatri, Ushnik and Anushtubh, and its deities are Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. Aim is its seed (bija), Hreem its power (shakti) and Kleem its lock (kilaka), and it is chanted to please the three goddesses. The same triads mirror each other: three seers, three metres, three goddesses, three bijas.

How it is used

The Navarna is above all a Navratri mantra. Many who read the Durga Saptashati during the nine days chant a mala of Navarna before and after the reading, and many editions of the Saptashati print a Navarna Vidhi, the full procedure with nyasa and dhyana, alongside the text. Others simply do japa of it through Navratri, commonly with a rudraksha or red-sandalwood mala, keeping the same count each day.

A word of care

This is a bija mantra from the tantric side of Devi worship, and tradition treats it with more formality than a name-mantra like "Om Namah Shivaya". Many families chant it freely during Navratri. For a sustained anushthan (a vowed course of a fixed number of repetitions), it is best to learn the procedure from a guru or family priest. If you want a simple daily prayer to Durga without that formality, the Durga Chalisa, Durga Kavach or Jai Ambe Gauri aarti serve beautifully.