Om Namah Shivaya

What the words mean

Om is the primordial sound; namaḥ means "salutation" or "I bow"; and Śhivāya means "to Shiva" — to the Auspicious One. Together: "Om, I bow to Shiva." Traditional teachers add a devotional reading of namaḥ as na mama, "not mine" — so the mantra is also an act of surrender, letting go of the sense of "I" and "mine" before the Divine.

Where it comes from

The mantra's source is the Shri Rudram (Rudra Namakam) of the Krishna Yajurveda's Taittiriya Samhita, one of the oldest hymns to Shiva. Its eighth section contains the words "namaḥ śhivāya cha śhivatarāya cha" — "salutations to the auspicious one, and to the one more auspicious still." Tradition calls "Namah Shivaya" the heart of the Rudram, just as the Rudram is called the heart of the Yajurveda.

Why it is called the Panchakshari

Without Om, the mantra has exactly five syllables — na, maḥ, śhi, vā, ya — which is why it is called the Panchakshari (five-syllabled); with Om it is the Shadakshari (six-syllabled). In many teachings the five syllables are linked to the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and space), so that the mantra is understood to purify the whole of one's being. Adi Shankaracharya's Shiva Panchakshara Stotra is built around it: each of its five verses begins with one of the five syllables in order. In the Tamil Shaiva tradition, Manikkavacakar's Sivapuranam opens with the same words — "Namachivaya vazhga."

How and when to chant it

It is traditionally chanted as japa on a rudraksha mala of 108 beads, silently or aloud, and is widely regarded as open to everyone. Mondays (Shiva's day), Pradosh, the month of Shravan and Mahashivratri are especially favoured. Many chant it while offering water or bel leaves on a Shivalinga. For a longer practice, pair it with the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, the Shiva Chalisa and the aarti Om Jai Shiv Omkara; see also Monday Shiva Bhakti.