Om Shri Shyam Devaya NamahKhatu Shyam Mantra

A name that was a gift

The mantra is short because the name in it says everything. Khatu Shyam is Barbarik, Bhima's grandson, who gave his head to Krishna before the Mahabharata war. Pleased with that gift, Krishna gave him his own name, Shyam, and the promise that he would be worshipped in the Kali age. So Om Shri Shyam Devaya Namah, "Om, salutations to the divine Shri Shyam", is at once a prayer to Barbarik and to the Krishna whose name he carries. It is printed at the foot of the popular Shri Shyam Stuti.

How devotees chant it

• Ekadashi: every Shukla Ekadashi is Shyam Baba's day. Many keep the fast, chant the mantra 108 times, and go for darshan on Dwadashi.
• Before darshan: pilgrims walking from Ringas to Khatu with the nishan chant it, or simply "Jai Shri Shyam", all the way.
• At home: light a ghee lamp before his picture, offer a rose or a garland, and chant on a tulsi or sandalwood mala. Follow it with the Khatu Shyam Chalisa and the aarti Om Jai Shri Shyam Hare.

Jai Shri Shyam

Among Shyam devotees, "Jai Shri Shyam" is a greeting, a blessing and a complete mantra all at once. It is what you will hear at the temple gate, at night-long jagrans and between friends. Because Baba is Haare ka Sahara, the support of those who have lost, many devotees chant it in exactly the moments when nothing else seems to work.