Original text
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः । सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः । सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु । मा कश्चित् दुःखभाग्भवेत् ॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Transliteration
Om sarve bhavantu sukhinah Sarve santu niramayah Sarve bhadrani pashyantu Ma kashchit duhkhabhagbhavet || Om shantih shantih shantih ||
Four lines, no exceptions
This is perhaps the most widely used prayer for the welfare of the world, loka-kalyana, in Hindu practice, and its power lies in what it leaves out. It names no deity and asks nothing for the person praying. Every line begins with sarve, "all":
- Sarve bhavantu sukhinah: may all be happy.
- Sarve santu niramayah: may all be free from illness.
- Sarve bhadrani pashyantu: may all see what is auspicious, may all meet with good things.
- Ma kashchit duhkhabhag bhavet: may no one have a share in sorrow.
The last line turns from "all" to "no one", ma kashchit, so that nobody is left out by accident. Then comes the threefold shanti, traditionally understood as peace from three sources of trouble: from within oneself (adhyatmika), from other beings and the world (adhibhautika), and from forces beyond human control (adhidaivika).
Where it comes from
The prayer is often credited to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and sometimes to the Taittiriya. It does not appear in either. We checked the texts of both. Its exact source is uncertain, and versions of the same thought appear in several later texts and prayer collections. It is best described honestly as a traditional peace prayer, used so widely and for so long that it belongs to the whole tradition rather than to one book. That takes nothing from it. Its value is in what it asks for, not in its pedigree.
A different kind of prayer
Most prayers, sensibly, ask for help with one's own life. This one stretches the circle as wide as it will go: friends and strangers, people one likes and people one doesn't, humans and, in many teachers' reading, every living being. It works as a small daily practice in widening the heart, and as a reminder that one's own happiness is tied to everyone else's. Other closing verses carry the same spirit, such as lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, "may all the worlds be happy".
When it is said
It is recited at the end of puja and havan, at the close of yoga and meditation sessions, in school assemblies, before or after meals in some households, and at the end of discourses and kirtans. Because it is short and non-sectarian, it is often chosen for interfaith gatherings and for occasions of grief or public crisis, when people want to pray for everyone at once. Say it slowly, picturing in turn yourself, those close to you, strangers, and finally everyone.
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