Om Namah Shivaya (Panchakshari)
Na-ma-śi-vā-ya: five syllables that Shaiva tradition calls the essence of the Vedas. It sits at the centre of the Sri Rudram in the Yajurveda. What do the five syllables stand for, and why is it said that it can be chanted by anyone, anywhere?
The verse
The heart of the Rudram
The Sri Rudram, the great hymn to Rudra in the Krishna Yajurveda (Taittiriya Samhita 4.5), has eleven sections. In the eighth stands the line "namaḥ śivāya ca śivatarāya ca" — "salutations to the auspicious one, and to the one more auspicious still". Shaiva tradition sees the Rudram as the centre of the Vedas, and "namaḥ śivāya" as the centre of the Rudram.
Five syllables, five elements
Without Om, the mantra has five syllables — na, maḥ, śi, vā, ya — which is why it is called the Panchakshari. Traditional teachers connect each syllable with one of the five elements, one of Shiva's five faces, and one of his five acts. And they say something more surprising about who may chant it…
The journey continues for members
- Open to all
- The five syllables
- Shiva Panchakshara Stotram
- How to practise
- A note on what mantras promise
Sources
- Sri Rudram — Taittiriya Samhita 4.5
- Shiva Purana — Vidyeshvara Samhita
- Tirumurai — Appar