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Shri Shiva

पञ्चाक्षरी मन्त्र

Panchakshari Mantra

Krishna Yajurveda — Taittiriya Samhita 4.5.8 (as part of Shri Rudram); universally revered across all Shaiva traditions.

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The supreme mantra of Shiva devotion, consisting of five sacred syllables: Na-Ma-Śi-Vā-Ya. Each syllable corresponds to one of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, space) and to one of Shiva's five cosmic actions (creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment, and liberation). Recitation of this mantra, ideally 108 or 1008 times, is held to purify karma, bestow grace, and lead to liberation.

पञ्चाक्षरी मन्त्र — The Five-Syllable Mantra

नमः शिवाय ॥

namaḥ śivāya ||

Namah Shivaya ||

शिव को नमन — पाँच अक्षरों (न-म-शि-वा-य) का पञ्चाक्षर मूल मन्त्र।

Salutation to Shiva. (The five syllables Na-Ma-Śi-Vā-Ya are each identified with one of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space — and with the five actions of Shiva: creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment, and liberation.)

सप्राणव (षडक्षरी) — With Praṇava (Six-Syllable Form)

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॥

oṃ namaḥ śivāya ||

Om Namah Shivaya ||

ॐ, शिव को नमन — प्रणव सहित पञ्चाक्षर, सर्वाधिक प्रचलित रूप।

Om — salutation to Shiva. The Panchakshari preceded by the Pranava, the form most commonly recited by devotees.

व्युत्क्रम — Reversed Form

शिवाय नमः ॥

śivāya namaḥ ||

Shivaya Namah ||

शिव को नमन — नमस्कार व अर्चना में प्रयुक्त व्युत्क्रम रूप।

To Shiva, salutation. An alternative arrangement used in namaskara and archana rites.

Text source & editorial review

Source of this text
Krishna Yajurveda — Taittiriya Samhita 4.5.8 (as part of Shri Rudram); universally revered across all Shaiva traditions.
Last reviewed
What was reviewed
On 13 October 2026 every verse of this text was re-checked: the Devanagari for script and encoding errors, the IAST line letter by letter against the Devanagari, and the pronunciation line and the Hindi and English meanings for completeness. The Hindi and English meanings of every verse were also read against the original, and the errors found were corrected. This text has not been collated line by line against a published edition. One or more readings in this text remain unconfirmed and are still under review; we have left the received text unchanged rather than publish a guess.

How we source and check these texts

Frequently asked questions

What is the Panchakshari Mantra?

Panchakshari Mantra (पञ्चाक्षरी मन्त्र) is a mantra dedicated to Shiva. A Mantra is a sacred sound or formula, often Vedic, repeated in worship and meditation to invoke a deity and focus the mind.

Which deity is the Panchakshari Mantra dedicated to?

The Panchakshari Mantra is dedicated to Shiva.

Is the Panchakshari Mantra available in Hindi and English?

Yes. On Adiveda the Panchakshari Mantra is given verse by verse in Devanagari (the script used for Sanskrit and Hindi) with Roman (IAST) transliteration, simple phonetics, and Hindi and English meanings, so you can read, pronounce and understand every line.

What is the source of the Panchakshari Mantra?

The Panchakshari Mantra is drawn from Krishna Yajurveda — Taittiriya Samhita 4.5.8 (as part of Shri Rudram); universally revered across all Shaiva traditions..

Can I read the Panchakshari Mantra online for free?

Yes - the Panchakshari Mantra is free to read online at Adiveda, formatted for mobile, for devotees in India and around the world.

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