Om Namah Shivaya: Word-by-Word Meaning
ॐ नमः शिवाय
From the Upanishads (Tripura-tapini and Pancha-brahma); author unknown
Om Namah Shivaya ("Om, bowing to Shiva") is the best-known mantra of Shiva. Without the Om it has five syllables, na-maḥ-śi-vā-ya, and is called the five-syllable mantra (pañcākṣara). Many Hindu families repeat it in daily worship. Word by word: om is the sacred syllable; namaḥ means "bowing" or "homage"; śivāya means "to Shiva", the kind or auspicious one.
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Verse
ॐ नमः शिवायेति याजुषमन्त्रोपासको रुद्रत्वं प्राप्नोति । कल्याणं प्राप्नोति । य एवं वेद ।
Om namah shivayeti yajushamantropasako rudratvam prapnoti, kalyanam prapnoti, ya evam veda
IAST
oṃ namaḥ śivāyeti yājuṣamantropāsako rudratvaṃ prāpnoti | kalyāṇaṃ prāpnoti | ya evaṃ veda |
Our explanation In this part of the Tripura-tapini Upanishad, the gods ask the Lord by which mantras the Goddess, when praised, shows herself, and he names "Om namaḥ śivāya" as "the Yajus mantra", a mantra of the Yajurveda. The text says that one who worships with this mantra reaches the state of Rudra (Shiva) and reaches what is good and auspicious (kalyāṇa), for "one who knows this".
हिंदी अर्थ त्रिपुरातापिनी उपनिषद् के इस अंश में देवता भगवान से पूछते हैं कि किन मंत्रों से स्तुति करने पर देवी अपना रूप दिखाती हैं, और भगवान "ॐ नमः शिवाय" को "याजुष मंत्र", यानी यजुर्वेद का मंत्र, कहते हैं। पाठ कहता है कि इस मंत्र से उपासना करने वाला रुद्रत्व (शिव-भाव) पाता है और कल्याण पाता है, "जो यह जानता है"।
The text’s own words about its benefits, not a promise from Pujadeep.
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- ॐ oṃ · Om, the sacred syllable (indeclinable) Dictionary: om, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 235, col. 3 “a word of solemn affirmation and respectful assent”
- नमः namaḥ · bowing, homage (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: namas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 528, col. 1 “bow, obeisance, reverential salutation, adoration”
- शिवाय śivāya · to Shiva (dative singular) Dictionary: śiva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1074, col. 1 “‘The Auspicious one,’ N. of the disintegrating or destroying and reproducing deity”
- इति iti · thus (ends the quoted words) (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. iti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 1 “in this manner, thus”
- याजुषमन्त्रोपासकः yājuṣamantropāsakaḥ · one who worships with the Yajus mantra (compound, nominative singular) Dictionary: yājuṣa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 851, col. 1 “relating to the Yajus or Yajur-veda”; mantra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 786, col. 1 “a sacred formula addressed to any individual deity (e.g. Om Śivāya namaḥ)”; upāsaka, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 215, col. 1 “worshipping, a worshipper, follower”
- रुद्रत्वम् rudratvam · the state of Rudra (accusative singular) Dictionary: rudra-tva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 883, col. 2 “the being Rudra”
- प्राप्नोति prāpnoti · reaches, attains (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: prāp, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 707, col. 2 “to attain to, reach, arrive at, meet with, find”
- कल्याणम् kalyāṇam · good fortune, what is good (accusative singular) Dictionary: kalyāṇa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 263, col. 2 “good fortune, happiness, prosperity”
- प्राप्नोति prāpnoti · reaches, attains (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: prāp, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 707, col. 2 “to attain to, reach, arrive at, meet with, find”
- यः yaḥ · who, the one who (relative pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
- एवम् evam · thus, in this way (indeclinable) Dictionary: evam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 232, col. 2 “thus, in this way, in such a manner”
- वेद veda · knows (perfect form with present sense, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. vid, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 963, col. 2 “to know, understand, perceive, learn”
1 printing differs
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- Punctuation A digital text reads Same words, without the dandas inside the sentence, numbered 12.
Verse 30
पञ्चाक्षरमयं शंभुं परब्रह्मस्वरूपिणम् ।नकारादियकारान्तं ज्ञात्वा पञ्चाक्षरं जपेत् ॥
Panchaksharamayam shambhum parabrahmasvarupinamNakaradiyakarantam jnatva panchaksharam japet
IAST
pañcākṣaramayaṃ śaṃbhuṃ parabrahmasvarūpiṇam |nakārādiyakārāntaṃ jñātvā pañcākṣaraṃ japet ||
Our explanation Knowing Shambhu (Shiva), who has the form of the supreme Brahman, as made of the five syllables, which begin with "na" and end with "ya", one should repeat the five-syllable mantra. The five syllables are na-maḥ-śi-vā-ya. The next verses of the Upanishad say that one should know all things as fivefold, and that one who studies this teaching with devotion shines in fivefold form; the text says this of its own teaching.
हिंदी अर्थ परब्रह्म-स्वरूप शंभु (शिव) को पाँच अक्षरों से बना जानकर, जो "न" से शुरू होकर "य" पर समाप्त होते हैं, पंचाक्षर मंत्र का जप करना चाहिए। ये पाँच अक्षर हैं न-मः-शि-वा-य। उपनिषद् के अगले श्लोक कहते हैं कि सब कुछ पाँच रूपों वाला जानना चाहिए, और पाठ कहता है कि जो भक्ति से इस विद्या का अध्ययन करता है, वह पाँच रूपों में प्रकाशित होता है।
The text’s own words about its benefits, not a promise from Pujadeep.
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- पञ्चाक्षरमयम् pañcākṣaramayam · made of the five syllables (accusative singular) Dictionary: pañcākṣara-maya, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 577, col. 3 “consisting of 5 s°”
- शंभुम् śaṃbhum · Shambhu (Shiva), giver of happiness (accusative singular) Dictionary: śambhu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1055, col. 1 “granting or causing happiness, beneficent, benevolent, helpful, kind”
- परब्रह्मस्वरूपिणम् parabrahmasvarūpiṇam · having the form of the supreme Brahman (compound, accusative singular) Dictionary: para-brahman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 587, col. 1 “the Supreme Spirit or Brahman”; sva-rūpin, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1276, col. 3 “appearing in the form of (ifc.)”
- नकारादियकारान्तम् nakārādiyakārāntam · beginning with na, ending with ya (compound, accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. na-kāra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “the sound or letter n”; 1. ādi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 136, col. 3 “ifc. beginning with, et cætera, and so on”; 1. ya-kāra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 838, col. 1 “the letter or sound ya”; anta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 42, col. 3 “end, limit, boundary, term”
- ज्ञात्वा jñātvā · having known (absolutive ('having done')) Dictionary: 1. jñā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 425, col. 3 “to know, have knowledge, become acquainted with”
- पञ्चाक्षरम् pañcākṣaram · the five-syllable mantra (accusative singular) Dictionary: pañcākṣara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 577, col. 3 “consisting of 5 syllables”
- जपेत् japet · one should repeat softly (optative, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: jap, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 411, col. 3 “to utter in a low voice, whisper, mutter (esp. prayers or incantations)”
1 printing differs
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- Numbering The 1925 Bombay printing reads: पञ्चाक्षरमयं शंभुं परब्रह्मस्वरूपिणम् ॥ २४ ॥ नकारादियकारान्तं ज्ञात्वा पञ्चाक्षरं जपेत् । Same words (p. 511, leaf n523). The Bombay printing numbers the first half 24 and runs on.
Sanskrit text: Īśādyaṣṭottaraśatopaniṣadaḥ (ईशाद्यष्टोत्तरशतोपनिषदः), the 108 Upanishads, Sanskrit text with variant readings, edited by Vasudev Sharma Panshikar, third edition, 1925. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
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Om Namah Shivaya
ॐ नमः शिवायेति याजुषमन्त्रोपासको रुद्रत्वं प्राप्नोति । कल्याणं प्राप्नोति । य एवं वेद ।
Om namah shivayeti yajushamantropasako rudratvam prapnoti, kalyanam prapnoti, ya evam veda
In this part of the Tripura-tapini Upanishad, the gods ask the Lord by which mantras the Goddess, when praised, shows herself, and he names "Om namaḥ śivāya" as "the Yajus mantra", a mantra of the Yajurveda. The text says that one who worships with this mantra reaches the state of Rudra (Shiva) and reaches what is good and auspicious (kalyāṇa), for "one who knows this".
(Meaning written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition.)
Text: Pandurang Javaji, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay, 1925 (public domain).
https://pujadeep.com/prayers/om-namah-shivaya/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose.
About the Om Namah Shivaya
This page gives two short passages from the Upanishads that name the mantra, read on printings from 1925. The Tripura-tapini Upanishad (Bombay printing) gives the whole mantra, "Om namaḥ śivāya", and calls it "the Yajus mantra", that is, a mantra of the Yajurveda. The Pancha-brahma Upanishad (Madras printing) describes the five syllables as "beginning with na and ending with ya" and tells the reader to repeat them.
Both passages state what the mantra brings. These are the texts' own words and are marked as such. The Tripura-tapini is a text of the Shakta (Goddess) tradition and the Pancha-brahma of the Shaiva tradition, so the mantra is honoured in both.
How to say it
Said "om na-maḥ śi-vā-ya". The "ḥ" of namaḥ is a light breath after the vowel. In speech namaḥ often sounds like "namah" or "namaha". The IAST line writes every vowel as spelled.
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Who wrote the Om Namah Shivaya?
From the Upanishads (Tripura-tapini and Pancha-brahma); author unknown.
Which text does this page follow?
Sanskrit text: Īśādyaṣṭottaraśatopaniṣadaḥ (ईशाद्यष्टोत्तरशतोपनिषदः), the 108 Upanishads, Sanskrit text with variant readings, edited by Vasudev Sharma Panshikar, third edition, 1925. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Source and licence
- Text
- Īśādyaṣṭottaraśatopaniṣadaḥ (ईशाद्यष्टोत्तरशतोपनिषदः), the 108 Upanishads, Sanskrit text with variant readings, edited by Vasudev Sharma Panshikar, third edition (Vasudev Laxman Shastri Panshikar (Phansikar), Pandurang Javaji, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay, 1925). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Dated witness
- The S'aiva-Upanishads with the commentary of Sri Upanishad-Brahma-Yogin (शैव-उपनिषदः), edited by A. Mahadeva Sastri (A. Mahadeva Sastri (Alladi Mahadeva Sastri), Upanishad-Brahma-Yogin, The Adyar Library (Theosophical Society), Adyar, Madras, 1925). Public domain. Used only to date the text. The Devanagari on this page is a reading text and is not copied from this printing.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 14, 2026.
- Updated
- October 15, 2026