Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.14
॥
Devanāgarī
ततः शिवायेत्यक्षरत्रयम् । ओमित्यग्रे व्याहरेत् । नम इति पश्चात् । ततो महादेवयेति पञ्चाक्षराणि
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ śivāyetyakṣaratrayam | omityagre vyāharet | nama iti paścāt | tato mahādevayeti pañcākṣarāṇi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततः शिवाय इति अक्षर-त्रयम्tataḥ śivāya iti akṣara-trayamthen «śivāya» — three syllables
ओम् इति अग्रे व्याहरेत्om iti agre vyāharetlet him utter «om» first
नमः इति पश्चात्namaḥ iti paścāt«namaḥ» — after
ततः महादेवाय इति पञ्च-अक्षराणिtataḥ mahādevāya iti pañca-akṣarāṇithen «mahādevāya» — five syllables
Translation
«Then «śivāya» — three syllables. Let him utter «om» first, «namaḥ» after; then «mahādevāya» — five syllables».
Version
430accd7498f · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Two mantras are composed: om namaḥ śivāya and om namo mahādevāya. The first is the famous pañcākṣara, «five-syllable», discussed when reading Katharudra (88), where it was noted that it stands in the Yajur-veda, in the middle of the Śatarudrīya, and is thus older than every tantra. Worth noting the structure: om first, namaḥ after, the name in the dative. This structure is the same for every such mantra: «om», bow, name to whom.
The chief Vaishnava mantra is composed by the same structure: om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, discussed when reading Tripurātāpinī (92). Worth noting that they hold more in common than not. In both: an exclamation, a bow, and a name in the dative. That is, both are not spells but addresses; and grammar here speaks more clearly than theology.
The word namaḥ, «bow», was discussed when reading Katharudra (88): it is interpreted as na mama, «not mine». That is, at the very center of both mantras stands the renunciation of claim. Worth adding that the dative is the case of the addressee. A mantra built this way does not describe or assert: it is addressed. And so whoever utters it, whether he wills it or not, is turning to someone.