The Ṇamōkāra mantra or Navkar Mantra is the most significant mantra in Jainism, and one of the oldest mantras in continuous practice. This is the first prayer recited by the Jains while meditating. The mantra is also variously referred to as the ''Pancha Namaskāra Mantra'', ''Namaskāra Mantra'', ''Navakāra Mantra'', ''Namaskāra Mangala'' or ''Paramesthi Mantra''. Below is the meaning of Namokar Mantra line by line, wherein the devotee first bows to the five supreme souls or Pañca-Parameṣṭhi: *'' Arihant''— Those who have destroyed the four inimical ''

karmas Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

'' *'' Siddha'' — The persons who have achieved "Siddhi" *''

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a t ...

s'' — The teachers who teach how to behave / live one's life ( Acharya = one who teaches Aacharan ) *''

Upadhyaya Upadhyaya is a Brahmin name from Sanskrit ''upādhyāya'' "teacher" (from ''upa'' ‘with, under’ + ''adhyāya'' ‘studying’).https://www.ancestry.ca/name-origin?surname=Upadhyay Notable people *Amar Upadhyay, Indian model, film and telev ...

'' — Preceptor of less advanced ascetics *'' Sādhu'' — The monks or sages in the world practicing Samyak Charitra (right conduct) *The practitioner also says that by bowing to all these five supreme souls, *All of his or her karmas can get destroyed and *Wishes for well-being of each and every living entity *The practitioner finally says that this mantra is the most auspicious one There is no mention of any particular names of the gods or any specific person. The prayer is done towards the

guṇa ( sa, गुण) is a concept in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, which can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".

(the good qualities) of the gods, teachers and the saints. Jains do not ask for any favors or material benefits from the

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passa ...

s or monastics. This mantra simply serves as a gesture of deep respect towards beings whom they believe are spiritually evolved, as well as to remind the people of their ultimate goal i.e. '' moksha'' (liberation). The Navkar Mantra consists of 68 letters. It is "gunavaachak" mantra & not a "naamvaachak" mantra.

History

A short inscription (dated 200 BCE to 100 BCE) found in Pale Caves in Maharashtra mentions () or (), only the first line of Namokara Mantra. In

Kushana The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

and

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

periods of 1st century CE to the first quarter of 2nd century, only the first line was prevalent. The

Hathigumpha inscription The Hathigumpha Inscription is a seventeen line inscription in Prakrit language incised in Brahmi script in a cavern called Hathigumpha in Udayagiri hills, near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. Dated between 2nd-century BCE and 1st-century CE, it ...

dated between 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE starts with () and (), the first two lines of Namokar Mantra. The rest of the lines are not there. It was inscribed by the Jain monarch

Kharavela Kharavela (also transliterated Khārabēḷa) was a monarch of Kalinga in present-day Odisha, India, who ruled during the second or first century BCE. The primary source for Kharavela is his rock-cut Hathigumpha inscription. The inscription i ...

of Kalinga kingdom.Full text of the Hathigumpha Inscription in English
According to historian M. A. Dhaky, these two lines were originally used as ''mangala'' (auspicious opening lines) in written works and rituals then. The Namaskara Mantra with all Pañca-Parameṣṭhi (five supreme souls) was first mentioned in the auspicious opening lines in the condensed edition of ''

Vyākhyāprajñapti ''Vyākhyāprajñapti'' ( sa, व्याख्याप्रज्ञप्ति "Exposition of Explanations"), commonly known as the ''Bhagavati Sūtra'' (), is the fifth of the 12 Jain Agamas said to be promulgated by Mahāvīra. The Vy� ...

''. This version also replaces

Ardhamagadhi Ardhamagadhi Prakrit was a Middle Indo-Aryan language and a Dramatic Prakrit thought to have been spoken in modern-day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and used in some early Buddhist and Jain drama. It was likely a Central Indo-Aryan language, related t ...

with Maharashtrian Prakrit . In condensed edition of ''Avashyakasutra'' (dated circa last quarter of 5th century), the is also replaced with as well as (Arahant) with (Arihant). Shatkandagam (circa 475-525 CE) and later ''Visheshavashyakbhashyavritti'' (circa 725 CE) and ''Anuyogadwarasuchi'' shows (Namo) replaced with more Prakit (Namo). Composed around the beginning of the

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

, ''Chattarimangalam Stotra'' mentions only Arhat, Siddha, Sadhu and Kevalipragnapti Dharma ('' Dharma'' as prescribed by Omniscients) as four chief auspicious. So the three lines regarding Acharya, Upadhyaya and Sadhu must have been added later. The last four lines about ''phala-prashashti'' (benefits of chanting) are not older than 6th century CE and are not found in any older works, according to Dhaky. The importance of it as a mantra in texts, traditions, rituals and meditation arose thereafter.

The Ṇamōkāra/Navkar Mantra

Abbreviations

The Namokar Mantra may abbreviated to ' (6 syllables), ''Om Nhi'' (2 syllables), or just ''Om'' (1 syllable) in Jain literature.

Meditation

According to ''

Dravyasaṃgraha ' (Devnagari: द्रव्यसंग्रह) (Compendium of substances) is a 10th-century Jain text in Jain Sauraseni Prakrit by Acharya Nemicandra belonging to the Digambara Jain tradition. It is a composition of 58 ''gathas'' (verses) ...

'', a major

Jain text Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the c ...

References

Sources