A bījamantra (, in modern schwa-deleted Indo-Aryan languages: beej mantra), or a ''bījākṣara'' ("seed-syllable"), is a monosyllabic

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

believed to contain the essence of a given deity. They are found in Tantric

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and in Esoteric

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

/ Mantrayana). A bījamantra is ritually uttered for the invocation of a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

. It is considered the true name of the deity as well as a manifestation of the deity in sonic form. It is also found in religious art, often standing for a specific deity. A bījamantra can be regarded to be a mystic sound made of the first few characters of a given deity's name, the chanting of which is regarded to allow an adherent to achieve a state of spiritual sanctity. These mantras are also associated with the chakras of the body. The Romanian scholar

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...

stated that an adherent who chants the semantically meaningless bījamantra "appropriates its ontological essence, concretely and directly assimilates with the god".

Hindu bījamantras

A few of the major bījamantras in Hinduism include:

Other notable bījamantras include

Buddhist ''bījākṣaras''

Esoteric Buddhism contains numerous seed syllables with varying meanings. Depending on the

tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

or on the tradition, they may represent different concepts, deities or forces. The following are some common Buddhist ''bījākṣaras:''Jayarava (2011). ''Visible Mantra: Visualising & Writing Buddhist Mantras''Hutchins, Steven J (2015). ''Thirteen Buddhas: Tracing the Roots of the Thirteen Buddha Rites,'' Introduction. Vivlia Limited

References

Mantras Tantra {{DEFAULTSORT:Bījamantra