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Ramakrishna
02 August 2010, 05:18 PM
Namaste,

I tried posting this in the Dharma Lexicon forum where I think it is more relevant, but for some reason I am not able to post there so I suppose this forum will do.

The word "namah" appears in a lot of mantras. I have read in some places that it means "I salute". In the mantra "Aum Namah Sivaya", it is pronounced pretty much how it is spelled, like "namah". However, in the mantra "Aum Gam Ganapataye Namah", I have seen it pronounced like "namaha", such as in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h2rFVPCSPE
The mantra is spelled with "Namah" but it is pronounced with "Namaha". However, in the first mantra, it is spelled "Namah" and it is pronounced "Namah".

So the question is when is it supposed to be pronounced "namah" and when is it supposed to be pronounced "namaha"? Maybe if it's at the end of a mantra then it is "namaha" and if it's in the middle of a mantra it's "namah"? I'm really not sure and any help would be appreciated.

Jai Sri Krishna

Eastern Mind
02 August 2010, 05:30 PM
Vannakkam Ramakrishna:

I stand to be corrected as usual but I think its two different things. In Namasivaya, there are five syllables na ma si va ya which each have esoteric meaning within the mantra. Each syllable has a meaning.

"Na is the Lord's concealing grace, Ma is the world, Śi stands for Śiva, Va is His revealing grace, Ya is the soul. The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. Na is earth, Ma is water, Śi is fire, Vā is air, and Ya is ether, or Ākāśa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akasha). Many are its meanings." Source- Wikipedia and Subramuniyaswami

But namah or namaha is different and used in many mantras as 'I salute' at the end or beginning. In ashtotarams each name ends with Namaha.

Aum Vinayakaya Namaha
Aum Vignarajaya Namaha etc.

I also believe this is why my signature is different. I think of the meaning.

Aum Namasivaya

sanjaya
02 August 2010, 11:25 PM
Very interesting! I've also heard the different pronunciations in these two mantras, but I've never picked up on it. Thank you EM for your usual insightful explanation.

saidevo
03 August 2010, 12:37 AM
namaste Ramakrishna and other members.

A good query you have raised; it took me some good digging up, and let me learn something in the process.

First let us take the visarga, denoted by ':' and transliterated as 'H'.

• The term 'visarga' means 'sending forth, letting go, letting out'.

‣ If you listen to the chanting of the Vedas, you would notice that in the Sanskrit language the words and phrases united by saMdhi--conjunction/transition, are meant to flow from the beginning to the end of a line, where normally a pause occurs (denoted by '|').

‣ Unlike most Western languages, the scheme of alphabets in Sanskrit is scientifically designed and defined by their points of articulation--sthAna, that range from the back to the front of the vocal apparatus.

‣ The points of contact of the five series of Sanskrit alphabets are:

Series ........... Name ................. Point of contact
1. ka-series ..... kaNThya--velar ........ kaNTha--velum
2. cha-series .... tAlavya--palatal ...... tAlu--soft palate
3. Ta-series ..... mUrdhanya--retroflex .. mUrdhan--hard palate
4. ta-series ..... dantya--dental ........ danta--teeth
5. pa-series ..... oShThya--labial ....... oSTha--lips

Each series end with a corresponding nasal consonant: gna, jna, Na, na, ma.

The series 'ya, ra, la, va' are called antaHstha--in-between, as they are semivowels.
The series 'sha, Sha, sa, ha' are called UShman--sibilants, which are frictional when pronounced, generating heat.

There are two additional sounds, which are actually consonants, but usually have the role of modifying their preceding vowel.

‣ The anusvara, denoted by a single dot '.' and transliterated as 'M', permits the air used in the articulation of the preceding vowel to escape through the nose.

When the anusvara is followed by a consonant, it takes the form of the nasal of the same varga--series: For example, 'vanaM gachchati' becomes 'vanang gachchati' (ng replacing M).

‣ The visarga, denoted by ':' and transliterated as 'H', echoes the preceding vowel by combining its sound with 'H'.

As examples, we have, devaH--devaha, devAH--devAhA, muniH--munihi, dhIH--dhIhI, viShNuH--viShNuhu, muneH--munehE, and devaiH--devaihi.

Thus visarga is fully aspirated (as ha, hA, hi, etc). when it occurs at the end of a line.

However, when it occurs in the middle, followed by a hard/soft consonant, certain rules apply:

‣ The visarga remains unchanged before ka, kha, pa, pha, sha, Sha and sa.
Examples: putraH khanati | janAH patanti | bAlaH sarati |

‣ It becomes sh before ch and Ch: janAH + chalanti = janAshchalanti |

‣ It becomes Sh before Ta and Tha: paThaataH + TIkAm = paThaShTIkAm |

‣ It becomes s before ta and tha: putraH + tarati = putrastarati |

‣ When preceded by A and followed by a soft consonant or a vowel, it is dropped:
bAlAH + dhAvanti = bAlA dhAvanti | janAH + aTanti = janA aTanti |

‣ When preceded by a and followed by a soft consonant, it is changed to O:
putraH + dhAvanti = putrO dhAvanti |

‣ When preceded by a and followed by any vowel except a, it is dropped:
dhAvataH + AkulO = dhAvata AkulO |

‣ When preceded by a and followed by a, it is changed to O, while the following a is elided: dhAvataH + ashvau = dhAvatO&shvau |

‣ When the final visarga is followed by a sibilant (sha, Sha, sa), it is optionally changed to the sibilant: namaH shivAya or namashshivAya, rAmaH sharaNam or rAmashsharaNam | bAlaH sarati or bAlassarati |

Thus, in the mantra aum namaH shivAya, because of the following sibilant 'sh', the visarga in namaH is shortened and optionally mingled with the sh to give the pronunciation namashshivAya.

Sources:
1. 'DevavANipraveshika' by RP and SJS Goldman
2. 'A Sanskrit Manual for High Schools' by R.Antoine

Let us research about the forms of namaH itself in the next post.

saidevo
03 August 2010, 08:20 AM
The power and glory of the nAma mantras

The most simple, and popular group of mantras, which has the name 'nAma mantras', comprise adoration of a single devata each.

• PurANas such as shrImad BhAgavatam say that the nAma mantra is most effective and easiest way to obtaining the grace of the devata in this Kali Yuga. This is because the name of God is not different from the God, so chanting the name is pleasing to the Lord and is equivalent to invoking him.

• A nAma mantra is not just chanted for a given number of times. It is actually nAma-smaraNa--remembrance of the name, an uninterrupted God-thought that flows like a thin strand of the sesame oil, that is, continuously without any break.

• A nAma mantra when chanted in a group as nAma-saMkIrtanam--celebration of the glory of God, fosters bhakti and chitta-shuddhi. The same mantra chanted as dhyAna mantram--mantra for meditation, with uninterrupted flow, leads to liberation.

• The nAma mantras are popular because of their ease of chanting (unlike the bhIja mantras), flexibility of practice (just the smaraNa-japa is required without any insistence on a method or timings of practice, although they could help too), and their etymological nature (meaningful words with etymological derivations) requiring no experiential knowledge.

• Although a nAma mantra can be chanted without any upadesha--teaching, from a guru, it will be more effective with proper initiation.

A nAma mantra can take these forms:

• Just the name itself: RAmA
• The name prefixed by shrI: shrI RAmA

• shrI and namaH added, indicating that the devotee bows to the devata. Such namaskAra form is the most frequently used form of nAma mantras. In this form, 'ya' is suffixed to the devata's name for a male deity and 'yai' for a female deity.

Examples: AUM shrI RAmAya namaH |
AUM shrI DurgAyai namaH |
AUM namaH shivAya |
AUM namo NArAyaNAya |
GovindAya namo namaH |

• The namaH form of mantras usually start with AUM, to remind that the devata is none other than AUM, the shabda brahman, which is the first manifestation of Brahman.

• The 'jaya' form of mantras celebrate the devata's victory:
shrI RAma jayam |
shrI RAma jaya RAma jaya jaya RAma |
jaya jaya Shankara hara hara Shankara |

• Other forms of nAma mantras include:
pAhi/rakSha--seeking protection:
jaya gaNesha pAhi mAm | shrI gaNesha rakSha mAm |

hare--removing illusion:
hare RAma hare RAma RAma RAma hare hare |
hare KRShNa hare KRShNa KRShNa KRShNa hare hare ||

sharaNa--seeking refuge:
svAmiyE sharaNam aiyappA!

• AUM sharavaNa bhava is a popular mantra for the devata KArtikeya (Skanda, Muruga). It adores one who was born in the sharavaNa bush. Esoterically, the mantra seeks sa--tejas--shine, ra--aishvarya--wealth, va--satchidAnanda--eternal happiness, na--kIrti--fame, bhava--become: May I become endowned with these.

Some verbal conjunctions of namaH

Nama (nama)--to bow, laT lakAr--present tense
Person .. Singular . Dual ...... Plural
First ... namAmi ... namAvaH ... namAmaH
Second .. namasi ... namathaH .. namatha
Third ... namati ... namataH ... namanti

namaH + te = namaste: I bow to you.
namaH + astu + te = namostute: (may the) Salutations (be) to you.
namaH + tubhyam = namastubhyam: My respectful obeisances unto you.

Some related nAma mantras

• A popular GaNesha shlokam:
gajAnanam bhUta gaNAdi sevitam ... namAmi vighneshvara pAda pangkajam ||

• From the Yajur Veda:
shivo namasi (Yaj. S. 3-63)

• A vivAha--wedding, mantra:
AUM viShNu deva viShNu namasi

• From the nIrAjanam in the daily pUjA:
saM bAhubhyAM namati saMpata tryairdyAva pRutvee jana dEva ekaH
with thousands of arms, benefactor of all three kinds of wealth, the only One Supreme God of the entire Universe

• From the ShivashadAkShara stotram:
namanti rishayo deva namantyapsarasanganA |
narA namanti devesham nakArayA namonamah || 2 ||

• From the shrI Rudram:
namaste astu bhagavan-vishveshvarAya mahAdevAya

• From the shloka while lighting a lamp:
dIpa jyotir namostute

• From the DurgA shloka:
AUM sarvamangala mAngalye shive sarvArtha sAdhike
sharaNye trayambake gaurI nArAyaNI namostute

Thou auspicious one, the source of all auspiciousness. Thou art blessed. Thou the bestower of all desires the refuge of all. Thou possesses supreme wisdom and beauty. Salutations to Thee the Power Divine

• From the SarasvatI shloka:
saraswatI namastubhyaM varade kAmarUpiNi |
vidyArambhaM kariShyAmi, siddhirbhavatu me sadA ||

I bow to you, O divinity of learning, giver of boons, giver of form to desire, i am going to start studying, may it always be my success.

Sources:
http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Nama_Mantras
http://sharavanabhava.blogspot.com/2007/07/saravanabhava-mantra-for-all.html

Here is a good resource of shlokas for children:
http://www.slokakids.com/index.php

yajvan
03 August 2010, 05:45 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~

namasté ramakrishna,


The word "namah" appears in a lot of mantras. I have read in some places that it means "I salute". In the mantra "Aum Namah Sivaya", it is pronounced pretty much how it is spelled, like "namah". However, in the mantra "Aum Gam Ganapataye Namah", I have seen it pronounced like "namaha"

Others have offered good insights to your question... let me, if I may, add just add a bit more to the conversation for your consideration.

Many times here on HDF¹ you will see mantra-s offered. At the end of the mantra you will see namaḥ e.g. oṁ vāmadevāya namaḥ . We know this namaḥ to be an abbreviated version of na-mama. na = not , no , nor , neither ; máma = is in the singular 1st person which means 'me'.

Yet what of this ḥ ? This has come up several times in some recent posts; It is called visarga or the aspiration of the preceding vowel, an 'after sound'. Since we're talking about visarga, we should also define the other name it goes by, visarjanīya. This means 'to be sent forth, emitted' .

Hence some people write namaḥ as namaha which ~forces~ this visarga to occur , perhaps unbeknown to the reader/chanter. This ḥ usually ( but not always ) appears at the end of a word as in namaḥ.

If this namaḥ was written in saṃskṛt it would be written as नमः I am not certain all can see this saṃskṛt symbol - you may need to add a font or two to your font-definitions table. But that said notice the : at the end of the saṃskṛt word, the two perpendicular dots [:] . This is the symbol for visarga ( or visarjanīya) to occur i.e. the 'after sound' or a distinct audible aspiration. And as mentioned it is written as ḥ .


There is a whole discsussion on this [:] visarjanīya, as an expression/quality/symbol of śiva. This is an advanced concept that is found in the Uttara folder http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=26661&postcount=3 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=26661&postcount=3) .

You may read it and say 'what was that all about? ' Not to worry as this is considered advanced knowledge that one can find in the Parā-trīśikā Vivaraṇa, where Bhairava is addressing Śrī Devī.

Some other relevent HDF posts may be the following ( if there is interest):
Customs and traditions here on HDF : http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3656&highlight=rituals (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3656&highlight=rituals)
Specically to namasté here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=25912&postcount=12 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=25912&postcount=12)

praṇām


1. This was an excerpt from post HDF post 34 found here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=35676&postcount=34 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=35676&postcount=34)

Ramakrishna
03 August 2010, 10:33 PM
Namaste,

Thank you all for the explanations. Very helpful indeed!

Jai Sri Krishna

new_earth
11 August 2010, 06:49 PM
I have also seen mantras that start with "Om Namo", with an "o" instead of "namah" or "namaha". What does "namo" mean, is it the same as Namah just spelled differently?

saidevo
11 August 2010, 09:58 PM
namaste new_earth.

'namo' is not a separate word. It is the inflected form of namaH or namas. According to the sandhi--conjugation, rules in Sanskrit, when a word ending in 'H' or 's' is joined to another beginning with a a nasal (n/m), it is inflected to end in 'o'.

Thus for example,
AUM + namaH + nArAyaNa = AUM namo nArAyaNa
AUM + namas + nArAyaNa = AUM namo nArAyaNa

The praNava mantra AUM is written as AUM (not as om) in transliteration based on the ITRANS scheme. This is because AUM comprises the two long sounds A + U followed by the anusvara 'M'.

new_earth
12 August 2010, 11:09 AM
namaste new_earth.

'namo' is not a separate word. It is the inflected form of namaH or namas. According to the sandhi--conjugation, rules in Sanskrit, when a word ending in 'H' or 's' is joined to another beginning with a a nasal (n/m), it is inflected to end in 'o'.

Thus for example,
AUM + namaH + nArAyaNa = AUM namo nArAyaNa
AUM + namas + nArAyaNa = AUM namo nArAyaNa

The praNava mantra AUM is written as AUM (not as om) in transliteration based on the ITRANS scheme. This is because AUM comprises the two long sounds A + U followed by the anusvara 'M'.

Thank saidevo. Makes sense now. I knew about AUM, it seems that is really the correct way to spell and pronounce it but have also seen people use OM often. I remember reading AUM stood for 3 levels of consciousness? I think that is what I read before...should look into it again huh.

yajvan
12 August 2010, 09:27 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~

namasté

ओं = oṁ
औम् = aum
ॐ = oṁ
आूं =AUM = āūṃ
औं =auM=auṃ

An idea for consideration...

What I am looking for in praṇava ॐ or tāreṇa i.e. tāra another name for the monosyllable praṇava or oṁ ( also called oṁkāra ) is anusvāra .

I am looking for the 'cerebral nasal' sound we get when we say ṇa . This is what we find in oṁ , its final sound ṁ, and the cresent has a dot above it ॐ ; that is, how anusvāra is written symbolicially
in saṃskṛtam. Some (ṛṣi gaṇaka-ji ) call it an ornament ardhendu , a half-moon crescent - we see this on top of oṁ ॐ .



praṇām