The Namokar (Navkar) mantra is the root mantra of Jain dharma, in Prakrit, a salutation to the five supreme beings: ṇamo arihantāṇaṃ, ṇamo siddhāṇaṃ, ṇamo āyariyāṇaṃ, ṇamo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ, ṇamo loe savvasāhūṇaṃ — salutation to the Arihantas, the Siddhas, the Acharyas, the Upadhyayas and all the sadhus in the world. The Digambar Shatkhandagama (1.1.1) has these five lines; Shwetambar books print a four-pada chulika after them (eso paṃca namukkāro…), which makes the nine-pada Navkar. The mantra names no single person; it bows to qualities.
The five lines: text and meaning
- णमो अरिहंताणंṇamo arihantāṇaṃSalutation to the Arihantas: those worthy of worship, who have conquered the enemies within, karma and attachment and aversion; the Tirthankaras are counted among them.
- णमो सिद्धाणंṇamo siddhāṇaṃSalutation to the Siddhas: the liberated souls whose striving is complete and who have attained moksha.
- णमो आयरियाणंṇamo āyariyāṇaṃSalutation to the Acharyas: the heads and teachers of the mendicant order.
- णमो उवज्झायाणंṇamo uvajjhāyāṇaṃSalutation to the Upadhyayas: the monks who teach the scriptures.
- णमो लोए सव्वसाहूणंṇamo loe savvasāhūṇaṃSalutation to all the sadhus in the world. By the Dhavala commentary “in the world” and “all” apply to all five lines: a bow to all the supreme beings of every region and every time.
The chulika: four padas of the Shwetambar books
- एसो पंच नमुक्कारोeso paṃca namukkāroThis five-fold salutation
- सव्वपावप्पणासणोsavva-pāvappaṇāsaṇodestroys all wrongdoing,
- मंगलाणं च सव्वेसिंmaṃgalāṇaṃ ca savvesiṃand of all auspicious things
- पढमं हवइ मंगलंpaḍhamaṃ havai maṃgalaṃit is the first.
The text in five editions, word by word
We read the mantra in printed editions of both traditions and compared it word by word. The five lines are the same in all of them; the differences are of spelling only: the Digambar Shatkhandagama prints “ṇamo” (ण), the Shwetambar editions “namo” (न); the Shatkhandagama has “āiriyāṇaṃ”, the others “āyariyāṇaṃ”; and the Terapanth edition of Jain Vishva Bharati has “arahantāṇaṃ”.
| Shatkhandagama 1.1.1 (Digambar, 1939) | Avashyaka Sutra (Sthanakvasi, 1985) | Pancha Pratikramana (Murtipujak, 1921) | Navasuttani (Terapanth, 2000) | Bhagavati Sutra 1.1 (2005) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ṇamo arihantāṇaṃ | namo arihantāṇaṃ | namo arihantāṇaṃ | namo arahantāṇaṃ | namo arihantāṇaṃ |
| ṇamo siddhāṇaṃ | namo siddhāṇaṃ | namo siddhāṇaṃ | namo siddhāṇaṃ | namo siddhāṇaṃ |
| ṇamo āiriyāṇaṃ | namo āyariyāṇaṃ | namo āyariyāṇaṃ | namo āyariyāṇaṃ | namo āyariyāṇaṃ |
| ṇamo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ | namo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ | namo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ | namo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ | namo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ |
| ṇamo loe savva-sāhūṇaṃ | namo loe savvasāhūṇaṃ | namo loe savvasāhūṇaṃ | namo loe savvasāhūṇaṃ | namo loe savva sāhūṇaṃ |
Ṇ and n: the book of Diwakar Prakashan (Surana and Bothra) says both “ṇamo” and “namo” are correct. Arihanta, arahanta, arhanta and aruhanta: the editors of the Avashyaka Sutra (Beawar) note that teachers have given several readings of this word; Abhayadeva Suri’s commentary on the Bhagavati Sutra explains “arahanta” as the one worthy of worship and “arihanta” as the destroyer of the enemies that are karma. By Jaini both are Prakrit forms of Sanskrit “arhat”.
The chulika: who recites it
In Shwetambar books the mantra is printed in nine padas: five salutations and a four-pada chulika. The Murtipujak Pancha Pratikramana (1921) and the Sthanakvasi Avashyaka Sutra (1985) both give nine; the editors of the Avashyaka Sutra write that the Navkar mantra has nine padas, five root padas and four of the chulika. The Terapanth critical edition (Navasuttani) keeps five padas in the sutra and gives the chulika in a footnote, as gatha 1018 of the Avashyaka-niryukti.
The Digambar scripture Shatkhandagama (1.1.1) has the five padas only. By the JAINA Education Committee’s course, some Jain traditions do not add the last four padas. We found no source that says plainly, for every sect, which recite the chulika daily and which do not; follow the practice of your own teacher or temple.
When it is recited
By Jaini, Ashadhara’s Sagaradharmamrita (6.1–3) advises the householder to rise in the brahma muhurta and recite the five salutations; it is recited on approaching the main shrine of a temple and at the start of puja and the end of the jayamala. In the Avashyaka Sutra’s chapter on vows of abstention the first is “namukkāra-sahiyaṃ”: after sunrise, no food or drink until it is completed with the salutation (popularly called navkarsi). A kayotsarga too is completed by saying “namo arahantāṇaṃ”, and a salutation is required before reading any scripture.
On a fast day (poshadha) one chants the mantra or reads scripture, and by Jaini at the end of life (sallekhana) a person silently repeats it or listens to others chant it. By tradition the 108 beads of the mala stand for the 108 qualities of the five supreme beings: 12 of the Arihanta, 8 of the Siddha, 36 of the Acharya, 25 of the Upadhyaya and 27 of the Sadhu (JAINA Education Committee; Avashyaka Sutra, Beawar).
The earliest witnesses
King Kharavela’s inscription on the Hathigumpha cave at Udayagiri in Odisha opens in its first line with “namo arahaṃtānaṃ, namo sava-sidhānaṃ”: salutation to the Arhats and to all the Siddhas. It has only these two. The inscription’s date is debated; Jaini gives about 150 BCE and L. M. Joshi the 1st century BCE. By Joshi, the scholar Roth took it to be the older, shorter form of the mantra.
The Digambar scripture Shatkhandagama opens with the five lines, and Virasena’s Dhavala commentary calls them Acharya Pushpadanta’s auspicious sutra; by Jaini a Digambar tradition holds the mantra to be Pushpadanta’s composition (about the 2nd century CE). The Shwetambar scripture Bhagavati Sutra also opens with the five salutations; in printed editions salutations to the Brahmi script and to scripture follow. By a Shwetambar view, the meaning was given by the Tirthankaras and the sutra by the Ganadharas (introduction to the Prajnapana Sutra).
The language is Prakrit. By Jaini the Shwetambar canon is held by tradition to be in Ardhamagadhi and the Digambar Shatkhandagama is in Shauraseni Prakrit; the Shatkhandagama’s “ṇ” and “āiriya” fit this. Jaini also notes that the mantra names no particular being, not even Mahavir; the devotion is towards an ideal.
Where the traditions and sources differ
- ṇ/n: the Digambar Shatkhandagama has “ṇamo”, the Shwetambar editions “namo”; both pronunciations are held correct (Diwakar Prakashan).
- arihantāṇaṃ/arahantāṇaṃ: most editions read “arihantāṇaṃ”; Jain Vishva Bharati’s Navasuttani and Kharavela’s inscription read “arahant-”. Abhayadeva Suri and the editors of the Avashyaka Sutra list further readings such as aruhanta.
- āyariyāṇaṃ/āiriyāṇaṃ: the Shatkhandagama (1939) reads “āiriyāṇaṃ”, the Shwetambar editions “āyariyāṇaṃ”.
- The chulika’s first pada: “paṃca namukkāro” (Pancha Pratikramana, Navasuttani), “paṃca namokkāro” (Avashyaka Sutra, Beawar), “paṃca ṇamokkāro” (Diwakar Prakashan).
- “loe”: by a footnote of the Navasuttani the Avashyaka-churni lacks “loe” and the commentaries of Haribhadra and Malayagiri do not explain it; all printed texts today have it.
- Bhagavati Sutra: Jaini writes that its fifth salutation is to the Brahmi script instead of the sadhus; the printed editions we read (2005, and Lalwani’s by Joshi) have both the sadhu line and the Brahmi line.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Namokar mantra mean?
Salutation to the Arihantas, the Siddhas, the Acharyas, the Upadhyayas and all the sadhus in the world. By the Dhavala, “in the world” and “all” apply to each line.
How many padas does the Navkar mantra have?
Nine in Shwetambar books: five salutations and a four-pada chulika (eso paṃca namukkāro, savva-pāvappaṇāsaṇo, maṃgalāṇaṃ ca savvesiṃ, paḍhamaṃ havai maṃgalaṃ). Five in the Digambar Shatkhandagama.
Is it ṇamo or namo?
Both. The Digambar Shatkhandagama prints “ṇamo” and the Shwetambar editions “namo”; by Diwakar Prakashan both pronunciations are correct.
Who composed the Namokar mantra?
The traditions differ. A Digambar tradition holds it to be by Acharya Pushpadanta, author of the Shatkhandagama (Jaini); by a Shwetambar view the meaning was given by the Tirthankaras and the sutra by the Ganadharas. The oldest written witness is Kharavela’s inscription, which has the first two salutations.
When is it recited?
By tradition on waking, at the temple and at the start of puja, when completing the vow before the first meal (navkarsi), at the end of a kayotsarga, before reading scripture, on fast days and at the end of life. It may be recited at any time (JAINA Education Committee).
Sources
- Shatkhandagama with Virasena’s Dhavala, part 1, ed. Hiralal Jain, Jain Sahityoddharak Fund, Amravati 1939, pp. 8 and 52 (jainqq.org/explore/001395)
- Avashyaka Sutra (Agam 28), Agam Prakashan Samiti, Beawar 1985, pp. 4–7 (jainqq.org/explore/003464)
- Sukhlal Sanghavi, Pancha Pratikramana (with meaning), Atmanand Jain Pustak Pracharak Mandal, Agra 1921, pp. 1–2 (jainqq.org/explore/003649)
- Navasuttani, under Acharya Tulsi, ed. Acharya Mahaprajna, Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun 2000, Avassayam chapters 1, 5, 6 (jainqq.org/explore/003556)
- Bhagavati (Vyakhyaprajnapti) Sutra, part 1, ed. Amar Muni and Shrichand Surana, Padma Prakashan, Delhi 2005, p. 3 (jainqq.org/explore/002902)
- Shashi Kant, The Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela and the Bhabru Edict of Ashoka, D. K. Printworld 2000 (line 1 and its readings); K. P. Jayaswal and R. D. Banerji, Epigraphia Indica vol. 20
- L. M. Joshi, Facets of Jaina Religiousness in Comparative Light, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad 1981, pp. 54–55
- Padmanabh S. Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification (Motilal Banarsidass), pp. 42, 47, 162–163, 199, 201, 217, 232
- Hargovind Das T. Sheth, Paia-sadda-mahannavo (Prakrit–Hindi dictionary): arahanta, arihanta, ayariya, uvajjhaya, ṇamo, ṇamokara, sahu
- JAINA Education Committee, JES 401 Jain Philosophy and Practice 2, pp. 20–21; introduction to the Prajnapana Sutra part 1 (Guru Ramchandra Prakashan); Shreechand Surana and Surendra Bothra, Illustrated Namokara Mahamantra (Diwakar Prakashan)
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