Ashṭāksharī Mantra: Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya

The Ashṭāksharī (“eight-syllable”) mantra is the Vishṇu mantra Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya, which means “Oṃ, salutations to Nārāyaṇa”. It has eight syllables: Oṃ, na, mo, nā, rā, ya, ṇā, ya. A mantra is a sacred sound formula that is repeated in japa (quiet repetition) or used in pūjā.

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa treats this mantra as the highest path for the Kali Yuga (the present age), and as enough on its own. It is open to all varṇas (social groups). It can fulfil every purpose without any other mantra or vrata (religious vow), and it is strong enough to remove even the gravest curses. The Purāṇa describes the Ashṭāksharī’s mahimā (greatness) in Chapters 17, 62 and 63, and shows it through the story of how Indra was freed from the curse of Tṛṇabindu.

The Mantra

Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya

Eight syllables: Oṃ + na + mo + nā + rā + ya + ṇā + ya.

This is the Vishṇu Ashṭākshara, the great eight-syllable Vaishṇava mantra. It is the central mantra of Vaishṇava upāsanā (worship) in every tradition. The Narasiṃha Purāṇa presents it as the final and complete sādhanā (spiritual practice) for this age.

Open to Everyone

Mārkaṇḍeya teaches King Sahasrānīka that Vedic pūjā of Bhagavān Vishṇu, as described in Chapter 62, is the ideal form, but it is not open to those who do not know the Vedic mantras. The Ashṭāksharī, however, needs no Vedic qualification. Anyone may offer pūjā to Bhagavān Narasiṃha with sandal paste, flowers and the sixteen upacāras (acts of service in pūjā) using this one mantra (Chapter 63).

The mantra wipes out all pāpa (wrongdoing). It gives every kind of peace. It gives the fruit of all yajñas. One who bathes, purifies himself and repeats this mantra with a focused mind is freed from all pāpa. Offering pūjā to Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa with a calm mind and sincere bhakti (devotion) using the Ashṭāksharī brings the fruit of all tīrthas (pilgrimage places) and all yajñas put together (Chapter 63).

Greater Than Other Paths

Nārada visits the tapasvī (one who practises tapas) Puṇḍarīka at Śālagrāma Kshetra and repeats to him Brahmā’s teaching:

“When the Ashṭāksharī mantra alone can fulfil all purposes, what need is there for so many other mantras and vratas? Wearing saffron robes, matted hair or the triple staff, shaving the head, wearing ornaments: none of these alone is dharma. One who has taken shelter in Acyuta, even if once unkind, wicked or full of pāpa, comes into Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa’s presence. The Ashṭāksharī is the one key that is enough.” (Chapter 64)

Brahmā’s teaching to Nārada in Brahmaloka says:

“Those who know Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya, the undying Brahman, and repeat it even at the last moment of life, reach Vishṇupada (the abode of Vishṇu). So meditate earnestly, know Nārāyaṇa as the one Paramātman (Supreme Self), and worship him.” (Chapter 64)

The Mantra and the Practice of Each Age

The Narasiṃha Purāṇa clearly makes the Ashṭāksharī the main sādhanā for the Kali Yuga. In Chapter 54 it compares the practice of each yuga (age):

Only the devotees of Vishṇu who chant harināma (the names of Hari), including japa of the Ashṭāksharī, will not be troubled by the ills of the Kali Yuga (Chapter 54).

Removing a Curse: The Story of Indra

The clearest picture of the Ashṭāksharī’s power is the story of Indra in Chapter 63. Indra committed a grave act of adharma: he killed Nāḍījaṅghā, a rākshasī, inside the sacred tapovana (forest of tapas) of Tṛṇabindu Maharshi. The ṛshi cursed him to take the form of a woman (strīrūpa). All of Indra’s divine powers left him. Not even Brahmā and Śaṅkara (Śiva) could remove the ṛshi’s curse.

Brahmā told the devas:

“Neither I nor Śaṅkara can undo Tṛṇabindu’s śāpa (curse). The only remedy is Vishṇu’s pūjā, namely two lakh (200,000) repetitions of the Ashṭāksharī mantra, done with a bathed, pure body and a one-pointed mind.”

Indra did this with bhakti and śraddhā (faith), and Bhagavān Vishṇu removed the woman’s form completely.

This shows the principle that japa of the Ashṭāksharī, done with sincere bhakti, removes even curses and great obstacles that no other remedy can undo.

Sixteen-Step Pūjā with the Ashṭāksharī

Chapter 62 describes the ideal way of offering pūjā to Vishṇu using the Purusha Sūkta, with each verse of the hymn given to one of the sixteen upacāras (shoḍaśopacāra, the sixteen-step pūjā). Chapter 63 then teaches that all these upacāras may also be offered using only the Ashṭāksharī mantra, Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya. In this way the complete sixteen-step pūjā is open to everyone.

Sources

• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 17
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 54
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 62
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 63
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 64