Pañcākṣara Mantra

The Pañcākṣara mantra is Namaḥ Śivāya, “salutations to Śiva”. Pañcākṣara means “five syllables”: Na-ma-Śi-vā-ya. With Oṃ added in front, Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya, it becomes the ṣaḍakṣarī, the six-syllable form. It is the highest mantra of the Śaiva tradition.

The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa praises it as the vācaka of Śiva: the word that names him and makes him present. Its five syllables match the five forms of the Pañcabrahma (the five faces of Śiva), the five elements and the five kalās, and its letters are the very body of Śiva. It stands above varṇa (social order) and āśrama (stage of life), works in every yuga (age), and is the one upāya (means) that gives both bhukti (worldly well-being) and mukti (liberation).

The Mantra and Its Forms

The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā gives the mantra in two forms:

• Pañcākṣarī: Na-ma-Śi-vā-ya (five syllables, for initiated disciples)
• Ṣaḍakṣarī: Oṃ Na-ma-Śi-vā-ya (six syllables, with the praṇava, Oṃ, in front)

The mantra is the vācaka, the word that names Śiva, and Śiva is its vācya, the one it names. As Śiva himself says, just as a pot cannot exist without clay, the bond between the mantra and Śiva is inseparable and eternal.

What the Mantra Means

Oṃkāra and the Pañcākṣara

Oṃkāra (the syllable Oṃ) is declared to be Śiva’s highest vācaka. It has four mātrās (parts):

1. A-kāra: the Vāmadeva aspect; linked with the Ṛgveda
2. U-kāra: the Tatpuruṣa aspect; linked with the Yajurveda
3. Ma-kāra: the Aghora aspect; linked with the Sāmaveda
4. Nāda (bindu): the Sadyojāta aspect; linked with the Atharvaveda

When the great liṅga split open at the time of the dispute between Brahmā and Viṣṇu, Oṃkāra came out of it and divided into four parts, and each part became one Veda. So the four Vedas are the spread-out forms of the pañcākṣara, and the pañcākṣara is the pure essence of all four Vedas.

The Five Syllables and the Pañcabrahma

Each of the five syllables of Na-ma-Śi-vā-ya is the sound-form of one of the Pañcabrahma:

• Na: Sadyojāta
• Ma: Vāmadeva
• Śi: Aghora
• Vā: Tatpuruṣa
• Ya: Īśāna

So the mantra holds, in a single utterance, the whole divine order of Śiva’s five-fold activity.

The Five Syllables and the Five Elements

The five syllables also match the five tattvas (elements):

• Na: Pṛthivī (earth)
• Ma: Āpaḥ (water)
• Śi: Tejas (fire)
• Vā: Vāyu (air)
• Ya: Ākāśa (space)

So the mantra is not just a string of words. It is a map, in sound, of the whole visible universe.

How the Mantra Was Passed Down

No human ṛṣi composed the pañcākṣara. It is anādi (without beginning) and nitya (eternal), Śiva’s own self-expression. The account of how it was passed down:

1. When the first Śivaliṅga appeared, Oṃkāra came out of the liṅga and spoke to Brahmā and Viṣṇu, teaching them that the liṅga before them was Śiva’s true form.
2. Śiva himself then revealed the pañcākṣara to Brahmā, who taught it to his four sons: Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana and Sanatkumāra.
3. After receiving the mantra, Brahmā performed tapas (austerity) on Mount Muñjavān with the pañcākṣara as his only practice, and reached Śiva-sāyujya (union with Śiva).

This line shows the pañcākṣara to be the first Śaiva mantra, older than all other mantras.

Three States of the Mantra

The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā describes three states of the pañcākṣara, depending on the sādhaka’s (practitioner’s) relation to it:

Pārvatī asks Śiva about sādhakas in the Kali Yuga (the present age), and Śiva confirms: “The pañcākṣarī is equally effective in all four yugas. In Kali Yuga especially, there is no other upāya — this mantra alone suffices for all beings regardless of their varṇa or āśrama.”

Japa Vidhi: How to Repeat the Mantra

Kinds of Japa

The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā names four kinds of japa (repetition of a mantra):

1. Vācika: spoken aloud; the easiest but the least powerful
2. Upāṃśu: whispered, with the lips moving but the sound hardly heard; higher than vācika
3. Mānasa: repeated in the mind only; higher than upāṃśu
4. Sagarbha: japa joined with prāṇāyāma (breath control), dhāraṇā (concentration) and dhyāna (meditation); the highest form

Each higher kind is said to be a hundred times greater than the one before.

The Mālā and Its Beads

Japa is done on a mālā (string of beads). The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā names different materials and their fruits:

General rules: japa should be done facing east or north; the mālā should not be seen by others; the count should not be broken. The sumeru bead (the head bead) is not crossed; the mālā is turned back at the end of each round.

Counts for Puraścaraṇa

For a full puraścaraṇa (a set course of repetition to perfect a mantra), the Vāyavīya Saṃhitā gives:

• Highest: one crore (10 million) repetitions, for the most advanced seeker
• Middle: ten lakh (one million), for the madhyama (middle) seeker
• Lowest: one lakh (one hundred thousand), for the kaniṣṭha (beginning) seeker

Food during puraścaraṇa: pure sāttvika (calm, clean) food, no meat, no uṣṇa (spicy or heating) food, and one meal a day.

Rules for Japa

• Japa at brahma-muhūrta (the hour before dawn) is the most powerful
• A bath and the tripuṇḍra of bhasma (three lines of sacred ash) come first
• A room set apart for japa (japa-gṛha) or a Śiva temple (Śivālaya) is best
• Facing the liṅga during japa multiplies the fruit
• Japa and dhyāna support each other: when tired of japa, do dhyāna; when tired of dhyāna, do japa
• Twelve prāṇāyāmas equal one dhāraṇā; twelve dhāraṇās equal one dhyāna; twelve dhyānas equal samādhi

Open to All

A defining teaching of the Vāyavīya Saṃhitā on the pañcākṣara is that it is open to everyone:

• All four varṇas are eligible
• Both men and women are eligible (Śiva tells Pārvatī clearly that women who receive dīkṣā from a qualified guru are fully eligible)
• Even those born in low conditions can reach Śivaloka through japa of the pañcākṣara, if they have received proper dīkṣā (initiation)

The mantra works independently of the social order because it is not a kāmya rite (a rite done for a wish). It is an act of direct communion with Śiva.

Its Place Among Mantras

The Vāyavīya Saṃhitā sets out how the pañcākṣara stands among other mantras:

• All mantras draw their power from the pañcākṣara
• The Gāyatrī is the queen of Vedic mantras; the pañcākṣara, as a Śaiva mantra, stands above it
• Oṃkāra names the Absolute; the pañcākṣara names that same Absolute in his personal, gracious form as Śiva
• The pañcākṣara is the heart of the whole teaching of the Vāyavīya Saṃhitā

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Vāyavīya Saṃhitā (Book 7)