Universal
Lokah Samastah
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु
Simple reading
Lo-kaah sa-mas-taah su-khi-no bha-van-tu
Lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu
About this mantra
The prayer that refuses to stop at one's own gate: may all the worlds, and every being in them, be happy. It is the last line of the maṅgala verse 'Svasti prajābhyaḥ', and it has become the closing line of satsangs and yoga classes worldwide.
Meaning
May all the worlds, all together, be happy. Lokāḥ is 'worlds', meaning the beings that fill them, and samastāḥ does the widening: every world, every order of being, not this one alone. Modern yoga halls often add 'and free, and may my life add to that freedom'; those words are a later English expansion, not part of the verse. It is sung at closings because it is a completion: the moment private practice turns around and empties its hands over everyone.
Learn it by heart
Say the first line until it comes without reading, then add the next line and say both, until the whole mantra comes on its own.
Whole mantra
This mantra is a single line. Learn it whole, then add it to your review deck so it comes back for a check.
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु
Lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu
0not said yet
Aim for eleven. Stop reading as soon as the whole mantra comes on its own.
Progress stays on this device.
When to recite it
The closing dedication: end of yoga and meditation practice, end of ceremonies; recited to give away the merit of whatever was just completed.
Word by word
- लोकाः समस्ताःlokāḥ samastāḥ
- all the worlds together
- सुखिनो भवन्तुsukhino bhavantu
- may they be happy
Source: Traditional maṅgala verse (found in stotra colophons)