Devi
Navarna mantra
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
Simple reading
Om aim hreem kleem chaa-mun-daa-yai vich-che
Oṁ Aiṁ Hrīṁ Klīṁ Cāmuṇḍāyai Vicce
About this mantra
The nine-syllable mantra at the heart of Durga Saptashati recitation. The Mother is invoked as wisdom, power, and transformation together.
Meaning
Om. Aim, Hreem, Kleem. Salutations to Chamunda. Nine syllables hold the Mother's three faces at once: great wisdom, great energy, great transformation. Vicce has no single agreed translation; commentators offer 'I bow' or 'I take refuge' among others, and recitation leaves it as it is. The navarna does not petition for one thing. It invokes the whole force by which anything is overcome.
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.
ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
Oṁ Aiṁ Hrīṁ Klīṁ Cāmuṇḍāyai Vicce
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 Navratri mantra above all, counted through the nine nights and alongside Saptashati recitation; taken up in crisis, when the whole of one's strength is being asked.
Word by word
- ऐंaiṁ
- bīja of wisdom and speech (Mahasaraswati)
- ह्रींhrīṁ
- bīja of divine energy (Mahalakshmi)
- क्लींklīṁ
- bīja of transformation (Mahakali)
- चामुण्डायैcāmuṇḍāyai
- to Chamunda, the fierce Mother
- विच्चेvicce
- a sacred syllable of the mantra itself
Source: Durgā Saptaśatī (Devī Māhātmya) recitation tradition
Note: Given here in its commonly used form; wording can vary slightly between family and regional traditions.