Devi
Saraswati mantra
ॐ ऐं सरस्वत्यै नमः
Oṁ Aiṁ Sarasvatyai Namaḥ
Simple reading: Om aim sa-ras-vat-yai na-mah
Wisdom & studyNew beginnings
About this mantra
The seed-mantra of Saraswati, goddess of learning, speech, music, and the arts.
Meaning
Om — Aim — salutations to Saraswati. Aim is the seed of vak, articulate speech: the sound from which expression unfolds. The reciter asks the goddess of the flowing stream of knowledge for her particular gift — not information, but the clarity that lets learning move: through the mind, onto the tongue, into the work.
When to recite it
Before study, practice, or performance — students before examinations, musicians before riyaz; Vasant Panchami and Navratri's Saraswati days hold it specially.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- ऐंaiṁ
- the bīja of Saraswati — of speech and knowledge
- सरस्वत्यैsarasvatyai
- to Saraswati
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional bīja-mantra of the Devi worship corpus