Surya
Arka — worthy of praise (Surya name 11 of 12)
ॐ अर्काय नमः
Oṁ Arkāya Namaḥ
Simple reading: Om ar-kaa-ya na-mah
About this mantra
Arka — 'worthy of praise' — the eleventh name. Arka is an old word meaning both ray and hymn, as if light and the song about light were one thing. The great sun temples carry it — Konark is Kona-Arka, 'sun of the corner' — and so does the humble arka plant offered to him.
Meaning
Om, salutations to Arka — the one worthy of praise. The bow asks for nothing; it is thanks, offered to a brightness that no praise can add to. Coming eleventh, it is the sequence's moment of plain gratitude before the closing prayer for understanding.
When to recite it
One of the twelve names of the Surya Namaskar cycle — recited one per posture at sunrise, or counted together as a Sunday (Ravivar) jaap. Arka is for praise without petition — remembered at sun temples and on Ratha Saptami, the sun's own festival day.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- अर्कायarkāya
- the one worthy of all praise
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Sūrya Namaskāra mantra sequence (traditional twelve names of Sūrya)