Devi
Durga mantra
ॐ दुं दुर्गायै नमः
Oṁ Duṁ Durgāyai Namaḥ
Simple reading: Om dum dur-gaa-yai na-mah
ProtectionStrength & courage
About this mantra
The seed-mantra of Durga, the unassailable — the Mother as protector, invoked for courage and safety from harm.
Meaning
Om — Dum — salutations to Durga. Her name means the fortress hard to assail; Dum is that protection struck as a single drum-beat of sound. The mantra is itself what it grants: something to hold when afraid. The reciter asks not for a world without danger but for the Mother's own quality inside it — unassailability of heart.
When to recite it
For protection — before travel through uncertainty, in fear of harm, and through Navratri; parents traditionally count it for children who are away.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- दुंduṁ
- the bīja of Durga — protection
- दुर्गायैdurgāyai
- to Durga, the unassailable
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional bīja-mantra of the Devi worship corpus