Vishnu
Dvadashakshara — the twelve-syllable mantra
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Simple reading
Om na-mo bha-ga-va-te vaa-su-de-vaa-ya
Oṁ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
About this mantra
The twelve-syllable mantra of surrender to Vasudeva: Krishna, the indwelling Lord. Central to the Bhagavata tradition.
Meaning
Om, I bow to Bhagavan Vasudeva. Vasudeva is Krishna as the indwelling one, from vas, to dwell: he in whom all beings live and who lives in all beings. Twelve syllables long, the mantra is the Bhagavata tradition's whole path in one line. It is an address rather than a request: turning toward the person of the divine and handing oneself over.
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 नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Oṁ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
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
A lifelong daily jaap for many Vaishnavas: mornings and Ekadashi days especially, before the Bhagavata is read, and in any hour that calls for surrender rather than striving.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- नमोnamo
- I bow, salutations
- भगवतेbhagavate
- to the Lord, full of divine glories
- वासुदेवायvāsudevāya
- to Vasudeva, Krishna, the all-pervading
Source: Bhāgavata tradition (Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa)