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Kartikeya (Murugan) mantra
ॐ शरवणभवाय नमः
Simple reading
Om sha-ra-va-na-bha-vaa-ya na-mah
Oṁ Śaravaṇabhavāya Namaḥ
About this mantra
The mantra of Kartikeya, also called Murugan, Skanda and Subrahmanya: born in the sharavana reeds, commander of the devas, worshipped across the Tamil lands and beyond.
Meaning
Om, salutations to Sharavanabhava, 'the one born in the sharavana', the lake of reeds where six sparks of Shiva's fire became one six-faced child. The name is itself a mantra of six syllables, sha-ra-va-na-bha-va, one for each face of Murugan, as the tradition notes. The reciter bows to the god of the impossible start: scattered beginnings, gathered by the Mother, fused into a commander.
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 शरवणभवाय नमः
Oṁ Śaravaṇabhavāya Namaḥ
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
Skanda Shashti and Thaipusam are its festivals; Tuesdays in the south belong to Murugan. Counted before campaigns of every kind: examinations, competitions, fresh starts after scattering.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- शरवणभवायśaravaṇabhavāya
- to the one born in the sharavana reeds
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional ṣaḍakṣara (six-syllable) mantra of the Skanda tradition