A bījamantra (Sanskrit: बीजमन्त्र, romanized: bījamantra, lit. 'seed-mantra', in modern schwa-deleted Indo-Aryan languages: beej mantra), or a bījākṣara ("seed-syllable"), is a monosyllabic mantra believed to contain the essence of a given deity. They are found in Tantric Hinduism and in Esoteric Buddhism.
A bījamantra is ritually uttered for the invocation of a deity. It is considered the true name of the deity as well as a manifestation of the deity in sonic form. It is also found in religious art, often standing for a specific deity. A bījamantra can be regarded to be a mystic sound made of the first few characters of a given deity's name, the chanting of which is regarded to allow an adherent to achieve a state of spiritual sanctity. These mantras are also associated with the chakras of the body.
The Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade stated that an adherent who chants the semantically meaningless bījamantra "appropriates its ontological essence, concretely and directly assimilates with the god".
Hindu bījamantras
A few of the major bījamantras in Hinduism include:
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Deity |
|---|---|---|
| औं | auṃ | Parabrahma |
| श्रीं | śrīṃ | Lakshmi |
| ल्क्ष्मीः | lakṣmīḥ | Mahalakshmi |
| त्व्म्श्रीः | Mahasaraswati | Mahasaraswati |
| क्म्लीः | kāmalīḥ | Mahakali |
| ल्क्ष्मीं | lakṣmī | Lakshmi |
| ऐं | aiṃ | Saraswati |
| क्लीं | klīm | Kali |
| क्रीं | krīṃ | Kali |
| ह्रौं | hrauṃ | Shiva |
| श्वीं | śvi | Shiva |
| गं | gaṃ | Ganesha |
| हूँ | hūṃ | Shiva |
| फट् | phaṭ | Destruction |
| ह्रीं | hrīṃ | Bhuvaneshvari |
| क्लीं | klīṃ | Shakti |
| दुं | duṃ | Durga |
| फ्रौं | phrauṃ | Hanuman |
| सौः | Sauh | parābīja / ParaShakti |
| दं | daṃ | Vishnu |
| द्रां | drāṃ | Dattatreya |
Other notable bījamantras include
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Deity |
|---|---|---|
| भ्रं | bhraṃ | Bhairava |
| धूं | dhūṃ | Dhumavati |
| ह्लीं | hlīṃ | Bagalamukhi |
| त्रीं | trīṃ | Tara |
| क्ष्रौं | kṣrauṃ | Narasimha |
| हं | haṃ | Akasha |
| यं | yaṃ | Vayu |
| रां | rāṃ | Agni |
| क्षं | kṣaṃ | Prithvi |
Buddhist bījākṣaras
Esoteric Buddhism contains numerous seed syllables with varying meanings. Depending on the tantra or on the tradition, they may represent different concepts, deities or forces.
The following are some common Buddhist bījākṣaras:
| Sanskrit (IAST) | Meaning / use | Deity |
|---|---|---|
| A | The unborn, emptiness, Dharmakaya | Mahāvairocana, or other Adi-Buddha figures |
| āḥ | found in oṃ āḥ hūṃ | Amoghasiddhi, Karma Buddha Family |
| aṃ | Samantabhadra bodhisattva | |
| bhai | Bhaiṣajyaguru | |
| bhaḥ | Shakyamuni | |
| dhīḥ | Prajñāpāramita, from the Vedic word meaning to think, or meditate | Mañjusri, Prajñaparamita Devi |
| hrīḥ | Compassion | Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara, Lotus Family |
| ha | Earth | Kṣitigarbha bodhisattva |
| hūṃ | Usually found at the end of a mantra, e.g. oṃ āḥ hūṃ and can also mean the wind element in certain contexts (e.g. in the a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ mantra) | Akshobhya |
| maiṃ | Maitreya, Vajra family | |
| maṃ | Mañjusri | |
| oṃ | Usually found at the beginning of Buddhist mantras, may signify the body, speech and mind of the Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism (when interpreted as A-u-m) | |
| tāṃ | Tara | |
| traṃ | Ratnasambhava, Jewel Buddha Family | |
| trāḥ | Ākāśa (Space) | Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva |
| phaṭ | wrathful / subjugation of demons / forceful shout | |
| vaṃ, | for vac, the voice of the Buddha | Mahāvairocana (in the Vajradhatu mandala) |
| vi | the water element | |
| ra, raṃ | fire element (e.g. in the a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ mantra) | |
| khaṃ | the space element | |
| hāṃ | Acala (Fudo-Myoo) |
References
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