IBefore you read
If one had to choose a single text that every Jain knows by heart, whatever their branch, whether they live in Gujarat or in Karnataka, it would be this one. Nine lines of Prakrit, less than a minute when read slowly, opening with five bows before five ranks worthy of reverence and closing with four lines on the worth of those five bows themselves. Jains are usually taught these words in early childhood, say them when they open their eyes in the morning, and many hear them for the last time at a sickbed.
The most common name in both Vietnamese and English is the Namokar Mantra, after the spelling णमोकार favored by Jains in northern India. In Gujarat and Rajasthan people usually call it the Navkar, and in books one also meets the names Namaskāra Mantra, Pañca Namaskāra, meaning the five salutations, or Mahāmantra, the great mantra. The name Navkar comes from the word namaskāra through the Prakrit form namokkāra. Many people hear in it the word nav, the number nine, and link it to the nine lines of the mantra, but that is a familiar association rather than the origin of the word.
The mantra is written not in Sanskrit but in Prakrit, the general name for the spoken languages of the common people of ancient India, closer to everyday speech than the Sanskrit of the Brahmin class. The oldest Jain scriptures were handed down in Ardhamāgadhī, a form of Prakrit from the region of Magadha, where Mahavira taught. That is why a reader who knows Sanskrit will find many words in this mantra both familiar and strange: āyariya in place of ācārya, uvajjhāya in place of upādhyāya, savva in place of sarva.
The first thing a new reader should notice is that the mantra contains no proper names. There is no Mahavira, no name of any Tirthankara, no name of a teacher or a temple. It honors five kinds of beings by the qualities they have attained, and for that reason both great branches, Digambara and Svetambara, recite it and regard it as the most fundamental prayer of the religion.
This page presents all nine lines as recited in the Svetambara tradition, made up of five lines of salutation and four closing lines called the cūlikā, meaning the crest, the appended part. Digambaras usually recite only the first five lines. Alongside them are the IAST transliteration, the library's Vietnamese and English translations, a commentary on each line, a section on the five ranks worthy of reverence, a section on the number 108, and a description of how the faithful recite these words in daily life. The library sets this out to help you understand, and does not presume to speak for Jains on any matter.
As for the history of the text, the historical record shows that the mantra did not come into being all at once but grew over several centuries. The oldest traces are inscriptions. A short inscription at the Pale cave in Maharashtra, placed around the 2nd to 1st century BCE, records only the first line. The Hathigumpha inscription on Udayagiri hill near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, carved at the command of King Kharavela of Kalinga, opens with two salutations, to the arahantas and to the siddhas. B. M. Barua's reading, published in 1929, gives that opening as Namo ar(i)hamtanam, namo sava-sidhanam. This inscription too is placed around the 2nd to 1st century BCE, and historians have not agreed on an exact date.
According to most readings, both inscriptions write namo with an ordinary n, and write arahanta rather than arihanta. Barua's reading alone puts the letter i in brackets, meaning the reader of the inscription was unsure of that vowel. According to the analysis of the historian M. A. Dhaky, the first two lines were then used as a maṅgala, an auspicious invocation that opens texts and rites. All five ranks together appear in the abridged version of the Vyākhyāprajñapti, also called the Bhagavatī Sūtra, of the Svetambara tradition. Later written scriptures such as the Āvaśyaka Sūtra of the Svetambaras and the Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama of the Digambaras gradually shifted to the spelling of Mahārāṣṭrī Prakrit, that is, ṇamo with a retroflex ṇ, and arihanta in place of arahanta. The dates of these scriptures are also still debated, so the library records only their order and gives no years.
The four cūlikā lines are the latest part. According to Dhaky, they do not appear in the ancient sources and are no earlier than the 6th century CE. The Svetambara tradition calls the full nine lines the Pañcamaṅgala Mahāśrutaskandha, the great scriptural body of the five auspicious things, and links this part to the Mahānisīha scripture. The Digambaras do not accept that scripture, and that is one reason this branch usually stops at five lines.
The library records the points above according to the historical record. The religious view is different: many Jains hold that the mantra is eternal, composed by no one, existing without beginning and handed down by every Tirthankara in every age. These two views speak of two different things, one of the traces of writing that survive, the other of a belief about origins, and the library sets them side by side without ruling between them.
IIThe full text in nine lines
| Verse | Original Prakrit | IAST transliteration | English | Vietnamese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | णमो अरिहंताणं | ṇamo arihantāṇaṃ | I bow to the Arihantas, those who have reached perfect knowledge while still living in the world. | Kính lễ các bậc Arihanta, những vị đã đạt cái biết trọn vẹn mà còn ở đời. |
| 2 | णमो सिद्धाणं | ṇamo siddhāṇaṃ | I bow to the Siddhas, the souls that are wholly liberated. | Kính lễ các bậc Siddha, những linh hồn đã giải thoát trọn vẹn. |
| 3 | णमो आयरियाणं | ṇamo āyariyāṇaṃ | I bow to the Ācāryas, the teachers who lead the monastic order. | Kính lễ các bậc Ācārya, những vị thầy đứng đầu tăng đoàn. |
| 4 | णमो उवज्झायाणं | ṇamo uvajjhāyāṇaṃ | I bow to the Upādhyāyas, the teachers of the scriptures. | Kính lễ các bậc Upādhyāya, những vị thầy dạy kinh. |
| 5 | णमो लोए सव्व साहूणं | ṇamo loe savva sāhūṇaṃ | I bow to all the Sādhus in the world. | Kính lễ hết thảy các bậc Sādhu trong thế gian. |
| 6 | एसो पंच णमोक्कारो | eso pañca ṇamokkāro | This fivefold salutation | Năm lời kính lễ này |
| 7 | सव्व पावप्पणासणो | savva pāvappaṇāsaṇo | destroys every evil, | tiêu trừ hết thảy điều ác, |
| 8 | मंगलाणं च सव्वेसिं | maṅgalāṇaṃ ca savvesiṃ | and among all things auspicious | và trong hết thảy những điều cát tường, |
| 9 | पढमं हवइ मंगलं | paḍhamaṃ havaï maṅgalaṃ | it is the foremost auspicious one. | là điều cát tường đứng đầu. |
IIILine by line commentary
The commentary below follows the exact order of the mantra. The first entry explains the opening word shared by all five lines, then come five entries for the five ranks, then two entries for the four cūlikā lines. Wherever the manuscripts differ, or the commentators understand a line differently, the library says so plainly so that you can compare for yourself.
The first word of all five lines is ṇamo, from the same root as the Sanskrit namaḥ, meaning to bow, to pay homage. Vietnamese readers have in fact long known this word without noticing it: the two syllables Nam mô in the invocations recited in Vietnamese pagodas are the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese characters 南無, which were used to transcribe that very word namo. The Nam mô of the Buddhists and the ṇamo of the Jain mantra are two branches of a shared Indian root, used in two different religions.
In writing, the versions differ in the first consonant. The Digambaras and most scholarly editions write णमो, ṇamo, with a retroflex ṇ, following the sound rules of Mahārāṣṭrī Prakrit. Many Svetambara versions write नमो, namo, with an ordinary n, keeping the older Ardhamāgadhī form, which is also the form found in the Hathigumpha inscription. Some sources explain that the Svetambaras keep the older form because they hold that the Tirthankaras preached in Ardhamāgadhī. When spoken aloud the two spellings sound almost the same, and neither side regards the other's spelling as a wrong wording.
One grammatical detail is worth knowing. In Sanskrit, the one who receives homage stands in the dative case, as in namaḥ śivāya, homage to Shiva. Prakrit dropped the dative and uses the genitive in its place, so all five nouns in the mantra carry the genitive plural endings āṇaṃ or ūṇaṃ. That plural ending is no small matter: the mantra honors the arihantas, the siddhas, that is, a whole class of beings, not a single one.
The first line honors the arihantas. According to Jain teaching, these are souls that have destroyed the four kinds of obscuring karma and attained kevala jñāna, perfect knowledge no longer veiled by anything, while still having a body and still living in the world. The twenty-four Tirthankaras, those who establish anew the ford across the river of birth and death for living beings in each cycle of time, all belong to this rank while they are alive.
The word has two spellings, and each brings its own reading. The spelling arihanta is usually explained as ari, enemy, plus hanta, slayer, that is, one who has slain the enemy, and the enemy here is inner greed, hatred, pride and deceit, not anyone outside. The older spelling, arahanta, found in the Hathigumpha inscription and in many Svetambara versions, comes from the verbal root arh, to be worthy, and means one worthy of veneration. Some commentaries mention a third form, aruhanta, understood as one in whom rebirth no longer sprouts. Jain commentators usually mention these readings side by side, and in the mantra as recited today most versions write अरिहंताणं.
Readers familiar with Buddhist scriptures will recognize the Pali word arahant, which the Chinese transcribed and Vietnamese reads as A La Hán. It is the same root. But the meanings in the two religions do not coincide: in Buddhism an arahant is one who has ended the defilements, while in Jainism an arihanta is one who has perfect knowledge, and the Tirthankaras belong to that rank.
What surprises many readers is that the arihanta comes before the siddha, even though in Jain teaching it is the siddha who is fully liberated. The usual explanation is this: the arihantas are still in the world and so still teach, and it is only through their teaching that people come to know that siddhas and the path of liberation exist. Honoring the one who shows the way first is how the mantra acknowledges that debt.
The second line honors the siddhas, a word whose root meaning is accomplished, perfected. According to Jain teaching, a siddha is a soul that has shed all eight kinds of karma, with no body left and no further rebirth, and that, following the naturally weightless nature of the soul, has risen to the highest summit of the universe, the place called siddhaśilā, where it abides forever in infinite knowledge and bliss.
Every arihanta becomes a siddha at the end of his final life. But not every siddha was once a Tirthankara. According to Jain teaching, the number of liberated souls is infinite, most of them known by no name, and this line honors all of them.
In the Hathigumpha inscription this line is read as namo sava-sidhanam, that is, with the added word sava, all, before the word siddha. The mantra as recited today no longer has that word in the second line.
The third line honors the ācāryas, in Prakrit āyariya. The Sanskrit consonant c between two vowels drops out in Prakrit and leaves a y sound, so ācārya becomes āyariya. This is a familiar sound rule of this group of languages, just as loka becomes loe in the fifth line.
An ācārya is the head of a group of monastics, responsible for upholding discipline, preserving the scriptures, deciding the major matters of the order, and guiding both monastics and lay followers. From these three lines onward, the mantra turns from those who are already enlightened to those who are still practicing. Ācāryas, upādhyāyas and sādhus are not yet liberated, but they are the ones who keep the path open to be walked. The thirty-six attributes of this rank are listed in the section on the number 108 below.
The fourth line honors the upādhyāyas, in Prakrit uvajjhāya. The p between two vowels becomes v, and the cluster dhy becomes jjh, so upādhyāya becomes uvajjhāya. A reader going slowly will notice that this line has a heavier rhythm than the others, precisely because of that double consonant cluster.
An upādhyāya is a teacher devoted to the scriptures, one who knows the Agamas by heart and expounds them to young monastics. If the ācārya sees to leadership and discipline, the upādhyāya sees to handing down the text. In a religion whose scriptures were passed on orally for centuries before being written down, and where the Digambaras hold that most of the original scriptures have been lost, the role of the one who preserves and teaches the scriptures is valued so highly that it has its own line in the fundamental mantra.
The twenty-five attributes of this rank, as counted by the Svetambaras, correspond to the eleven Aṅgas, the twelve Upāṅgas, and two further items on the conduct and practices the teacher must master.
The fifth line is the longest, and the only line with extra words. Loe is the Sanskrit loke, meaning in the world. Savva is sarva, all. Sāhu is sādhu, a renunciant. The whole line means homage to all the renunciants in the world.
The word sādhu here includes every monastic who has taken the five great vows, men and women alike. Nuns are usually called sādhvī, and in the understanding of both branches this line of salutation includes them. Here the mantra reaches the most numerous of the five ranks, the people whom lay followers meet every day on their alms rounds.
Commentators differ on why the two words loe and savva appear only in this line. One reading holds that they stress inclusiveness: homage to every renunciant, whatever their branch, group or lineage of teachers, provided they keep the proper conduct. Another reading says the two words are to be understood as implied in all five lines, and are written out only once, at the end. Yet another explanation says that the world here means the region of the two and a half continents in Jain cosmology, where human beings live, and so includes renunciants in realms unknown to us. These readings do not exclude one another.
In writing, some versions separate the words as सव्व साहूणं, and some join them as सव्वसाहूणं, a single compound. Read aloud, they sound the same.
Here the cūlikā begins. These two lines form one sentence: eso is eṣaḥ, this, pañca is five, ṇamokkāro is namaskāraḥ, salutation, pāva is pāpa, evil, and paṇāsaṇo is praṇāśanaḥ, that which destroys. The meaning is that this fivefold salutation destroys all evil.
The word pāpa in Jainism has a narrower meaning than the everyday Vietnamese word for sin. It refers to bad karma, the subtle matter that clings to the soul through harmful deeds, words and thoughts. So when the mantra speaks of destroying evil, Jains understand it as speaking of shedding karma.
Commentators differ on how this works. One reading stresses the mind of the one reciting: Jainism has no being who grants grace or forgives sins, so the power of the mantra lies in the state of mind that reveres the highest qualities, and it is that state of mind which makes karma lighter. A reading widespread among ordinary believers holds that the sequence of sounds itself has power, and that reciting it correctly and often brings protection. Both readings are present in religious life.
In writing, some versions have णमोक्कारो, some have णमुक्कारो or नमुक्कारो, and some write only a single k. The meaning does not change.
The last two lines continue the previous sentence: maṅgalāṇaṃ ca savvesiṃ means and among all things auspicious, paḍhamaṃ is prathamam, foremost, havaï is bhavati, is, and maṅgalaṃ is the auspicious thing. The whole sentence says that the fivefold salutation is the foremost auspicious thing among all auspicious things.
The word maṅgala here connects back to the oldest function of the mantra. As the section on its history noted, the first two lines were once used as an auspicious invocation opening texts and rites. The four cūlikā lines seem to state outright what people had long been doing with the mantra: placing it at the start of everything.
These lines show the greatest variation between manuscripts. The library follows the version that writes मंगलाणं as one word, the genitive plural of maṅgala. Some versions, including the text table on English Wikipedia and the site thejainreligion.in, write it separately as मंगला णं, which sounds the same when read aloud. For the last word, the library follows the version that writes हवइ with a short, separate i, as in the editions of Jainkart and culturalsamvaad.com. Many other versions write हवई with a long i. In the transliteration, the library writes havaï with a diaeresis over the i to show that a and i are pronounced as two separate sounds, ha va i, and do not merge into a diphthong. Many books simply write havai.
IVThe five ranks worthy of reverence, and why no one is named
The five kinds of beings honored in the mantra share the collective name Pañca Parameṣṭhi, meaning the five who stand in the highest place. Jains meet these five ranks not only in the mantra but everywhere: on the Jain flag with its five colored bands, on devotional diagrams, and in the images of all five ranks set on a single pedestal in some Digambara temples. The table below lists the five ranks in the order of the mantra.
| Rank | Word in the mantra | Who they are | Number of attributes, Svetambara count | Color on the Jain flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arihanta | अरिहंत | One who has attained perfect knowledge, still has a body and still teaches. The Tirthankaras belong to this rank while alive | 12 | White |
| Siddha | सिद्ध | A soul wholly liberated, with no body, abiding at the highest summit of the universe | 8 | Red |
| Ācārya | आयरिय | The teacher who heads the monastic order, upholds discipline and gives guidance | 36 | Yellow |
| Upādhyāya | उवज्झाय | The teacher devoted to teaching the scriptures to monastics | 25 | Green |
| Sādhu | साहु | Every monk and nun who has taken the five great vows | 27 | Dark blue, shown as black in some places |
Commentaries commonly divide these five ranks in two ways. The first divides them by attainment: the first two ranks are deva, those who are enlightened, and the last three are guru, teachers who are still practicing. The second divides them by whether they have a body: only the siddha has no body, and the other four are all living people. Both divisions show that the mantra does not honor gods in the sense of a creator, since Jainism has no creator god. All five ranks are human beings, or were once human beings, who reached that place through the strength of their own practice.
The five ranks also appear on the devotional diagram called the Siddhacakra, which is widespread among Svetambaras. There the five ranks stand together with four fundamental virtues, right faith, right knowledge, right conduct and austerity, forming nine squares called the navapada. Twice a year, in the months of Caitra and Āśvina in the Indian calendar, many Svetambaras keep a nine day fast called Āyambil Oli in worship of those nine squares, eating only one meal a day of plain cooked food without spices, oil or milk.
Why the mantra names no one
This is the feature that outsiders find most striking when they read the mantra. Most of the fundamental prayers of the world's religions call on a name, a divine being, a teacher or a god. This one does not. It does not mention Mahavira, whom historians regard as the religion's most recent teacher. It does not mention Parshvanatha, nor Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara according to Jain teaching. It names only five titles, and puts all five in the plural.
Jains explain this through the teachings of the religion itself. What is honored is guṇa, quality, and not the person who bears that quality. Whoever attains perfect knowledge is an arihanta, whatever age they live in, whatever their name or branch. Whoever keeps the full conduct of a renunciant is a sādhu, even if no one has heard of them. To honor by quality is to honor also those not yet present, those who will reach that place in the future.
According to Jain cosmology there are other realms as well, such as Mahāvideha, where Tirthankaras are living and teaching at this very moment, and Jain tradition names twenty of them, such as Simandhar Swami. A mantra that named names could embrace only those on the list. A mantra that names qualities embraces the beings of that realm too, and the nameless siddhas across infinite time.
The second reason lies in how Jainism understands those who are liberated. According to Jain teaching, a siddha has left behind every bond, including any bond with the person praying to them, and so does not hear petitions and does not grant favors. That is why the mantra asks for nothing. It does not say protect me, it does not say grant me this. It only bows. Calling on a particular being by name to ask for something therefore has no place in the structure of these words.
The Jain tradition holds that each soul binds itself with karma and frees itself through practice, and no one can do the freeing for another. The five ranks in the mantra are therefore not saviors but examples. Honoring them turns the mind toward the qualities they have attained, and according to many teachers it is that turning of the mind which makes karma lighter. According to an explanation found in the Digambara tradition, the sound Om is also formed from the first letters of the five ranks: a from arihanta, a from aśarīra, the bodiless one, that is, the siddha, ā from ācārya, u from upādhyāya, and m from muni, the renunciant, which read together become Om.
From the historical point of view, not naming anyone also had a very large practical consequence. The Digambara and Svetambara branches separated over the first several centuries of the Common Era, and differ over their scriptures, over the dress of monastics, over the life of Mahavira, and over whether women can attain liberation in a female body. But the two sides have no need to dispute this mantra, because its five lines contain no names and no biographical details for the two sides to tell differently. Scholars writing on Jainism commonly cite the Namokar as one of the few points that every branch keeps unchanged.
VThe one hundred and eight attributes and the 108 bead rosary
Jains tell beads when reciting the Namokar, and the rosary usually has 108 beads. The number is not unique to Jainism, since Hindus and Buddhists also use rosaries of 108 beads. But the Svetambaras have their own explanation, which links the number directly to the five ranks in the mantra: adding up the attributes of the five ranks gives exactly 108.
| Rank | Number of attributes | What they include |
|---|---|---|
| Arihanta | 12 | Eight splendid signs around the enlightened one called prātihārya, such as the aśoka tree, the shower of flowers, the wondrous voice of teaching, the triple parasol and the halo, plus four extraordinary qualities called atiśaya, concerning knowledge, speech, veneration and the warding off of calamity |
| Siddha | 8 | Eight qualities that appear when the eight kinds of karma are wholly destroyed, such as infinite knowledge, infinite perception, bliss that nothing can harm, infinite energy and formlessness |
| Ācārya | 36 | Restraint of the five senses, the nine fences of celibacy, freedom from the four passions, the five great vows, the five kinds of conduct, the five kinds of carefulness and the three kinds of restraint, according to the Pañcindiya Sūtra |
| Upādhyāya | 25 | Mastery of the eleven Aṅgas, the twelve Upāṅgas and two further items on conduct and practice |
| Sādhu | 27 | The five great vows, not eating at night, protecting the six kinds of living beings, restraint of the five senses, and the virtues of forbearance, purity and endurance of hardship |
| Total | 108 | The number of beads on the rosary many Svetambaras use when telling the Navkar |
The table above is the usual Svetambara count. The Digambaras count two of the ranks differently. According to Digambara catechisms, the arihanta has 46 root attributes, made up of the extraordinary qualities at birth and at the attainment of perfect knowledge, those produced by the gods, the eight splendid signs and the four infinities. Digambara monks keep 28 root attributes called mūlaguṇa, made up of the five great vows, the five kinds of carefulness, restraint of the five senses, the six daily duties and seven rules such as not bathing, eating standing up, pulling out one's own hair and wearing no clothes. So by this count the attributes of the five ranks do not add up to 108, and explaining the number 108 through the five ranks is a Svetambara explanation.
The rosary and other explanations of the number
The rosary used to count recitations is usually called a navkarvali in Gujarat. The person telling the beads recites the whole mantra once for each bead, so one full round makes 108 recitations. A rosary usually has an extra, larger bead or a small tassel where the two ends meet, so that the person knows a round is complete without having to count. Many keep the habit of one or several rounds a day, and more rounds on major festivals.
Besides adding up the attributes of the five ranks, there is another explanation of the number 108 based on the Tattvārtha Sūtra, a scripture accepted by both branches. Chapter six, verse eight of that scripture lists the ways in which an action produces karma: three stages, planning, preparing and setting about the act, multiplied by three channels, body, speech and mind, multiplied by three modes, doing it oneself, having others do it and approving of others doing it, multiplied by the four passions, anger, pride, deceit and greed. Three times three times three times four makes exactly 108. Some commentaries connect the number of beads on the rosary with this count, taking each bead to stand for a door through which karma can enter, and each recitation as a watch kept over that door.
These two explanations do not exclude each other, and neither is the single official word of the religion. The library records both so that you can see how Jains read the number 108 through their own teachings, rather than as merely a habit shared across the land of India.
VIWhen and how the faithful recite it
The Namokar is short enough to be recited anywhere, and practicing Jains do in fact recite it at many points in the day. It needs no temple, no monastic and no offering. Below are the occasions most often recorded in books and by observers.
For many families, these are the first words of the day. Jain organizations describe the Navkar as the first thing Jains recite each morning. Some recite it while still sitting on the bed, before setting foot on the floor, and some recite it before the small shrine at home.
Many people recite the Navkar before eating. Svetambaras have a vow called navkarsi: taking no food or drink until 48 minutes after sunrise, and when the time is up, joining the palms, reciting the Navkar three times and only then eating. The same words are recited when breaking a fast.
Before a trip, before an exam, before any major undertaking, Jains often recite the Navkar. Here the mantra performs its oldest function, as an auspicious invocation placed at the start of every undertaking, just as its last line calls it the foremost auspicious thing.
When someone is about to die, family and fellow believers often sit around them and recite the Namokar, so that the last words the person hears are the salutation to the five ranks. At funerals, the JAINA funeral guide places the Namokar in the opening part, and the rite usually closes with the mantra recited a few more times to see the soul off.
Almost every Jain rite opens with the Navkar: before entering a temple for worship, before sitting for samayika, forty-eight minutes of stilling the mind, before pratikramana, the rite of repentance, and before reading scripture or hearing a sermon. During the festival season of Paryushana, observant Jains recite it many times each day.
Apart from the moments tied to daily activities, many people sit and tell a rosary of 108 beads, reciting the mantra 108 times in one round. This can be done at home, in a temple or where monastics are staying, and is usually done in silence.
Posture and manner of recitation
There is no required posture. People usually sit upright, palms joined before the chest, eyes closed or lowered, but some also recite it standing, while walking along the road, or lying in a sickbed. Three ways of reciting are commonly mentioned in Indian traditions and are also found among Jains: reciting aloud, reciting in a whisper audible only to oneself, and reciting silently in the mind. Many teachers regard silent recitation in the mind as the deepest, because then there remains only the mind and the five ranks.
When recited together, as at the start of a ceremony or at a funeral, the mantra is usually intoned slowly, one breath to each line, to a simple melody. In some ritual guides the sound Om is placed before each of the first four lines, as in the JAINA funeral guide, which puts Om in brackets as an option for the officiant.
Jains do not regard the mantra as belonging to monastics alone. Lay people, children, the elderly, men and women can all recite it, with no one needing to pass it on to them and no initiation required.
Differences between the branches
The clearest difference is length. The Svetambaras recite all nine lines and regard the four cūlikā lines as an inseparable part of the mantra. The Digambaras usually recite only the five lines of salutation, because this branch does not accept the scripture to which the Svetambaras attach the cūlikā. Digambaras still know those four lines, and in some places recite them too, but when they speak of the Namokar they usually mean the first five lines.
The second difference is spelling. Digambara books usually write णमो with a retroflex ṇ, many Svetambara books write नमो with an ordinary n, and that is why in English one meets both Namokar and Navkar, both Ṇamokāra and Namaskāra. The third difference is the accompanying ritual: the Siddhacakra and the Āyambil Oli fast are widespread among Svetambaras, while Digambaras have images of the five ranks on a single pedestal and their own rites of worship for the five ranks. But the five lines of salutation are recited identically, word for word, by both sides, differing only in the letter n or ṇ.
Jains often tell a story about the power of the mantra at the moment of death. The story says that when Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Tirthankara, was still a prince, he passed by an ascetic named Kamatha who was tending a fire for a ritual. The prince knew there was a snake inside a burning log. When the log was split open, the snake was found half burned and close to death. The prince recited the Namokar for the snake, and it died in peace and was reborn as Dharanendra, a king among the gods. Some versions tell of one snake, others of a pair, with the female reborn as the goddess Padmavati. Later, when Parshvanatha sat in meditation and Kamatha, by then reborn as the asura Meghamali, poured down a storm upon him, Dharanendra came and spread his hood over his head. That is why many images of Parshvanatha show a serpent's hood above the head.
VIICommon misunderstandings
Because the mantra is short and rarely translated into Vietnamese, people outside Jainism easily misread it in a few places. The six points below are the ones met most often.
The nine lines do not contain a single word of asking. The first five lines only pay homage, and the last four only state the worth of paying homage. According to Jain teaching, those who are liberated do not hear petitions and do not grant favors, so the fundamental prayer of the religion was made a bow rather than a request.
The mantra does not name Mahavira, nor anyone else. Mahavira belonged to the rank of arihanta while alive and to the rank of siddha after death, so those reciting do honor him, but together with countless others who share the same qualities, not him alone.
The mantra is written in Prakrit, a language close to the popular speech of ancient India, not in Sanskrit. Easy signs of this are words such as āyariya in place of ācārya, savva in place of sarva, and the fact that all five nouns are in the genitive case rather than the dative as in Sanskrit.
The five lines of salutation are the same in both branches, differing only in whether n or ṇ is written. The difference lies in the four cūlikā lines: Svetambaras recite them, Digambaras usually do not. This is one of the few prayers that every branch of Jainism keeps in common.
The enemies in the word arihanta are greed, hatred, pride and deceit, the things that bind the soul, not any person outside. Jainism is built around non-violence, and this word speaks of an inner victory. The older form of the word, arahanta, carries the meaning of one worthy of veneration.
The sum of 12, 8, 36, 25 and 27 making 108 is the Svetambara count. The Digambaras count 46 attributes for the arihanta and 28 root attributes for monastics, so the total does not come to 108. The 108 bead rosary is widespread, but the explanation of the number differs between the branches.
?Quick Questions
What is the Namokar Mantra
It is the fundamental prayer of Jainism, in Prakrit, also called the Navkar Mantra or Namaskāra Mantra. Its first five lines pay homage to five ranks worthy of reverence, the Arihanta, Siddha, Ācārya, Upādhyāya and Sādhu, known together as the Pañca Parameṣṭhi. Svetambaras recite four further closing lines called the cūlikā, which say that the five salutations destroy all evil and are the foremost auspicious thing. Both the Digambara and Svetambara branches regard it as their most important prayer.
Does the Namokar have five lines or nine
Both, depending on the branch. The part common to all Jains is the five lines of salutation, with 35 syllables. The Svetambara branch recites four further cūlikā lines, making nine lines and 68 syllables. The Digambara branch usually recites only five lines, because it does not accept the scripture to which the Svetambaras attach those four lines. According to the historian M. A. Dhaky, the four cūlikā lines are a later part, no earlier than the 6th century CE.
What does namo arihantanam mean
It means homage to the arihantas. The word namo, or ṇamo, shares its root with Nam mô, the word familiar from Vietnamese pagodas. An arihanta is one who has attained perfect knowledge while still living in the world, and the Tirthankaras are among them. The word is usually explained as one who has slain the inner enemies such as greed, hatred and pride. The older form, arahanta, found in the Hathigumpha inscription, means one worthy of veneration.
Why does the Namokar name no one
According to Jain teaching, what is honored is the quality, not the person. Whoever attains perfect knowledge is an arihanta, and whoever keeps the full conduct of a renunciant is a sādhu, whatever their name, age or realm. Those who are liberated also do not hear petitions or grant favors, so the mantra only pays homage and asks for nothing. In practical terms, not naming anyone allows every branch of Jainism to recite the same words.
Why does a Jain rosary have 108 beads
Svetambaras explain that 108 is the total number of attributes of the five ranks in the mantra: arihanta 12, siddha 8, ācārya 36, upādhyāya 25, sādhu 27. Another explanation draws on Tattvārtha Sūtra chapter 6, verse 8, where the ways an action produces karma are counted to exactly 108, as three times three times three times four. Digambaras count the attributes differently, so their total does not come to 108, though the 108 bead rosary is still widespread.