Jain Navkar Mantra — Translated & Explained
Namo Arihantanam: I bow down to Arihanta,Namo Siddhanam: I bow down to Siddha,Namo Ayariyanam: I bow down to Acharya,Namo Uvajjhayanam: I bow down to Upadhyaya,Namo Loe Savva-sahunam: I bow down to Sadhu and Sadhvi.Eso Panch Namokaro: These five bowings downs,Savva-pavappanasano: Destroy all the sins,Manglananch Savvesim: Amongst all that is auspicious,Padhamam Havei Mangalam: This Navkar Mantra is the foremost.
The Navkar Mantra is the most important mantra in Jainism and can be recited at any time. While reciting the Navkar Mantra, we are bowing down with respect to Arihantas (souls who have reached the state of non-attachment towards worldly process), Siddhas (liberated souls), Ächäryäs (heads of sadhus and sadhvis), Upädhyäyas (those who teach scriptures to sadhus and sadhvis), Sädhus (monks, who have voluntarily given up social, economical and family relationships) and Sädhvis (nuns, who have voluntarily given up social, economical and family relationships). Collectively, they are called Panch Parmesthi (five supreme spiritual people).
The Navkar Mantra contains the main message of Jainism. The message is very clear.
Here, I am trying to break down the mantra into bits to explain the meaning of each individual word as I know. Please leave a comment to my attention if I might have mistaken while defining these words and I’ll be more than happy to make the correction!
Namo Arihantanam: 'Namo + Ari + Hanta + Anam'
Breakdown of the words and their meaning: Namo = I bow down toAri : Enemy (like greed, ego etc.)Hanta : DestroyerAanam : Preaching
Sentence Formation: I bow down to the preaching of Arihanta
Namo Siddhanam: 'Namo + Siddha + Anam'Siddha : Liberated souls which resides in Moksha and they are destroyer of all 8 Karmas.Sentence Formation : I bow down to the preaching of Siddha
Namo Ayariyanam: 'Namo + Aayari + Anam'Aayari: Aacharya (Head of the Jain Sect.) and who practice 5 vows.Sentence Formation : I bow down to the preaching of Aacharya
Namo Uvajjhayanam: 'Namo + Uvvajzaya + Anam'Uvvajzaya: Upadhyaya (Up + Adhyaya: Uplifting oneself in every lesson of life) The teachers who have in-depth understanding about Jain Aagams (Jain books) & other philosophical systems.Sentence Formation : I bow down to the preaching of Upadhyaya
Namo Loe Savva-sahunam: 'Namo + Loe + Savva + Sahhuanam'Loe: Lok (World)Savva: EverywhereSahhunam: Sadhu & Sadhvi (one who follows 5 Mahavrata (Fasts))Sentence Formation: I bow down to all Sadhu & Sadhvi
I am someone who is not blind-folded by the beliefs of the religious obligations around us, but I wouldn’t deny being a believer in The One above us all. I do believe he, who made us and this beautiful world for us, was a person who did follow the path to liberation, and his activities were directed towards the uplift of his soul to Paramätman (the state of liberation).
Jai Jinendra!
