OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

SHIVA PANCHAKSHARA MAHA MANTRA

Nagendra haraya Trilochanaya,

Basmanga ragaya maheswaraya,
Nithyaya shudhaya digambaraya,
Tasmai nakaraya namashivaya. 1
 
My salutations to the letter 'Na' , which is Shiva,
Who wears as garland the king of snakes.
Who has three eyes,
Who wears ash all over Him,
Who is the greatest Lord,
Who is forever,
Who is the cleanest,
And who wears the directions themselves as dress.
 
Mandakini salila chandana charchithaya,
Nandeeswara pramadha nadha maheswaraya,
Mandara pushpa bahu pushpa supoojithaya,
Tasmai makaraya namashivaya. 2
 
My salutations to the letter 'Ma' , which is Shiva,
Who is bathed by waters of Ganga,
Who applies sandalpaste all over him,
Who has Lord Nandi as his chieftain,
Who is the greatest lord,
And who is worshipped by Mandhara and many other flowers.
 
Shivaaya gowri vadanara vinda,
Sooryaya daksha dwara naasakaya,
Sri neela kantaya vrisha dwajaya,
Tasmai sikaraya namashivaya. 3
 
My salutations to the letter 'Si' , which is Shiva,
Who is peace personified,
Who is like Sun to the Lotus face of Gowri,
Who destroyed the fire sacrifice of Daksha,
Who has a blue neck,
And who has a bull in his flag.
 

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RAJESH MENON
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

Vasishta kumbhodhbhava gowthamadhi.

Munendra devarchitha shekaraya,
Chandrarka  vaiswanara lochanaya,
Tasmai vakaraya namashivaya 4
 
My salutations to the letter 'Va' , which is Shiva,
Who is worshipped by great sages like
Vasishta, Agasthya and Gowthama,
As also the devas,
And who has sun, moon and fire as his three eyes.
 
Yaksha swaroopaya jada dharaya,
Pinaka hasthathaya sanathanaya,
Divyaya devaaya digambaraya,
Tasmai yakaraya namashivaya. 5
 
My salutations to the letter 'Ya' , which is Shiva,
Who takes the form of Yaksha,
Who has a tufted hair,
Who is armed with spear,
Who is forever filled with peace,
Who is godly,
Who is the great God,
And who wears the directions themselves as dress.
 
Phalasruthi
Panchaksharamidham punyam,
Ya padeth Shiva sannidhou,
Shivaloka mavapnothi,
Shive na saha modathe .
 
Those who read these holy five letters great,
In the temple of Shiva,.
Would go to the world of Shiva,
And be forever happy with Him.
 
 
"Whoever repeats this Shiva Panchakshara Stotra  composed with the five
holy letters before Lord Shiva, he attains that supreme abode of His and
enjoys the Eternal Bliss."

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RAJESH MENON
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

In Hinduism, many of us consider the word Shivam as whole without any  division. 
Poornam,  Mangalam,  are its other synonyms. In other words  auspiciousness and
perfection, because it refers to Lord Shiva, who is  Perfection Personified and does not
depend on any external  resources to attain that pefection.  Naturally because of this self-
perfection, Shiva is in a state of Eternal Bliss.

Panchakshara, the supreme mantra of the shaivites,  is referred as the Holy

Five Syllables, or in English "Homage to Lord Shiva".  In the entire state of
Tamilnadu, this Panchakshara has a special connotation.  It is extolled as the
Tirumoolar Tirumantiram.  He extols the word NAMASHIVAYA  or the the
five (pancha) sacred syllables NA MA SHI VA YA thus:
 
NA=The concealing grace ("waiting" for the individual to mature).
MA=The three MALAS (chains) Anava (primal ignorance/ego), Karma (cause
& effect) and Maya (illusory or temporal nature of existence).
SHI=Siva/Shiva
VA=The revealing grace (spiritual awakening).
YA=The soul (Jivatma)
 
Still dissatisfied, Tirumoolar goes one step further and give this explanation: 
"His feet are the letter Na. His navel is the letter Ma. His shoulders are the
letter Shi. His mouth, the letter Va. His radiant cranial center aloft is Ya.
Thus is the five-lettered form of Siva."
 
While meditating it can be chanted as SHI VA YA NA MA without in any way
lessening the importance of the Panchakshara.
 
This five letter mantra stands in the middle of the Vedas, the shata rudriyyam
or rudra suktam. The Vedaha Samhita, hails Lord Shiva, as the Lord of the
three worlds, and salutes him as
 
  "namah: shivaya cha shivataraya cha"
 
The subtle meaning of this supreme mantra of all shaivaites is that "By
negating my ahankara ( my ego), I am realizing that everything in me is
HIS".
 
Namaha = not mine.   Shivaya = ( that which ) belongs to Shiva.
 

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RAJESH MENON
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

In the Krishna Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Samhita 4.5.8). the importance of this
Mantra is expressed thus:
 
Namastaraya namah shambhave cha mayobhave cha,
namah shankaraya cha mayaskaraya cha,
namah sivaya cha sivayataraya cha.
 
Meaning:
 
"Homage to the source of health and to the source of delight. Homage to
the maker of health and to the maker of delight. Homage to the Auspicious,
and to the more Auspicious" 
 
Please note that it is studiously avoided mentioning the omkara AUM.  Lot of
people  chant Om Namashivaya, which then becomes a shadakshara. A mantra
with six letters.  People who know the Mooladhara Mantra OM also know that
it is in itself  a Panchakshara Mantra (akara, ukara, makara, bindhu, natham).
           
BENFITS OF CHANTING THE PANCHAKSHARA MAHA MANTRA.
 
Whoever you are, whenever you have the time, whatever be the situation you
are in, recite the Panchakshara. There are no restrictions of caste, creed, colour
or any gender bias.  In effect there are no restrictions.  All it requires is sincerity
of purpose.  It is a kavacha mantra, which protects one from one's  bad
karmas.  It could also protect one from committing sins, manasa, vacha and 
karmanaha.
 
It is said that "we tend to become what we keep thinking about"  The holy
Panchakshara, if chanted properly and regularly makes you believe that Lord
Shiva,  is a Perfection  Personified and may be you would emulate him
unconciously and attain Celestial Bliss. 
 
Our Vedic Texts, stipulate that even if one does not chant any other mantra,
other than the Panchakshara Maha Mantra, then he is eligible for the immense
grace of of the Supreme Lord, who is none other than Lord Shiva.
 

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