Bījamantra Explained

A bījamantra (in modern schwa-deleted Indo-Aryan languages: beej mantra),[1] 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.[2] [3]

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.[4] 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.[5] These mantras are also associated with the chakras of the body.[6]

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".[7]

Hindu bījamantras

A few of the major bījamantras in Hinduism include:

Devanagari Transliteration Deity
औं auṃ Parabrahma
श्रीं śrīṃ Lakshmi
ल्क्ष्मीः lakṣmīḥMahalakshmi
त्व्म्श्रीः MahasaraswatiMahasaraswati
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

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 Agniतं taṃ (tum) Apas Tattva
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:[8] [9] [10] [11]

!Sanskrit (IAST)!Meaning / use!Deity
AThe unborn, emptiness, DharmakayaMahāvairocana, or other Adi-Buddha figures
āḥfound in oṃ āḥ hūṃAmoghasiddhi, Karma Buddha Family
aṃSamantabhadra bodhisattva
bhaiBhaiṣajyaguru
bhaḥShakyamuni
dhīḥPrajñāpāramita, from the Vedic word meaning to think, or meditateMañjusri, Prajñaparamita Devi
hrīḥCompassionAmitabha, Avalokiteshvara, Lotus Family
haEarthKṣitigarbha bodhisattva
hūṃUsually 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
maiṃMaitreya, Vajra family
maṃMañjusri
oṃUsually 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)
tāṃTara
traṃRatnasambhava, Jewel Buddha Family
trāḥĀkāśa (Space)Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva
phaṭwrathful / subjugation of demons / forceful shout
vaṃ,for vac, the voice of the BuddhaMahāvairocana (in the Vajradhatu mandala)
vithe water element
ra, raṃfire element (e.g. in the a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ mantra)
khaṃthe space element
hāṃAcala (Fudo-Myoo)

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jacobsen . Knut A. . Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions: Forms, Practices and Meanings . Aktor . Mikael . Myrvold . Kristina . 2014-08-27 . Routledge . 978-1-317-67595-2 . 74 . en.
  2. Book: Long, Jeffery D. . Historical Dictionary of Hinduism . 2011-09-09 . Scarecrow Press . 978-0-8108-7960-7 . 64 . en.
  3. Book: Klostermaier, Klaus K. . A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism . 2014-10-01 . Simon and Schuster . 978-1-78074-672-2 . 43 . en.
  4. Book: Stutley, Margaret . The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography . 2019-04-09 . Routledge . 978-0-429-62425-4 . 92 . en.
  5. Book: Goa, Harold G. Coward And David J. . Mantra: 'Hearing the Divine In India and America . 2008 . Motilal Banarsidass Publishers . 978-81-208-3261-9 . 47 . en.
  6. Book: Feuerstein, Georg . The Encyclopedia of Yoga and Tantra . 2022-08-16 . Shambhala Publications . 978-0-8348-4440-7 . 154 . en.
  7. Book: Farias . Miguel . The Oxford Handbook of Meditation . Brazier . David . Lalljee . Mansur . 2021 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-880864-0 . 795 . en.
  8. Jayarava (2011). Visible Mantra: Visualising & Writing Buddhist Mantras
  9. Web site: Shingon Buddhist International Institute . Jusan Butsu – The Thirteen Buddhas of the Shingon School . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130401193122/http://www.shingon.org/deities/jusanbutsu/jusanbutsu.html . 1 April 2013 . 5 July 2007.
  10. Web site: Thirteen Deities Of The Shingon Tradition Giclee Print by Pasang Lama . 2023-10-18 . www.tibetanart.com.
  11. Hutchins, Steven J (2015). Thirteen Buddhas: Tracing the Roots of the Thirteen Buddha Rites, Introduction. Vivlia Limited