Bījamantra

Bījamantra

Bījamantra

Monosyllabic mantras in Hinduism and Tantra

A bījamantra (Sanskrit: बीजमन्त्र, romanized: bījamantra, lit. 'seed-mantra', 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:

More information Devanagari, Transliteration ...

Other notable bījamantras include

More information Devanagari, Transliteration ...

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]

More information Sanskrit (IAST), Meaning / use ...

References

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