ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Frequently asked questions about Dwadasakshari Mantra
What does Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya mean?
Salutations to Bhagavan Vasudeva - Krishna as the son of Vasudeva and the indwelling reality of all. Twelve syllables, which is what dwadasakshari means, and it is the mula mantra of Vishnu worship in much of the tradition.
Which story is attached to it?
The Bhagavata's account of the child Dhruva, given this mantra by Narada and sent to the forest with it. It is cited whenever the tradition wants to say that the mantra works for a determined beginner with no qualification but resolve.
When and how often is it chanted?
Thursdays and Ekadashis particularly, and daily by Vaishnava households - a mala of a hundred and eight, morning after a bath, before a tulsi plant or the altar. Many recite it during the Chaturmas and Kartik months in a larger count.
How is it different from the Ashtakshari?
Both are Vishnu mula mantras. This twelve-syllable form addresses Vasudeva-Krishna; the eight-syllable Om Namo Narayanaya addresses Narayana and is the one Sri Vaishnavas receive at diksha. Either is complete on its own.
Is tulsi needed for it?
Not for the chanting, but a tulsi plant or leaf is the standard companion to any Vishnu worship, and no bhog is considered offered to him without it. The Vishnu puja vidhi covers the arrangement.
About the Dwadasakshari Mantra - Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
The Dwadasakshari Mantra - "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya", the twelve-syllable mula mantra of Lord Vishnu / Krishna.
Meaning
A salutation to Bhagavan Vasudeva (Krishna, the indwelling Lord, son of Vasudeva) - "I bow to the all-pervading Supreme Lord Vasudeva."
Benefits
Chanted for devotion, surrender, protection and liberation; a complete Vishnu mantra suitable for japa and the worship of Vishnu, Krishna and Vasudeva.
Word by Word Meaning
Om - the Pranava. Namo - salutation. Bhagavate - to the Bhagavan, the Lord possessed of the six full glories: sovereignty, righteousness, fame, prosperity, wisdom and dispassion. Vasudevaya - to Vasudeva: the son of Vasudeva (Krishna), and by the deeper reading "he who dwells (vasati) in all beings and in whom all beings dwell." Counted syllable by syllable - om-na-mo-bha-ga-va-te-va-su-de-va-ya - the mantra has twelve syllables, hence Dwadasakshari, "the twelve-lettered."
This is the mantra the child-sage Dhruva received from Narada in the Bhagavata Purana, and by which he attained the Lord's vision - it is honoured as a complete initiation mantra of the Vaishnava tradition.
How to Chant
Chant 108 repetitions on a tulsi mala after the morning bath, facing east, before an image or shalagrama of Vishnu or Krishna if you keep one. Thursdays and Ekadashi days are especially favoured - the Ekadashi Calendar lists them all for the year - as are Janmashtami and the month of Margashirsha. The mantra suits soft (upamshu) or mental (manasika) japa; many devotees also write it daily in a likhita-japa notebook.
Who Chants It, and When
Because Dhruva received it as a five-year-old, tradition holds this mantra open to everyone, with or without formal initiation - though receiving it from a guru is considered to quicken its fruit. It is chanted for devotion and protection, at the start of undertakings, during fasts of Vishnu, and as a lifetime daily mantra by those whose chosen deity is Krishna or Vishnu.
The Bhagavata's telling of Dhruva's story carries the mantra's promise: a five-year-old, wounded by a stepmother's words, walked into the forest with nothing but these twelve syllables - and within six months the Lord of the universe stood before him. The tradition reads the story as a teaching about the mantra itself: what it asks for is not skill in Sanskrit but Dhruva's quality of single-pointed resolve (dhruva means "the fixed one," the pole star he became).
The mantra also opens the Bhagavata Purana itself - its very first words after the invocation are "om namo bhagavate vasudevaya" - so reciters of the Bhagavata begin every reading with it, and many families keep it as the grace said before Srimad Bhagavata katha in the home.
The Dwadasakshari Mantra - Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya above is given in both Devanagari (Sanskrit) and Roman transliteration so you can read it in whichever script you are comfortable with - switch between the two using the buttons above, share the link, or download a PDF.
A mantra is a compact formula for japa, not a long hymn. Forty-verse hymns live under Chalisa; lamp-songs under Aarti; longer stotras under Stotram. Browse every formula on the Mantra index. Count repetitions with the online japa mala counter.
