Namo Arihantanam

The opening line of the Navkar mantra — the most important prayer in Jainism — and the part most often repeated on its own.

What it says

Ṇamo is the bow; arihantāṇaṁ is the plural genitive of arihanta, one who has conquered the inner enemies. I bow to the arihantas.

The language is Prakrit — specifically Ardhamagadhi — not Sanskrit and not Hindi, though it is written in Devanagari. That is why the endings look unfamiliar if you know Sanskrit: ṇamo rather than namo, -āṇaṁ rather than -ānām.

The full Navkar

The whole mantra is five lines, bowing in turn to the arihantas, the siddhas, the acharyas, the upadhyayas, and all sadhus. It bows to qualities rather than to any named individual — which is why Jains describe it as addressed to no god and to no person.

Recited in full it does not fit a bead, which is why the opening line is what most people count.

How it is counted

On a mala of 108, one repetition per bead. Some count the full five lines per bead instead, which makes a mala considerably longer. Both are practised.

Counting it here

Root Jaap offers the opening line rather than the title of the composition, so what appears on screen is something you can actually repeat. It counts offline and keeps nothing about you.

Opens the counter with this mantra chosen. No account, works offline.