Om Aim Saraswatyai Namah
The mantra addressed to Saraswati, built on the bija aiṁ.
- Written
- oṁ aiṁ sarasvatyai namaḥ
- Said
- om aim sa-ras-VAT-yai na-mah
Aiṁ rhymes with time. The v in sarasvatyai sits between English v and w — which is why the name is written both Saraswati and Sarasvati. Pronunciation varies by region and lineage; this is one careful rendering, not the only correct one.
What it says
Aiṁ is the seed syllable associated with Saraswati and with speech. Sarasvatyai is the dative of Sarasvatī; namaḥ is the bow. Oṁ, aiṁ, I bow to Saraswati.
When it is chanted
Most visibly at Vasant Panchami, which marks her festival and is when instruments, books and tools are set before her rather than used. It is also chanted by students, musicians and writers as a daily practice, and in some households a child's first letters are written on that day.
How it is counted
One repetition per bead, 108 to a mala. Practitioners who keep it daily often do so in the morning, before work rather than after.
Saraswati is one of the three goddesses commonly invoked together — with Lakshmi and Durga — and some count all three in sequence, a mala each.
Counting it here
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