Om Namah Shivaya (Devanagari: ; IAST: Oá¹ Namaḥ à ÂivÃÂya) is one of the most popular Hindu mantras and the most important mantra in Shaivism. Namah Shivaya means "O salutations to the auspicious one!", or "adoration to Lord Shiva". It is called Siva Panchakshara, or Shiva Panchakshara or simply Panchakshara meaning the "five-syllable" mantra (viz., excluding the Om) and is dedicated to Shiva. This Mantra appears as 'Na' 'Ma' 'à Âi' 'VÃÂ' and 'Ya' in the Shri Rudram Chamakam which is a part of the Krishna Yajurveda and also in the Rudrashtadhyayi which is a part of the Shukla Yajurveda.
The five-syllabled mantra (excluding the Oá¹Â) may be chanted by all persons including à Âà «dras and cÃÂá¹Âá¸Âalas; however the six-syllabled mantra (with Oá¹ included) may only be spoken by dvijas.
The mantra without the initial Om was originally a verse in the eighth hymn of the Namakam section of the Shri Rudram, (TS 4.5.8.1) itself taken from the Taittirëya Samhita, a recension of the Black Yajurveda. It appears as, Namaḥ à ÂivÃÂya ca à ÂivatarÃÂya ca (Sanskrit: ). The English translation of the mantra is, "Salutation to the auspicious one and to the more auspicious".
This mantra also appears in the Rudrashtadhyayi, a part of the Shukla Yajurveda. In the Rudrashtadhyayi, it appears in the 5th chapter (also known as Namakam) verse 41.
In Siddha Shaivism and Shaiva Siddhanta Shaivism traditions, Namah Shivaya is considered as Pancha Bodha Tatva of Lord Shiva and his universal oneness of five elements:
Its total meaning is that "universal consciousness is one".
In Shaiva Siddhanta, the five letters also represent:
The Tirumantiram (a scripture in Shaiva Siddhanta) announces that "His feet are the letter Na. His navel is the letter Ma. His shoulders are the letter à Âi. His mouth, the letter VÃÂ. His radiant cranial center aloft is Ya. Thus is the five-lettered form of Shiva.": Tirumantiram 941. TM