Sri Surya Namaskar Mantra

The Sri Surya Namaskar Mantra is a short liturgical text in three parts: a meditation verse, twelve salutation mantras and a two-line phala shruti. It is the text many people chant while doing the Surya Namaskar sequence at sunrise, giving one name of the Sun to each round.

The meditation verse

The dhyana verse opens Dhyeyah sada savitru mandala madhyavarti Narayanah: Narayana, seated on a lotus in the middle of the solar orb, is always to be meditated upon. He wears armlets, makara earrings and a crown, has a body of gold and holds the conch and discus. The Sun here is treated as the seat of Vishnu, which is why the closing salutation calls him Surya Narayana.

The twelve names

Each mantra is built the same way: Om, a bija syllable, a name, and namah. The list runs from Om hraam Mitraya namah to Om hrah Bhaskaraya namah. Mitra is the friend of all, Ravi the shining one, Khaga the one who moves through the sky, Pusha the nourisher, Marichi the lord of rays, Savitr the one who sets the world in motion. The six bijas cycle twice across the twelve names, and the last line joins all six before saluting Sri Savitr Surya Narayana.

The closing verse

Adityasya namaskaran ye kurvanti dine dine. For those who salute Aditya every day, the verse says, long life, intelligence, strength, vigour and brilliance arise. Sunday mornings and Ratha Saptami are the days when people commonly do extended rounds.