Manjushri mantra
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Om A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhih
With a diacritic font installed the mantra is transliterated thus:
Oṃ A Ra Pa Ca Na Dhīḥ
Manjushri is a Bodhisattva who represents wisdom, and his mantra also symbolizes that quality. He holds a sword in his right hand — symbolizing his ability to cut through delusion. In his left hand, by his heart, he holds a book — the Perfection of Wisdom teaching, or Prajnaparamita.
Om is a mystical syllable (see Om Shanti Shanti Shanti for more details).
The syllables between Om and the concluding Dhiih are the first syllables of a syllabary called the arapacana because it begins with A RA PA CA and NA. (A syllabary is like an alphabet, but made up of syllables). This syllabary is found in a number of Buddhist texts, including some Perfection of Wisdom (prajñaparamita) texts. Many of the texts in which A RA PA CA NA (and the rest of the sylllabary) appears are not connected with Manjushri, but according to Dr. Conze (in the introduction to The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom) “in later literature is is always connected with the Bodhisattva Manjushri.”
The individual syllables A RA PA CA and NA have no conceptual meaning, although they are seen as having symbolic connections with various spiritual qualities.
Here’s the schema laid out in the Large Sutra of Perfect Wisdom (adapted from Conze):
A leads to the insight that the essence of all things is unproduced.
RA leads to the insight that all things are pure and free of defilements.
PA leads to the insight that all dharmas have been “expounded in the ultimate sense.”
CA leads to the insight that the arising and ceasing of things cannot be apprehended because in reality there is no arising or ceasing.
NA leads to the insight that although the names for things change the nature of things behind their names cannot be gained or lost.
These are all important concepts in the Perfection of Wisdom, although to say they are concepts is a bit limiting — really they’re attempts to describe the indescribable nature of reality.
Dhiih is defined as meaning:
thought , (especially) religious thought , reflection , meditation , devotion , prayer; understanding , intelligence , wisdom
There’s more material on Manjushri below. See the links below the pronunciation guide for other pages.
Click here for the chant in RealAudio.
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Pronunciation notes:
- a is pronounced as u in cut
- c is like ch in church
- ii is like ee in bee
- The final h in dhiih has the effect of producing an echo sound. So the syllable is pronounced dhii-hii.
Comments
Comment from Jayarava
Time: December 14, 2007, 10:52 am
Funny. I see this mantra as more packed with conceptual meaning than any other. The letters may be associated with the Avatamsaka Sutra, but the I think the locus Classicus is the Large Perfection of Wisdom Sutra where each letter of the Gandhari alphabet (which is in the order a ra pa ca na etc) is associated with a quality of emptiness - a = anutpana, ra = rajas, pa = paramartha etc. The mantra includes the first five of these 44 letters. The alphabet in the LPWS is clearly intended as a series of meditative reflections on emptiness.
There are earlier versions - especially from the Bajaur collection of texts dug up in Swat in 1999 dating from the 1st century CE, but also in the Lalitavistara Sutra (where two versions exist, one using the Sanskrit alphabet, and one using the more familiar Gandhari). Going forward in time the alphabet does occur in the Gandhavyuha (a chapter of the Avatamsaka) but the letters are not linked to a concept starting with that letter anymore. The main line of development seems to be into the Mahavairocana Tantra where it features a number of times. In the Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha Tantra it is reduced to the letter a - probably the Sutra in one letter derives from this. Versions appear in the Hevajra Tantra as well although the focus is very different. The first line of the verse from the Large Perfection of Wisdom Sutra has been encapsulated in seed syllables and become a mantra in its own right.
Om does leave the intellect hanging, but dhii.h is the nominative form of the dhii which means wise, visionary, intelligent etc.
Comment from Bodhipaksa
Time: December 14, 2007, 7:52 pm
Welcome, Jayarava! For those who don’t know, Jayarava is an expert on mantras who runs an amazing site called Visible Mantra. I’ve been planning for ages to link each of the articles here to his site.
Anyway I meant by “no conceptual meaning” was just that you can’t read the mantra as a sentence. Sohcahtoa, for example, doesn’t have a conceptual meaning in itself, but it does help to encode the main trigonometric functions. A Ra Pa Ca Na, from what you say, seems to work in a similar, acrostic-like manner, which is very interesting. I didn’t know about that, and I’m grateful for your injection of expertise. I’ve amended the article a little to take account of your comments.
Svaha, dude!
Comment from Arpad Joo
Time: December 15, 2007, 11:15 am
On Dhih….
This seed sound is supremely important in traditional Indian(Vedic/Tantric) astrology, or Jyotish as well as in Vajrayana. The very first appearance of Dhih is in the Rg Veda, in the well know Gayatri Mantra…
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhi- mahi
DHI you yo nah Prachodayat!
Dhi here is intelligence, intellect,vision,drishti etc.
In Vedic Astrology there are 4 DHI-s:
BuDHI (the first house)-Intelligence
Shud-DHI (4th house)- Purification of the mind
Vrid-DHI (7th house)- Increase
Sid-DHI (10th house)- Accomplishment, Siddhi. These 4 houses are collatively known as “Vishnu shtana”, the seat of Vishnu (That which preserves, sustains)
DHI therefore is very important since early vedic times. However, in Tibetan Vajrayana it receives an added emphasis. Many Tibetan yogis meditate and even recite this seed Sound for months at a time.It is said to confer good memory, wisdom, intelligence, power of study and concentration and intellectual brilliance.The exact method (complete with breathing excercises) must be learned from a competent Guru.
Comment from Alistair (Jamyang Gyaltsen)
Time: February 25, 2008, 5:08 am
Thank you for this. I am a practising tibetan Buddhist with the Dechen School and I was given the spiritual name of ‘Banner of Manjushri’ on my taking refuge.
I really needed to know exactly how the Manushri mantra sounded as I need to build a spiritual bridge to draw me out of negative mental effluvia.
Regards, Alistair: http://www.alistairiwcampbell.com
Comment from manjukumar
Time: August 8, 2008, 3:05 am
I am practing of manjushri sadhana last 2 years. right now i am happy with this sadhana.
i get more energy from manjushri. i want more experience of manjushri
regards
manjukumar
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