The Narayana Suktam is a Vedic hymn that names the Supreme as Narayana and describes him as the whole universe, and also as a tiny flame in the heart. It comes from the Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Krishna Yajur Veda, in its tenth section, the part known as the Mahanarayana Upanishad, the Yajniki Upanishad or the Narayana Upanishad. It has twelve mantras in the text printed on this page, and many families add a few more lines in recitation, which are described below.
Like the Purusha Suktam, which it is often recited beside, it begins with a thousand heads and describes a cosmic person. Unlike the Purusha Suktam it does not tell of a sacrifice. It moves quickly from the whole world to the lotus-bud of the human heart, with a flame at the centre, and ends by naming that flame as Brahma, Shiva, Indra and the imperishable. Vaishnava families read it as a hymn to Vishnu, and the closing lines are also read in a wider Vedantic way, as saying that all divine names point to one reality.
Below are the twelve mantras in Devanagari, with a simple transliteration and a plain meaning. The hymn is used in Vedic recitation with its tones, which cannot be written here, and the page gives the words only, without the tone marks.
The text, transliteration and meaning
The verses are called mantras here, as in the Vedic tradition. The meanings give the sense in plain words.
Mantra 1
सहस्रशीर्षं देवं विश्वाक्षं विश्वशंभुवम् ।
विश्वं नारायणं देवमक्षरं परमं प्रभुम् ॥
Sahasrashirsham devam vishvaksham vishvashambhuvam
Vishvam narayanam devamaksharam paramam prabhum
MeaningThe god of a thousand heads, with eyes in every direction, from whom all well-being comes, who is the whole universe itself: Narayana, the imperishable, the highest lord.
Mantra 2
विश्वतः परमं नित्यं विश्वं नारायणं हरिम् ।
विश्वमेवेदं पुरुषस्तद्विश्वमुपजीवति ॥
Vishvatah paramam nityam vishvam narayanam harim
Vishvamevedam purushastadvishvamupajivati
MeaningBeyond the world, and eternal, himself the world: Narayana, Hari. This whole universe is the Purusha, the cosmic person, and the universe lives by depending on him.
Mantra 3
पतिं विश्वस्यात्मेश्वरं शाश्वतं शिवमच्युतम् ।
नारायणं महाज्ञेयं विश्वात्मानं परायणम् ॥
Patim vishvasyatmeshvaram shashvatam shivamachyutam
Narayanam mahajneyam vishvatmanam parayanam
MeaningThe lord of the universe, the ruler of every self, everlasting, auspicious and unfailing: Narayana, the great object of knowledge, the self of all, the final refuge.
Mantra 4
नारायणः परं ब्रह्म तत्त्वं नारायणः परः ।
नारायणः परो ज्योतिरात्मा नारायणः परः ॥
Narayanah param brahma tattvam narayanah parah
Narayanah paro jyotiratma narayanah parah
MeaningNarayana is the highest Brahman and the highest reality. Narayana is the highest light, and the highest self.
Mantra 5
यच्च किञ्चिज्जगत्सर्वं दृश्यते श्रूयतेऽपि वा ।
अन्तर्बहिश्च तत्सर्वं व्याप्य नारायणः स्थितः ॥
Yachcha kinchijjagatsarvam drishyate shruyate'pi va
Antarbahishcha tatsarvam vyapya narayanah sthitah
MeaningWhatever in the world is seen or heard, all of it, inside and outside, Narayana stands pervading.
Mantra 6
अनन्तमव्ययं कविं समुद्रेऽन्तं विश्वशंभुवम् ।
पद्मकोशप्रतीकाशं हृदयं चाप्यधोमुखम् ॥
Anantamavyayam kavim samudre'ntam vishvashambhuvam
Padmakoshapratikasham hridayam chapyadhomukham
MeaningThe endless, the unchanging, the wise one, the end of the ocean of worldly life, the source of all well-being, is to be meditated on in the heart, which is like a lotus bud and hangs with its face downward.
Mantra 7
अधो निष्ट्या वितस्त्यान्ते नाभ्यामुपरि तिष्ठति ।
हृदयं तद्विजानीयाद्विश्वस्यायतनं महत् ॥
Adho nishtya vitastyante nabhyamupari tishthati
Hridayam tadvijaniyadvishvasyayatanam mahat
MeaningThe heart lies a span below the neck and above the navel. Know it as the great dwelling of the universe.
Mantra 8
सन्ततं शिराभिस्तु लम्बत्याकोशसन्निभम् ।
तस्यान्ते सुषिरं सूक्ष्मं तस्मिन्सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
Santatam shirabhistu lambatyakoshasannibham
Tasyante sushiram sukshmam tasminsarvam pratishthitam
MeaningJoined all round by the channels of the body, it hangs like a lotus bud. At its end is a fine, subtle opening, and in that opening everything rests.
Mantra 9
तस्य मध्ये महानग्निर्विश्वार्चिर्विश्वतोमुखः ।
सोऽग्रभुग्विभजन्तिष्ठन्नाहारमजरः कविः ॥
Tasya madhye mahanagnirvishvarchirvishvatomukhah
So'grabhugvibhajantishthannaharamajarah kavih
MeaningIn the middle of it is a great fire, its flames in every direction and its face turned to all sides. It is the first to eat, shares out the food in the body as it stands there, unageing and wise.
Mantra 10
सन्तापयति स्वं देहमापादतलमस्तकम् ।
तस्य मध्ये वह्निशिखा अणीयोर्ध्वा व्यवस्थिता ॥
Santapayati svam dehamapadatalamastakam
Tasya madhye vahnishikha aniyordhva vyavasthita
MeaningIt warms its own body from the soles of the feet to the top of the head. In the middle of that fire stands a flame, finer than the finest, pointing upward.
Mantra 11
नीलतोयदमध्यस्था विद्युल्लेखेव भास्वरा ।
नीवारशूकवत्तन्वी पीता भास्वत्यणूपमा ॥
Nilatoyadamadhyastha vidyullekheva bhasvara
Nivarashukavattanvi pita bhasvatyanupama
MeaningIt is bright like a streak of lightning in the middle of a dark rain cloud, slender as the awn of a grain of wild rice, yellow, shining and as small as an atom.
Mantra 12
तस्याः शिखाया मध्ये परमात्मा व्यवस्थितः ।
स ब्रह्मा स शिवः सेन्द्रः सोऽक्षरः परमः स्वराट् ॥
Tasyah shikhaya madhye paramatma vyavasthitah
Sa brahma sa shivah sendrah so'ksharah paramah svarat
MeaningIn the middle of that flame stands the Supreme Self. He is Brahma, he is Shiva, he is Indra, he is the imperishable, the highest, the self-ruling one.
Text: the Taittiriya Aranyaka with the commentary of Sayana (Anandashrama Sanskrit Series, Pune, 1898), tenth prapathaka, eleventh anuvaka, read from the page images; checked against Sanskrit Wikisource, Mahanarayana Upanishad. Transliteration is simplified; the Vedic tone marks are not shown; meanings are our own.
Where the readings differ
The twelve mantras above follow the printed Anandashrama edition, which gives the text of one recension. Most recitation today follows a slightly longer text, and the differences are these:
- Mantra 4: the print has two lines. Recitation usually adds a third line, narayanah paro dhyata dhyanam narayanah parah (“Narayana is the highest meditator and the highest meditation”). The print’s editor records that one of his manuscripts has it.
- Mantra 5: the print has jagat sarvam (“the whole world”) and the editor’s note records the reading jagatyasmin (“in this world”) from a manuscript, which is the one most people recite.
- Mantra 8: the printed word is a misprint, shilabhih (“by stones”), for shirabhih (“by the channels”). The print’s own commentary explains the word as the channels, and the manuscripts and the Wikisource text read shirabhih or sirabhih. We give shirabhih.
- Mantra 9: the editor’s note records an extra line in one manuscript, tiryagurdhvamadhahshayi rashmayastasya santatah (“its rays spread across, upward and downward”), which recitation usually includes, as a line of mantra 10.
- Mantra 12: the print reads sa brahma sa shivah sendrah. Recitation usually reads sa brahma sa shivah sa harih sendrah, adding Hari. The editor records this as a manuscript reading too.
- The printed edition numbers the hymn as the eleventh anuvaka of the tenth prapathaka, while the other recension, which the Wikisource text follows, places it as the thirteenth anuvaka. Numbers differ for the same reason between the two recensions of this Aranyaka.
If you recite with a teacher, follow the teacher’s text. The words above are the printed reading and are accurate to that edition.
When and how it is traditionally recited
The Narayana Suktam is recited by Vaishnava families and in many temples, often together with the Purusha Suktam, during abhishekam (ritual bathing of the deity), in homas, and as part of daily morning worship in some households. It is also part of the Vedic recitation of the Mahanarayana Upanishad, which has its own tone-marked version learnt from a teacher. People recite it at any time of day. It is often chosen for Vishnu festivals and on Ekadashi. These are customs, and the hymn itself lays down no rule of day, count or posture.
It takes about three minutes to recite at an even pace. Readers who cannot yet say the Sanskrit often read the meanings first, then follow a recording by a Vedic reciter.
What the hymn says and what the tradition says it is for
The hymn describes one reality at three scales. In mantras 1 to 5 it is the whole universe and the Supreme above it, named Narayana again and again. In mantras 6 to 8 it is found in the human heart, in the space like a lotus bud. In mantras 9 to 12 it is a fire, then a flame, then a golden point inside that flame, and that point is named as Brahma, Shiva and Indra. The meditation moves from the largest scale to the smallest and arrives at the same One.
Devotees take it as a meditation on the heart as the place where the Lord is found. In the Vaishnava reading, Narayana is the single supreme being. Other readers take the last verse to say that the gods are names of one reality. The hymn makes no promise of any result in health, wealth or luck, and nothing in it replaces medical, legal or financial advice. The commentator Sayana, whose work is printed with the text in the 1898 edition, treats it as a meditation on the Supreme Self.
Pronunciation notes
The hymn is a Vedic text and is chanted with three tones, which a teacher gives by ear. For an everyday reading, say the words evenly. The sh in shirabhih and shiva is the sh of “shoe”, and ri is a light rolled r. The h after a vowel at the end of a line, as in parah, is a light breath followed by an echo of the vowel. The m before a pause is a soft hum.
How the text on this page is sourced
The Devanagari follows an old printed edition: the Krishna Yajurvediya Taittiriya Aranyaka with the commentary of Sayana, in the Anandashrama Sanskrit Series (Pune, 1898), tenth prapathaka, eleventh anuvaka (archive.org item in.ernet.dli.2015.486959, scan pages 731 to 735), read from the page images, since the machine-read text of this print is poor. The text was compared with Sanskrit Wikisource’s Mahanarayana Upanishad, a typed text of the other recension, and the differences are listed above. Vedic tone marks are omitted. The author of the hymn is not known, as is usual for Vedic texts. The meanings are our own.
Related mantras and pages
- Purusha Suktam: the Rigveda hymn of the cosmic person
- Durga Suktam: the neighbouring hymn in the same Aranyaka
- Vishnu Sahasranama: the thousand names of Vishnu
- Shri Suktam: the Vedic hymn to Lakshmi
- Venkateshwara Suprabhatam: the dawn hymn to Venkateshwara
- Gayatri Mantra: the best known mantra of the Vedas
- Upanishads: the texts on this site
- Ekadashi: the fortnightly Vishnu fast
- All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is the Narayana Suktam?
It is a Vedic hymn of twelve mantras in the printed edition, from the Taittiriya Aranyaka. It praises Narayana as the Supreme Self within and beyond the universe, and is often recited with the Purusha Suktam.
↳ Where does the Narayana Suktam come from?
It is in the tenth section of the Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Krishna Yajur Veda, the part called the Mahanarayana Upanishad or the Yajniki Upanishad. It is a Vedic text and no human author is named.
↳ Why do different books give different lengths?
Two recensions of the Aranyaka exist, and the manuscripts differ by a line or two. The printed edition used here is shorter than the text most people recite, and the page lists the added lines.
↳ Is it only for Vaishnavas?
The hymn is mainly used by Vaishnava families, who read it as praise of Vishnu. Its last line also names Brahma, Shiva and Indra, and some readers take it as speaking of one reality under many names. Both readings are traditional.
↳ How long does it take to recite?
About three minutes at an even pace. For the tone-marked Vedic recitation, learn from a teacher or follow a recording by a Vedic reciter.