If you've ever been to a yoga class at one of the Sivananda Ashrams or Centers around the world you probably remember the opening and closing prayers that the teachers chant at the start and at the end of each yoga class.
I have tried to find these Sanskrit prayers' texts or lyrics online without success. So I decided to write them down and include them here for anybody interested in learning them.
It doesn't matter which yoga tradition or lineage you follow, you can use any of these mantras to start or end a yoga class, or during your own yoga practice.
The Sivananda Yoga opening prayer, the Dhyāna Ślokas, is very specific to that tradition, and it's a bit long in my opinion. So I have also included a shorter Sanskrit prayer (sahanaa bhavatu...) that is commonly chanted at the beginning of every yoga class.
To help you with the Sanskrit pronunciation I have additionally included some YouTube videos with the recording of these prayers. And further down below, you'll find two PDF documents with the texts in the Devanāgarī script and with more detailed translations.
Sivananda Yoga Opening Prayer –– Dhyāna Ślokas (Gajānanam)
In the Sivananda Yoga tradition, at the beginning of every yoga class, lecture or personal sadhana the practitioner chants the Dhyāna Ślokas (gajānanam bhūta gaṇādhi sevitam...).
The purpose is to help us tune with the Divine within and to overcome the ego which can become an obstacle during our practices.
According to the Sivananda Ashram Prayer Sheets that I received during my yoga TTC:
“The Dhyāna Ślokas helps to tune the mind to the Divine in its different aspects. It makes us feel like instruments and helps to remove the tamasic-rajasic ego. Divine guidance is necessary for any sadhana to be successful.
First, we invoke Ganesha to remove all obstacles, then Subramanya to give us strength and destroy all negative forces, inside and outside. Next is Saraswati to give us Divine Knowledge. Then we ask the teacher (guru) to guide us always. We invoke the Divine Mother Durga, Narayani to bring auspiciousness for all our undertakings.”
Mantra in Sanskrit | English Translation |
gajānanam bhūtagaṇādi sevitam kapittha jambū phala sāra bhakśitam umā sutam śokavināsha kāraṇam namāmi vighneśvara pāda paṅkajam | I prostrate myself before the lotus feet of Vigneshvara (Ganesha), the son of Uma, the cause of destruction of sorrow, who is served by the host of Bhuta-Ganas (angels etc), who has the face of an elephant, who partakes of the essence of kapittha and jambu fruits. |
ṣaḍānanam kuṇkuma raktavarṇam mahāmatim divya mayūra vāhanam rudrasya sūnam surasainya nātham guham sadāham śaraṇam prapadye | I always take refuge in Guha of six faces (Subramanya), who is of deep red colour like kumkuma, who possesses great knowledge, who has the divine peacock to ride on, who is the son of Rudra (Siva), and who is the leader of the army of the Devas (gods, angels). |
yā kundendu tuṣhāra hāra dhavalā yā śubhra vastrāvritā yā vīṇā varadaṇḍa maṇḍita karā yā śveta padmāsanā yā brahmāchyuta śaṅkara prabhritibhiḥ devais sadā pūjitā sā mām pātu sarasvatī bhagavatī niśeṣa jāḍyāpahā | May that Goddess Saraswati, who wears a garland white like the Kunda flower, the moon and the snow, who is adorned with pure white clothes, whose hands are ornamented with the Vina and the gesture of blessings, who is seated on a white Lotus, who is always worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu, Siva and other Gods, who is the remover of all inertness and laziness, protect me. |
om namaḥ śivāya gurave sat-chid-ānanda mūrtaye niṣprapañchāya śāntāya śrī śivānandāya te namaḥ śrī viṣṇu devānandāya te namaḥ | Salutations to Guru Siva (Sivananda) who is the embodiment of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, in whom worldliness does not exist, who is ever peaceful. Salutations to Sivananda, Salutations to Swami Vishnu Devananada. |
om sarva mangala māngalye śive sarvārtha sādhike śaraṇye tryambake gauri nārāyaṇi namostute nārāyaṇi namostute | I salute the three-eyed Divine Mother Narayani, who brings auspiciousness and who fulfills all the desires of the Devotee (both spiritual and material). |
In this easy-to-follow video, my friend Lakshya, a yoga, Vedanta, and Sanskrit teacher residing in India and Dubai, teaches us the correct pronunciation of the whole Dhyana Slokas.
Alternative Yoga Starting Prayer (Sahanaa Vavatu...)
This is one of the peace mantras, a very popular starting prayer chanted at the beginning of every yoga class or lecture. Its purpose is to remove any obstacles between the students and the teacher.
Mantra in Sanskrit | English Translation |
---|---|
om sahanā vavatu sahanau bhunaktu saha vīryam karavā vahai tejasvi nā vadhī tamastu mā vidviṣā vahai om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ | May we (the teacher and the student) be protected together, May we (the teacher and the student) be nourished together, May we both work together with great energy, May our study be enlightening and not give rise to hostility. Om Peace, Peace, Peace. |
In the first twenty seconds of the video below, you can hear the recitation of this Shanti mantra by Swami Paramatmananda. I recorded this video while I was following a Vedanta course at the Swami Dayananda Ashram in Rishikesh, India.
Sivananda Yoga Class Closing Prayer
The closing or ending prayer at the Sivananda ashram starts with the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya Mantra (Om Tryambakam...) and then continues with a selection of different Shanti mantras or peace mantras.
“The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra is a life giving mantra. It helps to wards off death and accidents of all kinds and therefore it is recommended to be repeated before any travel. It has a great curative effect on diseases. It is also a Moksha-Mantra and bestwos liberation. It is a Siva mantra. It should be repeated 3, 9, 27 or 108 times, specially on your birthday. This will bestow on you health, long life, liberation and prosperity.” Sivananda Ashram Prayer Sheet
You can read more about the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra and about my experience when I heard it for the first time in "Mantra Chanting for Health, Wealth and More."
You don't need to chant all these mantras at once. You can choose any of the peace mantras to chant independently at the end of your yoga class or personal yoga practice.
You normally start by chanting “om” and then end by chanting “oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ” after whatever peace mantra you've chosen.
I usually chant Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ... at the end of my yoga classes. I also like to recite, right after, the English translation for my students.
Mantra in Sanskrit | English Translation |
om tryambakam yajāmahe sugandhim puṣtivardhanam urvārukamiva bandhanān mrityor mukśīya māmritāt | Om - We Offer worship to the fragant, three-eyed Lord Siva who enhances prosperity. May he liberate us from the bondage of death, like the water melon (which effortlessly separates from the vine); let Him not turn us away from immortality |
om sarveṣām svastir bhavatu sarveṣām śantir bhavatu sarveṣām purṇam bhavatu sarveṣām mangalam bhavatu | Om - May auspiciousness be unto all. May peace be unto all. May fullness be unto all. May prosperity be unto all. |
sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaśchid-duḥkhabhāg-bhavet | May all be happy. May all be free from diseases. May all look to the good of others. May none suffer from sorrow. |
asato mā sat gamaya tamaso mā jyotir gamaya mrityor māmritam gamaya | Lead me from the unreal to the real. From darkness to light From mortality to immortality. |
Oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate | Om - That is whole. This is whole. From the whole the whole becomes manifest. From the whole when the whole is negated what remains is again the whole. |
oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ | Om Peace, Peace, Peace |
In this video, you can learn the pronunciation of the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra by a Sivananda Yoga teacher.
My friend Lakshya has also another video teaching the correct pronunciation of the third mantra, "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ..." that can be chanted independently at the end of a yoga class.
Sivananda Yoga Opening and Closing Prayers: Free PDF Download
Additionally, I'm also sharing here a free pdf document that includes the prayers in Sanskrit using Devanagari characters, the Roman transliteration, and the English translation.
I'm sure this will be very useful for both, yoga teachers and yoga students.
If you do find this helpful then you can show your support by subscribing to my newsletter here so that you can follow me on my yoga journey. Once you subscribe you'll be able to download my free meditation e-book.
Closing mantras word-for-word translation PDF download
Update 2024: I thought it would be a good idea to go even further, using what I've learned of Sanskrit to provide an additional word-for-word Sanskrit-to-English translation of the closing prayers.
Yeah, that's right. I've been studying Sanskrit for the last three years or so, mainly on my own. In March 2023, I finished Part I of Thomas Egenes' Introduction to Sanskrit book, and at the end of June 2024, a bit more than a year later, I finished Part II! Yeah, I'm really proud of that.
I never feel satisfied with just reading a translation of an entire mantra. I always want to know clearly how the translator reached a specific translation. So, if you are anything like me I think you'll find this document very useful.
This new PDF includes the mantras in Sanskrit using the Devanāgarī script, the Roman transliteration, a word-for-word Sanskrit-to-English translation with a grammar description of each word, and the English translation. It even includes brief explanatory footnotes.
The mantras included are the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra (tryambakam), Sarveṣām Svastirbhavatu..., Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaḥ, Asato Mā Sadgamaya..., and Purṇamadaḥ Purṇamidam...
The PDF is available for download right here on my Patreon.
If you become one of my Patreon members, you'll be supporting me to create more translations like this one, and of course, you'll get access to all my previous Patreon content such as my meditation scripts and Zoom yoga classes.
If you have any doubts about the translations, you can leave a comment on the post on Patreon. And if you are proficient in Sanskrit and want to suggest a correction, please feel free to do so as well.
If you would like to learn Sanskrit on your own I suggest you read “How to Get Started with Sanskrit (a Blueprint).”
Opening and closing mantras used in Ashtanga yoga
I hope you've found this blog useful for learning the Sivananda Yoga opening and closing prayers, with the correct Sanskrit pronunciation. Please feel free to share this blog with your friends or with your yoga students.
You can also visit my recent blog Ashtanga Yoga Opening and Closing Chants. In this blog, you'll find the Sanskrit mantras chanted at the beginning and at the end of each Ashtanga yoga class.
And before you go..., don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter so you can follow me on my yoga journey. Once you subscribe you'll be able to download the prayers in Sanskrit and my free meditation e-book. Thanks for your support!
Oh, and below you can find the Roman transliteration of the opening and closing prayers in jpg format for easy download.
I have been looking for this for a long time. Thanks a ton :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to you! :-)
DeleteThanks for the post! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to you Deepu
DeleteThank you so much for these wonderfully pronounced mantras!
ReplyDeleteOm prem shanti
Well, for the pronunciation special thanks to my friend Lakshya ;-)
DeleteThank you sarve bhantu niramayah !
ReplyDelete🙏🙏🙏
DeleteThank you, this is very helpful translation to understand the real meaning of Sankrit prayers
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad to know you appreciated this article :-)
DeleteThis is great!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
Thanks to you :-)
DeleteThank you. Gracias.
ReplyDeleteGracias a ti Jessica 😊🙏
DeleteSHUKRIYA SIR TUSSI GREAT HO
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the detailed information, very much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteThanks to you 😊🙏
DeleteThanks Marco! I have to find a Sivananda teacher in Melbourne. I am considering doing the one month intensive YTT with Sivananda. Have you been to any of the international ashrams beyond India?
ReplyDeleteSorry for the very ver late response Cat, I didn't notice all these comments 😬. But no, I haven't visited any other Sivananda Ashram besides in India.
Deletedeep gratitude to you
ReplyDelete😊🙏
DeleteThank you for this! Om shanti.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you Jenever :-)
DeleteThank you for this. It's always hard to find texts like this. A great resource.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you Atma, I'm happy to know you find this useful.
DeleteIt is very nice. Thank you for sending this. It is a treasure. I do recite some of these every day
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! Things brings so much more meaning to my morning practice with Sivananda Ashram Bahamas on zoom.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for this post!!I had to complete something and this helped a lot!!I see no one has commented recently. But keep doing the good work you are doing.
ReplyDelete