णमोकार मन्त्र

Name: Navkar Mantra
Author: Anonymous · oldest Jain mantra

Navkar Mantra

5 lines~2 minAnonymous · oldest Jain mantra

The Navkar Mantra is the most fundamental prayer in Jainism, recited daily by Digambara Jains across the world. It is not directed to any single deity or Tirthankara. Instead, it venerates five categories of advanced spiritual beings — the pancha-paramesthi.

Notice what the mantra does and does not do. It bows. It does not ask. There is no petition for wealth, no plea for protection, no seeking of intercession. The mantra is recognition — of those who have liberated themselves (Arihants, Siddhas) and those still walking the path (Acharyas, Upadhyayas, sadhus).

To recite the Navkar is to remind oneself of what is possible, and of those who are showing the way.

About the Author

Anonymous · oldest Jain mantra

Pre-Mahavir; refined in agamic period

The Navkar Mantra (also called Namokar Mantra or Namaskar Mantra) is the foundational Jain mantra. Unlike most stotras, it has no individual author. It is regarded as eternal — anadi, beginningless — and was already in established use when the agamas were compiled.

The mantra venerates the five worthy ones (pancha-paramesthi): the Arihants, the Siddhas, the Acharyas, the Upadhyayas, and all sadhus. Note who is not invoked: there is no creator god, no Tirthankara by name, no intercessor — only the five categories of those advancing on the spiritual path.

This is the mantra a Digambara child learns first, the mantra recited before any work is begun, and the mantra that opens nearly every Jain ritual. It is the irreducible core of the tradition.

Begin reading · Read now→