Om Namah Shivaya

Translations among different traditions

In Siddha Shaivism and Shaiva Siddhanta Shaivism traditions, Namah Shivaya is considered as Pancha Bodha Tatva of Lord Shiva and his universal oneness of five elements:

• Na sound represents earth
• Ma sound represents water
• Śi sound represents fire
• Vā sound represents Pranic air
• Ya sound represents sky or ether

Its total meaning is that "universal consciousness is one".

In Shaiva Siddhanta, the five letters also represent:

• Na is the Lord's concealing grace
• Ma is the world
• Śi stands for Shiva
• Vā is His revealing grace
• Ya is the Ātman or soul

The Tirumantiram (a scripture in Shaiva Siddhanta) announces that "His feet are the letter Na. His navel is the letter Ma. His shoulders are the letter Śi. His mouth, the letter Vā. His radiant cranial center aloft is Ya. Thus is the five-lettered form of Shiva.": Tirumantiram 941. TM

In different scriptures

1. The Mantra appears as 'Na' 'Ma' 'Śi' 'Vā' and 'Ya' in the Shri Rudram Chamakam which is a part of the Krishna Yajurveda. Thus predates the use of Shiva as a proper name, in the original context being an address to Lord Rudra (later Shiva), where Shiva retains its original meaning as an adjective, meaning "auspicious, benign, friendly", a euphemistic epithet of Rudra.
2. The mantra appears in the Rudrashtadhyayi which is a part of the Shukla Yajurveda.
3. Whole Panchakshara Stotra is dedicated to this mantra.
4. Tirumantiram, a scripture written in Tamil language, speaks of the meaning of the mantra.