Mantra · Hindu practice
Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha
Oṃ gaṃ — homage to Gaṇapati
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ
The seed mantra of Gaṇeśa, said at the beginning of anything — a journey, a business, a wedding, a book. Gaṇeśa is the remover of obstacles, and by long convention he is addressed first, before whichever deity the rite is actually for.
Source: Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa, mantra section
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ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ
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What the words say
Gaṃ is a bīja, a seed syllable: it has no lexical meaning and is not a contraction of anything. It belongs to Gaṇapati as a sound rather than as a word, which is the general logic of bīja mantras. Gaṇapataye namaḥ is 'homage to the lord of the gaṇas', the troops or attendants of Śiva.
Where it comes from
The mantra belongs to the Gāṇapatya tradition and is expounded in the Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa, a late Upaniṣadic text devoted to him. Gaṇeśa's rise to the position of first-invoked is visible in the epigraphic and textual record from roughly the fifth century onward.
How it is practised
Counted on a mala, recited before undertakings, and used through Gaṇeśa Caturthī.
References
- Gaṇapati Atharvaśīrṣa, mantra section
- Paul B. Courtright, Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings (Oxford University Press, 1985)
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