The complete Niyam library — every mantra with its Sanskrit text, source, and a faithful plain-English meaning. In the app, any of these can stand between you and your most distracting apps, fifteen seconds at a time. Deep-dives live on the blog.
From the Rig Veda and Yajur Veda — the oldest layer of the tradition.
Rig Veda 7.59.12 · ~25s read
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥
We worship Shiva, the three-eyed, the fragrant, who makes us whole. As a ripe fruit slips free from its stem, may he loosen death's grip and lead us to the deathless.
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Panchakshara — Sri Rudram (Yajur Veda) · ~10s read
ॐ नमः शिवाय
A bow to Shiva, the auspicious one. Five syllables you can return to anytime — a simple salutation that gathers a scattered mind and steadies it.
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Rig Veda 3.62.10 · ~30s read
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
We meditate on the light of the divine sun, drawing it in and holding it in our minds. May that light awaken our thoughts and set them moving.
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Rig Veda 10.90.1 · ~25s read
सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् । स भूमिं विश्वतो वृत्वात्यतिष्ठद्दशाङ्गुलम् ॥
The cosmic Person with a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. He wraps the earth on every side, then stands beyond it, larger than all he fills.
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Rig Veda 10.129.1 · ~25s read
नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमा परो यत् । किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम् ॥
Before being, before non-being — no air, no sky beyond. What stirred, and where, and under whose care? What was the water, deep and unfathomed? The hymn only asks.
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Shanti mantras and prayers of the Upanishads.
Mandukya Upanishad · ~5s read
ॐ
The primordial sound of the universe. One syllable holding creation, preservation, and dissolution — a single breath that settles the mind.
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Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 · ~15s read
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर्माऽमृतं गमय । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness into light, from death into the deathless. A prayer to turn the mind toward truth, and toward peace.
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Taittiriya Upanishad (invocation) · ~20s read
ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
May the divine protect us both, teacher and student, and nourish us together. Let our learning shine, with no discord between us. Om, peace, peace, peace.
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Kali-Santarana Upanishad · ~20s read
हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे । हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे ॥
Calling on the divine by name — Krishna, Rama, Hari — over and over. No sentence to parse here, only the names repeated until the mind grows quiet.
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Shlokas of the Gita — discipline, equanimity, and action.
Bhagavad Gita 2.47 · ~20s read
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
Your right is to the work itself, never to its fruits. Don't let the results be your motive — but don't fall into inaction either. Do what is yours to do, and release the outcome.
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Bhagavad Gita 6.5 · ~20s read
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् । आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥
Lift yourself up by your own effort; never let yourself sink down. For you are your own friend, and you are your own enemy — the choice is yours.
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Bhagavad Gita 2.14 · ~20s read
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः । आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
Heat and cold, pleasure and pain — they come and go like the seasons, never lasting. They arise only when the senses meet the world. Meet them with patience, and endure.
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Bhagavad Gita 6.6 · ~20s read
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः । अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत् ॥
For the one who has mastered the self, the self becomes the closest friend. But for the one who has not, that very self stays hostile, acting like an enemy.
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Bhagavad Gita 2.70 · ~20s read
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
Rivers pour endlessly into the ocean, yet it stays full and still. So too the one whom desires enter without unsettling — that one, not the desire-chaser, finds peace.
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Bhagavad Gita 4.7-8 · ~35s read
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥ परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
Whenever dharma fades and chaos rises, Krishna promises to return. Age after age he takes form to protect the good, end the harm, and set the world right.
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Bhagavad Gita 18.66 · ~20s read
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
Krishna's final word: let go of every other refuge and turn to me alone. I will carry you past all your sins — so do not grieve, and do not be afraid.
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Bhagavad Gita 3.35 · ~20s read
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् । स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेयः परधर्मो भयावहः ॥
Better to walk your own path imperfectly than to master someone else's. Better even to fall on your own road than to flourish on another's — for that way carries only fear.
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Beloved stotras and namas of the bhakti tradition.
Traditional prayer (Pandava Gita) · ~15s read
त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव त्वमेव बन्धुश्च सखा त्वमेव । त्वमेव विद्या द्रविणं त्वमेव त्वमेव सर्वं मम देव देव ॥
You are my mother and my father, my kin and my friend. You are my knowledge and my wealth — you are everything to me, my Lord.
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Traditional Ganesha Vandana · ~15s read
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभ । निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥
Ganesha — curved trunk, vast form, radiant as a million suns. We ask the remover of obstacles to clear the way in all we set out to do.
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Saraswati Stotram (traditional) · ~30s read
या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला या शुभ्रवस्त्रावृता या वीणावरदण्डमण्डितकरा या श्वेतपद्मासना । या ब्रह्माच्युतशंकरप्रभृतिभिर्देवैः सदा पूजिता सा मां पातु सरस्वती भगवती निःशेषजाड्यापहा ॥
White as jasmine and moonlight, veena in hand, throned on a white lotus and adored by the gods. May Saraswati protect us and clear away all dullness of mind.
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Guru Stotram (traditional) · ~15s read
गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः । गुरुः साक्षात् परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥
The guru is Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva — creator, sustainer, transformer all at once, the very face of the supreme. To that guru we bow.
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Hanuman Chalisa — Tulsidas · ~90s read
श्रीगुरु चरन सरोज रज निज मनु मुकुरु सुधारि । बरनउँ रघुबर बिमल जसु जो दायकु फल चारि ॥ बुद्धिहीन तनु जानिके सुमिरौं पवन कुमार । बल बुधि बिद्या देहु मोहिं हरहु कलेस बिकार ॥ जय हनुमान ज्ञान गुन सागर । जय कपीस तिहुँ लोक उजागर ॥ रामदूत अतुलित बल धामा । अंजनि पुत्र पवनसुत नामा ॥ महाबीर बिक्रम बजरंगी । कुमति निवार सुमति के संगी ॥ कंचन बरन बिराज सुबेसा । कानन कुंडल कुंचित केसा ॥ हाथ बज्र औ ध्वजा बिराजै । काँधे मूँज जनेऊ साजै ॥
With dust from the guru's feet I polish the mirror of my heart, then sing Ram's pure glory. Hanuman, ocean of wisdom, lord of three worlds, give me strength and good sense.
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Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva · ~120s read
विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारो भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः । भूतकृद्भूतभृद्भावो भूतात्मा भूतभावनः ॥ पूतात्मा परमात्मा च मुक्तानां परमा गतिः । अव्ययः पुरुषः साक्षी क्षेत्रज्ञोऽक्षर एव च ॥ योगो योगविदां नेता प्रधानपुरुषेश्वरः । नारसिंहवपुः श्रीमान् केशवः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥ सर्वः शर्वः शिवः स्थाणुर्भूतादिर्निधिरव्ययः । सम्भवो भावनो भर्ता प्रभवः प्रभुरीश्वरः ॥ स्वयम्भूः शम्भुरादित्यः पुष्कराक्षो महास्वनः । अनादिनिधनो धाता विधाता धातुरुत्तमः ॥ अप्रमेयो हृषीकेशः पद्मनाभोऽमरप्रभुः । विश्वकर्मा मनुस्त्वष्टा स्थविष्ठः स्थविरो ध्रुवः ॥ अग्राह्यः शाश्वतः कृष्णो लोहिताक्षः प्रतर्दनः । प्रभूतस्त्रिककुब्धाम पवित्रं मङ्गलं परम् ॥ ईशानः प्राणदः प्राणो ज्येष्ठः श्रेष्ठः प्रजापतिः । हिरण्यगर्भो भूगर्भो माधवो मधुसूदनः ॥
A thousand names for Vishnu, the all-pervading — no single line to weigh here, only the names flowing one into the next, each a way of holding him in mind.
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Brahmanda Purana · ~120s read
श्रीमाता श्रीमहाराज्ञी श्रीमत्सिंहासनेश्वरी । चिदग्निकुण्डसम्भूता देवकार्यसमुद्यता ॥ उद्यद्भानुसहस्राभा चतुर्बाहुसमन्विता । रागस्वरूपपाशाढ्या क्रोधाकाराङ्कुशोज्ज्वला ॥ मनोरूपेक्षुकोदण्डा पञ्चतन्मात्रसायका । निजारुणप्रभापूरमज्जद्ब्रह्माण्डमण्डला ॥ चम्पकाशोकपुन्नागसौगन्धिकलसत्कचा । कुरुविन्दमणिश्रेणीकनत्कोटीरमण्डिता ॥ अष्टमीचन्द्रविभ्राजदलिकस्थलशोभिता । मुखचन्द्रकलङ्काभमृगनाभिविशेषका ॥ वदनस्मरमाङ्गल्यगृहतोरणचिल्लिका । वक्त्रलक्ष्मीपरीवाहचलन्मीनाभलोचना ॥ नवचम्पकपुष्पाभनासादण्डविराजिता । ताराकान्तितिरस्कारिनासाभरणभासुरा ॥ कदम्बमञ्जरीकॢप्तकर्णपूरमनोहरा । ताटङ्कयुगलीभूततपनोडुपमण्डला ॥
A thousand names for the Mother, Lalita, empress on her throne — no sentence to follow here, only her names told like beads, one remembrance after another.
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Traditional (attr. Adi Shankaracharya) · ~20s read
वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् । देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥
Son of Vasudeva, the divine one, who broke Kamsa and Chanura, the boundless joy of Devaki. To Krishna, teacher of all the worlds, I bow.
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Budha Kaushika · ~30s read
चरितं रघुनाथस्य शतकोटि प्रविस्तरम् । एकैकमक्षरं पुंसां महापातकनाशनम् ॥
The story of Raghunath spreads across a hundred million verses. Even one of its letters, spoken once, can wear away the heaviest sin.
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