Tryakshara Ganapathi Mantra
ॐ गं नमःIn Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.
Who Tryakshara Ganapathi is
Tryakshara Ganapathi is the form of Ganesha named for the three letters a, u and m that together make up the sacred syllable Oṃ. He is counted among the thirty-two forms whose dhyana verses are traditionally linked to the Mudgala Purana. The dhyana describes him as golden in colour, with four arms: the right hand holds his own tusk and the left a mango, the other two carry the noose and the goad, and the tip of his trunk holds a modaka. His large ears move to and fro and are adorned with chāmaras, the fly-whisks of royal honour. The name Tryakshara does not describe a general quality of the elephant-headed lord; it identifies him with the praṇava itself, so that the god and the syllable Oṃ are contemplated as one.
The Three Letters of Oṃ
No separate legend is attached to Tryakshara Ganapathi. Like most of the thirty-two forms, he is known through his dhyana verse and through the image set out in the nineteenth-century Kannada digest Śrītattvanidhi, which describes the forms for worship rather than telling their stories. His meaning lies in the name. Tryakshara means ‘of three letters’, and the three letters are a, u and m, which together make the syllable Oṃ. To contemplate this form is to see Ganapati as the praṇava, the sound with which every mantra begins. The details of the dhyana are kept in view while chanting: the golden body, the tusk and the mango in two of the hands, the noose and the goad in the other two, and the modaka held at the tip of the trunk.
The mantra, in six scripts
The seed mantra, and the form most devotees chant daily. No initiation is required — it is open to anyone, including a parent chanting for a child.
- ॐ
- oṃ — the praṇava
- गं
- gaṃ — Ganapati’s seed-syllable
- नमः
- namaḥ — salutation
More Tryakshara Ganapathi mantras
Tryakshara Ganapathi Dhyana Shloka
The verse recited to picture the deity before japa.
- गजेन्द्रवदनं
- gajendravadanaṃ — with the face of a lordly elephant
- साक्षाच्
- sākṣāc — verily
- चलत्कर्णसुचामरम्
- calatkarṇasucāmaram — whose moving ears are like fine fly-whisks
- हेमवर्णं
- hemavarṇaṃ — golden in colour
- चतुर्बाहुं
- caturbāhuṃ — four-armed
- पाशाङ्कुशधरं
- pāśāṅkuśadharaṃ — holding the noose and the goad
- वरम्
- varam — the excellent one
- स्वदन्तं
- svadantaṃ — his own tusk
- दक्षिणे
- dakṣiṇe — in the right
- हस्ते
- haste — hand
- सव्ये
- savye — in the left
- तु
- tu — and
- आम्रफलं
- āmraphalaṃ — a mango
- तथा
- tathā — likewise
- पुष्करैर्
- puṣkarair — with the tip of the trunk
- मोदकं
- modakaṃ — a modaka (sweet)
- च
- ca — and
- एव
- eva — also
- धारयन्तम्
- dhārayantam — holding
- अनुस्मरेत्
- anusmaret — one should meditate on
Source: Dhyāna śloka of this form in the Śrītattvanidhi's thirty-two Gaṇapati forms (no. 19 in the Stotranidhi list). Stotranidhi prints आम्रपलं, a misprint; Drik Panchang and Hindupedia read आम्रफलं (mango), which is given.
The syllable people get wrong
The anusvāra that closes gaṃ is the syllable’s own difficulty. Many speakers turn it into a hard final n, producing ‘gan’, or lengthen the vowel into ‘gaam’. The traditional close is a light nasal hum that dissolves against the soft palate without any full dental or retroflex stop, leaving the seed weightless yet complete.
When Tryakshara Ganapathi is chanted
Weekday. Tuesday
Questions
Have your chart read before you decide
Chanting is yours to do, and free. But which deity your situation calls for — and whether a mantra alone is the right response — depends on your chart. Sometimes it is; sometimes it is not.
- Over 30 years in the Guru–Sishya Parampara, from the age of five
- He reads every chart himself — 60 minutes, one to one, never delegated
- Charts are read only between sunrise and sunset, following tradition
Related
How to Chant
Mala, counts, timing and the mistakes that apply to any mantra.
Ganapathi Mula Mantra
The foundational mantra. Chanted at the start of any undertaking.
Vidya Ganapathi Mantra
For study, examinations and retention of what is learned.
Ganapathi Homa
The fire ritual, performed for you and telecast live.
Chanting is yours to do. Some things are performed for you.
Where a matter carries real weight, devotees sponsor the homa alongside their own practice. Performed for you and any family members you name, at our Yagna Ashram, in your name and gotra, on a muhurta calculated from your chart, and telecast live so you can watch it done for you.