Maa Kali dressed with lights, flowers, and the scythe of the shrine.

Sacred Learning

Oṃ sūryāya namaḥ

Public nāmamantra of Sūrya.

Public nāmamantra of Sūrya.

Canonical source text

ॐ सूर्याय नमः

IAST transliteration

oṃ sūryāya namaḥ

Close translation

Oṃ. Salutation to Sūrya.

Reader-friendly meaning

A short bow to the sun as deity of seeing and of the day’s work.

Meenananda editorial explanation

Dawn in Bengal still turns east. This nāma is public; longer Saura vidhis belong to paddhati and teacher.

Practice context

At sunrise, facing east, if that is your custom.

Word meanings

  • सूर्याय — to Sūrya

Public Saura nāma. Sanskrit: public domain. Foundation translations: CC BY-SA 4.0.