‘Va(a)sudevaya’ literally means ‘the son of Vasudeva’ and refers to Lord Krishna, who was born the son of Vasudeva. ‘Bhagavate’ is the supreme divinity, known generally as God. ‘Om’ is an eternal, universal sound and is hailed as Shabdha Brahman, the ultimate principle of speech sound. ‘Om NamoBhagavateVasudevaya’ – is a salutation to the Lord and can simply mean ‘I bow down to Vasudeva.’ However, this remains profound in its sense and significance.

However, Krishna is not merely a mythological figure but is a historical entity too, who lived in flesh and blood in the midst of the people of our land. He remains as the central character of the stupendous epic Mahabharatha, while the sacred Bhagavata Purana is dedicated almost entirely to his divines sports and exploits.

Many were the roles that Krishna played during his lifetime on earth, as he stood towering there as a symbol of love, mercy, knowledge, power, wisdom and the highest consciousness. Krishna is regarded as perhaps the greatest of the Avatars of Lord Vishnu, who takes upon himself the responsibility of safeguarding the lives of the subjects, and descends on earth whenever the need arises, for ensuring a peaceful and honorable existence for them. Hence, this twelve-lettered mantra is hailed variously as the prime among the Vishnu Mantras, the ultimate one and also as the hymn of liberation. The efficacy of this mantra is such that this can provide spiritual guidance for one to attain the ultimate freedom from samsara, the eternal cycle of birth and death. This is a very powerful invocation taken with respect in sacred texts like Vishnu Purana, which is one of the Mahapuranas that speaks about the greatness of Vishnu and his Avatars. This hymn is dedicated to Vasudeva or Vasudeva Krishna, a very important Avatar of Lord Vishnu, the supreme God of protection. ‘Om NamoBhagavateVasudevaya’ is one of the highly sacred Mantras of our land.

Om namo bhagavate meaning