Nṛsiṁha pūrvatāpinī (first half) upaniṣad reveals “mantra rāja mantra”, the king of all mantras. Both gods and demons were scared of death and they approached Brahmā for a mantra to conquer death. Brahmā initiated them with mantra rāja mantra in anuṣṭupchandas (अनुष्टुप्छन्दः). Brahmā also told them that those who fear for death and sins should get mantra rāja mantra initiated. Following is mantra rāja mantra.
ॐ उग्रं वीरं महाविष्णुं ज्वलन्तं सर्वतोमुखम्।
नृसिंहं भीषणं भद्रं मृत्य्मृत्युं नमाम्यहम्॥
om ugraṁ vīraṁ mahāviṣṇuṁ jvalantaṁ sarvatomukham |
nṛsiṁhaṁ bhīṣaṇaṁ bhadraṁ mṛtymṛtyuṁ namāmyaham ||
The same upaniṣad reveals another powerful mantra known as “yajur mahālakṣmi gāyatrī mantra”. This mantra has twenty four akṣara-s like gāyatrī mantra. It is said that this mantra is capable of giving wealth and status. Following is yajur mahālakṣmi gāyatrī mantra.
ॐ भूर्लक्ष्मी भुवर्लक्ष्मीः सुवः कालकर्णी। तन्नो लक्ष्मीः प्रचोदयात्॥
om bhūrlakṣmī bhuvarlakṣmīḥ suvaḥ kālakarṇī | tanno lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt ||
A very powerful mantra can be formed by combining mantra rāja mantra and yajur mahālakṣmi gāyatrī mantra and this mantra is capable of conferring benefits of both the above mantras. If these two mantras are combined, we get the following mantra.
ॐ उग्रं वीरं महाविष्णुं ज्वलन्तं सर्वतोमुखम्।
नृसिंहं भीषणं भद्रं मृत्य्मृत्युं नमाम्यहम्॥
ॐ भूर्लक्ष्मी भुवर्लक्ष्मीः सुवः कालकर्णी। तन्नो लक्ष्मीः प्रचोदयात्॥
om ugraṁ vīraṁ mahāviṣṇuṁ jvalantaṁ sarvatomukham |
nṛsiṁhaṁ bhīṣaṇaṁ bhadraṁ mṛtymṛtyuṁ namāmyaham ||
om bhūrlakṣmī bhuvarlakṣmīḥ suvaḥ kālakarṇī | tanno lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt ||
November 22, 2013 02:05 PM
This mantra requires proper initiation from someone who has practiced it properly for many years, otherwise it can create issues. This is certainly not one of those mantra-s which anybody can give to anyone. The mantra also requires some understanding of pA~ncharAtra world view.
March 06, 2014 07:29 PM
Some people are still sharing the mantras and this one you published here on facebook and without even mentioning the source https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mantra-shlokas/265257264305
March 06, 2014 07:48 PM
OMG. Verbatim they have reproduced. At least they should have the courtesy to make a reference to the original source. I have made a comment in their Facebook page. Thank you once again for keenly noticing this.
March 06, 2014 09:05 PM
Yes Raviji,and they copied the entire text
March 06, 2014 09:16 PM
This is what I have written in their Facebook.
" Someone has pointed out that this mantra is taken from my site. On checking, it is coped verbatim here".
April 04, 2014 09:40 AM
On the Narasimha Mantra, for the second line:I believe "bhatraṁ" is incorrect. It should be "bhadraṁ". Any feedback by knowledgeable?
April 04, 2014 09:52 AM
You are right. The error is corrected now. It is भद्रं bhadraṁ only. Thank you for pointing out this error.
November 16, 2014 01:22 AM
You have missed out the vidamahe in the yajur gayatri. So it should be:om bhūrlakṣmī bhuvarlakṣmīḥ suvaḥ kālakarṇī vidamahe | tanno lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt ||
November 16, 2014 09:22 AM
No, I have not missed out. vidmahe is not there in the Upanishad. Further it is a 24 lettered mantra and vidmahe obviously cannot be there.
March 26, 2016 12:20 PM
Hi you are correct about vidmahe not being there, however, it seems that Laksmi is missing after suva to make the count 24
May 02, 2020 06:12 PM
Does nṛsiṁhaṁ sound like - nrisimham or narasimham?
May 03, 2020 08:48 AM
Nrrisimham is how it is pronounced. Note the stress on the 'r's.
February 21, 2022 09:00 AM
Namaste Raviji, Krishnaji or whoever read this comment. The Mahālakṣmī Gāyatrī pointed here does not have 24 akṣara-s. I count 21: om bhūrlakṣmī bhuvarlakṣmīḥ suvaḥ kālakarṇī | tanno lakṣmīḥ pracodayāt || Is not missing the word dhīmahi? Please replay. Thank you! Hari Oṁ śāntiḥ
February 23, 2022 04:09 AM
There is no absolute diktat that specifies that the Gāyatrī mantras of various deities should have the customary 24 letters. If we see the regular Gāyatrī mantra, it has 23 characters only, but based on the svara and the pronunciation of the word "vareṇyam", it is counted as 4 letters instead of 3. Such considerations could also be relevant for other deity Gāyatrī mantras or the chandas itself could be "Nicṛd Gāyatrī" meaning that it is close to the 24 letter specification but not exact. Also, you may notice that there are single letter mantras that have the Chandas as Gāyatrī, which makes no sense when the 24 or close to 24 rule is applied. There is an entire class of Gāyatrī and various other chandas specified in some scriptures that deal with the chandas aspect and I am NOT an expert to clearly answer these questions, as I have not studied those scriptures nor do I have any knowledge or training in music, svara and related subjects, where chandas is primarily applied.
--Krishna.
January 06, 2023 12:01 AM
Dear Ravi, can you recommend someone who can give initiation to these mantras?
October 17, 2023 11:10 PM
Namaste, Thanks for sharing this. Long ago I stumbled across the Tapaneeya Upanishad when looking for the source of Mantra Raja and there I came across the Yajur Mahalakshmi mantra for the first time. Good to see this article where the greatness of this mantra has been mentioned. Thanks for this. FYI - I was referring to the following link where the yajur gayatri mantra is slightly different and ends with "Mahalakshmi Prachodayaat" making it a 24 syllable mantra including OM . https://archive.org/details/narasimhapurvauttaratapaniupanishadsankarabhashyadipikaofvidyaranyavinayakganeshapteanandashram_881_X/page/n51/mode/2up. I'm curious to know which version is mentioned in the original text of this Upanishad.
October 18, 2023 02:10 PM
https://archive.org/details/narasimhapurvauttaratapaniupanishadsankarabhashyadipikaofvidyaranyavinayakganeshapteanandashram_881_X/page/n51/mode/2up
October 24, 2023 11:10 PM
I would suggest reading the English translation books published by Chaukhamba to investigate how the mantras have been derived from the verses. I do not possess this minor upaṇiṣad and would not be able to answer this for you.
November 03, 2023 11:11 AM
Thank you Krishna Ji for this info, I will check the book published by this author.. Also taking this opportunity to thank you and to mention I have been greatly benefitted from the excellent and precious writings put in this website (guidance and procedure to be followed for certain tharpanas, mantra japas), I'm sure like me others would also be finding it very useful for their daily sadhana and practice. My sincere thanks to your team's effort and service to spread this information.