Bîja-mantra
bija-mantra The word bîja literally means "seed". In the context of mantras, a
bija is a syllable. All mantras, and in fact all words, are built up
from bijas.
Usually, a bîjamantra is a mantra composed of only a single syllable.
There are many such mantras, a few of which are given below with a
brief note to their significance.
Ha, Ya, Ra, La and Va
These are the five seed-mantras of the elemental tattvas, also called
the five bhûtas. They respectively represent âkâsha, air, fire, water
and earth.
Every letter of the Sanskrit alphabet is effectively a bîja-mantra
with connections to various forces, deities, etc.
Haum
A bîja associated with Shiva
Dum
A bîja associated with Durgâ
Krîm
A bîja associated with Kâlî
Hrîm
A bîja associated with Bhuvaneshvarî
Shrîm
Associated with Devî, especially Laksmî
Aim
Associated with Sarasvatî
Klîm
Associated with Kâma
Hûm
Called the armor-bîja, it is uttered for protection and as part of a
rite used for installing divine forces in various parts of the body.
Gam
Associated with Ganesha
Glaum
Another bîja associated with Ganesha
Ksraum
Associated with Narasimha, the lion-man incarnation of Vishnu
chumki, generally the "bija mantra" is given to a disciple during
the 'initiation' ceremony by the guru and it is generally a good idea
to recite a bija mantra only after receiving initiation from a guru.
meanwhilre, one can always recite saguna manrtras such as
OM NAMAHA SHIVAYA!
HARI OM!
OM DURGAYAII NAMAHA!
ETC
for which no initiation is necessary.
hope this helps.
