Mantra, Kirtan and Stotra: Sanskrit Chants

Vani Devi sings the hymn from the “Nirvanashatakam” during a satsang at the Yoga Vidya Ashram in Bad Meinberg. You can find the complete text in the Yoga Vidya Kirtan Booklet under number 404.

In the six stanzas on liberation by Jagadguru Shankaracharya, you can discover both what you are not and what your true nature is: namely, Being, Knowledge, and Bliss.

The Nirvanashatakam kirtan consists of six instructive verses on freedom - or Nirvana - written by Shankara (also Sankara or Shri Shankaracharya). In each verse, Shankara explains what we are not. We are not our body, we are not our intellect, we are not our thoughts, and we are not our prana. Instead, we are Sacchidananda (i.e., Satchidananda). Only Brahman, the Absolute, is real; everything else is a temporary dream, an illusion - Maya.

Lyrics:

Mano-buddhy-ahankara-chittani Naham

Na Cha Shrotra-jihve Na Cha Ghrana-netre /

Na Cha Vyoma-bhumir Na Tejo Na Vayuh

Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 1 //

Na Cha Prana-sanjno Na Vai Pancha-vayuh

Na Va Sapta-dhatur Na Va Pancha-koshah /

Na Vak Pani-padau Na Chopastha-payu

Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 2 //

Na Me Dvesha-ragau Na Me Lobha-mohau

Mado Naiva Me Naiva Matsarya-bhavah /

Na Dharmo Na Chartho Na Kamo Na Mokshaha

Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 3 //

Na Punyam Na Papam Na Saukhyam Na Duhkham

Na Mantro Na Tirtham Na Veda Na Yajnah /

Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhokta

Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 4 //

Na Me Nrityu-shanka Na Me Jati-bhedaha

Pita Naiva Me Naiva Mata Cha Janma /

Na Bandhur Na Mitram Gurur Naiva Shishyaha

Chidananda Rupah Shivoham Shivoham // 5 //

Aham Nirvikalpo Nirakara-rupo

Vibhutvach Cha Sarvatra Sarvendriyanam /

Sada Me Samatvam Na Muktir Na Bandhaha

Chidanandarupah Shivoham Shivoham // 6 //

“Jaya Shri Krishna Chaitanya” honors Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his closest disciples and companions. Jaya means “invocation of,” and Shri Krishna Chaitanya is the great founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. The Hare Krishna community is also part of this tradition.

This mantra is also known as the Pancha-Tattwa Mantra, as it invokes the five companions of Shri Krishna Chaitanya. They are considered aspects of Chaitanya. It is recommended to always sing this kirtan first, before reciting the Maha Mantra.

Swami Sivananda had great devotion to Shri Krishna Chaitanya, even though he came from a different tradition.

One can first recite this mantra and then sing the Maha-Mantra—that is, the great mantra, the “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” mantra.

Here you can hear a recording featuring Satyananda and Aziza from a Yoga Vidya Saturday evening satsang in Bad Meinberg on May 3, 2025.

Lyrics:

Jaya Shri Krishna Chaitanya,

Prabhu Nityananda /

Shri Advaita Gadadhara

Shrivasadi Gaurabhakta Vrinda // 1 //

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /

Hare Rama Hare Rama,

Rama Rama Hare Hare // 2 //

If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.

“Serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize” is a kirtan that succinctly describes the teachings of Swami Sivananda. Swami Sivananda loved to sing this kirtan.

“Serve, love, give, purify, purify” refers to the various yoga practices. By practicing yoga, we purify ourselves. We also do so by working on ourselves. By serving, loving, and giving, we purify ourselves. And then “purify” and “meditate” follow naturally. Therefore, serve, love, give, purify, meditate—and then comes: realize.

The more we serve, love, and give, the deeper our meditation becomes.

Here you are listening to a recording featuring Kamala Devi from a Yoga Vidya Saturday evening satsang in Bad Meinberg on December 6, 2025.

Shankara Stefan & friends chant “Krishna Krishna Mahayogin” during a saturday evening satsang at Yoga Vidya in Bad Meinberg, Germany.

“Krishna Krishna Mahayogin” is a traditional mantra from the Bhakti tradition and a loving invocation of Krishna, the embodiment of joy, devotion, and divine love. “Mahayogin” means “great yogi” and evokes the all-encompassing, unifying power of consciousness that Krishna embodies.

In many spiritual traditions, Krishna is regarded as a symbol of love, compassion, and the divine play of life. Chanting his name is said to open the heart and strengthen the connection to inner joy. Chanting mantras together can create an atmosphere of connection, peace, and lightness.

Lyrics ...

Krishna Krishna Mahayogin

Bhaktanam Abhayankara /

Govinda Paramananda

Sarvam Me Vasham Anaya //

If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.

“Om Namah Shivaya” is one of the best-known and most powerful mantras in the Indian tradition. It is dedicated to Shiva, the symbol of transformation, consciousness, stillness, and inner freedom. The Sanskrit phrase roughly translates to: “I bow to the highest consciousness within me and in the universe.” Here you can listen to a recording featuring Vallabha from a Yoga Vidya Saturday evening satsang in Bad Meinberg on March 8th, 2025.

Lyrics:

Om Namah Shivaya

Namah Shivaya

If you are interested in seminars with music, you can find here seminars on mantra and music. For more kirtan and Mantra vocal recordings click here. For more information on Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda can be found on the internet pages of Yoga Vidya.