May we rise up from murky depths to
the delightful, the prosperous and the beneficial.

​mangalam  bhagavan  Vishnu -

Translation
​

मङ्गलम्                        भगवान                         विष्णुः
mangalam               bhagavān                 Vishnu
mangalam               bhagavaan               Vishnu
beneficial &             prosperous (is)        fruit of
                                                                       spiritual practice
                 
मङ्गलम्                         गरुण                 ध्वजः।
mangalam                garunda        dhvajah
joy (that                    eagle’s              flight 
soars like an)
 
मङ्गलम्                        पुण्डरी                काक्षः        
mangalam                puṇḍarī         kāksha
mangalam                pundarii        kaaksham
prosperity (like)      lotus               symbol
 
मङ्गलाय                                      तनो                          हरिः॥
mangalā-ya                          tanno                         Hari
mangalaa-ya                       tanno                         Hari
moving towards                 outcome                   fruit of
happiness (is the)               or nature (of)          spiritual practice
 
(Note on pronunciation.  ṇ  and  ḍ  with a dot under are pronounced with the tongue pointing towards the mid palette,  instead of the teeth.  A more subtle way of pronouncing  n  and  d.)

​The Song.

​By Soraya Saraswati and Terry Oldfield.  The instrumental by Terry that opens the piece is especially beautiful,  as is the singing, voice modulation and melody led by Soraya,  on their album “Journey into Space”,  2012.  This album was available on Terry’s website, but unfortunately it is not on the bandcamp website.  They also recorded this song on their album “Temple Moon,”  2017.  Available at  https://terryoldfield.bandcamp.com/album/temple-moon  track 1 Mangalam.  Terry has named his recording studio on the Sunshine Coast, Qld  :   “Mangalam.”
 
This song is special to me because they performed it very well at their concert in a delightful Yoga center at the beach of Hervey Bay,  in 2018.  I bought the album,  translated this song within a few days,  and we used the CD at our next Kirtan session in Bundaberg.  

​

The Mantra Discussed.​

A delightful mantra about the benefits of spiritual practice,  such as prosperity and enjoyment. 
  
This website gives a lot of material on spiritual practice and healing.  To help us all in this important endeavour (including me!)
 
Derivation Details.
 

• mangalam  = happiness,  joy,  prosperity,  good fortune, beneficial  outcome.   Sometimes called “auspicious.”    It can also mean “blessing” 

 
puṇḍarī kākṣa = पुण्डरी काक्ष  = lotus (puṇḍarī) image (kāksha).  This suggests the symbol of the lotus,  which is beauty arising from murky depths.   So –
 

• puṇḍarī kākṣa  can mean the lotus symbol. 

 
garunda dhvaja = गरुणध्वज   = characteristic or symbol (dhvaja)  of the eagle (garunda)   This suggest the soaring flight of the eagle, high in the heavens.  So -
 

• garunda dhvaja  can mean the eagle’s soaring flight.

 
When we pronounce  garuḍa,  we curl the tip of the tongue backwards as we approach the sound  ḍ  in the word  garuḍa.  This generates the sound ‘n’.  garuḍa   is often spelled Garunda.  

Hari = Vishnu  are the Names for Deity in our mantra.  In the trimurti of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu,  Vishnu is the principle of supporting and protecting,  in Deity.  This is an essential feature of our spiritual practice -  to develop and protect our happiness, enjoyment, prosperity,  clarity,  good will.  So –
 

• Hari = Vishnu  can mean the outcome or fruit of our spiritual practice.

 
bhagavā  is a very common word for Deity,  especially in the Srimad Bhagavan-tam.  It usually means the Qualities of Deity,  or the strengths of Presence.  I discuss this at length for another mantra – om namo bhāgavate vasu-devāya, for which Terry and Soraya also have an excellent song recorded.
 
In the context of our mantra  maṅgalam  bhagavān  Vishnu,  bhagavān  is best understood to mean good fortune, prosperity and happiness.  These are more specific Qualities of the Presence of Deity.   
 

​Interpretation for God Worship.

We can use a different interpretation for theistic purposes.  Then –
 
bhagavān  = Lord
 
dhvajaḥ =  emblem
 
akṣa = eyes
 
and we can get –
 
मङ्गलम्                       भगवान                          विष्णुः
maṅgalam               bhagavān                 Vishnu
mangalam               bhagavaan               Vishnu
auspicious (is)          Lord                           Vishnu
  
मङ्गलम्                          गरुण              ध्वजः       ।
maṅgalam                garuḍa           dhvajaḥ
auspicious (is his)    eagle’s           emblem
 
मङ्गलम्                                     पुण्डरी             काक्षः        
maṅgalam                            puṇḍarī         kākṣa
mangalam                            pundarii        kaaksham
auspicious (are his)            lotus like       eyes
 
मङ्गलाय                          तनो                हरिः      ॥
maṅgalā-ya              tanno             Hari
mangalaa-ya           tanno             Hari
auspicious (is)                                 Hari
 
In the traditional storey telling,  Vishnu travels thru the air on the back of an eagle,  and so the eagle is his emblem or symbol. 
 

​For more translated Sanskrit mantras  :
 click onto the  +  at the top of this webpage,  then click again onto the +

My introductory webpages “Mantras Translated A - C”
discuss how to gain the full benefit of these mantra writeups.