Mantra Pushpam
मन्त्रपुष्पम् – यजुर्वेद तैत्तिरीय आरण्यक
What is Mantra Pushpam?
Mantra Pushpam Mantra Pushpam is a Vedic hymn from the Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Yajurveda, chanted at the very end of a puja while flowers or akshata are offered to the deity. Its name means the flower of the mantras – the passage treats true knowledge of water, fire, air, the sun, moon, stars and time as the real flower being offered, alongside the physical ones in the worshipper's hands.
Mantra Pushpam is one of the shortest pieces of the Veda that most Hindus actually hear on a regular basis, because it is the closing chant of nearly every puja, from a five-minute home aarti to a full temple abhisheka. It comes from the Taittiriya Aranyaka, a Yajurveda text that sits between the older ritual Brahmanas and the later philosophical Upanishads, and its language is correspondingly terse: short, repeating lines rather than the longer verses found in Puranic stotras. The hymn takes water (apah) as its running image, calling it the hidden seat of fire, wind, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rain clouds and even the cycle of the year, before turning to a direct salutation to Kubera and closing with a gayatri to Narayana. Because the closing gayatri can be swapped for the deity being worshipped, the same core text serves Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Ganesha puja alike.
Mantra Pushpam Lyrics in English
Vedic pitch accents (svaras) are omitted below for readability; passages are numbered for reference, not part of the original text.
Bhadram karnebhih shrinuyama devah,
Bhadram pashyemakshabhir yajatrah,
Sthirair angais tushtuvagm sastanubhih,
Vyashema devahitam yadayuh.
Svasti na indro vriddhashravah,
Svasti nah pusha vishvavedah,
Svasti nas tarkshyo arishtanemih,
Svasti no brihaspatir dadhatu.
Om shantih shantih shantih.
भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाः
भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभिर्यजत्राः
स्थिरैरङ्गैस्तुष्टुवांसस्तनूभिः
व्यशेम देवहितं यदायुः
स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः
स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः
स्वस्ति नस्तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः
स्वस्ति नो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Meaning
This is the peace invocation that opens the recitation, asking the gods to let ears hear only what is auspicious and eyes see only what is fitting, so the body stays steady enough for a full life of good work. It sets the tone before the water hymn proper begins – a request for wholeness, not yet the teaching itself.
Yo’pam pushpam veda,
Pushpavan prajavan pashuman bhavati.
Chandrama va apam pushpam,
Pushpavan prajavan pashuman bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपां पुष्पं वेद
पुष्पवान् प्रजावान् पशुमान् भवति
चन्द्रमा वा अपां पुष्पम्
पुष्पवान् प्रजावान् पशुमान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
The mantra's core claim: whoever knows the flower of the waters becomes rich in flowers, children and cattle. The moon is then named as that flower – water's fullest bloom, its visible sign in the sky – so understanding the bond between water and the moon is treated as the seed of every other kind of abundance.
Yo’pam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Agnir va apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yo’gner ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo va agner ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
अग्निर्वा अपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
योऽग्नेरायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वा अग्नेरायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
Fire is named as water's resting place, and water in turn as fire's resting place – each is the other's hidden support. Knowing that bond, the mantra says, gives the knower the same firm footing, as if he too had found a fixed seat rather than standing on shifting ground.
Yo’pam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Vayur va apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yo vayor ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo vai vayor ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
वायुर्वा अपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
यो वायोरायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वै वायोरायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
The same pattern repeats for air: wind rests on water, and water rests on wind. The passage is building a chain rather than a single fact – each force in nature turns out to lean on water, and grasping any one link in that chain steadies the person who understands it.
Yo’pam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Asau vai tapann apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yo’muhsya tapata ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo va amushya tapata ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
असौ वै तपन्नपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
योऽमुष्य तपत आयतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वा अमुष्य तपत आयतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
Here the sun's own heat is said to rest on water. Even the source of light and warmth in the sky, the mantra insists, has water as its hidden seat, and the one who sees this dependency clearly is granted the same steadiness the sun itself has.
Yo’pam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Chandrama va apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yash chandramasa ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo vai chandramasa ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
चन्द्रमा वा अपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
यश्चन्द्रमस आयतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वै चन्द्रमस आयतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
The moon, already named as water's flower earlier, is now folded into the same resting-place pattern: moon and water hold each other up. Its waxing and waning becomes another sign, in the mantra's logic, that nothing in the sky stands alone.
Yo’pam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Nakshatrani va apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yo nakshatranam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo vai nakshatranam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
नक्षत्राणि वा अपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
यो नक्षत्राणामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वै नक्षत्राणामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
The stars are added to the same chain: they rest on water, water rests on them. By this point in the recitation the pattern itself becomes the teaching – every visible point of light in the sky is quietly tied back to the same unseen source.
Yo’pam ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Parjanyo va apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yah parjanyasya ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo vai parjanyasya ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda.
योऽपामायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
पर्जन्यो वा अपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
यः पर्जन्यस्यायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वै पर्जन्यस्यायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद
Meaning
Parjanya, the rain cloud, is named next – the most direct and visible form water takes as it falls from the sky. Rain rests on water and water rests on rain, closing the loop between the clouds overhead and the water they are made of.
Samvatsaro va apam ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Yas samvatsarasya ayatanam veda, ayatanavan bhavati.
Apo vai samvatsarasya ayatanam, ayatanavan bhavati.
Ya evam veda, yo’psu navam pratishthitam veda,
Pratyeva tishthati.
संवत्सरो वा अपामायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
यस्संवत्सरस्यायतनं वेद, आयतनवान् भवति
आपो वै संवत्सरस्यायतनम्, आयतनवान् भवति
य एवं वेद, योऽप्सु नावं प्रतिष्ठितां वेद,
प्रत्येव तिष्ठति
Meaning
Even the year itself, the whole turning cycle of seasons, is said to rest on water. The passage then closes the sequence with a different image: whoever knows of a boat firmly moored in the water stands firm himself, unmoved, the way a well-anchored boat rides out any current.
Om rajadhirajaya prasahyasahine,
Namo vayam vaishravanaya kurmahe.
Sa me kaman kamakamaya mahyam,
Kameshvaro vaishravano dadatu.
Kuberaya vaishravanaya,
Maharajaya namah.
ॐ राजाधिराजाय प्रसह्यसाहिने
नमो वयं वैश्रवणाय कुर्महे
स मे कामान् कामकामाय मह्यम्
कामेश्वरो वैश्रवणो ददातु
कुबेराय वैश्रवणाय
महाराजाय नमः
Meaning
The hymn turns from cosmology to a direct request: salutations to Vaishravana, king of kings, the one who can overpower all obstacles by force. He is asked, as lord of desires, to grant the wishes of one who desires them. This is the verse most associated with Kubera, guardian of wealth, and it is why Mantra Pushpam is often linked to prosperity.
Om tad brahma, Om tad vayuh, Om tad atma,
Om tat satyam, Om tat sarvam, Om tat pauror namah.
Antash charati bhuteshu guhayam vishvamurtishu,
Tvam yajnas tvam vashatkaras tvam indras tvam rudras tvam
Vishnus tvam brahma tvam prajapatih,
Tvam tad apa apo jyotir raso’mritam
Brahma bhur bhuvas suvarom.
ॐ तद्ब्रह्म ॐ तद्वायुः ॐ तदात्मा
ॐ तत्सत्यं ॐ तत्सर्वं ॐ तत्पुरोर्नमः
अन्तश्चरति भूतेषु गुहायां विश्वमूर्तिषु
त्वं यज्ञस्त्वं वषट्कारस्त्वमिन्द्रस्त्वं रुद्रस्त्वं
विष्णुस्त्वं ब्रह्म त्वं प्रजापतिः
त्वं तदाप आपो ज्योतीरसोऽमृतं
ब्रह्म भूर्भुवस्सुवरोम्
Meaning
The mantra now names the one reality behind every mask: that is Brahman, that is the wind, that is the self, that is truth, that is everything. It moves secretly within every being, hidden in the heart of every form, and is at once the sacrifice, the ritual call, Indra, Rudra, Vishnu, Brahma and Prajapati – one presence wearing every deity's name.
Tad vishnoh paramam padagm sada pashyanti surayah,
Divi va chakshur atatam.
Tad viprasho vipanyavo jagrivagm sas samindhate,
Vishnor yat paramam padam.
Ritagm satyam param brahma purusham krishnapingalam,
Urdhvaretam virupaksham vishvarupaya vai namo namah.
Om narayanaya vidmahe vasudevaya dhimahi,
Tanno vishnuh prachodayat.
Om shantih shantih shantih.
तद्विष्णोः परमं पदं सदा पश्यन्ति सूरयः
दिवीव चक्षुराततम्
तद्विप्रासो विपन्यवो जागृवांसः समिन्धते
विष्णोर्यत्परमं पदम्
ऋतं सत्यं परं ब्रह्म पुरुषं कृष्णपिङ्गलम्
ऊर्ध्वरेतं विरूपाक्षं विश्वरूपाय वै नमो नमः
ॐ नारायणाय विद्महे वासुदेवाय धीमहि
तन्नो विष्णुः प्रचोदयात्
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Meaning
The closing passage says the wise perpetually behold Vishnu's highest state, spread across the sky like an open eye, and the awakened kindle that same vision within themselves. It ends with the Narayana Gayatri, asking Vishnu to awaken right understanding, and then the threefold call for peace that closes almost every Vedic recitation.
Meaning & the Water-Flower Symbolism
The word apah, water, is doing more work in this hymn than its plain sense suggests. Fire, wind, the sun’s heat, the moon, the stars, the rain clouds and even the year are each, in turn, called water’s ayatanam – its seat, its resting place – and water is called theirs right back. The refrain “ayatanavan bhavati,” he becomes possessed of a firm seat, rewards the listener with the same groundedness that each element is said to draw from water. Read this way, water stands for whatever is common and hidden beneath everything that looks separate: the elements are not competing forces but different faces resting on one shared foundation.
That is also why the hymn closes, rather than opens, a puja. By the time Mantra Pushpam is chanted, the deity has already been invoked, bathed, adorned and offered food; the actual flowers are in the worshipper’s hands, ready to be placed at the feet of the image. The mantra’s own subject, real flowers, and the closing act of the ritual arrive together, which is the pun buried in its name: pushpam is both the physical flower being offered and the understanding described in the text as the true flower.
One more thing is worth knowing before chanting it: like every Yajurveda passage, Mantra Pushpam in its full ritual form carries svaras, the fixed pitch accents (udatta, anudatta and svarita) that mark correct Vedic recitation. Those marks are left out of the transliteration on this page for readability, since reproducing them accurately in Roman script does not teach the sound. The accents are learned by listening to a teacher chant the passage and repeating it aloud, not from a written page alone.
How Is Mantra Pushpam Chanted?
- Finish the main worship first – Mantra Pushpam is always the closing chant, recited only after abhisheka, alankara (adornment) and naivedya (food offering) are complete and the aarti has already been shown.
- Stand and face the deity – Unlike many seated stotras, Mantra Pushpam is traditionally recited standing, with the palms folded and a few flowers or akshata held between them.
- Hold flowers or akshata in the hands – The flowers in the hands mirror the pushpam named in the mantra itself – understanding offered as a flower, alongside the real one.
- Chant passage by passage – Move through the water, fire, air, sun, moon, star, rain and year sequence in order, keeping a steady, unhurried pace rather than rushing through the repeating refrains.
- Pause at the Kubera verse – In many temples the tone shifts noticeably at Om rajadhirajaya, since it is a direct petition for prosperity rather than a cosmological statement.
- Offer the flowers on the closing line – At the final Om shantih shantih shantih, release the flowers or akshata at the deity's feet, completing the offering the mantra describes.
- Learn the svaras from a teacher for formal use – For temple recitation or a homa, the Vedic pitch accents are best absorbed by listening to and repeating after someone trained in Yajurveda chanting, not from text alone.
What Are the Benefits of Chanting?
Priests and householders who keep Mantra Pushpam as a fixed closing chant point to a few recurring reasons, drawn from the hymn’s own words and from long ritual practice:
- A structured close to worship: A fixed closing hymn gives every puja, large or small, the same dignified ending, so the ritual does not simply trail off after the aarti.
- A reminder that abundance has one source: The refrain that whoever knows the flower of water gains flowers, children and cattle reframes prosperity as something that flows from understanding one hidden connection, not from separate requests to each force of nature.
- Practice in steady, measured chanting: The repeating ayatana pattern is forgiving for beginners and useful for building the breath control and evenness that longer Vedic recitation demands.
- A shared moment for the whole gathering: Because it is usually chanted in chorus by the priests or family members present, it closes the puja as a group act rather than an individual one.
- Attention beyond the altar: Naming fire, wind, sun, moon, stars, rain and the year in one hymn keeps the worshipper's focus on the wider order the deity is part of, not only the image in front of them.
- A specific blessing for prosperity: The direct appeal to Vaishravana (Kubera) is why many households value this verse in particular, separate from the philosophical passages around it.
Origin: Yajurveda & Taittiriya Aranyaka
Mantra Pushpam is traditionally placed in the first chapter of the Taittiriya Aranyaka, a text of the Krishna Yajurveda. Aranyakas, literally forest texts, sit between the older Brahmanas, which explain ritual procedure, and the Upanishads, which turn toward philosophy; Mantra Pushpam sits close to that hinge point, using the plain language of a ritual chant to carry an idea that is quietly philosophical – that fire, wind, sun, moon, star, rain and time are not separate powers but different resting places of one shared substance.
Its closing section moves that same idea toward a single named reality: the passage beginning Om tad brahma declares that Brahman, the self, the sacrifice, Indra, Rudra, Vishnu and Prajapati are one presence under many names, before the final gayatri addresses that presence as Narayana.
Because the closing gayatri can be exchanged for one addressed to a different deity, several published versions of Mantra Pushpam include alternate closing lines, for Shiva, Ganesha, Skanda, Surya, Durga and others, in place of or alongside the Narayana Gayatri used here. The water-hymn portion before it stays the same across these versions, which is part of why the same chant closes puja to very different deities across the country.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mantra Pushpam?
Mantra Pushpam is a Vedic hymn from the Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Yajurveda, recited at the very end of a puja while flowers or akshata are offered to the deity. Its name means the flower of the mantras, since the passage treats knowledge itself as the true flower being offered.
Which Veda is Mantra Pushpam from?
It belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda, in the Taittiriya Aranyaka, usually cited from its first chapter. It is a Vedic hymn, not a later Puranic stotram, so its language and structure are older and terser than most stotras.
Why is it chanted at the end of puja?
Puja moves through fixed stages: invocation, bathing, adornment, food offering and aarti. Mantra Pushpam is the closing stage, chanted while the actual flowers in the worshipper's hands are offered, so the hymn's subject and the physical act of offering flowers happen together.
What does Yo'pam Pushpam Veda mean?
Word for word it means he who knows the flower of the waters. Water stands for the hidden source from which fire, air, sun, moon, stars and rain all draw their existence, and knowing that source is described as bringing flowers, children and cattle, meaning a full and grounded life.
Can Mantra Pushpam be chanted without svaras?
Reading the words without the Vedic pitch accents is common for study and for less formal home recitation, and this page presents the text that way for readability. For temple use or a homa, the accents matter and are best learned directly from a teacher who chants the passage aloud.
Who chants Mantra Pushpam, and can anyone recite it?
In temples it is usually sung in chorus by the priests present, and at home it is chanted by whoever is leading the puja. Because the closing gayatri can address any deity, the same core text is used to close worship of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Ganesha and other forms.
What is the Kubera verse in Mantra Pushpam about?
Partway through the closing section, the mantra salutes Kubera (Vaishravana), king of kings and guardian of wealth, asking him to grant the desires of the one who wants them. This verse is why Mantra Pushpam is often linked with prosperity, alongside its broader cosmological meaning.
Is the text of Mantra Pushpam the same everywhere?
The core sequence, from Yo'pam pushpam veda through the Kubera verse to the closing Narayana Gayatri, is consistent across the major published sources. Some traditions prefix a longer invocation before it or substitute an alternate closing gayatri suited to the deity being worshipped, so small variations exist between different lineages' printed books.
॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥