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ॐ

Plate 1 The Om symbol in Devanagari script

Om

A sacred sound and syllable in Hinduism, chanted at the start and end of prayers and recitations.

Hindu symbols. Also called Aum, Omkara, Pranava.

Meaning

Om, also written Aum, is regarded by Hindus as a sacred sound. It opens and closes the recitation of prayers and mantras, and it is also sacred in Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Origin and history

Om appears in the Upanishads. The Mandukya Upanishad treats its three sounds, a, u and m, as standing for three states of consciousness, with the silence after them as a fourth.

Sources

  1. Om, Encyclopaedia Britannica
  2. Upaniṣads, translated by Patrick Olivelle, Oxford World's Classics

Last reviewed September 23, 2026.