Purnamadah Purnamidam: Meaning, Translation, Pronunciation, and How to Chant
People chant Purnamadah Purnamidam as a contemplation of wholeness and as a peace invocation before or after study, meditation, or teaching. Its central message is that “that” and “this” are whole, and that wholeness remains whole even when wholeness arises from it. The mantra comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and is widely used in Vedanta and yoga settings. It is commonly recited once, followed by Om Shanti Shanti Shantih, then allowed to settle in silence.
The Mantra
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Purnat Purnam Udachyate
Purnasya Purnam Adaya
Purnameva Avashishyate
Om Shanti Shanti Shantih
Translation
That is whole; this is whole. From wholeness, wholeness arises. When wholeness is taken from wholeness, wholeness alone remains. Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Whole, that; whole, this. From the whole, a whole arises. Having taken a whole from the whole, only a whole remains.
Purnam can mean full, complete, whole, or fullness. The pronouns adah, “that,” and idam, “this,” do not themselves specify Brahman, God, the universe, or the individual self. Those identifications belong to interpretation. “Perfect” can appear in interpretive translations, but it may misleadingly suggest moral flawlessness.
How to Pronounce the Mantra
POOR-nam EE-dum
POOR-naat POOR-nam oo-duch-yuh-tay
POOR-nus-yuh POOR-nam aa-DAA-yuh
POOR-nam ay-VAA-vuh-SHISH-yuh-tay
Ohm SHAAN-tih SHAAN-tih SHAAN-tih
| Mantra | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| oṃ | ohm | Use a long, rounded o. The final resonance is nasal; avoid pronouncing it as two strongly separated syllables. |
| pūrṇam adaḥ | POOR-nam uh-DAH | The ū is long. Ṇ is a retroflex n, made with the tongue curled slightly back. The final ḥ is a light visarga breath and may echo the preceding vowel in formal recitation. |
| pūrṇam idaṃ | POOR-nam EE-dum | The i is short despite the teaching aid “EE.” Before the following p of pūrṇāt, the anusvara is realized close to an m sound. |
| pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate | POOR-naat POOR-nam oo-duch-yuh-tay | Ā is long. C is pronounced like the ch in “church,” not like an English s or k. Keep udacyate as u-da-cya-te. |
| pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya | POOR-nus-yuh POOR-nam aa-DAA-yuh | Both ā vowels in ādāya are long. Keep the sy combination audible. |
| pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate | POOR-nam ay-VAA-vuh-SHISH-yuh-tay | Eva and avaśiṣyate combine in continuous recitation as evāvaśiṣyate. Both ś and ṣ can be approximated by English sh, although they are distinct Sanskrit consonants. |
| oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ | ohm SHAAN-tih SHAAN-tih SHAAN-tih | Śā has a long ā. The final visarga is a light release of breath. “Shantih” is a useful teaching spelling, not a replacement for śāntiḥ. |
Pronunciation Notes
- IAST is authoritative; capitalized syllables in the English guide are teaching aids and do not establish Sanskrit lexical stress.
- Long vowels such as ū and ā should receive approximately twice the duration of short vowels.
- Formal Shukla Yajurveda recitation includes tonal accents that ordinary English phonetics cannot adequately represent. Learn those accents from a qualified oral teacher or a recension-specific recording.
- Regional and lineage pronunciation can affect the audible treatment of visarga, anusvara, and Vedic pitch.
How to Chant Purnamadah Purnamidam
In its common peace-invocation form, this mantra is recited as a complete verse rather than reduced to only its opening words. Many practitioners use it to begin or close study, meditation, teaching, or a contemplative practice.
Begin with Om. Recite the four clauses at an unhurried pace, preserving the phrase divisions. Continue with Om Shanti Shanti Shantih. You may then sit quietly and reflect on purnam, fullness or completeness. If you are learning formal Vedic chanting, seek oral instruction for vowel lengths, consonants, and tonal accents.
- Shanti patha, or peace invocation
- Vedic recitation
- Opening or closing invocation for Upanishad study
- Contemplative recitation
- Modern mantra meditation
- Modern musical chanting
No universal prescribed repetition count was located for this mantra. It is commonly recited once as an invocation. Repeated cycles in recordings, personal japa, and musical performances are later practice choices rather than canonical requirements.
A mala may be used in modern personal japa, but mala repetition is not the defining traditional context of this shanti patha, and no mantra-specific canonical mala count was located.
No mantra-specific initiation requirement was located. Accent-free devotional and educational recitation is publicly taught in modern Vedanta and yoga settings. Exact Vedic recitation with tonal accents is traditionally learned through oral instruction.
Mantra at a Glance
| Tradition | Shukla Yajurveda and Vedanta |
|---|---|
| Language | Vedic Sanskrit |
| Classification | Upanishadic shanti mantra and philosophical invocation |
| Associated with | Brahman and purnam, fullness or completeness |
| Primary source | Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1 |
| Traditional use | A peace invocation before or after Upanishadic study |
| Modern use | Contemplative recitation, yoga, meditation, and musical chanting |
| Access | Broadly public in modern practice; formal Vedic accent recitation is teacher-transmitted |
Word-by-Word Meaning
| Mantra | Basic Meaning | Grammar / Context |
|---|---|---|
| oṃ | sacred syllable Om | An indeclinable sacred utterance that frames the passage in textual and liturgical recitation. |
| pūrṇam | full, complete, whole, fullness | A neuter nominative or accusative singular form of pūrṇa. In the opening clauses, it functions predicatively with the neuter pronouns adaḥ and idam. |
| adaḥ | that | Neuter nominative singular of the remote demonstrative pronoun adas. Traditional commentators identify it in different ways, but “that” is the literal meaning. |
| idam / idaṃ | this | Neuter nominative singular demonstrative pronoun. It is written idaṃ before the following p through anusvara notation. |
| pūrṇāt | from the whole; from fullness | Neuter ablative singular of pūrṇa. The ablative marks source or origin. |
| udacyate | arises, emerges, proceeds | Third-person singular present middle form associated with ud plus the verbal root añc. |
| pūrṇasya | of the whole; of fullness | Neuter genitive singular of pūrṇa. English translations may render the construction idiomatically as “from the whole” when combined with ādāya. |
| ādāya | having taken; taking away | An absolutive or gerund of ā plus the root dā. It indicates an action completed before the action of the main verb. |
| eva | only, indeed, precisely | An indeclinable emphatic particle that emphasizes that fullness alone remains. |
| avaśiṣyate | remains; is left over | Third-person singular present middle or passive-like form from ava plus the root śiṣ. In continuous recitation, it combines with eva as evāvaśiṣyate. |
| śāntiḥ | peace, tranquility, pacification | Feminine nominative singular noun. Its three repetitions belong to the liturgical shanti-patha conclusion. |
Meaning of Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnamadah Purnamidam is a declaration of wholeness. It repeatedly applies purnam, meaning fullness, completeness, or wholeness, to “that,” “this,” their relation of arising, and what remains after taking.
The literal Sanskrit does not name what “that” and “this” are. This openness is part of why the mantra has been interpreted in several ways. In broad terms, practitioners often contemplate it as pointing to a reality that is not diminished when the world of names and forms appears.
As a peace invocation, the passage can frame study, teaching, prayer, or another undertaking with a remembrance of completeness, followed by the wish for peace. The central four clauses are statements rather than requests.
A popular modern comparison says that the mantra means “infinity minus infinity equals infinity.” This can be a teaching analogy for inexhaustibility, but it is not the mantra’s literal wording or a formal mathematical argument.
Purnam and Brahman
Purnam means full, complete, whole, or fullness. In Vedantic commentary, it can designate reality as unlimited and not diminished when the world of names and forms appears.
Brahman is not explicitly named in the four central clauses. However, influential Vedantic commentators identify the fullness denoted by “that” with Brahman and explain “this” in relation to manifestation, the universe, or immediate experience.
Origin and History of the Mantra
The clearest primary-text location for this passage is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1. It belongs to the Shukla Yajurveda’s Upanishadic textual and recitational world.
Chapter 5 is part of the Khila Kanda, the supplementary section of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Although the Brihadaranyaka as a whole is among the oldest Upanishads, it is a layered compilation, so the precise date of this particular passage is uncertain.
The four-clause statement became the traditional shanti patha, or peace invocation, associated with the Brihadaranyaka and Isha Upanishads. It is often placed before the Isha Upanishad because both texts belong to the Shukla Yajurveda.
Purnam Adah should not be described simply as the first verse of the Isha Upanishad. The Isha Upanishad’s numbered verses normally begin with īśāvāsyam idaṃ sarvam. Purnam Adah functions as its traditional prefatory invocation.
Traditional Interpretations
Advaita Vedanta, especially as represented in Shankara’s commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, interprets “that” as unconditioned and unlimited Brahman. “This” is understood as Brahman appearing through name, form, and limiting conditions as the universe. In this reading, knowledge removes apparent limitation or otherness, and fullness alone remains.
An interpretation attributed to Bhartrprapancha and reported in Shankara’s commentary understands the infinite cause as manifesting an infinite or real effect and taking that effect back at dissolution. This recorded reading shows that the mantra’s historical interpretation was not exclusively Advaitic.
In a Gaudiya Vaishnava interpretation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Complete Whole, while divine emanations are complete dependent units. Their production does not diminish the completeness of the personal divine source.
Modern contemplative Vedanta often uses the mantra to invite recognition that reality is not fundamentally fragmented and that remote “that” and immediate “this” do not divide the underlying whole. Applying the passage directly to personal contentment or self-esteem is a modern adaptation rather than its literal grammar.
Sanskrit and Grammar
The opening clauses are verbless nominal sentences: pūrṇam adaḥ and pūrṇam idam. Their literal word order is “whole, that” and “whole, this,” while idiomatic English supplies “is”: “That is whole; this is whole.”
Pūrṇāt is an ablative form that marks source, giving “from the whole.” Udacyate is the finite verb, “arises” or “proceeds.” Pūrṇasya is genitive, “of the whole,” and ādāya is an absolutive, “having taken.”
The closing statement uses avaśiṣyate, “remains,” with eva, “only” or “indeed,” for emphasis. The neuter forms allow pūrṇam to agree with the neuter demonstratives without naming their referents.
Variations of the Mantra
Brihadaranyaka textual form
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1, the passage continues into another statement rather than ending with the later liturgical threefold Shantih.
Common shanti-patha form
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
This widely used liturgical form adds the standard threefold peace conclusion and is commonly used as an invocation for the Isha and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads.
Vedic-accent recitation
Pitch, accent marks, and some phonetic details depend on recension and oral lineage. Accent-free Devanagari does not fully represent this practice.
Hari Om or Harih Om ending
hariḥ oṃ
Some institutions append Harih Om, Hari Om Tat Sat, or salutations to the guru. These are later liturgical additions, not part of the underlying Purnam Adah passage.
Modern musical form
Melody, repetition count, instrumental accompaniment, and call-and-response structure are performer-specific arrangements.
How This Mantra Is Used Today
Purnamadah Purnamidam is widely taught in Western yoga, meditation, and chant communities as a contemplation of wholeness. It is also transmitted publicly by Vedanta organizations, Hindu temples, educational settings, chant ensembles, and recording artists.
Modern practice may include melody, instrumental accompaniment, repeated loops, teacher-led response, breath synchronization, journaling, mala practice, or daily reflection. These can be meaningful personal adaptations, but they are not practices specified by Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1.
The traditional source and grammar do not support treating the mantra as a promise of therapeutic healing, energetic transformation, manifestation, or guaranteed inner peace. Its established liturgical use is as an invocation of completeness followed by a wish for peace.
Related Concepts
Purnam · Brahman · Shanti patha · Shukla Yajurveda · Nama and rupa · Threefold Shantih
Related Mantras
Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam · Asato Ma Sad Gamaya · Sahana Vavatu · Om Shanti Shanti Shantih
Common Questions About Purnamadah Purnamidam
Is Purnamadah Purnamidam from the Isha Upanishad?
Its earliest secure textual location is Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1. It is traditionally placed before the Isha Upanishad as that text’s Shukla Yajurveda peace invocation, but it is not normally counted among the Isha Upanishad’s numbered verses.
What does purnam literally mean?
Purnam means full, complete, whole, or fullness. “Infinite,” “Brahman,” and “divine perfection” are context-sensitive philosophical interpretations rather than its only literal meaning.
What do “that” and “this” refer to?
The Sanskrit pronouns do not explicitly identify their referents. Commentators variously interpret them as unconditioned and conditioned Brahman, source and manifestation, divine reality and the phenomenal world, or the known world and knowing self.
Is Om Shanti Shanti Shantih part of the original verse?
It is part of the standard liturgical shanti-patha form. It does not appear as the conclusion of the four-clause Purnam statement within Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1.
Why is Shanti repeated three times?
A widespread traditional explanation connects the three repetitions with peace from internal, external, and providential or unseen sources of disturbance. The exact explanation and ordering can vary.
Can this mantra be chanted with a mala?
A mala may be used in modern personal japa, but the documented primary and traditional context is shanti-patha recitation rather than a prescribed mala practice.
How many times should Purnamadah Purnamidam be repeated?
No universal canonical repetition count was located. It is commonly recited once as an invocation, while repeated musical or japa cycles are optional adaptations.
Does this mantra require initiation?
No mantra-specific initiation requirement was located. Formal Vedic chanting with tonal accents is traditionally learned orally, while ordinary public recitation is widely available.
Does the mantra say that everything is perfect?
The mantra repeatedly calls “that” and “this” purnam, meaning whole or complete. Reading this as a claim that every event, action, or emotional condition is morally or personally perfect goes beyond the literal Sanskrit.
Sources and Further Reading
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad with Vedic Accents, Sanskrit Documents; text based on editions including Albrecht Weber, with TITUS work by Marcos Albino and Jost Gippert
- The Early Upanisads: Annotated Text and Translation, Patrick Olivelle; Oxford University Press
- Early Upanishads, Olivelle Edition Resources, Sanskrit Program, University of Texas at Austin
- Brihad-aranyaka-Upanishad, A. K. Aruna
- Brihadaranyakopanishad, Vedic Heritage Portal, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
- Om Purnamadah Purnamidam, Chinmaya Mission Ottawa
- Om Purnamadah Mantras, SYDA Foundation, Siddha Yoga
- Sri Isopanisad Invocation, Bhaktivedanta Vedabase, International Society for Krishna Consciousness
- Tradition of Vedic Chanting, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India
- Interpreting the Upanishads, Ananda Wood
- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne
