Ashtanga Opening Mantra
Translation
om
I bow to the lotus feet of the Supreme Guru
which awaken insight into the happiness of pure Being,
which are the refuge, the jungle physician,
which eliminate the delusion caused by the poisonous herb of Samsara (conditioned existence).
I prostrate before the sage Patanjali
who has thousands of radiant, white heads (as the divine serpent, Ananta)
and who has, as far as his arms, assumed the form of a man
holding a conch shell (divine sound), a wheel (discus of light or infinite time) and a sword (discrimination).
om
वन्दे गुरूणां चरणारविन्दे सन्दर्शितस्वात्मसुखावबोधे ।
निःश्रेयसे जाङ्गलिकायमाने संसारहालाहलमोहशान्त्यै ॥
आबाहुपुरुषाकारं शङ्खचक्रासिधारिणम् ।
सहस्रशिरसं श्वेतं प्रणमामि पतञ्जलिम् ॥
Oṃ
Vande gurūṇāṃ caraṇāravinde Sandarśitasvātmasukāvabodhe |
Niḥśreyase jāṅgalikāyamāne Saṃsārahālāhalamohaśāntyai ||
Ābāhu puruṣākāraṃ Śaṅkhacakrāsidhāriṇam |
Sahasraśirasaṃ śvetaṃ Praṇamāmi patañjalim ||
Oṃ
Ashtanga Closing Mantra
Translation
May the rulers of the earth keep to the path of virtue
For protecting the welfare of all generations.
May the religious, and all peoples be forever blessed,
May all beings everywhere be happy and free
Om peace, peace, perfect peace
svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṃ
nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṃ mahīśāḥ |
go-brāhmanebhyaḥ śubham astu nityaṃ
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu ||
Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ |