Listen & Chant Along
Meaning & Translation
Sanskrit
नमस्तस्यै माता सरस्वती शारदे देवी | ॐ नारायणी ॐ
Transliteration
Namastasye Mata Saraswati Shaarade Devi | Om Narayani Om
Deity / Quality Invoked
Saraswati
Pronunciation
nah-mah-STAHS-yay MAH-tah sah-rahs-WAH-tee SHAH-rah-day DAY-vee, ohm nah-RAH-yah-nee ohm
Full Translation
A flowing salutation to Saraswati — "salutations to her, Mother Saraswati, Sharada Devi" — closing with "Om Narayani Om," which greets her as a face of the one Divine Mother. Sharada, "the autumnal one," is Saraswati's ancient name as the goddess of learning worshipped in Kashmir.
Spiritual Significance
Saraswati presides over wisdom, eloquence, music, and the arts — the very faculties Kirtan depends upon. Singers invoke her so that voice and instrument become clear channels, and students of every art seek her blessing before practice; the chant is both invocation and offering of sound itself.
Cultural Context & History
This call-and-response chant comes from Nina Rao's double album Antarayaami — Knower of All Hearts (2013). Long the right hand of Krishna Das and a devotee in the Neem Karoli Baba lineage, Nina Rao learned her chants in the Indian devotional tradition of her family and leads them in the unhurried, heart-steadying style of the Kainchi satsang.