Shri Saraswati Ashtottara Shatanamavali (108 names)

When it is sung or recited

When it is chanted: traditionally on Vasant Panchami, during Saraswati Puja in Navaratri, and on Vijayadashami when children begin their learning (Vidyarambham). Many families also chant it before study, at the start of a school year, in exam season, and on Wednesdays or Thursdays, days often kept for learning and the teacher.

How to chant

How to chant: say Om, then the name, then Namah, for example Om Sarasvatyai Namah. Use a mala of 108 beads and say one name for each bead, or offer one flower, a few grains of akshata (unbroken rice) or a pinch of kumkum for each name. Sit in a clean, quiet place and keep your mind on the meaning of the names. Ask a priest or elder to guide your pronunciation. Three names appear twice in this traditional list; say them each time they come, so the count reaches 108.

Please note

Names are written in the dative form ('to the goddess ...') used with Om ... Namah. Lists differ a little between traditions; this is the most widely published one, and the same list appears on Drik Panchang, Hindutone, Shlokam, Bhakti Bharat and Stotra Nidhi. The author is not reliably known, so it is treated as a traditional text. In this list Mahabhadra (names 2 and 44), Vaishnavi (names 33 and 56) and Vagdevi (names 41 and 89) each appear twice, as in every published copy we checked. Where sources differ slightly we used the form most of them print: name 8 (Padmavaktra, some sources print Padmavaktraka), name 42 (Vasudha, one source prints Vasuda), name 53 (Vindhyavasa with a long a, some sources print it short) and name 71 (Trayimurti, one source prints Trayimurtaye). One other website carries a differently ordered version of this namavali with a number of different names; it is not used here. If your family follows a different list, use that one.

Text compared with: drikpanchang.com, hindutone.com, shlokam.org, bhaktibharat.com, stotranidhi.com. A comparison with printed editions is still in progress. Wording differs between sources, so follow your priest’s version.