ॐ गं गणपतये नमः।
Roman transliteration · IAST
Oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ.
The meaning
Om. With the seed sound gaṃ, I offer my reverence to Ganapati, Ganesha.
A few words, unpacked
- gaṃ
- Ganesha’s seed syllable.
- gaṇapataye
- To Ganapati, a name of Ganesha.
- namaḥ
- Reverence or salutation.
Try the sounds
om · gaṃ · ga-na-pa-ta-ye · na-maḥ
- The dot in gaṃ marks a nasal sound; avoid turning it into the English word game.
- For ṇ in gaṇapataye, gently turn the tongue tip back. Keep each syllable distinct: ga-ṇa-pa-ta-ye. The final e is a steady vowel.
The spaced spelling is an approximate reading aid. Long marks such as ā show a longer vowel. Follow your teacher or a trusted recitation for the finer sounds.
UBC Sanskrit · Devanāgarī phonology chart with audioTradition & version
Himalayan Academy identifies this as a Ganesha root mantra found in the Ganapati Upanishad. Gaṃ is a sacred seed sound, rather than an ordinary word with a literal translation.