Question asked by Joseph
Dear Pastor, thank you for this wonderful prayer to Saraswati composed by the incomparable Lama Tsongkhapa. I recently read that Venerable Tsongkhapa recited her mantra when he was young either 50 million times or 100 million times. At the end of the prayer the mantra is listed as OM SARASIDDHI HRING HRING. Is that the mantra that was recited by Je Tsongkhapa? And if so, I have seen translations of the Sanskrit phrase ‘all the attainments’ as either sarasiddhi or sarwa siddhi. Wondering if they are interchangeable here or is the emphasis placed on Sara because it’s a praise to Saraswati? Thank you for your time. Happy new year; wishing you health happiness and endless blessings. Warmly, Joseph Om vajra wiki witrana soha 🙏💎
Hello Joseph,
Thank you for your question. It’s wonderful that you are interested in Saraswati. The words in the mantra are not interchangeable according to lineage. The mantra as per what you found is the mantra that was recited by Lama Tsongkhapa. The pronunciation of the mantra should be as per the spelling, and is not interchangeable. Together with the praise written by Lama Tsongkhapa, it’s recitation is very powerful.
There are other forms of Saraswati with Tibetan Buddhism, even within the Gelug tradition. Each of these forms will have their own mantra and practice. The form prevalent within the Gelug tradition however is the white, two-armed form as this is the form and mantra that Lama Tsongkhapa relied upon. I hope this helps. Thank you.