Purascharana Counts and Calculator
How many repetitions a purascharana asks for, mantra by mantra — and how long that takes at the pace you actually sit.
The base observance
A purascharana is a sustained undertaking of a single mantra, carried through consistent daily practice. The base observance is 100,000 to 125,000 repetitions.
On top of that base, roughly ten per cent more is added to cover counting mistakes — malas you lost track of, rounds where the mind was too unsettled to count honestly, repetitions you simply aren't sure of. Practiced without fire offerings, the figure comes to 150,000.
For what the practice is and why sustained repetition is said to work at all, read how purascharana melds mantra and mind.
The complete purascharana
Beyond the base observance, a complete purascharana is counted by syllable: 100,000 repetitions for every syllable of the mantra. A five-syllable mantra asks for 500,000; the twenty-four-syllable Gayatri asks for 2,400,000.
Syllable counts follow each mantra's own tradition rather than a single mechanical rule — Om Namah Shivaya is the Panchakshari, the five-syllable mantra, while Om Mani Padme Hum is the Shadakshari, the six-syllable mantra.
Counts by mantra
| Mantra | Syllables | Base observance | Without fire offerings | Complete purascharana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| So Hum | 2 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 200,000 |
| Om Namah Shivaya | 5 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 500,000 |
| Aham Brahmasmi | 5 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 500,000 |
| Om Mani Padme Hum | 6 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 600,000 |
| Gate Gate Paragate | 6 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 600,000 |
| Gam Ganapataye Namaha | 8 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 800,000 |
| Gayatri Mantra | 24 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 2,400,000 |
| Mahamrityunjaya Mantra | 32 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 3,200,000 |
| Namokar Mantra | 35 | 125,000 | 150,000 | 3,500,000 |
How long will it take?
One mala is 108 repetitions. Choose a mantra and the number of malas you sit for daily:
These are arithmetic, not promises. The traditional guidance is not to rush — the practice is described as something that ripens on its own schedule, and pushing past the requisite count is considered self-defeating rather than accelerating.
Keeping the daily link
- Set one fixed time of day and protect it. The daily link matters more than the daily volume.
- Even when ill, travelling, or fully occupied, sit at that fixed time for at least one mala.
- If the mind was genuinely unsettled through a mala, it is best not to count it toward the total. This is what the ten per cent margin absorbs.
- Stay with one mantra for the whole undertaking — switching partway resets the count.
- Track repetitions in a way that survives across sessions. Losing your running total is the most common reason a purascharana quietly falls apart.
Let the app keep the count
Mantra Yoga tracks your running total across every session, so a purascharana stays accurate from the first mala to the last — no lost malas, no guessing. Free to start.
Related
Read what purascharana is and how it melds mantra and mind, start with what is Mantra Yoga, or browse all mantras to choose one to build a practice around.