BOLO BOLO SAB MIL BOLO
OṂ NAMAḤ ŚIVĀYA
Sing, sing, all together:
Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya
bolo (Hindi): say, sing, proclaim
sab (Hindi): all, everyone
mil (Hindi): together
oṃ: the first vibration in the universe, the primordial sound from which all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras have come forth
namaḥ: salutations, reverence
śivaya: to Śiva
This mantra is actually only the first line of a longer devotional song that is sung mainly in Hindi and is quite popular around temples in India:
Bolo bolo sab mil bolo Oṃ namaḥ śivāya
Oṃ namaḥ śivāya oṃ namaḥ śivāya
Jūṭa jaṭā me gaṅgā dhāri
Triśūla dhāri ḍamaru bajāve
ḍama ḍama ḍama ḍama ḍamaru bajāve
Gūñj uṭhā oṃ namaḥ śivāya
Oṃ namaḥ śivāya
Hari oṃ namaḥ śivāya
The translation of the entire text is something along the lines of:
Let us chant (bolo) all together (sab mil) Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya
He (Śiva) holds (dhāri) the Ganges (gaṅgā) in his locks (jūṭa) of hair (jaṭā)
He holds (dhāri) the trident (triśūla) and plays (bajāve) on the ḍamaru (a small two-headed drum)
The sound of the drum (ḍama ḍama ḍama ḍama) echoes (gūñj uṭhā) Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya
The source text of this song is unknown, however the famous mantra Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya can be traced back to the Śrī Rudram, the most famous Vedic hymn to Śiva (in the form of Rudra), where the mantra appears without the initial Oṃ. The Śrī Rudram is considered to be very efficacious in neutralising the result of wrong actions. The mantra Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya literally means “salutations to Śiva (the auspicious one)”, but it is universally understood to mean something like “I honor the divinity within myself”.
***Special thanks to Shantala Sriramaiah at www.vedastudies.com for invaluable and much appreciated help with the transliteration and translation of this mantra***
CHORDS
Part 1
II: C I Bb I Ab I Bb :II
II: BOLO BOLO I SAB MIL BOLO I OṂ NAMAḤ ŚIV I ĀYA:II
Part 2
II: Ab I Bb I Ab I Bb :II
II: OṂ NAMAḤ ŚIV I ĀYA I OṂ NAMAḤ ŚIV I ĀYA :II
