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{{Short description|Ancient Indian mantra before eating}}
{{Orphan|date=January 2026}}

'''Bhojan Mantra''' (Sanskrit: भोजन मन्त्र) is a prayer that is chanted before consuming a meal.<ref name="arya-bhojan-mantra">{{Cite web |title=Bhojan Mantra & Meaning |url=https://www.aryasamajhouston.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=147&Itemid=140 |website=Arya Samaj Greater Houston |access-date=27 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="hss-bhojan-mantra">{{Cite web |title=Bhojan Mantra |url=https://hssgermany.org/bhojan-mantra |website=Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh E.V. (Germany) |access-date=27 August 2025 |archive-date=20 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720184722/https://hssgermany.org/bhojan-mantra |url-status=dead }}</ref> The recitation of the mantra is a way for the Hindu devotee to offer the food to God and express gratitude before eating.<ref name="food-prayer">{{Cite web |title=Brahmarpanam: The Food Prayer |url=https://www.sathyasai.org/about-us/health-corner/food-prayer |access-date=27 August 2025 |website=Satya Sai Organisation}}</ref> The mantra is recited in homes, temples, and religious gatherings before meals.<ref name="food-prayer" />

==Text==
The mantras recited before a meal originate from two key Hindu texts, the [[Bhagavad Gita]] and the [[Upanishads|Upanisads]].

=== Bhagavad Gita ===
The mantra recited from the Bhagavada Gita belongs to the 4th chapter, in which Krishna explains the path of ritual action to Arjuna. <blockquote>ॐ ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्।
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना॥ (''Bhagavad Gita'' 4.24)<ref name="gita">{{Cite web |title=Bhagavad Gita 4.24 |url=https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/4/verse/24 |website=Holy Bhagavad Gita |access-date=27 August 2025}}</ref>

''Brahmārpaṇam brahma haviḥ brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam. Brahmāiva tena gantavyaṁ brahmakarmasamādhinā.''

'Brahman is the offering, Brahman is the oblation poured out by Brahman into the fire of Brahman, Brahman is to be attained by him who always sees Brahman in action.'<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Bhagavad Gītā |date=2009 |publisher=Excelsior Ed., State Univ. of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-2842-0 |editor-last=Sargeant |editor-first=Winthrop |edition=25th anniversary |series=Suny series in cultural perspectives |location=Albany, NY |pages=224 |editor-last2=Chapple |editor-first2=Christopher Key |editor-last3=Smith |editor-first3=Huston}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Upanishads ===
The Upanishadic mantra recited before meals is found in both the [[Katha Upanishad]] and the [[Taittiriya Upanishad]].

ॐ सह नाववतु। सह नौ भुनक्तु।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै।
तेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै॥<ref name="katha-mantra">{{Cite web |title=Katha Upanishad Shanti Mantra: 'Om saha nāvavatu…' |url=https://shlokam.org/texts/katha-invocation/ |website=Shlokam.org |access-date=27 August 2025}}</ref>

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः॥

'May Brahman protect us both together. May He nourish us both together. May we both work together with great energy. May our study be vigorous and effective. May we not hate eachother!'<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharavananda |first=Swami |title=Taittiriya-Upanishad. With Sanskrit Text, Paraphrase with word-forword Literal Translation, English Rendering and Comments. |publisher=The Ramakrishna Math |year=1921 |location=Mylapore, Madras |pages=51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Whitney |first=W. D. |date=1890 |title=Translation of the Katha-Upanishad |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2935810 |journal=Transactions of the American Philological Association |volume=21 |pages=88–112 |doi=10.2307/2935810 |jstor=2935810 |issn=0271-4442|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Origin==
Andrea Gutiérrez notes that the practice of reciting a mantra before a meal originates from the [[Mīmāṃsā|Mimamsa]] school of Indian philosophy which largely focuses on the interpretation of Vedic rituals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gutiérrez |first=Andrea |date=2023-09-23 |title=Toward a Better Understanding of Medieval Temple Food Practices: The View from Srirangam |url=https://academic.oup.com/jhs/article/16/2/182/7208981 |journal=Journal of Hindu Studies |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=182–205 |doi=10.1093/jhs/hiad016 |issn=1756-4263|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Purpose==
According to Hindu tradition, food should be consumed with a pure and calm mind. Ancient teachers advised offering food to God before eating, which transforms the meal into ''prasāda'' (sanctified food).<ref name="food-prayer" />

This prayer purifies food from three possible impurities:
* impurity caused by the cooking process,
* impurity of the ingredients, and
* impurity arising from the mental state of the cook or provider.

Since it is impossible to ensure purity in all these aspects, offering food to the divine through prayer removes such impurities. Thus, food offered to God is digested by ''Vaishvanara'', the divine fire within the body, ensuring that no impurity affects the consumer.<ref name="food-prayer" />

==See also==
*[[Grace (meals)]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Hindu mantras]]
[[Category:Sanskrit texts]]
[[Category:Food and drink in Hinduism]]

Bhojan Mantra - Revision history

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