Mantras

A mantra ( ; Pali: mantra) or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Some mantras have a syntactic structure and a literal meaning, while others do not.

thumb|A Bhutanese Buddhist woman doing Japa, with [[Japamala]] Japa () is the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name. It is a practice found in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, with parallels found in other religions.

Hindu mantra

Richa (), also rendered rucha, refers to a mantra, usually one in line, found in the Sanskrit religious scriptures, the Vedas. It is a term used to refer to each verse of the Rigveda.

thumb|Kapala used by mantrik A Mantrik or mantric is someone who specializes in practicing mantra. In the Indian subcontinent, the word mantrik & similar names are synonymous with magician in different languages. Generally, a mantrik is supposed to derive his powers from the use of charms, mantras, spells and other methods. A Hindu mantrik is known to worship Kali and is often mentioned in the same breath as tantric, though there are subtle differences.