Bharat Devotion

Embroidered artwork for May All Be Happy: A Universal Prayer for Peace: Embroidered Om symbol above a brass diya, marigolds and a temple spire at sunrise

May All Be Happy

A Universal Prayer for Peace

A beloved prayer for the happiness, health and welfare of all beings, that none may suffer, closed with a threefold 'Shanti'.

Verses

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Niramayah

May all beings be happy, may all be free from illness.

Verse 1

Sarve Bhadrani Pashyantu Maa Kashchid Dukh Bhaag Bhavet

May all see what is auspicious, and may no one suffer.

Verse 2

Om Shantih Shantih Shantih

Om, peace, peace, peace.

Verse 3

Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)

Auspicious Day

Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)

Best Time (Muhurta)

Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)

Sacred Offerings

Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering

Spiritual Benefits (Phalashruti)

Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home

Background

This prayer is often said to come from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4.14), but that Upanishad does not contain it. A check of the Sanskrit Documents text of the Brihadaranyaka finds no such lines, and the Sanskrit Documents text of the Garuda Purana, sometimes cited for a variant, does not have them either. The form beginning Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, as it is recited today, has no single verified source or author. It is said at the end of pujas, classes and gatherings, and it needs no ritual setting to be offered with sincerity.

Did You Know?

Wishes for All

The prayer asks for happiness (sukha), freedom from illness (niramaya), the sight of what is auspicious (bhadra) and freedom from sorrow, for sarve, 'all', without limit of person, people or species.

A Common Mis-citation

Popular books cite Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.14 for these lines. That passage does not contain them, so this page does not repeat the claim.

What the texts do and do not say

The Sanskrit Documents text of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad does not contain these lines, and neither does its text of the Garuda Purana, so no ancient source is claimed here. The form beginning Sarve bhavantu sukhinah is the one used in recitation today.

Anonymous and Shared

No author is known, and that is part of its character: it belongs to everyone who prays it, at the close of pujas, classes and yoga sessions.

Threefold Shanti

The closing 'Om shantih shantih shantih' is traditionally said to calm disturbances on three levels, the physical, the divine and the mental.

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Connected Teachings

The same teaching, echoed across traditions

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