MANTRA AND ITS COMPONENTS (ANGAS) :-

Chanting of mantras is a common practice among Hindus, Buddhists, etc & is given a lot of importance especially among Brahmins. But what exactly is the purpose of doing so & what are the angas(components) involved in the japa of a mantra? This post will try to explain some of these concepts.

Generally Chanting of a mantra is for two reasons:-
One for fulfillment of our desires and another to reach god. Based on this, mantras are classified as Loukika mantras (used to fulfill our desires), moksha mantras (Used to reach god) & some for both. Every mantra has Shadangas ie. six parts. 1.Rishi 2. Chandas 3. Devatha 4. Beejam 5. Keelakam 6. Shakti. If we chant a mantra with knowledge about these six parts, then we get the benefits quickly.

1)Rishi means the person who did japa of that mantra for the first time and got siddhi of that mantra. Some rishis also discover mantras, then they become the rishi of that mantra.
2)Chandas tells the actual pronunciation of that mantra. That is how we should pronounce that sound ( mantra) while doing japa.
3)Devatha is the god who gives benefits for doing japa of that mantra. Generally for each mantra there will be an Adhisthana Devatha with a specific dhyana rupa.
4)Beejam resembles the basic character (tatva) of the mantra. For example, jala tatva(soft), agni tatva (hard) etc.
5) Keelakam is the key to open the lock to get results. We cannot see or get any thing from a house with out opening the lock. In the same manner, we can not get any result from a mantra without performing keelakam. In mantra japa, we should do this for getting results.
6) Shakti is the power of mantra. This is the power we get, when we chant a mantra.
These are the six parts of Mantra japam (Shadangas).  

However, there are some other things present in mantra japam. They are Kavacham, Sankalpam and Artham.
Kavacham is the protection from bad elements to obstruct mantra japam. Some times there may be some dangers which will come based on our capacity and suitability to do chanting of that mantram. To overcome these, we have to wear this protective coat ie. the Kavacham.

Sankalpam:- This is the most important thing of mantra japam that gives results for chanting. Sankalpam deals with the reason for which we are doing this japam. We have to set a goal for doing mantra japam, ie. to reach god or to fulfill any desire etc. Without setting a goal, the mantra japam may not continue for a long time and the benefits for doing mantra japam are not recognisable. That means the effect of mantra japam will be useful in some other means, that we may not recognise. So to get perfect result from mantra japam we have to do the sankalpam.
Artham is the meaning of that mantra. Knowing the meaning of the mantra will clarify several doubts regarding the mantra.
 
These are related to the mantra japam for fulfilling our desires, ie. Loukika mantras. But in case of Moksha mantras ie. like Rama mantram or Namah shivaya (panchakshari), we should care for the devotion towards the deity & not towards Shadangas of the Mantra japam. Although Moksha mantras have shadangas, they can give result only through chanting. Valmiki is the best example. He did Rama nama japam in reverse, with out knowing the meaning, Shadangas,etc. But he reached his goal, got moksha, became a maharshi and wrote the Ramayana.
The Lord sees only the devotion towards him and not the knowledge about the aspects of the mantram in these cases.