Om Vishnuve Namah - Why a Shiva Ceremony Closes With Vishnu's Name Three Times
By SiddhiStar | Narwar Dham Parampara
15 May 2026 • 5 min read
At the close of every mahashivratri puja at Narwar Dham, after the Kshama Prarthana, the pandit speaks one more line: Om Vishnuve Namah, Om Vishnuve Namah, Om Vishnuve Namah. Three times. To Vishnu.
This may seem unusual. The puja was for Shiva. Why does it end with Vishnu's name?
The answer is in the shiv puran itself, in the Agni Stambha story (see Mahashivratri Article 1 in the original series). When Shiva appeared from the column of fire and Brahma was punished for the lie, Vishnu received a specific gift: from that day, at every sacred occasion, Vishnu would be worshipped first.
Across the centuries, the tradition extended this in a particular way. Shiva ceremonies open with Vishnu's name (in the Aachaman - Keshava, Narayana, Madhava). And Shiva ceremonies close with Vishnu's name, again, three times. The puja is for Shiva. But the framing - the opening and closing - honours the gift Vishnu received at the Agni Stambha.
Why Three Times
Three is the count for completion in the Vedic tradition. Three sips of Aachaman water. Three pradakshinas around the deity. The Trimurti themselves number three. Speaking the name three times confirms what was said and seals it as complete.
For Om Vishnuve Namah, the three repetitions are: the gift acknowledged once (the past), the gift honoured now (the present), the gift continuing forever (the future).
What This Means About the Puja's Completion
A Shiva ceremony closed with the Om Vishnuve Namah has been completed in the way the shiv puran describes. A Shiva ceremony that does not close this way is shorter - and less complete. The Narwar tradition holds the full closing.
When you join a SiddhiStar rudra abhishek puja, the closing you witness includes this gesture. It is part of why the ceremony lands the way it does - because it ends in the way the tradition designed.
Book a Rudrabhishek with full traditional closing.
