- a word or formula, as from the Veda, chanted or sung as an incantation or prayer.
- an often repeated word, formula, or phrase, often a truism: If I hear the “less is more” mantra one more time, I'll scream.
- any of those parts of the Vedic literature which consist of the metrical psalms of praise
- any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power
