Om & Mantra Carved Singing Bowls

Om Singing Bowls & Mantra Carved Singing Bowls – Hand-Carved in Nepal, Tuned for Your Order by a Sound Healer

An Om singing bowl is a handmade singing bowl carved with the Om symbol, and every symbol on the bowls here is carved by hand. The work is done by thanka-trained artists in our Kathmandu workshop, the same people who paint Tibetan scroll art, working freehand and not from a machine template. When your order arrives, Sunita Poudel, our founder and a certified sound healer, plays the finished bowls and chooses yours, from her experience in practice. How healer selection works.

This is our largest collection, and it is organised by symbol: Hindu Om and Tibetan Om, Om Mani Padme Hum mantra rings, Shree Yantra, the Eight Auspicious Symbols, mandalas, Flower of Life, Buddha Eyes, Green Tara and dorje designs. Most bowls offer a choice of diameter, finish and musical note, your own personal engraving is free, and orders leave Kathmandu within 3–4 business days.

Om singing bowls: Hindu Om and Tibetan Om

Om is the design we are asked for most, and we carve it in two scripts.

• Hindu Om (ॐ). The Devanagari form most people recognise. In the Vedic tradition Om is the sound from which everything else unfolds, made of three parts, A, U and M, followed by silence.
• Tibetan Om (ༀ). The same syllable in Tibetan script. It opens most Tibetan Buddhist mantras, including Om Mani Padme Hum, and is the form you see on prayer wheels and mani stones.

Either can be carved as one bold symbol in the centre of the bowl, or as a full design covering the surface. Choose the script that belongs to your own practice. If you have no preference, the Hindu Om is the more widely recognised, and the Tibetan Om pairs naturally with a mantra ring.

People often ask what note an Om bowl plays. The symbol and the note are separate choices. Some modern sound healers associate Om with a tone near C sharp, but in practice an Om bowl is chosen for the note you want to work with. See chakra and note information, or find your note with the chakra quiz.

The other symbols, and what they mean

None of these is decoration for its own sake. Each carries a specific meaning in Himalayan Buddhist and Hindu practice, and which one you choose usually comes down to what you want the bowl to hold your attention on.

• Om Mani Padme Hum mantra rings. The six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, carved as a band around the bowl. It is the most widely recited mantra in Tibetan Buddhism and the traditional choice for a bowl used in daily practice.
• Shree Yantra. Nine interlocking triangles forming forty-three smaller ones, the most revered diagram in Hindu sacred geometry. Used as a focus for meditation. We carve it on the interior, on the exterior, and on Lingam bowls, where the raised centre sits at the heart of the yantra.
• The Eight Auspicious Symbols (Ashtamangala). Parasol, golden fish, treasure vase, lotus, conch, endless knot, victory banner and dharma wheel. The complete set of Buddhist good-fortune emblems, usually carved as a band. A traditional gift for a new home, a new business or a new practice.
• Mandalas. Concentric sacred diagrams representing the universe and the path to its centre. Carved across the full surface, these are the most labour-intensive bowls we produce.
• Flower of Life. Overlapping circles in six-fold symmetry, found across many traditions and widely used in modern sound healing. The most popular non-denominational choice.
• Buddha Eyes. The watching eyes from the Boudhanath and Swayambhunath stupas in Kathmandu, representing the all-seeing wisdom of the Buddha.
• Green Tara and deity engravings. Tara as the mother of liberation and swift protector. Chosen by practitioners with a devotional relationship to a particular figure.
• Dorje and bell designs. The vajra, symbol of indestructible clarity, paired with the bell's wisdom. Often combined with a Tibetan Om or a mantra ring.

Our terminology guide explains these terms in more depth, and the singing bowl information page covers the wider tradition. If you want a symbol we do not have listed, we can usually carve it. Start with a custom singing bowl.

Your own engraving, at no extra cost

Alongside the traditional symbols, we will add a personal engraving to your bowl for free: a name, a date, a dedication or a mantra of your own choosing, in English or in Tibetan script. It is carved by hand by the same artists.

People use it for a name and a birth date, a wedding or anniversary, a memorial, a dedication for a teacher or a studio, or a phrase that matters to them. Tell us what you want and we will confirm the layout before anything is cut.

How the carving is done, and what it does to the sound

The bowl is hand-hammered first, then carved, and only then is its sound judged. That order matters. Carving removes a small amount of metal, so the note of a bowl is not final until the last line is cut. We play and measure each bowl after the carving is complete, which means the note you choose is the note of the finished bowl you receive.

A hand-hammered bowl's note is discovered, not made, and the same is true once it is carved. No smith or carver works toward a target note. That is why your bowl is chosen by selection after you order. More on the hammering itself is in hand-hammered singing bowls.

The carving is done by hand with a chisel and hammer, by artists trained in thanka painting, working freehand from the traditional forms. Two Om bowls from the same batch will never carry identical lines. It is slow work, and a full mandala bowl can take an artist several days. The carved surface also changes how the bowl feels under the mallet, and many players find the extra grip makes rim-playing easier.

All of it starts from the same traditional seven-metal alloy as our plain bowls. For what those metals do to the sound, read the seven metals explained, and to meet the makers see the master bowl makers of Nepal.

How your bowl is chosen

Most shops photograph a batch, list it, and ship whichever unit is nearest the packing bench. Nobody plays them. We select after you order, and the selection is done by a certified sound healer who trained at the Golden Temple Singing Bowl & Healing Center in Patan Durbar Square and uses these bowls in her own practice. She checks five things:

• A clean fundamental. Steady, not wavering or beating against itself.
• Overtones that blend. Upper partials that sit with the fundamental and do not fight it.
• Sustain. A slow, even decay, not a tone that dies quickly.
• Even rim response. The bowl should start singing from any point on the rim with the same pressure.
• No cracks or stress lines. A hairline flaw changes how the tone decays before it can be seen.

On carved bowls she also checks the carving itself: line depth consistent across the design, symbols correctly formed, no slips. Ask and we will record your actual bowl, struck and rim-played, and send you the video before it ships. That is also why we don't publish stock sound clips.

Choosing your Om or mantra bowl

Start with the symbol. It is the thing you will look at every day, and unlike the note or the finish it cannot be changed later. If you have a practice attached to a particular mantra or deity, that decides it. If you do not, Om and Flower of Life are the two most people settle on.

Then the specification. Most bowls here offer a choice of diameter, finish (natural, antique, or golden interior, which throws the carved lines into relief) and musical note. Notes are commonly mapped to the chakras from C at the Root to B at the Crown, though the mapping and playing order depend on the tradition you follow. You can measure any bowl yourself with the live singing bowl tuner. For general guidance, how to choose a singing bowl walks through the whole decision, and singing bowl types covers the forms.

Want several bowls that work together? Mantra-carved sets are in chakra singing bowl sets, tuned as a set by selection, and the custom set builder lets you specify notes across several bowls with the same engraving on each. The rest of the range is in Tibetan singing bowls.

Learning to use it: free healing course

A bowl on its own teaches you very little, which is why so many end up as ornaments. Our free singing bowl healing course is open to everyone at no cost, drawn from the working notes of a practising Himalayan sound healer. It covers session structure, body placement, water-bowl work and how the notes map to the chakras in practice. If you have never held one, start with how to play a singing bowl.

Gifts, studios and trade

Carved bowls are the ones people buy as gifts, and free personal engraving is why. A name and a date on an Ashtamangala bowl for a new home, or a dedication on an Om bowl for a teacher, makes the object specific to one person.

We also supply yoga studios, sound therapists, retreat centres and retailers. Because the carving is done by hand, trade orders can carry your own studio name or logo on every bowl, and sets matched by note can be specified. Lead times for bulk carved orders are longer than the standard 3–4 business days. Contact us for trade pricing.

• Hand-carved cut freehand with chisel and hammer by thanka-trained artists
• Hindu or Tibetan Om as a single symbol or a full carved design
• Healer-selected your bowl played and chosen after the carving is complete
• Free personal engraving name, date or mantra, in English or Tibetan script
• You pick the spec diameter, finish and musical note on most bowls
• Ships in 3–4 business days by DHL Express worldwide with tracking
• Secure checkout Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, on an SSL-encrypted connection

Common questions about Om and mantra carved singing bowls

What is an Om singing bowl?
A handmade singing bowl engraved with the Om symbol, either the Hindu Om (ॐ) or the Tibetan Om (ༀ). Om is regarded as the first sound in both traditions, which makes it the natural symbol for an instrument made for sound. We carve it as a single bold symbol or as a full design.

What is the difference between the Hindu Om and the Tibetan Om?
They are the same syllable written in two scripts. The Hindu Om is the Devanagari form used in Vedic and yogic practice. The Tibetan Om is the form used in Tibetan Buddhism, where it opens mantras such as Om Mani Padme Hum. Choose the one that belongs to your own practice.

What note is an Om singing bowl?
Any note. The Om symbol does not set the pitch, so you choose the note separately on the product page. Some modern sound healers associate Om with a tone near C sharp, but most people choose the note they want to work with.

What does Om Mani Padme Hum mean?
It is the six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, and the most widely recited mantra in Tibetan Buddhism. It is often translated as "the jewel in the lotus". On a singing bowl it is usually carved as a band around the outside.

Does engraving change the sound of a singing bowl?
It can, slightly, because carving removes a little metal. That is why we judge the sound only after the carving is finished. The note you choose is the note of the completed bowl.

Are the designs hand-carved or machine-made?
Hand-carved, with chisel and hammer, by artists trained in thanka painting who work freehand from the traditional forms. No two bowls carry identical lines. A full mandala bowl can take several days.

Can I have my own text or date engraved?
Yes, and it is free. A name, a date, a dedication or a mantra of your own, in English or Tibetan script. We confirm the layout with you before cutting.

Which symbol should I choose?
If you have a practice attached to a mantra or deity, that decides it. If not, Om and Flower of Life are the two most people settle on. Ashtamangala is the traditional gift choice for a new home or business.

Can I hear the bowl before it ships?
Yes. Your bowl is selected individually after you order, so on request we record that specific bowl and send you the video before dispatch.

How long does dispatch take?
Orders leave Kathmandu within 3–4 business days and ship worldwide by DHL Express with tracking.

Do you supply carved singing bowls wholesale?
Yes, including studio names or logos on every bowl. Bulk carved orders take longer because the carving is done by hand. Contact us for trade pricing.

How do I care for a carved bowl?
Much like any other, though engraved lines hold more dust. See cleansing and charging a Tibetan singing bowl.