Deva Premal – Dakshina

Deva Premal (born 2 April 1970 in Nürnberg, Germany) is a singer known for introducing Sanskrit mantras into the mainstream. Her meditative, spiritual music, composed and produced with her partner Miten and released on the their own label, Prabhu Music, puts ancient Tibetan and Sanskrit mantras into contemporary settings.

Deva Premal and Miten use a process of "natural selection" to choose the mantras on their albums. Premal has said she gravitates toward Sanskrit mantras, rather than mantras from other languages. She says that, for her, removing her ego from her understanding of the mantra allows the creative process to express the true meaning of the mantra.

The purpose of her work was explained: "Our objective is to be open to the Goddess of music – to be true to ourselves, as musicians, as 'teachers;' as partners, and ultimately, as individuals – fellow travellers. We accomplish this by not 'trying' to accomplish anything. We take very little credit for what is happening around our so-called success (we have sold over a million albums now!) – we see our selves as messengers of a 5,000 year old tradition...so, our part in the process is simply to show up and chant."

Dakshina is a Sanskrit word meaning “Offering in gratitude to the Guru.” Deva Premal’s vision for this beautiful album is to honour ‘the inner guru’ in all its multi-dimensional aspects, and to show her deep respect for the essence of all spiritual paths.