Gayatri Mantra Explained

The Gāyatrī Mantra (pronounced as /sa/), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (pronounced as /sa/), is a sacred mantra from the Ṛig Veda (Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr.^{[1] [2]} It is known as "Mother of the Vedas".^[3]

The term Gāyatrī may also refer to a type of mantra which follows the same Vedic meter as the original Gāyatrī Mantra. There are many such Gāyatrīs for various gods and goddesses. Furthermore, is the name of the Goddess of the mantra and the meter.^[4]

The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Hindu texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy, and classical Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Harivamsa, and Manusmṛti. The mantra and its associated metric form was known by the Buddha.^[5] The mantra is an important part of the initiation ceremony. Modern Hindu reform movements spread the practice of the mantra to everyone and its use is now very widespread.

Text

The main mantra appears in the hymn RV 3.62.10. During its recitation, the hymn is preceded by (Sanskrit: ॐ) and the formula (Sanskrit: भूर् भुवः स्वः), known as the , or "great (mystical) utterance". This prefixing of the mantra is properly described in the Taittiriya Aranyaka (2.11.1-8), which states that it should be chanted with the syllable , followed by the three Vyahrtis and the Gayatri verse.^[6]

Whereas in principle the gāyatrī mantra specifies three pādas of eight syllables each, the text of the verse as preserved in the Samhita is one short, seven instead of eight. Metrical restoration would emend the attested tri-syllabic with a tetra-syllabic .^[7]

The Gayatri mantra with svaras is,^[6] in Devanagari:

Sanskrit: ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः <br />तत्स॑वि॒तुर्वरे॑ण्यं॒ <br /> भर्गो॑ दे॒वस्य॑ धीमहि। <br /> धियो॒ यो नः॑ प्रचो॒दया॑त्॥

In IAST:

– Ṛgveda 03.062.10^[8]

Dedication

See also: Surya.

The Gāyatrī mantra is dedicated to Savitṛ, a solar deity. The mantra is attributed to the much revered sage Viśvāmitra, who is also considered the author of Mandala 3 of the Rigveda. Many monotheistic sects of Hinduism such as Arya Samaj hold that the Gayatri mantra is in praise of One Supreme Creator known by the name Om as mentioned in the Yajurveda, 40:17.^{[9] [10]}

Translations

The Gayatri mantra has been translated in many ways. Quite literal translations include:

• Swami Vivekananda: "We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may She enlighten our minds."^[11]
• Monier Monier-Williams (1882): "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, May he enlighten our understandings."^{[12] [13]}
• Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896): "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the god: So may He stimulate our prayers."^[14]
• S. Radhakrishnan:

• (1947): "We meditate on the effulgent glory of the divine Light; may he inspire our understanding."

• (1953): "We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may She inspire our intelligence."^[15]
• Sri Aurobindo: "We choose the Supreme Light of the divine Sun; we aspire that it may impel our minds."^[16] Sri Aurobindo further elaborates: "The Sun is the symbol of divine Light that is coming down and Gayatri gives expression to the aspiration asking that divine Light to come down and give impulsion to all the activities of the mind."^[16]
• Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton: "Might we make our own that desirable effulgence of god Savitar, who will rouse forth our insights."^[17]

Literal translations of the words are below after splitting the sandhi:^[18]

• oṃ - sacred syllable, primeval sound;
• bhūr - physical body / physical realm;
• bhuvaḥ - life force / mental realm;
• svaḥ - soul / spiritual realm;
• tat - that (God);
• savitur - of Savitṛ (Sun, Creator, source of all life);
• vareṇyam - adore, venerable;
• bhargo - splendour, effulgence, divine light;
• devasya - Supreme Lord;
• dhīmahi - may we meditate;
• dhiyo - buddhi (intellect);
• yo - may this light;
• naḥ - our;
• prachodayāt - illumine / inspire.

We meditate on that most adored Supreme Lord, the creator, whose effulgence (divine light) illumines all realms (physical, mental, and spiritual). May this divine light illumine our intellect.

More interpretative translations include:

• Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) (1913): "Om. Let us contemplate the wondrous spirit of the Divine Creator (Savitri) of the earthly, atmospheric, and celestial spheres. May He direct our minds (that is, 'towards' the attainment of dharmma, artha, kama, and moksha), Om."^[19]
• Ravi Shankar (poet): "Oh manifest and unmanifest, wave and ray of breath, red lotus of insight, transfix us from eye to navel to throat, under canopy of stars spring from soil in an unbroken arc of light that we might immerse ourselves until lit from within like the sun itself."^[20]
• Pandit Shriram Sharma: Om, the Brahm, the Universal Divine Energy, vital spiritual energy (Pran), the essence of our life existence, Positivity, destroyer of sufferings, the happiness, that is bright, luminous like the Sun, best, destroyer of evil thoughts, the divinity who grants happiness may imbibe its Divinity and Brilliance within us which may purify us and guide our righteous wisdom on the right path.^[21]
• Sir William Jones (1807): "Let us adore the supremacy of that divine sun, the god-head who illuminates all, who recreates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, whom we invoke to direct our understandings right in our progress toward his holy seat."^[22]
• William Quan Judge (1893): "Unveil, O Thou who givest sustenance to the Universe, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, that face of the True Sun now hidden by a vase of golden light, that we may see the truth and do our whole duty on our journey to thy sacred seat."^[23]
• Sivanath Sastri (Brahmo Samaj) (1911): "We meditate on the worshipable power and glory of Him who has created the earth, the nether world and the heavens (i.e. the universe), and who directs our understanding."^[24]
• Swami Sivananda: "Let us meditate on Isvara and His Glory who has created the Universe, who is fit to be worshipped, who is the remover of all sins and ignorance. May he enlighten our intellect."
• Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati (founder of Arya Samaj): "Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life, Remover of pain and sorrow, The Bestower of happiness. Oh! Creator of the Universe, May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light, May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction."^[25]
• Kirpal Singh: "Muttering the sacred syllable 'Aum' rise above the three regions, And turn thy attention to the All-Absorbing Sun within. Accepting its influence be thou absorbed in the Sun, And it shall in its own likeness make thee All-Luminous."^[26]

Syllables of the Gayatri mantra

Gayatri mantra, called Gayatri Chandas in Sanskrit, is twenty-four syllables comprising three lines (Sk. padas, literally "feet") of eight syllables each. The Gayatri mantra as received is short one syllable in the first line: .Being only twenty-three syllables the Gayatri mantra is Nichruth Gayatri Chandas ("Gayatri mantra short by one syllable"). A reconstruction of to a proposed historical restores the first line to eight syllables. In practise, people reciting the mantra may retain seven syllables and simply prolong the length of time they pronounce the "m", they may append an extra syllable of "mmm" (approximately va-ren-yam-mmm), or they may use the reconstructed .

Textual appearances

Hindu literature

The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Hindu texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy, and cited several times in the Brahmanams and the Srauta-sutras. It is also cited in a number of grhyasutras, mostly in connection with the upanayana ceremony^[27] in which it has a significant role.

The Gayatri mantra is the subject of esoteric treatment and explanation in some major Upanishads, including Mukhya Upanishads such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitrayaniya Upanishad; as well as other well-known works such as the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana. The text also appears in minor Upanishads, such as the Surya Upanishad.

The Gayatri mantra is the apparent inspiration for derivative "gāyatrī" stanzas dedicated to other deities. Those derivations are patterned on the formula,^[28] and have been interpolated^[29] into some recensions of the Shatarudriya litany. Gāyatrīs of this form are also found in the Mahanarayana Upanishad.

The Gayatri mantra is also repeated and cited widely in Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata, Harivamsa, and Manusmṛti.

Buddhist corpus

In Majjhima Nikaya 92, the Buddha refers to the Sāvitri (Pali: sāvittī) mantra as the foremost meter, in the same sense as the king is foremost among humans, or the sun is foremost among lights:

In Sutta Nipata 3.4, the Buddha uses the Sāvitri mantra as a paradigmatic indicator of Brahmanic knowledge:

Upanayana ceremony

Imparting the Gayatri mantra to young Hindu men is an important part of the traditional upanayana ceremony, which marks the beginning of study of the Vedas. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan described this as the essence of the ceremony,^[30] which is sometimes called "Gayatri diksha", i.e. initiation into the Gayatri mantra.^[31] However, traditionally, the stanza RV.3.62.10 is imparted only to Brahmana. Other Gayatri verses are used in the upanayana ceremony are: RV.1.35.2, in the tristubh meter, for a kshatriya and either RV.1.35.9 or RV.4.40.5 in the jagati meter for a Vaishya.^[32]

Mantra-recitation

Gayatri japa is used as a method of prāyaścitta (atonement). It is believed by practitioners that reciting the mantra bestows wisdom and enlightenment, through the vehicle of the Sun (Savitr), who represents the source and inspiration of the universe.

Brahmo Samaj

In 1827 Ram Mohan Roy published a dissertation on the Gayatri mantra^[33] that analysed it in the context of various Upanishads. Roy prescribed a Brahmin to always pronounce om at the beginning and end of the Gayatri mantra.^[34] From 1830, the Gayatri mantra was used for private devotion of Brahmos. In 1843, the First Covenant of Brahmo Samaj required the Gayatri mantra for Divine Worship. From 1848-1850 with the rejection of Vedas, the Adi Dharma Brahmins use the Gayatri mantra in their private devotions.^[35]

Hindu revivalism

In the later 19th century, Hindu reform movements spread the chanting of the Gayatri mantra. In 1898 for example, Swami Vivekananda claimed that, according to the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita, a person became Brahmana through learning from his Guru, and not because of birth. He administered the sacred thread ceremony and the Gayatri mantra to non-Brahmins in Ramakrishna Mission.^[36] This Hindu mantra has been popularized to the masses, pendants, audio recordings and mock scrolls.^[37] Various Gayatri yajñas organised by All World Gayatri Pariwar at small and large scales in late twentieth century also helped spread Gayatri mantra to the masses.^[38]

Indonesian Hinduism

The Gayatri Mantra forms the first of seven sections of the Trisandhyā Puja (Sanskrit for "three divisions"), a prayer used by the Balinese Hindus and many Hindus in Indonesia. It is uttered three times each day: 6 am at morning, noon, and 6 pm at evening.^{[39] [40]}

Popular culture

• George Harrison (The Beatles): on the life-size statue representing him, unveiled in 2015 in Liverpool, the Gayatri mantra engraved on the belt, to symbolize a landmark event in his life (see picture).
• A version of the Gayatri mantra is featured in the opening theme song of the TV series Battlestar Galactica (2004).^[41]
• A variation on the William Quan Judge translation is also used as the introduction to Kate Bush's song "Lily" on her 1993 album, The Red Shoes.
• Cher, the singer/actress, in her, in 2002-2005, sang the Gayatri Mantra while riding a mechanical elephant. She later reprised the performance during her Classic Cher concert residency in 2017-2020 and Here We Go Again Tour in 2018-2020 (see picture).
• The Swiss avantgarde black metal band Schammasch adapted the mantra as the outro in their song "The Empyrean" on their last album "Triangle" as a Gregorian chant.^[42]
• The film Mohabbatein (2000) directed by Aditya Chopra which came under controversy when Amitabh Bachchan recited the sacred Gayatri Mantra with his shoes on leading some Vedic scholars in Varanasi to complain that it insulted Hinduism^[43]
• In the game (2016), Gayatri Mantra can be heard being sung during the destruction of Gaalsien flagship, Hand of Sajuuk, in the final mission of campaign, Khar-Toba.
• The HBO show The White Lotus (2021) features a character singing a version of the Gayatri Mantra multiple times throughout the first season.^{[44] [45]}

Other Gāyatrī Mantras

The term Gāyatrī is also a class of mantra which follows the same Vedic meter as the classic Gāyatrī Mantra. Though the classic Gāyatrī is the most famous, there are also many other Gāyatrī mantras associated with various Hindu gods and goddesses.

Some examples include:^[46]

Vishnu Gayatri:

Krishna Gayatri:

Shiva Gayatri:

Ganesha Gayatri:

Durga Gayatri:

Saraswati Gayatri:

Lakshmi Gayatri:

See also

• Savitr
• Om
• Dhi (Hindu thought)
• Vedas
• Metre (poetry)

Sources

• Book: Bloomfield, Maurice. Maurice Bloomfield. A Vedic Concordance: Being an Alphabetic Index to Every Line of Every Stanza of the Published Vedic Literature and to the Liturgical Formulas Thereof; that Is, an Index to the Vedic Mantras, Together with an Account of Their Variations in the Different Vedic Books. 1906. Harvard university. 9788120806542.
• Book: Dutt, Manmatha Nath. The Dharma Sastra Or the Hindu Law Codes. 1 March 2006. Kessinger Publishing. 978-1-4254-8964-9.
• Book: Lipner, Julius J.. Julius J. Lipner. Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. 1994. Psychology Press. 978-0-415-05181-1.
• Book: Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. The Bhagavadgita: With an Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation, and Notes. 1994. HarperCollins. 978-81-7223-087-6.
• Book: Rahman, M. M.. Encyclopaedia of Historiography. 1 January 2005. Anmol Publications Pvt. Limited. 978-81-261-2305-6.
• Book: Rinehart, Robin. Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice. 1 January 2004. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-57607-905-8.
• Book: Vedas. The Vedas: With Illustrative Extracts. 1 January 2003. Book Tree. 978-1-58509-223-9.

Further reading

• L.A. Ravi Varma, "Rituals of worship", The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol. 4, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, 1956, pp. 445–463
• Jan Gonda, "The Indian mantra", Oriens, Vol. 16, (31 December 1963), pp. 244–297
• A.B. Keith, The Veda of the Black Yajus School entitled Taittiriya Sanhita, Harvard Oriental Series Vols 18-19, Harvard, 1914
• Gaurab Saha https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/gayatri-mantra-detailed-word-by-word-meaning

External links

• Gayatri Mantra with proper pronunciation and intonation (Yajur Veda)
• Gayatri Mantra sung (length: 1:43:11).

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 3: HYMN LXII. Indra and Others.. 2020-09-29. www.sacred-texts.com.
2. Web site: Gayatri Mantra. OSME.
3. Swami Vishnu Devananda, Vishnu Devananda (1999). Meditation and Mantras, p. 76. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
4. Staal. Frits. June 1986. The sound of religion. Numen. 33. Fasc. 1. 33–64 . 3270126. 10.1163/156852786X00084.
5. Shults. Brett. On the Buddha's Use of Some Brahmanical Motifs in Pali Texts. Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. May 2014. 6. 119.
6. Book: Carpenter, David Bailey . Whicher, Ian . Yoga: the Indian tradition . Routledge . London . 2003 . 31 . 0-7007-1288-7 .
7. B. van Nooten and G. Holland, Rig Veda. A metrically restored text. Cambridge: Harvard Oriental Series (1994).http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/RV/RV03.html#3.062.10a
8. Web site: rv03.062 . sanskrit-lexicon.github.io . qu . . 2024-04-13.
9. Constance Jones,James D. Ryan (2005), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase Publishing, p.167, entry "Gayatri Mantra"
10. Roshen Dalal (2010), The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths, Penguin Books India, p.328, entry "Savitr, god"
11. Book: Vivekananda, Swami. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashram. 1915. 211.
12. Book: Monier Monier-Williams. The Place which the Ṛig-veda Occupies in the Sandhyâ, and Other Daily Religious Services of the Hindus. 1882. A. Asher & Company. Berlin. 164.
13. Book: Forrest Morgan. et al. The Bibliophile Library of Literature, Art and Rare Manuscripts. 1. 1904. The International Bibliophile Society. New York. 14.
14. Book: Griffith, Ralph T. H.. The Hymns of the Rigveda. E.J. Lazarus. 1890. 87.
15. S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upanishads, (1953), p. 299
16. Book: Evening talks with Sri Aurobindo . 2007 . Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Publication Dept . 978-81-7058-865-8 . 58–59 . 4th rev..
17. Book: Stephanie Jamison. The Rigveda –– Earliest Religious Poetry of India. 2015. Oxford University Press. 978-0190633394. 554.
18. Web site: Gayatri Mantra - A Universal Prayer . . Sri Sathya Sai International Organization . 25 July 2024 .
19. Book: Woodroffe, John. Tantra of the Great Liberation (Mahānirvāna Tantra). Dover Publications, Inc.. 1972. xc.
20. Web site: GAYATRI MANTRA . Ravi . Shankar . Ravi Shankar . January 2021 .
21. Book: Sharma, Shriram. Meditation on Gayatri mantra . AWGP Organization .
22. Book: Jones, William. The works of Sir William Jones. J. Stockdale and J. Walker. 1807. 13. 367.
23. Web site: A COMMENTARY ON THE GAYATRI . William . Judge Quan . William Quan Judge . The Path . January 1893 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100614051043/http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/commentary-on-the-gayatri.htm . 14 June 2010 .
24. Appendix "C", Sivanath Sastri "History of the Brahmo Samaj" 1911/1912 1st edn. page XVI, publ. Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, 211 Cornwallis St. Calcutta, read : Web site: History Of The Brahmo Samaj Vol. 1 : Sastri, Sivanath-Internet Archive. 1911. . Retrieved on 23 November 2020.
25. Web site: MEDITATING ON GAYATRI MANTRA.
26. Book: Singh, Kirpal. The Crown of Life. 1961. 275.
27. Shankhayana grhyasutra: 2.5.12, 2.7.19; Khadira grhyasutra: 2.4.21; Apastambha grhyasutra: 4.10.9-12; Varaha grhyasutra: 5.26
28. Ravi Varma(1956), p.460f, Gonda(1963) p.292
29. Keith, Vol I. p.lxxxi
30. Book: Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli. Religion and Society. 1947. 135. Read Books . 9781406748956.
31. Wayman. Alex. Climactic Times in Indian Mythology and Religion. History of Religions. The University of Chicago Press. 4. 2. 1061961. 1965. 295–318. 10.1086/462508. 161923240.
32. This is on the authority of the Shankhayana Grhyasutra, 2.5.4-7 and 2.7.10. J. Gonda, "The Indian mantra", Oriens, Vol. 16, (31 December 1963), p. 285
33. Title of the text was Prescript for offering supreme worship by means of the Gayutree, the most sacred of the Veds. Book: Roy, Rammohun. Translation of Several Principal Books, Passages and Texts of the Veds, and of Some Controversial Works on Brahmunical Theology: and of some controversial works on Brahmunical theology. . Parbury, Allen, & co.. 1832. 109.
34. Book: Roy, Ram Mohan. Prescript for offering supreme worship by means of the Gayutree, the most sacred of the Veds. 1901. Kuntaline press. So, at the end of the Gayutree, the utterance of the letter Om is commanded by the sacred passage cited by Goonu-Vishnoo 'A Brahman shall in every instance pronounce Om, at the beginning and at the end; for unless the letter Om precede, the desirable consequence will fail; and unless it follow, it will not be long retained.'.
35. Sivanath Sastri "History of the Brahmo Samaj" 1911/1912 1st edn. publ. Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, 211 Cornwallis St. Calcutta
36. Book: Mitra, S. S.. Bengal's Renaissance. Academic Publishers. 71. 978-81-87504-18-4. 2001.
37. Book: Bakhle, Janaki. Two men and music: nationalism in the making of an Indian classical tradition. Oxford University Press. 2005. 293. 978-0-19-516610-1.
38. Book: Pandya, Dr. Pranav. Reviving the Vedic Culture of Yagya. Vedmata Gayatri Trust. 2001. 25–28.
39. https://books.google.com/books?id=gtdFDwAAQBAJ&dq=Trisandya+Puja+%22Prayer%22&pg=PT9 Island Secrets: Stories of Love, Lust and Loss in Bali
40. https://books.google.com/books?id=MeP-LBnI_LMC&dq=Trisandya+Puja+%22Prayer%22&pg=PA412 Renegotiating Boundaries: Local Politics in Post-Suharto Indonesia
41. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2290393,00.asp Battlestar Galactica's Cylon Dream Kit
42. Web site: Analysis: Schammasch - "Triangle". Metal Lifestyle. en. 2020-04-16.
43. Web site: Amitabh Bachchan in Hot Water Over Gayatri Mantra with Shoes. Hinduism Tonday. en. 2021-01-16.
44. https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tv/the-white-lotus-review-mike-white-pulverises-privilege-in-spectacular-hbo-satire-a-show-that-ll-give-you-withdrawal-symptoms-101629278409419.html
45. Web site: Makers of HBO's 'White Lotus' Should Know Gayatri Mantra is Not Some New Age Energetic Warm Compress . 18 November 2022 .
46. Swami Vishnu Devananda, Vishnu Devananda (1999). Meditation and Mantras, pp. 76-77. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.