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Gayatri - Mantra

Gayatri - Mantra: Encyclopedia II - Gayatri - Mantra

The Gayatri Mantra is the most revered mantra in Hinduism. It consists of the prefix :oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a formula taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rig Veda (which is an example of the Gayatri meter). Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the Rig Veda, the Gayatr ...

Gayatri: Encyclopedia II - Gayatri - Mantra

Gayatri - Mantra

The Gayatri Mantra is the most revered mantra in Hinduism. It consists of the prefix :oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a formula taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rig Veda (which is an example of the Gayatri meter). Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the Rig Veda, the Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas. The Deva or the deity invoked in this mantra is Savitŗ, and hence the mantra is also called as Sāvitrī.

Widely acclaimed in India and by Hindus, the Gāyatrī Mantra's supreme status is further enhanced by Lord Krishna's proclamation in his spiritual discourse, the Bhagavad Gita, that among the mantras he is the Gāyatrī. The Gayitri Mantra is proclaimed in the Gita as a Universal Prayer, irrespective of a person's caste, creed or sex. It is a prayer meant to protect every individual and when uttered with immense devotion and concentration will protect the person. However proper pronounciation is a must and the person is expected to be a strict vegetarian^{[citation needed]}.

Gayatri - Text

See Sanskrit for details of pronunciation.

In Devanagari:

ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः । तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं । भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

In IAST

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ (a) tát savitúr váren_iyam (b) bhárgo devásya dhīmahi (c) dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt

Gayatri - Translation

Griffith (1896):

(a,b) "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitr the God:" (c) "So may he stimulate our prayers."

Word-by-word explanation (words not in exact order):-

om The sacred sound, see Om.
bhū 'earth'
bhuvas 'atmosphere'
svar 'light, heaven, space'
dhīmahi 'may we attain' (1st person plural middle optative of dhā- 'set, bring, fix' etc.)
tát várenyam bhárgas 'that excellent glory' (accusatives of tad (pronoun), varenya- 'desirable, excellent' and bhargas- 'radiance, lustre, splendour, glory')
savitúr devásya 'of Savitr the god' (genitives of savitr-, 'stimulator, rouser; name of a sun-deity' and deva- 'god' or 'demi-god')
yáḥ pracodáyāt 'who may stimulate' (nominative singular of relative pronoun yad-; causative 3rd person of pra-cud- 'set in motion, drive on, urge, impel')
dhíyaḥ naḥ 'our prayers' (accusative plural of dhi- 'thought, meditation, devotion, prayer' and naḥ enclitic personal pronoun)

Other translations:

Times Music^{[citation needed]}

"Oh, Creator of the universe! We meditate upon thy supreme splendour. May thy radiant power illuminate our intellects, destroy our sins, and guide us in the right direction."