Gayatri Mantra personified as the goddess Gayatri, surrounded by the TamilOm symbol, with the mantra written in it. From left clockwise: Brahmi as Pratah Sandhya (Morning), Maheshwari as Madhyanika Sandhya (Afternoon), Pranava Rishi and Vaishnavi as Sayam Sandhya (Evening).
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.[3] Furthermore, Gāyatrī 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,[5][6]Harivamsa,[7] and Manusmṛti.[8] The mantra and its associated metric form was known by the Buddha.[9] 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.[10][11]
Text
The main mantra appears in the hymn RV 3.62.10. During its recitation, the hymn is preceded by oṃ (ॐ) and the formula bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ (भूर् भुवः स्वः), known as the mahāvyāhṛti, 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 oṃ, followed by the three Vyahrtis and the Gayatri verse.[12]
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 vareṇyaṃ with a tetra-syllabic vareṇiyaṃ.[13]
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.[15][16]
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."[17]
Monier Monier-Williams (1882): "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, May he enlighten our understandings."[18][19]
Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896): "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the god: So may He stimulate our prayers."[20]
(1947): "We meditate on the effulgent glory of the divine Light; may he inspire our understanding."[21]
(1953): "We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may She inspire our intelligence."[22]
Sri Aurobindo: "We choose the Supreme Light of the divine Sun; we aspire that it may impel our minds."[23] 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."[23]
Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton: "Might we make our own that desirable effulgence of god Savitar, who will rouse forth our insights."[24]
Literal translations of the words are below after splitting the sandhi:[25]
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);
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."[26]
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."[27]
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.[28]
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."[29]
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."[30]
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."[31][note 1]
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."[32]
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."[33]
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: tat sa vi tur va reṇ yaṃ.
Being only twenty-three syllables the Gayatri mantra is Nichruth Gayatri Chandas ("Gayatri mantra short by one syllable"). [citation needed]A reconstruction of vareṇyaṃ to a proposed historical vareṇiyaṃ 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 vareṇiyaṃ.[citation needed]
Textual appearances
Hindu literature
The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Hindu texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy,[note 2][note 3] and cited several times in the Brahmanams and the Srauta-sutras.[note 4][note 5] It is also cited in a number of grhyasutras, mostly in connection with the upanayana ceremony[36] in which it has a significant role[citation needed].
The Gayatri mantra is the apparent inspiration for derivative "gāyatrī" stanzas dedicated to other deities[citation needed]. Those derivations are patterned on the formula vidmahe - dhīmahi - pracodayāt",[37] and have been interpolated[38] into some recensions of the Shatarudriya litany.[note 10] Gāyatrīs of this form are also found in the Mahanarayana Upanishad.[note 11]
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:
The foremost of sacrifices is offering to the sacred flame;
the Sāvittī is the foremost of poetic meters;
of humans, the king is the foremost;
the ocean’s the foremost of rivers;
the foremost of stars is the moon;
the sun is the foremost of lights;
for those who sacrifice seeking merit,
Imparting the Gayatri mantra to young Hindu men is an important part of the traditional upanayana ceremony[citation needed], which marks the beginning of study of the Vedas. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan described this as the essence of the ceremony,[21] which is sometimes called "Gayatri diksha", i.e. initiation into the Gayatri mantra.[41] However, traditionally, the stanza RV.3.62.10 is imparted only to Brahmana[citation needed]. 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.[42]
Mantra-recitation
Gayatri japa is used as a method of prāyaścitta (atonement)[citation needed]. 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.[21]
Brahmo Samaj
In 1827 Ram Mohan Roy published a dissertation on the Gayatri mantra[43] 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.[44] From 1830, the Gayatri mantra was used for private devotion of Brahmos[citation needed]. In 1843, the First Covenant of Brahmo Samaj required the Gayatri mantra for Divine Worship[citation needed]. From 1848-1850 with the rejection of Vedas, the Adi Dharma Brahmins use the Gayatri mantra in their private devotions.[45]
Hindu revivalism
In the later 19th century, Hindu reform movements spread the chanting of the Gayatri mantra.[citation needed] 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[citation needed]. He administered the sacred thread ceremony and the Gayatri mantra to non-Brahmins in Ramakrishna Mission.[46] This Hindu mantra has been popularized to the masses, pendants, audio recordings and mock scrolls.[47] 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.[48]
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.[49][50]
Popular culture
A statue representing the Beatles was unveiled in Liverpool in 2015. Each of them features a symbol expressing a milestone in their respective lives. On the back of George Harrison's belt is engraved the Gayatri Mantra written in the Devanagari script.Cher, dressed in the Indian style, performing the song titled Gayatri Mantra at a concert in Oxon Hill, Maryland (19 March 2017)
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).[51]
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.[citation needed]
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.[52]
In the game Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (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.[citation needed]
The HBO show The White Lotus (2021) features a character singing a version of the Gayatri Mantra multiple times throughout the first season.[54][55]
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.[3]
^The word Savitr in the original Sanskrit may be interpreted in two ways, first as the sun, secondly as the "originator or creator". Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Maharshi Debendranath Tagore used that word in the second sense. Interpreted in their way the whole formula may be thus rendered.
^Where it is used without any special distinction, typically as one among several stanzas dedicated to Savitar at appropriate points in the various rituals.
^In this corpus, there is only one instance of the stanza being prefixed with the three mahavyahrtis.[34] This is in a late supplementary chapter of the Shukla Yajurveda samhita, listing the mantras used in the preliminaries to the pravargya ceremony. However, none of the parallel texts of the pravargya rite in other samhitas have the stanza at all. A form of the mantra with all seven vyahrtis prefixed is found in the last book of the Taittiriya Aranyaka, better known as the Mahanarayana Upanishad.[35] It is as follows: ओम् भूः ओम् भुवः ओम् सुवः ओम् महः ओम् जनः ओम् तपः ओम् स॒त्यम्।
ओम् तत्स॑वि॒तुर्वरे॑ण्य॒म् भर्गो॑ दे॒वस्य॑ धीमहि। धियो॒ यो नः॑ प्रचो॒दया॑त्। ओमापो॒ ज्योती॒ रसो॒ऽमृतं॒ ब्रह्म॒ भूर्भुव॒स्सुव॒रोम्।
^6.3.6 in the well-known Kanva recension, numbered 6.3.11-13 in the Madhyamdina recension.
^B. van Nooten and G. Holland, Rig Veda. A metrically restored text. Cambridge: Harvard Oriental Series (1994).[1]Archived 8 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
^"rv03.062". sanskrit-lexicon.github.io (in Quechua). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^Constance Jones,James D. Ryan (2005), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase Publishing, p.167, entry "Gayatri Mantra"
^Roshen Dalal (2010), The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths, Penguin Books India, p.328, entry "Savitr, god"
^Wayman, Alex (1965). "Climactic Times in Indian Mythology and Religion". History of Religions. 4 (2). The University of Chicago Press: 295–318. doi:10.1086/462508. JSTOR1061961. S2CID161923240.
^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
^Roy, Ram Mohan (1901). Prescript for offering supreme worship by means of the Gayutree, the most sacred of the Veds. 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.'
^Sivanath Sastri "History of the Brahmo Samaj" 1911/1912 1st edn. publ. Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, 211 Cornwallis St. Calcutta
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
