Gayatri Mantra: Meaning and Significance
The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra in both Hinduism and Buddhism. In this article we will go into the depths of this mantra and understand its meaning.
The Gayatri mantra comes from the Rigveda Mandala 3 Sukta 62 and Verse 10. This mantra was revealed to Rishi Vishwamitra in front of Rishi Vashistha, right after the enmity between the two was resolved. Most Hindus are quite familiar with this mantra and know how to recite it. The whole mantra is as follows.
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं । भर्गो॑ देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṃ. bhargo devasya dhīmahi. dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt
You must note that in the Rig veda, the first part of the mantra that is ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ( oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ) is not present. These additions were later recommended in the Taittariya Aranyaka. This gayatri mantra present in the Rigveda, without the ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ( oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ) is called Shuddha Gayatri. Before I explain to you the meaning of the Gayatri Mantra, let me give you a little bit of a background. Let’s first understand what is a mantra and what is Gayatri.
Our rishis have defined a mantra as मननात् त्रायते इति मंत्र, which means, that which liberates you by contemplating on it. If you take the word mantra, you can break it down into मन ( mana) + यन्त्र ( yantra). मन ( mana) means mind while यन्त्र ( yantra) means a tool. So mantra is a tool for the mind. Chanting of a mantra is a tool that helps you move your mind away from distractions and concentrate it on the truth. That is why contemplating on the meaning of the mantra helps you attain liberation.
Coming to Gayatri. Gayatri originally was a meter which contains three padas or three lines and each line will have 8 syllables or 8 maatraas. Later on, this particular mantra of Rigveda was given the name based on this meter. Interesting thing to note is that the gayatri mantra as present in the Rigveda does not completely follow this rule. Its first line only has 7 syllables while the second and third line have 8 syllables. I am not sure why that is. In any case, what we know is that this meter and mantra was later turned into a Goddess Gayatri. Gayatri has been defined by our rishis as गायते स्तुति कर्मणः, meaning that which is sung for worship. So Gayatri is a Goddess which represents the personified form of the mantra, who is a Goddess of worship.
The gayatri mantra that is often chanted is a Savitri Gayatri or Brahman Gayatri mantra, which includes the ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ( oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ). Here ॐ ( oṃ) is the Pranava and भूर्भुवः स्वः ( bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ) is called vyahriti. Why that is done will become clear to you after I will explain to you the meaning of this mantra.So, let’s go over the translation of this mantra. Here first let me give you my translation and then we will go over two other translations from Swami Vivekananda and Shree Aurobindo.
First let me explain to you the Shuddha gayatri, which is just तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो॑ देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥ ( tat savitur vareṇyaṃ. bhargo devasya dhīmahi. dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt)
तत (tat) = That
सवितु ( savitu) = coming from Savitra. Savitra is a Vedic deity conceived of as the divine influence or vivifying power of the Sun just before dawn. That way he is associated with a being who illuminates everything in this universe.
वरेण्य ( vareṇya) = to be wished, something that is desirable
भर्ग ( bharga) = Radiance, splendor, effulgence
देवस्य ( devasya) = of the devas, where devas are heavenly beings
धी ( dhī) = Wisdom, reflection, meditation
महि ( mahi) = very excellent
धीमहि ( dhīmahi) = Very excellent wisdom
धियः ( dhiyaḥ) = pious, devout reflecting
यः ( yaḥ) = to stirve or put effort in
प्रचोद ( prachod) = instigate
So, my translation of Shuddha Gayatri is as follows: That, coming from the Savitra (The God who illuminates everything), which is most desirable, which is the radiance of the heavenly beings, that very excellent wisdom and piety, let us make an effort that it instigates us in our efforts. This is the part related to the Rigvedic hymn. Now let’s look at the pranava and vyahriti that is ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ( oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ)
ॐ ( oṃ) = As I have explained on ॐ this is Shabd Brahman. Meditating on it puts our mind in deep concentration. So ॐ is chanted to bring our mind into concentration.
Meaning of Vyahritis as follows
भू ( bhū)= land or this world in which we live.
भुवः ( bhuvaḥ) = space or space between this world and the heaven or Antarikhsha.
स्वः ( svaḥ) = Heaven or Swarga
So भूर्भुवः स्वः ( bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ) is this entire creation. If we add the pranava and vyahriti to our chanting then we are invocating this entire creation. This reminds us of our place in this whole universe. With this understanding our mind goes into right perspective to meditate on the mantra of Rigveda. With this perspective, the idea meditated while reciting Brahman Gayatri will be
“ May the wisdom of the supreme being who has brought forth this entire creation manifest in us and be the driving force in our actions. “
This is my interpretation of the gayatri mantra, now let me share the translations provided by Swami Vivekananda and Shree Aurobindo. Swami Vivekananda’s translation goes as follows:
“ We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our minds. “
Shree Aurobindo’s Translation goes as follows: “ We choose the Supreme Light of the divine Sun; we aspire that it may impel our minds.” 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. “
In Majjhima Nikaya 92, the Buddha refers to the Sāvitri mantra as the foremost meter
“ 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, the Saṅgha is the foremost “
As you can clearly see this Gayatri/Savitri is respected a lot in the Buddhist tradition also. I hope you have now understood the meaning of Gayatri mantra. It is recommended that you should chant it 108 times in a day with 36 chants in the morning, afternoon and evening. If you cannot do that then you can chant it 12 times in a day either in the morning or evening. While chanting the mantra make sure you are mindful of the meaning of the mantra. This mantra is quite powerful and if you continue the chanting, you will definitely observe its effect.
Originally published at https://stoicsadhu.com on August 9, 2020.
