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Caribbean
Sundries
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Gayatri
Gayatri (gyatr) is the feminine form of gyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. It can be:-
Ģ The name of a Vedic poetic meter of 24 syllables (three lines of eight syllables each), see Vedic meter.
Ģ Any hymn composed in this meter.
Ģ In Hinduism, it is one mantra in particular, attributed to Vishwamitra, and a goddess as its personification, considered a representation of the Parabrahman.
Mantra
The Gayatri Mantra is the most revered mantra in Hinduism. It consists of the prefix :o bhr bhuva sva , 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 invoked in this mantra is Savitar, and hence the mantra is also called Svitr.
Widely acclaimed in India and by Hindus, the Gyatr 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 Gyatr. 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 pronunciation is a must and the person is expected to be a strict vegetaria
Text
Ģ In Devanagari:
Ģ In IAST
o bhr bhuva sva
(a) tt savitr vreniyam
(b) bhrgo devsya dhmahi
(c) dhyo y na pracodyt
Translation
Ģ Ralph T.H. 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):-
Ģ bh 'earth'
Ģ bhuvas 'atmosphere'
Ģ svar 'light, heaven, space'
Ģ dhmahi 'may we attain' (1st person plural middle optative of dh- 'set, bring, fix' etc.)
Ģ tt vrenyam bhrgas 'that excellent glory' (accusatives of tad (pronoun), varenya- 'desirable, excellent' and bhargas- 'radiance, lustre, splendour, glory')
Ģ savitr devsya 'of Savitr the god' (genitives of savitr-, 'stimulator, rouser; name of a sun-deity' and deva- 'god' or 'demi-god')
Ģ y pracodyt 'who may stimulate' (nominative singular of relative pronoun yad-; causative 3rd person of pra-cud- 'set in motion, drive on, urge, impel')
Ģ dhya na 'our prayers' (accusative plural of dhi- 'thought, meditation, devotion, prayer' and na enclitic personal pronoun)
Other translations, circumlocutions and interpretations:
Ģ Kavikratu Tattva Budh [1]
"Almighty Supreme Sun impel us with your divine brilliance so we may attain a noble understanding of reality."
Ģ Gayatri Pariwar
"O God, Thou art the giver of life, the remover of pain and sorrow, the bestower of happiness; O Creator of the Universe, may we receive Thy supreme, sin destroying light; may Thou guide our intellect in the right direction."
Ģ William Q. Judge
"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."
"Oh matter-energy-mind (triple universe); Upon this worthy source of divine spiritual light, meditate: thus enlighten our intellect."
"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."
Goddess
Originally the personification of the mantra, the goddess Gayatri is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and the consort of the God Brahma and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena.
Gayatri is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. She appears in either of these forms:
Ģ Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all her reincarnations.
Ģ Accompanied by a swan, holding a book in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oceania
