Gayatri Mantra

2021-07-06T23:04:00Z

217.155.85.52:

{{short description|Mantra of the Vedic tradition}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
[[File:Gayatri Mantra.tif|thumb|Gayatri Mantra in [[Devanagari]] script]]
[[File:Gayatri Mantra as it is 2021 02 13 05 48 +.wav|thumb|Recitation of the Gayatri mantra. Duration: 23 seconds.]]
The '''Gāyatrī Mantra''', also known as the '''Sāvitri Mantra''', is a highly revered [[mantra]] from the ''[[Rigveda|Rig]] [[Veda]]'' ([[Mandala 3]].62.10),<ref name=":0" /> dedicated to the Vedic deity [[Savitr]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 3: HYMN LXII. Indra and Others.|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv03062.htm|access-date=2020-09-29|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Gayatri Mantra|url=https://os.me/books/gayatri-mantra/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=OSME}}</ref> {{IAST|'''[[Gāyatrī]]'''}} is the name of the Goddess of the [[Vedic meter|Vedic Mantra]] in which the verse is composed.<ref name="Staal">{{cite journal|last=Staal|first=Frits|date=June 1986|title=The sound of religion|journal=Numen|volume=33|issue=Fasc. 1|pages=33–64 |jstor=3270126|doi=10.1163/156852786X00084}}</ref> Its recitation is traditionally preceded by ''{{IAST|[[om|oṃ]]}}'' and the formula ''{{IAST|bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ}}'', known as the ''{{IAST|mahāvyāhṛti}}'', or "great (mystical) utterance". [[Vishvamitra|Maharshi Vishvamitra]] had created the Gayatri mantra.
The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, such as the mantra listings of the [[Śrauta]] liturgy, and classical Hindu texts such as the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'',{{sfn|Rahman|2005|p=300}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1994|p=266}} ''[[Harivamsa]]'',{{sfn|Vedas|2003|p=15–16}} and ''[[Manusmṛti]]''.{{sfn|Dutt|2006|p=51}} The mantra and its associated metric form was known by the Buddha, and in one sutra the Buddha is described as "expressing their appreciation" for the mantra.<ref name="jocbs.org">{{cite journal|last1=Shults|first1=Brett|title=On the Buddha's Use of Some Brahmanical Motifs in Pali Texts|journal=Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies|date=May 2014|volume=6|page=119|url=http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/view/76/96}}</ref>
The mantra is an important part of the [[upanayana]] ceremony for young males in [[Hinduism]], and has long been recited by [[dvija]] men as part of their daily rituals. Modern [[Hindu reform movements]] spread the practice of the mantra to include women and all castes and its use is now very widespread.{{sfn|Rinehart|2004|p=127}}{{sfn|Lipner|1994|p=53}} It is considered as one of the most important and powerful Vedic mantras.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Swami|first=Om|title=Gayatri Mantra|url=https://os.me/books/gayatri-mantra/}}</ref>
[[File:Gayatri1.jpg|thumb|Gayatri mantra personified as a goddess.]]
{{Hinduism}}

==Text==

The main mantra appears in the hymn [[Mandala 3|RV 3]].62.10. During its recitation, the hymn is preceded by ''{{IAST|[[om|oṃ]]}}'' ({{lang|sa|ॐ}}) and the formula ''{{IAST|bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ}}'' ({{lang|sa|भूर् भुवः स्वः}}). This prefixing of the mantra is properly described in the [[Aranyaka#Taittiriya Aranyaka|Taittiriya Aranyaka]] (2.11.1-8), which states that it should be chanted with the syllable ''{{IAST|oṃ}}'', followed by the three Vyahrtis and the Gayatri verse.<ref name=carpenter31>{{cite book |author1=Carpenter, David Bailey |author2=Whicher, Ian |title=Yoga: the Indian tradition |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2003 |page=31 |isbn=0-7007-1288-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlPta3a38P0C&pg=PA31}}</ref> Whereas in principle the ''gāyatrī'' mantra specifies three [[Pada (foot)|''pāda''s]] 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 ''{{IAST|vareṇyaṃ}}'' with a tetra-syllabic ''{{IAST|vareṇiyaṃ}}''.<ref>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]</ref>

The Gayatri mantra is,<ref name=carpenter31/> in [[Devanagari]]:
:ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

In [[IAST]]:
: ''{{IAST|[[oṃ]] bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ}}''
: ''{{IAST|tat savitur vareṇyaṃ}}''
: ''{{IAST|bhargo devasya dhīmahi}}''
: ''{{IAST|dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt}}''
:– Rigveda 3.62.10<ref>{{cite book|author=Guy L. Beck |title=Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-IeHbqAfSsC&pg=PA118|year=2006|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |isbn=978-0-88920-421-8|page=118}}</ref>

==Dedication==
{{See also|Surya}}

The ''Gāyatrī'' mantra is dedicated to [[Savitr|Savitṛ]], a Vedic [[Solar deity|Sun deity]]. However 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 AUM (ओउ्म् ) as mentioned in the ''[[Yajur Veda]]'', 40:17.<ref>Constance Jones,James D. Ryan (2005), ''Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Infobase Publishing, p.167, entry "Gayatri Mantra"</ref><ref>Roshen Dalal (2010), ''The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths'', Penguin Books India, p.328, entry "Savitr, god"</ref>

==Translations==
The Gayatri mantra has been translated in many ways.{{refn|group=note|A literal translation of ''tát savitúr váreṇ(i)yaṃ bhárgo devásya dhīmahi dhíyo yó naḥ pracodayāt'' is as follows: 
* tat - that
* savitur - from ''savitr̥'', 'that which gives birth', 'the power inside the Sun' or the Sun itself
* vareṇiyaṁ - to choose, to select; the most choosable, the best
* bhargoḥ- to be luminous, the self-luminous one
* devasya - luminous/ radiant, the divine.
:*''tatsavitur devasya'' - "of that divine entity called ''Savitṛ''"
* dhīmahi - who's wisdom and knowledge flow, like waters
* dhiyoḥ - intellect, a faculty of the spirit inside the body, life activity
* yoḥ - which
* naḥ - our, of us
* pracodayāt - to move in a specific direction.
:* cod - to move (something/somebody) in a specific direction.
:* pra - the prefix "forth, forward."
:* pracud - "to move (something/somebody) forward"
:* prachodayāt - "may it move (something/somebody) forward"; inspires}} Quite literal translations include:
* [[Swami Vivekananda]]: "We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may She enlighten our minds."<ref name="Vivekananda">{{cite book|last=Vivekananda|first=Swami|title=The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda|publisher=Advaita Ashram|year=1915|page=211|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=030TAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA211}}</ref>
* [[Monier Monier-Williams]] (1882): "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, May he enlighten our understandings."<ref>{{cite book|author= Monier Monier-Williams|title=The Place which the Ṛig-veda Occupies in the Sandhyâ, and Other Daily Religious Services of the Hindus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3gOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA164|year=1882|publisher=A. Asher & Company|location=Berlin|page=164}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Forrest Morgan|others=et al|title=The Bibliophile Library of Literature, Art and Rare Manuscripts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qb8CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA14|volume=1|year=1904|publisher=The International Bibliophile Society|location=New York|page=14}}</ref>
* [[Ralph T.H. Griffith]] (1896): "May we attain that excellent glory of [[Savitr|Savitar]] the god: So may He stimulate our prayers."<ref name="Griffith">{{cite book|last=Giffith|first=Ralph T. H.|title=The Hymns of the Rigveda|publisher=E.J. Lazarus|year=1890|pages=87|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZURAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA87}}</ref>
* [[S. Radhakrishnan]]:
:* (1947): "We meditate on the effulgent glory of the divine Light; may he inspire our understanding."<ref name="Radhakrishnan_1947" />
:* (1953): "We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may She inspire our intelligence."<ref>S. Radhakrishnan, ''[[The Principal Upanishads (book)|The Principal Upanishads]]'', (1953), p. 299</ref>
* [[Sri Aurobindo]]: "We choose the Supreme Light of the divine Sun; we aspire that it may impel our minds."<ref name="Evening talks with Sri Aurobindo">{{cite book |title=Evening talks with Sri Aurobindo |year=2007 |publisher=Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Publication Dept |isbn=978-81-7058-865-8 |pages=58–59 |edition=4th rev.}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Evening talks with Sri Aurobindo"/>
*[[Stephanie W. Jamison]] and Joel P. Brereton: "Might we make our own that desirable effulgence of god Savitar, who will rouse forth our insights."<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephanie Jamison|title=The Rigveda –– Earliest Religious Poetry of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190633394|page=554}}</ref>

More interpretative translations include:
* [[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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thepunchmagazine.com/the-byword/poetry/world-poetry-prose-portfolio-tokya-tanka-and-other-poems|title=GAYATRI MANTRA |first=Ravi |last=Shankar |author-link=Ravi Shankar |date=January 2021 }}</ref>
* [[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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Shriram|title=Meditation on Gayatri mantra |publisher=AWGP Organization |url=http://www.awgp.org/spiritual_wisdom/gayatri/importance_of_gayatri_mantr/meaning_meditation_on_gayatri_matr }}</ref>
* [[William Jones (philologist)|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."<ref>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=William|title=The works of Sir William Jones|publisher=J. Stockdale and J. Walker|year=1807|volume=13|page=367|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9QMAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>
* [[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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/commentary-on-the-gayatri.htm |title=A COMMENTARY ON THE GAYATRI |first=William |last=Judge Quan |author-link=William Quan Judge |work=The Path |date=January 1893 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614051043/http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/commentary-on-the-gayatri.htm |archive-date=14 June 2010 }}</ref>
* [[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."<ref>Appendix "C", Sivanath Sastri "History of the Brahmo Samaj" 1911/1912 1st edn. page XVI, publ. Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, 211 Cornwallis St. Calcutta, read : {{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.33057/page/n343/mode/2up|title= History Of The Brahmo Samaj Vol. 1 : Sastri, Sivanath-Internet Archive}}. Retrieved on {{date|23-11-2020}}.</ref>{{refn|group=note|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.}}
* [[Sivananda Saraswati|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."
(''Om'' - Para Brahman (entire universe);
''Bhur'' - Bhuloka (Physical Plane);
''Bhuvah'' - Antariksha (space);
''Svah'' - Svarga Loka (Heaven);
''Tat'' - Paramatma (Supreme Soul);
''Savitur'' - Isvara (Surya) (Sun god);
''Varenyam'' - Fit to be worshipped;
''Bhargo'' - Remover of sins and ignorance;
''Devasya'' - Glory (Jnana Svaroopa ie Feminine/Female);
''Dheemahi'' - We meditate;
''Dhiyo'' - Buddhi (Intellect);
''Yo'' - Which;
''Nah'' - Our;
''Prachodayat'' - Enlighten.)
* 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 guides our intellect in the right direction."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aryasamaj.com/enews/2010/dec/3.htm|title=MEDITATING ON GAYATRI MANTRA}}</ref>
* [[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."<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Kirpal|title=The Crown of Life|year=1961|page=275|url=https://www.ruhanisatsangusa.org/pdf/CrownofLife2012.pdf}}</ref>

===Meaning and significance===
{{Main|Om|Deva (Hinduism)|Dhi (Hindu thought)|Savitur}}

Gayatri mantra recommends meditating upon causation across the multiple translations to believe in the purifying direction of Divine insight, direction of the senses, inspire understanding and intellect, progress, journey to the sacred seat, choosing the right path for us, visualize the sun within ourselves because as above it exists below. Gayatri mantra suggests Bhoor, this implies existence, and signifies [[Prana]], life, or life breath. The mantra suggests tat, meaning "that", offer of praise to the God is to expect that no such praise or personal benefits are offered in return or expectation of gain. This word tat and prayer indicates a selfless belief and practice, the mantra as well as the holy word "Om", is given to God with pure direction. [[Savitur]] indicates God's existence as a fountain, which springs forth all life and all things, which we go from and go back to. Bhargo is the purifying of the intellect, as ore is refined in the flames, we too are purified by the words, destroying all sins and afflictions, we are cleansed by God grace and are in unity and oneness with God. Oneness with God is free from impurities in thought.

===24 Letters of Gayatri mantra===
Gayatri mantra has 24 letters. They are 1.tat, 2.sa, 3.vi, 4.tur, 5.va, 6.re, 7.ṇi, 8.yaṃ, 9.bhar, 10,go, 11.de, 12.va, 13.sya, 14.dhī, 15.ma, 16.hi, 17.dhi, 18.yo, 19.jo, 20.naḥ, 21.pra, 22.cho 23.da and 24.yāt.

When counting the letters, the word ''vareṇyam'' is treated as ''vareṇiyam'' which is the original form of the mantra in the Vedic language before the forced ex-post application of sandhi rules in the much more rigid Classical Sanskrit language.

==Textual appearances==

===Vedic and Vedantic literature===
The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, such as the mantra listings of the [[Śrauta]] liturgy,{{refn|group=note|Sama Veda: 2.812; Vajasenayi Samhita (M): 3.35, 22.9, 30.2, 36.3; Taittiriya Samhita: 1.5.6.4, 1.5.8.4, 4.1.11.1; Maitrayani Samhita: 4.10.3; Taittiriya Aranyaka: 1.11.2}}{{refn|group=note|Where it is used without any special distinction, typically as one among several stanzas dedicated to Savitar at appropriate points in the various rituals.}} and cited several times in the Brahmanas and the Srauta-sutras.{{refn|group=note|Aitareya Brahmana: 4.32.2, 5.5.6, 5.13.8, 5.19.8; Kausitaki Brahmana: 23.3, 26.10; Asvalayana Srautasutra: 7.6.6, 8.1.18; Shankhayana Srautasutra: 2.10.2, 2.12.7, 5.5.2, 10.6.17, 10.9.16; Apastambha Srautasutra: 6.18.1}}{{refn|group=note|In this corpus, there is only one instance of the stanza being prefixed with the three mahavyahrtis.<ref>VSM.36.3</ref> 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]].<ref>Dravida recension: 27.1; Andhra recension: 35.1; Atharva recension: 15.2</ref> 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।}} It is also cited in a number of grhyasutras, mostly in connection with the [[upanayana]] ceremony<ref>Shankhayana grhyasutra: 2.5.12, 2.7.19; Khadira grhyasutra: 2.4.21; Apastambha grhyasutra: 4.10.9-12; Varaha grhyasutra: 5.26</ref> 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]],{{refn|group=note|6.3.6 in the well-known Kanva recension, numbered 6.3.11-13 in the Madhyamdina recension.}} the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]]{{refn|group=note|4.18}} and the [[Maitrayaniya Upanishad]];{{refn|group=note|6.7, 6.34, albeit in a section known to be of late origin.}} as well as other well-known works such as the [[Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana]].{{refn|group=note|4.28.1}} 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 {{IAST|''vidmahe'' - ''dhīmahi'' - ''pracodayāt''"}},<ref>Ravi Varma(1956), p.460f, Gonda(1963) p.292</ref> and have been interpolated<ref>Keith, Vol I. p.lxxxi</ref> into some recensions of the [[Shri Rudram Chamakam|Shatarudriya]] litany.{{refn|group=note|Maitrayani Samhita: 2.9.1; Kathaka Samhita: 17.11}} Gāyatrīs of this form are also found in the Mahanarayana Upanishad.{{refn|group=note|Taittiriya Aranyaka: 10.1.5-7}}

The Gayatri mantra is also repeated and cited widely in classical Hindu texts such as the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'',{{sfn|Rahman|2005|p=300}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1994|p=266}} ''[[Harivamsa]]'',{{sfn|Vedas|2003|p=15–16}} and ''[[Manusmṛti]]''. {{sfn|Dutt|2006|p=51}}

===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:

{{quote|''aggihuttamukhā yaññā sāvittī chandaso mukham; Rājā mukhaṃ manussānaṃ, nadīnaṃ sāgaro mukhaṃ. Nakkhattānaṃ mukhaṃ cando, ādicco tapataṃ mukhaṃ; Puññaṃ ākaṅkhamānānaṃ, saṅgho ve yajataṃ mukhan.''
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.<ref name="suttacentral.net">{{cite book|last1=Bikkhu|first1=Sujato|title=Majjhima Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Sujato|date=2018|url=https://suttacentral.net/mn92/en/sujato}}</ref>}}

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

{{quote|''Brāhmaṇo hi ce tvaṃ brūsi, Mañca brūsi abrāhmaṇaṃ; Taṃ taṃ sāvittiṃ pucchāmi, Tipadaṃ catuvīsatakkharaṃ''
If you say you brahmin are, but call me none,
then of you I ask the chant of Sāvitrī,
consisting of three lines
in four and twenty syllables.<ref name="sn3.4">{{cite book|last1=Mills|first1=Laurence|title=To Sundarika-Bhāradvāja on Offerings|date=2020|url=https://suttacentral.net/snp3.4/en/mills}}</ref>}}
[[File:Gayatri japa.jpg|thumb|Gayatri [[Japa]]. 1851 lithograph]]
[[File:George's mantra, Pier Head.jpg|thumb|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 Sanskrit.]]
[[File:Classic Cher 5.jpg|thumb|[[Cher]], performing the song titled Gayatri mantra, at the concert [[Classic Cher]], [[Oxon Hill, Maryland]] on {{date | 19-03- 2017}}. Dressed in the Indian style, she is riding a mechanical elephant.]]

== Usage ==
===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,<ref name="Radhakrishnan_1947">{{cite book|last=Radhakrishnan|first=Sarvepalli|title=Religion and Society|year=1947|page=135|isbn=9781406748956|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SFNE0x5HFLMC&pg=PA135}}</ref> which is sometimes called ''"Gayatri [[diksha]]"'', i.e. initiation into the Gayatri mantra.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wayman|first=Alex|title=Climactic Times in Indian Mythology and Religion|journal=History of Religions|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|volume=4|issue=2|jstor=1061961|year=1965|pages=295–318|doi=10.1086/462508|s2cid=161923240}}</ref> However, traditionally, the stanza RV.3.62.10 is imparted only to Brahmin boys. Other Gayatri verses are used in the upanayana ceremony for non-Brahmins: 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]].<ref>This is on the authority of the Shankhayana Grhyasutra, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe29/sbe29035.htm 2.5.4-7] and 2.7.10. J. Gonda, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1580265 "The Indian mantra"], ''Oriens'', Vol. 16, (31 December 1963), p. 285</ref>

===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.<ref name="Radhakrishnan_1947" />

===Brahmo Samaj===
In 1827 [[Ram Mohan Roy]] published a dissertation on the Gayatri mantra<ref>Title of the text was ''Prescript for offering supreme worship by means of the Gayutree, the most sacred of the Veds''. {{cite book|last=Roy|first=Rammohun|title=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. |publisher=Parbury, Allen, & co.|year=1832|url=https://archive.org/details/translationseve00roygoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/translationseve00roygoog/page/n125 109]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/theenglishworks01rammuoft/theenglishworks01rammuoft_djvu.txt|title = Prescript for offering supreme worship by means of the Gayutree, the most sacred of the Veds|first = Ram Mohan| last = Roy| year = 1901| publisher = Kuntaline press| quote= 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.'}}</ref> From 1830, the Gayatri mantra was used for private devotion of [[Brahmo]]s. 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.<ref>Sivanath Sastri "History of the Brahmo Samaj" 1911/1912 1st edn. publ. Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, 211 Cornwallis St. Calcutta</ref>

===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 Brahmin 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mitra |first=S. S.|title=Bengal's Renaissance|publisher=Academic Publishers|page=71|isbn=978-81-87504-18-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPFeBY9YEAQC&pg=PA71|year=2001}}</ref> This Hindu mantra has been popularized to the masses, outside of Brahminic culture through pendants, audio recordings and mock scrolls.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bakhle|first=Janaki|title=Two men and music: nationalism in the making of an Indian classical tradition|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|page=293|isbn=978-0-19-516610-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=daPoKY6a-p0C&pg=PA293}}</ref> Various Gayatri yajñas organised by All World Gayatri Pariwar at small and large scales in late twentieth century also helped spread [https://www.saregama.com/song/gayatri-mantra_89069 Gayatri mantra] to the mass.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pandya|first=Dr. Pranav|title=Reviving the Vedic Culture of Yagya|publisher=Vedmata Gayatri Trust|year=2001|pages=25–28}}</ref>

===Indonesian Hinduism===
The Gayatri Mantra forms the first of seven sections of the [[Trisandya|Trisandhyā Puja]] (Sanskrit for "three divisions"), a prayer used by the Balinese Hindus and many [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Hindus in Indonesia]]. It is uttered three times each day: 6 am at morning, noon, and 6 pm at evening.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gtdFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT9&lpg=PT9&dq=Trisandya+Puja+%22Prayer%22&source=bl&ots=JkCJlFSGGo&sig=ACfU3U332xtfSSG35kIowRHMizoP0J0gbg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiS2ZXK6JLiAhWE6XMBHXv3C_84ChDoATAEegQIBhAB#v=onepage&q=Trisandya%20Puja%20%22Prayer%22&f=false Island Secrets: Stories of Love, Lust and Loss in Bali]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MeP-LBnI_LMC&pg=PA412&lpg=PA412&dq=Trisandya+Puja+%22Prayer%22&source=bl&ots=n06H739AA2&sig=ACfU3U3ZHzlxRhvTJISglwIMXCdy0y26CQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiS2ZXK6JLiAhWE6XMBHXv3C_84ChDoATABegQIAxAB#v=onepage&q=Trisandya%20Puja%20%22Prayer%22&f=false Renegotiating Boundaries: Local Politics in Post-Suharto Indonesia]</ref>

=== Popular culture ===
*[[George Harrison]] ([[The Beatles#Legacy|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 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' (2004).<ref>[https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2290393,00.asp Battlestar Galactica's Cylon Dream Kit]</ref>
*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 (album)|The Red Shoes]]''.
* [[Cher]], the singer/actress, in her [[Living Proof: The Farewell Tour]], in 2002-2005, sang Gayatri mantra while riding a mechanical elephant. She later reprised the performance during her [[Classic Cher]] tour in 2017 (see picture).
*The Swiss [[Avant-garde|avantgarde]] black metal band [[:de:Schammasch (Band)|Schammasch]] adapted the mantra as the outro in their song "The Empyrean" on their last album "Triangle" as a [[Gregorian chant]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://metallifestyle.weebly.com/1/post/2016/07/analysis-schammasch-triangle.html|title=Analysis: Schammasch - "Triangle"|website=Metal Lifestyle|language=en|access-date=2020-04-16}}</ref>
*The [[film]] Mohabbatein directed by [[Yash 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]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/blogs-news/hindu-press-international/amitabh-bachchan-in-hot-water-over-gayatri-mantra-with-shoes-/83.html|title=Amitabh Bachchan in Hot Water Over Gayatri Mantra with Shoes|website=Hinduism Tonday|language=en|access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>
*In the Act 1 finale of the [[Hi Nay]] podcast,<ref>https://youtube.com/c/HiNayPod</ref> Ashvin recites the Gayatri Mantra to combat the evil possessing him.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Bloomfield|first=Maurice|author-link=Maurice Bloomfield|title=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|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5dEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR8|year=1906|publisher=Harvard university|isbn=9788120806542}}
* {{cite book|last=Dutt|first=Manmatha Nath|title=The Dharma Sastra Or the Hindu Law Codes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjtbJPYZRuUC&pg=PA51|date=1 March 2006|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4254-8964-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Lipner|first=Julius J.|author-link=Julius J. Lipner|title=Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDMLYkIOoWYC&pg=PA53|year=1994|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-05181-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Radhakrishnan|first=Sarvepalli|author-link=Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|title=The Bhagavadgita: With an Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation, and Notes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCf5HAAACAAJ|year=1994|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-81-7223-087-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Rahman|first=M. M.|title=Encyclopaedia of Historiography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CPXCBIDYs6kC&pg=PA300|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Anmol Publications Pvt. Limited|isbn=978-81-261-2305-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Rinehart|first=Robin|title=Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMPYnfS_R90C&pg=PA127|date=1 January 2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-905-8}}
* {{cite book|author=Vedas|title=The Vedas: With Illustrative Extracts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtpcpsZEiYMC&pg=PA15|date=1 January 2003|publisher=Book Tree|isbn=978-1-58509-223-9}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* [https://gyanbygurus.com/ultimate-power-of-gayatri-mantra-by-sadhguru-can-it-cause-serious-problems/ Power of Gayatri Mantra]
*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]], [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1580265 "The Indian mantra"], ''Oriens'', Vol. 16, (31 December 1963), pp. 244–297
* [[Arthur Berriedale Keith|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
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[[Category:Hindu mantras]]

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Gayatri Mantra