The *Gayatri Mantra* — sometimes called *Savitri* — is widely considered the most important verse in the Rig Veda. Its source is the *Rig Veda* (3.62.10), in a hymn ascribed to the rishi Vishvamitra. It is addressed to *Savitur* — a name of the Sun, but specifically the Sun as *spiritual luminary* rather than the physical disc.
✦ The Verse
*Om Bhuur Bhuvah Svah,* *Tat Savitur Varenyam,* *Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi,* *Dhiyo Yo Nah Pracodayat.*
The first line, *Om Bhuur Bhuvah Svah*, is technically a separate utterance — the *vyahritis*, three "great words" naming the three worlds (earth, atmosphere, heaven). The mantra proper is the next 24 syllables — three lines of eight syllables each, the *Gayatri chhanda* (metre).
✦ Word by Word (Mantra Proper)
- ✦**Tat Savitur Varenyam** — "that adorable [light] of Savitri (the divine Sun)"
- ✦**Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi** — "the radiance of the deva — let us meditate upon it"
- ✦**Dhiyo Yo Nah Pracodayat** — "may that one inspire our intellects"
✦ A Unified Reading
*We meditate on that supremely adorable radiance of the divine Savitri (the inner Sun) — may it illuminate our minds.*
The verse is a prayer not for material gain but for *clarity of intelligence*. *Dhi* — the word translated as "intellect" — is more than reasoning power; it is the capacity for direct perception of truth. The Gayatri asks the source of light (the Sun, taken as both physical and spiritual) to kindle this capacity.
✦ Why "Mother of the Vedas"?
Sanskrit tradition calls the Gayatri *Veda-mata* — "mother of the Vedas" — for several reasons:
Position — its placement near the head of the third Mandala of the Rig Veda gives it ritual prominence.
Universality — it is the only verse explicitly recited in all three twice-born varnas during their *upanayana* (sacred-thread initiation), and the only verse a brahmana is enjoined to recite three times a day for his entire life.
Quality of the request — most Vedic verses ask for specific things (cattle, sons, victory). The Gayatri asks only for *clarity of mind*. Tradition reads this as the request from which all other goods flow.
✦ The Sandhya Practice
*Sandhya* means "junction" — and the three sandhyas are the junctions of the day: dawn, noon, and dusk. The classical practice for those initiated into the Gayatri:
- 1**Pratah Sandhya** — at dawn, before sunrise. Facing east. Recite the Gayatri at least 10 times (108 in fuller practice).
- 2**Madhyahnika Sandhya** — at solar noon. Facing east or to the Sun. Recite at least 10 times.
- 3**Sayam Sandhya** — at dusk. Facing west. Recite at least 10 times.
The full sandhya ritual includes water-offerings (*arghya*), pranayama, and a few connected mantras. But even simple recitation of the Gayatri at the three junctions is held to be valuable — and is what most practitioners actually do.
✦ On Initiation
Classically, the Gayatri is given by a guru in the upanayana ceremony, and is treated as a personal mantra. Many contemporary teachers — including across all Hindu sampradayas — have made the Gayatri freely available to anyone who wishes to recite it. Both views have classical support; the choice is for the practitioner and their tradition.
✦ A Practical Note
For someone wanting to begin: recite ten times in the morning after a bath, slowly, with the mind on the meaning. After a few weeks, the verse will begin to recite itself, and what was an effort becomes a kind of inner steadying.