The Gayatri Mantra
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ | tat savitur vareṇyaṃ | bhargo devasya dhīmahi | dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt ||
🔊 om bhoor bhu-vah svah · tat sa-vi-tur va-ren-yam · bhar-go day-vas-ya dhee-ma-hi · dhi-yo yo nah pra-cho-da-yaat
📖 What it means
We contemplate the glorious light of the sun, the giver of life. May it set our thinking in motion.
🔍 Word by word
| भूः भुवः स्वः | earth, the space between, and the sky — the three worlds |
|---|---|
| तत् tat | that |
| सवितुः savituh | of Savitr, the sun as the one who brings things forth |
| वरेण्यम् vareṇyam | most choiceworthy, most worth having |
| भर्गः bhargaḥ | radiance, the light that burns away |
| देवस्य devasya | of the shining one |
| धीमहि dhīmahi | may we meditate upon, may we hold in thought |
| धियः dhiyaḥ | our thoughts, our intellects |
| यः नः yaḥ naḥ | who, us |
| प्रचोदयात् pracodayāt | may impel, may urge forward |
🕰️ When it is used
Traditionally at dawn, noon and dusk. Widely chanted before study.
💡 Worth knowing
It is a prayer for clear thinking, not for any material thing — which is unusual among prayers and is why students have used it for three thousand years. Note that it asks the light to move our thought; it does not ask for the answer.
🔬 Does it do anything?
A straight answer, with the evidence and its limits — including the claims that are popular and untrue.
More mantras
Om
The syllable taken as the sound of the whole — beginning, middle and end together.
Open →Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
From the unreal lead me to the real; from darkness lead me to light; from death lead me to deathlessness.
Open →Saha Nau Avatu — the student and teacher's prayer
May we two be protected together; may we be nourished together; may we work together with vigour; may our study be full of light; may we never quarrel.
Open →