Rudra Gayatri
The Vedic gayatri of Rudra-Mahadeva — Mahanarayana Upanishad 1.23.
Mahanarayana Upanishad 1.23edition
Sanskrit · संस्कृत
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Read in another script
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Meaning
May we know that Supreme Person; may we meditate on Mahadeva. May Rudra impel us.
This rendering is by a DharmSetu editor, not a quotation from a published translation. Compare with the public-domain translation.
A Hindi meaning has not been written for this mantra yet. Hindi is authored by a named editor rather than machine-translated, so it arrives more slowly.
How to recite
- Repetitions
- 3 · 11 · 108
- Time
- brahma muhurta, sunrise
Pronunciation key — sounds commonly got wrong
- ट ठ ड ढ ण · ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ
- Retroflex — the tongue curls back and touches the roof of the mouth. Distinct from the dental त थ द ध न, where the tongue touches the teeth.
- श ष स · ś ṣ s
- Three different sounds: ś as in “shy”, ṣ retroflex and further back, s plain. Collapsing them changes words.
- ः · ḥ (visarga)
- A soft outward breath echoing the preceding vowel — not a hard “ha”.
- ं · ṃ (anusvara)
- Nasalises the vowel; the closing sound follows the consonant that comes next.
- Long vs short vowels — a / ā, i / ī, u / ū
- Vowel length is meaningful in Sanskrit. Hold the macron vowels roughly twice as long.
- Aspirated consonants — kh, gh, ch, th, dh, ph, bh
- A distinct puff of breath. ph is an aspirated p, never an English “f”.
Word by word
- तत्पुरुषायtatpuruṣāya
- to that Supreme Person(dat. sg.)MW1899-CDSL p.433
- विद्महेvidmahe
- may we know(1st pl. mid.)MW1899-CDSL p.963
- महादेवायmahādevāya
- to Mahadeva, the great god(dat. sg.)MW1899-CDSL p.796
- धीमहिdhīmahi
- may we meditate(1st pl. mid.)MW1899-CDSL p.516
- तत्tat
- that(acc. sg. n.)MW1899-CDSL p.432
- नःnaḥ
- us(acc. pl.)MW1899-CDSL p.123
- रुद्रःrudraḥ
Context
Shadanga — the six limbs
The traditional analytic frame for a mantra. Blank limbs are simply not recorded for this text.
- chhanda
- Gayatri
- devata
- Rudra
Recited at / traditionally recited for
Classified as Vedic — From the Vedic corpus — Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka or Upanishad. Carries a rishi, a metre, and accent marking. Basis for this classification.
Related mantras
Gayatri Mantra
The most widely recited Vedic verse, addressed to the light of the sun — Rigveda 3.62.10.
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
The Tryambaka verse of the Rigveda, addressed to Rudra — a prayer for release, likening it to a ripe fruit loosening from its stem.
Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
Three movements — from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to what does not die. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.