It is important to understand the word-by-word meaning of the Gayatri Mantra (गायत्री मंत्र) before starting to chant it regularly. Chanting a mantra without understandings its meaning is not very useful. There are some different opinions about the meaning of this mantra. Some scholars believe that this mantra is dedicated to Sun God, while some to Goddess Gayatri.

Gayatri Mantra in Sanksrit:

ॐ भूर् भुवः स्वः |

तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं |

भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि।

धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात॥

Transliteration of Gayatri Mantra:

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ

tat savitur vareṇyaṃ

bhargo devasya dhīmahi

dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt

General Meaning of Gayatri Mantra in English:

We meditate on that excellent Savitr, whose divine light illuminates the Earth, sky, and heaven. May this divine light illumine our minds.

Word by Word Meaning of Gayatri Mantra:

1. Om: The primeval sound heard at the time of creation. It is a symbol of Brahman.

2. Bhur: The Earth; the physical body; physical realm.

3. Bhuvah: The sky; the life force; the mental realm.

4. Suvah: Heaven; the soul; spiritual realm.

5. Tat: That.

6. Savitur: A Vedic Sun god.

7. Varenyam: Most excellent, best.

8. Bhargo: Glory, luster, radiance.

9. Devasya: Divine.

10. Dhimahi: Meditate, think.

11. Dhiyo: The intellect, wisdom.

12. Yo: Which, who.

13. Nah: Our, of us.

14. Prachodayat: Illumine or inspire

Different Meanings of Gayatri Mantra interpreted by Different Scholars:

Swami Vivekananda: “We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may She enlighten our minds.” 

Monier Monier-Williams: “Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, May he enlighten our understandings.” 

Ralph T.H. Griffith: “May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the god: So may He stimulate our prayers.” 

S. Radhakrishnan:

A. “We meditate on the effulgent glory of the divine Light; may he inspire our understanding.”

B: “We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may She inspire our intelligence.” 

Sri Aurobindo: “We choose the Supreme Light of the divine Sun; we aspire that it may impel our minds. 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.”

Problems with Understanding the Gayatri Mantra Meaning:

Sanskrit is an ancient language, and the words have different meanings. Also, thousands of years have passed, and the meanings of the words have changed drastically. If you read the above different meanings, you would be confused about the meaning of the Gayatri Mantra as different scholars have given slightly different meanings of the mantra. Therefore, it is necessary to first understand some basics of this mantra.

History:

Gayatri mantra is first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in the Shukla Yajurveda. Sage Vishwamitra created Gayatri Mantra about 3000 to 3500 years ago.

Syllables of Gayatri Mantra:

There are a total of 24 syllables in Gayatri Mantra generally arranged in a triplet of eight syllables. They are as follows: 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.

The Meter used to Create Gayatri Mantra:

Vedic meter refers to the poetic meter in Vedic literature. There are seven major Vedic meters, among which Gayatri is the most popular. It consists of 24 syllables (8 letters in 3 padas). Therefore, the real Savitra Gayatri Mantra mentioned in the Rig Veda (3.62.10) is:

tat savitur vareṇyaṃ (1.tat, 2.sa, 3.vi, 4.tur, 5.va, 6.re, 7.ṇi, 8.yaṃ)

bhargo devasya dhīmahi (, 9.bhar, 10,go, 11.de, 12.va, 13.sya, 14.dhī, 15.ma, 16.hi,)

dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt (17.dhi, 18.yo, 19.jo, 20.naḥ, 21.pra, 22.cho 23.da and 24.yāt.)

“Bhur Bhuva Svaha” is added later in the Shukla Yajurveda.

Parts of Gayatri Mantra:

According to Sathya Sai Baba, the mantra is divided into three major parts: 1. Praise, 2. Meditation, and 3. Prayer. First, the Divine is praised, then it is meditated upon in reverence, and lastly, an appeal is made to the Divine to dispel the darkness of ignorance and to awaken and strengthen the intellect.

Meaning of Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah:

The meanings of these three words differ from translator to translator and hence change the meaning of the mantra also. Therefore, it is necessary to know the meaning of these words concerning the Gayatri mantra.

Different Meanings of the Words Bhuh, Bhuvah, and Svah:

1. Earth, sky, and heaven.

2. Past, present, and future.

3. The physical, mental, and spiritual realms.

4. Morning, noon, and evening.

5. Tamas, Rajas, Sattva.

6. Gross, subtle, causal.

These three words are called Vyahriti. There are a total of seven Vyahritis. They were made at the beginning of creation and represent the seven planetary systems.

Therefore, in the context of Gayatri Mantra, the meaning Earth, sky, and heaven is more suitable.

Is the Gayatri Mantra Dedicated to Goddess Gayatri or the Sun?

It is another confusing point for understanding the meaning of the mantra. As the name of this mantra is Gayatri mantra, and there is a goddess in Hinduism named Gayatri, many people think that this mantra is dedicated to her, but actually, it is called Gayatri Mantra because it is composed in the poetic meter called Gayatri.

There are other Gayatri mantras, like Ganesh Gayatri Mantra, Vishnu Gayatri Mantra also. In this mantra, the god mentioned is Savitra who is one of the Adityas, the off-spring of the Vedic goddess Aditi.

Goddess Gayatri is a personified form of the Gayatri Mantra. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that this mantra is dedicated to Goddess Gayatri, but it is more appropriate to say that this mantra is dedicated to a sun deity. Hence, it should be called Savitra Gayatri Mantra.

As this mantra is more popular than the other mantras, it is generally referred to as Gayatri Mantra.

Final Meaning of Gayatri Mantra:

So what is the correct meaning of the Gayatri Mantra? I think only Sage Vishwamitra can answer this question correctly, but after referring to many sources, I have come up with the following meaning of Gayatri Mantra.

“We meditate on the divine light of the most excellent Savitra (which pervades earth, sky, and heaven); may it inspire our intellect (enlighten our minds).”

Gayatri Mantra Meaning in Hindi:

हम ध्यान करते हैं देवता सवित्र के उस दिव्य तेज का जो धरती, आकाश, और स्वर्ग मे व्याप्त हैं। हम प्रार्थना करते हैं कि वह तेज हमारी बुद्धि को प्रकाशित करे।

Gayatri Mantra Meaning in Marathi:

आम्ही ध्यान करतो सवित्र देवतेच्या दिव्य प्रकाशवर ज्याने पृथ्वी, आकाश आणि स्वर्ग व्यापले आहे. आम्ही प्रार्थना करतो की ते तेज आमच्या बुदधीला प्रकाशित करो.

If you know any other Gayatri Mantra meaning or have something to suggest about this article, please use the comment section below.