गायत्री

{ gāyatrī }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

GĀYATRĪ I   One of the seven horses of Sūrya. The other horses are Bṛhatī, Uṣṇik, Jagatī, Triṣṭubh, Anuṣṭubh, and Paṅkti. [Chapter 8, Aṁśam 2, Viṣṇu Purāṇa] .
GĀYATRĪ II   
1) General information.
A glorious Vedic mantra. This mantra has twentyfour letters. There are nineteen categories of movable and immovable things in this world and to this if the five elements are added the number twentyfour is obtained. That is why the Gāyatrī has got twentyfour letters. [Chapter 4, Bhīṣma Parva] . At the time of Tripura dahana Śiva hung this Gāyatrī mantra as a string on the top of his chariot [Chapter 34, Karṇa Parva] .
2) The glory of Gāyatrī.
If one recites Gāyatrī once one will be freed from all sins done at that time; if one recites it ten times all the sins done on one day will be washed away. Thus, if one recites it a hundred times the sins of one month; thousand times, the sins of a year; one lakh times, the sins of his life time; ten lakh times, the sins of his previous birth; hundred lakh times, the sins of all his births, will be washed away, If a man recites it ten crore times he becomes a realised soul and attains mokṣa. [Navama Skandha, Devī Bhāgavata] .
3) How to recite Gāyatrī.
It should be recited sitting still with your head slightly drawn downwards with your right palm open upwards, with the fingers raised and bent to give the shape of the hood of a snake. Starting from the centre of the ring-finger and counting down and going up through the centre of the small finger and touching the top lines on the ring, middle and forefingers, count down to the base of the forefinger, you get number ten. This is how the number of recitations is counted. This method is called the Karamālā (hand rosary) method. This is not the only method that could be used. You can use a rosary made of lotus seeds or glass beads. If you are using lotus seeds you should select white seeds for the rosary. [Navama Skandha, Devī Bhāgavata] .

हिन्दी (hindi) WN

noun  चौबीस अक्षर और तीन चरणों का एक वैदिक छंद   Ex. गायत्री चारों वेदों में है ।

ONTOLOGY:

गुणधर्म (property) ➜ अमूर्त (Abstract) ➜ निर्जीव (Inanimate) ➜ संज्ञा (Noun)

Wordnet:

kan ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ

See : गंगा नदी, दुर्गा, गायत्री मंत्र

कोंकणी (Konkani) WN

noun  चोवीस अक्षर आनी तीन चरणांचो एक वैदीक छंद   Ex. गायत्री चारूय वेदांनी आसा

ONTOLOGY:

गुणधर्म (property) ➜ अमूर्त (Abstract) ➜ निर्जीव (Inanimate) ➜ संज्ञा (Noun)

Wordnet:

kan ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ

See : गंगा, गायत्रीमंत्र

A dictionary, Marathi and English

A sacred verse from the Vedas, to be recited mentally. It is usually personified and considered as a goddess, the metaphorical mother of the first three divisions of the Hindú people in their capacity of twice-born.

Aryabhushan School Dictionary

 f  A sacred verse from the Vedas to be recited mentally. A cow.

मराठी (Marathi) WN

noun  चोवीस अक्षरे आणि तीन चरणांचा एक वैदिक छंद   Ex. ह्या ऋचेचा छंद गायत्री हा आहे./गायत्री हा चारही वेदांमध्ये आहे.

ONTOLOGY:

गुणधर्म (property) ➜ अमूर्त (Abstract) ➜ निर्जीव (Inanimate) ➜ संज्ञा (Noun)

Wordnet:

kan ಗಾಯತ್ರಿ

See : गायत्रीमंत्र

महाराष्ट्र शब्दकोश

वि.  गाईसारखा गरीब ; निरुपद्रवी ; साधा . ' तो गायत्री आहे .' - राजगुरु वही . ( सं .)

A Sanskrit English Dictionary

गायत्री  f.  a f. an ancient metre of twenty-four syllables (variously arranged, but generally as a triplet of eight syllables each), any hymn composed in the गायत्री metre, [RV. x, 14; 16 & 130, 4]; [VS.]; [AV.] &c.
तत् सवितुर् वरेण्यम् भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्   the गायत्री ( i.e. [RV. iii, 62, 10]; , [ŚBr. xiv]; [ŚāṅkhGṛ.]; [MBh.] &c.; this is a very sacred verse repeated by every Brāhman at his morning and evening devotions; from being addressed to सवितृ or the Sun as generator, it is also called सावित्री; cf. [RTL. pp. 19; 342; 361; 403]; the गायत्री verse is personified as a goddess, the wife of ब्रह्मा and mother of the four वेदs, [Hariv. 11666 ff.]; it is often mentioned in connection with the अमृत, both together constituting as it were the essence and type of sacred hymns in general, [AV.]; the गायत्री personified is also considered as the mother of the first three classes in their capacity of twice-born, [W.]; cf. [RTL. pp. 200 f.]; some other verse [perhaps, [RV. x, 9, 1]] is denoted by गायत्री, [Suśr. vi, 28, 7]; with तान्त्रिकs a number of mystical verses are called गायत्रीs, and each deity has one in particular)
N. of दुर्गा, [MatsyaP.]; [Kathās. liii, 172]
Acacia Catechu, [L.]
गायत्री  f.  b f. of °त्र॑ q.v.
गाय°त्री    c &c. See, ib.

The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary

गायत्री [gāyatrī]   1 A Vedic [metre of 24] syllables; गायत्री छन्द- सामहम् [Bg.1.35.]
 N. N. of a very sacred verse repeated by every Brāhmaṇa at his Sandhyā (morning and evening devotions) and on other occasions also. Great sins even are said to be expiated by a pious repetition of this verse, which is as follows: तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् [Rv.3.62.1.]
A number of mystical verses in Tantra literature.
 N. N. of Durgā, [Ks.53.172.]
-त्रम्   A hymn composed and recited in the Gāyatrī metre. -Comp.
-मन्त्रः   prayers connected with the गायत्री.
-वल्लभः   an epithet of Śiva.

Shabda-Sagara

गायत्री  f.  ( -त्री)
1. A measure of verse in the Vedas, a stanza usually of twenty-four syllables, variously arranged, but most commonly in three lines.
2. A sacred verse from the Vedas to be recited only men- tally; this is usually personified and considered as a goddess, the wife of BRAHMA; the metaphorical mother of the three first clas- ses, in their capacity of twice born, investiture with the sacred and distinguishing string, &c. being regarded as a new birth; there is but one Gayatri of the Vedas, but according to the sytem of the Tantrikas, a number of mystical verses are called Gayatris; each deity has one in particular.
3. A kind of mimosa, (M. catechu:) see the preceding, &c.
E. गायन् who sings, and त्रै to preserve, affix- es क and ङीष्; this applies especially to the mystical verse, the repetiton of which is necessary for salvation; the word is also writ- ten गायत्त्री.

ROOTS:

गायन् त्रै क ङीष्; गायत्त्री

संस्कृतम् (Sanskrit) WN

See : खदिरः