Week 253: Sanskrit Document Library, Gayatri Mantra, Aesthetic
10/19/2024 - Modern Hindu Content
Welcome to Eternal Path! This week we feature: Sanskrit Document Library, The Gayatri Mantra, and an aesthetic!
Resource Highlight: Sanskrit Document Library
Some folks have taken pains to digitize in PDF form the Scanned Sanskrit Documents from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) collection Digitized at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). This contains a treasure trove of Hindu and Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, available in PDF. One interesting way of engaging with the documents would be to upload into a ChatGPT/Claude type model and engage with the slokas and texts that way by “talking” to the document.
The library is available at: https://sanskritdocuments.org/scannedbooks/asisanskritpdfs.html
Praxis Highlight: The Gayatri Mantra
The Gayatri Mantra (गायत्री मन्त्र) is one of the most sacred and ancient mantras in Hinduism. It first appears in the Rig Veda (3.62.10), the oldest of the Vedic texts, and is dedicated to Lord Savitr, a solar deity representing the divine influence of the sun. It is generally passed down generations by the medium of a guru, who grants the future chanter the right and responsibility to chant it regularly, often through the upanayana ceremony, and in many traditions has some restrictions on who can chant it. When in doubt, consult a guru well-versed in Sanskrit and Hindu texts before chanting any mantra.
The full Sanskrit mantra is: ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
Transliteration: "Om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt"
The literal translation is: "Om, Earth (bhur), Atmosphere (bhuvah), Heaven (svah) We meditate upon that most adorable, worshipable power (varenya) of the divine radiant sun (savitur), May it illuminate (pracodayat) our intellect (dhiyo)."
Many Hindus will try and chant the Gayatri Mantra 108 times a day for full effect. For another explanation on the meaning, check out this English and Hindi infographic below.
Aesthetic: Chaturdasha Temple, Tripura
