Gayatri

For other uses, see Gayatri (disambiguation).

Illustration by Raja Ravi Varma. In illustrations, the goddess often sits on a lotus flower and appears with five heads and five pairs of hands, the heads representing the four vedas and the almighty god.

Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, gāyatrī) is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. Gayatri is a consort of Brahma and the goddess of learning. Brahma married her when there was a need for a companion during a yajna. Brahma had to start the yajna along with his wife. His wife, Savatri, could not be found at the time so Brahma asked Indra to help him find a solution and Indra found Gayatri, who some believe, came from the Gurjar community.. So Brahma married Gayatri to start the yajna in time.

Upset by this act, Savatri cursed Brahma that he would not be worshipped on earth except at Pushkar.

Originally the personification of the Gayatri mantra^{[citation needed]}, and revered by Hindus worldwide, the goddess Gāyatrī is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri Veda Mata is seen by many Hindus to be not just a Goddess, but a portrayal of Brahman himself, in the feminine form. Essentially, the Goddess is seen to combine all the phenomenal attributes of Brahman, including Past, Present and Future as well as the three realms of existence.^{[citation needed]} Goddess Gāyatrī is also worshipped as the Hindu Trimurti combined as one. In Hinduism, there is only one creation who can withstand the brilliance of Aditya and that is Gāyatrī. Some also consider her to be the mother of all Gods and the culmination of Lakshmi, Parvati and Sarasvati.^{[citation needed]}

Gāyatrī is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth or else on a swan or peacock. She appears in either of these forms:

• Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all her reincarnations.^{[citation needed]}
• Accompanied by a white swan, holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education.^{[citation needed]}

It is a Sanskrit word, Ga means to sing, Yatri means Protection. Gayatri has three phases and so it is called tripada. It is also called tripada because it is Vedmata, Devmata and Vishwamata. Vedas have originated from Gayatri mantra and so it is known as Vedmata. It is Devmata because it helps in manifestation of divine virtues (gun), actions (karma) and nature (swabhav)

See also

• Savitr
• Upanayanam
• Saraswati

Further reading

• Sacinandana Swami: The Gayatri Book., Vasati Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-937238-05-0
• "Gayatri Sahasranam", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-57-7)
• Sadguru Sant Keshavadas (1978,2006). Gayatri: The Highest Meditation. Dehli: Motilal Bandarsidass Publishers PVT. LTD.. pp. 148 pages. ISBN 81-208-0697-2.  [1]