Gayatri svaha
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On 15 Nov 1998, Urmila Devi Dasi wrote:
> In the sixth line of gayatri (klim
krsnaya govindaya...) we end with "svaha"
> Generally svaha is used when making
an offering in a fire sacrifice.
We use the word svaha in fire offerings
because Svaha is one of the two wives of Agni. Thus it is customary to approach
the husband through the wife. Laksmi Narayana, Sita Rama, Radha Krsna, etc.
Agni is considered the lowest of Demigods as he serves as the postman and
delivers the offerings. In Mantra Sastra there are several words that are used
to end mantras. One is namah, another is svaha. (Some others are vasat, hum,
vausat, and phat) Mantras in Mantra Sastra are classified into diferent genders
according to these word endings. Thus a mantra ending in namah is considered
neuter (not gramatically, but for other purposes) and a mantra and a mantra
ending in svaha is considered feminine. The mantra in question, the (Raja)Gopal
(18 syllable) mantra ends in svaha therefore according Mantra Sastra it is
considered feminine but the meaning would not change if it ended in any of the
other words given above. It is routine to change the ending of namah ending
mantras to svaha when using them in a fire ceremony or one may say the namah
and then add a svaha when using the
mantra for fire offerings.
> Is there any sense of
"offering" in the use of "svaha" in this mantra?
All the 7 mantras (and the sannyasa
mantra which also ends in svaha) certainly have the meaning of offering
respects to the named Deity. This is not due to the inclusion of the word svaha
specifically but due to the use of the dative case ie kRSNAya govindAya
gopIjana-vallabhAya. All the 7 mantras use nouns in the dative case which is translated
by the English "to or for" eg kRSNAya "to Krsna or for
Krsna"
> If so, what is being offered and
how?
Repects and obeisances are being
offered.
> Should one who chants this mantra
mentally/physically offer something?
During different ceremonies one may
offer with these mantras different items. For instance the Guru mantra, Gaura
mantra and the Gopal mantra (lines 2, 4 and 6) are mula mantras commonly used
in Deity worship. So they can be used for offering the different upacaras
(services) to the respective Deities. (Savitri) Gayatri (line 1) is used mainly
in Sandhya Vandhana for Japa, (Surya) Arghya, and (Vedic as opposed to Tantric)
Pranayama. It is also routinely used to perform Parisecanam (sprinkling of
water) when offering Bhoga and before taking Prasadam. As for the other mantras
(lines 3, 5, and 7) they along with the rest (except for line 1) are routinely
chanted (silently) at the end of puja of the particular deities involved. Line
6, 7, and the Sannyasa mantra are also applicable for use in Raganuga Sadhana.
The short answer is that during the
chanting of these mantras at the three sandhyas (ie sandhya vandana) there is
nothing which needs to be offered, one should simply meditate on the meanings
of the mantras. This is assuming that you are not performing Vedic Sandhya
Vandana or any complex form of Vaisnava Tantric Sandhya.
ys
Gaura Keshava das
(Text COM:1854393)
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