(49 – 52), Sri ParAsharA expounds to Sri maitrEya muni “You are called “gAyatree” at dawn, sAvitree at mid-day and “sarasvatee” at dusk ” and correspondingly we do the “prAta: sandhyA”, “mAdhyAhnikam” and “sAyam sandhyA” with salutations to the respective sandhyA dEvis.ġ. YA bhavEtpashchimA sandhyA sA vigyEyA sarasvatee” “poorvA sandhyA tu gAyatree sAvitree madhyamA smrutA May that supreme divine being enlighten our intellect, so that we may realise the supreme truth.” We meditate upon the effulgence of that adorable supreme divine reality, the source of the physical, the astral and the heavenly spheres of existence. Om bhoor bhuvah suvah, tatsavitur varENyam, bhargO dEvasya dheemahi, dhiyO yO nah prachOdayAt. The mantrA is given below for reference only. The gAyatree mantrA is initiated by a brahman priest/pandit during the “upanayana samskArA”. So the mantrA took the most powerful form as follows: It also specifies that the praNava mantrA “Om” and the 3 mahAvyAhrutIs, “bhoo:, bhuva: and suva:” be always recited before the “gAyatri mantrA”. The “taittriya AranyakA” 2.10 and 2.11 describes about the pancha maha yagya and sandhyAvandanam to be performed by a dvija. She is called tripAda gAyatri having three sections of 8 syllables each. gAyatri mantrA is the most powerful mantra. gAyatree mantra finds its place in rig Veda samhitA 3. The word “gAyatree” has its origin in the Sanskrit phrase “gAyantam trAyatE iti” which means that mantra which rescues the chanter from all adverse situations that may lead to mortality. The meditative repetition of the gAyatri mantrA and the offerings of water called “arghyam” are central to the “sandhyAvandanam” procedure. SandhyAvandanam is the worship performed at dawn and dusk to the supreme Lord who is the indweller of the disc of the sun. “sandhyA” means ‘twilight’ and “vandanam” means ‘worship’. “sandhyAvandanam” is a “nitya karmA”, a daily obligatory duty of the dwijas.

Sandhya vandanam pdf