Today Sat 24 Oct TithiTrayodashi NakshatraUttara Bhadrapada PlaceCoimbatoreUse my location Full Panchang & horoscope →

Rituals

All HomasAradhanaNadi AstrologyMantra Guides

Astrology

All Free ToolsVedic AstrologyToday's PanchangFree KundliDaily Horoscope

More

BlogAsk NirnayaContact

Your account

Sign inCart
Home › Mantras › Gita Dhyanam
Narayana Gita Dhyanam: Krishna as charioteer, holding the whip and showing the gesture of knowledge, as Arjuna listens with his bow laid down
The charioteer holds the whip and shows the gesture of knowledge as Arjuna listens between the armies
Mantra · Nine verses to the Gita, Vyasa and Krishna, read before chapter one

Gita Dhyanam

ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् । अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥

Also known as Om Parthaya Pratibodhitam

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

Narayana Sukta HomamThe Narayana Sukta Homam, performed for youBook →

What the Gita Dhyanam is

The Gita Dhyanam, the nine meditation verses that open with 'Om parthaya pratibodhitam', is the invocation that most printed editions set before the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita; it is not one of the Gita's own 700 verses. The first verse addresses the Gita itself as a mother, Amba, taught by Narayana to Arjuna and woven into the Mahabharata by Vyasa. The second salutes Vyasa, who lit the lamp of knowledge with the oil of the epic, and the third and fourth turn to Krishna, the fourth picturing the Upanishads as cows he milks with Arjuna as the calf. Verse five bows to the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, and verse six retells the Kurukshetra war as a river the Pandavas crossed with Krishna as ferryman. Verse seven praises the Mahabharata as a lotus, verse eight the grace that makes the mute speak, and verse nine the God whose limit no being knows.

An Invocation Without a Known Author

The Gita Dhyanam has no tale of composition, and its origin is disputed. Its first verse places the Gita 'madhye mahabharatam', in the middle of the epic, and that is where the eighteen chapters sit, inside the Bhishma Parva as the two armies face each other. The meditation verses are a later preface fixed to that teaching. Several twentieth-century commentators on the Gita traced the set to a work called the Vaishnaviya Tantrasara. Another line of tradition ascribes it to Madhusudana Sarasvati, the Advaita commentator on the Gita, an attribution that suits the phrase 'advaitamritavarshinim', she who rains the nectar of non-duality. Others suggest Sridhara Swami, who wrote on both the Gita and the Bhagavata, or say plainly that the composer is unknown. The set is also partly gathered from elsewhere. The ninth verse is the first verse of the thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavata Purana's twelfth book, where the narrator Suta begins his closing praise of that Purana, and the fourth verse also circulates within the Gita Mahatmya. By the early twentieth century the nine verses were already printed ahead of the Sanskrit text in English translations of the Gita. The eighth verse travelled furthest: Swami Vivekananda quoted its opening words in a letter from Chicago after the 1893 Parliament of Religions, trusting that the One who makes the mute eloquent would help him.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् । अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥
Tamilௐ பார்தாய ப்ரதிபோதிதாம் பகவதா நாராயணேந ஸ்வயம் வ்யாஸேந க்ரதிதாம் புராணமுநிநா மத்யே மஹாபாரதம் । அத்வைதாம்ருதவர்ஷிணீம் பகவதீமஷ்டாதஶாத்யாயிநீம் அம்ப த்வாமநுஸந்ததாமி பகவத்கீதே பவத்வேஷிணீம் ॥
Teluguఓం పార్థాయ ప్రతిబోధితాం భగవతా నారాయణేన స్వయం వ్యాసేన గ్రథితాం పురాణమునినా మధ్యే మహాభారతమ్ । అద్వైతామృతవర్షిణీం భగవతీమష్టాదశాధ్యాయినీం అమ్బ త్వామనుసన్దధామి భగవద్గీతే భవద్వేషిణీమ్ ॥
Kannadaಓಂ ಪಾರ್ಥಾಯ ಪ್ರತಿಬೋಧಿತಾಂ ಭಗವತಾ ನಾರಾಯಣೇನ ಸ್ವಯಂ ವ್ಯಾಸೇನ ಗ್ರಥಿತಾಂ ಪುರಾಣಮುನಿನಾ ಮಧ್ಯೇ ಮಹಾಭಾರತಮ್ । ಅದ್ವೈತಾಮೃತವರ್ಷಿಣೀಂ ಭಗವತೀಮಷ್ಟಾದಶಾಧ್ಯಾಯಿನೀಂ ಅಮ್ಬ ತ್ವಾಮನುಸನ್ದಧಾಮಿ ಭಗವದ್ಗೀತೇ ಭವದ್ವೇಷಿಣೀಮ್ ॥
Malayalamഓം പാര്ഥായ പ്രതിബോധിതാം ഭഗവതാ നാരായണേന സ്വയം വ്യാസേന ഗ്രഥിതാം പുരാണമുനിനാ മധ്യേ മഹാഭാരതമ് । അദ്വൈതാമൃതവര്ഷിണീം ഭഗവതീമഷ്ടാദശാധ്യായിനീം അമ്ബ ത്വാമനുസന്ദധാമി ഭഗവദ്ഗീതേ ഭവദ്വേഷിണീമ് ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationoṃ pārthāya pratibodhitāṃ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaṃ vyāsena grathitāṃ purāṇamuninā madhye mahābhāratam | advaitāmṛtavarṣiṇīṃ bhagavatīmaṣṭādaśādhyāyinīṃ amba tvāmanusandadhāmi bhagavadgīte bhavadveṣiṇīm ||
“Om. O Mother Bhagavad Gita, taught to Arjuna (Partha) by Lord Narayana himself and set down by the ancient sage Vyasa in the middle of the Mahabharata; O blessed one of eighteen chapters, who rains the nectar of non-duality and is the enemy of worldly bondage - on you I meditate.”
ॐ
oṃ — Om, the sacred syllable
पार्थाय
pārthāya — to Partha (Arjuna)
प्रतिबोधितां
pratibodhitāṃ — taught, awakened
भगवता
bhagavatā — by the Lord
नारायणेन
nārāyaṇena — by Narayana
स्वयं
svayaṃ — himself
व्यासेन
vyāsena — by Vyasa
ग्रथितां
grathitāṃ — woven, composed
पुराणमुनिना
purāṇamuninā — by the ancient sage
मध्ये
madhye — in the middle of
महाभारतम्
mahābhāratam — the Mahabharata
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं
advaitāmṛtavarṣiṇīṃ — raining the nectar of non-duality
भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं
bhagavatīmaṣṭādaśādhyāyinīṃ — the blessed one of eighteen chapters
अम्ब
amba — O Mother
त्वामनुसन्दधामि
tvāmanusandadhāmi — on you I meditate
भगवद्गीते
bhagavadgīte — O Bhagavad Gita
भवद्वेषिणीम्
bhavadveṣiṇīm — foe of worldly bondage

Gita Dhyanam lyrics in full

All nine verses, in the order most editions print them before the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

All 9 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Gita Dhyanam PDFAll 9 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Verse 1

ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् ।
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥

Om. O Mother Bhagavad Gita, taught to Arjuna (Partha) by Lord Narayana himself and set down by the ancient sage Vyasa in the middle of the Mahabharata; O blessed one of eighteen chapters, who rains the nectar of non-duality and is the enemy of worldly bondage - on you I meditate.

Verse 2

नमोऽस्तु ते व्यास विशालबुद्धे फुल्लारविन्दायतपत्रनेत्र ।
येन त्वया भारततैलपूर्णः प्रज्वालितो ज्ञानमयः प्रदीपः ॥

Salutations to you, O Vyasa of vast intellect, whose eyes are long like the petals of a full-blown lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata, was lit.

Verse 3

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये ।
ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥

Salutations to Krishna, the wish-granting parijata tree for those who take refuge in him, who holds a goad-whip in one hand, who shows the gesture of knowledge, and who milks the nectar of the Gita.

Verse 4

सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः ।
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥

All the Upanishads are the cows, the milker is the son of the cowherd (Krishna), Arjuna is the calf, the person of pure mind is the one who drinks, and the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.

Verse 5

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥

I bow to Krishna, the divine son of Vasudeva, the crusher of Kamsa and Chanura, the supreme joy of Devaki, the teacher of the world.

Verse 6

भीष्मद्रोणतटा जयद्रथजला गान्धारनीलोत्पला शल्यग्राहवती कृपेण वहनी कर्णेन वेलाकुला ।
अश्वत्थामविकर्णघोरमकरा दुर्योधनावर्तिनी सोत्तीर्णा खलु पाण्डवै रणनदी कैवर्तकः केशवः ॥

The river of battle, whose banks were Bhishma and Drona, whose water was Jayadratha, whose blue lotus was the king of Gandhara, whose crocodile was Shalya, whose current was Kripa, whose surging wave was Karna, whose fearsome sea-beasts were Ashvatthama and Vikarna, and whose whirlpool was Duryodhana - that river was indeed crossed by the Pandavas, with Keshava (Krishna) as the ferryman.

Verse 7

पाराशर्यवचः सरोजममलं गीतार्थगन्धोत्कटं नानाख्यानककेसरं हरिकथासम्बोधनाबोधितम् ।
लोके सज्जनषट्पदैरहरहः पेपीयमानं मुदा भूयाद्भारतपङ्कजं कलिमलप्रध्वंसि नः श्रेयसे ॥

May the spotless lotus of the Mahabharata, born of the words of Vyasa (son of Parashara), heavy with the fragrance of the Gita's meaning, with its many stories as stamens, opened fully by the telling of Hari's deeds, drunk joyfully day after day by the bees who are the good people of the world, and destroying the impurities of the Kali age, be for our highest good.

Verse 8

मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिम् ।
यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्दमाधवम् ॥

I bow to that Madhava, the supreme bliss, whose grace makes the mute eloquent and makes the lame cross a mountain.

Verse 9

यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रमरुतः स्तुन्वन्ति दिव्यैः स्तवैः वेदैः साङ्गपदक्रमोपनिषदैर्गायन्ति यं सामगाः ।
ध्यानावस्थिततद्गतेन मनसा पश्यन्ति यं योगिनो यस्यान्तं न विदुः सुरासुरगणा देवाय तस्मै नमः ॥

Salutations to that God whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns; whom the singers of the Sama Veda sing through the Vedas with their limbs, in the pada and krama ways of chanting, and through the Upanishads; whom yogis see with minds settled in meditation and fixed on him; and whose limit neither the hosts of gods nor of demons know.

The syllable people get wrong

In verse four, dogdhā ('the milker') is often flattened to 'dog-da'; the g closes the first syllable and is followed by a breathy dh, so it is said 'dog-dhaa' with the final ā held long.

When the Gita Dhyanam is chanted

Weekday. Thursday

Festival. Gita Jayanti (Mokshada Ekadashi)

Questions

No. The Bhagavad Gita is the 700 verses of Krishna's dialogue with Arjuna in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata. The Gita Dhyanam stands outside that text as a preface, which is why it speaks about the Gita, Vyasa and the epic in the third person. Tradition places it before the first chapter, so that study of the Gita begins with salutations to the teaching, to the one who recorded it and to its speaker.
It is the fourth verse. All the Upanishads are the cows, and the milker is the cowherd's son, Krishna. Arjuna, called Partha, is the calf for whom the milk is drawn, the person of pure mind is the one who drinks, and the milk is the great nectar of the Gita. The image presents the Gita as the essence drawn from the Upanishads rather than a new doctrine, with Arjuna's questions as the occasion for that teaching.
It is the eighth verse of the Gita Dhyanam, addressed to Madhava as the supreme bliss. The verse says that his grace makes the mute eloquent and makes the lame cross a mountain. It is often quoted on its own as a statement about divine grace. Swami Vivekananda cited it in a letter from Chicago, and Mahatma Gandhi borrowed its image in 1932 when describing what love had achieved at a school for orphans.
Printings differ in what they group under the heading. Some keep seven verses as the dhyanam and place 'sarvopanishado gavo', the cow-and-calf verse, inside the Gita Mahatmya, and 'yam brahma varunendra' at the very end after another closing verse. The nine-verse order printed here, with the cow verse fourth and 'yam brahma' ninth, is the one most editions follow. The wording of the verses themselves is the same in both arrangements.
Not sure a mantra is enough?

Have your chart read before you decide

Chanting is yours to do, and free. But which deity your situation calls for — and whether a mantra alone is the right response — depends on your chart. Sometimes it is; sometimes it is not.

Brahmashree Shivaaya
Chief Operating Officer & Head of Astrological & Spiritual Solutions
  • Over 30 years in the Guru–Sishya Parampara, from the age of five
  • He reads every chart himself — 60 minutes, one to one, never delegated
  • Charts are read only between sunrise and sunset, following tradition
Continue

Related

Ask Nirnaya

Nirnaya

AstroBhava’s automated guide

Nirnaya is AstroBhava’s automated guide. What you tell it — including birth details — is kept to recommend rites and is reviewed by our team to improve it. It does not predict. Conversations are anonymised 12 months after your last message; you can delete them sooner from your account. Privacy policy

Speak to someone at the ashram

Message the ashram on WhatsApp or by email.

Message on WhatsAppsupport@astrobhava.com

WhatsApp opens in a new tab; nothing is sent from this page.