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Mantra · The morning twilight rite of the Taittiriya school, step by step

Sandhyavandanam Mantras

अच्युताय नमः । अनन्ताय नमः । गोविन्दाय नमः ॥

Also known as Sandhya Vandanam

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

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What the Sandhyavandanam Mantras is

Sandhyavandanam mantras are the words of the twilight worship that a householder of the Krishna Yajurveda (Taittiriya) school offers at dawn, and this page prints the morning sequence in the order of the nitya-karma manuals. It opens with achamanam: a sip of water on each of the names Achyuta, Ananta and Govinda, then twelve names of Vishnu said while touching the cheeks, eyes, nose, ears, shoulders, navel and head. In pranayama the breath is held over the seven vyahritis, the Gayatri and the formula 'Apo jyoti rasah'. The sankalpa states its purpose. In marjanam the worshipper sprinkles water while saying the three 'Apo hi shtha' verses to the Waters, then sips water in prashana with 'Suryashcha ma', a confession of the night's faults. After a second sprinkling, opened by the Dadhikravan verse, water is offered to the rising sun in arghya with the Gayatri. The goddess Gayatri is then invited, recited in japa and given leave, and the worshipper closes standing before the sun with three verses to Mitra.

Water thrown against the twilight demons

The Vishnu Purana, in its second book, explains why the twilight is never to be passed over. At each sandhya, it says, a host of rakshasas called the Mandehas try to devour the sun. Brahma had cursed them to perish by day and revive again, so the struggle is renewed at every dawn and dusk. At that moment the Brahmins scatter water purified by Om and consecrated by the Gayatri, and the water falls on the rakshasas like a thunderbolt. The Purana adds that when the first oblation of the morning is offered, the sun appears in unclouded splendour, and it warns that one who neglects the rite shares in the slaying of the sun. The arghya step on this page is that scattering of water. Tradition traces the tale further back, to a passage of the Taittiriya Aranyaka on rakshasas who assail the sun, and later retellings say the first offering of water kills their horses, the second breaks their weapons and the third slays them, until Brahma's boon raises them for the next twilight. The mantras reach further back still. The verses to the Waters and to Mitra belong to the Taittiriya Samhita, the Gayatri to the third book of the Rigveda, and the invocation of the goddess to the Mahanarayana section of the Taittiriya Aranyaka.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiअच्युताय नमः । अनन्ताय नमः । गोविन्दाय नमः ॥

Tamilஅச்யுதாய நமஃ । அநந்தாய நமஃ । கோவிந்தாய நமஃ ॥

Teluguఅచ్యుతాయ నమః । అనన్తాయ నమః । గోవిన్దాయ నమః ॥

Kannadaಅಚ್ಯುತಾಯ ನಮಃ । ಅನನ್ತಾಯ ನಮಃ । ಗೋವಿನ್ದಾಯ ನಮಃ ॥

Malayalamഅച്യുതായ നമഃ । അനന്തായ നമഃ । ഗോവിന്ദായ നമഃ ॥

EnglishRoman transliterationacyutāya namaḥ | anantāya namaḥ | govindāya namaḥ ||

“Salutation to Achyuta, the one who never falls. Salutation to Ananta, the endless one. Salutation to Govinda. (A sip of water is taken with each name.)”

अच्युताय: acyutāya — to Achyuta, the one who never falls
नमः: namaḥ — salutation
अनन्ताय: anantāya — to Ananta, the endless one
नमः: namaḥ — salutation
गोविन्दाय: govindāya — to Govinda
नमः: namaḥ — salutation

Sandhyavandanam lyrics in full

The morning Sandhyavandanam of the Krishna Yajurveda in twenty steps, printed without accent marks; at the second sprinkling the Apo hi shtha verses are said again. Chanting with the svaras is learned from a teacher.

All 20 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Sandhyavandanam PDFAll 20 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

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Achamanam 1

अच्युताय नमः ।
अनन्ताय नमः ।
गोविन्दाय नमः ॥

Salutation to Achyuta, the one who never falls. Salutation to Ananta, the endless one. Salutation to Govinda. (A sip of water is taken with each name.)

Achamanam 2

केशव नारायण ।
माधव गोविन्द ।
विष्णो मधुसूदन ।
त्रिविक्रम वामन ।
श्रीधर हृषीकेश ।
पद्मनाभ दामोदर ॥

The twelve names of Vishnu - Keshava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Shridhara, Hrishikesha, Padmanabha and Damodara - said while touching the cheeks, eyes, nose, ears, shoulders, navel and head in turn.

Pranayama 1

ॐ भूः ।
ॐ भुवः ।
ॐ सुवः ।
ॐ महः ।
ॐ जनः ।
ॐ तपः ।
ॐ सत्यम् ॥

Om, the earth. Om, the middle air. Om, the heaven. Om, the world of greatness. Om, the world of the born. Om, the world of austerity. Om, the world of truth.

Pranayama 2

ॐ तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

Om. We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitar, the sun as source of all. May he stir and direct our minds.

Pranayama 3

ओमापो ज्योती रसोऽमृतं ब्रह्म भूर्भुवस्सुवरोम् ॥

Om. The supreme is water, light, essence and the deathless; it is Brahman, it is earth, middle air and heaven. Om.

Sankalpa

ममोपात्त समस्त दुरितक्षयद्वारा श्रीपरमेश्वरप्रीत्यर्थं प्रातः सन्ध्यामुपासिष्ये ॥

So that all the wrongs I have gathered may be wiped away, and for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord, I shall perform the morning twilight worship.

Marjanam 1

आपो हि ष्ठा मयोभुवः ।
ता न ऊर्जे दधातन ।
महे रणाय चक्षसे ॥

O Waters, you are the bringers of well-being. Grant us strength and nourishment, that we may behold great joy.

Marjanam 2

यो वः शिवतमो रसः ।
तस्य भाजयतेह नः ।
उशतीरिव मातरः ॥

Give us here a share of your most auspicious essence, as loving mothers share with their children.

Marjanam 3

तस्मा अरं गमाम वः ।
यस्य क्षयाय जिन्वथ ।
आपो जनयथा च नः ॥

We come to you gladly for that essence, by whose dwelling you give life and delight. O Waters, give us new birth.

Marjanam 4

ॐ भूर्भुवस्सुवः ॥

Om, earth, middle air and heaven. (Said while sprinkling water around oneself.)

Prashana

सूर्यश्च मा मन्युश्च मन्युपतयश्च मन्युकृतेभ्यः ।
पापेभ्यो रक्षन्ताम् ।
यद्रात्रिया पापमकार्षम् ।
मनसा वाचा हस्ताभ्याम् ।
पद्भ्यामुदरेण शिश्ना ।
रात्रिस्तदवलुम्पतु ।
यत्किञ्च दुरितं मयि ।
इदमहं माममृतयोनौ ।
सूर्ये ज्योतिषि जुहोमि स्वाहा ॥

May the Sun, Manyu and the lords of Manyu protect me from wrongs born of anger. Whatever wrong I did in the night, by mind, speech, hands, feet, belly or organ of generation, may the night wipe it away. Whatever fault is in me, I offer it, and myself, into the Sun, the light that is the source of immortality. Svaha.

Punar Marjanam

दधिक्राव्ण्णो अकारिषं जिष्णोरश्वस्य वाजिनः ।
सुरभि नो मुखा करत् प्र ण आयूंषि तारिषत् ॥

I have praised Dadhikravan, the victorious and swift divine horse. May he make our mouths fragrant and carry our lives forward. (The Apo hi shtha verses are then repeated for the second sprinkling.)

Arghya

ॐ भूर्भुवस्सुवः ।
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

Om, earth, middle air and heaven. We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitar; may he direct our minds. (Water is offered to the Sun with this mantra, three times in the morning.)

Gayatri Avahanam 1

आयातु वरदा देवी अक्षरं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् ।
गायत्रीं छन्दसां मातेदं ब्रह्म जुषस्व नः ॥

May the boon-giving Goddess come, the imperishable one, equal to Brahman. O Gayatri, mother of the Vedic metres, accept this prayer of ours.

Gayatri Avahanam 2

ओजोऽसि सहोऽसि बलमसि भ्राजोऽसि देवानां धाम नामासि विश्वमसि विश्वायुः सर्वमसि सर्वायुरभिभूरोम् ।
गायत्रीमावाहयामि सावित्रीमावाहयामि सरस्वतीमावाहयामि ॥

You are vigour, you are endurance, you are strength, you are radiance; you are the abode and the name of the gods; you are the universe and the life of the universe; you are all and the life of all; you overcome all. Om. I invoke Gayatri, I invoke Savitri, I invoke Sarasvati.

Gayatri Japa

Om, earth, middle air and heaven. We meditate on the adorable radiance of the divine Savitar; may he direct our minds.

Gayatri Upasthanam

उत्तमे शिखरे जाते भूम्यां पर्वतमूर्धनि ।
ब्राह्मणेभ्योऽभ्यनुज्ञाता गच्छ देवि यथासुखम् ॥

O Goddess, born on the highest peak, on the summit of the mountain upon the earth, now take leave of your worshippers and go wherever you please.

Surya Upasthanam 1

मित्रस्य चर्षणीधृतः श्रवो देवस्य सानसिम् ।
सत्यं चित्रश्रवस्तमम् ॥

We praise the glory of the god Mitra, upholder of men - a glory that is gained by seeking it, true, and the most wondrous in fame.

Surya Upasthanam 2

मित्रो जनान् यातयति प्रजानन्मित्रो दाधार पृथिवीमुत द्याम् ।
मित्रः कृष्टीरनिमिषाऽभि चष्टे सत्याय हव्यं घृतवद्विधेम ॥

Mitra, knowing all, sets people to their work; Mitra holds up the earth and the sky. Mitra watches over all peoples with unclosing eyes. To him, the true one, we offer our oblation rich with ghee.

Surya Upasthanam 3

प्र स मित्र मर्तो अस्तु प्रयस्वान् यस्त आदित्य शिक्षति व्रतेन ।
न हन्यते न जीयते त्वोतो नैनमंहो अश्नोत्यन्तितो न दूरात् ॥

O Mitra, son of Aditi, may the mortal who serves you through your sacred law be rich in offerings. The verse says that one protected by you is not slain or overcome, and that distress does not reach him from near or from far.

The syllable people get wrong

In āpo hi ṣṭhā the cluster ṣṭh is retroflex, with the tongue tip curled back, yet it is often run together into a dental 'apohishta'. Keep hi as its own short syllable, then say ṣṭhā with the tongue turned up and a breath of aspiration before the long ā.

Questions

The three verses speak to the Waters directly. The first calls them bringers of well-being and asks them for strength and the sight of great joy. The second asks for a share of their most auspicious essence, as loving mothers share with children. The third says the worshipper comes gladly for that essence and asks the Waters to give a new birth. The verses come from the Taittiriya Samhita and are said while water is sprinkled over the head.

No single author. The rite is a sequence assembled by tradition from older Vedic verses. The Gayatri is Rigveda 3.62.10; the Waters verses, the Dadhikravan verse and the Mitra verses come from the Taittiriya Samhita; the prashana prayer, the invocation of Gayatri and the verse giving her leave come from the tenth book of the Taittiriya Aranyaka, known as the Mahanarayana Upanishad. The names of Vishnu and the sankalpa formula are ritual usage of the Apastamba householders.

The core mantras agree, but the frame differs. This page gives the short smarta sankalpa; Vaishnava manuals open instead with 'bhagavad ajnaya', and Andhra manuals use a long sankalpa naming place and date, with achamanam on 'om keshavaya svaha' and further names. In the verse that gives Gayatri leave, Tamil smarta manuals read 'uttame shikhare devi' where the Aranyaka reads 'jate'. Families of the Rigveda and Shukla Yajurveda follow their own manuals.

The frame of the rite stays the same through the day, but the closing upasthanam changes with the hour. In the morning the worshipper stands before the sun with the verses to Mitra printed here, the god who watches over people with unclosing eyes. According to the ritual manuals, the midday verses are addressed to Surya and the evening verses to Varuna. The steps before the upasthanam keep the same order at each of the three twilights.

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