The Heart of Gayatri

Verse 1 (devibhagavatam.12.4.1)

नारद उवाच । भगवन् देवदेवेश भूतभव्यजगत्प्रभो । कवचं च श्रुतं दिव्यं गायत्रीमन्त्रविग्रहम्

nārada uvāca bhagavan devadeveśa bhūtabhavyajagatprabho kavacaṁ ca śrutaṁ divyaṁ gāyatrīmantravigraham

Narada said: O Lord, O God of gods, O Master of the world that has been and is yet to be — I have heard that divine armor (kavacha), the very embodiment of the Gayatri mantra.

Verse 2 (devibhagavatam.12.4.2)

अधुना श्रोतुमिच्छामि गायत्रीहृदयं परम् । यद्धारणाद्भवेत्युण्यं गायत्रीजपतोऽखिलम्

adhunā śrotumicchāmi gāyatrīhṛdayaṁ param yaddhāraṇādbhavetyuṇyaṁ gāyatrījapato'khilam

Now I wish to hear of the supreme Heart of Gayatri, by holding which the entire merit of Gayatri-japa is obtained.

Verse 3 (devibhagavatam.12.4.3)

श्रीनारायण उवाच । देव्याश्च हृदयं प्रोक्तं नारदाथर्वणे स्फुटम् । तदेवाहं प्रवक्ष्यामि रहस्यातिरहस्यकम्

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca devyāśca hṛdayaṁ proktaṁ nāradātharvaṇe sphuṭam tadevāhaṁ pravakṣyāmi rahasyātirahasyakam

Shri Narayana said: O Narada, the Heart of the Devi has been clearly declared in the Atharva; that very secret of secrets I shall now declare.

Verse 4 (devibhagavatam.12.4.4)

विराड्रूपां महादेवीं गायत्रीं वेदमातरम् । ध्यात्वा तस्यास्त्वथाङ्गेषु ध्यायेदेताश्च देवताः

virāḍrūpāṁ mahādevīṁ gāyatrīṁ vedamātaram dhyātvā tasyāstvathāṅgeṣu dhyāyedetāśca devatāḥ

Having meditated upon the great Goddess Gayatri, Mother of the Vedas, of Virat (cosmic) form, one should then meditate upon these deities present in her various limbs.

Verse 5 (devibhagavatam.12.4.5)

पिण्डब्रह्माण्डयोरैक्याद्भावयेत्स्वतनौ तथा । देवीरूपे निजे देहे तन्मयत्वाय साधकः

piṇḍabrahmāṇḍayoraikyādbhāvayetsvatanau tathā devīrūpe nije dehe tanmayatvāya sādhakaḥ

Through the oneness of the individual body and the cosmos, the aspirant should likewise contemplate his own body as being of the very form of the Devi, so as to become one with her.

Verse 6 (devibhagavatam.12.4.6)

नादेवोऽभ्यर्चयेद्देवमिति वेदविदो विदुः । ततोऽभेदाय काये स्वे भावयेद्देवता इमाः

nādevo'bhyarcayeddevamiti vedavido viduḥ tato'bhedāya kāye sve bhāvayeddevatā imāḥ

'One who is not himself divine cannot truly worship a god' — thus the knowers of the Veda declare; therefore, for the sake of non-difference, one should contemplate these very deities within one's own body.

Verse 7 (devibhagavatam.12.4.7)

अथ तत्सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि तन्मयत्वमथो भवेत् । गायत्रीहृदयस्यास्याप्यहमेव ऋषिः स्मृतः

atha tatsampravakṣyāmi tanmayatvamatho bhavet gāyatrīhṛdayasyāsyāpyahameva ṛṣiḥ smṛtaḥ

Now I shall declare that procedure by which oneness with her is attained. Of this Gayatri-hridaya, I myself am remembered as its sage (rishi).

Verse 8 (devibhagavatam.12.4.8)

गायत्रीच्छन्द उद्दिष्टं देवता परमेश्वरी । पूर्वोक्तेन प्रकारेण कुर्यादङ्गानि षट्क्रमात् । आसने विजने देशे ध्यायेदेकाग्रमानसः

gāyatrīcchanda uddiṣṭaṁ devatā parameśvarī pūrvoktena prakāreṇa kuryādaṅgāni ṣaṭkramāt āsane vijane deśe dhyāyedekāgramānasaḥ

Gayatri is declared to be its meter, and the Supreme Goddess its deity. In the manner already described, one should perform the six limbs of nyasa in due order, and, seated in a solitary place, meditate with a one-pointed mind.