Gāyatrī and Gauḍīyas: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

The Veda is mostly poetry, meant to be sung. Chandaḥ—the metrics of poetic rhythm—is therefore one of the six essential subjects of traditional Vedic study, vedāṅga. Gāyatrī is a poetic-meter that has 24 syllables in total, divided into three lines with eight syllables in each. The word gāyatrī is very similar to the word mantra. Mantra means “the tool (-tra) by which the mind (man-)”1 can be saved (trayate).” Gāyatrī means, “the tool (-tra) by which a song (gāya-) can rescue us.”