यः छन्दसाम् ऋषभः विश्वरूपः छन्दोभ्यः अधि अमृतात् सम्बभूव सः मे इन्द्रः मेधया स्पृणोतु अमृतस्य देव धारणः भूयासम् शरीरम् मे विचर्षणम् जिह्वा मे मधुमत्तमा कर्णाभ्याम् भूरिविश्रुवम् ब्रह्मणः कोशः असि मेधया पिहितः श्रुतम् मे गोपाय आवहन्ती वितन्वाना कुर्वाणा अचीरम् आत्मनः वासांसि मम गावः च अन्नपाने च सर्वदा ततः मे श्रियम् आवह लोमशाम् पशुभिः सह स्वाहा आमायन्तु ब्रह्मचारिणः स्वाहा विमायन्तु ब्रह्मचारिणः स्वाहा प्रमायन्तु ब्रह्मचारिणः स्वाहा दमायन्तु ब्रह्मचारिणः स्वाहा शमायन्तु ब्रह्मचारिणः स्वाहा यशः जने असानि स्वाहा श्रेयान् वस्यसः असानि स्वाहा तम् त्वा भग प्रविशानि स्वाहा सः मा भग प्रविश स्वाहा तस्मिन् सहस्रशाखे निभग अहम् त्वयि मृजे स्वाहा यथा आपः प्रवता आयन्ति यथा मासाः अहर्जरम् एवम् माम् ब्रह्मचारिणः धातः आयन्तु सर्वतः स्वाहा प्रतिवेशः असि प्रमाभाहि प्रमापद्यस्व
yaḥ chandasām ṛṣabhaḥ viśvarūpaḥ chandobhyaḥ adhi amṛtāt sambabhūva saḥ me indraḥ medhayā spṛṇotu amṛtasya deva dhāraṇaḥ bhūyāsam śarīram me vicarṣaṇam jihvā me madhumattamā karṇābhyām bhūriviśruvam brahmaṇaḥ kośaḥ asi medhayā pihitaḥ śrutam me gopāya āvahantī vitanvānā kurvāṇā acīram ātmanaḥ vāsāṃsi mama gāvaḥ ca annapāne ca sarvadā tataḥ me śriyam āvaha lomaśām paśubhiḥ saha svāhā āmāyantu brahmacāriṇaḥ svāhā vimāyantu brahmacāriṇaḥ svāhā pramāyantu brahmacāriṇaḥ svāhā damāyantu brahmacāriṇaḥ svāhā śamāyantu brahmacāriṇaḥ svāhā yaśaḥ jane asāni svāhā śreyān vasyasaḥ asāni svāhā tam tvā bhaga praviśāni svāhā saḥ mā bhaga praviśa svāhā tasmin sahasraśākhe nibhaga aham tvayi mṛje svāhā yathā āpaḥ pravatā āyanti yathā māsāḥ aharjaram evam mām brahmacāriṇaḥ dhātaḥ āyantu sarvataḥ svāhā prativeśaḥ asi pramābhāhi pramāpadyasva
That bull of the chants, of manifold form, who arose out of the immortal above the chants — may that Indra strengthen me with intelligence! O God, may I become a bearer of immortality! May my body be nimble, my tongue sweetest, may I hear much with my ears! You are the casket of Brahman, covered over by intelligence: guard what I have heard! May Śrī, who brings and multiplies, bring me without delay garments and cattle, food and drink — and with them woolly flocks! Svāhā! Let brahmacārins come to me! Svāhā! Let brahmacārins stream to me! Svāhā! Let brahmacārins make their way to me! Svāhā! Let brahmacārins be self-controlled! Svāhā! Let brahmacārins be at peace! Svāhā! May I be renowned among men! Svāhā! May I be better than the wealthiest! Svāhā! Into you, O Blessed one, may I enter; you, O Blessed one, enter into me! Svāhā! In you, thousand-branched, I am cleansed, O Blessed one! Svāhā! As the waters run down the slope, as the months run to the year's end, so, O Ordainer, may brahmacārins come to me from every side! Svāhā! You are a refuge: shine upon me, receive me!
e0127193dfbe · published Jul 26, 2026, 7:50:25 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A teacher's prayer for intelligence and for pupils — one of the most personal pages in all the Vedas. It opens with a call to Indra as the "bull of the chants" (chandasām ṛṣabhaḥ): the might of the most sacred word itself: sa mendraḥ medhayā spṛṇotu — "may that Indra strengthen me with medhā", with intelligence: not with sharpness of wit but with the power to hold what has been heard; and then, touchingly bodily: may the body be strong, the tongue sweetest (madhumattamā: a teacher's speech must be honey — a bitter word will not carry a sweet truth), the ears capacious.
brahmaṇaḥ kośo 'si medhayā pihitaḥ — "you are the casket of Brahman, whose lid is intelligence": the treasury of revelation is locked not with bolts but with medhā: to him who has no retention the casket does not open; śrutaṁ me gopāya — "guard what I have heard": a prayer for memory as for something holy. Then for sufficiency (garments, cattle, food): the teacher asks for welfare without embarrassment — a school needs bread; destitution is not among a preceptor's virtues, and acquisitiveness still less: sufficiency is asked for the sake of the pupils.
And the heart of the prayer is the fivefold "svāhā" for the brahmacārins: let them come, let them stream in like waters down a slope, like months into a year! The teacher prays for pupils — not for glory: glory is asked only as a light to which seekers may fly. Everyone who has ever carried knowledge will recognise this prayer as his own: let me hold it, let me pass it on, and send me those to whom it may be passed. Veda-vijñāna without heirs is a casket buried in the ground.