अथ एनम् आचामति तत् सवितुर् वरेण्यम् मधु वाता ऋतायते मधु क्षरन्ति सिन्धवः माध्वीः नः सन्तु ओषधीः भूः स्वाहा भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि मधु नक्तम् उत उषसः मधुमत् पार्थिवं रजः मधु द्यौः अस्तु नः पिता भुवः स्वाहा धियः यः नः प्रचोदयात् मधुमान् नः वनस्पतिः मधुमान् अस्तु सूर्यः माध्वीः गावः भवन्तु नः स्वः स्वाहा सर्वां च सावित्रीम् अन्वाह सर्वाः च मधुमतीः अहम् एव इदम् सर्वं भूयासं भूर् भुवः स्वः स्वाहा इति अन्ततः आचम्य पाणी प्रक्षाल्य जघनेन अग्निं प्राक्शिराः संविशति प्रातः आदित्यम् उपतिष्ठते दिशाम् एकपुण्डरीकम् असि अहम् मनुष्याणाम् एकपुण्डरीकं भूयासम् इति यथेतम् एत्य जघनेन अग्निम् आसीनः वंशं जपति
atha enam ācāmati tat savitur vareṇyam madhu vātā ṛtāyate madhu kṣaranti sindhavaḥ mādhvīḥ naḥ santu oṣadhīḥ bhūḥ svāhā bhargo devasya dhīmahi madhu naktam uta uṣasaḥ madhumat pārthivaṃ rajaḥ madhu dyauḥ astu naḥ pitā bhuvaḥ svāhā dhiyaḥ yaḥ naḥ pracodayāt madhumān naḥ vanaspatiḥ madhumān astu sūryaḥ mādhvīḥ gāvaḥ bhavantu naḥ svaḥ svāhā sarvāṃ ca sāvitrīm anvāha sarvāḥ ca madhumatīḥ aham eva idam sarvaṃ bhūyāsaṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ svāhā iti antataḥ ācamya pāṇī prakṣālya jaghanena agniṃ prākśirāḥ saṃviśati prātaḥ ādityam upatiṣṭhate diśām ekapuṇḍarīkam asi aham manuṣyāṇām ekapuṇḍarīkaṃ bhūyāsam iti yathetam etya jaghanena agnim āsīnaḥ vaṃśaṃ japati
Then he sips it [with the verses]: "That desirable [glory] of Savitṛ… — sweetly blow the winds for the righteous, sweetly flow the rivers; sweet be the herbs for us! — bhūs, svāhā! — …the radiance of the god may we contemplate — sweet are night and dawn, sweet the dust of the earth, sweet be the Sky, our father! — bhuvas, svāhā! — …may He impel our prayers — sweet be the tree for us, sweet the sun, sweet the cows for us! — svar, svāhā!" Having recited the whole sāvitrī and all the "honeyed" verses, [he concludes]: "May I be all this! — bhūr bhuvaḥ svar, svāhā!" Having swallowed it all and washed his hands, he lies down behind the fire with his head to the east; in the morning he worships the sun: "You are the one lotus of the quarters of the sky; may I become the one lotus of men!" And returning by the same way, sitting behind the fire, he softly recites the [genealogical] vine.
739c6008a98c · published Jul 27, 2026, 1:26:41 AM UTC
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The drinking of the mantha interweaves the sāvitrī (the gāyatrī!) with the "honey verses" (madhu-vātā ṛtāyate — RV 1.90.6–8): each foot of the prayer to Savitṛ alternates with a hymn of universal sweetness: "sweetly blow the winds… sweet the rivers… sweet the herbs… sweet the night and the dawns… sweet the sun… sweet the cows". All being is confessed as honey (madhu!) — and only then drunk, with "may I be all this".
In the morning comes a prayer to the sun with an image of marvellous beauty: "you are the one lotus of the quarters of the sky (diśām ekaṁ puṇḍarīkam); may I become the one lotus of men": as the sun is the sky's single flower, so the worshipper asks to be the single flower among men. The greatness this whole rite is about shows its face at last: not power but flowering; to become a lotus among people — that is the "mahat" of this vidyā.