LinuxTurn pages
Upanishads · Śāṭyāyanīya 13
॥
Devanāgarī
दशभिः प्रणवैः सप्तव्याहृतिभिश्चतुष्पदा । गायत्रीजपयज्ञश्च त्रिसन्ध्यं शिरसा सह
Transliteration (IAST)
daśabhiḥ praṇavaiḥ saptavyāhṛtibhiścatuṣpadā | gāyatrījapayajñaśca trisandhyaṃ śirasā saha
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दशभिः प्रणवैःdaśabhiḥ praṇavaiḥwith ten praṇavas
सप्त-व्याहृतिभिःsapta-vyāhṛtibhiḥseven utterances
चतुष्-पदाcatuṣ-padāfour-footed
गायत्री-जप-यज्ञः चgāyatrī-japa-yajñaḥ caand the sacrifice of gāyatrī repetition
त्रि-सन्ध्यं शिरसा सहtri-sandhyaṃ śirasā sahathree times a day, together with its head
Translation
"With ten praṇavas, seven utterances, [and] the four-footed [gāyatrī] — the sacrifice of gāyatrī repetition, three times a day, together with its head."
Version
e2e5f16d1ae7 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is worth noting the expression japa-yajña, "sacrifice of repetition," for it is the key to this whole passage. Repetition is called a sacrifice; that is, it is placed in the same row as libation and offering, not beside contemplation. This detail matters and explains why repetition is held so high in this literature.
A sacrifice is a giving-over: one offers what one could have eaten oneself. And repetition, called a sacrifice, is accordingly the giving-over of time and voice. The Gītā says the same directly, and its verse is one of the most cited by the Vaiṣṇava side: yajñānāṃ japa-yajño'smi, "of sacrifices I am the sacrifice of repetition" (10.25).
It is worth examining this verse, for it says more than it seems. In the tenth chapter Kṛṣṇa lists what He is among each class of things: among luminaries, the sun; among mountains, Meru; among words, the syllable oṃ. And among sacrifices, what is named is not the rite with fire, not almsgiving, not austerity, but repetition.
The reason the Vaiṣṇava side gives is simple and worth voicing: the fire sacrifice requires means, place, time, purity, and assistants; repetition requires nothing. That is, the highest of sacrifices is named the one available to everyone; and this, by her reckoning, is not a concession but a precise indication of where the measure of value lies.