उपसंगृह्य तत्पादौ वीक्ष्यमाणो गुरोर्मुखम् । अधीष्व भो इति ब्रूयाद्विरामोऽस्त्विति चाऽरमेत्
After greeting and touching the feet, looking at the guru’s face, one should say, 'Please teach,' and, when finished, say, 'Let there be a pause.'
प्राक्कूलान्पर्युपासीत पवित्रैश्चैव पावकः । प्राणायामैस्त्रिभिः पूतस्ततोंकारमर्हति
One should sit facing east, near pure things and fire; purified by three breaths, one is then worthy of uttering the sacred syllable.
ब्राह्मणः प्रणवं कुर्यादंतेऽपि विधिवद्द्विजाः । कुर्यादध्यापनं नित्यं सब्रह्मांजलिपूर्वतः
A Brahmin should recite the praṇava even at the end, and the twice-born should do so according to the rules; teaching should always be done preceded by the gesture of joining the hands in reverence.
सर्वेषामेव भूतानां वेदश्चक्षुः सनातनः । अधीयीताप्ययं नित्यं ब्राह्मण्याद्धीयतेऽन्यथा
The Veda is the eternal eye of all beings; it should always be studied, and it is learned from a Brahmin, not otherwise.
अधीयीत ऋचो नित्यं क्षीराहुत्या सदेवताः । प्रीणाति तर्पयन्कालं कामैर्हूताः सदैवताः
One should daily recite the Ṛg Veda hymns, offering milk with the deities; by satisfying and appeasing them at the proper time with desired offerings, the deities are always gratified.
यजूंष्यधीते नियतं दध्ना प्रीणाति देवताः । सामान्यधीते प्रीणाति घृताहुतिभिरन्वहम्
He regularly recites the Yajur Veda, offering curd to please the deities; reciting the Sāma Veda, he pleases them daily with offerings of ghee.
अथर्वांगिरसो नित्यं मध्वा प्रीणाति देवताः । धर्मांगानि पुराणानि मांसैस्तर्पयतेसुरान्
He constantly recites the Atharvaṅgiras hymns, pleasing the deities with honey; he satisfies the gods with meat offerings from the limbs of dharma and the Purāṇas.
प्रातश्च सायं प्रयतो नैत्यकं विधिमाश्रितः । गायत्रीं समधीयीत गत्वारण्यं समाहितः
Morning and evening, with discipline, following the daily prescribed rite, one should recite the Gāyatrī, having gone to the forest with focused mind.
सहस्रपरमां देवीं शतमध्यां दशावराम् । गायत्रीं वै जपेन्नित्यं जपयज्ञः प्रकीर्तितः
The Gāyatrī, the supreme goddess of a thousand verses, with a hundred in the middle and ten at the end, should be recited daily; this is called the japa-sacrifice.
गायत्रीं चैव वेदांश्च तुलया तोलयत्प्रभुः । एकतश्चतुरोवेदा गायत्रीं च तथैकतः
The Lord weighed the Gāyatrī and the Vedas on a scale; on one side, the four Vedas, and on the other, the Gāyatrī alone.
ॐकारमादितः कृत्वा व्याहृतीस्तदनंतरम् । ततोऽधीयीत सावित्रीमेकाग्रः श्रद्धयान्वितः
Having first uttered the syllable 'Om', then the vyāhṛtis in succession, one should recite the Sāvitrī with single-mindedness and accompanied by faith.
पुराकल्पे समुत्पन्ना भूर्भुवः स्वः सनातनाः । महाव्याहृतयस्तिस्रः सर्वाशुभनिबर्हणाः
In ancient times arose the three great, eternal vyāhṛtis: bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ; they remove all inauspiciousness.
प्रधानं पुरुषः कालो विष्णुब्रह्ममहेश्वराः । सत्वंरजस्तमस्तिस्रः क्रमाद्व्याहृतयः स्मृताः
The principal entities—Purusha, Time, Vishnu, Brahma, and Maheshvara; the three qualities—sattva, rajas, and tamas—are remembered as the vyāhṛtis in sequence.
ॐकारस्तत्परं ब्रह्म सावित्री स्यात्तदुत्तरम् । एष मंत्रो महायोगः सारात्सार उदाहृतः
'Om' is the supreme Brahman; Sāvitrī follows thereafter. This mantra is declared to be the essence of great yoga, the essence of all essences.
योऽधीतेऽहन्यहन्येतां गायत्रीं वेदमातरम् । विज्ञायार्थं ब्रह्मचारी स याति परमां गतिम्
He who daily recites this Gāyatrī, the mother of the Vedas, understanding its meaning, as a brahmacārin, attains the highest state.
गायत्री वेदजननी गायत्री लोकपावनी । गायत्र्या न परं जप्यमेतद्विज्ञायमुच्यते
Gāyatrī is the mother of the Vedas; Gāyatrī purifies the worlds. There is no recitation superior to Gāyatrī; this is declared to be known.
श्रावणस्य तु मासस्य पौर्णमास्यां द्विजोत्तमाः । आषाढ्यां प्रोष्ठपद्यां वा वेदोपाकरणं स्मृतम्
On the full moon of the month of Śrāvaṇa, O best of twice-born, or on the Āṣāḍhī or Proṣṭhapadī days, the initiation into the Vedas is prescribed.
यत्सूर्ययाम्यगमनं मासान्विप्रोर्द्धपंचमान् । अधीयीत शुचौ देशे ब्रह्मचारी समाहितः
From the day the sun moves southward, for five months, the brahmacārin, with concentrated mind, should study in a pure place.
पुष्ये तुच्छंदसां कुर्याद्बहिरुत्सर्जनं द्विजः । मासि शुक्लस्य वा प्राप्ते पूर्वाह्णे प्रथमेऽहनि
In the month of Puṣya, the twice-born should perform the external expulsion of the chandas; or when the bright fortnight arrives, on the first day in the morning.
छदांसि च द्विजोऽभ्यस्येच्छुक्लपक्षे तु वै द्विजः । वेदांगानि पुराणानि कृष्णपक्षेषु मानवः
The twice-born should practice the chandas during the bright fortnight; in the dark fortnight, a man should study the Vedāṅgas and Purāṇas.
इमान्नित्यमनध्यायानधीयानो विवर्जयेत् । अध्यापनं च कुर्वाणोऽभ्यस्यन्नपि प्रयत्नतः
He should always avoid these prohibited days for study; even while teaching or practicing, he must do so with care.
कर्णश्रवेऽनिले रात्रौ दिवापांसुसमूहने । विद्युत्स्तनितवर्षेषु महोल्कानां च संप्लवे
When hearing with the ear, during wind at night, or when dust is gathered in the day; during lightning, thunder, rain, or the appearance of great meteors.
अकालिकमनध्यायमेतेष्वाह प्रजापतिः । एतानभ्युदिनान्विद्याद्यदा प्रादुष्कृताग्निषु
Prajāpati declared these as occasions for suspension of study, regardless of time; when these arise, one should not recite the Veda if the sacred fires have been extinguished.
तदा विद्यादनध्यायमनृतौ चाभ्रदर्शने । निर्घाते भूमिचलने ज्योतिषां चोपसर्जने
Then, study is to be suspended during the wrong season, at the sight of clouds, during thunder, earthquakes, and when there are omens among the stars.
एतानकालिकान्विद्यादनध्यायानृतावपि । प्रादुष्कृतेष्वग्निषु च विद्युत्स्तनितनिस्वने
These are the untimely occasions for suspension of study, even in the wrong season, when the sacred fires are extinguished, and at the sound of lightning and thunder.
सज्योतिः स्यादनध्यायः शेषे रात्रौ यथा दिवा । नित्यानध्याय एव स्याद्ग्रामेषु नगरेषु च
When there is lightning, study is to be suspended at night just as during the day; and in villages and cities, there is always a suspension of study.
धर्मनैपुण्यकामानां पूतिगंधे च नित्यशः । अंतः शवगतेग्रामे वृषलस्य च सन्निधौ
For those desiring virtue and skill, study is always suspended where there is a foul smell, when a corpse is within the village, or in the presence of an outcaste.
अनध्यायोरुद्यमाने समये जलदस्य च । उदके चार्धरात्रे च विण्मूत्रं च विसर्जयन्
Study is suspended when clouds are rising, at the time of rain, in water, at midnight, and while passing urine or feces.
उच्छिष्टः श्राद्धभुक्चैव मनसापि न चिंतयेत् । प्रतिगृह्य द्विजो विद्वानेकोद्दिष्टस्य वेतनम्
One who is impure, or has eaten at a śrāddha, should not even think of study; and a learned Brāhmaṇa, having accepted the fee for a specific rite, should not recite.
त्र्यहं न कारयेद्ब्रह्म राज्ञो राहोश्च सूतके । यावदेकान्ननिष्ठा स्यात्स्नेहालोपश्च तिष्ठति
For three days, one should not recite the Veda after the birth of a king or during an eclipse; nor while only one kind of food remains, or when oil is lacking.