बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम् | मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनां कुसुमाकरः ||३५||
bṛhat-sāma tathā sāmnāṃ gāyatrī chandasām aham | māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣo'ham ṛtūnāṃ kusumākaraḥ || 35 ||
Among Sāma hymns, the Bṛhat-Sāman; among metres, Gāyatrī; among months, Mārgaśīrṣa; among seasons, spring.
Word by word (3)
- bṛhat-sāma tathā sāmnāṃ
- — Among the Sāma hymns, the Bṛhat-Sāman · bṛhat-sāma = the Bṛhat-Sāman (bṛhat = great, vast, large + sāman = a chant/melody of the Sāma Veda; Bṛhat-Sāman = 'the great chant/melody'; one of the most important and ancient of the Sāma Veda chants — associated with Indra and with cosmic power; among all the sāmans/chants of the Sāma Veda, the Bṛhat-Sāman is the most powerful and comprehensive). tathā = likewise, and. sāmnāṃ = among the Sāma hymns (genitive plural of sāman = a chant of the Sāma Veda; the Sāma Veda is entirely composed of these chanted melodies — verses from the Rig Veda set to specific musical patterns for ritual recitation; among the three/four Vedas, the Sāma was identified as the divine's vibhūti in V10.22). V22 gave the Sāma Veda as the most concentrated expression among the four Vedas; V35 now specifies: within the Sāma Veda's collection of chants, the Bṛhat-Sāman is the concentrated vibhūti. The specific within the general: V22 = Sāma among Vedas; V35 = Bṛhat-Sāman within Sāma.
- gāyatrī chandasām aham
- — Among metres I am the Gāyatrī · gāyatrī = the Gāyatrī (gāya = song + trī = protecting/crossing; Gāyatrī = 'the one who protects the singer' or 'the song that crosses over'; the Gāyatrī is the most sacred and ancient metre in Sanskrit — a 24-syllable metre arranged as 3 × 8 syllables; the famous Gāyatrī Mantra (Rig Veda 3.62.10) uses this metre: 'oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ / tat savitur vareṇyam / bhargo devasya dhīmahi / dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt' — the mantra to Savitṛ/the Sun asking for the illumination of the intellect; the Gāyatrī metre and mantra are considered the most sacred combination in the Vedic tradition; traditionally the Gāyatrī mantra is the first mantra taught to a Brahmin at his upanayana (sacred thread ceremony) — the first formal beginning of Vedic study). chandasāṃ = among metres (genitive plural of chandas = metre, Vedic metre — from √chand = to please, to move; chandas = 'the metre that moves/pleases'; the Vedāṅga called Chandas deals with the prosody of Vedic metres). Among all the metres (Triṣṭubh, Jagatī, Anuṣṭubh, etc.), the Gāyatrī is the vibhūti — the most sacred, most ancient, most directly connected to spiritual illumination.
- māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣaḥ aham — ṛtūnāṃ kusumākaraḥ
- — Among months I am Mārgaśīrṣa; among seasons, the flowery season (spring) · māsānāṃ = among months (genitive plural of māsa = month — from √mās = to measure; māsa = 'the measurer, the month'). mārgaśīrṣaḥ = the month of Mārgaśīrṣa (Mārgaśīrṣa = the month from mid-November to mid-December in the Indian calendar, when the star Mṛgaśiras/Orion's head is prominent; SW commentary: 'month including parts of November and December'; this is the most auspicious and temperate month in the North Indian climate — cool, pleasant, the harvest season just complete, the air clear). aham = I. ṛtūnāṃ = among the seasons (genitive plural of ṛtu = season — from √ṛ = to go/flow; ṛtu = 'the flowing time, the season'; traditionally the six seasons in Indian climate: Spring/Vasanta, Summer/Grīṣma, Monsoon/Varṣā, Autumn/Śarada, Early Winter/Hemanta, Winter/Śiśira). kusumākaraḥ = the flowery season, Spring (kusuma = flower + ākara = mine/abundance; kusumākara = 'the mine of flowers, the spring season when flowers abound'; Spring/Vasanta = the season when the world is in full flower, the most celebrated of seasons in Sanskrit poetry and in the natural world). The season-vibhūti is spring (kusumākara = flower-mine) — not because summer is hotter or monsoon more dramatic, but because spring is the season of full flourishing, renewal, and beauty — the most concentrated expression of nature's joyful abundance.
V35: bṛhat-sāma sāmnāṃ (the great Bṛhat-Sāman chant among all the Sāma Veda melodies — V22 gave Sāma Veda; V35 specifies the greatest chant within it) + gāyatrī chandasāṃ (the Gāyatrī — the most sacred metre and the mantra that invokes illumination of the intellect — among all metres) + māsānāṃ mārgaśīrṣaḥ (the month of cool clarity and harvest-completion, mid-November to mid-December) + ṛtūnāṃ kusumākaraḥ (spring — 'the mine of flowers' — the season of full natural abundance and renewal). Four vibhūtis of sound, structure, time, and nature: all chosen for the concentrated quality of their beauty, clarity, and auspiciousness.
A modern analogy
V35's spring (kusumākara = mine of flowers) as the season-vibhūti parallels what we know in modern chronobiology and positive psychology: spring's longer days, warmer temperatures, and proliferating biological activity trigger measurable increases in serotonin, motivation, and creativity in human beings. Spring is where the divine's quality of renewal and flourishing is biologically most concentrated in the northern hemisphere. V10.35 aligns with neuroscience: spring IS the season where vitality (the divine's abundance-quality) is most expressed in living organisms.
What it does NOT mean
V35's mārgaśīrṣaḥ (the Mārgaśīrṣa month as vibhūti) is not saying other months are less sacred or that the divine is absent in summer or monsoon. V10.19 established: prādhānyataḥ (by prominence — not exhaustively). Mārgaśīrṣa is the MOST CONCENTRATED divine expression in the domain of months — pleasant climate, post-harvest abundance, clear skies, the beginning of the sacred pilgrimage season. Every month, seen with recognition, is a vibhūti — Mārgaśīrṣa is the concentrated doorway.
Take with you
- V35's Gāyatrī (the most sacred metre) as a daily practice: the Gāyatrī mantra (Rig Veda 3.62.10) is one of the most widely practiced daily mantras in the Indian tradition. It can be used as a morning practice: 'oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ / tat savitur vareṇyam / bhargo devasya dhīmahi / dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt' — 'May we attain the illuminating glory of the divine Sun — may it stimulate our intellects.' V10.35's Gāyatrī-vibhūti: the mantra that invites the divine's illuminating quality into the intellect (dhī = intellect). This is the most accessible Vedic mantra-practice grounded in V10.35's authority.
- V35's spring (kusumākara) as an annual renewal practice: each spring (regardless of hemisphere), use the season's energy of renewal to identify one area of life where you want to plant new intentions. Just as spring's abundance (kusuma = flowers) is not forced but naturally emerges from what was prepared in winter, the best spring intentions are those that have been quietly composting through winter. What has been gestating? What wants to flower now? This is the kusumākara-practice: aligning personal renewal with the season's vibhūti.
- V35's Bṛhat-Sāman as an invitation to know the great chants: if you work with chanting or sound practices, V10.35 points specifically to the Bṛhat-Sāman as where the divine is most concentrated among the Sāma chants. Even a brief exposure (recordings of Bṛhat-Sāman are available) to this ancient chant connects you to the vibhūti V10.35 identifies. You do not need to understand Sanskrit — the sound itself carries the prādhānya (prominence) the divine recognizes.
V10.35 introduces four vibhūtis from the domains of sacred sound, poetic metre, time, and nature: 1. Bṛhat-Sāman among Sāma hymns: V10.22 already identified the Sāma Veda as the vibhūti among the Vedas — because it is entirely musical, the most elevated form of Vedic expression. V10.35 now specifies within the Sāma Veda's collection: the Bṛhat-Sāman is the most concentrated expression among the Sāma chants. This represents a double-layered vibhūti selection: Sāma (most concentrated Veda) → Bṛhat-Sāman (most concentrated chant within Sāma). 2. Gāyatrī among metres: The Gāyatrī (24-syllable metre) is the most ancient and sacred of all Vedic metres, with the famous Gāyatrī Mantra (Rig Veda 3.62.10) as its most celebrated use. The Gāyatrī mantra asks for the illumination of the intellect (dhī = intellect; pracodayāt = may it stimulate). Among all metres, Gāyatrī is the vibhūti not for musical reasons but for its association with the most fundamental spiritual request: 'May the divine illumine my intellect.' This is jñāna-vibhūti expressed through sound-structure. 3. Mārgaśīrṣa among months: In the Indian climate, Mārgaśīrṣa (mid-November to mid-December) is the most pleasant month — after the monsoon, after the harvest, before deep winter. The crops are in, the air is clear, the temperature is ideal. It is also the beginning of the major pilgrimage season (the month after Dīpāvalī). The Bhāgavata Purāṇa's famous Rāsa-Pañcādhyāya (the five chapters of Rāsa-Līlā, the divine dance) occurs in the Mārgaśīrṣa month. V10.35's selection of Mārgaśīrṣa as the month-vibhūti is thus connected to bhakti's most celebrated event. 4. Kusumākara (spring) among seasons: Spring (Vasanta) is the season of renewal, flowering, and abundance. All the frozen, dormant processes of winter suddenly burst into expression — flowers, birds, warmth, growth. Among the six seasons, spring is where the divine's quality of creative abundance is most concentrated and visible. Sanskrit poetry universally celebrates spring as the most beautiful of seasons, and V10.35 confirms this: kusumākara = the mine of flowers = the concentrated divine expression in the temporal domain of seasons.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: Gāyatrī chandasāṃ = the Gāyatrī as metre is the formal container of the Gāyatrī mantra — the mantra that asks for dhī-pracodana (illumination of the intellect). In Advaita, this illumination (dhī-pracodana) ultimately leads to the recognition of ātman as Brahman: a truly illumined intellect (V4.38: yoga-kāle finds within in time) eventually knows the Self. The Gāyatrī-vibhūti is thus the Advaita invocation: the metre that contains the request for the illumination that leads to Self-knowledge.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti, V10.35's Mārgaśīrṣa (connected to the Rāsa-Līlā events in Bhāgavata Purāṇa) is deeply significant. V10.35's month-vibhūti, for Vaiṣṇava bhakti, is the month of the divine's most intimate play with the devotees. The Bhāgavata's Rāsa-Pañcādhyāya — the most celebrated bhakti event — is set in this month. By naming Mārgaśīrṣa as the month-vibhūti, the Gita implicitly honors the bhakti event that tradition associates with that month.
Karma-Yoga lens
V10.35 for karma yoga: spring (kusumākara) as the vibhūti of the seasons is also the model of karma yoga's natural timing. The karma yogi plants seeds in winter (preparation), acts fully in spring (the season of action), harvests in autumn (accepting the fruit without attachment). V10.35's spring-vibhūti is the season of the karma yogi's most active engagement — when conditions are most favorable for action and growth. The karma yogi recognizes: this is the season when effort is most concentrated in the divine's expression.
Modern parallels
V10.35's Gāyatrī (the sacred metre/mantra for intellectual illumination) parallels the modern understanding of mantra neuroscience: repetitive rhythmic sound patterns (mantras) produce measurable changes in brain states — increased theta and alpha waves, reduced cortisol, enhanced prefrontal cortex activity. The Gāyatrī's specific 24-syllable rhythm, chanted in the traditional way, is one of the most studied mantras in this context. V10.35 identifies this metre/mantra as the divine's concentrated expression in the domain of metres — neuroscience is beginning to measure WHY.
Practice
V35 Gāyatrī contemplation (15 minutes): begin by sitting in natural light if possible (the Gāyatrī is a solar mantra — Savitṛ = the sun). Chant three slow Gāyatrī mantras: 'oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ / tat savitur vareṇyam / bhargo devasya dhīmahi / dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt.' After the third chanting, sit in silence. The request has been made: 'May the divine's illuminating quality (bharga = radiance) stimulate my intellect (dhīmahi dhiyo = may we contemplate, may our intellects be).' Rest in receptive silence for 10 minutes — not thinking about the answer but being open to illumination. This is the Gāyatrī practice as a daily vibhūti-encounter.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
Of Samas also I am the Brihat-Sama, of metres Gayatri am I; of months I am Margashirsha, of seasons the flowery season. [4]
Among the hymns of the Samaveda I am Brihat Saman, and the Gayatri among metres; among months I am the month Margashirsha, and of seasons spring called Kusumakra, the time of flowers. [6]
Of Vedic hymns the Vrihatsam, of metres Gayatri, / Of months the Margasirsha, of all the seasons three / The flower-wreathed Spring [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Among Vedas I am Sāma Veda; among gods, Indra; among senses, the mind; in living beings, consciousness.
Uttering OM — the single syllable of Brahman — departing while meditating on Me, one reaches the highest goal.
Whoever does not turn the cosmic wheel of giving — living only for sense-pleasure — lives in vain.
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
For the protection of the good, destruction of wickedness, establishment of dharma — I come, age after age.