ॐ तत् सद् इति निर्देशो ब्रह्मणस् त्रिविधः स्मृतः । ब्राह्मणास् तेन वेदाश् च यज्ञाश् च विहिताः पुरा ॥
oṃ tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ | brāhmaṇās tena vedāś ca yajñāś ca vihitāḥ purā ||
OṀ Tat Sat: triple name of Brahman — by which brāhmaṇas, Vedas, and yajñas were ordained in the beginning.
Word by word (3)
- oṃ tat sat iti nirdeśaḥ brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ
- — OM + TAT + SAT — this (iti) is declared (nirdeśaḥ = indication/designation) as the triple (tri-vidhaḥ) designation of Brahman (brahmaṇaḥ), traditionally remembered (smṛtaḥ) — three sacred syllables = three aspects of the One Reality
- brāhmaṇās tena vedāś ca yajñāś ca vihitāḥ purā
- — by that (tena = by that OṀ Tat Sat), the brāhmaṇas (brāhmaṇāḥ), the Vedas (vedāḥ), and yajñas (yajñāḥ) were appointed/constituted (vihitāḥ = ordained) in ancient times (purā = of old, in the beginning) — OṀ Tat Sat is the primordial ground of the entire Vedic order
- tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ
- — triple (tri-vidhaḥ) and traditionally remembered (smṛtaḥ) — not a new teaching but the primordially memorized (smṛti) designation; OṀ Tat Sat is the oldest Vedic seal
OṀ Tat Sat — this is declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By this were brāhmaṇas, Vedas, and yajñas ordained in ancient times.
A modern analogy
OṀ Tat Sat is like the three-word address of the universe. OṀ is how reality sounds, Tat is where reality points (That-ness, the transcendent), and Sat is what reality IS (truth/being). When you prefix any sacred act with OṀ Tat Sat, you are acknowledging that the act comes from, points toward, and IS in the nature of the ultimate Reality.
V23-28 form the closing section of Ch.17, explaining how OṀ Tat Sat sanctifies all śraddhā-based action. After the entire three-fold analysis of food/yajña/tapas/dāna by guṇa (V8-22), the chapter pivots to the sacred syllables that make all of them transcendent. V23 grounds this in the Vedic tradition: these three syllables are not inventions — they are the original consecrating sound by which the brāhmaṇas, Vedas, and yajñas themselves were ordained. The sacred syllables preceded and created the tradition.
OṀ = the vibration of Brahman, the cosmic affirmation (Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad: oṃ ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvam — OṀ is this imperishable syllable, this is all). Tat = 'That' — the classic Upaniṣadic pointing-word used in tat tvam asi (Ch.U. 6.8.7). Sat = sat-cit-ānanda's first element; also dharma/goodness. Together, OṀ Tat Sat maps onto the three Mahāvākyas: OṀ (aham brahmāsmi — I am Brahman), Tat (tat tvam asi — That thou art), Sat (prajñānaṃ brahma — consciousness is Brahman). The chapter's entire three-fold analysis is placed within this primordial ground.
Advaita lens
OṀ Tat Sat is the Advaita map of Brahman. OṀ = Brahman as the primal self-manifestation (Māṇḍūkya Up. identifies OṀ with all four pādas: vaiśvānara, taijasa, prājña, and turīya). Tat = nirguṇa Brahman, the 'That' of tat tvam asi (Chāndogya Up. 6.8.7) — the infinite beyond all attribute. Sat = Brahman as being itself, the eternal sat-cit-ānanda. Shankaracharya: all three point to the same single nirvikāra Brahman from three angles — sound-nature, transcendence, being. For the Advaitin, consecrating every act with OṀ Tat Sat is a continuous nididhyāsana practice: every action becomes a reminder that the doer, the action, and the result are all That.
Bhakti lens
For the devotee, OṀ Tat Sat is the threefold name of the personal God. OṀ = the primordial pranava, the divine name as sound; Tat = the Lord as 'That' — beyond any specific form yet encompassing all; Sat = the Lord as supreme Goodness and Being. Consecrating yajña/tapas/dāna with 'Tat' (V25) means offering without fruit-seeking — 'I dedicate this to THAT, not for any personal return.' This is the bhakti practice of samarpaṇa (complete offering): the act is given to the Lord, outcome included.
Karma-Yoga lens
For the karma yogin, OṀ Tat Sat is the consecration formula that transforms ordinary action into karma yoga. OṀ begins every act (V24): affirming that all action arises from the primordial reality. Tat is used without seeking fruit (V25): 'I am doing this FOR THAT, not for myself.' Sat (V26) confirms that good action performed sincerely is Sat — real, permanent, connected to Brahman. The karma yogin who uses OṀ Tat Sat as their working framework is practicing what V17 has been building toward: action in all three domains (yajña/tapas/dāna) consecrated to Brahman, fruit-free, with śraddhā.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
"Om, Tat, Sat": this has been taught to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were made of old the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the Yajnas. [1]
"Om, Tat, Sat": this has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were made of old the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the Yajnas. [4]
"Om, Tat, Sat" — this is said to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were sanctioned in the beginning the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the Yagnas. [9]
"Om, Tat, Sat" — this is declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By this were the Brahmanas and the Vedas and the Yajnas appointed in the beginning. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Whatever is sacrificed, given, done, or tapas practiced without śraddhā — that is asat: naught here or hereafter.
Arjuna asks: those who perform yajña with sincere śraddhā but without śāstric ordinance — what guṇa is their state?
Three-fold impulse to action: knowledge, knowable, knower. Three-fold action-structure: organ, act, agent.
Those who practice ghora tapas without śāstric sanction, driven by dambha, ahaṃkāra, kāma and rāga — āsurī tapas.