तस्माद् ॐ इत्य् उदाहृत्य यज्ञदानतपःक्रियाः । प्रवर्तन्ते विधानोक्ताः सततं ब्रह्मवादिनाम् ॥
tasmād om ity udāhṛtya yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ | pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satataṃ brahma-vādinām ||
Therefore, Brahman-knowers always begin yajña, dāna, and tapas with 'OṀ' as ordained by scripture.
Word by word (3)
- tasmād om ity udāhṛtya yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ
- — therefore (tasmāt), uttering (udāhṛtya = having said) 'Om' (oṃ iti), the acts (kriyāḥ) of sacrifice (yajña), gift (dāna), and austerity (tapas) — OṀ precedes all three sacred acts
- pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satataṃ brahma-vādinām
- — are always (satatam = always, constantly) begun/set in motion (pravartante = proceed, are commenced) by followers of the Vedas/knowers of Brahman (brahma-vādinām), as enjoined by the ordinances (vidhānoktāḥ = stated by the rules)
- tasmāt
- — therefore (tasmāt) — the logical consequence from V23; since OṀ is Brahman's primal name and all sacred acts arise from Brahman, OṀ must precede every such act as its ground and acknowledgment
Therefore, with the utterance of 'OṀ,' the acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity — as prescribed by the ordinances — are always begun by the knowers of Brahman.
A modern analogy
Every important text begins with a title; every proper meal begins with gratitude; every traditional ceremony begins with an invocation. OṀ is that opening for all sacred action — it places the act within the context of the supreme Reality before it begins. For the brahma-vādin, OṀ is not magical formula — it is the conscious act of recognizing that this action arises from Brahman.
V24 gives the practical application of V23's OṀ teaching: OṀ always begins the threefold sacred acts (yajña-dāna-tapas). This is presented as the practice of brahma-vādinām (followers of Brahman-speech/Vedic tradition), as prescribed by vidhāna (scriptural ordinance). The verse confirms that OṀ is not an optional embellishment but the prescribed opening of all sacred action. V25 will add Tat, and V26-27 will add Sat — three verses together building the complete OṀ Tat Sat practice.
The word brahma-vādinām (Brahman-speakers/Vedas-followers) here means those for whom all reality is Brahman-speech — the Vedas are Brahman's own self-expression. When they utter OṀ before action, they are aligning their individual act with the cosmic utterance from which all creation proceeds. This is the ritualistic embodiment of the Advaita insight: aham brahmāsmi (I am Brahman) — every act is ultimately Brahman acting.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Therefore, with the utterance of 'Om' are the acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity, as enjoined in the scriptures, always begun by the students of Brahman. [1]
Therefore, uttering "Om", are the acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity as enjoined in the ordinances, always begun by the followers of the Vedas. [4]
Therefore, acts of sacrifice, gift, and penance, as prescribed by precepts, are always commenced with the utterance of Om by those who study the Vedas. [9]
Therefore, the acts of sacrifice, gift and penance, by those conversant with Brahman, always begin with the utterance of Om, as prescribed in the ordinances. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Duryodhana lists his greatest champions — and every name carries its own tragic irony.
Sat means: being/reality, goodness/virtue, and praiseworthy action — three registers of the one word.
Whatever you do, eat, offer, give, or practise as austerity — do it all as mad-arpaṇam, an offering to Me.
OṀ Tat Sat: triple name of Brahman — by which brāhmaṇas, Vedas, and yajñas were ordained in the beginning.
Action → yajna → rain → food → all beings. Human right-action sustains the entire chain of life.
Action arises from Brahman, Brahman from the Imperishable. The all-pervading ultimate is present in every act of yajna.