The Final Summary

A 10 minute read on the basic building blocks of the Vedic literature — ॐ (Om) and its divine link to the Gayatri Mantra, and the Vedas. I have based this narrative loosely on the interpretation found in PadmaShri Dr. Bannanje Govindacharya’s Kannada lectures.

I have exercised some literary freedom to create a narrative, imagining how the great Rishi Vishwamitra would have revealed the secrets of this divine link. The imagined events are spread over countless years, although the aforementioned freedom has allowed me to present it as a day in the life of Vishwamitra. The story part of this is just my imagination (no disrespect is intended for any literature or person), and the theory is extracted by studying the texts and lectures mentioned earlier. I will be happy to provide references to readers interested in going deeper.

The Final Summary

“It is time the world hears the story of the Gayatri Mantra, the mother of all the Vedas,” thought Vishwamitra, pacing up and down the bank of the sacred river Ganga. Lifting his right hand to shield his aging eyes from the sheets of silver, created by the early afternoon sun on crystal blue water, he turned to face the council of inquisitive sages resting under the shade of sal and oak trees. The council inquired “Brahmarshi Vishwamitra, pray enlighten us about your discovery of the Gayatri Mantra. What secrets did you uncover with your long penance?”

Vishwamitra reflected on his arduous journey, and remarked, “It all starts with the Vedas. For the common man and woman, it is impossible to read the entire set of Vedas every day, with the total number of verses running into thousands. This matter was put in front of the council of sages, which included some of you and your predecessors, and the common people were keen to know what they can realistically chant every day.”

A revered sage in the council, Lopamudra, said, “A summary of all the Vedas that can fit into a day’s life of common folk was the goal. We all looked deep and wide, and with Brahma’s blessings, arrived at the Purusha Suktha as that veritable summary.” Lopamudra’s mind drifted towards the wonders of Purusha Suktha and how it narrates the process of creation, even as her eyes darted around following Vishwamitra’s pacing.

Vishwamitra concurred with Lopamudra, and sought to explain further. “Purusha Suktha is in all the Vedas, and Brahma visualized that the Rig Vedic version is the most foundational of all versions. Rig Vedic version is now considered the essence of all the Vedas.”

The Rishi, known as the Friend of the Universe, let this sink in as the council looked on. “Purusha Suktha has three sections, or vargas. The first varga with 5 verses represents the Rig Veda, the second with 5 verses represents the Yajur Veda, and the final varga with 6 verses upholds the Saama Veda.”

The council debated the choice of the Purusha Suktha as the quintessence of Vedas. While there were murmurs of dissent and disagreements, Vishwamitra noted that if there was a vote, the affirmative side would easily win by a huge majority. Constructive debate has always been an inseparable part of Vedic culture, with no one considered as above questioning. Maharishi Agastya, who is seen as one of foremost authorities in the Dharmic knowledge tradition, dropped his serious demeanor and said with a smile, “Even Purusha Suktha needed summarization, as the civilization continued its search for a shorter verse which could be chanted easily and at all times. The quest for this single verse leads us to the Gayatri Mantra as revealed to our friend Vishwamitra.”

Agastya continued, “The Gayatri Mantra can be divided into 5 sections. First section is the familiar ॐ (Om).”

“Second section of the Gayatri Mantra is referred to as the Vyahrutis — भूर्भुवः स्वः, which means the exclusive names of the omnipresent.” added Vishwamitra. “Each Vyahruti is a summary of the corresponding subsequent section of the Gayatri Mantra.”

The last 3 sections relate to Purusha Suktha as follows:

- Section 3: तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं : tatsaviturvareṇyaṃ : Maps to the first 5 verses of Purusha Suktha
- Section 4: भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि : bhargo devasya dhimahi : Maps to verses 6–10
- Section 5: धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् : dhiyo yo naha prachodayat : Maps to verses 11–16

The council was taking this all in, with reverence and rapt attention. One of the junior Rishis asked the inevitable question, “Why have the first two sections in the Gayatri Mantra, if the sections 3–5 already represent all the Vedas? Aren’t they redundant?”

Vishwamitra was ready, “The search for a single sound that represents all the Vedas and the omnipresent, is essentially a search for the summary of the Vyahrutis. How does one distill भूर्भुवः स्वः into a single sound?”

“When you extract the essence from each of the three Vyahrutis, you get the three syllables — अ (aa), उ (u), म (mm) — which fuse to form ॐ (Om),” concluded Vishwamitra.

While the divine link revealed itself to Vishwamitra and through him, to all of us, the quest for the final summary had just begun.