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Asato Ma Sadgamaya

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  1. Mantra

    असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय॥

    Asato maa sadgamaya | Tamaso maa jyotirgamaya | Mrityormaamritam gamaya ||

    Word by word: asatah, from the unreal; ma, me; sat gamaya, lead to the real; tamasah, from darkness; jyotih gamaya, lead to light; mrityoh, from death; ma amritam gamaya, lead me to immortality. Here ‘ma’ means ‘me’, not ‘do not’. Meaning: Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.

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Meaning, sources and more prayers: sanatanbodh.in/en/prayers/asato-ma-sadgamaya/

In short

“Asato ma sadgamaya” are three short prayers from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.3.28), which the Upanishad calls the ‘pavamana abhyaroha’. According to the Upanishad they were to be recited when the chanting of the saman began at a sacrifice. Today they are said at prayer gatherings, at the start of study and when a lamp is lit, often with ‘Om shantih shantih shantih’ added at the end.

The Upanishad’s own explanation: right after these lines the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad explains them itself: the unreal is death and the real is immortality; darkness is death and light is immortality. So all three lines mean one thing: “make me immortal”. On the text: in the Upanishad the lines have no ‘Om’ or ‘shantih’; these are added by tradition. The third line is also written ‘mrityorma’mritam gamaya’; the words are the same.

Frequently asked questions

Which text is this mantra from?

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.3.28), an Upanishad of the Shukla Yajurveda. There these three lines are called the ‘pavamana abhyaroha’.

What does ‘ma’ mean here?

‘Ma’ here stands for ‘mam’, ‘me’. ‘Asato ma sadgamaya’ means ‘lead me from the unreal to the real’, not ‘do not lead to the real’.

How does the Upanishad itself explain it?

It says that the unreal and darkness are death, and the real and light are immortality. So all three prayers mean: “make me immortal”.

Is ‘Om shantih shantih shantih’ part of it?

Not at this place in the Upanishad. It is added at the end of the prayer by tradition.

Sources

  1. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 (Kanva text, GRETIL)
  2. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 in Devanagari (vivekavani.com)

Something wrong? Report a mistake

Text checked against: gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de, vivekavani.com