Sanskrit
तस्मादोमित्युदाहृत्य यज्ञदानतपःक्रियाः । प्रवर्तन्ते विधानोक्ताः सततं ब्रह्मवादिनाम् ॥
tasmād oṃ ity udāhṛtya yajñadānatapaḥkriyāḥ pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satataṃ brahmavādinām
Translation
Therefore with the pronunciation of "Aum" the acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity as laid down in the ordinances are always commenced by the knowers of the Eternal.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The first of three verses that each take one syllable of “Om Tat Sat” and explain its ritual function. Om marks the beginning: brahmavādins — “expounders of Brahman,” those who speak and act with the Absolute in view — open every prescribed act of sacrifice, gift, and austerity with it. It’s practical liturgy rather than abstract theology: a verbal gesture that reorients an ordinary ritual act toward the Absolute before the act itself even starts. Oṃ opens the act — it is the sound of Brahman (BG 8.13, BG 10.25) — turning a sacrifice, gift, or austerity from a private transaction into an offering.
Study deeper
Word by word
- tasmād oṃ ity udāhṛtyaतस्माद् ओं इत्य् उदाहृत्य
- therefore, uttering 'Oṃ' (tasmāt + om + iti + udāhṛtya)
- yajñadānatapaḥkriyāḥयज्ञदानतपःक्रियाः
- the acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity (yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ)
- pravartante vidhānoktāḥप्रवर्तन्ते विधानोक्ताः
- proceed, as the ordinance declares (pravartante + vidhāna-uktāḥ)
- satataṃ brahmavādināmसततं ब्रह्मवादिनां
- always, for the expounders of Brahman (satatam + brahma-vādinām)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The word doing the real work here is satatam, always, invariably, not just when the moment feels significant. The verse isn’t describing an occasional gesture of intention but an unconditional habit: every single prescribed act, without exception, opens the same way. The reorientation toward the Absolute isn’t left to whether the practitioner remembers to feel reverent that day; it’s built into the act’s opening syllable regardless of mood.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- A ritual you perform every single time, regardless of mood, does more for you than a meaningful gesture you only remember when you feel like it — build the habit to be unconditional, since relying on remembering to feel the right way defeats the point.
Professional
- A safety check or code review step that's skipped when there's no time provides much less protection than one that's genuinely unconditional — the value of a starting ritual comes precisely from its consistency, not from being performed only when it feels warranted.
Family & Social
- A small ritual with family, a call, a check-in, matters more for being unconditional than for being especially meaningful each time; consistency itself is the value, not remembering to make it feel significant on any given occasion.
Ask yourself
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