Brihatsama Tatha Samnam

The Brihatsama is one of the great hymns of the Sama Veda, traditionally sung at dawn. The Gayatri is the most ancient and revered of all Vedic metres — the metre in which the famous Gayatri Mantra is composed. Among metres, it is first.

Margashirsha — the month of Agrahayana, roughly November-December. In the ancient tradition, this was considered the best of months — the harvest ripens, the air turns cool and pleasant. And Kusumakara — the bringer of flowers — spring. When the trees bloom, when nature is at its most beautiful, that beauty is a vibhuti. The divine does not only dwell in temples. It blooms in the fields.

The Gayatri Mantra appears in Rig Veda 3.62.10 and is traditionally considered the essence of the Vedas. Naming Gayatri as the supreme metre in 10.35 honours its centrality in the Vedic tradition.

Margashirsha's pre-eminence may also reflect an ancient calendar convention. In early times, the year was said to begin with this month. The Gita appears to acknowledge that older tradition here.