📿 Shloka Collection

Tasmad Om Ity Udahritya

Gita 17.24 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17 — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
तस्मादोमित्युदाहृत्य यज्ञदानतपःक्रियाः ।
प्रवर्तन्ते विधानोक्ताः सततं ब्रह्मवादिनाम् ॥
Tasmad om ity udahritya yajna-dana-tapah-kriyah,
Pravartante vidhanoktah satatam brahmavadinaam.
तस्मात्
therefore
Om
इति
thus
उदाहृत्य
having uttered
यज्ञदानतपःक्रियाः
acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity
प्रवर्तन्ते
are commenced
विधानोक्ताः
as prescribed by scripture
सततम्
always
ब्रह्मवादिनाम्
of the knowers of Brahman

Because Om is the sound-form of Brahman, those who know Brahman always begin their acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity by uttering Om. This is not superstition. It is alignment — connecting the act to its ultimate source.

Think of a royal seal stamped on a document. The seal does not change the content, but it authorizes it. In the same way, uttering Om before a sacred act connects that act to Brahman and gives it a dimension beyond the merely personal.

Every puja, every havan, every sacred undertaking in a Hindu household begins with Om. This practice traces directly back to the teaching Krishna gives here.

This shloka explains the role of Om within the "Om Tat Sat" triad. The next shloka (17.25) will explain "Tat," and 17.26-27 will explain "Sat." The Chhandogya Upanishad declares that just as leaves are held together by a stalk, all speech is held together by Om.

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