Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/29

Rh account the Sravani is also termed the Upakarma—the commencement of the study of the Vedas. This Sravani ceremony is a most ancient one and is coeval with the civilisation of the Brahmans. The Rigveda Brahmans perhaps instituted it and the Yajurveda Brahmans followed it. It is not a Puranic rite but a rite sanctioned by the Vedas themselves. It is therefore one of the oldest rites of the Brahmans.

The gayatri day is a day of prayer performed on the day next to the Sravani day. The Gayatri is a sacred verse repeated by every Brahman at his morning, midday and evening devotions and on other occasions also. Great sins are believed to be expiated by a pious repetition of this verse. The general meaning of the verse is as follows:—"Let us contemplate the divine splendour of the Sun-God, the donor of bliss to all, that he may give us all kinds of happiness in all the worlds.”’

Every Brahman is required to repeat the gayatri at least thirty-two times each time—morning, midday and evening. This makes it obligatory on every religious Brahman to meditate on the gayatri at least ninety-six times