- praforth
- naḥfor us
- devīthe goddess
- sarasvatīSarasvatī
- the words woven forwards, backwards and forwards again in the ghana pattern, which fixes the exact sequence and accent of the Veda beyond the reach of error
sara̭svatī vājḙbhi rvājḙbhi ssara̭svatī sara̭svatī vājḙbhi rvājinī̭vatī vāhinī̭vatī vājḙbhi ssara̭svatī sara̭svatī vājḙbhi rvājinī̭vatī ||
- devīgoddess
- sarasvatīSarasvatī, she of the flowing waters and of speech
- vājebhiḥwith strengths, with vigours
- vājinīvatīpossessed of swift strength (vājin:swift, strong | vat:possessing)
- dhīnāmof thoughts, of insights
- avitrīprotectress
- avatumay she protect
- ghanapāṭhathe “dense” recitation, one of the eight elaborate patterns (vikṛti) used to preserve the Vedic text
dhīnā ma̭vitrya̭vitrī dhīnā-ndhīnāma̭vitrya̭ vatva vatvavitrī dhīnā-ndhīnāma̭vitrya̭vatu | avitrya̭vatvava tvavitrya̭vi trya̭vatu | avatvitya̭vatu ||
- vājebhiḥwith strengths
- vājinīvatīpossessed of swift strength
- itithus, marking a word quoted in isolation
- dhīnāmof thoughts
- avitrīprotectress
- avatumay she protect
- avatv ity avatu“avatu” – thus, avatu
- the closing single-word repetition that seals the pattern
