“Gāyatrī” as a Name of ṚV III 62.10

Presentation “Gāyatrī” as a Name of Ṛgveda III 62.10 Dominik A. Haas Austrian Academy of Sciences / University of Vienna 2020* Online Presentation at the 9th Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas. Abstract It is generally assumed that the verse ṚV III 62.10, also known as the “Sāvitrī,” received its popular name “Gāyatrī” already in the Vedic period. This paper shows that this name was in fact introduced only about a thousand years later. As it turns out, the rst passages that unambiguously use “Gāyatrī” as a name are found in the late strata of the Sanskrit Epics and the Dharmasūtras, composed around the 3rd century ce. around the same time, we can observe the proliferation of modi ed forms of ṚV III 62.10, dedicated to deities such as Viṣṇu or Rudra. The paper argues that the creation of these mantras led to the revival of a category that by that time had become obsolete: the category of gāyatrīs. The introduction of the name “Gāyatrī” for ṚV III 62.10 is best explained against the background of this development. Keywords: Hinduism • Mantra • Epics • Gāyatrī • Sāvitrī • Name Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 * dominik@haas.asia, ORCID 0000-0002-8505-6112 Recipient of a DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia The presentation is part of my PhD project, Gāyatrī – Mantra and Mother of the Vedas, supervised by Marion Rastelli (IKGA, ÖAW; ISTB, University of Vienna). For the project proposal, see DOI 10.25365/phaidra.103. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 2 As is well known, the mantra Ṛgveda (ṚV) III 62.10 (tat savitur vareṇyam…) goes by two names: Gāyatrī and sāvitrī. Both Gāyatrī and sāvitrī were originally class names that could also be used for hundreds of others of their kind. The word sāvitrī ́ is simply the feminine form of sāvitrá, a relational adjective derived from savitṛ́ . As such, it simply means ‘belonging/relating/related to Savitṛ.’ Typically, and especially in its feminine form, sāvitrī became the designation for verses addressing or referring to the deity Savitṛ, that is: ‘Savitṛ-verses.’ It was only towards the end of the Vedic period that sāvitrī began to be used as the primary name of the Gāyatrī mantra, ṚV III 62.10, a name that it has retained until the present day. Similarly, the second and more popular name of ṚV III 62.10, Gāyatrī, could originally be used for all kinds of verses set in the gāyatrī metre. The development of this name, however, is much less transparent than that of sāvitrī. The big question is, therefore: when and why did the Gāyatrī mantra obtain its name? When did it become the Gāyatrī mantra par excellence? It has generally been assumed that this already happened in the Vedic period. But as I will show elsewhere, this is ultimately the result of a repeated misunder- standing. The only Vedic text passages that were thought to use Gāyatrī as a name for a speci c verse are the AV and the BṛhĀU. A close examination reveals that in fact, both texts always use the word for the metre, and never for the verse. So, to the best of my knowledge, the rst texts that unambiguously use the word gāyatrī to refer to the Gāyatrī mantra are much younger. They are only found in the Mahābhārata (MBh) and in the Dharmasūtras. Above all due to the ample material it provides, the MBh becomes the primary source for the study of the development of the designation Gāyatrī. In the MBh the word gāyatrī occurs 16 times. Depending on the context, it may be used for the Gāyatrī mantra, for the gāyatrī metre or for the personi cation or dei cation of either the mantra or the metre. In several cases, the boundaries are either unclear or blurred. Analysis of all relevant passages reveals that in the main text of the MBh, the word “gāyatrī” most likely always refers to the metre. The mantra, on the other hand, usually goes by the name of sāvitrī. In the next 10 minutes, I would like show you a selection of passages that illus- trate what one is confronted with when looking for the meaning of the word gāyatrī in the MBh. In doing so, I will concentrate on passages where it is not clear from the outset whether the mantra or the metre is intended. After that, I will present you my interpretation of the ndings. I will start with passages where, in my view, the metre is meant. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 3 In the Bhīṣmaparvan (VI 5.9–21), for instance, Sañjaya presents a categorization of all living beings in the world. He counts 19 of them ‘within the ve elements’ (mahābhūteṣu pañcasu). Somewhat unexpectedly, he then asserts that MBh VI 5.18cd–19 caturviṃśatir uddiṣṭā gāyatrī lokasaṃmatā /18/ ya etāṃ veda gāyatrīṃ puṇyāṃ sarvaguṇānvitām / tattvena bharataśreṣṭha sa lokān na praṇaśyati /19/ The 24 that have been shown are known as a gāyatrī by the world. /18/ Whoever truly knows this meritorious gāyatrī possessed of every virtue, does not lose the world, o Best among the Bharatas. /19/ The mention of the number suggests to me that, in all likelihood, the metre is meant (the Gāyatrī mantra at that time was already reduced to 23 syllables, but this might not have been taken too strictly). A special case is given if a text states that a gāyatrī should be ‘recited’ (jap or paṭh). In the Tīrthayātraparvan, for instance, Pulastya mentions a place of pilgrim- age holy to the gāyatrī. After describing the place Gokarṇa, he continues: MBh III 83.26–27 tata eva tu gāyatryāḥ sthānaṃ trailokyaviśrutam / trirātram uṣitas tatra gosahasraphalaṃ labhet /26/ nidarśanaṃ ca pratyakṣaṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ narādhipa / gāyatrīṃ paṭhate yas tu yonisaṃkarajas tathā / gāthā vā gītikā vāpi tasya saṃpadyate nṛpa /27/ From there to the place of the gāyatrī, renowned in the three worlds. Having stayed for three nights, one obtains the reward of a thousand cows. /26/ There is a sign visible to Brahmins, o Lord of Men: If someone of mixed parentage recites a gāyatrī, it turns into a gāthā or song for him, o King. The mention of the term gāthā, which is especially used for non-Vedic verses, and gītikā or ‘song’ in this passage indicates that gāyatrī here denotes the metre. The point is that the metre, if recited by someone who is not a full-blooded Brahmin, does not sound like a proper Vedic one, but more like a popular stanza. In this context, it must not be forgotten that like gītikā and gāthā, the word gāyatrī is derived from the root gā/gī(/gai) and could also be translated as ‘the song-metre.’ Nevertheless, the passage easily makes one think of one speci c verse, the Gāy- atrī mantra, and it is certainly one of those passages where the metre and the verse can easily be mixed up. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 4 As a matter of fact, some manuscripts of the Northern recension also add the line: ‘but if a non-Brahmin recites the sāvitrī, he perishes.’¹ This clari cation sug- gests that the passage may be understood to imply the recitation of the Gāyatrī mantra. But it would go too far, I think, to assert that the word gāyatrī actually denotes the mantra in this case. Apart from these passages, there are only a few others that mention the word gāyatrī, as for instance when Kṛṣṇa proclaims in the Bhagavad-Gītā (BhG) that ‘among the metres, I am the gāyatrī’ (gāyatrī chandasām aham; MBh VI 32.35b = BhG X 35b). Passages like these are, I would say, not in need of clari cation. As it turns out, in the constituted text of the Critical Edition the word gāyatrī is only used for the metre. Now, this situation quickly changes in the star passages and appendixes. These passages contain textual material that is found in one or more manuscripts, but was not included in the main text. In the following I will brie y present a selection of these passages. Again, I will focus on passages in which it is not immediately clear whether the metre or the mantra is meant. The rst passage, found in the Anuśāsanaparvan (XIII 113.13*569), contains a list of meritorious deeds that save a twice-born from crimes causing a loss of caste (known as pātakas), among them readings of the Vedas, satiating a thousand cows or 100 000 Gāyatrīs, which must mean the recitation of 100 000 Gāyatrīs.² The repetition indicates that the Gāyatrī mantra is meant, as it is typically recited in this way as a means of puri cation. Another passage from the same parvan (XIII 107.62*491.3) states that ‘one should regularly exercise re ection on the Gāyatrī, concentrating on the twilight (wor- ship).’³ In this case, it is the mention of the Sandhyā which suggests that one should re ect on the mantra used in this ritual. In a third passage from the Śāntiparvan, the ‘beginning and the end of the gods are’ said to be ‘the Gāyatrī and the utterance om.’⁴ The typical combination with om again suggests the Gāyatrī mantra. In other cases, determining the meaning of the word is less easy. At the end of the BhG (MBh VI 40.78), a number of mss. add a passage in which the Gaṅgā, the Gītā, the Gāyatrī and Govinda are presented as a set.⁵ A similar statement is found in the so-called Gītāsāra, a text of 51 verses preserved only in Kashmirian mss. (App. I 3 of MBh VI).⁶ This “summary” of the BhG also has another passage, 1 III 83.27*439.1 abrāhmaṇasya sāvitrīṃ paṭhatas tu praṇaśyati /. 2 pārāyaṇaiś ca vedānāṃ mucyate pātakair dvijaḥ / gāyatryāś caiva lakṣeṇa gosahasrasya tarpaṇāt //. 3 gāyatrīmananaṃ nityaṃ kuryāt saṃdhyāṃ samāhitaḥ /. 4 XII 274.60 App. 28.283 ādiś cāntaś ca devānāṃ gāyatry oṃkāra eva ca /. 5 VI 40.78*113.5: gaṅgā gītā ca gāyatrī govindeti hṛdi sthite /. 6 App. 3A110/B111: gītā gaṅgā ca gāyatrī govindo hṛdi saṃsthitāḥ /. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 5 stating that ‘the Gāyatrī should be recognized to be the highest when known by the name “unmuttered” (ajapā).’⁷ The line probably refers to idea that the mantra is most e ective when repeated only mentally. As mentioned already, in the BhG itself the word gāyatrī is only used for the metre. Considering, however, the mention of the word ajapa, it is most likely that these passages follow the new trend of using the name of the metre for the verse.⁸ Looking at the bulk of the Epic evidence, we can see that the transition from the metre to the mantra may in some cases be uid. In general, however, it is clear that the use of the word gāyatrī for the mantra only becomes common in the later strata of the MBh. (I will return to the issue of the date later). The question that arises is: why was this alias introduced in the rst place? Why did the mantra ṚV III 62.10, already well known as (the) sāvitrī, additionally receive the name gāyatrī? When I conducted my survey, I noticed that most sources use either sāvitrī or gāyatrī to denote mantra, but they do not as a rule replace one with the other. In other words, sāvitrī and gāyatrī are rarely used in one and the same text as synonyms in the sense of an “elegant variation.” The only exception to this rule I have found in the MBh is Appendix I 4 of the Āśvamedhikaparvan, a rather long text of roughly 1700 verses. This little-studied text⁹ is known by the name Vaiṣṇava-Dharmaśāstra (VaiṣṇDhŚ). As such, it is also transmitted independently from the MBh and is in many ways similar to the so- called Viṣṇudharma (or Viṣṇudharmāḥ; ViṣṇDh), edited by Reinhold Grünendahl (1984). In the śāstra, the mantra is generally called sāvitrī, 14 times in total. Four times, however, gāyatrī is used instead of sāvitrī. As these four passages are informative in a number of ways, we shall brie y have a look at them in the following. In the rst passage, the context is the Sandhyā. I translate: MBh XIV 96.15 App. 4.492–495 sāyaṃ prātas tu ye saṃdhyāṃ samyaṅ nityam upāsate // nāvaṃ vedamayīṃ kṛtvā tarante tārayanti ca // yo japet pāvanīṃ devīṃ gāyatrīṃ vedamātaram // na sīdet pratigṛhṇānaḥ pṛthivīṃ ca sasāgarām //¹⁰ Those who in the morning and in the evening correctly and regularly worship the twi- light, cross and make (others) cross by making a boat consisting of the Veda. If someone 7 MBh VI 40.78 App. 3B36: gāyatrī sā parā jñeyā ajapā nāma viśrutā /. 8 The mention of the Sandhyā in the preceding line, VI 40.78 App. 3B35, presents an independent sentence, but may nevertheless be another piece of evidence. 9 Cf. Rastelli 2017. 10 Cf. ViṣṇDh 51.1: sāyaṃ prātaś ca yaḥ saṃdhyām upāste ’skannamānasaḥ / japan hi pāvanīṃ devīṃ gāyatrīṃ vedamātaram //. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 6 recites the purifying goddess Gāyatrī, the Mother of the Vedas, he does not sink down while taking possession of the earth and the sea. This passage has it all: not only does it call the Gāyatrī a deity and the Mother of the Vedas. The author also doesn’t hesitate to say that one should recite the goddess. Fascinating as it is, we cannot deal with the subject of dei cation of texts here. For now, it will be su cient to observe that gāyatrī here essentially refers to the Gāyatrī mantra recited in the Sandhyā. That it is really not the metre, but the verse that is intended is corroborated by two other passages from the same text. In both of them, Lord Viṣṇu gives prescrip- tions for bathing. Among other texts, the gāyatrī should be recited, ‘accompanied by the Vyāhṛtis and the praṇava (i.e., the syllable om).’¹¹ This leaves little doubt that the Gāyatrī verse, which is frequently accompanied by this introductory formula (generally in the order oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ), is meant. The fourth and last passage of the VaiṣṇDhŚ to be taken into account mentions that the Gāyatrī should accompany the drinking of a cow’s purifying urine.¹² The mention of other Vedic verses in this context con rms that nothing other than the Gāyatrī mantra is meant. As it thus turns out, in this śāstra the word gāyatrī is not once used for the metre. But the text goes even further. In three passages we learn that Lord Viṣṇu has his own Gāyatrī.¹³ This Gāyatrī is, with little doubt, the so-called Viṣṇugāyatrī, a modi ed form of the Gāyatrī mantra dedicated to Viṣṇu. As is known, a great num- ber of these modi ed Gāyatrīs exists, and their history has attracted even greater scholarly attention than that of the Gāyatrī mantra itself. For our current purposes, we shall stick to the topic by only asking what these modi ed verses might reveal about the original Gāyatrī mantra and, more speci cally, about the development of its designations. The oldest sources for the modi ed Gāyatrīs are generally taken to be the Maitrā- yaṇī-Saṃhitā (II 9.1), prapāṭhaka X of the Taittirīya-Āraṇyaka (X 1.5–7), known as the Mahānārāyaṇa-Upaniṣad, and another version of the same text belonging to the Atharva-Veda (AV). In none of the available editions of these texts, the modi ed verses are called gāyatrīs, as is done for instance in the MBh. In fact, they are not called by any name at all. One of the earliest non-Epic texts do so is probably the Pāśupata-Sūtra (PāśS I 12–17), which must have been produced before the 4th cent 11 XIV 96.15 App. 4.1544: savyāhṛtiṃ sapraṇavāṃ gāyatrīṃ ca japet punaḥ //; XIV 96.15 App. 4.1552: savyāhṛtiṃ sapraṇavāṃ gāyatrīṃ vā tato japet //. 12 XIV 96.15 App. 4.3201; cf. Baudhāyana-Dharmasūtra (BaudhDhS) IV 5.12. 13 XIV 96.15 App. 4.2778 (gāyatrīṃ mama vā devīṃ sāvitrīṃ vā japet tataḥ), 4.3121 (bhagavaṃs tava gāyatrī budhyate tu kathaṃ nṛbhiḥ), 4.3126 (japtvā tu mama gāyatrīm atha vāṣṭākṣaraṃ nṛpa). dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 7 ce. The text mentions a modi ed Gāyatrī, the Rudragāyatrī, and in doing so uses the expression raudrī gāyatrī. The parallel usage in texts like the VaiṣṇDhŚ (mama gāyatrī, said by Viṣṇu) suggests that, in the beginning, the verses modelled after the ṚV III 62.10 were indeed called gāyatrīs, even though they are not always perfectly set in the gāyatrī metre (strictly speaking). This choice of words is imperfect, but reasonable: sāvitrī, after all, means ‘Savitṛ- verse,’ and as such was even less suited for the purpose. The fact that sāvitrī also was the name of a goddess and a princess might have played a role as well. Metrical accuracy was, in any case, of little interest to the creators and the preservers of the modi ed Gāyatrīs. Moreover, it has to be taken into account that the gāyatrī metre had went out of fashion already in Vedic times. At the time of the Epics, it was vir- tually no longer in use at all. For most people, every verse that had a resemblance to the most renowned verse in the gāyatrī metre could also be called gāyatrī; in any case, they would not be bothered too much by any extra syllable. It is very likely that this development in turn in uenced the way of how the original Gāyatrī was called. Clearly, the Gāyatrī mantra was the most well-known gāyatrī verse, and merely mentioning the word would have easily brought the Gāy- atrī mantra to mind. But the use as an actual synonym must have been pushed – or, perhaps even triggered – by the introduction of new gāyatrī verses. In general, it must have been clear that the gāyatrī verse par excellence is ṚV III 62.10. In a few cases, authors nevertheless felt the need to clarify that it is re- ally the Gāyatrī that is meant by combining the words sāvitrī and gāyatrī. The order of words is determined by the context. Whenever the goal is to distinguish between several Savitṛ-verses, “gāyatrī sāvitrī” is used, with gāyatrī being the qual- i er. gāyatrī can also be added in this way as a mere attribute even if there are no other sāvitrīs present.¹⁴ The expression “sāvitrī gāyatrī,” on the other hand, only makes sense if a speci c verse set in the gāyatrī metre is to be distinguished from others. This was probably the case in the TaittĀ (II 16), which contains both modi ed Gāyatrīs and the original, which it also calls sāvitrī gāyatrī. This raises the issue of chronology. The prevalent view is that the Vedic texts were the sources for later, post-Vedic traditions, in which the modi ed Gāyatrīs, such as the Viṣṇugāyatrī or the Rudragāyatrī, became quite prominent. Peter Biss- chop, however, argued that some of the mantras used in Pāśupata Śaivism, among them the Rudragāyatrī, were not taken from the “Vedic” texts, but rather inserted in them. If this is correct, it shows that in the rst cents. ce, texts like the TaittĀ were not yet xed. Indeed, considering their language, the faulty (one is even tempted to 14 Cf. MBh IV 5.31 App. 4G22. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 8 say: amateurish) accentuation and their content, the conclusion that many passages in the TaittĀ are post-Vedic is unavoidable. While most of the MaitrS is no doubt ancient, there is little reason to assume that the case of MaitrS II 9, which contains the modi ed Gāyatrīs, is much di erent. As Bisschop concludes: “Not everything that is found in the Vedas is necessarily old.” The evidence of the Epics and the Dharmasūtras, too, points to a relatively late date both for the modi ed Gāyatrīs and, most importantly in the present context, for the name Gāyatrī itself. In general, the star passages and appendixes of the MBh simply represent later additions or interpolations made by scribes and editors of various manuscript traditions. As such, they are also likely to be chronologically younger than the main text. The VaiṣṇDhŚ, for instance, is probably not far removed in time from the ViṣṇDh, the lower limit of which is possibly the 3rd cent. ce. Looking outside the Epics, I found that the “earliest” datable texts calling the Gāyatrī mantra “Gāyatrī” are the metrical portions of the BaudhDhS and the Vasiṣṭha- Dharmasūtra (VasDhS).¹⁵ According to Olivelle (2000) the metrical portions of the BaudhDhS “are probably not earlier than the 3rd to 4th centuries ce.” The VasDhS, on the other hand, is the youngest Dharmasūtra and can possibly be dated even to the 1st cent. ce; its metrical portions, however, are probably younger. It is also possible to present a piece of negative evidence. Contrary to what one might expect, the MānDhŚ, probably composed around the 3rd cent., uses only the word sāvitrī to denote the Gāyatrī.¹⁶ While this might be a coincidence, it is perfectly in line with the ndings I have presented. I will now come to my conclusion. As I hope to have shown, little points to the existence – let alone a widespread use – of modi ed Gāyatrīs before the 2nd cent. at the very earliest, the time when Pāśupata Śaivism possibly came into existence. Most texts making use of the mod- i ed Gāyatrīs are, in fact, younger; both the PāśS and the VaiṣṇDhŚ, for instance, were probably composed one or two cents. later. While it is di cult to establish the date of the rst creation of the modi ed Gāyatrīs, the belief that they must be “old” merely because they have been transmitted in Vedic texts is questionable. Their designation as “Gāyatrīs,” in any case, cannot be shown to be older than the 3rd or 4th cent. The introduction of the designation “Gāyatrī” for the verse ṚV III 62.10 occurred, therefore, more or less simultaneously to the emergence and spread of the so-called modi ed Gāyatrīs. In my view, this is not coincidental, but indicates a single de- 15 BaudhDhS IV 1.27–28 12, 31, 6.1; VasDhS XXV 9, 12–13 16 Here again, the designation Gāyatrī for the verse is found in additional passages in several mss.; see MānDhŚ II 83 in the crit. ed. In the constituted text itself, the word is not mentioned. dominik a. haas · dicsep presentation 2020 9 velopment. The creation of the modi ed forms of ṚV III 62.10 led to the revival of a category that had, by that time, become obsolete: the category of gāyatrī verses. Among this group, the Vedic Gāyatrī was of course considered the original one (the Gāyatrī, as it were), but was nevertheless sometimes speci ed as a sāvitrī gāyatrī or gāyatrī sāvitrī. Considering that already in the oldest Gṛhyasūtras, the use of the word sāvitrī was su cient to denote ṚV III 62.10, the addition of the word gāyatrī can best be explained by the fact that this category had regained signi cance. The cumulative evidence therefore suggests that the practice of calling the verse ṚV III 62.10 or its modi ed forms Gāyatrī only became common in or after the 3rd cent. ce. This means that the Gāyatrī mantra acquired its popular name more than a thousand years later than was previously thought. References Peter C. Bisschop, “Vedic Elements in the Pāśupatasūtra.” In: Lucien Beek, Alwin Kloekhorst, Guus Kroonen, Michaël Peyrot & Tijmen Pronk (eds.), Farnah. Indo-Iranian and Indo-European Studies in Honor of Sasha Lubotsky. Ann Arbor / New York: Beech Stave Press, 2018, pp. 1–12. Reinhold Grünendahl (ed.), Viṣṇudharmāḥ. Precepts for the Worship of Viṣṇu, Part 1. Adhyāyas 1–43. Part 2. Adhyāyas 44–81. Part 3. Adhyāyas 82–105, with a pāda- index of Adhyāyas 1–105. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983/1984/1989. Patrick Olivelle (ed. & tr.), Dharmasūtras. The Law Codes of Āpastamba, Gautama, Baudhāyana, and Vasiṣṭha. Annotated Text and Translation. Delhi: Motilal Banarsi- dass, 2000. Marion Rastelli, “On the Vaiṣṇavism(s) of the Vaiṣṇava Dharmaśāstras: The Case of the So-called Vaiṣṇavadharmaśāstra.” Unpublished paper. Deutscher Orientalis- tentag 2017.  “Gāyatrī” as a Name of ṚV III 62.10 DICSEP 9, Dubrovnik, September 21–26, 2020 Dominik A. Haas DOC Fellow Austrian Academy of Sciences PhD Candidate University of Vienna Supervisor Marion Rastelli Dissertation Gāyatrī – Mantra and Mother of the Vedas Recipient of a DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia Ṛgveda III 62.10 the Sāvitrī, sāvitrī, Savitri; ‘Savitṛ-verse’ the Gāyatrī, gāyatrī, Gayatri the Gāyatrī mantra tát savitúr váreṇyaṃ bhárgo devásya dhīmahi / dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt //  The “Gāyatrī” in the Vedic period? Atharvaveda & Bṛhad-Āraṇyaka- Upaniṣad → always use the word for the metre, and never for the verse. Mahābhārata (MBh) 16 passages (with *passages) containing the word gāyatrī • Gāyatrī mantra • its personification/deification • gāyatrī metre • its personification/deification VI 5.18cd–19 caturviṃśatir uddiṣṭā gāyatrī lokasaṃmatā // ya etāṃ veda gāyatrīṃ puṇyāṃ sarvaguṇānvitām / tattvena bharataśreṣṭha sa lokān na praṇaśyati // The 24 that have been shown are known as a gāyatrī by the world. Whoever truly knows this meritorious gāyatrī possessed of every virtue, does not lose the world, o Best among the Bharatas. III 83.26–27 tata eva tu gāyatryāḥ sthānaṃ trailokyaviśrutam / trirātram uṣitas tatra gosahasraphalaṃ labhet // nidarśanaṃ ca pratyakṣaṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ narādhipa / gāyatrīṃ paṭhate yas tu yonisaṃkarajas tathā / gāthā vā gītikā vāpi tasya saṃpadyate nṛpa // From there to the place of the gāyatrī, renowned in the three worlds. Having stayed for three nights, one obtains the reward of a thousand cows. There is a sign visible to Brahmins, o Lord of Men: if someone of mixed parentage recites the gāyatrī, it turns into a gāthā or song for him, o King. III 83.26–27 tata eva tu gāyatryāḥ sthānaṃ trailokyaviśrutam / trirātram uṣitas tatra gosahasraphalaṃ labhet // nidarśanaṃ ca pratyakṣaṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ narādhipa / gāyatrīṃ paṭhate yas tu yonisaṃkarajas tathā/gāthā vā gītikā vāpi tasya saṃpadyate nṛpa // From there to the place of the gāyatrī, renowned in the three worlds. Having stayed for three nights, one obtains *439.1 the reward of a thousand cows. There is a sign visible to Brahmins, abrāhmaṇasya o Lord of sāvitrīṃ paṭhatas tu Men: if someone praṇaśyati / of butmixed parentage recites if a non-Brahmin thethe recites gāyatrī, sāvitrī,ithe turns into a perishes. gāthā or song for him, o King. gāyatrī chandasām aham Bhagavadgītā X 35b  in the main text of the MBh, the word gāyatrī is used only for the metre XIII 113.13*569 gāyatryāś caiva lakṣeṇa XIII 107.62*491.3 gāyatrīmananaṃ nityaṃ kuryāt saṃdhyāṃ samāhitaḥ XII 274.60 App. 28.283 ādiś cāntaś ca devānāṃ gāyatry oṃkāra eva ca VI 40.78*113.5; cf. App. 3A110/B111 gaṅgā gītā ca gāyatrī govindeti hṛdi sthite VI 40.78 App. 3B36 gāyatrī sā parā jñeyā ajapā nāma viśrutā  the use of the word gāyatrī for the mantra only becomes common in the later strata of the MBh MBh XIV App. I 4 = Vaiṣṇavadharmaśāstra sāvitrī and gāyatrī are used synonymously in 4 passages XIV 96.15 App. 4.492–495 sāyaṃ prātas tu ye saṃdhyāṃ samyaṅ nityam upāsate / nāvaṃ vedamayīṃ kṛtvā tarante tārayanti ca / yo japet pāvanīṃ devīṃ gāyatrīṃ vedamātaram / na sīdet pratigṛhṇānaḥ pṛthivīṃ ca sasāgarām / Those who in the morning and in the evening correctly and regularly worship the twilight, cross and make (others) cross by making a boat consisting of the Veda. If someone recites the purifying goddess Gāyatrī, the Mother of the Vedas, he does not sink down while taking possession of the earth and the sea. XIV 96.15 App. 4.1544 savyāhṛtiṃ sapraṇavāṃ gāyatrīṃ ca japet punaḥ XIV 96.15 App. 4.1552 savyāhṛtiṃ sapraṇavāṃ gāyatrīṃ vā tato japet XIV 96.15 App. 4.3201 gāyatryā gṛhya gomūtraṃ gandhadvāreti gomayam XIV 96.15 App. 4.2778 gāyatrīṃ mama vā devīṃ sāvitrīṃ vā japet tataḥ 4.3121 bhagavaṃs tava gāyatrī budhyate tu kathaṃ nṛbhiḥ 4.3126 japtvā tu mama gāyatrīm atha vāṣṭākṣaraṃ nṛpa → Viṣṇugāyatrī the oldest sources of the modified Gāyatrīs Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā (II 9.1) Taittirīya-Āraṇyaka X (1.5–7) = Mahānārayaṇa-Upaniṣad Mahānārayaṇa-Upaniṣad (AV) Pāśupata-Sūtra I 12–17: raudrī gāyatrī  rather a gāyatrī than a sāvitrī tát púruṣāya vidmahe mahādevā́ya dhīmahi / tán no rudráḥ pracodáyāt // tác cáturmukhāya vidmahe padmāsanā́ya dhīmahi / tán no brahmā́ pracodáyāt // tát paramātmā́ya vidmahe vainateyā́ya dhīmahi / tán naḥ sṛṣṭíḥ pracodáyāt // the theoldest oldest(?)sources sources of the modified Gāyatrīs Maitrāyaṇī-Saṃhitā (II 9.1) Taittirīya-Āraṇyaka X (1.5–7) = Mahānārayaṇa-Upaniṣad Mahānārayaṇa-Upaniṣad (AV) Pāśupata-Sūtra I 12–17: raudrī gāyatrī Taittirīya-Āraṇyaka II 16: sāvitrī gāyatrī  date of the name “Gāyatrī” Vaiṣṇavadharmaśāstra: 3rd cent. CE + (like Viṣṇudharma?) Baudhāyanadharmasūtra IV: 3rd–4th cent. CE Vasiṣṭhadharmasūtra XXV: 1st cent. CE ++ Mānavadharmaśāstra: ca. 3rd cent.; only sāvitrī conclusion: the revival of the Gāyatrīs “Gāyatrī” for mod. Gāyatrīs: ca. 3rd cent. raudrī gāyatrī etc. “Gāyatrī” for ṚV III 62.10: ca. 3rd cent. sāvitrī gāyatrī etc. formerly, sāvitrī alone was sufficient  references Peter C. Bisshop, “Vedic Elements in the Pāśupatasūtra.” In: Lucien Beek, Alwin Kloekhorst, Guus Kroonen, Michaël Peyrot & Tijmen Pronk (eds.), Farnah. Indo-Iranian andIndo-European Studiesin Honor of Sasha Lubotsky. Ann Arbor/ New York: Beech Stave Press, 2018, pp. 1–12.