BHADRAM KARNEBHIH ....

Om bhadram kanebhih srunuyam devah | Bhadram pasyemaksabhiryaiatrah |

Sthirairangaistusthuvansastanubhih | Vyasema devahitam yadayuh | Svasti na indro
vrddhasravah | Svasti na pusa visvavedah | Svasti nastarksyo aristhanemih | Svasti no
brhaspatirdadhatu | Om santih santih santih ||

Deva - Oh Gods; karnebhih - with our ears; bhadram - auspicious;srunuyam - may we

listen;yajatrah - Oh Yajatras; aksabhih - with eyes;bhadram - auspicious; pasyema - may we
see; sthiraih - healthy; angaih - with organs; tanubhih - by the bodies; tustuvansah -
praising; yadayuh - full life; devahitam - for good of Devas; vyasema - may we engage;
vrddhasravah - exalted (famous); Indrah - God Indra; nah - to us; svasti(dadhatu) -
may give us well being; visvavedah - the all knowing; pusa - sun; nah - to us; svasti (dadhatu)
- may give well being; aristanemih - one for whom there are no obstacles in movement;
tarksyah - Garuda; nah - to us; svasti (dadhatu) - may give us well being; brahspati -
Brahaspati; nah - to us; svasti - well being; dadhatu - may give.Om santih santih santih- let
there be peace, peace,peace.

Oh Gods may we listen with our ears what is auspicious. Oh Yajatras may we see what is
auspicious with our eyes. With healthy limbs and bodies may we live our full life praising the
Devatas and doing good to them. May the exalted and famous Indra do good to us. May the all
knowing Sun give us well being. May, the Garuda who has no obstacles in his flight, give us
well being. May Brhaspati do good to us.

Let there be peace from obsructions from three sources.

Bhadram karnebhih srunuyam devah- 'May we listen to what is auspicious with our ears'.
Devas are the isvara viewed from different stand points. So the prayer is ' oh Deevas -Agni
Varuna Indrad etc., may we listen thro' our ears what is the most auspicious, what is
meaningful, what is truthful'. The idea is may we have the opportunity to listen to the
sastra,Veda which is talking about the truth. But mere opportunity to listen to Vedas is not good
enough. Without sraddha one would not take seriously what one listens .So may we also have
sraddha to listen to Vedas. Even when we listen with sraddha, what we listen to, blesses us
only when we understand it. Therefore may we also understand what we listen. Bhadram
srunuyam can be interpreted as what we listen to is auspicious, so may we listen what is
auspicious, what is truthfully sacred.Otherwise this prayer does not seem to have any
meaning. We are always listening with ears. Don't we listen to all the gossips ? Therefore we
do listen all right but may we listen what is most auspicious, what would liberate us, what
would free us from the samsara. So may we have opportunity to listen to such sastra with
sraddha .May we listen to words that are conducive for moksa, freedom.

Similarly may the yajatra protect us.The yajatras are those deities who help those who
praise them, pray to them, to cross the samsara. May we see with our sense organs things
that are conducive for moksa. May our eyes help us see isvara who is most auspicious.But
how can you see the isvara ? The sruti says'everything is isvara alone', therefore you
have to see more than what the eyes see. That is you have to see with your buddhi. May the
eyes see the isvara who is everything. That means 'may we have the knowledge with the help
of which we will see good everywhere and not the defects always'. Bhandram srunuyam
bhadram pasyem can be taken in relative sense also. In that case may we not always see the
defects in people but may we see virtues in everyone. There are a lot of virtues in everyone,
so may we see those virtues and not the defects all the time. This means that the buddhi has
to be so saintly that it is able to see the good in people, otherwise we can always see the
defects in everybody and complain about everyone. The idea is may we see good in people
and be in peace with ourselves. If you always see defects in people then you are in trouble
because you will be complaining all the time. People may have defects but we should have

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a disposition or attitude of seeing good in people. In other words may we enjoy good
qualities like sympathy, compassion, understandig, love,sharing, giving,friendliness. Only
when we have these qualities do we see auspicious not otherwise. So the prayer really is '
may we have all these qualities '.

Tustuvansa santah- May we become the ones who are praising you all the time with organs-
legs hands the entire body which is healthy. May we engage ourselves all our life time doing
things or living a life which is always a good to devas. So may we live a life following the
dharma established by Veda or the Devas. May we please them by such a life. May our actions
be pleasing to the devas. May our life lived with our limbs and bodies which would be pleasing
to the devas, that is the meaning .How long should we live like this? Entire life.

Svasti na indro vrddhasravah -May Indra who is exalted one who deserves all praise,give us
well being.

Svasti nah pusa visvavedah,' the all knowing visvaveda ,the all knowing pusa-surya, may he do
good to us. Surya ,sun, stands for isvara, the all knowing. Let us enjoy the grace of isvara
whom I invoke in surya.The all knowing isvara may he bless us.For us let there be isvara's
grace. What will I get by this grace ? Knowledge. Let surya help me with His grace , that
means let my buddhi become bright so I can understand you, the isvara .

Svasti nastaksaryo aristhanemih -Let the aristanemih, Garuda, do good to us. Garuda who
also stands for isvara is one for whom obstacles are not there in his flight .The Garuda flies
in the sky without any obstacles, without meeting any obstacles. In the same way may I have
my flight to isvara without any obstacles.

Brhaspati is the teacher of Indra, may the grace of this teacher of teachers be with us.