Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu: Lyrics and Meaning
गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः
Traditional (in the Guru Gita)
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu is a one-verse Sanskrit prayer of salutation to the guru, the spiritual teacher. It says that the guru is Brahmā, the guru is Vishnu, the guru is the god Maheshvara (Shiva), and the guru is the supreme Brahman itself, and it bows to that guru. Students say it before study, and many families say it in the morning prayers and on Guru Purnima.
Text and meaning, line by line
Text and layers
Text and layers
These choices stay in this browser.
Verse
गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरःगुरुःसाक्षात्परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥
Gururbrahma gururvishnurgururdevo maheshvarahGuruhsakshatparabrahma tasmai shrigurave namah
IAST
gururbrahmā gururviṣṇurgururdevo maheśvaraḥguruḥsākṣātparabrahma tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
In simple wordsThe guru, our teacher, is Brahma who makes the world, Vishnu who looks after it, and Shiva, the great god. The guru is truly the highest truth of all, and we bow to that guru.
For grown-ups: our full explanation Word by word: guruḥ, the guru (the teacher); brahmā, is Brahmā, the creator; guruḥ viṣṇuḥ, the guru is Vishnu, the preserver; guruḥ devaḥ maheśvaraḥ, the guru is the god Maheshvara (Shiva); guruḥ sākṣāt, the guru, directly, in person; parabrahma, the supreme Brahman, the highest reality; tasmai, to that; śrī-gurave, to the revered guru; namaḥ, salutation. The verse says that the guru is Brahmā, Vishnu and Shiva, and is the supreme Brahman itself, and it bows to that guru. The 1920 Guru Gita and Vasu's 1918 book read the second line "gurur eva paraṃ brahma", "the guru indeed is the supreme Brahman"; the sense is the same, with "indeed" in place of "in person".
हिंदी अर्थ शब्दार्थ: गुरुः, गुरु (शिक्षक); ब्रह्मा, ब्रह्मा (सृष्टि करने वाले) हैं; गुरुर्विष्णुः, गुरु विष्णु (पालन करने वाले) हैं; गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः, गुरु देव महेश्वर (शिव) हैं; गुरुः साक्षात्, गुरु प्रत्यक्ष रूप में; परब्रह्म, परम ब्रह्म, सबसे ऊँचा सत्य; तस्मै, उन; श्रीगुरवे, श्री गुरु को; नमः, नमस्कार। श्लोक का भाव: गुरु ही ब्रह्मा, विष्णु और शिव हैं, और साक्षात् परब्रह्म हैं; ऐसे गुरु को नमस्कार है। 1920 की गुरुगीता और वसु की 1918 की पुस्तक में दूसरी पंक्ति "गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म" है, यानी "गुरु ही परब्रह्म हैं"; भाव वही है, "साक्षात्" की जगह "एव" (ही) है।
Word by word
Every word, with its dictionary page
Word by word
- गुरुः guruḥ · the guru, the teacher (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: guru, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 359, col. 2 “a spiritual parent or preceptor”
- ब्रह्मा brahmā · (is) Brahmā, the creator (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: brahman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 738, col. 1 “Brahmā or the one impersonal universal Spirit manifested as a personal Creator”
- गुरुः guruḥ · the guru (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: guru, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 359, col. 2
- विष्णुः viṣṇuḥ · (is) Vishnu, the preserver (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: viṣṇu, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 999, col. 1 “N. of one of the principal Hindū deities”
- गुरुः guruḥ · the guru (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: guru, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 359, col. 2
- देवः devaḥ · (is) the god (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: deva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 492, col. 2 “a deity, god”
- महेश्वरः maheśvaraḥ · Maheshvara, the great lord (Shiva) (compound, nominative singular) Dictionary: maheśvara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 802, col. 2 “a great lord, sovereign, chief”
- गुरुः guruḥ · the guru (noun (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: guru, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 359, col. 2
- साक्षात् sākṣāt · directly, in person (indeclinable) Dictionary: sākṣāt, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1198, col. 1 “in person, in bodily form, personally, visibly, really, actually”
- परब्रह्म parabrahma · the supreme Brahman (compound, nominative singular) Dictionary: para-brahman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 587, col. 1 “the Supreme Spirit or Brahman”
- तस्मै tasmai · to that one (pronoun, dative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- श्रीगुरवे śrīgurave · to the revered guru (compound, dative singular) Dictionary: 3. śrī, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1098, col. 3 “also used as a respectful title (like ‘Reverend’)”; guru, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 359, col. 2 “a spiritual parent or preceptor”
- नमः namaḥ · bowing, salutation (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: namas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 528, col. 1 “bow, obeisance, reverential salutation, adoration”
4 printings differ
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- The printed edition reads: गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः
गुरुःसाक्षात्परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ ५ ॥ The book's running verse number '५' (this is verse 5 of its morning prayers) is dropped; the verse stands alone here. - Word The 1920 Kashi (Benares) printing reads: गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः। गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ १५४ ॥ 'गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म' ('the guru indeed is the supreme Brahman') for 'गुरुःसाक्षात्परब्रह्म'. Verse 154 of the Guru Gita, spoken by Shiva (p. 33, leaf n39).
- Word The 1918 Allahabad printing reads: Gurur Brahmâ gurur Viṣṇur, Gurur devo Maheśvaraḥ, Gurur eva param Brahmâ, Tasmai &c., &c., &c. Transliteration only (p. 9, leaf n22): the same reading as the 1920 Guru Gita, 'gurur eva'.
- Word Today's text from sanskritdocuments.org reads: गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः । गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ sanskritdocuments.org's Guru Stotra has 'गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म', the Guru Gita form. Sanskrit Wikisource's morning verses have 'गुरुः साक्षात् परब्रह्म', as the 1910 book does. Present-day texts differ, so the 1910 reading stays.
Salutations to the glorious Guru; for Guru is Brahmâ, He is Viṣṇu, and even the Lord Mahâdeva is He: nay, the Guru is even the Supreme Brahman Itself.
Sanskrit text: Bhaktimārgapradīp (भक्तिमार्गप्रदीप), a book of daily prayers, Sanskrit verses and Marathi saint-poetry, edited and published by Laxman Ramchandra Pangarkar, 1910. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Share
Send one picture or the text to one chat. The picture names its source and the address of this page.
Drawing the picture
See the words
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः
गुरुःसाक्षात्परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥
Gururbrahma gururvishnurgururdevo maheshvarah
Guruhsakshatparabrahma tasmai shrigurave namah
Word by word: guruḥ, the guru (the teacher); brahmā, is Brahmā, the creator; guruḥ viṣṇuḥ, the guru is Vishnu, the preserver; guruḥ devaḥ maheśvaraḥ, the guru is the god Maheshvara (Shiva); guruḥ sākṣāt, the guru, directly, in person; parabrahma, the supreme Brahman, the highest reality; tasmai, to that; śrī-gurave, to the revered guru; namaḥ, salutation. The verse says that the guru is Brahmā, Vishnu and Shiva, and is the supreme Brahman itself, and it bows to that guru. The 1920 Guru Gita and Vasu's 1918 book read the second line "gurur eva paraṃ brahma", "the guru indeed is the supreme Brahman"; the sense is the same, with "indeed" in place of "in person".
(Meaning written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition.)
Text: Laxman Ramchandra Pangarkar (Mumukshu office), Pune, 1910 (public domain).
https://pujadeep.com/prayers/guru-brahma/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose.
About the Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
The verse stands in the Guru Gita, where Shiva speaks it to Parvati; a Kashi printing of 1920 gives it as verse 154. It is read here from Bhaktimargapradip, a Marathi book of daily prayers printed in Pune in 1910, where it is the fifth morning verse.
The second line is printed in two ways. The 1910 book has "guruḥ sākṣāt parabrahma" ("the guru is the supreme Brahman in person"). The 1920 Guru Gita and S. C. Vasu's 1918 book of daily rites have "gurur eva paraṃ brahma" ("the guru indeed is the supreme Brahman"). Vasu's English translation, shown beside the verse, follows that second reading.
How to say it
The 1910 printing joins the words by sandhi: "gururviṣṇurgururdevo" is "guruḥ viṣṇuḥ guruḥ devaḥ", and "guruḥsākṣātparabrahma" is "guruḥ sākṣāt parabrahma". Families usually pause after each "guruḥ" phrase. The visarga in "maheśvaraḥ" and "namaḥ" is spoken as a light "h" with an echo of the vowel: "namaha".
Festivals whose guides name this prayer
More daily prayers: on waking, before study, before meals and at lamp-lighting
Related
Questions families ask
Who wrote the Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu?
Traditional (in the Guru Gita).
Which text does this page follow?
Sanskrit text: Bhaktimārgapradīp (भक्तिमार्गप्रदीप), a book of daily prayers, Sanskrit verses and Marathi saint-poetry, edited and published by Laxman Ramchandra Pangarkar, 1910. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Source and licence
- Text
- Bhaktimārgapradīp (भक्तिमार्गप्रदीप), a book of daily prayers, Sanskrit verses and Marathi saint-poetry, edited and published by Laxman Ramchandra Pangarkar (Laxman Ramchandra Pangarkar, Laxman Ramchandra Pangarkar (Mumukshu office), Pune, 1910). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 27, 2026