The Vyāhritis are generally taken to refer to the seven worlds, and the prefixing of the Pranava (Ōm) means that all these worlds have sprung from the Supreme Being. The Pranava given above means “All the seven worlds are (the visible manifestations of) Ōm, the all-pervading Brāhman. We think of the adorable light of the Lord, who shines in our hearts, and guides us. May he guide our intellects aright. Water, light, all things that have savour (such as trees, herbs, and plants), the nectar of the gods, the three worlds, in fact everything that is Brāhman, the universal soul.”

The mystic syllable Ōm is the most sacred of all Hindu utterances. Concerning it, Monier Williams writes that it is “made up of the three letters A, U, M, and symbolical of the threefold manifestation of the one Supreme Being in the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, and is constantly repeated during the Sandhya service. This prayer is, as we have seen, the most sacred of all Vēdic utterances, and, like the Lord’s Prayer among Christians, or like the Fatihah or opening chapter of the Kuran among Muhammadans, must always, among Hindus, take precedence of all other forms of supplication.”

The celebrant next proceeds to invoke the Gāyatri Dēvata thus:—“May the goddess Gāyatri Dēvata, who grants all our desires, come to us to make known to us the eternal Lord, who is revealed to us only through the scriptures. May the Gāyatri, the mother of all the Vēdas, reveal to us the eternal truth. Oh! Gāyatri, thou art the source of all spiritual strength. Thou art the power that drivest away the evil inclinations which are mine enemies. Thou, by conducing to a sound mind, conducest to a sound body. Thou art the light of the gods, that dispellest my intellectual darkness, and illuminest my heart with divine wisdom. Thou art all. In the whole universe there is naught but thee that is. Thou art the eternal truth that destroys all sins. Thou art the Pranava that reveals to me the unknown. Come to my succour, Oh! thou Gāyatri, and make me wise.” This invocation is followed by the repetition of the Gāyatri 108 or only 28 times. The celebrant then says:—“The goddess Gāyatri resides on a lofty peak on the summit of mount Mēru (whose base is deeply fixed) in the earth. Oh! thou goddess, take leave from the Brāhmans (who have worshipped thee, and been blessed with thy grace), and go back to thy abode as comfortably as possible.” The Sandhya service is closed with the following prayer to the rising sun:—“We sing the adorable glory of the sun god, who sustains all men (by causing rain); which glory is eternal, and most worthy of being adored with wonder. The sun, well knowing the inclinations of men, directs them to their several pursuits. The sun upholds both heaven and earth; the sun observes all creatures (and their actions) without ever winking. To this eternal being we offer the oblation mixed with ghī. Oh! sun, may that man who through such sacrifice offers oblations to thee become endowed with wealth and plenty. He who is under thy protection is not cut off by untimely death; he is not vanquished by anybody, and sin has no hold on this man either from near or from afar.” In the evening, the following prayer to Varuna is substituted:—“Hear, Oh! Varuna, this prayer of mine. Be gracious unto me this day. Longing for thy protection, I cry to thee. Adoring thee with prayer, I beg long life of thee. The sacrificer does the same with the oblations he offers thee. Therefore, Oh! Varuna, without indifference in this matter, take my prayer into your kind consideration, and do not cut off our life. Oh! Lord Varuna, whatever law of thine we, as men, violate day after day, forgive us these trespasses. Oh! Lord Varuna, whatever offence we, as men, have committed against divine beings, whatever work of thine we have neglected through ignorance, do not destroy us, Oh! Lord, for such sin. Whatever sin is attributed to us by our enemies, as by gamblers at dice, whatever sins we may have really committed, and what we may have done without knowing, do thou scatter and destroy all these sins. Then, Oh! Lord, we shall become beloved of thee.” The Sandhya prayer closes with the Abhivādhana or salutation, which has been given in the account of marriage. After the Sandhya service in the morning, the Brahma yagna, or worship of the Supreme Being as represented in the sacred books is gone through. The first hymn of the Rig Vēda is recited in detail, and then follow the first words of the Yajur Vēda, Sāma Vēda, Atharvana Vēda, the Nirukta, etc.

The next item is the Tarpana ceremony, or offering of water to the Dēvatas, Rishis, and Pitris. The sacred thread is placed over the left shoulder and under the right arm (upavīta), and water is taken in the right hand, and poured as an offering to the Dēvatas. Then, with the sacred thread round the neck like a necklace (niviti), the worshipper pours water for the Rishis. Lastly, the sacred thread is placed over the right shoulder (prāchinā vīthi) and water is poured for the Pitris (ancestors).

The various ceremonies described so far should be performed by all the male members of a family, whereas the daily Dēvatarchana or Dēvata pūja is generally done by any one member of a family. The gods worshipped by pious Brāhmans are Siva and Vishnu, and their consorts Parvati and Lakshmi. Homage is paid thereto through images, sālagrāma stones, or stone lingams. In the house of a Brāhman, a corner or special room is set apart for the worship of the god. Some families keep their gods in a small almirah (chest).

Smarthas use in their domestic worship five stones, viz.:—

Smarthas commence their worship by invoking the aid of Vignēswara (Ganēsha). Then, placing a vessel (kalasa) filled with water, they utter the following prayer. “In the mouth of the water-vessel abideth Vishnu, in its lower part is Brahma, while the whole company of the mothers (mātris) are congregated in its middle part. Oh! Ganges, Yamunā, Godāvari, Sarasvati, Narmadā, Sindhu, and Kāveri, be present in this water.” The conch or chank shell (Turbinella rapa) is then worshipped as follows:—“Oh! conch shell, thou wast produced in the sea, and art held by Vishnu in his hand. Thou art worshipped by all the gods. Receive my homage.” The bell is then worshipped with the prayer:—“Oh! bell, make a sound for the approach of the gods, and for the departure of the demons. Homage to the goddess Ghantā (bell). I offer perfumes, grains of rice, and flowers, in token of rendering all due homage to the bell.” The worshipper claps his hands, and rings the bell. All the tulsi (sacred basil, Ocimum sanctum) leaves, flowers, sandal paste, etc., used for worship on the previous day, are removed. “The tulsi is the most sacred plant in the Hindu religion; it is consequently found in or near almost every Hindu house throughout India. Hindu poets say that it protects from misfortune, and sanctifies and guides to heaven all who cultivate it. The Brahmins hold it sacred to the gods Krishna and Vishnu. The story goes that this plant is the transformed nymph Tulasi, beloved of Krishna, and for this reason near every Hindu house it is cultivated in pots, or in brick or earthen pillars with hollows at the top (brindāvanam or brinda forest), in which earth is deposited. It is daily watered, and worshipped by all the members of the family. Under favourable circumstances, it grows to a considerable size, and furnishes a woody stem large enough to make beads for the rosaries used by Hindus, on which they count the number of recitations of their deity’s name.”[94] Writing in the seventeenth century, Vincenzo Maria[95] observes that “almost all the Hindus ... adore a plant like our Basilico gentile, but of a more pungent odour.... Every one before his house has a little altar, girt with a wall half an ell high, in the middle of which they erect certain pedestals like little towers, and in these the shrub is grown. They recite their prayers daily before it, with repeated prostrations, sprinklings of water, etc. There are also many of these maintained at the bathing-places, and in the courts of the pagodas.” The legend, accounting for the sanctity of the tulsi, is told in the Padma Purāna.[96] From the union of the lightning that flashed from the third eye of Siva with the ocean, a boy was born, whom Brahmadēv caught up, and to whom he gave the name of Jalandhar. And to him Brahmadēv gave the boon that by no hand but Siva’s could he perish. Jalandhar grew up strong and tall, and conquered the kings of the earth, and, in due time, married Vrinda (or Brinda), the daughter of the demon Kalnemi. Naradmuni, the son of Brahmadēv, stirred up hatred against Siva in Jalandhar, and they fought each other on the slopes of Kailās. But even Siva could not prevail against Jalandhar, so long as his wife Vrinda remained chaste. So Vishnu, who had lived with her and Jalandhar, and had learnt their secret, plotted her downfall. One day, when she, sad at Jalandhar’s absence, had left her garden to walk in the waste beyond, two demons met her and pursued her. She ran, with the demons following, until she saw a Rishi, at whose feet she fell, and asked for shelter. The Rishi, with his magic, burnt up the demons into thin ash. Vrinda then asked for news of her husband. At once, two apes laid before her Jalandhar’s head, feet, and hands. Vrinda, thinking that he was dead, begged the Rishi to restore him to her. The Rishi said that he would try, and in a moment he and the corpse had disappeared, and Jalandhar stood by her. She threw herself into his arms, and they embraced each other. But, some days later, she learnt that he with whom she was living was not her husband, but Vishnu, who had taken his shape. She cursed Vishnu, and foretold that, in a later Avatar, the two demons who had frightened her would rob him of his wife; and that, to recover her, he would have to ask the aid of the apes who had brought Jalandhar’s head, feet, and hands. Vrinda then threw herself into a burning pit, and Jalandhar, once Vrinda’s chastity had gone, fell a prey to Siva’s thunderbolts. Then the gods came forth from their hiding place, and garlanded Siva. The demons were driven back to hell, and men once more passed under the tyranny of the gods. But Vishnu came not back from Vrinda’s palace, and those who sought him found him mad from grief, rolling in her ashes. Then Parvati, to break the charm of Vrinda’s beauty, planted in her ashes three seeds. And they grew into three plants, the tulsi, the avali, and the malti. By the growth of these seeds, Vishnu was released from Vrinda’s charm. Therefore he loved them all, but chiefly the tulsi plant, which, as he said, was Vrinda’s very self. In the seventh incarnation, the two demons, who had frightened Vrinda, became Ravan and his brother Kumbhakarna, and they bore away Sīta to Lanka. To recover her, Ramchandra had to implore the help of the two apes who had brought her Jalandhar’s head and hands, and in this incarnation they became Hanuman and his warriors. But, in the eighth incarnation, which was that of Krishna, the tulsi plant took the form of a woman Rādha, and wedded the gay and warlike lord of Dwarka.

Telugu Brāhman with Rudraksha Coat.