Asato Ma
The Invocation from Darkness to Light
The Pavamana prayer from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28: lead me from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
Verses
Lead me from the unreal to the real.
Verse 1
Lead me from darkness to light.
Verse 2
Lead me from death to immortality.
Verse 3
Om peace, peace, peace.
Verse 4
Worship Guidelines & Chanting Benefits (Phalashruti)
Daily or auspicious lunar days (Ekadashi, Purnima, Pradosham)
Brahma Muhurta (4:00 AM – 6:00 AM) or Evening Dusk (Sandhya)
Ghee lamp (Deepa), Incense (Dhoopa), Fresh flowers & Water offering
- Peace of mind, spiritual upliftment, and harmonious energy in the home
Background
These three petitions come from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28, in the section on the Pavamana hymns of the Sama chant, where the priest called the prastotri is taught to recite them as the chant begins. The Upanishad belongs to the Shukla Yajurveda and is preserved in the Madhyandina and Kanva recensions. The closing 'Om shantih shantih shantih' is the customary peace-chant added when the lines are prayed on their own; it is not part of the Upanishad's sentence.
Did You Know?
Where It Stands
In the usual (Kanva) numbering the lines are Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28. The passage begins 'Now, the ascent of the Pavamana hymns', and tells the prastotri to murmur these three lines when he starts the chant.
The Upanishad Explains Itself
The text glosses its own words: death is asat and immortality is sat, and death is darkness while immortality is light. So 'lead me from death to immortality' restates the first two petitions in a single line.
Prayer Without a Deity's Name
No god is named. The lines turn to Truth, Light and Immortality themselves, which is why they are chanted at schools, in meditation and at gatherings across traditions.
The Added Shanti
'Om shantih shantih shantih' is added by tradition. Peace is chanted three times to calm disturbances that arise from oneself, from other beings, and from nature or the divine.
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