Traditionally chanting practice or textual study was preceded with an invocatory passage to help forge a link between the chanters, what is about to be chanted and its purport, as well as setting a context for textual study.

Thus each area of Study that the teacher and student were about to venture into were preceded by an appropriate Dhyānam Ślokam, or set of verses that specifically linked the chanters with the study.

Therefore the opening verses would differ according to whether the focus was Veda Chanting or Study, the Upaniṣat, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Yoga Sūtra, etc.

The Dhyānam Ślokam here were taught by T Krishnamacharya and is the short form transmitted to me by TKV Desikachar with the addition of a prayer that is a homage to Krishnamachrya.

View or Download Vedic Chant Opening Prayers with Chant notations as a PDF