At initiation a boy of the three higher classes receives the Sāvitrī verse from his teacher, which opens Vedic study to him; those not initiated in time lose the right to it, and the uninitiated may not recite Vedic texts.
Material type
Words of power
Restricted to
Twice-born (dvija) males initiated by a teacher; the uninitiated and Śūdras excluded
Restriction mechanism
grade_requirement, oral_only, social_sanction
Stated reason
Sacred learning is a treasure to be kept from scorners and given only to the pure and attentive; taking the Veda without permission is theft (CLM-0058)
Tradition origins
2nd–1st millennium BCE (Vedic period)
Recorded practice status
Unknown
Status as of
Not recorded
Status claims
Not recorded
Disclosure dates, source publication dates, tradition origins and dates of practice are separate.
What this disclosure covers
The rules of initiation and studentship in chapter II; names the Sāvitrī by its opening word without quoting it
Translation of the Mānava-dharmaśāstra (Manusmṛti), with notes giving parallels in the other law books.
Claims about this item
These claims may cite other sources for the same restricted item. Supporting and contradicting evidence remain separate.
CLM-0056 · Content
The Sāvitrī is the Rig-veda verse 3.62.10, addressed to the god Savitṛ: a prayer that the worshippers may attain the god's excellent glory and that he may stimulate their prayers. Griffith calls it the Gāyatrī par excellence.
Claim support
Single source
Record review
Reviewed
Period
Not recorded
Locators
SRC-0058: vol. 2, p. 87 (RV 3.62.10 and note); SRC-0057: note to II.77
Checked against the Internet Archive texts on 2026-11-04. Griffith translates the verse; Bühler identifies the Sāvitrī with it. Both draw on the same Indian commentarial tradition, so they are not counted as independent.
SRC-0057: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0057: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
SRC-0058: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0058: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
CLM-0057 · Content
Initiation should be given to a Brahmin boy in his eighth year from conception, a Kshatriya in his eleventh and a Vaiśya in his twelfth. Those not initiated by the sixteenth, twenty-second and twenty-fourth year respectively become Vrātyas, excluded from the Sāvitrī. Reciting the Sāvitrī at both twilights brings the merit of reciting the Vedas, and until initiated a boy may recite no Vedic text except at funeral rites, being on a level with a Śūdra.
Checked against the Internet Archive text on 2026-11-04. These are prescriptions of a law book, not evidence of how far they were followed.
SRC-0057: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0057: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
CLM-0058 · Stated reason
Sacred knowledge must not be sown in barren soil: a teacher should rather die with it. Sacred Learning asks the Brahmin to guard it as his treasure, keep it from scorners and give it only to the pure, self-controlled, chaste and attentive. Whoever takes the Veda from a reciter without permission commits theft of the Veda and goes to hell.
Checked against the Internet Archive text on 2026-11-04. The tradition's own law book.
SRC-0057: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0057: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
Evidence qualifications
SRC-0057 · source_authenticity_unassessed: Source authenticity is unassessed; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0057 · source_without_content_hash: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
Reviewed means checked against a source. It does not establish source authenticity, independent corroboration or present-day practice.
