Shloka 303
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
अब्राह्मणस्य सावित्रीं पठतस्तु प्रणश्यति । जो सर्वथा ब्राह्मण नहीं है, ऐसा मनुष्य यदि वहाँ गायत्रीमन्त्रका पाठ करे तो वहाँ वह मन्त्र लुप्त हो जाता है; अर्थात् उसे भूल जाता है
abrāhmaṇasya sāvitrīṁ paṭhatas tu praṇaśyati |
Pulastya disse: “Se alguém que não é verdadeiramente um brāhmaṇa recita a Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī), diz-se que o mantra perece para ele—isto é, não cria raiz em sua memória nem em sua eficácia.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
That mantra-recitation is tied to adhikāra—proper qualification expressed through discipline, initiation/training, and conduct; without this grounding, the recitation is considered fruitless and even unstable (the mantra is ‘lost’ to the reciter).
Pulastya is giving a normative instruction about Vedic practice, stating that when an unqualified person recites the Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī, it does not remain effective for him and is said to ‘perish,’ i.e., it fails to be retained or to yield its intended spiritual result.