अथोपस्पृश्य सलिलं प्राणानायम्य वाग्यतः ।
ध्यायञ्जजाप विरजं ब्रह्म ज्योतिः सनातनम् ॥३२॥

athopaspṛśya salilaá¹
prÄṇÄn Äyamya vÄg-yataḥ
dhyÄyañ jajÄpa virajaá¹
brahma jyotiḥ sanÄtanam

 atha - thereafter; upaspṛśya - touching or taking bath in water; salilam - water; prÄṇÄn Äyamya - practicing trance; vÄk-yataḥ - controlling speech; dhyÄyan - meditating; jajÄpa - chanted within the mouth; virajam - pure; brahma - GÄyatrÄ« hymns; jyotiḥ - effulgence; sanÄtanam - eternal.


Text

Thereafter the brÄhmaṇa took his bath in the water and controlled his speech by practicing trance, meditating on the eternal effulgence and chanting the holy GÄyatrÄ« hymns within his mouth.

Purport

As one has to take bath after using the toilet, so one has to wash himself with water after sexual intercourse, especially when at a forbidden time. KaÅ›yapa Muni meditated on the impersonal brahmajyoti by chanting the GÄyatrÄ« mantra within his mouth. When a Vedic mantra is chanted within the mouth so that only the chanter can hear, the chanting is called japa. But when such mantras are chanted loudly, it is called kÄ«rtana. The Vedic hymn Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma, RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare can be chanted both softly to oneself or loudly; therefore it is called the mahÄ-mantra, or the great hymn.

KaÅ›yapa Muni appears to be an impersonalist. Comparing his character with that of ṬhÄkura HaridÄsa as referred to above, it is clear that the personalist is stronger in sense control than the impersonalist. This is explained in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ as paraá¹ dṛṣṭvÄ nivartate; i.e., one ceases to accept lower-grade things when one is situated in a superior condition. One is supposed to be purified after taking bath and chanting GÄyatrÄ«, but the mahÄ-mantra is so powerful that one can chant loudly or softly, in any condition, and he is protected from all the evils of material existence.