॥ શ્રી સ્વામિનારાયણો વિજયતે ॥

॥ THE VACHANAMRUT ॥

Spiritual Discourses

by Bhagwan Swaminarayan

Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s Vachanamrut

The Vachanāmrut is a collection of 273 discourses delivered by Bhagwān Swāminārāyan during the last ten years of His life, between 1819 CE and 1829 CE. These discourses were compiled by four of His pious and scholarly renunciants: Gopālānand Swāmi, Muktānand Swāmi, Nityānand Swāmi and Shukānand Swāmi. The scripture encapsulates the very essence of the principles and philosophy of the Swāminārāyan Sampradāy and is thus most foundational.

The scripture is divided into 10 sections, based on the various villages in which discourses were delivered. The sections are chronological in order and are named as follows: Gadhadā I, Sārangpur, Kāriyāni, Loyā, Panchālā, Gadhadā II, Vartāl, Amdāvād, Gadhadā III and finally Additional Vachanāmruts. Within each section, individual Vachanāmruts are arranged in chronological order and are numbered sequentially.

The Vachanāmrut is an authoritative scripture as it was spoken by God Himself and written down at the same time. In fact, it was even reviewed and approved by Bhagwān Swāminārāyan during its compilation, a fact evident in Vachanāmrut Loyā-7.2. Moreover, the fact that the concepts expounded in the Vachanāmrut are based on Bhagwān Swāminārāyan’s own personal experience gives it an added note of authority. In fact, He states in Vachanāmrut Gadhadā III-39.16: “I deliver these discourses to you not from any imagination of My mind nor to display any sort of aptitude. I have experienced all that I have spoken about. In fact, I speak in accordance to what I practise.”

The Vachanāmrut can also be considered to contain the essence of all of the scriptures concerned with spirituality. Why? Besides the fact that the words were spoken by the supreme Reality Himself, Bhagwān Swāminārāyan had studied the scriptures thoroughly, had mastered Ashtāng-Yoga and had also scrutinized the beliefs and practices of people throughout India. Thus, when He spoke, it was from a base of profound scriptural wisdom, advanced spiritual insight and vast practical experience. In the Vachanāmrut, He has quoted verses from the Vedas, the Shrimad Bhāgwat and other Purāns, the Upanishads, the Bhagwad Gitā as well as other parts of the Mahābhārat.

On a more scholarly plane, the Vachanāmrut is also the first literary work of prose in the Gujarāti language, thus providing a good specimen of the culture and speaking style of the Gujarāti language two centuries ago. It is a generous gift of Bhagwān Swāminārāyan to Gujarāti literature. Having read the above, one can better grasp why the compilers named it the Vachanāmrut. After all, it is in essence nectar, ‘amrut’, in the form of words, ‘vachan’, from the mouth of the Supreme God Himself. Just as ‘amrut’ has the distinct property of liberating from death all those who partake of it, the words of God similarly grant liberation from the cycle of births and deaths to all those who strive to imbibe their wisdom.

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UPDATES

June 30, 2026: Added 2 options for paragraph styles: 1) Reader-friendly - long paragraphs broken up to match the English translation, and 2) Traditional - as published in the respective texts.

June 5, 2026: Major improvement in UI. Of all the sites, the Vachanamrut site contains the most amount of data, including histories, nirupans, prasangs, audios, biographies, prologues, glossaries, appendices, etc. Upgrading to a new design was a massive task. The Vachanamrut pages have been decluttered with tabbed view for supplemental info. Biographies are now shown as popups for uninterrupeted reading. Sidy-by-side language view has been improved. And many other improvements.

May 1, 2026: Greatly improved site’s own search feature with snippet previews.

Sept 8, 2024: Added today’s Vachanamrut based on tithi date.