The hinkâra is mind, the prastâva speech, the udgîtha sight, the pratihâra hearing, the nidhana breath. That is the Gâyatra Sâman, as interwoven in the (five) prânas.

In plain words: The five parts of the chant are matched to parts of a person. The opening sound (hinkâra) is the mind, the introduction is speech, the main chant (udgîtha) is sight, the response is hearing, and the ending is breath. This is the Gâyatra chant found in our life-breaths (prânas).