Meaning:
Oṁ yaśchandasāmṛṣabho viśvarūpaḥ . Chandobhyo'dhyamṛtātsambabhuva . Sa mendro medhayā spṛṇotu . Amṛtasya deva dhāraṇo bhūyāsam . Śarīraṁ me vicarṣaṇam . Jihvā me madhumattamā . Karṇābhyāṁ bhūriviśruvam . Brahmaṇaḥ kośo'si medhayā pihitaḥ . Śrutaṁ me gopāya .
Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ..
May the universal form, exalted among the Vedas and born of the essence of the Vedas, bless me with wisdom. May I be blessed with the nectar of immortality. May my body become active. May my tongue speak sweetly. May my ears hear everything well. You are the repository of Brahman, and are hidden by the intellect. May my memory protect me. Om peace, peace, peace.
Medhā devī juṣamānā na āgād-viśvācī bhadrā sumanasyamāna .
Tvayā juṣṭā nudamānā durūktān bṛhadvadema vidathe suvīraḥ ..1..
O goddess of wisdom! You are pleased, all-pervading and have a peaceful mind. Bless us so that we may give up bad speech and speak well in an assembly like heroes.
Tvayā juṣṭa ṛṣirbhavati devi tvayā brahmāgataśrīruta tvayā .
Tvayā juṣṭaścitraṁ vindate vasu sā no juṣasva draviṇo na medhe ..2..
O goddess! Blessed by you one becomes a sage; like Brahma. Blessed by you one attains prosperity. Blessed by you one attains many treasures. Bless us with that wealth of intelligence.
Medhāṁ ma indro dadātu medhāṁ devī sarasvatī .
Medhāṁ me aśvinavavubhavadhattaṁ puṣkarasrajā ..3..
May Indra give me intelligence. May goddess Saraswati give me intelligence. May the two Ashwins, who wear garlands of lotuses, give me intelligence.
Apsarāsu ca yā medhā gandharveṣu ca yanmanaḥ .
Daivīṁ medhā sarasvatī sā māṁ medhā surabhirjuṣhatam̐̐ svāhā ..4..
May Saraswati, who is fragrant, bless me with the divine intelligence which is the wisdom of the Apsaras and the mind of the Gandharvas.
Ā māṁ medhā surabhirviśvarūpā hiraṇyavarṇā jagatī jagamyā .
Ūrjasvatī payasā pinvamānā sā māṁ medhā supratīkā juṣantām ..5..
May that Saraswati, who is intelligence personified, who is fragrant, who is all pervading, who has a golden complexion, who is the earth, who is accessible to all, who is full of vigour, who is overflowing with the nectar of knowledge, and who is beautiful; come to me and bless me with intelligence.
Mayi medhāṁ mayi prajāṁ mayyagnistejo dadātu .
Mayi medhāṁ mayi prajāṁ mayīndra indriyaṁ dadātu .
Mayi medhāṁ mayi prajāṁ mayi sūryo bhrājo dadātu ..6..
May Agni give me intelligence, people and vigour. May Indra give me intelligence, people and bodily power. May Surya give me intelligence, people and brilliance.
Oṁ haṁsa haṁsāya vidmahe paramahaṁsāya dhīmahi .
Tanno haṁsaḥ pracodayāt ..7..
We perceive the Hamsa that is the soul; we meditate on that Hamsa that is the supreme being.
May that Hamsa inspire us (to reach that goal).
Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ..
Om peace, peace, peace.
This hymn is found in the Taittiriya Aranyakam of the Krishna Yajurveda.
The Shanti Mantram preceding the hymn is found in Prapathaka 4 of Chapter 7.
The hymn itself is composed of Prapathakas 41-44 of Chapter 10.
Notes:
The given version is found in the Taittiriya Aranyakam. Other hymns, also called Medha Suktam can be found in Rigveda and Atharvaveda. This prayer is addressed to the Goddess of learning, Saraswati. It asks her to bless us so that we may become wise. Chanting this hymn daily improves memory, intelligence, grasping power and speaking capacity.