Shloka 9
Vasudeva and Devakī Glorify Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma; The Recovery of Devakī’s Six Sons from Sutala
दिशां त्वमवकाशोऽसि दिश: खं स्फोट आश्रय: । नादो वर्णस्त्वम् ॐकार आकृतीनां पृथक्कृति: ॥ ९ ॥
diśāṁ tvam avakāśo ’si diśaḥ khaṁ sphoṭa āśrayaḥ nādo varṇas tvam oṁkāra ākṛtīnāṁ pṛthak-kṛtiḥ
Du bist die Richtungen und der Raum, der ihnen Platz gewährt; Du bist der alles durchdringende Äther und der elementare Klang, der in ihm ruht. Du bist der unmanifestierte Urklang (nāda), die erste Silbe „Om“, und auch die hörbare Rede, durch die Klang als Worte bestimmte Bezüge und Bedeutungen erhält.
In accordance with the general process of creation, speech always becomes audible in stages, which proceed from subtle inner impulse to outward expression. These stages are mentioned in the mantras of the Ṛg Veda (1.164.45):
FAQs
This verse identifies Krishna with Oṁkāra itself—He is the sacred syllable Oṁ, the source of sound vibration and the letters through which Vedic knowledge is expressed.
In this chapter’s devotional-philosophical mood, Krishna is praised as the all-pervading foundation of the cosmos—space, directions, and ether—within which sound manifests and by which creation is distinguished into many forms.
It encourages mindful speech and mantra practice—especially chanting Oṁ and Krishna’s names—while cultivating the vision that all diversity of forms rests on one divine reality.