Shloka 13

Adhyaya 42 — Dattatreya on the Yogic Import of Oṃ (Praṇava): Matras, Worlds, and Liberation

Sanskrit

ओमित्यuccāraṇāt sarvaṃ gṛhītaṃ sadasad bhavet ।

ह्रस्वा तु प्रथमा मात्रा द्वितीया दैर्घ्यसंयुता ॥

Transliteration

omityuccāraṇāt sarvaṃ gṛhītaṃ sadasad bhavet /

hrasvā tu prathamā mātrā dvitīyā dairghyasaṃyutā

Translation

Durch das Aussprechen von „Oṁ“ wird alles umfasst—Sein wie Nichtsein. Die erste mātrā ist kurz; die zweite ist mit Länge verbunden (d. h. lang).

Word by Word

• ॐ: Oṃ
• ॐ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: oṃ (अव्यय/प्रणव)
• Form: Avyaya-like sacred syllable (प्रणव), used as quotation base

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, quotative particle (इत्यादि-निर्देशक)

• उच्चारणात्: from/through utterance
• उच्चारणात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uccāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (पञ्चमी) Singular

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative Singular

• गृहीतम्: is grasped/contained
• गृहीतम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative Singular; predicate adjective with 'सर्वम्'

• सत्: being; real
• सत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (कृदन्त; √as अस्)
• Form: Present participle used substantively, Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; first member in dvandva

• असत्: non-being; unreal
• असत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative Singular; second member in dvandva

• भवेत्: would become/is (in potential)
• भवेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person Singular

• ह्रस्वा: short (vowel-length)
• ह्रस्वा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hrasva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; qualifies 'मात्रा'

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle

• प्रथमा: first
• प्रथमा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prathamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; qualifies 'मात्रा'

• मात्रा: mora/measure
• मात्रा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular

• द्वितीया: second
• द्वितीया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; qualifies 'मात्रा' (understood)

• दैर्घ्य: length (longness)
• दैर्घ्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dairghya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter stem as first member in compound

• संयुता: endowed/combined
• संयुता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃyuta (कृदन्त; √yuj युज्)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine, Nominative Singular; predicate/qualifier: 'endowed with'

Speakers

• Unspecified in provided extract (didactic narration within Markandeya Purana’s philosophical instruction)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Praṇava
• Ontology (sat/asat)
• Vedic phonetics (prosody/quantity)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Sacred speech is not mechanical: correct understanding of measure (mātrā) and meaning aligns practice with reality, cultivating precision, reverence, and contemplative depth.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Doctrinal/ritual-philological instruction; it supports dharma and mokṣa aims rather than being a pancalakṣaṇa narrative block.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Sat/asat’ inclusion suggests Oṁ spans both manifest phenomena and the unmanifest ground; phonetic quantities become symbolic of expanding consciousness from limited to more inclusive states.