Shloka 52

Devanagari script

ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म ज्योतिर्भूतो महातपा: । स्मरित्वा देवदेवेशमक्षरं परमं प्रभुम्‌

Transliteration

om ity ekākṣaraṃ brahma jyotir-bhūto mahātapāḥ | smaritvā devadeveśam akṣaraṃ paramaṃ prabhum ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Having remembered the Lord of lords—the imperishable, supreme Master—while uttering ‘Om’, the single-syllabled Brahman, that great ascetic became one with light.

Word by Word

ॐthe syllable Om

इतिthus (quotative)

एकाक्षरम्the single-syllabled (one-syllable)

ब्रह्मBrahman, the Absolute

ज्योतिःlight, radiance

भूतःhaving become, being

महातपाःthe great ascetic (one of great austerity)

स्मरित्वाhaving remembered

देवदेवेशम्the Lord of the gods

अक्षरम्imperishable

परमम्supreme

प्रभुम्lord, master

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Om (Oṃkāra)

Brahman

Devadeveśa (the Lord of gods)

Akṣara (the Imperishable)

Parama Prabhu (the Supreme Lord)

mahātapāḥ (a great ascetic, unnamed here)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes that remembrance of the supreme, imperishable Lord—centered on the sacred syllable Om, identified with Brahman—leads the spiritually disciplined person toward a luminous, transcendent state, suggesting liberation through devotion and contemplative focus.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a great ascetic at a climactic moment (implied to be the end of life or a decisive spiritual transition) who utters Om, remembers the supreme Lord, and becomes ‘light’—a poetic depiction of departing the mortal condition into a higher, radiant state.