Shloka 11

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

Sanskrit

सव्यञ्जनो मकारश्च स्वर्लोकः परिकल्प्यते ।

व्यक्ता तु प्रथमा मात्रा द्वितीयाव्यक्तसंज्ञिता ॥

Transliteration

savyañjano makāraśca svarlokaḥ parikalpyate /

vyaktā tu prathamā mātrā dvitīyāvyaktasaṃjñitā

Translation

‘ಮ’ಕಾರವು ತನ್ನ ವ್ಯಂಜನ-ತತ್ತ್ವದೊಡನೆ ಸ್ವರ್ಗಲೋಕವೆಂದು ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪಿತವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊದಲ ಮಾತ್ರೆ ‘ವ್ಯಕ್ತ’, ಎರಡನೆಯದು ‘ಅವ್ಯಕ್ತ’ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

• स: with/that
• स: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun/adjective, Masculine, Nominative Singular; qualifies 'व्यञ्जनः'

• व्यञ्जनः: consonant; consonantal element
• व्यञ्जनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyañjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular

• मकारः: the letter 'm' (makāra)
• मकारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, conjunction

• स्वः: Svaḥ (heaven)
• स्वः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svar (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (often indeclinable-like in mantra usage), Nominative Singular; used as name of loka

• लोकः: world/realm
• लोकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative Singular; in apposition to 'स्वः'

• परिकल्प्यते: is conceived/assigned
• परिकल्प्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√klṛp (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Passive (कर्मणि), 3rd person Singular

• व्यक्ता: manifest
• व्यक्ता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (कृदन्त; √vyaj/√vac?; lexical adj. 'manifest')
• Form: Feminine, Nominative Singular; agrees with '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; ordinal adjective qualifying 'मात्रा'

• मात्रा: mora; measure (of sound)
• 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; ordinal adjective qualifying 'मात्रा' (understood)

• अव्यक्त: unmanifest
• अव्यक्त: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter stem used as first member in compound; 'unmanifest'

• संज्ञिता: named; designated
• संज्ञिता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃjñita (कृदन्त; √jñā ज्ञा)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine, Nominative Singular; predicate adjective: 'named/called'

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
• Cosmology (svarga)
• Sāṃkhya-like vyakta/avyakta categories
• Phonetics

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse links spiritual practice with metaphysical discernment: one learns to see gradations from manifest experience to subtler, unmanifest ground—supporting detachment and clarity.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Philosophical categorization within Purāṇic instruction; not a direct pancalakṣaṇa narrative unit.

What is the esoteric significance?

M’s closure and resonance symbolize completion and withdrawal; pairing it with ‘vyakta/avyakta’ frames mantra as a map from articulated experience toward the unmanifest source.