Shloka 4

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

Sanskrit

अकारश्च तथोकारो मकारश्चाक्षरत्रयम् ।

एता एव त्रयो मात्राḥ सत्त्वराजसतामसाḥ ॥

Transliteration

akāraś ca tathokāro makāraś cākṣaratrayam / etā eva trayo mātrāḥ sāttvarājasatāmasāḥ

Translation

A letra “A”, bem como “U” e “M”—estas são as três letras. Só elas são as três medidas (mātrās): sattva, rajas e tamas.

Word by Word

• अकारः: the letter ‘a’
• अकारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘also/likewise’

• उकारः: the letter ‘u’
• उकारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मकारः: the letter ‘m’
• मकारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction

• अक्षरत्रयम्: the triad of letters
• अक्षरत्रयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु (three letters)

• एताः: these
• एताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; demonstrative pronoun (referring to mātrāḥ)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; emphasis

• त्रयः: three
• त्रयः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; numeral adjective agreeing with (implicit) ‘they’/or used predicatively with mātrāḥ (often treated as masc. numeral)

• मात्राः: measures, morae (phonetic units)
• मात्राः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सत्त्वराजसतामसाः: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic
• सत्त्वराजसतामसाः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्त्व + राजस + तामस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (sāttva-rājasa-tāmasa) used adjectivally to mātrāḥ

Speakers

• Dattātreya (continuing instruction)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Om
• Gunas
• Mantra analysis
• Sankhya-Yoga synthesis

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Spiritual practice includes discernment of the psyche’s constituents (guṇas). By contemplating praṇava’s structure, the practitioner learns to recognize and refine the guṇic tendencies within experience.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

A doctrinal/meditative teaching; not pancalakṣaṇa. It aligns Purāṇic yoga with Sāṅkhya categories (the three guṇas).

What is the esoteric significance?

Mapping A-U-M to the guṇas makes mantra a diagnostic and transformative tool: sound becomes a key to rebalancing the subtle constitution, ultimately transcending guṇas through absorption in the source of sound.