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

‘اوم’ کے تلفظ سے سب کچھ—ست اور است—سمٹ آتا ہے۔ پہلی ماترا ہرسو ہے؛ دوسری ماترا طول کے ساتھ جڑی ہوئی (یعنی طویل) ہے۔

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.