8.13
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् ।
यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥
om ity ekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim
Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) continues. The participles of 8.12 now get their finite verb, and the syllable he utters.
The verse
Uttering om (ओम्), the one-syllable brahman, and remembering me, whoever goes forth leaving the body goes to the supreme goal.
नेपालीमा
एकाक्षर ब्रह्म ॐ उच्चारण गर्दै र मलाई सम्झँदै, जसले शरीर छोडेर जान्छ, त्यो सर्वोच्च लक्ष्यमा जान्छ।
Where it sits
8.12 set the body. 8.13 puts a syllable in the mouth and Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) in the memory, and then says where that man goes. paramām gatim (परमाम् गतिम्) is the padam (पदम्) of 8.11. The next verse will say that this is not a hard reach for the man whose mind is not elsewhere.
Split: ओम् + इति + एक-अक्षरम् + ब्रह्म + व्याहरन् + माम् + अनुस्मरन् + यः + प्रयाति + त्यजन् + देहम् + सः + याति + परमाम् + गतिम्
om + iti + eka-akṣaram + brahma + vyāharan + mām + anusmaran + yaḥ + prayāti + tyajan + deham + saḥ + yāti + paramām + gatim
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| ओम् | om | indeclinable | the syllable om (ओम्). |
| इति | iti | indeclinable | thus. Marks om (ओम्) as the thing uttered. |
| एक-अक्षरम् | eka-akṣaram | accusative neuter | the one syllable. eka (एक) "one," akṣara (अक्षर) "syllable," and also "imperishable." |
| ब्रह्म | brahma | accusative of brahman (ब्रह्मन्) | brahman. |
| व्याहरन् | vyāharan | present participle, nominative | uttering. vi-ā-hṛ (वि-आ-हृ). |
| माम् | mām | accusative | me. |
| अनुस्मरन् | anusmaran | present participle, nominative | remembering. |
| यः | yaḥ | nominative | who. |
| प्रयाति | prayāti | present, 3rd singular | goes forth. |
| त्यजन् | tyajan | present participle, nominative | leaving. From tyaj (त्यज्). |
| देहम् | deham | accusative | the body. |
| सः | saḥ | nominative | he. |
| याति | yāti | present, 3rd singular | goes. |
| परमाम् | paramām | accusative feminine | supreme. Agrees with gatim (गतिम्). |
| गतिम् | gatim | accusative of gati (गति) | the going, the goal. |
The phrases
ओम् इति एकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन् om iti ekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharan is what the mouth does. Uttering om, the one-syllable brahman. iti (इति) quotes the syllable. ekākṣaram (एकाक्षरम्) and brahma (ब्रह्म) are the accusative he utters. vyāharan (व्याहरन्) agrees with yaḥ (यः).
माम् अनुस्मरन् mām anusmaran is the second participle, the same remembering as 8.5 and 8.7. He utters the syllable and remembers him. The two are not alternatives.
yaḥ prayāti tyajan deham saḥ yāti paramāṃ gatim (यः प्रयाति त्यजन् देहम् सः याति परमां गतिम्) is the going. Who sets out leaving the body goes to the supreme goal. prayāti (प्रयाति) and yāti (याति) are the two verbs of one correlative, yaḥ (यः) and saḥ (सः).
Sanskrit in this line
iti (इति) before a different vowel becomes ity (इत्य्). ओम् + इति om + iti is om iti (ओमिति), the m (म्) joining the vowel. इति + एकाक्षरम् iti + ekākṣaram is ity ekākṣaram (इत्येकाक्षरम्), because इ + ए i + e becomes ye (ये). You already use iti (इति) to mark a quotation. Here the quotation is a single syllable, and the sandhi glues it to the words that name it.
Say it back
The syllable, the remembering, the leaving, the goal. If om (ओम्) is remembered and mām (माम्) is not, the verse has been cut in half.