The Upaniṣads / Māṇḍūkya / 1 The syllable
1
ओं इत्येतदक्षरमिदं सर्वं तस्योपव्याख्यानं भूतं भवद् भविष्यदिति सर्वमोंकार एव ।
यच् चान्यत् त्रिकालातीतं तदप्योंकार एव oṃ ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam oṃkāra eva |
yac cānyat trikālātītaṃ tad apy oṃkāra eva
The line
This syllable oṃ (ओं) is all this. Its explanation is past, present, and future: all of that is the sound oṃ (ओं). Whatever else is beyond the three times, that too is the sound oṃ (ओं).
नेपालीमा
यो अक्षर ओं यो सब हो। यसको व्याख्या भूत, वर्तमान र भविष्य हो, त्यो सब ध्वनि ओं हो, र तीन कालभन्दा पर जे अरू छ त्यो पनि ध्वनि ओं हो।
Where it sits
This is the first mantra. Nothing is carried in. Yoga Sūtra (सूत्र) 1.27 calls the same syllable praṇava (प्रणव). Gītā (गीता) 8.13 has the speaker utter it. The next mantra says the self that this syllable is about has four feet.
Split: oṃ (ओं) + iti (इति) + etad (एतद्) + akṣaram (अक्षरम्) + idam (इदम्) + sarvam (सर्वम्) + tasya (तस्य) + upavyākhyānam (उपव्याख्यानम्) + bhūtam (भूतम्) + bhavat (भवत्) + bhaviṣyat (भविष्यत्) + iti (इति) + sarvam (सर्वम्) + oṃkāraḥ (ओंकारः) + eva (एव) + yat (यत्) + ca (च) + anyat (अन्यत्) + trikāla-atītam (त्रिकाल-अतीतम्) + tat (तत्) + api (अपि) + oṃkāraḥ (ओंकारः) + eva (एव)
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| oṃ (ओं) | indeclinable | The syllable. What iti (इति) is quoting. |
| iti (इति) | indeclinable | Marks the quotation. Oṃ (ओं) is the thing just named. |
| etad (एतद्) | nominative singular, neuter | This. Agrees with akṣaram (अक्षरम्). |
| akṣaram (अक्षरम्) | nominative singular, neuter | A syllable, and the imperishable. Both are heard. The predicate of etad (एतद्). |
| idam (इदम्) | nominative singular, neuter | This, the world in front of you. |
| sarvam (सर्वम्) | nominative singular, neuter | All. Agrees with idam (इदम्). Heard sarvaṃ (सर्वं). |
| tasya (तस्य) | genitive singular, neuter | Of that. Of the syllable. |
| upavyākhyānam (उपव्याख्यानम्) | nominative singular, neuter | The laying-out, the explanation that follows. upa (उप), vi (वि), ā (आ), and the root khyā (ख्या). |
| bhūtam (भूतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | What has become. The past. |
| bhavat (भवत्) | nominative singular, neuter | What is becoming. A present participle. Heard bhavad (भवद्) before bhaviṣyat (भविष्यत्). |
| bhaviṣyat (भविष्यत्) | nominative singular, neuter | What will be. A future participle. Heard bhaviṣyad (भविष्यद्) before iti (इति). |
| iti (इति) | indeclinable | Closes the list of the three times. |
| sarvam (सर्वम्) | nominative singular, neuter | All of that. |
| oṃkāraḥ (ओंकारः) | nominative singular, masculine | The sound oṃ (ओं). Before eva (एव) the visarga drops: oṃkāra eva (ओंकार एव). |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | Itself. Just that. |
| yat (यत्) | nominative singular, neuter | Whatever. Heard yac (यच्) before ca (च). |
| ca (च) | indeclinable | And. |
| anyat (अन्यत्) | nominative singular, neuter | Anything else. |
| trikāla-atītam (त्रिकाल-अतीतम्) | nominative singular, neuter | Gone beyond the three times. tri-kāla (त्रि-काल), the three times. atīta (अतीत), gone past. |
| tat (तत्) | nominative singular, neuter | That. Heard tad (तद्) before api (अपि). |
| api (अपि) | indeclinable | Also. In the recited line tad api (तदपि) joins as tadapy (तदप्य्). |
| oṃkāraḥ (ओंकारः) | nominative singular, masculine | The sound oṃ (ओं), again. |
| eva (एव) | indeclinable | Itself. |
The phrases
The first sentence says what the syllable is. This syllable is all this.
The explanation of it is the three times, and all of that is the sound oṃ (ओं) itself. What is other than the three times is the sound oṃ (ओं) as well.
Sanskrit in this line
Iti (इति) plus etad (एतद्). i (इ) plus e (ए) is ye (ये): ity etad (इत्येतद्), written ityetad (इत्येतद्).
Tasya (तस्य) plus upavyākhyānam (उपव्याख्यानम्) is tasyopavyākhyānam (तस्योपव्याख्यानम्). Short a (अ) plus short u (उ) is o (ओ).
Bhavat (भवत्) before bhaviṣyat (भविष्यत्), and bhaviṣyat (भविष्यत्) before iti (इति). A final t (त्) before a voiced sound is heard as d (द्).
Yat (यत्) plus ca (च) is yac ca (यच् च). A final t (त्) before c (च्) is heard as c (च्).
Before the k (क्) of kāra (कार), the dot of oṃ (ओं) is the velar nasal. The edition writes oṃkāra (ओंकार). You hear oṅkāra (ओङ्कार).
Say it back
Say what the three times are, and say what is left over when the three times are set aside. Both are the same sound.