Mātṛkā Teaching: The Alphabet as a Map of the Universe
Mātṛkā Upadeśa, “the teaching of the letters”
Akshara has other meanings too: see all meanings of Akshara.
The mātṛkās are the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. In the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa (Chapter 5), the child-ṛshi Sutanu gives an answer at Kalāpagrāma that shows these letters in a new light. The 52 aksharas (letters) are not random signs for sounds. They are a map of the whole world of the devas.
In this teaching the 14 svaras (vowels) stand for the 14 Manus, the first ancestors and law-givers of the fourteen great ages. The consonants stand for the 12 Ādityas, the 11 Rudras and the 8 Vasus, and the letter “ha” stands for the 2 Aśvins. Together these make 33 devas. So the alphabet is a way to remember the whole divine order, and every letter points to a being in it.
The Mātṛkās: The 52 Aksharas
The Sanskrit mātṛkās are the 52 aksharas that make up the full alphabet. They are counted like this:
- Oṃkāra: the first, and the most ancient sound
- 14 svaras (vowels): a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, e, ai, o, au, and one more (aṃ/aḥ)
- 33 consonants: from ka through all the consonant groups (the ka-varga through the sa-varga)
- Anusvāra, Visarga, Jihvāmūlīya and Upadhmānīya: these bring the total to 52
Oṃkāra is clearly placed first. It is the first sound, from which all the others come.
The 14 Svaras as the 14 Manus
The teaching links each of the 14 svaras with one of the 14 Manus. Each Manu is marked by a colour:
| Svara | Manu | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| a | 1st, Svāyambhuva | White |
| ā | 2nd, Svārocisha | Pale |
| i | 3rd, Uttama | Red |
| ī | 4th, Tāmasa | Copper |
| u | 5th, Raivata | Yellow |
| ū | 6th, Cākshusha | Tawny |
| ṛ | 7th, Vaivasvata (the present one) | Black |
| ṝ | 8th, Sāvarṇi | Deep black |
| ḷ | 9th, Dakshasāvarṇi | Ash |
| e | 10th, Brahmasāvarṇi | Dust |
| ai | 11th, Dharmasāvarṇi | Piśaṅga (reddish-brown) |
| o | 12th, Rudrasāvarṇi | Three colours |
| au | 13th, Devasāvarṇi | Many colours |
| aṃ | 14th, Indrasāvarṇi | Mixed |
The vowels are the open sounds that can stand on their own. The Manus are the rulers of time who are seen and known in the world. By linking the two, the teaching says that the rulers of time are built into the very sounds of human speech.
The 33 Consonants as the 33 Devas
The consonants from ka to ha, across the five traditional groups (vargas) and the extra consonants, stand for the 33 kinds of devas:
- Ka through ṭa (the first three groups): the 12 Ādityas (the solar devas)
- Tha through na (the next two groups): the 11 Rudras (the storm devas of the elements)
- Pa through ma (the lip-sound group): the 8 Vasus (the devas of the elements of the universe)
- Ha: the 2 Aśvinī-kumāras (the twin divine healers)
This gives 12 + 11 + 8 + 2 = 33 devas, the traditional number of the Vedic assembly of devas.
What the Teaching Means
The mātṛkā teaching has several sides:
- The alphabet as a living map: for someone who knows this teaching, saying the Sanskrit letters calls up the whole order of the universe. Speech is not only a way to share ideas. It is also a way of calling upon the divine.
- The link between Vedic and Tantric traditions: seeing letters as divine beings is a basic teaching of the Tantric traditions (Śākta and Śaiva). Here the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa places this Tantric teaching inside a Purāṇa.
- The special place of Oṃkāra: Oṃkāra is placed first and on its own, before the 14 svaras and the 33 consonants. This shows that Oṃkāra is the source of all 52 letters, just as Brahman (the Supreme Reality) is the source of all 33 devas and 14 Manus.
- The body as a sacred text: the Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa joins the mātṛkā teaching with the teaching of the 25 tattvas (the body as Śiva’s house of 25 elements). Together they suggest that both the human body and human speech are maps of the divine.
Sources
- Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārikā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 5