Oṃkāra

Oṃkāra · om-kāra, “the sacred syllable Om”

Oṃkāra, also called the Praṇava, is the sacred syllable Oṃ, spoken as AUM. It is the first sound, the source of all speech and the root of every mantra.

Upāsanā (meditation or devoted practice) on Oṃkāra is the highest upāsanā. One who knows Oṃkāra and meditates on it reaches moksha (liberation).

The Vāmana Purāṇa tells that when Nārāyaṇa broke open the great egg at the beginning of creation, the Oṃkāra came forth from it, and from the Oṃkāra came the three lokas Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ. When Bhagavān Vishṇu was born as Vāmana, the Oṃkāra and all the Vedas took refuge in him. Its stotras praise Bhagavān Vishṇu and Bhagavān Śiva as the Praṇava itself, and Mārkaṇḍeya praises Devī Sarasvatī as the form of its letters and mātrās.

Per Śiva Purāṇa

Oṃkāra is the first sound, a single syllable that is the very svarūpa (true form) of Parameśvara Śiva. In the Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Bhagavān Śiva himself teaches Pārvatī that to know Oṃkāra fully is to know him.

The syllable AUM is explained as having five parts: a-kāra, u-kāra, ma-kāra, bindu and nāda. Each part stands for a principle of the universe, a deva, an action and one of the five Brahmas. Oṃkāra is the vācaka (the word that names) and it cannot be separated from its vācya (the one it names), who is Śiva himself.

Oṃkāra as Śiva’s Own Form

At Kailāsa, Śiva declares to Pārvatī:

“To know the meaning of Oṃkāra is to know my svarūpa. Oṃkāra is the mantra whose name is Praṇava; it is the root of all upāsanās. I am established in this one-syllable mantra. Between Oṃkāra (the vācaka) and myself (the vācya) there is not even a particle of difference.”

So Oṃkāra is not only a mantra that points to Śiva. It is Śiva himself in the form of sound. All Vedic mantras, all upāsanās (forms of devoted practice) and all rituals are rooted in Oṃkāra. The Kailāsa Saṃhitā calls it the sarvopāsana-mūla, “the root of every form of pūjā”.

The Five Parts and What They Stand For

The syllable AUM is divided into five varṇas (parts). Each one matches a deva, an action in the universe (kṛtya), a guṇa (quality of nature), a tattva (principle) and one of the Pañcabrahmas (the five faces of Śiva):

Taken together, the parts of the Praṇava match Śiva’s pañcakṛtya, his five great acts in the universe. These acts are built into the very shape of the first sound.

The Count of Kalās and Mātrās

The parts of Oṃ have different numbers of kalās (subtle portions):

• A-kāra: 8 kalās
• U-kāra: 13 kalās
• Ma-kāra: 8 kalās
• Bindu: 4 kalās
• Nāda: 5 kalās

The traditional count says Oṃkāra has 3½ mātrās (units of sound length): A is 1 mātrā, U is 1, M is 1, and nāda-bindu is half a mātrā. This half-mātrā is the subtlest part. It points to the grace of Sadāśiva, which cannot be defined and goes beyond every category.

Oṃkāra and the Six Upāsanā-Tattvas

Within the Praṇava, Śiva names six upāsanā-tattvas (elements of spiritual practice). In the end, they are not different from one another:

1. Mantra (the sound itself)
2. Yantra (the maṇḍala, its visual form)
3. Devatā (the deity called upon)
4. Jagat (the world, which is Śiva’s own showing forth)
5. Guru (the teacher)
6. Śishya (the student)

All six are finally one in Śiva. The guru is Śiva. The śishya becomes Śiva through knowledge. The world is Śiva’s own vibration. The mantra is Śiva’s body of sound. The sannyāsī (renunciant) who meditates on this oneness performs the highest upāsanā.

Oṃkāra and the Cakras

The Kailāsa Saṃhitā links the upāsanā of Oṃkāra to the cakras, the inner centres of the body:

The sannyāsī meditates upward through the cakras, starting from the mūlādhāra, and at last rests in the sahasrāra with the Soham-bhāvanā, the inner feeling “I am Sadāśiva”. The adhikārī (the one fit for this upāsanā) is a person in whom dṛḍha vairāgya (firm detachment from all worldly aims) has arisen.

Oṃkāra at Kāśī

The final teaching of the Kailāsa Saṃhitā declares:

“This Oṃkāra-vijñāna resides at Kāśī as the cause of mukti; it gives all four purushārthas. The maṇḍala of Oṃkāra, surrounded by the five mahābhūtas born from Parameśvara’s māyā-śakti, brings joy to the meditator and śreyas to all worlds.”

Here mukti means moksha (liberation), the four purushārthas are the four goals of life (dharma, artha, kāma and moksha), the mahābhūtas are the five great elements, and śreyas is lasting good. So Oṃkāra is not only an idea. It is a living presence at Kāśī, the holy city where the Oṃkāreśvara liṅga stands. Any jīva (soul) who dies there receives the tāraka-mantra, which is Oṃkāra itself, from Śiva’s own lips, and so gains moksha.

Per Vāyu Purāṇa

Chapter 20 of the Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa is given to the highest upāsanā (meditation or devoted practice): meditation on Oṃkāra. Oṃ is the first akshara (imperishable syllable). It is the source of all speech and the direct sound-form of Parabrahman, the Supreme.

Oṃ is made of three mātrās (sound units: a, u and m) and a fourth, soundless state called turīya. The Purāṇa says that Oṃ is the very body of Rudra (Śiva). Meditating on Oṃ while understanding its threefold and fourfold nature leads straight to moksha (liberation). The chapter comes at the end of the section on Pāśupata Yoga, showing that meditation on Oṃ is the crown of that whole discipline.

Oṃ as Three Mātrās

The Purāṇa explains Oṃkāra as made of three parts, with a silent fourth:

So the parts of Oṃ contain the Trimūrti (Brahmā, Vishṇu and Rudra), the four yugas (ages), the four states of consciousness and the four Vedas.

Oṃ as Akshara-Brahma

The Purāṇa calls Oṃ akshara-brahma. The word akshara means both “imperishable” and “syllable”. This name carries deep meaning:

• Oṃ does not perish at pralaya (the dissolution of the universe). It is the seed-sound from which creation begins again at the start of every kalpa (a great cycle of time).
• Oṃ contains the whole Veda. Every Vedic syllable is an unfolding of this one syllable.
• Oṃ is the direct sound-form of Parameśvara. To meditate on Oṃ is to meditate on Śiva himself.

The Purāṇa states this plainly:

“Oṃkāra eva Rudro ‘smi”: Rudra himself is present as Oṃ.

Link to Pāśupata Yoga

The chapter on Oṃkāra comes straight after the chapter on the eight siddhis (spiritual powers) and the chapter on the Arishṭas (signs of coming death). This order is meaningful:

• The student of Pāśupata Yoga who has finished the series of prāṇāyāma (breath practices) is guided here next.
• The inner fire-offering to the five prāṇas (life-breaths), taught in Chapter 15, reaches its goal in knowing that the prāṇa within is Rudra as Oṃ.
• In this way the Purāṇa lays out a complete path: outer prāṇāyāma, then the inner fire-offering, then Oṃ as the essence of prāṇa, and finally moksha.

Meditation on Oṃ for Moksha

The Purāṇa gives a specific method of meditation:

1. Sit in a steady āsana (posture) on a mat of darbha grass in a clean place.
2. Do three prāṇāyāmas to steady the breath.
3. Draw the mind inward, away from all outer objects of the senses.
4. Picture the syllable Oṃ rising from the mūlādhāra (the base of the spine) as the prāṇa rises.
5. Hold the meditation: A at the navel, U at the heart, M at the crown of the head.
6. In the turīya moment between the out-breath and the in-breath, rest in the soundless Oṃ.
7. Repeat until you can keep this turīya awareness without a break.

The Purāṇa promises that one who meditates on Oṃ in this way for a long time will stay aware of Oṃ at the moment of death, and will reach Rudra-loka (the realm of Rudra) directly, skipping all the births in between.

Oṃ and the Birth of the Vowels

In Chapter 26, the Purāṇa further teaches that from Oṃkāra, Brahmā brings forth the fourteen vowels through his fourteen mouths. These vowels become the seeds of the fourteen Manus. So Oṃ is the first source from which all of creation comes, including the Manus who guide human society.

The chain is:

• Oṃ is drawn out into fourteen vowels (from Brahmā’s fourteen mouths).
• The fourteen vowels match the fourteen Manus.
• The fourteen Manus rule the fourteen manvantaras (ages of a Manu) in one kalpa.

The Kalpas and Oṃ

Chapter 21 says that the first of the twenty-eight named kalpas began with the sound of Oṃkāra. This shows that Oṃ is not only something to meditate on. It is the actual event that marks the dawn of each great cycle of time. Each kalpa opens with Oṃkāra sounding in the mind of Brahmā as he rises from the navel of Vishṇu.

Per Vāmana Purāṇa

The Vāmana Purāṇa speaks of Oṃkāra at the very dawn of creation, at the avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu as Vāmana, and in the stotras (hymns of praise) sung to Bhagavān Vishṇu, to Bhagavān Śiva and to Devī Sarasvatī. In each of them the Praṇava stands first, before the Vedas, and the one who is praised is himself its form.

Oṃkāra at the beginning of creation

In the Saro Māhātmya, Mārkaṇḍeya Muni questions Sanatkumāra near the Sthāṇuvaṭa in Kurukshetra. Sanatkumāra rises from his seat, bows to Paramaśiva, and tells what he heard long ago from Brahmā. He begins with the name Nārāyaṇa: the waters are called nāra, and because he lay upon them, he is named Nārāyaṇa.

Knowing that the whole jagat (world) was sunk in water, Prabhu Nārāyaṇa broke open the great aṇḍa (egg), and from it the Oṃkāra came forth. From the Oṃkāra came the three lokas, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ. From them came forth tejas (radiance), “tat savitur vareṇyam”. That tejas dried up all the waters. What remained became a piṇḍa, the first form of an embryo; a bubble formed from it and grew hard, and because of that hardness it was called Dharaṇī, the earth, who bears all beings.

The place where the egg stood is the Sannihita saras, the sacred lake of Kurukshetra, and the tejas that came at the beginning was called Āditya. Then Brahmā, the Lokapitāmaha (grandsire of the worlds), arose in the middle of the egg. For him the piṇḍa became Meru, and the water of the womb became the seven seas and thousands of rivers.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 21–22

Oṃkāra takes refuge in Vāmana

In the tenth month Bhagavān Govinda was born of Aditi in the form of Vāmana. Brahmā came at once, performed the jātakarma (birth rites) for him and praised him with a stotra, and the devas and ṛshis gave the young brahmacārī his gifts: Brahmā the black antelope skin, Bṛhaspati the sacred thread, Marīci the staff, Vasishṭha the water-pot, the Aṅgirasas a silk garment, Pulaha a seat and Pulastya the yellow garment. Then the praṇava Oṃkāra, all the Vedas adorned with their svaras (accents), the śāstras and the vidyās of Sāṅkhya and Yoga took refuge in Prabhu Vāmana. Wearing matted locks and carrying the staff, the water-pot and the umbrella, Vāmana, who is made of all the devas, set out for the yajña of the daitya king Bali.

When he came near Bali’s yajñaśālā (the hall of the yajña), Vāmana spoke with a voice deep as a cloud. In this yajña, he said, all the Vedas, preceded by the Oṃkāra, were present in the form of tapodhanas (ṛshis rich in tapas).

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 65; Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 9

Bhagavān Vishṇu, whose form is the Praṇava

The Vishṇu Sārasvata stotra. A man-eating rākshasa once seized a brāhmaṇa boy who had come to the forest to gather fruits for his guru, and would let him go only if the boy told him how his pāpas (sins) could be destroyed. The boy took refuge in Agni, and by Agni’s command Devī Sarasvatī stood on the boy’s tongue and taught the Vishṇu Sārasvata stotra. Its very first words salute the Praṇava:

“I bow to Śrī Hari, who is the form of the praṇava (Oṃ), to Kṛshṇa, to Hṛshīkeśa, to Vāsudeva Janārdana, who is Jagannātha. May he remove my pāpas!”

Chanting this stotra at Śālagrāma, the rākshasa was freed from all pāpas by the grace of Purushottama and reached Vishṇu-loka.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 59

The Sarva-pāpa-mocana stava. This stava, “the stava that frees from all pāpa”, was made known by Maheśvara in the kshetra of Vārāṇasī. In it Tripurāntaka, Bhagavān Śiva, praises Bhagavān Vishṇu as all the sacred utterances of the yajña:

“You are Oṃkāra. You are Vashaṭkāra. Vaushaṭ, Svadhā and Svāhā-kāra, Sudhā, Hanta-kāra: all are you. Praṇāmas to you.”

In the same stava Bhagavān Vishṇu is the lokas Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ; the giver of the senses, of amṛta, of gold and of knowledge; Brahmeśvara, Parabrahma and Śabda-brahma (Brahman as sound). Among the parts of the yajña he is the hotā, the homa, the offering and Agni who carries it, and “the praṇava that is everything”.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 60

Brahmā’s stotra after the Viśvarūpa. When Bali had been bound and Indra‘s kingdom restored, Vāmana gave up the dwarf form and, in his own form, mounted on the divine vāhana Garuḍa, went to the abode of Brahmā. At Brahmā’s request he showed him the Viśvarūpa (the universal form), made of all the devas, in a small measure that was still ten thousand yojanas in length, breadth and height. Brahmā lay prostrate before it for a long time; then, crying “Āhā! Āhāhā!”, he rose with joined hands and praised him. The stotra opens with the one word Oṃ, which the text explains as “O you whose form is the sound of the praṇava”, and returns to the Praṇava again and again:

• “Oṃ-rūpa! Namaskāra to you”, at the opening of the praise of the universe that came from his body.
• “Oṃ-svarūpa! Namaskāra to you. You are the form of Oṃkāra. Vashaṭkāra, svāhākāra, vaushaṭkāra, svadhākāra: you are these.”
• “Praṇava-svarūpa! You are the root cause of Brahmā.”
• “Praṇava-rūpa! You are nīti (right conduct), the leader, the first.”
• And at its close: “the Trivikrama Deva who frees from all pāpa. Praṇava-rūpa, namaskāras to you!”

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 66

Bhagavān Śiva as the Praṇava

Andhaka‘s stotra. At the end of the war on Mount Mandara, Bhagavān Bhairava held the daitya Andhaka on the tip of his triśūla and for a thousand divine years dried up his blood and flesh with the flames of his eyes, made of sun and fire. In that fire Andhaka’s pāpas were burned to ash, the true nature of Mahādeva became known to him, and with joined hands he praised Bhagavān Śiva:

“You are Kartā (the doer), Dhātā (the upholder), Jaya, Mahājaya! You are Śubha; you are the Praṇava, the Oṃkāra; you are dhruva (the fixed), the imperishable truth, the controller of all. You are Brahmā; you are Vishṇu who sustains; you are Īśvara, Indra, the Vashaṭkāra, Dharma: all of it is you, Devadeva!”

Pleased with the stotra, Bhagavān Śiva destroyed his pāpa and made him the gaṇādhipati Bhṛṅgi.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 44

The Venastava. King Vena, freed at the Sthāṇu tīrtha in Kurukshetra and given a divine body, bowed and praised Sthāṇu, Bhagavān Śiva. Among all that he names as Bhagavān Śiva’s own forms are “the beginning and end of the Vedas, the Gāyatrī, the praṇava Oṃkāra”, and the worlds Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ and Suvaḥ.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 26

Devī Sarasvatī and the mātrās of Oṃkāra

The Sarasvatī, most ancient of rivers, arose from a plaksha tree. Seeing her while she was still within the tree, Mārkaṇḍeya Mahāmuni bowed his head and praised her as the Parāśakti, the mother of all the worlds. In his stotra the letters and mātrās of Oṃkāra are her form:

“O Devī! The steady and unsteady order of the three letters and mātrās in the Oṃkāra, the sense of ‘it is’ and ‘it is not’, the three worlds, the three Vedas, the dhātus, the three states, the pitṛs, the three mātrās: all the triads are your form alone, O Sarasvatī Devī.”

And of her highest state he says: “Your paramapada, measured as the half-mātrā, cannot be pointed out as ‘such’. It is changeless, imperishable, divine, free of every transformation.” No mouth, tongue, palate or lips, he says, has the power to describe that divine form.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 11

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Chapters 3–4
• Śiva Purāṇa, Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Chapter 9
• Śiva Purāṇa, Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Chapter 14
• Śiva Purāṇa, Kailāsa Saṃhitā, Chapter 23
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 15
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 20
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 21
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 26
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 44, 59–60, 65–66
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 9, 11, 21–22, 26