The Chapter on Om

Verse 1 (markandeya.42.1)

दत्तात्रेय उवाच एवं यो वर्तते योगी सम्यग्योगव्यवस्थितः । न स व्यावर्तितुं शक्यो जन्मान्तरशतैरपि ॥ 42.1 ॥

dattātreya uvāca evaṁ yo vartate yogī samyagyogavyavasthitaḥ na sa vyāvartituṁ śakyo janmāntaraśatairapi

Dattatreya said: Thus, the yogi who remains rightly established in yoga cannot be turned back from his path even across hundreds of other births.

Verse 2 (markandeya.42.2)

दृष्ट्वा च परमात्मानं प्रत्यक्षं विश्वरूपिणम् । विश्वपादशिरोग्रीवं विश्वेशं विश्वभावनम् ॥ 42.2 ॥

dṛṣṭvā ca paramātmānaṁ pratyakṣaṁ viśvarūpiṇam viśvapādaśirogrīvaṁ viśveśaṁ viśvabhāvanam

Having beheld that Supreme Self directly in his universal form — whose feet, head, and neck are the universe itself, who is the lord of the universe and its creator...

Verse 3 (markandeya.42.3)

तत्प्राप्तये महत्पुण्यमोमित्येकाक्षरं जपेत् । तदेवाध्ययनं तस्य स्वरूपं शृण्वतः परम् ॥ 42.3 ॥

tatprāptaye mahatpuṇyamomityekākṣaraṁ japet tadevādhyayanaṁ tasya svarūpaṁ śṛṇvataḥ param

To attain that vision, one should chant the single syllable Om, of great merit; for the one who truly listens, that alone is the real study leading to knowledge of that supreme nature.

Verse 4 (markandeya.42.4)

अकारश्च तथोकारो मकारश्चाक्षरत्रयम् । एता एव त्रयो मात्राः सात्त्वराजसतामसाः ॥ 42.4 ॥

akāraśca tathokāro makāraścākṣaratrayam etā eva trayo mātrāḥ sāttvarājasatāmasāḥ

A, U, and M — these three syllables; these same three are the three matras, corresponding respectively to sattva, rajas, and tamas.

Verse 5 (markandeya.42.5)

निर्गुणा योगिगम्यान्या चार्धमात्रोर्ध्वसंस्थिता । गान्धारीति च विज्ञेया गान्धारस्वरसंश्रया ॥ 42.5 ॥

nirguṇā yogigamyānyā cārdhamātrordhvasaṁsthitā gāndhārīti ca vijñeyā gāndhārasvarasaṁśrayā

There is yet another matra — beyond the gunas, accessible only to yogis, situated above the half-matra — to be known as "Gandhari," resting upon the Gandhara musical note.

Verse 6 (markandeya.42.6)

पिपीलिकागतिस्पर्शा प्रयुक्ता मूर्ध्नि लक्ष्यते । यथा प्रयुक्त ओङ्गारः प्रतिनिर्याति मूर्धनि ॥ 42.6 ॥

pipīlikāgatisparśā prayuktā mūrdhni lakṣyate yathā prayukta oṅgāraḥ pratiniryāti mūrdhani

Felt like the touch of a crawling ant, it is perceived at the crown of the head when this practice is undertaken — just as a spark of fire seems to issue forth from the crown when kindled there.

Verse 7 (markandeya.42.7)

तथोङ्कारमयो योगी त्वक्षरे त्वक्षरो भवेत् । प्राणो धनुः शरो ह्यात्मा ब्रह्म वेध्यमनुत्तमम् ॥ 42.7 ॥

tathoṅkāramayo yogī tvakṣare tvakṣaro bhavet prāṇo dhanuḥ śaro hyātmā brahma vedhyamanuttamam

Thus the yogi who is made one with Omkara, abiding in the imperishable syllable, himself becomes imperishable; Prana is the bow, the Self is the arrow, and Brahman is the unsurpassed target to be pierced.

Verse 8 (markandeya.42.8)

अप्रमत्तेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत्तन्मयो भवेत् । ओमित्येतत् त्रयो वेदास्त्रयो लोकास्त्रयोऽग्नयः ॥ 42.8 ॥

apramattena veddhavyaṁ śaravattanmayo bhavet omityetat trayo vedāstrayo lokāstrayo'gnayaḥ

One must strike that target with unwavering attentiveness, becoming wholly absorbed like the arrow itself; this syllable Om is indeed the three Vedas, the three worlds, and the three sacred fires.

Verse 9 (markandeya.42.9)

विष्णुर्-ब्रह्मा-हरश्चैव ऋक्सामानि यजूंषि च । मात्राः सार्धाश्च तिस्त्रश्च विज्ञेयाः परमार्थतः ॥ 42.9 ॥

viṣṇur-brahmā-haraścaiva ṛksāmāni yajūṁṣi ca mātrāḥ sārdhāśca tistraśca vijñeyāḥ paramārthataḥ

It is also Vishnu, Brahma, and Hara (Shiva); it is the Rik, Sama, and Yajur Vedas; and, in the ultimate sense, its one-and-a-half and three matras should be understood in just this way.

Verse 10 (markandeya.42.10)

तत्र युक्तस्तु यो योगी स तल्लयमवाप्नुयात् । अकारस्त्वथ भूर्लोक उकारश्चोच्यते भुवः ॥ 42.10 ॥

tatra yuktastu yo yogī sa tallayamavāpnuyāt akārastvatha bhūrloka ukāraścocyate bhuvaḥ

The yogi who remains wholly absorbed there, in Om, attains dissolution into it; now, the letter A is the world of Bhur, and the letter U is said to be the world of Bhuvar.

Verse 11 (markandeya.42.11)

सव्यञ्जनो मकारश्च स्वर्लोकः परिकल्प्यते । व्यक्ता तु प्रथमा मात्रा द्वितीयाव्यक्तसंज्ञिता ॥ 42.11 ॥

savyañjano makāraśca svarlokaḥ parikalpyate vyaktā tu prathamā mātrā dvitīyāvyaktasaṁjñitā

And the letter M, together with its consonantal sound, is regarded as Svarloka; the first matra is manifest, while the second is called unmanifest.

Verse 12 (markandeya.42.12)

मात्रा तृतीया चिच्छक्तिरर्धमात्रा परं पदम् । अनेनैव क्रमेणैता विज्ञेया योगभूमयः ॥ 42.12 ॥

mātrā tṛtīyā cicchaktirardhamātrā paraṁ padam anenaiva krameṇaitā vijñeyā yogabhūmayaḥ

The third matra is the power of pure consciousness, and the half-matra is the supreme state; in this very order, these are to be understood as the successive stages of yoga.

Verse 13 (markandeya.42.13)

ओमित्युच्चारणात् सर्वं गृहीतं सदसद् भवेत् । ह्रस्वा तु प्रथमा मात्रा द्वितीया दैर्घ्यसंयुता ॥ 42.13 ॥

omityuccāraṇāt sarvaṁ gṛhītaṁ sadasad bhavet hrasvā tu prathamā mātrā dvitīyā dairghyasaṁyutā

By the utterance of Om, all things — both existent and non-existent — are encompassed; the first matra is short, the second is long.

Verse 14 (markandeya.42.14)

तृतीया च प्लुतार्धाख्या वचसः सा न गोचरा । इत्येतदक्षरं ब्रह्म परमोङ्कारसंज्ञितम् ॥ 42.14 ॥

tṛtīyā ca plutārdhākhyā vacasaḥ sā na gocarā ityetadakṣaraṁ brahma paramoṅkārasaṁjñitam

The third is called the "extended half," which lies beyond the reach of speech; thus this syllable is Brahman itself, known by the supreme name of Omkara.

Verse 15 (markandeya.42.15)

यस्तु वेद नरः सम्यक् तथा ध्यायति वा पुनः । संसारचक्रमुत्सृज्य त्यक्तत्रिविधबन्धनः ॥ 42.15 ॥

yastu veda naraḥ samyak tathā dhyāyati vā punaḥ saṁsāracakramutsṛjya tyaktatrividhabandhanaḥ

The man who truly knows this, or who meditates upon it in this way, casts off the wheel of samsara and is freed from the threefold bondage...

Verse 16 (markandeya.42.16)

प्राप्रोति ब्रह्मणि लयं परमे परमात्मनि । अक्षीणकर्मबन्धश्च ज्ञात्वा मृत्युमरिष्टतः ॥ 42.16 ॥

prāproti brahmaṇi layaṁ parame paramātmani akṣīṇakarmabandhaśca jñātvā mṛtyumariṣṭataḥ

...he attains absorption into the supreme Brahman, the Paramatman; and one whose karmic bonds are not yet exhausted, having recognized the approach of death through the omens...

Verse 17 (markandeya.42.17)

उत्क्रान्तिकाले संस्मृत्य पुनर्योगित्वमृच्छति । तस्मादसिद्धयोगेन सिद्धयोगेन वा पुनः । ज्ञेयन्यरिष्टानि सदा येनोत्क्रान्तौ न सीदति ॥ 42.17 ॥

utkrāntikāle saṁsmṛtya punaryogitvamṛcchati tasmādasiddhayogena siddhayogena vā punaḥ jñeyanyariṣṭāni sadā yenotkrāntau na sīdati

...at the moment of departure, remembering this teaching, he attains the state of yoga once more; therefore, whether one's yoga is yet imperfect or already accomplished, the omens of death should always be known, so that one does not falter at the time of leaving the body.