Upanishads · Chāndogya 2,23.3
॥
Devanāgarī
तानि अभ्यतपत् तेभ्यः अभितप्तेभ्यः ओंकारः संप्रास्रवत् तत् यथा शङ्कुना सर्वाणि पर्णानि संतृण्णानि एवम् ओंकारेण सर्वा वाक् संतृण्णा ओंकारः एव इदम् सर्वम् ओंकारः एव इदम् सर्वम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tāni abhyatapat tebhyaḥ abhitaptebhyaḥ oṃkāraḥ saṃprāsravat tat yathā śaṅkunā sarvāṇi parṇāni saṃtṛṇṇāni evam oṃkāreṇa sarvā vāk saṃtṛṇṇā oṃkāraḥ eva idam sarvam oṃkāraḥ eva idam sarvam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तानिtānithose; these
अभ्यतपत्abhyatapatwarmed with tapas; he heated
तेभ्यःtebhyaḥthan they; to them
अभितप्तेभ्यःabhitaptebhyaḥout of those heated; out of those warmed by austerity
ओंकारःoṃkāraḥthe sound Oṁ; the syllable Oṁ
संप्रास्रवत्saṃprāsravatit streamed forth; it flowed forth
तत्tatthat; this
यथाyathāhow; like
शङ्कुनाśaṅkunāby the spike, by the rib (śaṅku — 'a thorn, the vein of a leaf'); by the needle-like rib; by the stalk
सर्वाणिsarvāṇiall; the whole
पर्णानिparṇānithe leaves (parṇa); the foliage; the blades [of the leaf]
संतृण्णानिsaṃtṛṇṇānithey are held together, stitched (sam-√tṝd); they are pierced through; they are sewn together
एवम्evamthus; in this way
ओंकारेणoṃkāreṇaby the sound Oṁ; by the syllable Oṁ
सर्वाsarvāall; the whole
वाक्vākspeech; the word
संतृण्णाsaṃtṛṇṇāit is pierced through; it is held together
ओंकारःoṃkāraḥthe sound Oṁ; the syllable Oṁ
एवevaindeed; surely
इदम्idamthis; thus
सर्वम्sarvamall; entirely
ओंकारःoṃkāraḥthe sound Oṁ; the syllable Oṁ
एवevaindeed; surely
इदम्idamthis; thus
सर्वम्sarvamall; entirely
Translation
He brooded upon them; from them, so brooded upon, the sound Oṁ flowed forth. As all the leaves are held together by a spike, so is all speech held together by the sound Oṁ: Oṁ is all this; Oṁ is all this.
Version
cc32c8ecd554 · published Jul 26, 2026, 10:50:29 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The last distillation: out of the vyāhṛtis, brooded upon, oṁkāraḥ saṁprāsravat — "Oṁ flowed forth": the drop of drops, the essence of essences: worlds → Veda → three syllables → one syllable: the whole universe boiled down to a single sound (a ring closing back on 1.1: "Oṁ is the essence of essences"!).
And then a jewel of an image: yathā śaṅkunā sarvāṇi parṇāni saṁtṛṇṇāni — "as all the leaflets are pierced through by the spike [of the stalk]" (a palm leaf: one rib holds all its feathers!) — evam oṁkāreṇa sarvā vāk saṁtṛṇṇā — "so all speech is pierced through by Oṁ": every word of every language is held on the shaft of Oṁ as leaflets on a rib: draw out the shaft and speech falls apart. oṁkāra evedaṁ sarvam — twice: "Oṁ is all this": the seal of the khaṇḍa and of the whole second adhyāya: from concord-as-goodness, through all the weavings, to the Needle with which everything is stitched.