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Upanishads · Hayagrīva 2.p8
॥
Devanāgarī
स्वरव्यञ्जनभेदेन द्विधा एते । अथानुमन्त्राञ्जपति
Transliteration (IAST)
svaravyañjanabhedena dvidhā ete | athānumantrāñjapati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्वर-व्यञ्जन-भेदेनsvara-vyañjana-bhedenaby the distinction of vowels and consonants
द्विधा एतेdvidhā etethese are of two kinds
अथ अनु-मन्त्रान् जपतिatha anu-mantrān japatithen he repeats the following mantras
Translation
«By the distinction of vowels and consonants, these are of two kinds. Then he repeats the following mantras».
Version
7c172a7ac0bf · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The passage is brief and transitional; still, one word in it deserves note. Svara-vyañjana-bhedena, “by the distinction of vowels and consonants”: the mantras are divided according to what they are composed of. This distinction is grammatical, and its appearance here shows how much everything in India was built on the science of language; the same was discussed reading Varāha (5.68), where the length of a vowel was ascribed its own effect.
Add, too, what is worth saying about the distinction of vowels and consonants itself, for in Indian thought it carries a meaning beyond grammar. Svara means “sounding of itself”: a vowel sounds without support. Vyañjana means “that which reveals, manifests,” from vi-añj, “to anoint, to manifest”: a consonant does not sound by itself and only manifests the vowel, giving it contour.
That is, within grammar itself lies a relation very like the one this whole literature disputes: one thing shines of itself, the other gives it form, and the two never occur apart — a vowel without a consonant is a cry, a consonant without a vowel cannot be pronounced at all. The Vaiṣṇava side makes free use of this correspondence; and its śakti-śaktimān, “power and the possessor of power,” discussed reading Varāha (5.51), is built exactly the same way.