Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 5.8
॥
Devanāgarī
बिन्दुनादसमायुक्तमग्निबीजं विचिन्तयेत् । पश्चाद्विरेचयेत्सम्यक्प्राणं पिङ्गलया बुधः
Transliteration (IAST)
bindunādasamāyuktamagnibījaṃ vicintayet | paścādvirecayetsamyakprāṇaṃ piṅgalayā budhaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बिन्दु-नाद-समायुक्तम्bindu-nāda-samāyuktamjoined with the point and the resonance
अग्नि-बीजं विचिन्तयेत्agni-bījaṃ vicintayetthe seed of fire let him ponder
पश्चात् विरेचयेत् सम्यक्paścāt virecayet samyakafterward let him release properly
प्राणं पिङ्गलया बुधःprāṇaṃ piṅgalayā budhaḥprana by pingala, the wise one
Translation
"…let him ponder the seed of fire, joined with the point and the resonance; afterward let the wise one release prana properly, by pingala."
Version
c2ffe86fb7ed · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Agni-bija, "the seed of fire," is the syllable ram; of bindu and nada, the point and the resonance, it was spoken when reading the Ganapati. Worth examining is the very notion of bija, "seed," for it defines a whole class of mantras. A seed is a single-syllable word, meaningless in itself: ram, yam, lam, hrim. It has no sense in ordinary language; and in this lies its whole distinctiveness.
Hence, working with such syllables is working with sound as such, not with meaning; and this distinguishes them from sentence-mantras. The Vaishnava side knows seed-syllables and uses them in certain rites, but has arranged its own chief means the opposite way, and the difference deserves stating. Its mantra consists of names and of address: "Hare, Krishna, Rama" are vocative cases, that is, a calling-out. Not a meaningless syllable acting by sound, but a call, addressed to the one being called.
This difference is not one of euphony, but of the very structure of the act. A seed-syllable acts upon the one who utters it — as the roar of the sea or the toll of a bell acts upon him. A call acts upon the one called, and hence presupposes that there is someone to respond.
Hence its books insist that the Name is not a means of concentration, but an address; and that a person repeating the Name for the sake of calming his nerves is using it against its purpose — as if someone called a friend's name in order to admire the sound of the word.