Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 8.3
॥
Devanāgarī
हयवरलकाराख्यं मन्त्रमुच्चारयेत्क्रमात् । धारणैषा परा प्रोक्ता सर्वपापविशोधिनी
Transliteration (IAST)
hayavaralakārākhyaṃ mantramuccārayetkramāt | dhāraṇaiṣā parā proktā sarvapāpaviśodhinī
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ह-य-व-र-ल-कार-आख्यंha-ya-va-ra-la-kāra-ākhyaṃcalled 'ha, ya, va, ra, la'
मन्त्रम् उच्चारयेत् क्रमात्mantram uccārayet kramātlet him utter the mantra in order
धारणा एषा परा प्रोक्ताdhāraṇā eṣā parā proktāthis concentration is called the highest
सर्व-पाप-विशोधिनीsarva-pāpa-viśodhinīpurifying all sins
Translation
"Let him utter, in order, the mantra called 'ha, ya, va, ra, la'; this concentration is called the highest, purifying all sins."
Version
a8ef594c9758 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Five seed-syllables are named: ha (space), ya (wind), va (water), ra (fire), la (earth). Of seed-syllables, and their difference from names, it was discussed when reading the fifth khanda (5.8), and there is no need to repeat it. Worth noting, however, is the order: ha-ya-va-ra-la — that is, from subtlest to grossest, top to bottom.
This order corresponds to the order of the elements' arising, as Sankhya sets it out: from space, wind; from wind, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth. This sequence is universal in Indian books, and deserves attention, for it contains a thought, not merely a chart. The thought is this: the gross arises from the subtle, not the reverse. Matter did not give birth to consciousness; consciousness, condensing, gave rise to matter.
This position is the fundamental difference of Indian thought from what we are accustomed to; and it deserves being stated directly, for everything depends on it. If the gross is primary, then consciousness is its property, and it ends with the destruction of the body. If the subtle is primary, then the body is its condensation, and the destruction of the body settles nothing.
The Vaishnava side holds to the second, and adds what Sankhya lacks: the subtle is not impersonal. The Gita says: "Earth, water, fire, wind, space, mind, intellect, and ego — such is the eightfold division of My nature; this is the lower; but there is another, higher nature — know — the living being, by which this world is sustained" (7.4–5). This verse deserves remembering: it lists the same five elements as here, and all are called the lower nature; while the higher is named the living one.