Upanishads · Tārasāra 2.3
॥
Devanāgarī
अकारः प्रथमाक्षरो भवति । उकारो द्वितीयाक्षरो भवति । मकारस्तृतीयाक्षरो भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
akāraḥ prathamākṣaro bhavati | ukāro dvitīyākṣaro bhavati | makārastṛtīyākṣaro bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अ-कारः प्रथम-अक्षरः भवतिa-kāraḥ prathama-akṣaraḥ bhavatithe sound 'a' is the first syllable
उ-कारः द्वितीय-अक्षरः भवतिu-kāraḥ dvitīya-akṣaraḥ bhavatithe sound 'u' is the second syllable
म-कारः तृतीय-अक्षरः भवतिma-kāraḥ tṛtīya-akṣaraḥ bhavatithe sound 'm' is the third syllable
Translation
«The sound 'a' is the first syllable, the sound 'u' the second, the sound 'm' the third».
Version
6a959d2ddc08 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The breakdown of oṃ into eight parts begins: a, u, m, the dot, the resonance, the fraction, that which is beyond the fraction, and that which is beyond all this. The first three are widely known and analyzed in every upaniṣad; the Māṇḍūkya devotes a whole treatise to them, correlating them with waking, dreaming sleep, and deep sleep, and naming the fourth turīya, "the fourth." It is worth noting that the analysis here goes further than the Māṇḍūkya's: there are four parts there, eight here.
This multiplication is a feature of later books: a division already found is further subdivided. Let us say what is gained and lost by this. What is gained is detail: eight steps describe the ascent more precisely than four.
What is lost is verifiability. The Māṇḍūkya's four states are familiar to everyone from experience: waking, dream, deep sleep, and what lies beyond them — about which one can at least ask. But "the fraction" and "beyond the fraction" point to nothing in experience and rest only on the word.
The Vaiṣṇava side, in such cases, holds to a rule discussed more than once: decide by the passages where the subject is set forth, not by the passages where it is charted out. Let us add what the Gītā says about the syllable oṃ itself, for it is sparing on this point. It names it three times, and each time briefly: "I am the praṇava in all the Vedas" (7.8); "uttering the single syllable 'oṃ,' brahman, remembering Me — one who departs thus attains the highest goal" (8.13).
It is worth noting the addition in the second place: mām anusmaran, "remembering Me." The syllable is named — and beside it is placed remembrance of a person; it is not left standing alone.