चिदहन्तावती व्योमशब्दतन्मात्रभावनात् । खतो घनीभूय शनैः खतन्मात्रं भवत्यलम् ॥ १३ ॥
cidahantāvatī vyōmaśabdatanmātrabhāvanāt | khatō ghanībhūya śanaiḥ khatanmātraṁ bhavatyalam || 13 ||
- Another reading: व्योम्नि शब्दतन्मात्रभावनात् (vyōmni śabdatanmātrabhāvanāt) for व्योमशब्दतन्मात्रभावनात्
Translation
Awareness with I-ness, from feeling itself as the sound-element of space, slowly thickening out of space, fully becomes the subtle element of space.
Word by word
- cid
- (cit) awareness
- ahantā
- with I-ness
- vatī
- having
- vyōma
- of space
- śabda
- sound
- tanmātra
- element
- bhāvanāt
- from feeling itself as
- khatō
- (khataḥ) out of space
- ghanībhūya
- thickening
- śanaiḥ
- slowly
- kha
- of space
- tanmātraṁ
- the subtle element
- bhavati
- becomes
- alam
- fully
Meaning
The commentary introduces the verse: when the being of the Supreme Self, conditioned by the ego of space, resolves to become the sound-element (śabda-tanmātra), the sound-element arises from it. Conditioned by the ego "I am space", by resolving "let me be the sound-element", it thickens a little out of the very subtle state of space and becomes the sound-element. A note in the commentary: though the Sāṅkhya and the Purāṇas speak of the elements arising from the subtle elements, the Upaniṣads say that space arose from the Self itself (Taittirīya 2.1), so Brahman is the direct material of space and the rest, and the general sound-element arises from space. The tanmātras, "that-only", are the subtle elements, the bare possibility of sound, touch, form, taste and smell, before there is anything that sounds or is touched.