SB 12.6.43 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

ततोऽक्षरसमाम्नायमसृजद् भगवानज: । अन्तस्थोष्मस्वरस्पर्शह्रस्वदीर्घादिलक्षणम् ॥ ४३ ॥

Verse text

tato ’kṣara-samāmnāyam asṛjad bhagavān ajaḥ antasthoṣma-svara-sparśa- hrasva-dīrghādi-lakṣaṇam

Synonyms

tataḥ — from that oṁkāra ; akṣara — of the different sounds ; samāmnāyam — the total collection ; asṛjat — created ; bhagavān — the powerful demigod ; ajaḥ — unborn Brahmā ; anta — stha — as the semivowels ; uṣma — sibilants ; svara — vowels ; sparśa — and consonant stops ; hrasva — dīrgha — in short and long forms ; ādi — and so on ; lakṣaṇam — characterized .

Translation

From that oṁkāra Lord Brahmā created all the sounds of the alphabet — the vowels, consonants, semivowels, sibilants and others — distinguished by such features as long and short measure.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

From that oṁkāra Brahmā created all the sounds of the alphabet—the vowels, consonants, semivowels, sibilants and others—distinguished by such features as long and short measure. The appearance of the Vedas from oṁ is described. From oṁ (tataḥ) Brahmā created the group of sounds—the semivowels: ya, ra, la and va; the silibants: śa, ṣa and sa; the vowels: a, i, u e, o, ai, and au; the consonants from ka to ma; and short and long sounds of different intonations. Ādi indicates things like the visarga. He created the basic form (lakṣaṇam) of sounds.