आदित्य ऊकारो निहव एकारो विश्वे देवा औहोयिकारः प्रजपतिर्हिंकारः प्राणः स्वरोऽन्नं या वाग्विराट् ॥ १.१३.२ ॥
āditya ūkāro nihava ekāro viśve devā auhoyikāraḥ prajapatirhiṃkāraḥ prāṇaḥ svaro’nnaṃ yā vāgvirāṭ || 1.13.2 ||
2. Āditya, the sun, is represented by the stobha ū; nihava, the welcoming hymn, by the stobha e; the Viśvadeva gods by the stobha auhoyi; Prajāpati by the stobha hiṃ; prāṇa by the stobha svara; food by the stobha yā; and Virāṭ by the stobha vāk.
Word-for-word explanation:
Ādityaiḥ Āditya, the sun; ūkāraḥ, [is represented by] the stobha ‘ū’; nihavaiḥ the welcoming address; ekāraḥ, [is represented by] the stobha ‘e’; viśvedevāḥ, the Viśvadevas [i.e., a class of gods]; auhoyi-kāraḥ, [are represented by] the stobha ‘auhoyi’; prajāpatiḥ, Prajāpati [the Lord of all beings]; hiṃkāraḥ, [is represented by] the stobha ‘hiṃ’; prāṇaḥ, prāṇa [the presiding deity of life]; svaraḥ, [is represented by] the stobha ‘svara’; annam, food; yā, [is represented by] the stobha ‘yā’; virāṭ Virāṭ; vāk, [is represented by] the stobha ‘vāk’.
Commentary:
Āditya, the sun, is far above in the sky. The letter ū suggests urdhvam, which means ‘above.’ So. in
The word nihava means ‘welcome,’ which in Sanskrit is ehi. For this reason e stands for the nihava, the welcoming hymn. The stobha auhoyi stands for the Viśvadevas, the gods, for it occurs in the Sāma in honour of the Viśvadevas.
The stobha hiṃ represents Prajāpati. No one knows the meaning of the word hiṃ; similarly, no one knows what Prajāpati, the Lord of all beings, is like.
Prāṇa is represented by svara, because svara, the musical scale, is derived from prāṇa (the Lord of life, or the vital breath). Yā represents anna, food, for yāti (going) is possible because of food.
The stobha vāk occurs in the Sāma called Vairāja or Virāṭa. Thus vāk stands for Virāṭ.