>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 9 templates: del empty params (1×); hyphenate params (1×); del |ref=harv (6×); cvt lang vals (1×);

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Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 9 templates: del empty params (1×); hyphenate params (1×); del |ref=harv (6×); cvt lang vals (1×);

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{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Upanishad
| image = Om in anahatta (gradients).png
| caption = The text presents [[Om]] as the one syllable, metaphysical truth Brahman
| Devanagari = एकाक्षर
| Sanskrit_transliteration = Ekākshara
| meaning = One imperishable syllable{{Sfn|Cush|2007|p=573}}
| type = Samanya{{Sfn|Tinoco|1996|p=87}}
| Veda = [[Krishna Yajurveda]]{{Sfn|Tinoco|1996|p=87}}
| chapters = 1
| verses = 13
| philosophy = Vedanta
}}
The '''''Ekakshara Upanishad''''' ({{lang-sa|एकाक्षर उपनिषत्}}; [[IAST]]: {{IAST|''Ekākshara Upaniṣat''}}), also titled '''''Ekaksharopanishad''''' ({{lang-sa|एकाक्षरोपनिषत्}}), is a minor [[Upanishads|Upanishadic]] text of [[Hinduism]] written in [[Sanskrit language]]. It is attached to the ''[[Yajurveda|Krishna Yajurveda]]'', and is a Samanya (general) Upanishad.{{Sfn|Tinoco|1996|p=87}}

The Upanishad discusses [[Om]] (''Pranava'') as the Ultimate Reality [[Brahman]], equating it to the imperishable truth and sound, the source of the universe, the Uma, the Shiva, the Narayana, the Atman (soul) that resides in one’s heart.{{Sfn|Mahadevan|1975|p=176}}<ref name=vediclit310>Vedic Literature, Volume 1, {{Google books|2YIoAAAAYAAJ|A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts|page=PA310}}, Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras, India, pages 310-311</ref><ref name="Dalal2010">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA429|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|pages=429–}}</ref> The one immortal syllable (''Ekakshara''), is described in the text as the Hiranyagarbha (the golden fetus, the sun, Brahma), the manifested universe, as well as the guardian of the universe.<ref name=vediclit310/><ref name= Warrier >{{Cite web|last= Warrier|first=Warrier|url=http://www.celextel.org/upanishads/krishna_yajur_veda/ekakshara.html| title=Ekakshara Upanishad}}</ref>

==History==
''Ekakshara'', literally "the one syllable", refers to Om of [[Hinduism]].{{Sfn|Cush|2007|p=573}}<ref>Tracy Pintchman (2001), Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791450086}}, page 31</ref> It refers to the primordial sound, the seed, the source of the empirically observed universe, representing the totality of manifested changing cosmos and the unchanging supreme reality [[Brahman]].{{Sfn|Cush|2007|p=573}} The term ''Upanishad'' means it is knowledge or "hidden doctrine" text that belongs to the corpus of Vedanta literature collection presenting the philosophical concepts of Hinduism and considered the highest purpose of its scripture, the [[Vedas]].<ref>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/n93/mode/2up The Upanishads], Part 1, Oxford University Press, page LXXXVI footnote 1, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads01ml#page/n133/mode/2up 22, verse 13.4]</ref>

Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as ''Ekaksaropanisad''.<ref name=vediclit310/>{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941|p=105}} In the Telugu language [[anthology]] of 108 Upanishads of the [[Muktika]] canon, narrated by [[Rama]] to [[Hanuman]], it is listed at number 69.{{Sfn|Deussen|1997|pp=556-557}}

==Contents==
This Upanishad, presented in 13 verses, is dedicated to ''Ekaksara''.<ref name=vediclit310/> The Ekaksara is a compound of ''Ek'' (one) and ''Aksara'' (syllable), or the imperishable syllable in Hindu tradition, the [[Om]].<ref>{{cite book|author=George Williams| title=Handbook of Hindu Mythology| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7LOZfwCDpEC|year= 2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533261-2|page=225}}</ref> The text follows the ''Sabda-brahman'' tradition. One of the earliest mention of Ekaksara as OM, the cosmic sound, it being Brahman and the source of the universe, is found in verses 6.22-6.23 of the [[Maitri Upanishad]], as well as in the [[Brahmana]] layer of the Vedic literature.<ref>Barbara Holdrege (1995), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791416402}}, pages 51, 460 with note 378</ref>

===The imperishable===
The text opens declaring [[Om]] the ''Ekakshara'' as the one imperishable, it is Sushumna (kindest core), it is all that is here, that which is unchanging firm, the primordial source of all, the one that created water wherein life arose, the protector, the only one.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=1}}{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941}} The verses 2 and 3 of the Upanishad state that the ''Ekakshara'' is the ancient unborn, and the first born therefrom, the immanent truth, the transcendental reality, the one who sacrifices all the time, the fire, the always omnipresent, the principle behind life, the manifested world, the womb, the child from the womb, the cause, and the cause of the causes.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=1}}{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941}}

The text asserts that it is the ''Ekakshara'' that created the ''Surya'' (sun), the [[Hiranyagarbha]] the golden womb of everything, the manifested cosmos, the ''Kumara'', the ''Arishtanemi'', the source of the thunderbolt, the leader of all beings.{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941|pp=105-108}} It is the ''Kama'' (love) in all beings, states the Upanishad, it is the Soma, the Svaha, the Svadha, the Rudra without suffering in the heart of all beings.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=1}}{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941}}

===The eternal===
''Ekakshara'' is that which is all pervading, the divine, the bliss of aloneness, the one eternal support, the cleanser, the past of everything, the present of everything and the future of everything, the imperishable syllable, asserts the text. Verse 7 states that the Rigvedic hymns, the songs of Samaveda, the formulas of Yajur originate in this cosmic syllable, it is all knowledge, it is all sacrifice, it is the purpose of all striving.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=2}}{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941}} It dispels the darkness, it is the light in which the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] dwell, it is all knowledge, it is that what is the fulcrum of all beings, it is pure truth, it is that which isn't born, it is sum total of everything, it is what the Vedas sing, it is the Brahman that the knowers know.{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941}}

===The one in every being===
Om, the Ekakshara, is every man, every woman, every boy, every girl, states the Upanishad.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=2, Quote: त्वं स्त्री पुमांस्त्वं च कुमार एक स्त्वं वै कुमारी ह्यथ भूस्त्वमेव}}{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941|p=108}} It is the king Varuna, the Mitra, Garuda, Chandrama (moon), Indra, Rudra, Tvastr, Vishnu, Savitr, the earth, the atmosphere, the land, the water, the womb of all that is born, that which envelops the world, and the self-born states the text. It is the protector Vishnu, who guides away from what is wrong. It, states the Upanishad in verse 13, is wisdom, is the aim of those who seek wisdom, that which is in the heart of every being, the eternal dwelling innermost self, the golden truth.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|pp=2-3}}{{Sfn|Ayyangar|1941}} Thus ends the Upanishad.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=3}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|title= The Sāmanya Vedānta Upaniṣads| last=Ayyangar| first=TRS| year=1941|isbn= 978-0895819833 |publisher=Adyar Library Series (1941), Reprinted in 2007 by Jain Publishing Co. }}
*{{cite book|year=2007|title= Encyclopedia of Hinduism|first= Denise|last= Cush|publisher= Routledge|isbn= 978-0700712670|display-authors=etal}}
*{{cite book|last= Deussen |first=Paul |title=Sixty Upanishads of the Veda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYepeIGUY0gC&pg=PA791|year= 1997|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-8120814677}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/ekakshara.pdf |title= एकाक्षरोपनिषत् (Ekakshara Upanishad)|access-date=20 February 2016| language = sa|last= Hattangadi| first= Sunder| year= 2000 }}
*{{cite book|last= Mahadevan |first=T. M. P. |title=Upaniṣads: Selections from 108 Upaniṣads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yluXuM5NuUIC&pg=PA237|year=1975|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1611-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Tinoco|first=Carlos Alberto|title=Upanishads | year=1996| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xoNEM63hZEC&pg=PA88 |publisher=IBRASA|isbn=978-85-348-0040-2}}

{{Hindudharma}}
{{Mukhya Upanishads}}

[[Category:Upanishads]]
[[Category:Sanskrit texts]]

Ekakshara Upanishad - Revision history

>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 9 templates: del empty params (1×); hyphenate params (1×); del |ref=harv (6×); cvt lang vals (1×);