[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Polity, Pleasure & Law](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti) › [Law and Social-Religious Duty](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma) › [Mānava Dharmaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu) › [Manubhashya](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi) › 2.76 # Manava Dharmashastra 2.76 Manubhāṣya 2.76 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [2.76](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi.2.76) pūrvasya vidherarthavādaḥ | akṣaratrayasamāhārarūpa oṃkārastatraikaikasya utpattimāha | vedatrayāntribhyo vedebhyaḥ niraduhaduddhṛtavānyathā dadhno ghṛtamuddhriyate | na kevalamakṣaratrayaṃ yāvadidam aparaṃ bhūrbhuvaḥsvariti | > Out of the three Vedas, Prajāpati milked the letter ‘a,’ the letter ‘u’ and the letter ‘m’; as also the syllables ‘bhūḥ-bhuvaḥ-svaḥ.’—(76) > > Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya): > This verse is a valedictory supplement to the foregoing injunction. > > The syllable ‘oṁ’ is an aggregate of the three letters ‘a,’ ‘u’ and ‘m’; and the present verse describes the origin of each of these. > > ‘Out of the three Vedas’—from the three Vedas. > > ‘Milked’—churned out; just as butter is churned out of the curd. > > Not only the three letters, but also something else, in the shape of the syllables ‘bhūḥ-bhuvaḥ-svaḥ.’—(76) > > This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 33), as laying down the exact form of the Praṇava and of the three Mahāvyāhṛtis. > > Comparative notes by various authors > Viṣṇu-Smṛti, 55.10.—\[The same words as Manu.\] > > Baudhāyana-Dharmasūtra, 2. 10. 69.—‘The Praṇava is the soul of the Veda.’ > — Ganganatha Jha 1920, Manu-Smṛti: The Laws of Manu with the Bhāṣya of Medhātithi - [Previous: 2.75](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi.2.75) - [Next: 2.77](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi.2.77) - [Up: 2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi.2) ## Translations (1) - [Manu-Smṛti: The Laws of Manu with the Bhāṣya of Medhātithi](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi~en-jha.2.76) — Ganganatha Jha 1920, English ## Linked texts (1) - [Mānava Dharmaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu.2.76) — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi.2.76](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu!medhatithi.2.76) · Pramāṇa