Laghustutih (vrittisameta) 264

264

The three accents are acute (udātta), grave (anudātta), and circumflex (svarita). The three worlds are the realms of earth (bhūḥ), atmosphere (bhuvaḥ), and heaven (svaḥ). The three-footed [verse] is the Gāyatrī. The tri-puṣkara is the sacred thread, because it brings puṣa, that is, nourishment and satisfaction, to the three: gods, ṛṣis, and ancestors. The three Brahmans are the three-formed Brahman, the praṇava, or the self (ātman), inner self (antarātman), and supreme self (paramātman); as the Blessed One states: 'Great Brahman is my womb, and in it I place the seed.' Or, the three Brahmans are primordial nature (prakṛti), existing threefold through the distinction of the guṇas such as sattva. The three syllables belong to the praṇava, or belong to this mantra; or they are the vowels a, i, and u belonging to the alphabet, or the letters pervading vowels and consonants, or white, red, and black, or the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, and vaiśya. In short, whatever entity in the world is determined as threefold, or consists of the three aims of life (trivarga)—all that