History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c92.173.2

v7.c92.173.2

1) calls it Vedamātā (the mother of the Veda). The Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad (V. 14) contains a grand eulogy of the Gāyatrī.¹⁷⁷⁹ *Om* is a very sacred syllable, a symbol of *brahma* and may be called in the language of the Tantras a *bīja*. There are only a few syllables such as *om, phaṭ, vaṣaṭ* in the Vedic literature that on the face of them have no meaning but are like *bīja* mantras in the Tantra sense. There is a *Bījanighaṇṭu* (a dictionary of *bīja* mantras) printed in 'Tāntrik texts' Vol. I. pp. 28-29 (where monosyllabic *bījas* such as Hrīm, Śrīm, Krīm, Hum, phaṭ, are set out and described in symbolic words indicated in note 1708 above. It is stated about a dozen times in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa viz. it is the perfection of sacrifice when it is *rūpasamṛddha* (perfect as to its form) i. e. when the ṛk verse pointedly refers to the sacrificial act that is being performed.¹⁷⁸⁰ The Nirukta (I. 15-16) starts a lengthy discussion on Kautsa's view that mantras have no sense (or are purposeless) There is a long discussion in the Pūrvamīmāṁsāsūtra (I. 2. 31 ff) on the same lines as in the Nirukta. Jaimini states that there is no difference in the meanings of words employed in the Veda and those employed by people and Śabara adds in his *bhāṣya* (on P. M. S. I. 2.