diśāḿ tvam avakāśo 'si
diśaḥ khaḿ sphoṭa āśrayaḥ
nādo varṇas tvam oḿ-kāra
ākṛtīnāḿ pṛthak-kṛtiḥ
disam -- of the directions; tvam -- You; avakasah -- the power to accommodate; asi -- are; disah -- the directions; kham -- the ether; sphotah -- elemental sound; asrayah -- having (ether) as its basis; nadah -- sound in its form of unmanifest vibration; varnah -- the primeval syllable; tvam -- You; om-karah -- om; akritinam -- of particular forms; prithak-kritih -- the cause of differentiation (namely, manifest language).
You are the directions and their accommodating capacity, the all-pervading ether and the elemental sound residing within it. You are the primeval, unmanifested form of sound; the first syllable, om; and audible speech, by which sound, as words, acquires particular references.
In accordance with the general process of creation, speech always becomes audible in stages, which proceed from subtle inner impulse to outward expression. These stages are mentioned in the mantras of the Rig Veda (1.164.45):
catvari vak-parimita padani
tani vidur brahmana ye manishinah
guhayam trini nihitani nengayanti
turiyam vaco manushya vadanti
"Discriminating brahmanas know of four progressive stages of language. Three of these remain hidden within the heart as imperceptible vibrations, while the fourth stage is what people ordinarily understand as speech."
