सङ्गीतरत्नाकर: प्रथम भाग (शार्ङ्गदेव - स्वरगताध्याय सविस्तार व्याख्या व अनुवाद सहित)

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110 Treatment of Svara
‘K’ brings out the purport as under : “nāda, which is synonymous
with parā vāk, being the energy of Brahman, is inseparably close to it and
therefore propitiation of nāda leads to the attainment of Brahman as one
desirous of obtaining the lustre of a jewel attains the jewel along with
it.” The main burden of his comments is shared by two of his
considerations, viz , his interpretation from the non-dualistic Vedantic
point of view and his anxiety to show that devotion to nāda can also
lead to the spiritual emancipation of the soul, i e., the pursuit of music
not only has economic and aesthetic value but also spiritual value, viz ,
mokṣa, the highest endeavour (puruṣārtha) of mankind; the argument
being that scientific knowledge of śruti etc. leading to the understanding
of the phenomenon of music, bestows the insight necessary for the
attainment of the absolute.
Incidentally, nāda may be differentiated from sound. The concept
of sound is purely objective, but nāda is not merely an object of the
sense of hearing. The concept of nāda refers to the perception in which
the subject and the object is not differentiated. In other words, Nāda-
brahman implies the undifferentiated state of manifestation, which
cannot be translated into the terms of the differentiated consciousness.
This point of view can also be approached in a different way. Names
generally are considered to refer to objects of perception perceived by
or perceivable by a subject — thus implying a subject-object relationship.
But the referend of names may not be an object, for according to some,
what we perceive is the modifications in our consciousness ; we have no
access to the objects except through the thought-forms of the mind.
Thus names ultimately refer to forms of consciousness and therefore
every word implies in its meaning not only the form perceived by the
senses but also the substance which finally is consciousness. Thus the
word nāda also implies consciousness, for otherwise it cannot be
meaningful. Accordingly, the function of the word is to awaken a
particular form in the consciousness and Nāda-brahman signifies
undifferentiated consciousness.
Worship is an act of devotion, and the incomparable bliss of nāda
is the ultimate source of all such inspiration. The gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu
and Śiva in the puranic mythology represent the three aspects of the
manifestation of Brahman into the phenomenon of the universe, viz.,
creation, preservation and destruction; the three being the part and
parcel of a single movement, called Śakti or the energy or the creative
power of Brahman.) This energy is also called nāda or śabda, i. e., the
Word, or the parā vāk as ‘K’ puts it. In the first stage of manifestation
the energy involved in Brahman evolves into undifferentiated conscious-
ness which is called Nāda-brahman in our text and accordingly the three
gods named above are the three aspects in which the energy separates
in the manifestation. Nāda-brahman is also known as Śabda-brahman.
So, essentially the gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, being the aspects
of the same deity, are one with nāda.

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Section 3 : Nada, Sruti and Svara ...
(ii) देहे ध्वनेराविर्भावः
आत्मा विवक्षमाणोऽयं मनः प्रेरयते, मनः ।
देहस्थं वह्निमाहन्ति स प्रेरयति मारुतम् ॥३॥
ब्रह्मग्रन्थिस्थितः सोऽथ क्रमादूर्ध्वपथे चरन् ।
नाभिहृत्कण्ठमूर्धास्येष्वाविर्भावयति ध्वनिम् ॥४॥
(ii) The process of the manifestation of sound in the human
body. (3-4)
Desirous of speech the individuated being¹ impels the
mind, and the mind activates the battery of power² stationed
in the body, which in its turn stimulates the vital force³. The
vital force stationed around the root of the navel, rising
upwards⁴ gradually manifests nāda⁵ in the navel, the heart,
the throat, the cerebrum and the cavity of the mouth as it
passes through them. (3-4)
Now, the author proceeds to describe the process of voice produc-
tion (i. e., the manifestation of āhata-nāda). Desire for self-expression
is the motive power that initiates the process into action. Why there
is the desire for self-expression is a metaphysical question and one can
probably look for its answer to the benedictory verse; but, the author is
not, at the moment, concerned with that. As far as the individual,
which is the medium of voice production is concerned, desire for self-
expression is discerned to be the cause of speech; and therefore of singing
i. e., music and even dance as it is included in the concept of Saṅgīta.
It is notable that uptil now the word nāda was signifying unmanifest
sound; but, herefrom it obviously signifies manifest sound. It has
already been said that nāda is twofold, viz., unmanifest and manifest
(cf S. R. I.2.1-3 ante). Futhermore, the word is now being defined in
the context of music.

1. The word ātman is difficult to translate into English due to the
   various shades of meaning attached to it in the different
   schools of Indian philosophy and cultural strata of society.
   In the present context the word ātman is used as a diminutive
   for jīvātma, i. e., individuated being or differentiated cons-
   ciousness.
2. Vahni of the text literally means fire, but that is figurative in
   the present context.
3. Prāṇa is translated as vital force.
4. The region below the navel pertains to anāhata-nāda, i. e., the
   unmanifest sound (cf 'S' on I 3-6).
5. Now, since the concept of nāda has been clearly explained, it
   will be misleading to translate it as sound.