महावाक्य mahāvākya

Hindi is also shown in Latin characters, using an adapted form of ISO 15919 transliteration.

How to read the transliteration

This site uses transliteration based on ISO 15919, with a few adaptations to make reading easier: h is added after c, ś and ṣ, and i after the vowel r̥. These adaptations bring it closer to the Hunterian system used in India while retaining the distinctive marks of ISO 15919.

Adaptations used on this site
ISO 15919	On this site
c	ch
ś	śh
ṣ	ṣh
r̥	r̥i

A few reading pointers:

ā, ī, ū: the line above the letter indicates a long vowel.
ṭ, ḍ, ṇ: the dot below distinguishes retroflex consonants from t, d, n.
A tilde above a vowel indicates nasalisation.

sa · n. · m.

Earlier definition

Definition

Great utterance, great sentence. A sentence impregnated with an expression of essential truth.
(Hinduism) Tat Tvam Asi "that you are", Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi "I am Brahman", Prajñānaṁ Brahma "Prajñāna is Brahman", Ayam Ātmā Brahma "This Self (Atman) is Brahman". These four mahāvākyas are erroneous or misinterpreted confusing the soul, the Supreme Soul and Brahman (Brahm, the element that occupies the space of the incorporeal world of souls) and thus making God omnipresent.
(Bābā) Every verse or sentence of the murlī uttered by Bābā.

Usual translation

elevated version

Origin of the definition

mahā-vākya, s.m. Any long continuous composition or literary work, a magnum opus; — principal sentence, great proposition; epithet of twelve mystical utterances of the Upanishads (esp. of the mystic words Tattvam, and Om).

Mahaavaakya. महावाक्य. Elevated versions.

महान्, महा mahān, mahā (sanskrit)

(prefix) Great, illustrious.
Mighty, strong, big, large, ample, excessive, grievous.
Very, extremely, very much.

महा mahā maha / ~वाक्य a sentence impregnated with an expression of essential truth (as अहं ब्रह्मास्मि - I am Brahma).