In the Māṇḍūkya corpus, akāra denotes the sound/letter 'a', identified as the first of the three mātrās into which oṃkāra (= the ātman) is analyzed (mūla 8). In the upaniṣadic mūla it is correlated with the waking state and vaiśvānara, the ground of correlation being given as pervasion (āpti) and/or being first (ādimattva); one who knows this attains all desires and becomes first (mūla 9). In Gauḍapāda's kārikās akāra is presented as that which leads or 'leads in' viśva (1.23), set in parallel with ukāra→taijasa and makāra→prājña. The attestations consistently place akāra as the first member of the oṃkāra–pāda–mātrā correlation scheme, paired with the waking/viśva level of the ātman.
Senses
The reading surface. A later ingestion attaches a locus to a settled sense, or proposes a new one (dashed) for human triage — it never rewrites settled prose.
1 · The sound/letter 'a' as the first of the three mātrās constituting oṃkāra, oṃkāra being id…settledadded v1
The sound/letter 'a' as the first of the three mātrās constituting oṃkāra, oṃkāra being identified with the ātman; mātrās and pādas mutually correspond and the mātrās are enumerated akāra, ukāra, makāra.
2 · The first mātrā correlated with the waking-state self vaiśvānara, the correlation justifie…settledadded v1
The first mātrā correlated with the waking-state self vaiśvānara, the correlation justified by pervasion (āpti) or by being first (ādimattva); the knower attains all desires and becomes first.
3 · (Gauḍapāda's usage) akāra as that which leads/leads in viśva, the first term in the parall…settledadded v1
(Gauḍapāda's usage) akāra as that which leads/leads in viśva, the first term in the parallel series akāra→viśva, ukāra→taijasa, makāra→prājña, with no further movement (gati) in the amātra.
4 · Vaiśvānara/viśva as the waking-state self perceiving gross objects (e.g. seen in the right…proposedadded v2
Vaiśvānara/viśva as the waking-state self perceiving gross objects (e.g. seen in the right eye, identified with the sun-located vairāja ātman) and as the sarvajña sarveśvara abiding in its own nature, ruler of all distinctions — independent of the akāra–mātrā correlation.
advaita-vedānta (Śaṅkara bhāṣya)
Why a new sense: These describe vaiśvānara/viśva and the sarveśvara as states of the self, with no reference to the sound 'a' or oṃkāra-mātrā correlation that defines the existing senses.
5 · The doctrine that viśva and taijasa are bound by both effect and cause (kāryakāraṇabaddha)…proposedadded v2
The doctrine that viśva and taijasa are bound by both effect and cause (kāryakāraṇabaddha) through sleep (nidrā as non-apprehension of reality) and dream (anyathāgrahaṇa), while prājña is bound by cause alone, the saṃsārin jīva being asleep in beginningless māyā.
advaita-vedānta (Śaṅkara bhāṣya)
Why a new sense: These concern the causal/effectual bondage of viśva, taijasa, prājña via sleep and dream, a distinct doctrinal cluster unrelated to the akāra-as-letter senses.
6 · The teaching that the duality of student, teacher, and scripture (and the whole prapañca) …proposedadded v2
The teaching that the duality of student, teacher, and scripture (and the whole prapañca) is a beginningless imagined distinction (kalpita-bheda), like a snake on a rope, ceasing once knowledge is accomplished.
advaita-vedānta (Śaṅkara bhāṣya)
Why a new sense: This passage treats the imagined vikalpa of teacher/student/scripture and its cessation, a topic distinct from any existing akāra sense.
mandukya.agamasastrabhasya:1.18
Commentary positions
Gauḍapāda: akāra 'leads' viśva (akāro nayate viśvam), forming the first member of the mātrā–pāda series ukāra→taijasa, makāra→prājña, beyond which (in the amātra) no movement is found. mandukya.karika:1.23
Attestation concordance — tier 2, every locus
Append-only. Grows by locus as texts arrive; stays one collapsed table so the senses remain the reading surface.
All 24 attestations ▾
Locus
Witness
Tradition
Stratum
Snippet
mandukya.karika:1.11
Gauḍapāda (kārikā)
advaita-vedānta
karika
kāryakāraṇabaddhau tāv iṣyete viśvataijasau / prājñaḥ kāraṇabaddhas tu dvau tau turye na sidhyataḥ
v1Māṇḍūkya mūla + Gauḍapāda kārikā — +10 loci 3 sense(s) drafted from 10 loci.
v2Śaṅkara bhāṣya — +14 loci · 7 routed to existing · 3 new sense(s) proposed Loci that explicitly treat the sound 'a' as a mātrā of oṃkāra (8, 10, 11, 1.21) route to s1; those correlating akāra with vaiśvānara via āpti/ādimattva (9, 1.19) route to s2; the Gauḍapāda-style series akāra→viśva→taijasa→prājña with no gati in the amātra (1.23) routes to s3. The remaining loci are textually adjacent commentary on related Māṇḍūkya topics (states of the self, kāryakāraṇa bondage, imagined duality) that do not express any akāra-as-letter sense and so are grouped into three proposed senses. Several glosses were absent and inferred from snippets. (+39 bhāṣya loci beyond cap not routed)
Caveats
The corpus supplied is a single tradition (Māṇḍūkya mūla + Gauḍapāda's kārikās); no Śaṅkara commentary loci were supplied, so no position is attributed to Śaṅkara.
Mūla 9 presents the grounds of correlation disjunctively (āpteḥ ... ādimattvād vā); the attestation does not resolve which ground is primary, so both are reported.
Several Gauḍapāda loci in the set (2.17, 3.2, 3.6, 4.52, 1.11, 1.21) do not mention akāra and bear on it only by context of the broader ātman/oṃkāra discussion; they were not used to ground senses of the headword.
The word 'akāra' is not directly attested at kārikā 3.2 (which contains akārpaṇyam, an unrelated form); it must not be read as an occurrence of the headword.