Om is the bow, the Ātman is the arrow, Brahman is the target. It must be penetrated by one who does not waver. Like the arrow, one should become one with That.

This is one of the most celebrated verses of the Upaniṣads, offering the powerful archer metaphor to describe meditative practice.

Praṇavo dhanuḥ — Om is the bow. The praṇava (Om) is the instrument, the tool, the means of propulsion. The bow transforms the archer’s potential energy into directed movement. Thus Om transforms scattered attention into penetrating concentration.

Śaro hy ātmā — the arrow is the Ātman, the individual Self. We are not the bow or the archer: we are the arrow itself. Practice launches us toward our true destination.

Brahma tal lakṣyam — Brahman is the target. It is not an external goal but our own ground. The arrow does not travel toward something foreign but toward its origin. The paradox: the seeker is what is sought.

Apramattena veddhavyam — it must be penetrated by one who does not waver. Apramatta is vigilant attention, without negligence, without distraction. Meditation requires this quality of sustained presence. A moment of distraction and the arrow veers off course.

Śaravat tanmayo bhavet — like the arrow, one should become one with That. This is the fruit: the arrow, upon reaching the target, does not bounce back nor remain separate. It becomes one with it. Tanmaya — made of That, identified with That. Realization is not observing Brahman but being Brahman.

This metaphor condenses the entire yogic practice: instrument (Om), projectile (self), destination (the Real), method (attention), result (union).