◊ That the svars are the shining, pure phonemes is further confirmed by Brihadāranyaka Upanishad I.3.26 :-
tasya ha+etasya sāmnah suvarnam veda bhavati
ha+asya suvarnam tasya vai svar eva suvarnam
bhavati ha+asya suvarnam ya evam+etat+sāmnah
suvarnam veda .
He who knows that this Sāman, lyrical speech, is like gold obtains gold. For, indeed those svars, vowels or pure sounds are su + varna, also the word for gold. This is the Veda, or knowledge of the gold-nature of the Sāman.
Thus here the shruti equates svar, vowels or musical tones to su + varna, pure sound and hence derives suvarna, the word for ‘shining gold’ !
â, î, û (A¸ [ ¸ ]) – the pure vowels
◊ Now, â, î, û (A¸ [ ¸ ]) are the pure vowels. They are pronounced as follows :-
These three are spoken by just pushing the prāna or life-breath and the tongue is not moved but only positioned. The moment the tongue moves, as in speaking most of the other letters, the breath is reflected by it.