ओं क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर क्रतो स्मर कृतं स्मर ॥ १७ ॥
vāyur anilam amṛtam athedaṃ bhasmāntaṃ śarīram .
oṃ krato smara kṛtaṃ smara krato smara kṛtaṃ smara .. 17 ..
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Now that I am dying, may my life (Vāyu) abandoning the bodily adjunct assume the godly, in the immortal breath (amṛtam anilam) of the universal Self, the ‘connecting thread’ of all. pratipadyatām (“may reach”) is to be understood. The meaning, agreeably to the prayer for entrance, is “May this subtle body purified by meditation and karma advance”. atha=(and). idam=(this), śarīram=(body), hutam=(burnt) in fire. bhasmāntam i.e., may it end in ashes. Om—thus is addressed Brahman—as identical with what is known as Agni the essence of Truth—following the mode of meditating on Him through this symbol. krato i.e., O mind, so called because it desires. smara i.e., remember what has to be remembered, for the time for it is now come. Therefore remember what has till now been meditated upon. Remember also whatever karma you have done till now*—since boyhood. The repetition of the third pāda indicates earnestness.
vyāhṛti is literally ‘utterance’ and is the term used to denote the three sacred syllables bhūḥ, bhuvah, suvah. See Brh. Up. V, v, 3.
By another verse also, entrance is prayed for—