Sacred Books of the East/Volume 1/Khândogya-upanishad
KHÂNDOGYA-UPANISHAD.
FIRST PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda[1].
1. Let a man meditate on the syllable[2] Om, called the udgîtha; for the udgîtha (a portion of the Sâma-veda) is sung, beginning with Om.
The full account, however, of Om is this:—
2. The essence[3] of all beings is the earth, the essence of the earth is water, the essence of water the plants, the essence of plants man, the essence of man speech, the essence of speech the Rig-veda, the essence of the Rig-veda the Sâma-veda[4], the essence of the Sâma-veda the udgîtha (which is Om).
3. That udgîtha (Om) is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place[5], the eighth.
4. What then is the Rik? What is the Sâman? What is the udgîtha? This is the question.
5. The Rik indeed is speech, Sâman is breath, the udgîtha is the syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Rik and Sâman, form one couple.
6. And that couple is joined together in the syllable Om. When two people come together, they fulfil each other's desire.
7. Thus he who knowing this, meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgîtha, becomes indeed a fulfiller of desires.
8. That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgîtha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires.
9. By that syllable does the threefold knowledge (the sacrifice, more particularly the Soma-sacrifice, as founded on the three Vedas) proceed. When the Adhvaryu priest gives an order, he says Om. When the Hotri priest recites, he says Om. When the Udgâtri priest sings, he says Om, —all for the glory of that syllable. The threefold knowledge (the sacrifice) proceeds by the greatness of that syllable (the vital breaths), and by its essence (the oblations)[6].
10. Now therefore it would seem to follow, that both he who knows this (the true meaning of the syllable Om), and he who does not, perform the same sacrifice[7]. But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith, and the Upanishad[8] is more powerful. This is the full account of the syllable Om.
Second Khanda[9].
1. Whent he Devas and Asuras[10] struggled together, both of the race of Pragâpati, the Devas took the udgîtha[11] (Om), thinking they would vanquish the Asuras with it.
2. They meditated on the udgîtha[11] (Om) as the breath (scent) in the nose[12], but the Asuras pierced it (the breath) with evil. Therefore we smell by the breath in the nose both what is good-smelling and what is bad-smelling. For the breath was pierced by evil.
3. Then they meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as speech, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we speak both truth and falsehood. For speech is pierced by evil.
4. Then they meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as the eye, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we see both what is sightly and unsightly. For the eye is pierced by evil.
5. Then they meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as the ear, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we hear both what should be heard and what should not be heard. For the ear is pierced by evil.
6. Then they meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as the mind, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we conceive both what should be conceived and what should not be conceived. For the mind is pierced by evil.
7. Then comes this breath (of life) in the mouth[13]. They meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as that breath. When the Asuras came to it, they were scattered, as (a ball of earth) would be scattered when hitting a solid stone.
8. Thus, as a ball of earth is scattered when hitting on a solid stone, will he be scattered who wishes evil to one who knows this, or who persecutes him; for he is a solid stone.
9. By it (the breath in the mouth) he distinguishes neither what is good nor what is bad-smelling, for that breath is free from evil. What we eat and drink with it supports the other vital breaths (i. e. the senses, such as smell, &c.) When at the time of death he[14] does not find that breath (in the mouth, through which he eats and drinks and lives), then he departs. He opens the mouth at the time of death (as if wishing to eat).
10. Angiras[15] meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as that breath, and people hold it to be Angiras, i. e. the essence of the members (angânâm rasah);
11. Therefore Brihaspati meditated on udgîtha (Om) as that breath, and people hold it to be Brihaspati, for speech is brihatî, and he (that breath) is the lord (pati) of speech;
12. Therefore Ayâsya meditated on the udgîtha (Om) as that breath, and people hold it to be Ayâsya, because it comes (ayati) from the mouth (âsya);
13. Therefore Vaka Dâlbhya knew it. He was the Udgâtri (singer) of the Naimishîya-sacrificers, and by singing he obtained for them their wishes.
14. He who knows this, and meditates on the syllable Om (the imperishable udgîtha) as the breath of life in the mouth, he obtains all wishes by singing. So much for the udgîtha (Om) as meditated on with reference to the body[16].
Third Khanda.
1. Now follows the meditation on the udgîtha with reference to the gods. Let a man meditate on the udgîtha (Om) as he who sends warmth (the sun in the sky). When the sun rises it sings as Udgâtri for the sake of all creatures. When it rises it destroys the fear of darkness. He who knows this, is able to destroy the fear of darkness (ignorance).
2. This (the breath in the mouth) and that (the sun) are the same. This is hot and that is hot. This they call svara (sound), and that they call pratyâsvara[17] (reflected sound). Therefore let a man meditate on the udgîtha (Om) as this and that (as breath and as sun).
3. Then let a man meditate on the udgîtha (Om) as vyâna indeed. If we breathe up, that is prâna, the up-breathing. If we breathe down, that is apâna, the down-breathing. The combination of prâna and apâna is vyâna, back-breathing or holding in of the breath. This vyâna is speech. Therefore when we utter speech, we neither breathe up nor down.
4. Speech is Rik, and therefore when a man utters a Rik verse he neither breathes up nor down.Rik is Sâman, and therefore when a man utters a Sâman verse he neither breathes up nor down.
Sâman is udgîtha, and therefore when a man sings (the udgîtha, Om) he neither breathes up nor down.
5. And other works also which require strength, such as the production of fire by rubbing, running a race, stringing a strong bow, are performed without breathing up or down. Therefore let a man meditate on the udgîtha (Om) as vyâna.
6. Let a man meditate on the syllables of the udgîtha, i. e. of the word udgîtha. Ut is breath (prâna), for by means of breath a man rises (uttishthati). Gî is speech, for speeches are called girah. Tha is food, for by means of food all subsists (sthita).
7. Ut is heaven, gî the sky, tha the earth. Ut is the sun, gî the air, tha the fire. Ut is the Sâma-veda, gî the Yagur-veda, tha the Rig-veda[18]. Speech yields the milk, which is the milk of speech itself[19], to him who thus knowing meditates on those syllables of the name of udgîtha, he becomes rich in food and able to eat food.
8. Next follows the fulfilment of prayers. Let a man thus meditate on the Upasaranas, i. e. the objects which have to be approached by meditation: Let him (the Udgâtri) quickly reflect on the Sâman with which he is going to praise;
9. Let him quickly reflect on the Rik in which that Sâman occurs; on the Rishi (poet) by whom it was seen or composed; on the Devatâ (object) which he is going to praise;
10. On the metre in which he is going to praise; on the tune with which he is going to sing for himself;
11. On the quarter of the world which he is going to praise. Lastly, having approached himself (his name, family, &c.) by meditation, let him sing the hymn of praise, reflecting on his desire, and avoiding all mistakes in pronunciation, &c. Quickly[20] will the desire be then fulfilled to him, for the sake of which he may have offered his hymn of praise, yea, for which he may have offered his hymn of praise[21].
Fourth Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the syllable Om, for the udgîtha is sung beginning with Om. And this is the full account of the syllable Om:—
2. The Devas, being afraid of death, entered upon (the performance of the sacrifice prescribed in) the threefold knowledge (the three Vedas). They covered themselves with the metrical hymns. Because they covered (khad) themselves with the hymns, therefore the hymns are called khandas.
3. Then, as a fisherman might observe a fish in the water, Death observed the Devas in the Rik, Yagus, and Sâman-(sacrifices). And the Devas seeing this, rose from the Rik, Yagus, and Sâman-sacrifices, and entered the Svara[22], i.e. the Om (they meditated on the Om). 4. When a man has mastered the Rig-veda, he says quite loud Om; the same, when he has mastered the Sâman and the Yagus. This Svara is the imperishable (syllable), the immortal, free from fear. Because the Devas entered it, therefore they became immortal, and free from fear.
5. He who knowing this loudly pronounces (pranauti)[23] that syllable, enters the same (imperishable) syllable, the Svara, the immortal, free from fear, and having entered it, becomes immortal, as the Devas are immortal.
Fifth Khanda.
1. The udgîtha is the pranava[24], the pranava is the udgîtha. And as the udgîtha is the sun[25], so is the pranava, for he (the sun) goes sounding Om.
2. 'Him I sang praises to, therefore art thou my only one,' thus said Kaushîtaki to his son. 'Do thou revolve his rays, then thou wilt have many sons.' So much in reference to the Devas.
3. Now with reference to the body. Let a man meditate on the udgîtha as the breath (in the mouth), for he goes sounding Om[26].
4. 'Him I sang praises to, therefore art thou my only son,' thus said Kaushîtaki to his son. 'Do thou therefore sing praises to the breath as manifold, if thou wishest to have many sons.'
5. He who knows that the udgîtha is the pranava, and the pranava the udgîtha, rectifies from the seat of the Hotri priest any mistake committed by the Udgâtri priest in performing the udgîtha, yea, in performing the udgîtha.
Sixth Khanda.
1. The Rik (veda) is this earth, the Sâman (veda) is fire. This Sâman (fire) rests on that Rik (earth)[27]. Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is this earth, ama is fire, and that makes Sâma.
2. The Rik is the sky, the Sâman air. This Sâman (air) rests on that Rik (sky). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is the sky, ama the air, and that makes Sâma.
3. Rik is heaven, Sâman the sun. This Sâman (sun) rests on that Rik (heaven). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is heaven, ama the sun, and that makes Sâma.
4. Rik is the stars, Sâman the moon. This Sâman (moon) rests on that Rik (stars). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is the stars, ama the moon, and that makes Sâma.
5. Rik is the white light of the sun, Sâman the blue exceeding darkness [28] (in the sun). This Sâman (darkness) rests on that Rik (brightness). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik.
6. Sâ is the white light of the sun, ama the blue exceeding darkness, and that makes Sâma.
Now that golden[29] person, who is seen within the sun, with golden beard and golden hair, golden altogether to the very tips of his nails,
7. Whose eyes are like blue lotus's[30], his name is ut, for he has risen (udita) above all evil. He also who knows this, rises above all evil.
8. Rik and Sâman are his joints, and therefore he is udgîtha. And therefore he who praises him (the ut) is called the Ud-gâtri[31] (the out-singer). He (the golden person, called ut) is lord of the worlds beyond that (sun), and of all the wishes of the Devas (inhabiting those worlds). So much with reference to the Devas.
Seventh Khanda.
1. Now with reference to the body. Rik is speech, Sâman breath[32]. This Sâman (breath) rests on that Rik (speech). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is speech, ama is breath, and that makes Sâma.
2. Rik is the eye, Sâman the self[33]. This Sâman (shadow) rests on that Rik (eye). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is the eye, ama the self, and that makes Sâma.
3. Rik is the ear, Sâman the mind. This Sâman (mind) rests on that Rik (ear). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is the ear, ama the mind, and that makes Sâma.
4. Rik is the white light of the eye, Sâman the blue exceeding darkness. This Sâman (darkness) rests on the Rik (brightness). Therefore the Sâman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sâ is the white light of the eye, ama the blue exceeding darkness, and that makes Sâma.
5. Now the person who is seen in the eye, he is Rik, he is Sâman, Uktha[34], Yagus, Brahman. The form of that person (in the eye) is the same[35] as the form of the other person (in the sun), the joints of the one (Rik and Sâman) are the joints of the other, the name of the one (ut) is the name of the other.
6. He is lord of the worlds beneath that (the self in the eye), and of all the wishes of men. Therefore all who sing to the vînâ (lyre), sing him, and from him also they obtain wealth.
7. He who knowing this sings a Sâman, sings to both (the adhidaivata and adhyâtma self, the person in the sun and the person in the eye, as one and the same person). He obtains through the one, yea, he obtains the worlds beyond that, and the wishes of the Devas;
8. And he obtains through the other the worlds beneath that, and the wishes of men.
Therefore an Udgâtri priest who knows this, may say (to the sacrificer for whom he officiates);
9. "What wish shall I obtain for you by my songs?" For he who knowing this sings a Sâman is able to obtain wishes through his song, yea, through his song.
Eighth Khanda.
1. There were once three men, well-versed in udgîtha[36], Silaka Sâlâvatya, Kaikitâyana Dâlbhya, and Pravâhana Gaivali. They said: 'We are well-versed in udgîtha. Let us have a discussion on udgîtha.'
2. They all agreed and sat down. Then Pravâhana Gaivali[37] said: 'Sirs, do you both speak first, for I wish to hear what two Brâhmanas[38] have to say.'
3. Then Silaka Sâlâvatya said to Kaikitâyana Dâlbhya: 'Let me ask you.'
'Ask,' he replied.
4. 'What is the origin of the Sâman?' 'Tone (svara),' he replied.
'What is the origin of tone?' 'Breath,' he replied.
'What is the origin of breath?' 'Food,' he replied.
'What is the origin of food?' 'Water,' he replied.
5. 'What is the origin of water?' 'That world (heaven),' he replied.
'And what is the origin of that world?'—
He replied: 'Let no man carry the Sâman beyond the world of svarga (heaven). We place (recognise) the Sâman in the world of svarga, for the Sâman is extolled as svarga (heaven).'
6. Then said Silaka Sâlâvatya to Kaikitâyana Dâlbhya: 'O Dâlbhya, thy Sâman is not firmly established. And if any one were to say, Your head shall fall off (if you be wrong), surely your head would now fall.'
7. 'Well then, let me know this from you, Sir,' said Dâlbhya.
'Know it,' replied Silaka Sâlâvatya.
'What is the origin of that world (heaven)?' 'This world,' he replied.
'And what is the origin of this world?'—
He replied: 'Let no man carry the Sâman beyond this world as its rest. We place the Sâman in this world as its rest, for the Sâman is extolled as rest.'
8. Then said Pravâhana Gaivali to Silaka Sâlâvatya: 'Your Sâman (the earth), O Sâlâvatya, has an end. And if any one were to say, Your head shall fall off (if you be wrong), surely your head would now fall.'
'Well then, let me know this from you, Sir,' said Sâlâvatya.
'Know it,' replied Gaivali.
Ninth Khanda.
1. 'What is the origin of this world?' 'Ether[39],' he replied. For all these beings take their rise from the ether, and return into the ether. Ether is older than these, ether is their rest.
2. He is indeed the udîttha (Om=Brahman), greater than great (parovarîyas), he is without end. He who knowing this meditates on the udgîtha, the greater than great, obtains what is greater than great, he conquers the worlds which are greater than great.
3. Atidhanvan Saunaka, having taught this udgîtha to Udara-sândilya, said: 'As long as they will know in your family this udgîtha, their life in this world will be greater than great.
4. 'And thus also will be their state in the other world.' He who thus knows the udgîtha, and meditates on it thus, his life in this world will be greater than great, and also his state in the other world, yea, in the other world.
Tenth Khanda.
1. When the Kurus had been destroyed by (hail) stones[40], Ushasti Kâkrâyana lived as a beggar with his virgin[41] wife at Ibhyagrâma.
2. Seeing a chief eating beans, he begged of him. The chief said: 'I have no more, except those which are put away for me here.'
3. Ushasti said: 'Give me to eat of them.' He gave him the beans, and said: 'There is something to drink also.' Then said Ushasti: 'If I drank of it, I should have drunk what was left by another, and is therefore unclean.'
4. The chief said: 'Were not those beans also left over and therefore unclean?'
'No,' he replied; 'for I should not have lived, if I had not eaten them, but the drinking of water would be mere pleasure[42].'
5. Having eaten himself, Ushasti gave the remaining beans to his wife. But she, having eaten before, took them and put them away.
6. Rising the next morning, Ushasti said to her: 'Alas, if we could only get some food, we might gain a little wealth. The king here is going to offer a sacrifice, he should choose me for all the priestly offices.'
7. His wife said to him: 'Look, here are those beans of yours.' Having eaten them, he went to the sacrifice which was being performed.
8. He went and sat down on the orchestra near the Udgâtris, who were going to sing their hymns of praise. And he said to the Prastotri (the leader):
9. 'Prastotri, if you, without knowing[43] the deity which belongs to the prastâva (the hymns &c. of the Prastotri), are going to sing it, your head will fall off.'
10. In the same manner he addressed the Udgâtri; 'Udgâtri, if you, without knowing the deity which belongs to the udgtîha (the hymns of the Udgâtri), are going to sing it, your head will fall off.'
11. In the same manner he addressed the Pratihartri; 'Pratihartri, if you, without knowing the deity which belongs to the pratihâra (the hymns of the Pratihartri), are going to sing it, your head will fall off.'
They stopped, and sat down in silence.
Eleventh Khanda.
1. Then the sacrificer said to him: 'I should like to know who you are, Sir.' He replied: 'I am Ushasti Kâkrâyana.'
2. He said: 'I looked for you, Sir, for all these sacrificial offices, but not finding you[44], I chose others.'
3. 'But now, Sir, take all the sacrificial offices.'
Ushasti said: "Very well; but let those, with my permission, perform the hymns of praise. Only as much wealth as you give to them, so much give to me also.'
The sacrificer assented.
4. Then the Prastotri approached him, saying: 'Sir, you said to me, "Prastotri, if you, without knowing the deity which belongs to the prastâva, are going to sing it, your head will fall off,"—which then is that deity?'
5. He said: 'Breath (prâna). For all these beings merge into breath alone, and from breath they arise. This is the deity belonging to the prastâva. If, without knowing that deity, you had sung forth your hymns, your head would have fallen off, after you had been warned by me.'
6. Then the Udgâtri approached him, saying: 'Sir, you said to me, "Udgâtri, if you, without knowing the deity which belongs to the udgîtha, are going to sing it, your head will fall off,"—which then is that deity?'
7. He said: 'The sun (âditya). For all these beings praise the sun when it stands on high. This is the deity belonging to the udgîtha. If without knowing that deity, you had sung out your hymns, your head would have fallen off, after you had been warned by me.'
8. Then the Pratihartri approached him, saying: 'Sir, you said to me, "Pratihartri, if you, without knowing the deity belonging to the pratihâra, are going to sing it, your head will fall off,"—which then is that deity?'
9. He said: 'Food (anna). For all these beings live when they partake of food. This is the deity belonging to the pratihâra. If, without knowing that deity, you had sung your hymns, your head would have fallen off, after you had been warned by me[45].'
Twelfth Khanda.
1. Now follows the udgîtha of the dogs. Vaka Dâlbhya, or, as he was also called, Glâva Maitreya, went out to repeat the Veda (in a quiet place).
2. A white (dog) appeared before him, and other dogs gathering round him, said to him: 'Sir, sing and get us food, we are hungry.'
3. The white dog said to them: 'Come to me to-morrow morning.' Vaka Dâlbhya, or, as he was also called, Glâva Maitreya, watched.
4. The dogs came on, holding together, each dog keeping the tail of the preceding dog in his mouth, as the priests do when they are going to sing praises with the Vahishpavamâna hymn[46]. After they had settled down, they began to say Hin.
5. 'Om, let us eat! Om, let us drink! Om, may the divine Varuna, Pragâpati, Savitri[47] bring us food! Lord of food, bring hither food, bring it, Om!'
Thirteenth Khanda[48].
1. The syllable Hâu[49] is this world (the earth), the syllable Hâi[50] the air, the syllable Atha the moon, the syllable Iha the self, the syllable Î[51] is Agni, fire.
2. The syllable Û is the sun, the syllable E is the Nihava or invocation, the syllable Auhoi[52] is the Visve Devas, the syllable Hin is Pragâpati, Svara[53] (tone) is breath (prâna), the syllable Yâ is food, the syllable Vâg[54] is Virâg.
3. The thirteenth stobha syllable, viz. the indistinct syllable Hun, is the Undefinable (the Highest Brahman).
4. Speech yields the milk, which is the milk of speech itself to him who knows this Upanishad (secret doctrine) of the Sâmans in this wise. He becomes rich in food, and able to eat food[55],—yea, able to eat food.
SECOND PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda.
1. Meditation on the whole[56] of the Sâman is good, and people, when anything is good, say it is Sâman; when it is not good, it is not Sâman.
2. Thus they also say, he approached him with Sâman, i.e. becomingly; and he approached him without Sâman, i. e. unbecomingly.
3. And they also say, truly this is Sâman for us, i.e. it is good for us, when it is good; and truly that is not Sâman for us, i. e. it is not good for us, when it is not good.
4. If any one knowing this meditates on the Sâman as good, depend upon it all good qualities will approach quickly, aye, they will become his own[57].
Second Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Sâman[58] as the five worlds. The hinkâra is the earth, the prastâva the fire, the udgîtha the sky, the pratihâra the sun, the nidhana heaven; so in an ascending line.
2. In a descending line, the hinkâra is heaven, the prastâva the sun, the udgîtha the sky, the pratihâra the fire, the nidhana the earth.
3. The worlds in an ascending and in a descending line belong to him who knowing this meditates on the fivefold Sâman as the worlds[59].
Third Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Sâman as rain. The hinkâra is wind (that brings the rain); the prastâva is, 'the cloud is come'" the udgîtha is, 'it rains;' the pratihâra, 'it flashes, it thunders;'
2. The nidhana is, 'it stops.' There is rain for him, and he brings rain for others who thus knowing meditates on the fivefold Sâman as rain.
Fourth Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Sâman in all waters. When the clouds gather, that is the hinkâra; when it rains, that is the prastâva; that which flows in the east[60], that is the udgîtha; that which flows in the west[61], that is the pratihâra; the sea is the nidhana.
2. He does not die in water[62], nay, he is rich in water who knowing this meditates on the fivefold Sâman as all waters.
Fifth Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Sâman as the seasons. The hinkâra is spring, the prastâva summer (harvest of yava, &c), the udgîtha the rainy season, the pratihâra autumn, the nidhana winter.
2. The seasons belong to him, nay, he is always in season (successful) who knowing this meditates on the fivefold Sâman as the seasons.
Sixth Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Sâman in animals. The hinkâra is goats, the prastâva sheep, the udgîtha cows, the pratihâra horses, the nidhana man.
2. Animals belong to him, nay, he is rich in animals who knowing this meditates on the fivefold Sâman as animals.
Seventh Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Sâman, which is greater than great, as the prânas (senses). The hinkâra is smell[63] (nose), the prastâva speech (tongue), the udgîtha sight (eye), the pratihâra hearing (ear), the nidhana mind. These are one greater than the other.
2. What is greater than great belongs to him, nay, he conquers the worlds which are greater than great, who knowing this meditates on the fivefold Sâman, which is greater than great, as the prânas (senses).
Eighth Khanda.
1. Next for the sevenfold Sâman. Let a man meditate on the sevenfold Sâman in speech. Whenever there is in speech the syllable hun[64] that is hinkâra, pra is the prastâva, â is the âdi, the first, i. e. Om,
2. Ud is the udgîtha, pra the pratihâra, upa the upadrava, ni the nidhana.
3. Speech yields the milk, which is the milk of speech itself, to him who knowing this meditates on the sevenfold Sâman in speech. He becomes rich in food, and able to eat food.
Ninth Khanda.
1. Let a man meditate on the sevenfold Sâman as the sun. The sun is Sâman, because he is always the same (sama); he is Sâman because he is the same, everybody thinking he looks towards me, he looks towards me[65].
2. Let him know that all beings are dependent on him (the sun). What he is before his rising, that is the hinkâra. On it animals are dependent. Therefore animals say hin (before sunrise), for they share the hinkâra of that Sâman (the sun).
3. What he is when first risen, that is the prastâva. On it men are dependent. Therefore men love praise (prastuti) and celebrity, for they share the prastâva of that Sâman.4. What he is at the time of the sangava[66], that is the âdi, the first, the Om. On it birds are dependent. Therefore birds fly about in the sky without support, holding themselves, for they share the âdi[67] (the Om) of that Sâman.
5. What he is just at noon, that is the udgîtha. On it the Devas are dependent (because they are brilliant). Therefore they are the best of all the descendants of Pragâpati, for they share the udgîtha of that Sâman.
6. What he is after midday and before afternoon, that is the pratihâra. On it all germs are dependent. Therefore these, having been conceived (pratihrita), do not fall, for they share the pratihâra of that Sâman.
7. What he is after the afternoon and before sunset, that is the upadrava. On it the animals of the forest are dependent. Therefore, when they see a man, they run (upadravanti) to the forest as a safe hiding-place, for they share the upadrava of that Sâman.
8. What he is when he first sets, that is the nidhana. On it the fathers are dependent Therefore they put them[68] down (nidadhati), for they share the nidhana of that Sâman. Thus a man meditates on the sevenfold Sâman as the sun.
Tenth Khanda.
1. Next let a man meditate on the sevenfold Sâman which is uniform in itself[69] and leads beyond death. The word hinkâra has three syllables, the word prastâva has three syllables: that is equal (sama).
2. The word âdi (first, Om) has two syllables, the word pratihâra has four syllables. Taking one syllable from that over, that is equal (sama).
3. The word udgîtha has three syllables, the word upadrava has four syllables. With three and three syllables it should be equal. One syllable being left over, it becomes trisyllabic. Hence it is equal.
4. The word nidhana has three syllables, therefore it is equal. These make twenty-two syllables.
5. With twenty-one syllables a man reaches the sun (and death), for the sun is the twenty-first[70] from here; with the twenty-second he conquers what is beyond the sun: that is blessedness, that is freedom from grief.
6. He obtains here the victory over the sun (death), and there is a higher victory than the victory over the sun for him, who knowing this meditates on the sevenfold Sâman as uniform in itself, which leads beyond death, yea, which leads beyond death.
Elventh Khanda[71].
1. The hinkâra is mind, the prastâva speech, the udgîtha sight, the pratihâra hearing, the nidhana
breath. That is the Gâyatra Sâman, as interwoven in the (five) prânas[72].
2. He who thus knows this Gâyatra interwoven in the prânas, keeps his senses, reaches the full life, he lives long[73], becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. The rule of him who thus meditates on the Gâyatra is, "Be not high-minded."
Twelfth Khanda.
1. The hinkâra is, he rubs (the fire-stick); the prastâva, smoke rises; the udgîtha, it burns; the pratihâra, there are glowing coals; the nidhana, it goes down; the nidhana, it is gone out. This is the Rathantara Sâman as interwoven in fire[74].
2. He who thus knows this Rathantara interwoven in fire, becomes radiant[75] and strong. He reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. The rule is, 'Do not rinse the mouth or spit before the fire.'
Thirteenth Khanda.
1, 2. Next follows the Vâmadevya as interwoven in generation[76].
Fourteenth Khanda.
1. Rising, the sun is the hinkâra, risen, he is the prastâva, at noon he is the udgîtha, in the afternoon he is the pratihâra, setting, he is the nidhana. That is the Brihat Sâman as interwoven in the sun[77].
2. He who thus knows the Brihat as interwoven in the sun, becomes refulgent[78] and strong, he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Never complain of the heat of the sun.'
Fifteenth Khanda.
1. The mists gather, that is the hinkâra; the cloud has risen, that is the prastâva; it rains, that is the udgîtha; it flashes and thunders, that is the pratihâra; it stops, that is the nidhana. That is the Vairûpa Sâman, as interwoven in Parganya, the god of rain.
2. He who thus knows the Vairûpa as interwoven in Parganya, obtains all kinds of cattle (virûpa), he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Never complain of the rain.'
Sixteenth Khanda
1. The hinkâra is spring, the prastâva summer, the udgîtha the rainy season, the pratihâra autumn, the nidhana winter. That is the Vairâga Sâman, as interwoven in the seasons.
2. He who thus knows the Vairâga, as interwoven in the seasons, shines (virâgati) through children, cattle, and glory of countenance. He reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Never complain of the seasons.'
Seventeenth Khanda.
1. The hinkâra is the earth, the prastâva the sky, the udgîtha heaven, the pratihâra the regions, the nidhana the sea. These are the Sakvari Sâmans, as interwoven in the worlds[79].
2. He who thus knows the Sakvaris, as interwoven in the worlds, becomes possessed, of the worlds, he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Never complain of the worlds.'
Eighteenth Khanda.
1. The hinkâra is goats, the prastâva sheep, the udgîtha cows, the pratihâra horses, the nidhana man. These are the Revati Sâmans, as interwoven in animals.
2. He who thus knows these Revatis, as interwoven in animals, becomes rich in animals[80], he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Never complain of animals.'
Nineteenth Khanda.
1. The hinkâra is hair, the prastâva skin, the udgîtha flesh, the pratihâra bone, the nidhana marrow. That is the Yagñâyagñîya Sâman, as interwoven in the members of the body.
2. He who thus knows the Yagñâyagñîya, as interwoven in the members of the body, becomes possessed of strong limbs, he is not crippled in any limb, he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Do not eat marrow for a year,' or 'Do not eat marrow at all.'
Twentieth Khanda.
1. The hinkâra is fire, the prastâva air, the udgîtha the sun, the pratihâra the stars, the nidhana the moon. That is the Râgana Sâman, as interwoven in the deities.
2. He who thus knows the Râgana, as interwoven in the deities, obtains the same world, the same happiness, the same company as the gods, he reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with children and cattle, great by fame. His rule is, 'Do not speak evil of the Brâhmanas.'
Twenty-first Khanda.
1. The hinkâra is the threefold knowledge, the prastâva these three worlds, the udgîtha Agni (fire), Vâyu (air), and Âditya (sun), the pratihâra the stars, the birds, and the rays, the nidhana the serpents, Gandharvas, and fathers. That is the Sâman, as interwoven in everything.
2. He who thus knows this Sâman, as interwoven in everything, he becomes everything.3. And thus it is said in the following verse: 'There are the fivefold three (the three kinds of sacrificial knowledge, the three worlds &c. in their fivefold form, i.e. as identified with the hinkâra, the prastâva, &c), and the other forms of the Sâman. Greater than these there is nothing else besides.'
4. He who knows this, knows everything. All regions offer him gifts. His rule is, 'Let him meditate (on the Sâman), knowing that he is everything, yea, that he is everything[81].'
Twenty-second Khanda[82].
1. The udgîtha, of which a poet said, I choose the deep sounding note of the Sâman as good for cattle, belongs to Agni; the indefinite note belongs to Pragâpati, the definite note to Soma, the soft and smooth note to Vâyu, the smooth and strong note to Indra, the heron-like note to Brihaspati, the dull note to Varuna. Let a man cultivate all of these, avoiding, however, that of Varuna.
2. Let a man sing[83], wishing to obtain by his song immortality for the Devas. 'May I obtain by my song oblations (svadhâ) for the fathers, hope for men, fodder and water for animals, heaven for the sacrificer, food for myself,' thus reflecting on these in his mind, let a man (Udgâtri priest) sing praises, without making mistakes in pronunciation, &c.3. All vowels (svara) belong to Indra, all sibilants (ûshman) to Pragâpati, all consonants (sparsa) to Mrityu (death). If somebody should reprove him for his vowels, let him say, 'I went to Indra as my refuge (when pronouncing my vowels): he will answer thee.'
4. And if somebody should reprove him for his sibilants, let him say, 'I went to Pragâpati as my refuge: he will smash thee.' And if somebody should reprove him for his consonants, let him say, 'I went to Mrityu as my refuge: he will reduce thee to ashes.'
5. All vowels are to be pronounced with voice (ghosha) and strength (bala), so that the Udgâtri may give strength to Indra. All sibilants are to be pronounced, neither as if swallowed (agrasta)[84], nor as if thrown out (nirasta)[85], but well opened[86] (vivrita), so that the Udgâtri may give himself to Pragâpati. All consonants are to be pronounced slowly, and without crowding them together[87], so that the Udgâtri may withdraw himself from Mrityu.
Twenty-third Khanda.
1. There are three branches of the law. Sacrifice, study, and charity are the first[88],
2. Austerity the second, and to dwell as a Brahmakârin in the house of a tutor, always mortifying the body in the house of a tutor, is the third. All these obtain the worlds of the blessed; but the Brahmasamstha alone (he who is firmly grounded in Brahman) obtains immortality.
3. Pragâpati brooded on the worlds. From them, thus brooded on, the threefold knowledge (sacrifice) issued forth. He brooded on it, and from it, thus brooded on, issued the three syllables, Bhûh, Bhuvah, Svah.
4. He brooded on them, and from them, thus brooded on, issued the Om. As all leaves are attached to a stalk, so is all speech (all words) attached to the Om (Brahman). Om is all this, yea, Om is all this.
Twenty-fourth Khanda.
1. The teachers of Brahman (Veda) declare, as the Prâtah-savana (morning-oblation) belongs to the Vasus, the Mâdhyandina-savana (noon-libation) to the Rudras, the third Savana (evening-libation) to the Âdityas and the Visve Devas,
2. Where then is the world of the sacrificer? He who does not know this, how can he perform the sacrifice? He only who knows, should perform it[89].
3. Before the beginning of the Prâtaranuvâka (matin-chant), the sacrificer, sitting down behind the household altar (gârhapatya), and looking towards the north, sings the Sâman, addressed to the Vasus:
4. 'Open the door of the world (the earth), let us see thee, that we may rule (on earth).'
5. Then he sacrifices, saying: 'Adoration to Agni, who dwells on the earth, who dwells in the world! Obtain that world for me, the sacrificer! That is the world for the sacrificer!'
6. 'I (the sacrificer) shall go thither, when this life is over. Take this! (he says, in offering the libation.) Cast back the bolt!' Having said this, he rises. For him the Vasus fulfil the morning-oblation.
7. Before the beginning of the Mâdhyandinasavana, the noon-oblation, the sacrificer, sitting down behind the Âgnidhrîya altar, and looking towards the north, sings the Sâman, addressed to the Rudras:
8. 'Open the door of the world (the sky), let us see thee, that we may rule wide (in the sky).'
9. Then he sacrifices, saying: 'Adoration to Vâyu (air), who dwells in the sky, who dwells in the world. Obtain that world for me, the sacrificer! That is the world Tor the sacrificer!'
10. 'I (the sacrificer) shall go thither, when this life is over. Take this! Cast back the bolt!' Having said this, he rises. For him the Rudras fulfil the noon-oblation.
11. Before the beginning of the third oblation, the sacrificer, sitting down behind the Âhavanîya altar, and looking towards the north, sings the Sâman, addressed to the Âdityas and Visve Devas:
12. 'Open the door of the world (the heaven), let us see thee, that we may rule supreme (in heaven).' This is addressed to the Âdityas.
13. Next the Sâman addressed to the Visve Devas: 'Open the door of the world (heaven), let us see thee, that we may rule supreme (in heaven).'
14. Then he sacrifices, saying: 'Adoration to the Âdityas and to the Visve Devas, who dwell in heaven, who dwell in the world. Obtain that world for me, the sacrificer!'
15. 'That is the world for the sacrificer! I (the sacrificer) shall go thither, when this life is over. Take this! Cast back the bolt!' Having said this, he rises.
16. For him the Âdityas and the Visve Devas fulfil the third oblation. He who knows this, knows the full measure of the sacrifice, yea, he knows it.
THIRD PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda[90].
1. The sun is indeed the honey[91] of the Devas. The heaven is the cross-beam (from which) the sky (hangs as) a hive, and the bright vapours are the eggs of the bees[92].
2. The eastern rays of the sun are the honey-cells in front. The Rik verses are the bees, the Rig-veda (sacrifice) is the flower, the water (of the sacrificial libations) is the nectar (of the flower).
3. Those very Rik verses then (as bees) brooded over the Rig-veda sacrifice (the flower); and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, and health[93].
4. That (essence) flowed forth and went towards the sun[94]. And that forms what we call the red (rohita) light of the rising sun.
Second Khanda.
1. The southern rays of the sun are the honey-cells on the right. The Yagus verses are the bees, the Yagur-veda sacrifice is the flower, the water (of the sacrificial libations) is the nectar (of the flower).
2. Those very Yagus verses (as bees) brooded over the Yagur-veda sacrifice (the flower); and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, and health.
3. That flowed forth and went towards the sun. And that forms what we call the white (sukla) light of the sun.
Third Khanda.
1. The western rays of the sun are the honey-cells behind. The Sâman verses are the bees, the Sâma-veda sacrifice is the flower, the water is the nectar.
2. Those very Sâman verses (as bees) brooded over the Sâma-veda sacrifice; and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, and health.
3. That flowed forth and went towards the sun. And that forms what we call the dark (krishna) light of the sun.
Fourth Khanda.
2. Those very hymns of the Atharvângiras (as bees) brooded over the Itihâsa-purâna; and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, and health.
3. That flowed forth, and went towards the sun. And that forms what we call the extreme dark (parah krishnam) light of the sun.
Fifth Khanda.
1. The upward rays of the sun are the honey-cells above. The secret doctrines are the bees, Brahman (the Om) is the flower, the water is the nectar.
2. Those secret doctrines (as bees) brooded over Brahman (the Om); and from it, thus brooded on, sprang as its (nectar) essence, fame, glory of countenance, brightness, vigour, strength, and health.
3. That flowed forth, and went towards the sun. And that forms what seems to stir in the centre of the sun.
4. These (the different colours in the sun) are the essences of the essences. For the Vedas are essences (the best things in the world); and of them (after they have assumed the form of sacrifice) these (the colours rising to the sun) are again the essences. They are the nectar of the nectar. For the Vedas are nectar (immortal), and of them these are the nectar.
Sixth Khanda.
1. On the first of these nectars (the red light, which represents fame, glory of countenance, vigour, strength, health) the Vasus live, with Agni at their head. True, the Devas do not eat or drink, but they enjoy by seeing the nectar.
2. They enter into that (red) colour, and they rise from that colour[96].
3. He who thus knows this nectar, becomes one of the Vasus, with Agni at their head, he sees the nectar and rejoices. And he, too, having entered that colour, rises again from that colour.
4. So long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west[97], so long does he follow the sovereign supremacy of the Vasus.
Seventh Khanda.
1. On the second of these nectars the Rudras live, with Indra at their head. True, the Devas do not eat or drink, but they enjoy by seeing the nectar.
2. They enter into that white colour, and they rise from that colour.
3. He who thus knows this nectar, becomes one of the Rudras, with Indra at their head, he sees the nectar and rejoices. And he, having entered that colour, rises again from that colour.
4. So long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, twice as long does it rise in the south and set in the north; and so long does he follow the sovereign supremacy of the Rudras.
Eighth Khanda.
1. On the third of these nectars the Âdityas live, with Varuna at their head. True, the Devas do not eat or drink, but they enjoy by seeing the nectar.
2. They enter into that (dark) colour, and they rise from that colour.
3. He who thus knows this nectar, becomes one of the Âdityas, with Varuna at their head, he sees the nectar and rejoices. And he, having entered that colour, rises again from that colour.
4. So long as the sun rises in the south and sets in the north, twice as long does it rise in the west and set in the east; and so long does he follow the sovereign supremacy of the Âdityas.
Ninth Khanda.
1. On the fourth of these nectars the Maruts live, with Soma at their head. True, the Devas do not eat or drink, but they enjoy by seeing the nectar.
2. They enter in that (very dark) colour, and they rise from that colour.
3. He who thus knows this nectar, becomes one of the Maruts, with Soma at their head, he sees the nectar and rejoices. And he, having entered that colour, rises again from that colour.
4. So long as the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, twice as long does it rise in the north and set in the south; and so long does he follow the sovereign supremacy of the Maruts.
Tenth Khanda.
1. On the fifth of these nectars the Sâdhyas live, with Brahman at their head. True, the Devas do not eat or drink, but they enjoy by seeing the nectar.
2. They enter into that colour, and they rise from that colour. 3. He who thus knows this nectar, becomes one of the Sâdhyas, with Brahman at their head; he sees the nectar and rejoices. And he, having entered that colour, rises again from that colour.
4. So long as the sun rises in the north and sets in the south, twice as long does it rise above, and set below; and so long does he follow the sovereign power of the Sâdhyas[98].
Eleventh Khanda.
1. When from thence he has risen upwards, he neither rises nor sets. He is alone, standing in the centre. And on this there is this verse:
2. 'Yonder he neither rises nor sets at any time. If this is not true, ye gods, may I lose Brahman.'
3. And indeed to him who thus knows this Brahma-upanishad (the secret doctrine of the Veda) the sun does not rise and does not set. For him there is day, once and for all[99];.
4. This doctrine (beginning with III, 1, 1) Brahman (m. Hiranyagarbha) told to Pragâpati (Virâg), Pragâpati to Manu, Manu to his offspring (Ikshvâku, &c.) And the father told that (doctrine of) Brahman (n.) to Uddâlaka Âruni.
5. A father may therefore tell that doctrine of Brahman to his eldest son[100], or to a worthy pupil. But no one should tell it to anybody else, even if he gave him the whole sea-girt earth, full of treasure, for this doctrine is worth more than that, yea, it is worth more.
Twelfth Khanda.
1. The Gâyatrî[101] (verse) is everything whatsoever here exists. Gâyatrî indeed is speech, for speech sings forth (gâya-ti) and protects (trâya-te) everything that here exists.
2. That Gâyatrî is also the earth, for everything that here exists rests on the earth, and does not go beyond.
3. That earth again is the body in man, for in it the vital airs (prânas[102], which are everything) rest, and do not go beyond.
4. That body again in man is the heart within man, for in it the prânas (which are everything) rest, and do not go beyond.
5. That Gâyatrî has four feet[103] and is sixfold[104]. And this is also declared by a Rik verse (Rig-veda X, 90, 3):—
6. 'Such is the greatness of it (of Brahman, under the disguise of Gâyatrî[105]); greater than it is the Person[106] (purusha). His feet are all things. The immortal with three feet is in heaven (i.e. in himself).' 7. The Brahman which has been thus described (as immortal with three feet in heaven, and as Gâyatrî) is the same as the ether which is around us;
8. And the ether which is around us, is the same as the ether which is within us. And the ether which is within us,
9. That is the ether within the heart. That ether in the heart (as Brahman) is omnipresent and unchanging. He who knows this obtains omnipresent and unchangeable happiness.
Thirteenth Khanda.[107]
1. For that heart there are five gates belonging to the Devas (the senses). The eastern gate is the Prâna (up-breathing), that is the eye, that is Âditya (the sun). Let a man meditate on that as brightness (glory of countenance) and health. He who knows, this, becomes bright and healthy.
2. The southern gate is the Vyâna (back-breathing), that is the ear, that is the moon. Let a man meditate on that as happiness and fame. He who knows this, becomes happy and famous.
3. The western gate is the Apâna (down-breathing), that is speech, that is Agni (fire). Let a man meditate on that as glory of countenance and health. He who knows this, becomes glorious and healthy.
4. The northern gate is the Samâna (on-breathing), that is mind, that is Parganya (rain). Let a man meditate on that as celebrity and beauty. He who knows this, becomes celebrated and beautiful.
5. The upper gate is the Udâna (out-breathing), that is air, that is ether. Let a man meditate on that as strength and greatness. He who knows this, becomes strong and great.
6. These are the five men of Brahman, the door-keepers of the Svarga (heaven) world. He who knows these five men of Brahman, the door-keepers of the Svarga world, in his family a strong son is born. He who thus knows these five men of Brahman, as the door-keepers of the Svarga world, enters himself the Svarga world.
7. Now that light which shines above this heaven, higher than all, higher than everything, in the highest world, beyond which there are no other worlds, that is the same light which is within man. And of this we have this visible proof[108]:
8. Namely, when we thus perceive by touch the warmth here in the body[109]. And of it we have this audible proof: Namely, when we thus, after stopping our ears, listen to what is like the rolling of a carriage, or the bellowing of an ox, or the sound of a burning fire[110] (within the ears). Let a man meditate on this as the (Brahman) which is seen and heard. He who knows this, becomes conspicuous and celebrated, yea, he becomes celebrated.
Fourteenth Khanda.
1. All this is Brahman (n.) Let a man meditate on that (visible world) as beginning, ending, and breathing[111] in it (the Brahman).
Now man is a creature of will. According to what his will is in this world, so will he be when he has departed this life. Let him therefore have this will and belief:
2. The intelligent, whose body is spirit, whose form is light, whose thoughts are true, whose nature is like ether (omnipresent and invisible), from whom all works, all desires, all sweet odours and tastes proceed; he who embraces all this, who never speaks, and is never surprised,
3. He is my self within the heart, smaller than a corn of rice, smaller than a corn of barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than a canary seed or the kernel of a canary seed. He also is my self within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than heaven, greater than all these worlds.
4. He from whom all works, all desires, all sweet odours and tastes proceed, who embraces all this, who never speaks and who is never surprised, he, my self within the heart, is that Brahman (n.) When I shall have departed from hence, I shall obtain him (that Self). He who has this faith[112] has no doubt; thus said Sândilya[113], yea, thus he said.
Fifteenth Khanda[114].
1. The chest which has the sky for its circumference and the earth for its bottom, does not decay, for the quarters are its sides, and heaven its lid above. That chest is a treasury, and all things are within it.
2. Its eastern quarter is called Guhtû, its southern Sahamânâ, its western Râgñî, its northern Subhûtâ[115]. The child of those quarters is Vâyu, the air, and he who knows that the air is indeed the child of the quarters, never weeps for his sons. 'I know the wind to be the child of the quarters, may I never weep for my sons.'
3. 'I turn to the imperishable chest with such and such and such[116].' 'I turn to the Prâna (life) with such and such and such.' 'I turn to Bhûh with such and such and such.' 'I turn to Bhuvah with such and such and such.' 'I turn to Svah with su ch and such and such.'
4. 'When I said, I turn to Prâna, then Prâna means all whatever exists here — to that I turn.'
5. 'When I said, I turn to Bhûh, what I said is, I turn to the earth, the sky, and heaven.'6. 'When I said, I turn to Bhuvah, what I said is, I turn to Agni (fire), Vâyu (air), Âditya (sun).'
7. 'When I said, I turn to Svah, what I said is, I turn to the Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, and Sâma-veda. That is what I said, yea, that is what I said.'
Sixteenth Khanda[117].
1. Man is sacrifice. His (first) twenty-four years are the morning-libation. The Gâyatrî has twenty-four syllables, the morning-libation is offered with Gâyatrî hymns. The Vasus are connected with that part of the sacrifice. The Prânas (the five senses) are the Vasus, for they make all this to abide (vâsayanti).
2. If anything ails him in that (early) age, let him say: 'Ye Prânas, ye Vasus, extend this my morning-libation unto the midday-libation, that I, the sacrifices may not perish in the midst of the Prânas or Vasus.' Thus he recovers from his illness, and becomes whole.
3. The next forty-four years are the midday-libation. The Trishtubh has forty-four syllables, the midday-libation is offered with Trishtubh hymns. The Rudras are connected with that part of it. The Prânas are the Rudras, for they make all this to cry (rodayanti).
4. If anything ails him in that (second) age, let him say: 'Ye Prânas, ye Rudras, extend this my midday-libation unto the third libation, that I, the sacrificer, may not perish in the midst of the Prânas or Rudras.' Thus he recovers from his illness, and becomes whole.
5. The next forty-eight years are the third libation. The Gagatî has forty-eight syllables, the third libation is offered with Gagatî hymns. The Âdityas are connected with that part of it. The Prânas are the Âdityas, for they take up all this (âdadate).
6. If anything ails him in that (third) age, let him say: 'Ye Prânas, ye Âdityas, extend this my third libation unto the full age, that I, the sacrificer, may not perish in the midst of the Prânas or Âdityas.' Thus he recovers from his illness, and becomes whole.
7. Mahidâsa Aitareya (the son of Itarâ), who knew this, said (addressing a disease): 'Why dost thou afflict me, as I shall not die by it?' He lived a hundred and sixteen years (i.e. 24+44+48). He, too, who knows this lives on to a hundred and sixteen years.
Seventeenth Khanda[118].
1. When a man (who is the sacrificer) hungers, thirsts, and abstains from pleasures, that is the Dikshâ (initiatory rite).
2. When a man eats, drinks, and enjoys pleasures, he does it with the Upasadas (the sacrificial days on which the sacrificer is allowed to partake of food).
3. When a man laughs, eats, and delights himself, he does it with the Stuta-sastras (hymns sung and recited at the sacrifices).
4. Penance, liberality, righteousness, kindness, truthfulness, these form his Dakshinâs (gifts bestowed on priests, &c.)
5. Therefore when they say, 'There will be a birth,' and 'there has been a birth' (words used at the Soma-sacrifice, and really meaning, 'He will pour out the Soma-juice,' and 'he has poured out the Soma-juice'), that is his new birth. His death is the Avabhritha ceremony (when the sacrificial vessels are carried away to be cleansed).
6. Ghora Ângirasa, after having communicated this (view of the sacrifice) to Krishna, the son of Devaki[119]— and he never thirsted again (after other knowledge)— said: "Let a man, when his end approaches, take refuge with this Triad[120]:'Thou art the imperishable;' 'Thou art the unchangeable,' 'Thou art the edge of Prâna.' On this subject there are two Rik verses (Rig-veda VIII, 6, 30):—
7. 'Then they see (within themselves) the everpresent light of the old seed (of the world, the Sat), the highest, which is lighted in the brilliant (Brahman)." Rig-veda I, 50, 10:—
'Perceiving above the darkness (of ignorance) the higher light (in the sun), as the higher light within the heart, the bright source (of light and life) among the gods, we have reached the highest light, yea, the highest light[121].'
Eighteenth Khanda[122].
1. Let a man meditate on mind as Brahman (n.), this is said with reference to the body. Let a man meditate on the ether as Brahman (n.), this is said with reference to the Devas. Thus both the meditation which has reference to the body, and the meditation which has reference to the Devas, has been taught.
2. That Brahman (mind) has four feet (quarters). Speech is one foot, breath is one foot, the eye is one foot, the ear is one foot—so much with reference to the body. Then with reference to the gods, Agni (fire) is one foot, Vâyu (air) is one foot, Âditya (sun) is one foot, the quarters are one foot. Thus both the worship which has reference to the body, and the worship which has reference to the Devas, has been taught.
3. Speech is indeed the fourth foot of Brahman. That foot shines with Agni (fire) as its light, and warms. He who knows this, shines and warms through his celebrity, fame, and glory of countenance.
4. Breath is indeed the fourth foot of Brahman. That foot shines with Vâyu (air) as its light, and warms. He who knows this, shines and warms through his celebrity, fame, and glory of countenance.
5. The eye is indeed the fourth foot of Brahman. That foot shines with Âditya (sun) as its light, and warms. He who knows this, shines and warms through his celebrity, fame, and glory of countenance.
6. The ear is indeed the fourth foot of Brahman. That foot shines with the quarters as its light, and warms. He who knows this, shines and warms through his celebrity, fame, and glory of countenance.
Nineteenth Khanda.
1. Âditya (the sun[123]) is Brahman, this is the doctrine, and this is the fuller account of it:—
In the beginning this was non-existent[124]. It came existent, it grew. It turned into an egg [125]. The egg lay for the time of a year. The egg broke open. The two halves were one of silver, the other of gold.
2. The silver one became this earth, the golden one the sky, the thick membrane (of the white) the mountains, the thin membrane (of the yoke) the mist with the clouds, the small veins the rivers, the fluid the sea.
3. And what was born from it that was Âditya, the sun. When he was born shouts of hurrah arose, and all beings arose, and all things which they desired. Therefore whenever the sun rises and sets, shouts of hurrah arise, and all beings arise, and all things which they desire.
4. If any one knowing this meditates on the sun as Brahman, pleasant shouts will approach him and will continue, yea, they will continue.
FOURTH PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda[126].
1. There lived once upon a time Gânasruti Pautrâyana (the great-grandson of Ganasruta), who was a pious giver, bestowing much wealth upon the people, and always keeping open house. He built places of refuge everywhere, wishing that people should everywhere eat of his food.
2. Once in the night some Hamsas (flamingoes) flew over his house, and one flamingo said to another: 'Hey, Bhallâksha, Bhallâksha (short-sighted friend). The light (glory) of Gânasruti Pautrâyana has spread like the sky. Do not go near, that it may not burn thee.'
3. The other answered him: 'How can you speak of him, being what he is (a râganya, noble), as if he were like Raikva with the car[127]?'
4. The first replied: 'How is it with this Raikva with the car of whom thou speakest?'
The other answered: 'As (in a game of dice) all the lower casts[128] belong to him who has conquered with the Krita cast, so whatever good deeds other people perform, belong to that Raikva. He who knows what he knows, he is thus spoken of by me.
5. Gânasruti Pautrâyana overheard this conversation, and as soon as he had risen in the morning, he said to his door keeper (kshattri): 'Friend, dost thou speak of (me, as if I were) Raikva with the car?'
He replied: 'How is it with this Raikva with the car?'
6. The king said: 'As (in a game of dice), all the lower casts belong to him who has conquered with the Krita cast, so whatever good deeds other people perform, belong to that Raikva. He who knows what he knows, he is thus spoken of by me.'7. The door-keeper went to look for Raikva, but returned saying, 'I found him not.' Then the king said: 'Alas! where a Brâhmana should be searched for (in the solitude of the forest), there go for him.'
8. The door-keeper came to a man who was lying beneath a car and scratching his sores[129]. He addressed him, and said: 'Sir, are you Raikva with the car?'
He answered: 'Here I am.'
Then the door-keeper returned, and said: I have found him.'
Second Khanda.
1. Then Gânasruti Pautrâyana took six hundred cows, a necklace, and a carriage with mules, went to Raikva and said:
2. 'Raikva, here are six hundred cows, a necklace, and a carriage with mules; teach me the deity which you worship.'
3. The other replied: 'Fie, necklace and carriage be thine, O Sûdra, together with the cows.'
Then Gânasruti Pautrâyana took again a thousand cows, a necklace, a carriage with mules, and his own daughter, and went to him.
4. He said to him: 'Raikva, there are a thousand cows, a necklace, a carriage with mules, this wife, and this village in which thou dwellest. Sir, teach me!' 5. He, opening her mouth[130], said: 'You have brought these (cows and other presents), O Sûdra, but only by that mouth did you make me speak." These are the Raikva-parana villages in the country of the Mahâvrishas (mahâpunyas) where Raikva dwelt under him[131]. And he said to him:
Third Khanda.
1. 'Air (vâyu) is indeed the end of all[132]. For when fire goes out, it goes into air. When the sun goes down, it goes into air. When the moon goes down, it goes into air.
2. 'When water dries up, it goes into air. Air indeed consumes them all. So much with reference to the Devas.
3. 'Now with reference to the body. Breath (prâna) is indeed the end of all. When a man sleeps, speech goes into breath, so do sight, hearing, and mind. Breath indeed consumes them all.
4. 'These are the two ends, air among the Devas, breath among the senses (prâna).'
5. Once while Saunaka Kâpeya and Abhipratârin Kâkshaseni were being waited on at their meal, a religious student begged of them. They gave him nothing.
6. He said; 'One god— who is he?— swallowed the four great ones[133], he, the guardian of the world. O Kâpeya, mortals see him not, O Abhipratârin, though he dwells in many places. He to whom this food belongs, to him it has not been given[134].'
7. Saunaka Kâpeya, pondering on that speech, went to the student and said: 'He is the self of the Devas, the creator of all beings, with golden tusks, the eater, not without intelligence. His greatness is said to be great indeed, because, without being eaten, he eats even what is not food[135]. Thus do we, O Brahmakârin, meditate on that Being.' Then he said: 'Give him food.'
8. They gave him food. Now these five (the eater Vâyu (air), and his food, Agni (fire), Âditya (sun), Kandramas (moon), Ap (water)) and the other five (the eater Prâna (breath), and his food, speech, sight, hearing, mind) make ten, and that is the Krita. (the highest[136]) cast (representing the ten, the eaters and the food). Therefore in all quarters those ten are food (and) Krita. (the highest cast). These are again the Virâg[137] (of ten syllables) which eats the food. Through this all this becomes seen. He who knows this sees all this and becomes an eater of food, yea, he becomes an eater of food.
Fourth Khanda[138].
1. Satyakâma, the son of Gabâlâ, addressed his mother and said: 'I wish to become a Brahmakârin (religious student), mother. Of what family am I?'
2. She said to him: 'I do not know, my child, of what family thou art. In my youth when I had to move about much as a servant (waiting on the guests in my father's house), I conceived thee. I do not know of what family thou art. I am Gabâlâ by name, thou art Satyakâma (Philalethes). Say that thou art Satyakâma Gabâlâ.'
3. He going to Gautama Hâridrumata said to him, 'I wish to become a Brahmakârin with you, Sir. May I come to you, Sir?'
4. He said to him: 'Of what family are you, my friend?' He replied: 'I do not know, Sir, of what family I am. I asked my mother, and she answered: "In my youth when I had to move about much as a servant, I conceived thee. I do not know of what family thou art. I am Gabâlâ by name, thou art Satyakâma,' I am therefore Satyakâma Gabâlâ, Sir."
5. He said to him: 'No one but a true Brâhmana would thus speak out. Go and fetch fuel, friend, I shall initiate you. You have not swerved from the truth.
Having initiated him, he chose four hundred lean and weak cows, and said: 'Tend these, friend.' He drove them out and said to himself, "I shall not return unless I bring back a thousand." He dwelt a number of years (in the forest), and when the cows had become a thousand,
Fifth Khanda.
1. The bull of the herd (meant for Vâyu) said to him: "Satyakâma!" He replied: "Sir!" The bull said: "We have become a thousand, lead us to the house of the teacher;
2. "And I will declare to you one foot of Brahman."
"Declare it, Sir," he replied.
He said to him; "The eastern region is one quarter, the western region is one quarter, the southern region is one quarter, the northern region is one quarter. This is a foot of Brahman, consisting of the four quarters, and called Prakâsavat (endowed with splendour)."
3. "He who knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Prakâsavat, becomes endowed with splendour in this world. He conquers the resplendent worlds, whoever knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of the four quarters, by the name of Prakâsavat."
Sixth Khanda.
1. "Agni will declare to you another foot of Brahman."
(After these words of the bull), Satyakâma, on the morrow, drove the cows (toward the house of the teacher). And when they came towards the evening, he lighted a fire, penned the cows, laid wood on the fire, and sat down behind the fire, looking to the east.
2. Then Agni (the fire) said to him: 'Satyakâma!' He replied: 'Sir.'
3. Agni said: 'Friend, I will declare unto you one foot of Brahman.'
'Declare it, Sir,' he replied.
He said to him: 'The earth is one quarter, the sky is one quarter, the heaven is one quarter, the ocean is one quarter. This is a foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, and called Anantavat (endless).
4. 'He who knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Anantavat, becomes endless in this world. He conquers the endless worlds, whoever knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Anantavat.
Seventh Khanda.
1. 'A Hamsa (flamingo, meant for the sun) will declare to you another foot of Brahman.'
(After these words of Agni), Satyakâma, on the morrow, drove the cows onward. And when they came towards the evening, he lighted a fire, penned the cows, laid wood on the fire, and sat down behind the fire, looking toward the east.
2. Then a Hamsa flew near and said to him: "Satyakima." He replied: 'Sir.'
3. The Hamsa said: 'Friend, I will declare unto you one foot of Brahman.'
'Declare it, Sir,' he replied.
He said to him: 'Fire is one quarter, the sun is one quarter, the moon is one quarter, lightning is one quarter. This is a foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, and called Gyotishmat (full of light).
4. 'He who knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Gyotishmat, becomes full of light in this world. He conquers the worlds which are full of light, whoever knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Gyotishmat.
Eighth Khanda.
1. 'A diver-bird (Madgu, meant for Prâna) will declare to you another foot of Brahman.'
(After these words of the Hamsa), Satyakâma, on the morrow, drove the cows onward. And when they came towards the evening, he lighted a fire, penned the cows, laid wood on the fire, and sat down behind the fire, looking toward the east.
2. Then a diver flew near and said to him: 'Satyakâma.' He replied: 'Sir.'
3. The diver said: 'Friend, I will declare unto you one foot of Brahman.'
'Declare it, Sir,' he replied.
He said to him: 'Breath is one quarter, the eye is one quarter, the ear is one quarter, the mind is one quarter. This is a foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, and called Âyatanavat (having a home).
'He who knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Âyatanavat, becomes possessed of a home in this world. He conquers the worlds which offer a home, whoever knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman, consisting of four quarters, by the name of Âyatanavat.'
Ninth Khanda.
1. Thus he reached the house of his teacher. The teacher said to him: 'Satyakâma.' He replied: 'Sir.'
2. The teacher said: 'Friend, you shine like one who knows Brahman. Who then has taught you[139]?" He replied: "Not men. But you only, Sir, I wish, should teach me[140];
3. 'For I have heard from men like you, Sir, that only knowledge which is learnt from a teacher (Âkârya), leads to real good.' Then he taught him the same knowledge. Nothing was left out, yea, nothing was left out.
Tenth Khanda[141].
1. Upakosala Kâmalâyana dwelt as a Brahmakârin (religious student) in the house of Satyakâma Gâbâla. He tended his fires for twelve years. But the teacher, though he allowed other pupils (after they had learnt the sacred books) to depart to their own homes, did not allow Upakosala to depart.
2. Then his wife said to him: 'This student, who is quite exhausted (with austerities), has carefully tended your fires. Let not the fires themselves blame you, but teach him.' The teacher, however, went away on a journey without having taught him.
3. The student from sorrow was not able to eat. Then the wife of the teacher said to him: 'Student, eat! Why do you not eat?' He said: 'There are many desires in this man here, which lose themselves in different directions. I am full of sorrows, and shall take no food.'
4. Thereupon the fires said among themselves: 'This student, who is quite exhausted, has carefully tended us. Well, let us teach him.' They said to him:
5. 'Breath is Brahman, Ka (pleasure) is Brahman, Kha (ether) is Brahman.'
He said: 'I understand that breath is Brahman, but I do not understand Ka or Kha[142].'
They said: 'What is Ka is Kha, what is Kha is Ka[143].' They therefore taught him Brahman as breath, and as the ether (in the heart)[144].
Eleventh Khanda
1. After that the Gârhapatya fire[145] taught him: "Earth, fire, food, and the sun (these are my forms, or forms of Brahman). The person that is seen in the sun, I am he, I am he indeed[146].
2. 'He who knowing this meditates on him, destroys sin, obtains the world (of Agni Gârhapatya), reaches his full age, and lives long; his descendants do not perish. We guard him in this world and in the other; whosoever knowing this meditates on him.'
Twelfth Khanda.
1. Then the Anvâhârya fire[147] taught him: 'Water, the quarters, the stars, the moon (these are my forms). The person that is seen in the moon, I am he, I am he indeed.
2. He who knowing this meditates on him, destroys sin, obtains the world (of Agni Anvâhârya), reaches his full age, and lives long; his descendants do not perish. We guard him in this world and in the other, whosoever knowing this meditates on him.'
Thirteenth Khanda.
2. 'He who knowing this meditates on him, destroys sin, obtains the world (of Agni Âhavanîya), reaches his full age, and lives long; his descendants do not perish. We guard him in this world and in the other, whosoever knowing this meditates on him.'
Fourteenth Khanda.
1. Then they all said: 'Upakosala, this is our knowledge, our friend, and the knowledge of the Self, but the teacher will tell you the way (to another life).'
2. In time his teacher came back, and said to him: 'Upakosala.' He answered: 'Sir.' The teacher said: 'Friend, your face shines like that of one who knows Brahman. Who has taught you?'
'Who should teach me, Sir?' he said. He denies, as it were. And he said (pointing) to the fires: 'Are these fires other than fires?'
The teacher said: 'What, my friend, have these fires told you?'
3. He answered: 'This' (repeating some of what they had told him).
The teacher said: 'My friend, they have taught you about the worlds, but I shall tell you this; and as water does not cling to a lotus leaf, so no evil deed clings to one who knows it.' He said: 'Sir, tell it me.'
Fifteenth Khanda.
1. He said: 'The person that is seen in the eye, that is the Self. This is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman[149]. Even though they drop melted butter or water on him, it runs away on both sides[150].
2. 'They call him Samyadvâma, for all blessings (vâma) go towards him (samyanti). All blessings go towards him who knows this.
3. 'He is also Vâmanî, for he leads (nayati) all blessings (vâma). He leads all blessings who knows this.
4. 'He is also Bhâmanî, for he shines (bhâti) in all worlds. He who knows this, shines in all worlds.
5. 'Now (if one who knows this, dies), whether people perform obsequies for him or no, he goes to light (arkis)[151], from light to day, from day to the light half of the moon, from the light half of the moon to the six months during which the sun goes to the north, from the months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the lightning. There is a person not human,
6. 'He leads them to Brahman. This is the path of the Devas, the path that leads to Brahman. Those who proceed on that path, do not return to the life of man, yea, they do not return.'
Sixteenth Khanda.[152]
1. Verily, he who purifies (Vâyu) is the sacrifice, for he (the air) moving along, purifies everything. Because moving along he purifies everything, therefore he is the sacrifice. Of that sacrifice there are two ways, by mind and by speech.
2. The Brahman priest performs one of them in his mind[153], the Hotri, Adhvaryu, and Udgâtri priests perform the other by words. When the Brahman priest, after the Prâtaranuvâka ceremony has begun, but before the recitation of the Paridhânîyâ hymn, has (to break his silence and) to speak,
3. He performs perfectly the one way only (that by words), but the other is injured. As a man walking on one foot, or a carriage going on one wheel, is injured, his sacrifice is injured, and with the injured sacrifice the sacrificer is injured; yes, having sacrificed, he becomes worse.
4. But when after the Prâtaranuvâka ceremony has begun and before the recitation of the Paridhânlyâ hymn, the Brahman priest has not (to break his silence and) to speak, they perform both ways perfectly, and neither of them is injured.
5. As a man walking on two legs and a carriage going on two wheels gets on, so his sacrifice gets on, and with the successful sacrifice the sacrificer gets on; yes, having sacrificed, he becomes better.
Seventeenth Khanda.
1. Pragâpati brooded over the worlds, and from them thus brooded on he squeezed out the essences, Agni (fire) from the earth, Vâyu (air) from the sky, Âditya (the sun) from heaven.
2. He brooded over these three deities, and from them thus brooded on he squeezed out the essences, the Rik verses from Agni, the Yagus verses from Vâyu, the Sâman verses from Âditya.
3. He brooded over the threefold knowledge (the three Vedas), and from it thus brooded on he squeezed out the essences, the sacred interjection Bhûs from the Rik verses, the sacred interjection Bhuvas from the Yagus verses, the sacred interjection Svar from the Sâman verses.
4. If the sacrifice is injured from the Rig-veda side, let him offer a libation in the Gârhapatya fire, saying, Bhûh, Svâha! Thus does he bind together and heal, by means of the essence and the power of the Rik verses themselves, whatever break the Rik sacrifice may have suffered.
5. If the sacrifice is injured from the Yagur-veda side, let him offer a libation in the Dakshina fire, saying, Bhuvah, Svâhâ! Thus does he bind together and heal, by means of the essence and the power of the Yagus verses themselves, whatever break the Yagus sacrifice may have suffered.
6. If the sacrifice is injured by the Sâma-veda side, let him offer a libation in the Âhavanîya fire, saying, Svah, Svâhâ! Thus does he bind together and heal, by means of the essence and the power of the Sâman verses themselves, whatever break the Sâman sacrifice may have suffered.7. As one binds (softens) gold by means of lavana[154] (borax), and silver by means of gold, and tin by means of silver, and lead by means of tin, and iron (loha) by means of lead, and wood by means of iron, or also by means of leather,
8. Thus does one bind together and heal any break in the sacrifice by means of (the Vyâhritis or sacrificial interjections which are) the essence and strength of the three worlds, of the deities, and of the threefold knowledge. That sacrifice is healed[155] in which there is a Brahman priest who knows this.
9. That sacrifice is inclined towards the north (in the right way) in which there is a Brahman priest who knows this. And with regard to such a Brahman priest there is the following Gâthâ[156]: 'Wherever it falls back, thither the man[157] goes,'— viz. the Brahman only, as one of the Ritvig priests. 'He saves the Kurus as a mare' (viz. a Brahman priest who knows this, saves the sacrifice, the sacrificer, and all the other priests). Therefore let a man make him who knows this his Brahman priest, not one who does not know it, who does not know it.
FIFTH PRAPÂTHAKA.[158]
First Khanda.
1. He who knows the oldest and the best becomes himself the oldest and the best. Breath indeed is the oldest and the best.
2. He who knows the richest, becomes himself the richest. Speech indeed is the richest.
3. He who knows the firm rest, becomes himself firm in this world and in the next. The eye indeed is the firm rest.
4. He who knows success, his wishes succeed, both his divine and human wishes. The ear indeed is success.
5. He who knows the home, becomes a home of his people. The mind indeed is the home.
6. The five senses quarrelled together[159], who was the best, saying, I am better, I am better.7. They went to their father Pragâpati and said: 'Sir, who is the best of us?' He replied: 'He by whose departure the body seems worse than worst, he is the best of you.'
8. The tongue (speech) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They replied: 'Like mute people, not speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.' Then speech went back.
9. The eye (sight) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They replied: 'Like blind people, not seeing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.' Then the eye went back.
10. The ear (hearing) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They replied: 'Like deaf people, not hearing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.' Then the ear went back.
11. The mind departed, and having been absent for a year, it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They replied: 'Like children whose mind is not yet formed, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear. Thus we lived.' Then the mind went back.
12. The breath, when on the point of departing, tore up the other senses, as a horse, going to start, might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered[160]. They came to him and said: 'Sir, be thou (our lord); thou art the best among us. Do not depart from us!'
13. Then the tongue said to him: 'If I am the richest, thou art the richest.' The eye said to him: 'If I am the firm rest, thou art the firm rest[161].'
14. The ear said to him: 'If I am success, thou art success.' The mind said to him: 'If I am the home, thou art the home.'
15. And people do not call them, the tongues, the eyes, the ears, the minds, but the breaths (prâna, the senses). For breath are all these.
Second Khanda.
1. Breath said: 'What shall be my food?' They answered: 'Whatever there is, even unto dogs and birds.' Therefore this is food for Ana (the breather). His name is clearly Ana[162]. To him who knows this there is nothing that is not (proper) food.
2. He said: 'What shall be my dress?' They answered: "Water.' Therefore wise people, when they are going to eat food, surround their food before and after with water[163]. He (prâna) thus gains a dress, and is no longer naked[164].
3. Satyakâma Gâbâla, after he had communicated this to Gosruti Vaiyâghrapadya, said to him: 'If you were to tell this to a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring from it.'
4. If[165] a man wishes to reach greatness, let him perform the Dîkshâ[166] (preparatory rite) on the day of the new moon, and then, on the night of the full moon, let him stir a mash of all kinds of herbs with curds and honey, and let him pour ghee on the fire (âvasathya laukika), saying, 'Svâhâ to the oldest and the best.' After that let him throw all that remains (of the ghee)[167] into the mash.
5. In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying, 'Svâhâ to the richest.' After that let him throw all that remains together into the mash.
In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying, 'Svâhâ to the firm rest.' After that let him throw all that remains together into the mash. In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying, 'Svâhâ to success.' After that let him throw all that remains together into the mash.
6. Then going forward and placing the mash in his hands, he recites: 'Thou (Prâna) art Ama[168] by name, for all this together exists in thee. He is the oldest and best, the king, the sovereign. May he make me the oldest, the best, the king, the sovereign. May I be all this.'
7. Then he eats with the following Rik verse at every foot: 'We choose that food'—here he swallows—'Of the divine Savitri (prâna)'—here he swallows—'The best and all-supporting food'— here he swallows — "We meditate on the speed of Bhaga (Savitri, prâna)'—here he drinks all.
8. Having cleansed the vessel, whether it be a kamsa or a kamasa, he sits down behind the fire on a skin or on the bare ground, without speaking or making any other effort. If in his dream he sees a woman, let him know this to be a sign that his sacrifice has succeeded.
9. On this there is a Sloka: 'If during sacrifices which are to fulfil certain wishes he sees in his dreams a woman, let him know success from this vision in a dream, yea, from this vision in a dream.'
Third Khanda.[169]
1. Svetaketu Âruneya went to an assembly[170] of the Pañkâlas. Pravâhana Gaivali[171] said to him: 'Boy, has your father instructed you?' 'Yes, Sir,' he replied.
2. 'Do you know to what place men go from here?' 'No, Sir,' he replied.'Do you know how they return again?' 'No Sir,' he replied.
'Do you know where the path of Devas and the path of the fathers diverge?' 'No, Sir,' he replied.
3. "Do you know why that world[172] never becomes full?' 'No, Sir," he replied.
'Do you know why in the fifth libation water is called Man[173]?' 'No, Sir,' he replied.
4. 'Then why did you say (you had been) instructed? How could anybody who did not know these things say that he had been instructed?' Then the boy went back sorrowful to the place of his father, and said: 'Though you had not instructed me, Sir, you said you had instructed me.
5. 'That fellow of a Râganya asked me five questions, and I could not answer one of them.' The father said: 'As you have told me these questions of his, I do not know any one of them[174]. If I knew these questions, how should I not have told you[175]?
6. Then Gautama went to the kings place, and when he had come to him, the king offered him proper respect. In the morning the king went out on his way to the assembly[176]. The king said to him: 'Sir, Gautama, ask a boon of such things as men possess.' He replied: 'Such things as men possess may remain with you. Tell me the speech which you addressed to the boy.'
7. The king was perplexed, and commanded him, saying: 'Stay with me some time.' Then he said: 'As (to what) you have said to me, Gautama, this knowledge did not go to any Brâhmana before you, and therefore this teaching belonged in all the worlds to the Kshatra class alone. Then he began:
Fourth Khanda.[177]
1. 'The altar (on which the sacrifice is supposed to be offered) is that world (heaven), O Gautama; its fuel is the sun itself, the smoke his rays, the light the day, the coals the moon, the sparks the stars.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (or prânas, represented by Agni, &c.) offer the sraddhâ libation (consisting of water). From that oblation rises Soma, the king[178] (the moon).
Fifth Khanda.
2. 'On that altar the Devas offer Soma, the king (the moon). From that oblation rises rain[180].
Sixth Khanda.
1. 'The altar is the earth, O Gautama; its fuel is the year itself, the smoke the ether, the light the night, the coals the quarters, the sparks the intermediate quarters.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (prânas) offer rain. From that oblation rises food (corn, &c.)
Seventh Khanda.
1. 'The altar is man, O Gautama; its fuel speech itself, the smoke the breath, the light the tongue, the coals the eye, the sparks the ear.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (prânas) offer food. From that oblation rises seed.
Eighth Khanda.
1. 'The altar is woman, O Gautama[181].
2. 'On that altar the Devas (prânas) offer seed. From that oblation rises the germ.
Ninth Khanda.
1. 'For this reason is water in the fifth oblation called Man. This germ, covered in the womb, having dwelt there ten months, or more or less, is born.
2. 'When born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he has departed, his friends carry him, as appointed, to the fire (of the funeral pile) from whence he came, from whence he sprang.
Tenth Khanda.
1. 'Those who know this[182] (even though they still be grihasthas, householders) and those who in the forest follow faith and austerities (the vânaprasthas, and of the parivrâgakas those who do not yet know the Highest Brahman) go[183] to light (arkis), from light to day, from day to the light half of the moon, from the light half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the north, from the six months when the sun goes to the north to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the lightning. There is a person not human[184],—
2. 'He leads them to Brahman (the conditioned Brahman). This is the path of the Devas.
3. 'But they who living in a village practise (a life of) sacrifices, works of public utility, and alms, they go to the smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the dark half of the moon, from the dark half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the south. But they do not reach the year.
4. 'From the months they go to the world of the fathers, from the world of the fathers to the ether, from the ether to the moon. That is Soma, the king. Here they are loved (eaten) by the Devas, yes, the Devas love (eat) them[185].
5. 'Having dwelt there, till their (good) works are consumed, they return again that way as they came[186], to the ether, from the ether to the air. Then the sacrificer, having become air, becomes smoke, having become smoke, he becomes mist,
6. 'Having become mist, he becomes a cloud, having become a cloud, he rains down. Then he is born as rice and corn, herbs and trees, sesamum and beans. From thence the escape is beset with most difficulties. For whoever the persons may be that eat the food, and beget offspring, he henceforth becomes like unto them.7. 'Those whose conduct has been good, will quickly attain some good birth, the birth of a Brâhmana, or a Kshatriya, or a Vaisya. But those whose conduct has been evil, will quickly attain an evil birth, the birth of a dog, or a hog, or a Kandâla.
8. 'On neither of these two ways those small creatures (flies, worms, &c.) are continually returning of whom it may be said, Live and die. Theirs is a third place.
'Therefore that world never becomes full[187] (cf. V, 3, 2).
'Hence let a man take care to himself[188]! And thus it is said in the following Sloka[189]:—
9. 'A man who steals gold, who drinks spirits,
who dishonours his Guru's bed, who kills a Brahman, these four fall, and as a fifth he who associates with them.
10. 'But he who thus knows the five fires is not defiled by sin even though he associates with them. He who knows this, is pure, clean, and obtains the world of the blessed, yea, he obtains the world of the blessed.'
Eleventh Khanda.[190]
1. Prâkînasâla Aupamanyava, Satyayagña Paulushi, Indradyumna Bhâllaveya, Gana Sârkarâkshya, and Budila Âsvatarasvi, these five great householders and great theologians came once together and held a discussion as to What is our Self, and what is Brahman[191].
2. They reflected and said: 'Sirs, there is that Uddâlaka Âruni, who knows at present that Self, called Vaisvânara. Well, let us go to him.' They went to him.
3. But he reflected: 'Those great householders and great theologians will examine me, and I shall not be able to tell them all; therefore I shall recommend another teacher to them.'
4. He said to them: 'Sirs, Asvapati Kaikeya knows at present that Self, called Vaisvânara. Well, let us go to him.' They went to him.
5. When they arrived (the king) ordered proper presents to be made separately to each of them. And rising the next morning[192] he said: 'In my kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man without an altar in his house, no ignorant person, no adulterer, much less an adulteress. I[193] am going to perform a sacrifice, Sirs, and as much wealth as I give to each Ritvig priest, I shall give to you, Sirs. Please to stay here.'
6. They replied: 'Every man ought to say for what purpose he comes. You know at present that Vaisvânara Self, tell us that.'
7. He said: 'To-morrow I shall give you an answer.' Therefore on the next morning they approached him, carrying fuel in their hands (like students), and he, without first demanding any preparatory rites[194], said to them:
Twelfth Khanda.
1. 'Aupamanyava, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Heaven only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Sutegas (having good light). Therefore every kind of Soma libation is seen in your house[195].
2. 'You eat food, and see your desire (a son, &c), and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvânara Self, eats food, sees his desire, and has Vedic glory (arising from study and sacrifice) in his house. That, however, is but the head of the Self, and thus your head would have fallen (in a discussion), if you had not come to me.'
Thirteenth Khanda.
1. Then he said to Satyayagña Paulushi: 'O Prâkînayogya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'The sun only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Visvarûpa (multiform). Therefore much and manifold wealth is seen in your house.
2. 'There is a car with mules, full of slaves and jewels. You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvânara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the eye of the Self, and you would have become blind, if you had not come to me.'
Fourteenth Khanda.
1. Then he said to Indradyumna Bhâllaveya: 'O Vaiyâghrapadya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Air only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Prithagvartman (having various courses). Therefore offerings come to you in various ways, and rows of cars follow you in various ways.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvânara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the breath of the Self, and your breath would have left you, if you had not come to me.'
Fifteenth Khanda.
1. Then he said to Gana Sârkarâkshya: 'Whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Ether only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Bahula (full). Therefore you are full of offspring and wealth.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvânara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
That, however, is but the trunk of the Self, and your trunk would have perished, if you had not come to me.'
Sixteenth Khanda.
1. Then he said to Budila Âsvatarâsvi, 'O Vaiyâghrapadya, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Water only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Rayi (wealth). Therefore are you wealthy and flourishing.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvânara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the bladder of the Self, and your bladder would have burst, if you had not come to me.'
Seventeenth Khanda.
1. Then he said to Auddâlaka Âruni: 'O Gautama, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'The earth only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvânara Self, called Pratishthâ (firm rest). Therefore you stand firm with offspring and cattle.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvânara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
'That, however, are but the feet of the Self, and your feet would have given way, if you had not come to me.'
Eighteenth Khanda.
1. Then he said to them all: 'You eat your food, knowing that Vaisvânara Self as if it were many. But he who worships the Vaisvânara Self as a span long, and as[196] identical with himself, he eats food in all worlds, in all beings, in all Selfs.
2. 'Of that Vaisvânara Self the head is Sutegas (having good light), the eye Visvarûpa (multiform), the breath Prithagvartman (having various courses), the trunk Bahula (full), the bladder Rayi (wealth), the feet the earth, the chest the altar, the hairs the grass on the altar, the heart the Gârhapatya fire, the mind the Anvâhârya fire, the mouth the Âhavanîya fire.
Nineteenth Khanda.
1. 'Therefore[197] the first food which a man may take, is in the place of Homa. And he who offers that first oblation, should offer it to Prâna (up-breathing), saying Svâhâ. Then Prâna (up-breathing) is satisfied,
2. 'If Prâna is satisfied, the eye is satisfied, if the eye is satisfied, the sun is satisfied, if the sun is satisfied, heaven is satisfied, if heaven is satisfied, whatever is under heaven and under the sun is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
Twentieth Khanda.
1. 'And he who offers the second oblation, should offer it to Vyâna (back-breathing), saying Svâhâ. Then Vyina is satisfied,
2. 'If Vyâna is satisfied, the ear is satisfied, if the ear is satisfied, the moon is satisfied, if the moon is satisfied, the quarters are satisfied, if the quarters are satisfied, whatever is under the quarters and under the moon is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
Twenty-first Khanda.
1. 'And he who offers the third oblation, should offer it to Apâna (down-breathing), saying Svâhâ. Then Apâna is satisfied. If Apâna is satisfied, the tongue is satisfied, if the tongue is satisfied, Agni (fire) is satisfied, if Agni is satisfied, the earth is satisfied, if the earth is satisfied, whatever is under the earth and under fire is satisfied.
2. 'And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
Twenty-second Khanda.
1. 'And he who offers the fourth oblation, should offer it to Samâna (on-breathing), saying Svâhâ. Then Samâna is satisfied,
2. 'If Samâna is satisfied, the mind is satisfied, if the mind is satisfied, Parganya (god of rain) is satisfied, if Parganya is satisfied, lightning is satisfied, if lightning is satisfied, whatever is under Parganya and under lightning is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
Twenty-third Khanda.
1. 'And he who offers the fifth oblation, should offer it to Udâna (out-breathing), saying Svâhâ. Then Udâna is satisfied,
2. 'If Udâna is satisfied, Vâyu (air) is satisfied, if Vâyu is satisfied, ether is satisfied, if ether is satisfied, whatever is under Vâyu and under the ether is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic splendour.
Twenty-fourth Khanda.
1. 'If, without knowing this, one offers an Agnihotra, it would be as if a man were to remove the live coals and pour his libation on dead ashes.
2. 'But he who offers this Agnihotra with a full knowledge of its true purport, he offers it (i.e. he eats food)[198] in all worlds, in all beings, in all Selfs.
3. 'As the soft fibres of the Ishîkâ reed, when thrown into the fire, are burnt, thus all his sins are burnt whoever offers this Agnihotra with a full knowledge of its true purport.
4. 'Even if he gives what is left of his food to a Kandâla, it would be offered in his (the Kandâla's) Vaisvânara Self. And so it is said in this Sloka:—
'As hungry children here on earth sit (expectantly) round their mother, so do all beings sit round the Agnihotra, yea, round the Agnihotra.'
SIXTH PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda.
1. Harih, Om. There lived once Svetaketu Âruneya (the grandson of Aruna). To him his father (Uddâlaka, the son of Aruna) said: 'Svetaketu, go to school; for there is none belonging to our race, darling, who, not having studied (the Veda), is, as it were, a Brâhmana by birth only.'
2. Having begun his apprenticeship (with a teacher) when he was twelve years of age[199], Svetaketu returned to his father, when he was twenty-four, having then studied all the Vedas,—conceited, considering himself well-read, and stern.
3. His father said to him: 'Svetaketu, as you are so conceited, considering yourself so well-read, and so stern, my dear, have you ever asked for that instruction by which we hear what cannot be heard, by which we perceive what cannot be perceived, by which we know what cannot be known?'
4. 'What is that instruction, Sir?' he asked.
The father replied: 'My dear, as by one clod of clay all that is made of clay is known, the difference[200] being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all is clay;
5. 'And as, my dear, by one nugget of gold[201] all that is made of gold is known, the difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all is gold?
6. 'And as, my dear, by one pair of nail-scissors all that is made of iron (kârshnâyasam) is known, the difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all is iron,—thus, my dear, is that instruction.'
7. The son said: 'Surely those venerable men (my teachers) did not know that. For if they had known it, why should they not have told it me? Do you, Sir, therefore tell me that.' 'Be it so,' said the father.
Second Khanda[202].
1. 'In the beginning,' my dear, "there was that only which is (τὸ ὄν), one only, without a second. Others say, in the beginning there was that only which is not (τὸ μὴ ὄν), one only, without a second; and from that which is not, that which is was born.
2. 'But how could it be thus, my dear?' the father continued. 'How could that which is, be born of that which is not? No, my dear, only that which is, was in the beginning, one only, without a second.
3. 'It thought[203] may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth fire[204].
'That fire[205] thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth water[206].
'And therefore whenever anybody anywhere is hot and perspires, water is produced on him from fire alone.
4. 'Water thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth earth[207] (food).
'Therefore whenever it rains anywhere, most food is then produced. From water alone is eatable food produced.
Third Khanda.
1. 'Of all living things there are indeed three origins only[208], that which springs from an egg (oviparous), that which springs from a living being (viviparous), and that which springs from a germ.
2. 'That Being[209] (i.e. that which had produced fire, water, and earth) thought, let me now enter those three beings[209] (fire, water, earth) with this living Self (gîva âtmâ)[210], and let me then reveal (develop) names and forms.
3. 'Then that Being having said, Let me make each of these three tripartite (so that fire, water, and earth should each have itself for its principal ingredient, besides an admixture of the other two) entered into those three beings (devatâ) with this living self only, and revealed names and forms.
4. 'He made each of these tripartite; and how these three beings become each of them tripartite, that learn from me now, my friend!
Fourth Khanda.
1. 'The red colour of burning fire (agni) is the colour of fire, the white colour of fire is the colour of water, the black colour of fire the colour of earth. Thus vanishes what we call fire, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true (satya) are the three colours (or forms).
2. 'The red colour of the sun (âditya) is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the sun, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.
3. 'The red colour of the moon is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the moon, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.
4. 'The red colour of the lightning is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the lightning, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.
5. 'Great householders and great theologians of olden times who knew this, have declared the same, saying, "No one can henceforth mention to us anything which we have not heard, perceived, or known[211]." Out of these (three colours or forms) they knew all.
6. 'Whatever they thought looked red, they knew was the colour of fire. Whatever they thought looked white, they knew was the colour of water. Whatever they thought looked black, they knew was the colour of earth.
7. 'Whatever they thought was altogether unknown, they knew was some combination of those three beings (devatâ).
'Now learn from me, my friend, how those three beings, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite.'
Fifth Khanda.
1. 'The earth (food) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes feces, its middle portion flesh, its subtilest portion mind.
2. 'Water when drunk becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes water, its middle portion blood, its subtilest portion breath.
3. 'Fire (i.e. in oil, butter, &c.) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes bone, its middle portion marrow, its subtilest portion speech[212].
4. 'For truly, my child, mind comes of earth, breath of water, speech of fire.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Sixth Khanda.
1. 'That which is the subtile portion of curds, when churned, rises upwards, and becomes butter.
2. 'In the same manner, my child, the subtile portion of earth (food), when eaten, rises upwards, and becomes mind.
3. 'That which is the subtile portion of water, when drunk, rises upwards, and becomes breath.
4. 'That which is the subtile portion of fire, when consumed, rises upwards, and becomes speech.
5. 'For mind, my child, comes of earth, breath of water, speech of fire.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Seventh Khanda.
1. 'Man (purusha), my son, consists of sixteen parts. Abstain from food for fifteen days, but drink as much water as you like, for breath comes from water, and will not be cut off, if you drink water.'
2. Svetaketu abstained from food for fifteen days. Then he came to his father and said: 'What shall I say?' The father said: 'Repeat the Rik, Yagus, and Sâman verses.' He replied: 'They do not occur to me, Sir.'
3. The father said to him: 'As of a great lighted fire one coal only of the size of a firefly may be left, which would not burn much more than this (i.e. very little), thus, my dear son, one part only of the sixteen parts (of you) is left, and therefore with that one part you do not remember the Vedas. Go and eat!
4. 'Then wilt thou understand me.' Then Svetaketu ate, and afterwards approached his father. And whatever his father asked him, he knew it all by heart. Then his father said to him:
5. 'As of a great lighted fire one coal of the size of a firefly, if left, may be made to blaze up again by putting grass upon it, and will thus burn more than this,
6. 'Thus, my dear son, there was one part of the sixteen parts left to you, and that, lighted up with food, burnt up, and by it you remember now the Vedas.' After that, he understood what his father meant when he said: 'Mind, my son, comes from food, breath from water, speech from fire.' He understood what he said, yea, he understood it[213].
Eighth Khanda.
1. Uddâlaka Âruni said to his son Svetaketu: 'Learn from me the true nature of sleep (svapna). When a man sleeps here, then, my dear son, he becomes united with the True[214], he is gone to his own (Self). Therefore they say, svapiti, he sleeps, because he is gone (apîta) to his own (sva)[215].
2. 'As a bird when tied by a string flies first in every direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles down at last on the very place where it is fastened, exactly in the same manner, my son, that mind (the gîva, or living Self in the mind, see VI, 3, 2), after flying in every direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles down on breath[216]; for indeed, my son, mind is fastened to breath.
3. 'Learn from me, my son, what are hunger and thirst. When a man is thus said to be hungry, water is carrying away (digests) what has been eaten by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-nâya), a horse-leader (asva-nâya), a man-leader (purusha-nâya), so they call water (which digests food and causes hunger) food-leader (asa-nâya). Thus (by food digested &c), my son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth, for this (body) could not be without a root (cause).
4. And where could its root be except in food (earth)[217]? And in the same manner, my son, as
food (earth) too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. water. And as water too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. And as fire too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, my son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.
5. 'When a man is thus said to be thirsty, fire carries away what has been drunk by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-nâya), of a horse-leader (asva-nâya), of a man-leader (purusha-nâya), so they call fire udanyâ, thirst, i.e. water-leader. Thus (by water digested &c), my son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth: this (body) could not be without a root (cause).
6. 'And where could its root be except in water? As water is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. As fire is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, O son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.
'And how these three beings (devatâ), fire, water, earth, O son, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite, has been said before (VI, 4, 7). When a man departs from hence, his speech[218] is merged in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being.
7. 'Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all), in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Ninth Khanda.
1. 'As the bees[219], my son, make honey by collecting the juices of distant trees, and reduce the juice into one form,
2. 'And as these juices have no discrimination, so that they might say, I am the juice of this tree or that, in the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have become merged in the True (either in deep sleep or in death), know not that they are merged in the True.
3. 'Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a musquito, that they become again and again.
4. 'Now that which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Tenth Khanda[220].
1. 'These rivers, my son, run, the eastern (like the Gangâ) toward the east, the western (like the Sindhu) toward the west. They go from sea to sea (i.e. the clouds lift up the water from the sea to the sky, and send it back as rain to the sea). They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river,
2. 'In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have come back from the True, know not that they have come back from the True. Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a musquito, that they become again and again.
3. 'That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Eleventh Khanda[221].
1. "If some one were to strike at the root of this large tree here, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its stem, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its top, it would bleed, but live. Pervaded by the living Self that tree stands firm, drinking in its nourishment and rejoicing;
2. 'But if the life (the living Self) leaves one of its branches, that branch withers; if it leaves at second, that branch withers; if it leaves a third, that branch withers. If it leaves the whole tree, the whole tree withers[222]. In exactly the same manner, my son, know this.' Thus he spoke:
3. 'This (body) indeed withers and dies when the living Self has left it; the living Self dies not.
That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Twelfth Khanda[223].
1. 'Fetch me from thence a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree.'
'Here is one, Sir.'
'Break it.'
'It is broken, Sir.'
'What do you see there?'
'These seeds, almost infinitesimal.'
'Break one of them.'
'It is broken, Sir.'
'What do you see there?'
'Not anything, Sir.'
2. The father said: 'My son, that subtile essence which you do not perceive there, of that very essence this great Nyagrodha tree exists.
3. 'Believe it, my son. That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Thirteenth Khanda[224].
1. 'Place this salt in water, and then wait on me in the morning.'
The son did as he was commanded.
The father said to him: 'Bring me the salt, which you placed in the water last night.' The son having looked for it, found it not, for, of course, it was melted.
2. The father said: 'Taste it from the surface of the water. How is it?'
The son replied: 'It is salt.'
'Taste it from the middle. How is it?'
The son replied: "It is salt.'
'Taste it from the bottom. How is it?'
The son replied: 'It is salt.'
The father said: 'Throw it away[225] and then wait on me.'
He did so; but salt exists for ever.
Then the father said: 'Here also, in this body, forsooth, you do not perceive the True (Sat), my son; but there indeed it is.
3. 'That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Fourteenth Khanda[226].
1. 'As one might lead a person with his eyes covered away from the Gandhâras[227], and leave him then in a place where there are no human beings; and as that person would turn towards the east, or the north, or the west, and shout, "I have been brought here with my eyes covered, I have been left here with my eyes covered,"
2. 'And as thereupon some one might loose his bandage and say to him, "Go in that direction, it is Gandhâra, go in that direction;" and as thereupon, having been informed and being able to judge for himself, he would by asking his way from village to village arrive at last at Gandhâra,—in exactly the same manner does a man, who meets with a teacher to inform him, obtain the true knowledge[228]. For him there is only delay so long as he is not delivered (from the body); then he will be perfect[229].
3. 'That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Fifteenth Khanda[230].
1. 'If a man is ill, his relatives assemble round him and ask: "Dost thou know me? Dost thou know me?" Now as long as his speech is not merged in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being (devatâ), he knows them.
2. 'But when his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being, then he knows them not.
'That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
Sixteenth Khanda[231]
1. 'My child, they bring a man hither whom they have taken by the hand, and they say: "He has taken something, he has committed a theft." (When he denies, they say), "Heat the hatchet for him." If he committed the theft, then he makes himself to be what he is not. Then the false-minded, having covered his true Self by a falsehood, grasps the heated hatchet—he is burnt, and he is killed.
2. 'But if he did not commit the theft, then he makes himself to be what he is. Then the true-minded, having covered his true Self by truth, grasps the heated hatchet—he is not burnt, and he is delivered.
'As that (truthful) man is not burnt, thus has all that exists its self in That. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.' He understood what he said, yea, he understood it.
SEVENTH PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda.
1. Nârada approached Sanatkumâra and said, 'Teach me, Sir!' Sanatkumâra said to him: 'Please to tell me what you know; afterward I shall tell you what is beyond.'
2. Nârada said: 'I know the Rig-veda, Sir, the Yagur-veda, the Sâma-veda, as the fourth the Âtharvana, as the fifth the Itihâsa-purâna (the Bhârata); the Veda of the Vedas (grammar); the Pitrya (the rules for the sacrifices for the ancestors); the Râsi (the science of numbers); the Daiva (the science of portents); the Nidhi (the science of time); the Vâkovâkya (logic); the Ekâyana (ethics); the Devavidyâ (etymology); the Brahma-vidyâ (pronunciation, sikshâ, ceremonial, kalpa, prosody, khandas); the Bhûta-vidyâ (the science of demons); the Kshatravidyâ (the science of weapons); the Nakshatra-vidyâ (astronomy); the Sarpa and Devagana-vidyâ (the science of serpents or poisons, and the sciences of the genii, such as the making of perfumes, dancing, singing, playing, and other fine arts)[232]. All this I know, Sir.
3. 'But, Sir, with all this I know the Mantras only, the sacred books, I do not know the Self. I have heard from men like you, that he who knows the Self overcomes grief. I am in grief. Do, Sir, help me over this grief of mine.'
Sanatkumâra said to him: 'Whatever you have read, is only a name.
4. 'A name is the Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, Sâma-veda, and as the fourth the Âtharvana, as the fifth the Itihâsa-purâna, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the Râsi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vâkovâkya, the Ekâyana, the Deva-vidyâ, the Brahma-vidyâ, the Bhûta-vidyâ, the Kshatra-vidyâ, the Nakshatra-vidyâ, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidyâ. All these are a name only. Meditate on the name.
5. 'He who meditates on the name as Brahman[233], is, as it were, lord and master as far as the name reaches—he who meditates on the name as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than a name?'
'Yes, there is something better than a name.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Second Khanda.
1. 'Speech is better than a name. Speech makes us understand the Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, Sâma-veda, and as the fourth the Âtharvana, as the fifth the Itihâsa-purâna, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the Râsi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vâkovâkya, the Ekâyana, the Deva-vidyâ, the Brahma-vidyâ, the Kshatra-vidyâ, the Nakshatra-vidyâ, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidyâ; heaven, earth, air, ether, water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false; what is good and what is bad; what is pleasing and what is not pleasing. For if there were no speech, neither right nor wrong would be known[234], neither the true nor the false, neither the good nor the bad, neither the pleasant nor the unpleasant. Speech makes us understand all this. Meditate on speech.
2. 'He who meditates on speech as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as speech reaches—he who meditates on speech as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than speech?'
'Yes, there is something better than speech.'
'Sir, tell it me."
Third Khanda.
1. 'Mind (manas) is better than speech. For as the closed fist holds two amalaka or two kola or two aksha fruits, thus does mind hold speech and name. For if a man is minded in his mind to read the sacred hymns, he reads them; if he is minded in his mind to perform any actions, he performs them; if he is minded to wish for sons and cattle, he wishes for them; if he is minded to wish for this world and the other, he wishes for them. For mind is indeed the self[235], mind is the world, mind is Brahman. Meditate on the mind.
2. 'He who meditates on the mind as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as the mind reaches—he who meditates on the mind as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than mind?'
'Yes, there is something better than mind.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Fourth Khanda.
1. 'Will[236] (saṅkalpa) is better than mind. For when a man wills, then he thinks in his mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name. In a name the sacred hymns are contained, in the sacred hymns all sacrifices.
2. 'All these therefore (beginning with mind and ending in sacrifice) centre in will, consist of will, abide in will. Heaven and earth willed, air and ether willed, water and fire willed. Through the will of heaven and earth &c. rain wills; through the will of rain food wills; through the will of food the vital airs will; through the will of the vital airs the sacred hymns will; through the will of the sacred hymns the sacrifices will; through the will of the sacrifices the world (as their reward) wills; through the will of the world everything wills[237]. This is will. Meditate on will.
3. 'He who meditates on will as Brahman, he, being himself safe, firm, and undistressed, obtains the safe, firm, and undistressed worlds which he has willed; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as will reaches—he who meditates on will as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than will?'
'Yes, there is something better than will.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Fifth Khanda.
1. Consideration (kitta)[238] is better than will. For when a man considers, then he wills, then he thinks in his mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name. In a name the sacred hymns are contained, in the sacred hymns all sacrifices.
2. 'All these (beginning with mind and ending in sacrifice) centre in consideration, consist of consideration, abide in consideration. Therefore if a man is inconsiderate, even if he possesses much learning, people say of him, he is nothing, whatever he may know; for, if he were learned, he would not be so inconsiderate. But if a man is considerate, even though he knows but little, to him indeed do people listen gladly. Consideration is the centre, consideration is the self, consideration is the support of all these. Meditate on consideration.
3. 'He who meditates on consideration as Brahman, he, being himself safe, firm, and undistressed, obtains the safe, firm, and undistressed worlds which he has considered; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as consideration reaches—he who meditates on consideration as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than consideration?'
'Yes, there is something better than consideration.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Sixth Khanda.
1. 'Reflection (dhyâna)[239] is better than consideration. The earth reflects, as it were, and thus does the sky, the heaven, the water, the mountains, gods and men. Therefore those who among men obtain greatness here on earth, seem to have obtained a part of the object of reflection (because they show a certain repose of manner). Thus while small and vulgar people are always quarrelling, abusive, and slandering, great men seem to have obtained a part of the reward of reflection. Meditate on reflection.
2. 'He who meditates on reflection as Brahman, is lord and master, as it were, as far as reflection reaches—he who meditates on reflection as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than reflection?'
'Yes, there is something better than reflection.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Seventh Khanda.
1. 'Understanding (vigñâna) is better than reflection. Through understanding we understand the Rig-veda, the Yagur-veda, the Sâma-veda, and as the fourth the Âtharvana, as the fifth the tihâsapurâna[240], the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the Râsi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vâkovâkya, the Ekâyana, the Deva-vidyâ, the Brahma-vidyâ, the Bhûta-vidyâ, the Kshatra-vidyâ, the Nakshatra-vidyâ, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidyâ, heaven, earth, air, ether, water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false; what is good and what is bad; what is pleasing and what is not pleasing; food and savour, this world and that, all this we understand through understanding. Meditate on understanding.
2. 'He who meditates on understanding as Brahman, reaches the worlds where there is understanding and knowledge[241]; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as understanding reaches—he who meditates on understanding as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than understanding?'
'Yes, there is something better than understanding.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Eighth Khanda.
1. 'Power (bala) is better than understanding. One powerful man shakes a hundred men of understanding. If a man is powerful, he becomes a rising man. If he rises, he becomes a man who visits wise people. If he visits, he becomes a follower of wise people. If he follows them, he becomes a seeing, a hearing, a perceiving, a knowing, a doing, an understanding man. By power the earth stands firm, and the sky, and the heaven, and the mountains, gods and men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; by power the world stands firm. Meditate on power.
2. 'He who meditates on power as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as power reaches—he who meditates on power as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than power?'
'Yes, there is something better than power.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Ninth Khanda.
1. 'Food (anna) is better than power. Therefore if a man abstain from food for ten days, though he live, he would be unable to see, hear, perceive, think, act, and understand. But when he obtains food, he is able to see, hear, perceive, think, act, and understand. Meditate on food.
2. 'He who meditates on food as Brahman, obtains the worlds rich in food and drink; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as food reaches—he who meditates on food as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than food?'
'Yes, there is something better than food.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Tenth Khanda.
1. 'Water (ap) is better than food. Therefore if there is not sufficient rain, the vital spirits fail from fear that there will be less food. But if there is sufficient rain, the vital spirits rejoice, because there will be much food. This water, on assuming different forms, becomes this earth, this sky, this heaven, the mountains, gods and men, cattle, birds, herbs and trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants. Water indeed assumes all these forms. Meditate on water.
2. He who meditates on water as Brahman, obtains all wishes, he becomes satisfied; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as water reaches—he who meditates on water as Brahman.
'Sir, is there something better than water?'
'Yes, there is something better than water.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Eleventh Khanda.
1. 'Fire (tegas) is better than water. For fire united with air, warms the ether. Then people say, It is hot, it burns, it will rain. Thus does fire, after showing this sign (itself) first, create water. And thus again thunderclaps come with lightnings, flashing upwards and across the sky. Then people say, There is lightning and thunder, it will rain. Then also does fire, after showing this sign first, create water. Meditate on fire.
2. 'He who meditates on fire as Brahman, obtains, resplendent himself, resplendent worlds, full of light and free of darkness; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as fire reaches—he who meditates on fire as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than fire?'
'Yes, there is something better than fire.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Twelfth Khanda.
1. 'Ether (or space) is better than fire. For in the ether exist both sun and moon, the lightning, stars, and fire (agni). Through the ether we call, through the ether we hear, through the ether we answer[242]. In the ether or space we rejoice (when we are together), and rejoice not (when we are separated). In the ether everything is born, and towards the ether everything tends when it is born[243]. Meditate on ether.
2. He who meditates on ether as Brahman, obtains the worlds of ether and of light, which are free from pressure and pain, wide and spacious[244]; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as ether reaches — he who meditates on ether as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than ether?'
'Yes, there is something better than ether.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Thirteenth Khanda.
1. 'Memory[245] (smara) is better than ether. Therefore where many are assembled together, if they have no memory, they would hear no one, they would not perceive, they would not understand. Through memory we know our sons, through memory our cattle. Meditate on memory.
2. 'He who meditates on memory as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as memory reaches—he who meditates on memory as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than memory?'
'Yes, there is something better than memory.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Fourteenth Khanda.
1. 'Hope (âsâ) is better than memory. Fired by hope does memory read the sacred hymns, perform sacrifices, desire sons and cattle, desire this world and the other. Meditate on hope.
2. 'He who meditates on hope as Brahman, all his desires are fulfilled by hope, his prayers are not in vain; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as hope reaches—he who meditates on hope as Brahman.'
'Sir, is there something better than hope?'
'Yes, there is something better than hope.'
'Sir, tell it me.'
Fifteenth Khanda.
1. 'Spirit[246] (prâna) is better than hope. As the spokes of a wheel hold to the nave[247], so does all this (beginning with names and ending in hope) hold to spirit. That spirit moves by the spirit, it gives spirit to the spirit. Father means spirit, mother is spirit, brother is spirit, sister is spirit, tutor is spirit, Brâhmana is spirit.
2. 'For if one says anything unbecoming to a father, mother, brother, sister, tutor or Brâhmana, then people say, Shame on thee! thou hast offended thy father, mother, brother, sister, tutor, or a Brâhmana.
3. 'But, if after the spirit has departed from them, one shoves them together with a poker, and burns them to pieces, no one would say, Thou offendest thy father, mother, brother, sister, tutor or a Brâhmana.
4. 'Spirit then is all this. He who sees this, perceives this, and understands this, becomes an ativâdin[248]. If people say to such a man, Thou art an ativâdin, he may say, I am an ativâdin; he need not deny it.'
Sixteenth Khanda.[249]
1. 'But in reality he is an ativâdin who declares the Highest Being to be the True (Satya).'
'Sir, may I become an ativâdin by the True.'
'But we must desire to know the True.'
'Sir, I desire to know the True.
Seventeenth Khanda.
1. 'When one understands the True, then one declares the True. One who does not understand it, does not declare the True[250]. Only he who understands it, declares the True. This understanding, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Eighteenth Khanda.
1. 'When one perceives, then one understands. One who does not perceive, does not understand. Only he who perceives, understands. This perception, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Nineteenth Khanda.
1. 'When one believes, then one perceives. One who does not believe, does not perceive. Only he who believes, perceives. This belief, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Twentieth Khanda.
1. 'When one attends on a tutor (spiritual guide), then one believes. One who does not attend on a tutor, does not believe. Only he who attends, believes. This attention on a tutor, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Twenty-first Khanda.
1. 'When one performs all sacred duties[251], then one attends really on a tutor. One who does not perform his duties, does not really attend on a tutor. Only he who performs his duties, attends on his tutor. This performance of duties, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Twenty-second Khanda.
1. 'When one obtains bliss (in oneself), then one performs duties. One who does not obtain bliss, does not perform duties. Only he who obtains bliss, performs duties. This bliss, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Twenty-third Khanda.
1. 'The Infinite (bhûman)[252] is bliss. There is no bliss in anything finite. Infinity only is bliss. This Infinity, however, we must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
Twenty-fourth Khanda.
1. 'Where one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else, that is the Infinite. Where one sees something else, hears something else, understands something else, that is the finite. The Infinite is immortal, the finite is mortal.'
'Sir, in what does the Infinite rest?'
'In its own greatness—or not even in greatness[253].'
2. 'In the world they call cows and horses, elephants and gold, slaves, wives, fields and houses greatness. I do not mean this,' thus he spoke; 'for in that case one being (the possessor) rests in something else, (but the Infinite cannot rest in something different from itself.)
Twenty-fifth Khanda.
1. 'The Infinite indeed is below, above, behind, before, right and left—it is indeed alt this.
'Now follows the explanation of the Infinite as the I: I am below, I am above, I am behind, before, right and left—I am all this.
2. 'Next follows the explanation of the Infinite as the Self: Self is below, above, behind, before, right and left—Self is all this.
'He who sees, perceives, and understands this, loves the Self, delights in the Self, revels in the Self, rejoices in the Self—he becomes a Svarâg, (an autocrat or self-ruler); he is lord and master in all the worlds.
'But those who think differently from this, live in perishable worlds, and have other beings for their rulers.
Twenty-sixth Khanda.
1. 'To him who sees, perceives, and understands this[254] the spirit (prâna) springs from the Self, hope springs from the Self, memory springs from the Self; so do ether, fire, water, appearance and disappearance[255], food, power, understanding, reflection, consideration, will, mind, speech, names, sacred hymns, and sacrifices—aye, all this springs from the Self.
2. 'There is this verse, "He who sees this, does not see death, nor illness, nor pain; he who sees this, sees everything, and obtains everything everywhere.
'"He is one (before creation), he becomes three (fire, water, earth), he becomes five, he becomes seven, he becomes nine; then again he is called the eleventh, and hundred and ten and one thousand and twenty[256]."
'When the intellectual aliment has been purified, the whole nature becomes purified. When the whole nature has been purified, the memory becomes firm. And when the memory (of the Highest Self) remains firm, then all the ties (which bind us to a belief in anything but the Self) are loosened.
'The venerable Sanatkumâra showed to Nârada, after his faults had been rubbed out, the other side of darkness. They call Sanatkumâra Skanda, yea, Skanda they call him.'
EIGHTH PRAPÂTHAKA.
First Khanda[257].
1. Harih, Om. There is this city of Brahman (the body), and in it the palace, the small lotus (of the heart), and in it that small ether. Now what exists within that small ether, that is to be sought for, that is to be understood.
2. And if they should say to him: 'Now with regard to that city of Brahman, and the palace in it, i. e. the small lotus of the heart, and the small ether within the heart, what is there within it that deserves to be sought for, or that is to be understood?'
3. Then he should say: 'As large as this ether (all space) is, so large is that ether within the heart. Both heaven and earth are contained within it, both fire and air, both sun and moon, both lightning and stars; and whatever there is of him (the Self) here in the world, and whatever is not (i. e. whatever has been or will be), all that is contained within it[258].
4. And if they should say to him: 'If everything that exists is contained in that city of Brahman, all beings and all desires (whatever can be imagined or desired), then what is left of it, when old age reaches it and scatters it, or when it falls to pieces?'
5. Then he should say: 'By the old age of the body, that (the ether, or Brahman within it) does not age; by the death of the body, that (the ether, or Brahman within it) is not killed. That (the man) is the true Brahma-city (not the body[259]). In it all desires are contained. It is the Self, free from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to desire, and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagine. Now as here on earth people follow as they are commanded, and depend on the object which they are attached to, be it a country or a piece of land,
6. 'And as here on earth, whatever has been acquired by exertion, perishes, so perishes whatever is acquired for the next world by sacrifices and other good actions performed on earth. Those who depart from hence without having discovered the Self and those true desires, for them there is no freedom in all the worlds. But those who depart from hence, after having discovered the Self and those true desires[260], for them there is freedom in all the worlds.
Second Khanda.
1. 'Thus he who desires the world[261] of the fathers, by his mere will the fathers come to receive him, and having obtained the world of the fathers, he is happy.
2. 'And he who desires the world of the mothers, by his mere will the mothers come to receive him, and having obtained the world of the mothers, he is happy.
3. 'And he who desires the world of the brothers, by his mere will the brothers come to receive him, and having obtained the world of the brothers, he is happy.
4. 'And he who desires the world of the sisters, by his mere will the sisters come to receive him, and having obtained the world of the sisters, he is happy.
5. 'And he who desires the world of the friends, by his mere will the friends come to receive him, and having obtained the world of the friends, he is happy.
6. 'And he who desires the world of perfumes and garlands (gandhamâlya), by his mere will perfumes and garlands come to him, and having obtained the world of perfumes and garlands, he is happy.
7. 'And he who desires the world of food and drink, by his mere will food and drink come to him, and having obtained the world of food and drink, he is happy.
8. 'And he who desires the world of song and music, by his mere will song and music come to him, and having obtained the world of song and music, he is happy.
9. 'And he who desires the world of women, by his mere will women come to receive him, and having obtained the world of women, he is happy.
'Whatever object he is attached to, whatever object he desires, by his mere will it comes to him, and having obtained it, he is happy.
Third Khanda.
1. 'These true desires, however, are hidden by what is false; though the desires be true, they have a covering which is false. Thus, whoever belonging to us has departed this life, him we cannot gain back, so that we should see him with our eyes.
2. 'Those who belong to us, whether living or departed, and whatever else there is which we wish for and do not obtain, all that we find there (if we descend into our heart, where Brahman dwells, in the ether of the heart), There are all our true desires, but hidden by what is false[262]. As people who do not know the country, walk again and again over a gold treasure that has been hidden somewhere in the earth and do not discover it, thus do all these creatures day after day go into the Brahma-world (they are merged in Brahman, while asleep), and yet do not discover it, because they are carried away by untruth (they do not come to themselves, i. e. they do not discover the true Self in Brahman, dwelling in the heart).
3. 'That Self abides in the heart. And this is the etymological explanation. The heart is called hridayam, instead of hrzdy-ayam, i. e. He who is in the heart. He who knows this, that He is in the heart, goes day by day (when in sushupti, deep sleep) into heaven (svarga), i.e. into the Brahman of the heart.
4. 'Now that serene being[263] which, after having risen from out this earthly body, and having reached the highest light (self-knowledge), appears in its true form, that is the Self, thus he spoke (when asked by his pupils). This is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman. And of that Brahman the name is the True, Satyam,
5. This name Sattyam consists of three syllables, sat-tî-yam[264]. Sat signifies the immortal, t, the mortal, and with yam he binds both. Because he binds both, the immortal and the mortal, therefore it is yam. He who knows this goes day by day into heaven (svarga).
Fourth Khanda.
1. That Self is a bank[265], a boundary, so that these worlds may not be confounded. Day and night do not pass that bank, nor old age, death, and grief; neither good nor evil deeds. All evil-doers turn back from it, for the world of Brahman is free from all evil.
2. Therefore he who has crossed that bank, if blind, ceases to be blind; if wounded, ceases to be wounded; if afflicted, ceases to be afflicted. Therefore when that bank has been crossed, night becomes day indeed, for the world of Brahman is lighted up once for all[266].
3. And that world of Brahman belongs to those only who find it by abstinence—for them there is freedom in all the worlds.
Fifth Khanda.
1. What people call sacrifice (yagña), that is really abstinence (brahmakarya). For he who knows, obtains that (world of Brahman, which others obtain by sacrifice), by means of abstinence.
What people call sacrifice (ishta), that is really abstinence, for by abstinence, having searched (ishtvâ), he obtains the Self.
2. What people call sacrifice (sattrâyana), that is really abstinence, for by abstinence he obtains from the Sat (the true), the safety (trâna) of the Self.
What people call the vow of silence (mauna), that is really abstinence, for he who by abstinence has found out the Self, meditates (manute).
3. What people call fasting (aranyâyana), that is really abstinence, for that Self does not perish (na nasyati), which we find out by abstinence.
What people call a hermit's life (aranyâyana), that is really abstinence. Ara[267] and Nya are two lakes in the world of Brahman, in the third heaven from hence; and there is the lake Airammadîya, and the Asvattha tree, showering down Soma, and the city of Brahman (Hiranyagarbha) Aparâgitâ[268], and the golden Prabhuvimita (the hall built by Prabhu, Brahman).
Now that world of Brahman belongs to those who find the lakes Ara and Nya in the world of Brahman by means of abstinence; for them there is freedom in all the worlds[269].
Sixth Khanda.
1. Now those arteries of the heart consist of a brown substance, of a white, blue, yellow, and red
substance, and so is the sun brown, white, blue, yellow, and red.
2. As a very long highway goes to two places, to one at the beginning, and to another at the end, so do the rays of the sun go to both worlds, to this one and to the other. They start from the sun, and enter into those arteries; they start from those arteries, and enter into the sun.
3. And when a man is asleep, reposing, and at perfect rest, so that he sees no dream[270], then he has entered into those arteries. Then no evil touches him, for he has obtained the light (of the sun).
4. And when a man falls ill, then those who sit round him, say, 'Do you know me? Do you know me?' As long as he has not departed from this body, he knows them.
5. But when he departs from this body, then he departs upwards by those very rays (towards the worlds which he has gained by merit, not by knowledge); or he goes out while meditating on Om[271] (and thus securing an entrance into the loka). And while his mind is failing, he is going to the sun. For the sun is the door of the world (of Brahman). Those who know, walk in; those who do not know, are shut out. There is this verse[272]: 'There are a hundred and one arteries of the heart; one of them penetrates the crown of the head; moving upwards by it a man reaches the immortal; the others serve for departing in different directions, yea, in different directions[273].'
Seventh Khanda[274].
1. Pragâpati said: 'The Self which is free from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to desire, and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagine, that it is which we must search out, that it is which we must try to understand. He who has searched out that Self and understands it, obtains all worlds and all desires.'
2. The Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) both heard these words, and said: 'Well, let us search for that Self by which, if one has searched it out, all worlds and all desires are obtained.'
Thus saying Indra went from the Devas, Virokana from the Asuras, and both, without having communicated with each other, approached Pragâpati, VIII PRAPATAKA, 7 KHANDA, 3- 135
holding fuel in their hands, as is the custom for pupils approaching their master.
3. They dwelt there as pupils for thirty-two years. Then Pragapati asked them : ' For what purpose have you both dwelt here ?'
They replied : ' A saying of yours is being repeated, viz. "the Self which is free from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to desire, and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagine, that it is which we must search out, that it is which we must try to understand. He who has searched out that Self and understands it, obtains all worlds and all desires.' Now we both have dwelt here because we wish for that Self'
Pragapati said to them : ' The person that is seen in the eye 1, that is the Self. This is what I have said. This is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman.'
They asked : ' Sir, he who is perceived in the water, and he who is perceived in a mirror, who is he?'
He replied : 'He himself indeed is seen in all these' 2
1 The commentator explains this rightly. Pragpati means by the person that is seen in the eye, the real agent of seeing, who is seen by sages only, even with their eyes shut. His pupils, however, misunderstand him. They think of the person that is seen, not of the person that sees (Yoga-sutras II, 6). The person seen in the eye is to them the small figure imaged in the eye, and they go on therefore to ask, whether the image in the water or in a mirror is not the Self.
2 The commentators are at great pains to explain that Pragapati told no falsehood. He meant by purusha the personal element in the highest sense, and it was not his fault that his pupils took purusha for man or body.
Digitized by LjOOQlC 136 Khandogya-upanishad.
Eighth Khanda.
1. 'Look at your Self in a pan of water, and whatever you do not understand of your Self 1, come and tell me.' They looked in the water-pan. Then Pragapati said to them : ' What do you see ?' They said: 'We both see the self thus altogether, a picture even to the very hairs and nails'
2. Pragapati said to them: 'After you have adorned yourselves, have put on your best clothes and cleaned yourselves, look again into the water-pan' They, after having adorned themselves, having put on their best clothes and cleaned themselves, looked into the water-pan. Pragapati said: ' What do you see ? '
3. They said : ' Just as we are, well adorned, with our best clothes and clean, thus we are both there, Sir, well adorned, with our best clothes and clean' Pragapati said: ' That is the Self, this is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman' Then both went away satisfied in their hearts.
4. And Pragapati, looking after them, said : 'They both go away without having perceived and without having known the Self, and whoever of these two2, whether Devas or Asuras, will follow this doctrine (upanishad), will perish'
Now Virochana, satisfied in his heart, went to the Asuras and preached that doctrine to them, that the self (the body) alone is to be worshipped, that the
1 I take atmanah as a genitive, governed by yad, not as an accusative plural. 2 The commentator reads yatare for yatah Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/251 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/252 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/253 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/254 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/255 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/256 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/257 Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 1.djvu/258
- ↑ The Khândogya-upanishad begins with recommending meditation on the syllable Om, a sacred syllable that had to be pronounced at the beginning of each Veda and of every recitation of Vedic hymns. As connected with the Sâma-veda, that syllable Om is called udgîtha. Its more usual name is pranava. The object of the Upanishad is to explain the various meanings which the syllable Om may assume in the mind of a devotee, some of them being extremely artificial and senseless, till at last the highest meaning of Om is reached, viz. Brahman, the intelligent cause of the universe.
- ↑ Akshara means both syllable and the imperishable, i.e. Brahman.
- ↑ Essence, rasa, is explained in different ways, as origin, support, end, cause, and effect. Rasa means originally the sap of trees. That sap may be conceived either as the essence extracted from the tree, or as what gives vigour and life to a tree. In the former case it might be transferred to the conception of effect, in the latter to that of cause. In our sentence it has sometimes the one, sometimes the other meaning. Earth is the support of all beings, water pervades the earth, plants arise from water, man lives by plants, speech is the best part of man, the Rig-veda the best part of speech, the Sâma-veda the best extract from the Rik, udgîtha, or the syllable Om, the crown of the Sâma-veda.
- ↑ Because most of the hymns of the Sâma-veda are taken from the Rig-veda.
- ↑ Parârdhya is here derived from para, highest, and ardha, place. The eighth means the eighth or last in the series of essences.
- ↑ These are allusions to sacrificial technicalities, all intended to show the importance of the syllable Om, partly as a mere word, used at the sacrifices, partly as the mysterious name of the Highest Self. As every priest at the Soma-sacrifices, in which three classes of priests are always engaged, has to begin his part of the ceremonial with Om, therefore the whole sacrifice is said to be dependent on the syllable Om, and to be for the glory of that syllable, as an emblem of the Highest Self, a knowledge of whom is the indirect result of all sacrifices. The greatness of the syllable Om is explained by the vital breaths of the priest, the sacrificer, and his wife; its essence by rice, corn, &c, which constitute the oblations. Why breath and food are due to the syllable Om is explained by the sacrifice, which is dependent on that syllable, ascending to the sun, the sun sending rain, rain producing food, and food producing breath and life.
- ↑ He who simply pronounces the syllable Om as part of his recitation at a sacrifice, and he who knows the hidden meaning of that syllable, both may perform the same sacrifice. But that performed by the latter is more powerful, because knowledge is better than ignorance. This is, as usual, explained by some comparisons. It is true that both he who knows the quality of the harîtakî and he who does not, are purged alike if they take it. But on the other hand, if a jeweller and a mere clod sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter.
- ↑ Upanishad is here explained by yoga, and yoga by devatâdivishayam upâsanam, meditation directed to certain deities. More likely, however, it refers to this very upanishad, i.e. to the udgîthavidyâ, the doctrine of the secret meaning of Om, as here explained.
- ↑ A very similar story is told in the Brîhad-âranyaka I, 1, 3, 1. But though the coincidences between the two are considerable, amounting sometimes to verbal identity, the purport of the two seems to be different. See Vedânta-sûtra III, 3, 6.
- ↑ Devas and Asuras, gods and demons, are here explained by the commentator as the good and evil inclinations of man; Pragâpati as man in general.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Udgîtha stands, according to the commentator, for the sacrificial act to be performed by the Udgâtri, the Sâma-veda priest, with the udgîtha hymns; and as these sacrificial acts always form part of the Gyotishtoma &c, these great Soma-sacrifices are really intended. In the second place, however, the commentator takes udgîtha in the sense of Udgâtri, the performer of the udgîtha, which is or was by the Devas thought to be the breath in the nose. I have preferred to take udgîtha in the sense of Om, and all that is implied by it.
- ↑ They asked that breath should recite the udgîtha. Comm.
- ↑ Mukhya prâna is used in two senses, the principal or vital breath, also called sreshtha, and the breath in the mouth, also called âsanya.
- ↑ According to the commentator, the assemblage of the other vital breaths or senses is here meant. They depart when the breath of the mouth, sometimes called sarvambhari, all-supporting, does no longer, by eating and drinking, support them.
- ↑ The paragraphs from 10 to 14 are differently explained by Indian commentators. By treating the nominatives angirâs, brihaspatis, and ayâsyas (here the printed text reads ayâsyam) as accusatives, or by admitting the omission of an iti after them, they connect paragraphs 9, 10, and 11 with paragraph 12, and thus gain the meaning that Vaka Dâlbhya meditated on the breath in the mouth as Angiras, Brihaspati, and Ayâsya, instead of those saints having themselves thus meditated; and that he, knowing the secret names and qualities of the breath, obtained, when acting as Udgâtri priest, the wishes of those for whom he sacrificed. Tena is difficult to explain, unless we take it in the sense of tenânusishtah taught by him.
- ↑ Adhyâtma means with reference to the body, not with reference to the self or the soul. Having explained the symbolical meaning of Om as applied to the body and its organs of sense, he now explains its symbolical meaning adhidaivatam, i.e. as applied to divine beings.
- ↑ As applied to breath, svara is explained by the commentator in the sense of moving, going out; pratyâsvara, as applied to the sun, is explained as returning every day. More likely, however, svara as applied to breath means sound, Om itself being called svara {Kh. Up. I, 4, 3), and prasvâra in the Rig-veda-prâtisâkhya, 882. As applied to the sun, svara and pratyâsvara were probably taken in the sense of light and reflected light.
- ↑ The commentator supplies explanations to all these fanciful etymologies. The heaven is ut, because it is high; the sky is gî, because it gives out all the worlds (giranât); earth is tha, because it is the place (sthâna) of living beings. The sun is ut, because it is high. The wind is gî, because it gives out fire, &c. (giranât); fire is tha, because it is the place (sthâna) of the sacrifice. The Sâma-veda is ut, because it is praised as svarga; the Yagur-veda is gî, because the gods take the oblation offered with a Yagus; the Rig-veda is tha, because the Sâma verses stand in it. All this is very childish, and worse than childish, but it is interesting as a phase of human folly which is not restricted to the Brahmans of India. I take the following passage from an interesting article, 'On the Ogam Beithluisnin and on Scythian Letters,' by Dr. Charles Graves, Bishop of Limerick. 'An Irish antiquary,' he says, 'writing several hundred years ago, proposes to give an account of the origin of the names of the notes in the musical scale.
' "It is asked here, according to Saint Augustine, What is chanting, or why is it so called? Answer. From this word cantalena; and cantalena is the same thing as lenis cantus, i. e. a soft, sweet chant to God, and to the Virgin Mary, and to all the Saints. And the reason why the word puincc (puncta) is so called is because the points (or musical notes) ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, hurt the devil and puncture him. And it is thus that these points are to be understood: viz. When Moses the son of Amram with his people in their Exodus was crossing the Red Sea, and Pharaoh and his host were following him, this was the chant which Moses had to protect him from Pharaoh and his host—these six points in praise of the Lord:—
' "The first point of these, i.e. ut: and ut in the Greek is the same as liberat in the Latin; and that is the same as saer in the Gaelic; i.e. O God, said Moses, deliver us from the harm of the devil.
' "The second point of them, i.e. re; and re is the same as saer; i.e. O God, deliver us from everything, hurtful and malignant.
' "The third point, i. e. mi: and mi in the Greek is the same as militum in the Latin; and that is the same as ridere (a knight) in the Gaelic; i. e. O God, said Moses, deliver us from those knights who are pursuing us.
' "The fourth point, i.e. fa: and fa in the Greek is the same as famulus in the Latin; and that is the same as mug (slave) in the Gaelic; i. e. O God, said Moses, deliver us from those slaves who are pursuing us.
' "The fifth point, i.e. sol: and sol is the same as grian (sun); and that is the same as righteousness ; because righteousness and Christ are not different ; i.e. O Christ, said Moses, deliver us.
' "The sixth point, i.e. la, is the same as lav; and that is the same as indail (wash); i.e. O God, said Moses, wash away our sins from us.
' "And on the singing of that laud Pharaoh and his host were drowned.
' "Understand, O man, that in whatever place this laud, i.e. this chant, is sung, the devil is bound by it, and his power is extirpated thence, and the power of God is called in."
' "We have been taught that the names of the first six notes in the gamut were suggested by the initial syllables of the first six hemistichs in one of the stanzas of a hymn to St. John:
Ut queant laxis
Resonare fibris
Mira gestorum
Famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti
Labii reatum,
Sancte Ioannes.' - ↑ The milk of speech consists in rewards to be obtained by the Rig-veda, &c. Or we may translate, Speech yields its milk to him who is able to milk speech.
- ↑ Abhyâso ha yat, lit. depend on it that it will be fulfilled, but always explained by quickly. See Kh. Up. II, 1, 4; III, 19, 4; V, 10, 7. Frequently, but wrongly, written with a dental s.
- ↑ The repetition of the last sentence is always an indication that a chapter is finished. This old division into chapters is of great importance for a proper study of the Upanishads.
- ↑ Cf. I, 3, 2.
- ↑ Pranauti, he lauds, i. e. he meditates on. Comm.
- ↑ Pranava is the name used chiefly by the followers of the Rig-veda, udgîtha the name used by the followers of the Sâma-veda. Both words are intended for the syllable Om.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. I, 3, 1.
- ↑ The breath in the mouth, or the chief breath, says Om, i.e. gives permission to the five senses to act, just as the sun, by saying Om, gives permission to all living beings to move about.
- ↑ The Sâma verses are mostly taken from the Rig-veda.
- ↑ The darkness which is seen by those who can concentrate their sight on the sun.
- ↑ Bright as gold.
- ↑ The colour of the lotus is described by a comparison with the Kapyâsa, the seat of the monkey (kapiprishthânto yena upavisati). It was probably a botanical name.
- ↑ Name of the principal priest of the Sâma-veda.
- ↑ Breath in the nose, sense of smelling. Comm.
- ↑ The shadow-self, the likeness or image thrown upon the eye; see Kh. Up. VIII, 9, 1.
- ↑ A set of hymns to be recited, whereas the Sâman is sung, and the Yagus muttered.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. I, 6, 6.
- ↑ Cognisant of the deeper meanings of udgîtha, i. e. Om.
- ↑ He, though not being a Brâhmana, turns out to be the only one who knows the true meaning of udgîtha, i. e. the Highest Brahman.
- ↑ In V, 3, 5, Pravâhana Gaivali is distinctly called a râganyabandhu.
- ↑ Ether, or we might translate it by space, both being intended, however, as names or symbols of the Highest Brahman. See Vedânta-sûtra I, 1, 22.
- ↑ When they had been killed either by stone weapons, or by a shower of stones, which produced a famine in the land. Comm.
- ↑ Atikî is not the name of the wife of Ushasti, nor does it mean strong enough to travel. Sankara explains it as anupagâtapayodharâdistrîvyañganâ, and Ânandagiri adds, Svairasamkâre 'pi na vyabhikârasanketi darsayitum âfikyeti viseshanam. She was so young that she was allowed to run about freely, without exciting any suspicion. Another commentator says, Grihâd bahirgantumarhâ anupagâtapayodharâ.
- ↑ Or, according to the commentator, 'water I can get whenever I like.'
- ↑ The commentator is at great pains to show that a priest may officiate without knowing the secret meanings here assigned to certain parts of the sacrifice, and without running any risk of punishment. Only, if another priest is present, who is initiated, then the uninitiated, taking his place, is in danger of losing his head.
- ↑ Should it be avittvâ, as in I, 2, 9?
- ↑ There are certain etymological fancies for assigning each deity to a certain portion of the Sâma-veda ceremonial. Thus prâna is assigned to the prastâva, because both words begin with pra. Âditya is assigned to the udgîtha, because the sun is ut. Anna, food, is assigned to the pratihâra, because food is taken, pratihriyate, &c.
- ↑ This alludes to a ceremony where the priests have to walk in procession, each priest holding the gown of the preceding priest.
- ↑ The commentator explains Varuna and Pragâpati as epithets of Savitri, or the sun, meaning rain-giver and man-protector.
- ↑ The syllables here mentioned are the so-called stobhâksharas, sounds used in the musical recitation of the Sâman hymns, probably to fill out the intervals in the music for which there were no words in the hymns. These syllables are marked in the MSS. of the Sâma-veda, but their exact character and purpose are not quite clear.
- ↑ A stobha syllable used in the Rathantara Sâman.
- ↑ Used in the Vâmadevya Sâman.
- ↑ The Sâman addressed to Agni takes the syllable î as nidhana.
- ↑ The stobha syllables used in the Sâman addressed to the Visve Devas.
- ↑ See Kh. Up. I, 4, 4.
- ↑ The commentator takes vâg as a stobha, as a syllable occurring in hymns addressed to Virâg, and as implying either the deity Virâg or food.
- ↑ I.e. wealthy and healthy.
- ↑ Hitherto meditation on certain portions only of the Sâma-veda and the Sâma-sacrifice had been enjoined, and their deeper meaning explained. Now the same is done for the whole of the Sâman.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. III, 19, 4.
- ↑ The five forms in which the Sâman is used for sacrificial purposes. The Sâman is always to be understood as the Good, as Dharma, and as Brahman.
- ↑ The commentator supplies some fanciful reasons why each of the five Sâmans is identified with certain objects. Earth is said to be the hihkâra, because both always come first. Agni is prastâva, because sacrifices are praised in the fire (prastûyante). The sky is udgîtha, because it is also called gagana, and both words have the letter g in common. The sun is pratihâra, because everybody wishes the sun to come towards him (prati). Heaven is nidhana, because those who depart from here are placed there (nidhîyante), &c.
- ↑ The Ganges, &c. Comm.
- ↑ The Narmadâ, &c. Comm.
- ↑ The commentator adds, 'unless he wishes to die in the Ganges.'
- ↑ Prâna is explained by ghrâna, smell; possibly ghrâna may have been the original reading. Anyhow, it cannot be the mukhya prâna here, because it is distinctly represented as the lowest sense.
- ↑ These are again the stobhâksharas, or musical syllables used in the performance of the Sâman hymns; see p. 22.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. II, 2, 2. Comm.
- ↑ When the sun puts forth his rays, and when the cows are together with their calves, i.e. as Rajendralal Mitra says, after the cows have been milked and are allowed by the cowherds to suckle their young.
- ↑ The tertium comparationis is here the â of âdi and the â of âdâya, i. e. holding. The d might have been added.
- ↑ The cakes for the ancestral spirits, or the spirits themselves.
- ↑ Âtmasammita is explained by the commentator either as having the same number of syllables in the names of the different Sâmans, or as equal to the Highest Self.
- ↑ There are twelve months, five seasons, three worlds, then follows the sun as the twenty-first. Comm.
- ↑ After having explained the secret meaning of the whole Sâma- veda ceremonial, as it is to be understood by meditation only (dhyâna), he proceeds to explain the secret meaning of the same ceremonial, giving to each its proper name in proper succession (gâyatra, rathantara, &c), and showing the hidden purport of those names.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. II, 7, 1, where prâna is explained differently. The Gâyatrî itself is sometimes called prâna.
- ↑ The commentator generally takes gyok in the sense of bright.
- ↑ The Rathantara is used for the ceremony of producing fire.
- ↑ Brahmavarkasa is the 'glory of countenance" produced by higher knowledge, an inspired look. Annâda, lit. able to eat, healthy, strong.
- ↑ Upamantrayate sa hinkâro, gñapayate sa prastâvah, striyâ saha sete sa udgîthah, pratistrî saha sete sa pratihârâh, kâlam gakkhati tan nidhanam, pâram gakkhati tan nidhanam. Etad vâmadevyam mithune protam. 2. Sa ya evam etad vâmadevyam mithune protam veda, mithunî bhavati, mithunân mithunât pragâyate, sarvam âyur eti, gycg gîvati, mahân pragayâ pasubhir bhavati, mahân kîrtttyâ. Na kâmkana pariharet tad vratam.
- ↑ The sun is brihat. The Brihat Sâman is to be looked upon as the sun, or the Brihat has Âditya for its deity.
- ↑ The same as brahmavarkasin.
- ↑ The Sakvarîs are sung with the Mahânâmnis. These are said to be water, and the worlds are said to rest on water.
- ↑ Revat means rich.
- ↑ Here ends the Sâmopâsana.
- ↑ These are lucubrations on the different tones employed in singing the Sâman hymns, and their names, such as vinardi, anirukta, nirukta, mridu slakshna, slakshna balavad, krauñka, apadhvànta.
- ↑ It would be better if the first ity âgâyet could be left out. The commentator ignores these words.
- ↑ Grâsa, according to the Rig-veda-prâtisâkhya 766, is the stiffening of the root of the tongue in pronunciation.
- ↑ Nirása, according to the Rig-veda-prâtisâkhya 760, is the withdrawing of the active from the passive organ in pronunciation.
- ↑ The opening, vivrita, may mean two things, either the opening of the vocal chords (kha), which imparts to the ûshmans their surd character (Rig. Prât. 709), or the opening of the organs of pronunciation (karana), which for the ûshmans is asprishtamsthitam (Rig. Prât. 719), or vivrita (Ath. Prât I, 31; Taitt Prât. II, 5).
- ↑ Anabhinihita, for thus the commentaries give the reading, is explained by anabhinikshipta. On the real abbinidhâna, see Rig. Prât. 393. The translation does not follow the commentary. The genitive pragâpateh is governed by paridadâni.
- ↑ Not the first in rank or succession, but only in enumerating the three branches of the law. This first branch corresponds to the second stage, the âsrama of the householder. Austerity is meant for the Vânaprastha, the third âsrama, while the third is intended for the Brahmakârin, the student, only that the naishthika or perpetual Brahmakârin here takes the place of the ordinary student. The Brahmasamstha would represent the fourth âsrama, that of the Sannyâsin or parivrâg, who has ceased to perform any works, even the tapas or austerities of the Vânaprastha.
- ↑ The commentator is always very anxious to explain that though it is better that a priest should know the hidden meaning of the sacrificial acts which he has to perform, yet there is nothing to prevent a priest, who has not yet arrived at this stage of knowledge, from performing his duties.
- ↑ After the various meditations on the Sâma-veda sacrifice, the sun is next to be meditated on, as essential to the performance of all sacrifices.
- ↑ Everybody delights in the sun, as the highest reward of all sacrifices.
- ↑ I am not certain whether this passage is rightly translated. Rajendralal Mitra speaks of an arched bamboo, whence the atmosphere hangs pendant like a hive, in which the vapours are the eggs. Apûpa means a cake, and may mean a hive. In order to understand the simile, we ought to have a clearer idea of the construction of the ancient bee-hive.
- ↑ Annâdya, explained as food, but more likely meaning power to eat, appetite, health. See III, 13, 1.
- ↑ The commentator explains: The Rik verses, on becoming part of the ceremonial, perform the sacrifice. The sacrifice (the flower), when surrounded by the Rik verses (bees), yields its essence, the nectar. That essence consists in all the rewards to be obtained through sacrifice, and as these rewards are to be enjoyed in the next world and in the sun, therefore that essence or nectar is said to ascend to the sun.
- ↑ As there is no Atharva-veda sacrifice, properly so called, we have corresponding to the Atharva-veda hymns the so-called fifth Veda, the Itihâsa-purâna. This may mean the collection of legends and traditions, or the old book of traditions. At all events it is taken as one Purâna, not as many. These ancient stories were repeated at the Asvamedha sacrifice during the so-called Pariplava nights. Many of them have been preserved in the Brâhmanas; others, in a more modern form, in the Mahâbhârata. See Weber, Indische Studien, I, p. 258, note.
- ↑ This is differently explained by the commentator. He takes it to mean that, when the Vasus have gone to the sun, and see that there is no opportunity for enjoying that colour, they rest; but when they see that there is an opportunity for enjoying it, they exert themselves for it. I think the colour is here taken for the colour of the morning, which the Vasus enter, and from which they go forth again.
- ↑ 1. East: Vasus: red: Agni. 2. South: Rudras: white: Indra. 3. West: Âditya: dark: Varuna. 4. North: Marut: very dark: Soma. 5. Upward: Sâdhya: centre: Brahman.
- ↑ The meaning of the five Khandas from 6 to 10 is clear, in so far as they are intended to show that he who knows or meditates on the sacrifices as described before, enjoys his reward in different worlds with the Vasus, Rudras, &c. for certain periods of time, till at last he reaches the true Brahman. Of these periods each succeeding one is supposed to be double the length of the preceding one. This is expressed by imagining a migration of the sun from east to south, west, north, and zenith. Each change of the sun marks a new world, and the duration of each successive world is computed as double the duration of the preceding world. Similar ideas have been more fully developed in the Purânas, and the commentator is at great pains to remove apparent contradictions between the Paurânik and Vaidik accounts, following, as Ânandagñânagiri remarks, the Dravidâkârya (p. 173, 1. 13).
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. VIII, 4, 2.
- ↑ This was the old, not the present custom, says Ânandagiri. Not the father, but an âkârya, has now to teach his pupils.
- ↑ The Gâyatrî is one of the sacred metres, and is here to be meditated on as Brahman. It is used in the sense of verse, and as the name of a famous hymn. The Gâyatrî is often praised as the most powerful metre, and whatever can be obtained by means of the recitation of Gâyatrî verses is described as the achievement of the Gâyatrî. The etymology of gâyatrî from gai and trâ is, of course, fanciful.
- ↑ The prânas may be meant for the five senses, as explained in Kh. I, 2, 1; II, 7, 1; or for the five breathings, as explained immediately afterwards in III, 13, 1. The commentator sees in them everything that here exists {Kh. Up. III, 15, 4), and thus establishes the likeness between the body and the Gâyatrî. As Gâyatrî is the earth, and the earth the body, and the body the heart, Gâyatrî is in the end to be considered as the heart.
- ↑ The four feet are explained as the four quarters of the Gâyatrî metre, of six syllables each. The Gâyatrî really consists of three feet of eight syllables each.
- ↑ The Gâyatrî has been identified with all beings, with speech, earth, body, heart, and the vital airs, and is therefore called sixfold. This, at least, is the way in which the commentator accounts for the epithet "sixfold."
- ↑ Of Brahman modified as Gâyatrî, having four feet, and being sixfold.
- ↑ The real Brahman, unmodified by form and name.
- ↑ The meditation on the five gates and the five gate-keepers of the heart is meant to be subservient to the meditation on Brahman, as the ether in the heart, which, as it is said at the end, is actually seen and heard by the senses as being within the heart.
- ↑ The presence of Brahman in the heart of man is not to rest on the testimony of revelation only, but is here to be established by the evidence of the senses. Childish as the argument may seem to us, it shows at all events how intently the old Brahmans thought on the problem of the evidence of the invisible.
- ↑ That warmth must come from something, just as smoke comes from fire, and this something is supposed to be Brahman in the heart.
- ↑ Cf. Ait. Ât. Ill, 2, 4, 11-13.
- ↑ Galân is explained by ga, born, la, absorbed, and an, breathing. It is an artificial term, but fully recognised by the Vedânta school, and always explained in this manner.
- ↑ Or he who has faith and no doubt, will obtain this.
- ↑ This chapter is frequently quoted as the Sândilya-vidyâ, Vedântasâra, init; Vedânta-sûtra III, 3, 31.
- ↑ The object of this section, the Kosavigñâna, is to show how the promise made in III, 13, 6, "that a strong son should be born in a man's family," is to be fulfilled.
- ↑ These names are explained by the commentator as follows: Because people offer libations (guhvati), turning to the east, therefore it is called Guhû. Because evil doers suffer (sahante) in the town of Yama, which is in the south, therefore it is called Sahamânâ. The western quarter is called Râgñî, either because it is sacred to king Vanuna (râgan), or on account of the red colour (râga) of the twilight. The north is called Subhûtâ, because wealthy beings (bhûtimat), like Kuvera &c, reside there.
- ↑ Here the names of the sons are to be pronounced.
- ↑ The object of this Khanda is to show how to obtain long life, as promised before.
- ↑ Here we have a representation of the sacrifice as performed without any ceremonial, and as it is often represented when performed in thought only by a man living in the forest.
- ↑ The curious coincidence between Krishna Devakîputra, here mentioned as a pupil of Ghora Ângirasa, and the famous Krishna, the son of Devakî, was first pointed out by Colebrooke, Miscell. Essays, II, 177. Whether it is more than a coincidence, is difficult to say. Certainly we can build no other conclusions on it than those indicated by Colebrooke, that new fables may have been constructed elevating this personage to the rank of a god. We know absolutely nothing of the old Krishna Devakîputra except his having been a pupil of Ghora Ângirasa, nor does there seem to have been any attempt made by later Brahmans to connect their divine Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, with the Krishna Devakîputra of our Upanishad. This is all the more remarkable because the author of the Sândilya-sûtras, for instance, who is very anxious to find a srauta authority for the worship of Krishna Vâsudeva as the supreme deity, had to be satisfied with quoting such modern compilations as the Nârâyanopanishad, Atharvasiras, VI, 9, brahmanyo devakîputro brahmanyo madhusûdanah (see Sândilya-sûtras, ed. Ballantyne, p. 36, translated by Cowell, p. 51), without venturing to refer to the Krishna Vâsudeva of the Khândogya-upanishad. The occurrence of such names as Krishna, Vâsudeva, Madhusûdana stamps Upanishads, like the Âtmabodha-upanishad, as modern (Colebrooke, Essays, I, 101), and the same remark applies, as Weber has shown, to the Gopâlatâpanî-upanishad (Bibliotheca Indica, No. 183), where we actually find such names as Srîkrishna Govinda, Goptîganavallabha, Devakyâm gâtah (p. 38), &c. Professor Weber has treated these questions very fully, but it is not quite clear to me whether he wishes to go beyond Colebrooke and to admit more than a similarity of name between the pupil of Ghora Ângirasa and the friend of the Gopîs.
- ↑ Let him recite these three verses.
- ↑ Both these verses had to be translated here according to their scholastic interpretation, but they had originally a totally different meaning. Even the text was altered, divâ being changed to divi, svah to sve. The first is taken from a hymn addressed to Indra, who after conquering the dark clouds brings back the light of the sun. When he does that, then the people see again, as the poet says, the daily light of the old seed (from which the sun rises) which is lighted in heaven. The other verse belongs to a hymn addressed to the sun. Its simple meaning is: 'Seeing above the darkness (of the night) the rising light, the Sun, bright among the bright, we came towards the highest light.'
- ↑ This is a further elucidation of Kh. Up. III, 14, 2.
- ↑ Âditya, or the sun, had before been represented as one of the four feet of Brahman. He is now represented as Brahman, or as to be meditated on as such.
- ↑ Not yet existing, not yet developed in form and name, and therefore as if not existing.
- ↑ Ânda instead of anda is explained as a Vedic irregularity. A similar cosmogony is given in Manu's Law Book, I, 12 seq. See Kellgren, Mythus de ovo mundano, Helsingfors, 1849.
- ↑ Vâyu (air) and Prâna (breath) had before been represented as feet of Brahman, as the second pair. Now they are represented as Brahman, and as to be meditated on as such. This is the teaching of Raikva. The language of this chapter is very obscure, and I am not satisfied with the translation.
- ↑ Sayugvan is explained as possessed of a car with yoked horses or oxen. Could it have meant originally, 'yoke-fellow, equal' as in Rig-veda X, 130, 4? Anquetil renders it by 'semper cum se ipso camelum solutum habens.'
- ↑ Instead of adhareyâh, we must read adhare 'yâh.
- ↑ It is curious that in a hymn of the Atharva-veda (V, 22, 5, 8) takman, apparently a disease of the skin, is relegated to the Mahâvrishas, where Raikva dwelt. Roth, Zur Literatur des Veda, p. 36.
- ↑ To find out her age. The commentator translates, 'Raikva, knowing her mouth to be the door of knowledge, i.e. knowing that for her he might impart his knowledge to Gânasruti, and that Gânasruti by bringing such rich gifts had become a proper receiver of knowledge, consented to do what he had before refused."
- ↑ The commentator supplies adât, the king gave the villages to him.
- ↑ Samvarga, absorption, whence samvargavidyâ, not samsarga. It is explained by samvargana, samgrahana, and samgrasana, in the text itself by adana, eating.
- ↑ This must refer to Vâyu and Prâna swallowing the four, as explained in IV, 3, 2, and IV, 3, 3. The commentator explains it by Pragâpati, who is sometimes called Ka. In one sense it would be Brahman, as represented by Vâyu and Prâna.
- ↑ The food which you have refused to me, you have really refused to Brahman.
- ↑ Saunaka wishes the student to understand that though 'mortals see him not,' he sees and knows him, viz. the god who, as Vâyu, swallows all the gods, but produces them again, and who, as prâna, swallows during sleep all senses, but produces them again at the time of waking.
- ↑ The words are obscure, and the commentator does not throw much light on them. He explains, however, the four casts of the dice, the Krita = 4, the Tretâ = 3, the Dvâpara = 2, the Kali = 1, making together 10, the Krita cast absorbing the other casts, and thus counting ten.
- ↑ Virâg, name of a metre of ten syllables, and also a name of food. One expects, 'which is the food and eats the food.'
- ↑ This carries on the explanation of the four feet of Brahman, as first mentioned in III, 18, 1. Each foot or quarter of Brahman is represented as fourfold, and the knowledge of these sixteen parts is called the Shodasakalâvidyâ.
- ↑ It would have been a great offence if Satyakâma had accepted instruction from any man, except his recognised teacher.
- ↑ The text should be, bhagavâms tv eva me kâme brûyât (me kâme = mamekkhâyâm).
- ↑ The Upakosala-vidyâ teaches first Brahman as the cause, and then in its various forms, and is therefore called âtmavidyâ and agnividyâ.
- ↑ I do not understand, he means, how Ka, which means pleasure, and is non-eternal, and how Kha, which means ether, and is not intelligent, can be Brahman.
- ↑ The commentator explains as follows:—Ka is pleasure, and Kha is ether, but these two words are to determine each other mutually, and thus to form one idea. Ka therefore does not mean ordinary pleasures, but pleasures such as belong to Kha, the ether. And Kha does not signify the ordinary outward ether, but the ether in the heart, which alone is capable of pleasure. What is meant by Ka and Kha is therefore the sentient ether in the heart, and that is Brahman, while Prâna, breath, is Brahman, in so far as it is united with the ether in the heart.
- ↑ And as its ether, i.e. as the ether in the heart, the Brahman, with which prâna is connected. Comm.
- ↑ The household altar.
- ↑ Fanciful similarities and relations between the fires of the three altars and their various forms and manifestations are pointed out by the commentator. Thus earth and food are represented as warmed and boiled by the fire. The sun is said to give warmth and light like the fire of the altar. The chief point, however, is that in all of them Brahman is manifested.
- ↑ The altar on the right. Anvâhârya is a sacrificial oblation, chiefly one intended for the manes.
- ↑ The Âhavanîya altar is the altar on the eastern side of the sacrificial ground.
- ↑ This is also the teaching of Pragâpati in VIII, 7, 4.
- ↑ It does so in the eye, and likewise with the person in the eye, who is not affected by anything. Cf. Kh. Up. IV, 14, 3.
- ↑ The commentator takes light, day, &c. as persons, or devatâs. Cf. Kh. Up. V, 10, 1.
- ↑ If any mistakes happen during the performance of a sacrifice, as described before, they are remedied by certain interjectional syllables (vyâhriti), the nature of which is next described. All this is supposed to take place in the forest.
- ↑ While the other priests perform the sacrifice, the Brahman priest has to remain silent, following the whole sacrifice in his mind, and watching, that no mistake be committed. If a mistake is committed, he has to correct it, and for that purpose certain corrective penances (prâyaskitta) are enjoined. The performance of the Brahman priest resembles the meditations of the sages in the forest, and therefore this chapter is here inserted.
- ↑ Lavana, a kind of salt, explained by kshâra and taṅka or taṅkana. It is evidently borax, which is still imported from the East Indies under the name of tincal, and used as a flux in chemical processes.
- ↑ Bheshagakrita, explained by bheshagena 'iva kritah samskritah, and also by kikitsakena susikshitena "esha yagño bhavati," which looks as if the commentator had taken it as a genitive of bheshagakrit.
- ↑ This Gâthâ (or, according to Sankara, Anugâthâ) is probably a Gâyatrî, though Ânandagiri says that it is not in the Gâyatrî or any other definite metre. It may have been originally 'yato yata âvartate, tattad gakkhati mânavah, kurûn asvâbhirakshati.' This might be taken from an old epic ballad, 'Wherever the army fell back, thither the man went; the mare (mares being preferred to stallions in war) saves the Kurus.' That verse was applied to the Brahman priest succouring the sacrifice, whenever it seemed to waver, and protecting the Kurus, i.e. the performers of the sacrifice.
- ↑ Mânava, explained from mauna, or manana, but possibly originally, a descendant of Manu.
- ↑ The chief object is to show the different ways on which people proceed after death. One of these ways, the Devapatha that leads to Brahman and from which there is no return, has been described, IV, 15. The other ways for those who on earth know the conditioned Brahman only, have to be discussed now.
- ↑ The same fable, the prânasamvâda or prânavidyâ, is told in the Brihadâranyaka VI, 1, 1-14, the Aitareya Âr. II, 4, the Kaush. Up. Ill, 3, and the Prasna Up. II, 3. The last is the simplest version of all, but it does not follow therefore that it is the oldest. It would be difficult to find two fables apparently more alike, yet in reality differing from each other more characteristically than this fable and the fable told to the plebeians by Menenius Agrippa.
- ↑ Padvîsa, fetter, πέδη, pedica, a word now well known, but which Burnouf (Commentaire sur le Yaçna, Notes, CLXXIV) tried in vain to decipher.
- ↑ Burnouf rightly preferred pratishthâsi to pratishtho 'si, though the commentary on the corresponding passage of the Brihadâranyaka seems to favour tatpratishtho 'si.
- ↑ Ana, breather, more general than pra-ana=prâna, forth-breather, and the other more specified names of breath.
- ↑ They rinse the mouth before and after every meal.
- ↑ We expect, "He who knows this' instead of prâna, but as prâna may apply to every individual prâna, the usual finishing sentence was possibly dropt on purpose.
- ↑ The oblation here described is called mantha, a mortar, or what is pounded in a mortar, i.e. barley stirred in some kind of gravy. See Gaim. N.M.V. p. 406.
- ↑ Not the real dîkshâ, which is a preparatory rite for great sacrifices, but penance, truthfulness, abstinence, which take the place of dîkshâ with those who live in the forest and devote themselves to upâsana, meditative worship.
- ↑ What is here called sampâtam avanayati is the same as samsravam avanayati in the Brih. Âr. VI, 3, 2. The commentator says: Sruvâvalepanam âgyam mantham samsrâvayati.
- ↑ Cf. Brih. Âr. I, 1, 3, 22.
- ↑ This story is more fully told in the Brihadâranyaka VI, 2, Satapatha-brâhmana XIV, 8, 16.
- ↑ Samiti, or parishad, as in the Brih. Âr.
- ↑ He is the same Kshatriya sage who appeared in 1, 8, 1, silencing the Brâhmans.
- ↑ That of the fathers. Comm.
- ↑ Or, according to others, why the water has a human voice; purushavâkah in Brih. Âr. XIV, 9, 3.
- ↑ I doubt whether the elliptical construction of these sentences is properly filled out by the commentator. In the Brihadâranyaka the construction is much easier. 'You know me well enough to know that whatever I know, I told you.'
- ↑ I read avedishyam, though both the text and commentary give avadishyam. Still viditavân asmi points to an original avedishyam, and a parallel passage, VI, 1, 7, confirms this emendation.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. V, 11, 5.
- ↑ He answers the last question, why water in the fifth libation is called Man, first.
- ↑ The sacrificers themselves rise through their oblations to heaven, and attain as their reward a Soma-like nature.
- ↑ Hrâduni, generally explained by hail, but here by stanayitnusabdâh, rumblings.
- ↑ The water, which had assumed the nature of Soma, now becomes rain.
- ↑ Tasyâ upastha eva samid, yad upamantrayate sa dhûmo, yonir arkir, yad antah karoti te 'ngârâ abhinandâ vishphulingâh.
- ↑ The doctrine of the five fires, and our being born in them, i.e. in heaven, rain, earth, man, and woman.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. IV, 15, 5.
- ↑ Instead of mânava, human, or amânava, not human, the Brih. Âr. reads mânasa, mental, or created by manas, mind.
- ↑ This passage has been translated, "They are the food of the gods. The gods do eat it." And this is indeed the literal meaning of the words. But bhag (to enjoy) and bhaksh (to eat) are often used by theosophical writers in India, in the more general sense of cherishing or loving, and anna in the sense of an object of desire, love, and protection. The commentators, however, as the use of bhaksh in this sense is exceptional, or as it has no support in the use of the ancients, warn us here against a possible misunderstanding. If those, they say, who have performed sacrifices enter at last into the essence of Soma, the moon, and are eaten by the Devas, by Indra, &c, what is the use of their good works? No, they reply, they are not really eaten. Food (anna) means only what is helpful and delightful; it is not meant that they are eaten by morsels, but that they form the delight of the Devas. Thus we hear it said that men, women, and cattle are food for kings. And if it is said that women are loved by men, they are, in being loved, themselves loving. Thus these men also, being loved by the Devas, are happy and rejoice with the Devas. Their body, in order to be able to rejoice in the, moon, becomes of a watery substance, as it was said before, that the water, called the Sraddhâ libation, when offered in heaven, as in the fire of the altar, becomes Soma, the king (Kh. Up. V, 4, 1). That water becomes, after various changes, the body of those who have performed good works, and when a man is dead and his body burnt (Kh. Up. V, 9, 2), the water rises from the body upwards with the smoke, and carries him to the moon, where, in that body, he enjoys the fruits of his good works, as long as they last. When they are consumed, like the oil in a lamp, he has to return to a new round of existences.
- ↑ But only to a certain point.
- ↑ In this manner all the five questions have been answered. First, why in the fifth oblation water is called man; secondly, to what place men go after death, some by the path of the Devas, others by the path of the fathers, others again by neither of these paths; thirdly, how they return, some returning to Brahman, others returning to the earth; fourthly, where the paths of the Devas and the fathers diverge, viz. when from the half-year the path of the Devas goes on to the year, while that of the fathers branches off to the world of the fathers; fifthly, why that world, the other world, does never become full, viz. because men either go on to Brahman or return again to this world.
Many questions are raised among Indian philosophers on the exact meaning of certain passages occurring in the preceding paragraphs. First, as to who is admitted to the path of the Devas? Householders, who know the secret doctrine of the five fires or the five libations of the Agnihotra, as described above, while other householders, who only perform the ordinary sacrifices, without a knowledge of their secret meaning, go by the path of the fathers. Secondly, those who have retired to the forest, and whose worship there consists in faith and austerities, i.e. Vânaprasthas and Parivrâgakas, before they arrive at a knowledge of the true Brahman. The question then arises, whether religious students also enter the path of the Devas? This is affirmed, because Purânas and Smritis assert it, or because our text, if properly understood, does not exclude it. Those, on the contrary, who know not only a conditioned, but the highest unconditioned Brahman, do not proceed on the path of the Devas, but obtain Brahman immediately.
Again, there is much difference of opinion whether, after a man has been in the moon, consuming his works, he can be born again. Birth is the result of former works, and if former works are altogether consumed, there can be no new birth. This, however, is shown to be an erroneous view, because, besides the good sacrificial works, the fruits of which are consumed in the moon, there are other works which have to be enjoyed or expiated, as the case may be, in a new existence.
The great difficulty or danger in the round of transmigration arises when the rain has fructified the earth, and passes into herbs and trees, rice, corn, and beans. For, first of all, some of the rain does not fructify at once, but falls into rivers and into the sea, to be swallowed up by fishes and sea monsters. Then, only after these have been dissolved in the sea, and after the sea water has been attracted by the clouds, the rain falls down again, it may be on desert or stony land. Here it may be swallowed by snakes or deer, and these may be swallowed by other animals, so that the round of existence seems endless. Nor is this all. Some rain may dry up, or be absorbed by bodies that cannot be eaten. Then, if the rain is absorbed by rice, corn, &c, and this be eaten, it may be eaten by children or by men who have renounced marriage, and thus again lose the chance of a new birth. Lastly, there is the danger arising from the nature of the being in whom the food, such as rice and corn, becomes a new seed, and likewise from the nature of the mother. All these chances have to be met before a new birth as a Brâhmana, Kshatriya, or Vaisya can be secured.
Another curious distinction is here made by Sankara in his commentary. There are some, he says, who assume the form of rice, corn, &c, not in their descent from a higher world, as described in the Upanishad, but as a definite punishment for certain evil deeds they have committed. These remain in that state till the results of their evil deeds are over, and assume then a new body, according to their work, like caterpillars. With them there is also a consciousness of these states, and the acts which caused them to assume this or that body, leave impressions behind, like dreams. This is not the case with those who in their descent from the moon, pass, as we saw, through an existence as rice, corn, &c. They have no consciousness of such existences, at least not in their descent. In their ascent to the moon, they have consciousness, as a man who climbs up a tree knows what he is about. But in their descent, that consciousness is gone, as it is when a man falls down from a tree. Otherwise a man, who by his good works had deserved rewards in the moon, would, while corn is being ground, suffer tortures, as if he were in hell, and the very object of good works, as taught by the Veda, would be defeated. As we see that a man struck by a hammer can be carried away unconscious, so it is in the descent of souls, till they are born again as men, and gain a new start for the attainment of the Highest Brahman. - ↑ Let him despise it. Comm.
- ↑ Evidently an old Trishtubh verse, but irregular in the third line. See Manu XI, 54.
- ↑ The same story is found in the Satapatha-brâhmana X, 6, I, I.
- ↑ Âtman and Brâhman are to be taken as predicate and subject.
- ↑ The commentator explains that the king, seeing that they would not accept his presents, and thinking that they did not consider him worthy of bestowing presents on them, made these remarks.
- ↑ When they still refused his presents, he thought the presents he had offered were too small, and therefore invited them to a sacrifice.
- ↑ He was satisfied with the humility of the Brahmans, who, being Brahmans, came to him, who was not a Brahman, as pupils.
- ↑ Soma is said to be suta in the Ekâha, prasuta in the Ahîna, âsuta in the Sattra-sacrifices.
- ↑ The two words prâdesamâtra and abhivimâna are doubtful. The commentator explains the first in different ways, which are all more or less fanciful. He is measured or known (mâtra) as Self, by means of heaven as his head and the earth as his feet, these being the prâdesas; or, in the mouth and the rest, which are instruments, he is known as without action himself; or, he has the length from heaven to earth, heaven and earth being called prâdesa, because they are taught. The interpretation, supported by the Gâbâlasruti, that prâdera is the measure from the forehead to the chin, he rejects. Abhivimâna is taken in the same meaning as abhimâna in the Vedânta, seeing everything in oneself. Vaisvânara is taken as the real Self of all beings, and, in the end, of all Selfs, and as thus to be known and worshipped.
- ↑ The object now is to show that to him who knows the Vaisvânara Self, the act of feeding himself is like feeding Vaisvânara, and that feeding Vaisvânara is the true Agnihotra.
- ↑ Cf. V, 18, 1.
- ↑ This was rather late, for the son of a Brahman might have begun his studies when he was seven years old. Âpastamba-sûtras I, 1, 18. Twelve years was considered the right time for mastering one of the Vedas.
- ↑ Vikâra, difference, variety, change, by form and name, development, cf. VI, 3, 3.
- ↑ The commentator takes lohamani here as suvarnapinda.
- ↑ Cf. Taitt. Up. II, 6.
- ↑ Literally, it saw. This verb is explained as showing that the Sat is conscious, not unconscious (bewusst, nicht unbewusst).
- ↑ In other Upanishads the Sat produces first âkâsa, ether, then vâyu, air, and then only tegas, fire. Fire is a better rendering for tegas than light or heat. See Jacobi, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenl. Gesellschaft, XXIX, p. 242. The difficulties, however, of accurately translating tegas are not removed by rendering it by fire, as may be seen immediately afterward in VI, 4, 1, where tegas is said to supply the red colour of agni, the burning fire, not the god of fire. See also VI, 8, 6. In later philosophical treatises the meaning of tegas is more carefully determined than in the Upanishads.
- ↑ Really the Sat, in the form of fire. Fire is whatever burns, cooks, shines, and is red.
- ↑ By water is meant all that is fluid, and bright in colour.
- ↑ By anna, food, is here meant the earth, and all that is heavy, firm, dark in colour.
- ↑ In the Ait. Up. four are mentioned, andaga, here ândaga, gâruga (i.e. garâyuga), here gîvaga, svedaga, and udbhigga, svedaga, born from heath, being additional. Cf. Atharva-veda I, 12, 1.
- ↑ 209.0 209.1 The text has devatâ, deity; here used in a very general sense. The Sat, though it has produced fire, water, and earth, has not yet obtained its wish of becoming many.
- ↑ This living self is only a shadow, as it were, of the Highest Self; and as the sun, reflected in the water, does not suffer from the movement of the water, the real Self does not suffer pleasure or pain on earth, but the living self only.
- ↑ This reminds one of the Aristotelian διὰ γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ ὲκ τούτων τἄλλα γνωρίξεται, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ ταῦτα διὰ ὑποκειμένων.
- ↑ Food, water, and fire are each to be taken as tripartite; hence animals which live on one of the three elements only, still share in some measure the qualities of the other elements also.
- ↑ The repetition shows that the teaching of the Trivritkarana, the tripartite nature of things, is ended.
- ↑ The deep sushupta sleep is meant, in which personal consciousness is lost, and the self for a time absorbed in the Highest Self. Sleep is produced by fatigue. Speech, mind, and the senses rest, breath only remains awake, and the gîva, the living soul, in order to recover from his fatigue, returns for a while to his true Self (âtmâ). The Sat must be taken as a substance, nay, as the highest substance or subject, the Brahman. The whole purpose of the Upanishad is obscured if we translate sat or satyam by truth, instead of the True, the true one, τὸ ὄντως ὄν.
- ↑ This is one of the many recognised plays on words in the Upanishads and the Vedânta philosophy. Svapiti, he sleeps, stands for sva (his own), i.e. the self, and apîta, gone to.
- ↑ The commentator takes prâna here in the sense of Sat, which it often has elsewhere. If so, this illustration would have the same object as the preceding one. If we took prâna in the sense of breath, breath being the result of water, this paragraph might be taken to explain the resignation of the living Self to its bondage to breath, while on earth.
- ↑ That food is the root of the body is shown by the commentator in the following way: Food when softened by water and digested becomes a fluid, blood (sonita). From it comes flesh, from flesh fat, from fat bones, from bones marrow, from marrow seed. Food eaten by a woman becomes equally blood (lohita), and from seed and blood combined the new body is produced. We must always have before us the genealogical table:
Sat, τὸ ὄν
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Tegas (fire) = Vâk (speech).
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Ap (water) = Prâna (breath).
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Anna (earth) = Manas (mind). - ↑ If a man dies, the first thing which his friends say is, He speaks no more. Then, he understands no more. Then, he moves no more. Then, he is cold.
- ↑ At the beginning of each chapter the commentator supplies the question which the son is supposed to have asked his father. The first is: All creatures falling every day into deep sleep (sushupti) obtain thereby the Sat, the true being. How is it then that they do not know that they obtain the Sat every day?
- ↑ The next question which the son is supposed to have asked is: If a man who has slept in his own house, rises and goes to another village, he knows that he has come from his own house. Why then do people not know that they have come from the Sat?
- ↑ The next question is: Waves, foam, and bubbles arise from the water, and when they merge again in the water, they are gone. How is it that living beings, when in sleep or death they are merged again in the Sat, are not destroyed?
- ↑ The commentator remarks that according to the Veda, trees are conscious, while Buddhists and followers of Kanâda hold them to be unconscious. They live, because one sees how their sap runs and how it dries up, just as one sees the sap in a living body, which, as we saw, was produced by food and water. Therefore the simile holds good. The life, or, more correctly, the liver, the living Self, pervades the tree, as it pervades man, when it has entered the organism which produces breath, mind, and speech. If any accident happens to a branch, the living Self draws himself away from that branch, and then the branch withers. The sap which caused the living Self to remain, goes, and the living Self goes away with it. The same applies to the whole tree. The tree dies when the living Self leaves it, but the living Self does not die; it only leaves an abode which it had before occupied. Some other illustrations, to show that the living Self remains, are added by the commentator: First, with regard to the living Self being the same when it awakes from deep sleep (sushupti), he remarks that we remember quite well that we have left something unfinished before we fell asleep. And then with regard to the living Self being the same when it awakes from death to a new life, he shows that creatures, as soon as they are born take the breast, and exhibit terror, which can only be explained, as he supposes, by their possessing a recollection of a former state of existence.
- ↑ The question which the son is supposed to have asked is: How can this universe which has the form and name of earth &c. be produced from the Sat which is subtile, and has neither form nor name?
- ↑ The question here is supposed to have been: If the Sat is the root of all that exists, why is it not perceived?
- ↑ Read abhiprâsya, which is evidently intended by the commentary: abhiprâyasya parityagya. See B.R. Sanskrit Dictionary, s.v.
- ↑ The question here asked is: The salt, though no longer perceptible by means of sight or touch, could be discovered by taste. Then how can the Sat be discovered, although it is imperceptible by all the senses?
- ↑ The Gandhâras, but rarely mentioned in the Rig-veda and the Ait. Brâhmana, have left their name in Κάνδαροι and Candahar. The fact of their name being evidently quite familiar to the author of the Upanishad might be used to prove either its antiquity or its Northern origin.
- ↑ Tedious as the commentator is in general, he is sometimes almost eloquent in bringing out all that is implied or supposed to be implied in the sacred text. He explains the last simile as follows: A man was carried away by robbers from his own country. After his eyes had been covered, he was taken to a forest full of terrors and dangers arising from tigers, robbers, &c. Not knowing where he was, and suffering from hunger and thirst, he began to cry, wishing to be delivered from his bonds. Then a man took pity on him and removed his bonds, and when he had returned to his home, he was happy. Next follows the application. Our real home is the True (Sat), the Self of the world. The forest into which we are driven is the body, made of the three elements, fire, water, earth, consisting of blood, flesh, bones, &c, and liable to cold, heat, and many other evils. The bands with which our eyes are covered are our desires for many things, real or unreal, such as wife, children, cattle, &c, while the robbers by whom we are driven into the forest are our good and evil deeds. Then we cry and say: 'I am the son of so and so, these are my relatives, I am happy, I am miserable, I am foolish, I am wise, I am just, I am born, I am dead, I am old, I am wretched, my son is dead, my fortune is gone, I am undone, how shall I live, where shall I go, who will save me?' These and hundreds and thousands of other evils are the bands which blind us. Then, owing to some supererogatory good works we may have done, we suddenly meet a man who knows the Self of Brahman, whose own bonds have been broken, who takes pity on us and shows us the way to see the evil which attaches to all that we love in this world. We then withdraw ourselves from all worldly pleasures. We learn that we are not mere creatures of the world, the son of so and so, &c, but that we are that which is the True (Sat). The bands of our ignorance and blindness are removed, and, like the man of Gandâdra, we arrive at our own home, the Self, or the True. Then we are happy and blessed.
- ↑ The last words are really—'for him there is only delay so long as I shall not be delivered; then I shall be perfect.' This requires some explanation. First of all, the change from the third to the first person, is best explained by assuming that at the point where all individuality vanishes, the father, as teacher, identifies himself with the person of whom he is speaking.
The delay (the kira or kshepa) of which he speaks is the time which passes between the attainment of true knowledge and death, or freedom from the effects of actions performed before the attainment of knowledge. The actions which led to our present embodiment must be altogether consumed, before the body can perish, and then only are we free. As to any actions performed after the attainment of knowledge, they do not count; otherwise there would be a new embodiment, and the attainment of even true knowledge would never lead to final deliverance.
- ↑ The question supposed to be asked is: By what degrees a man, who has been properly instructed in the knowledge of Brahman, obtains the Sat, or returns to the True. To judge from the text both he who knows the True and he who does not, reach, when they die, the Sat, passing from speech to mind and breath and heat (fire). But whereas he who knows, remains in the Sat, they who do not know, return again to a new form of existence. It is important to observe that the commentator denies that he who knows, passes at his death through the artery of the head to the sun, and then to the Sat. He holds that with him who knows there is no further cause for delay, and that as soon as he dies, he returns to the Sat.
- ↑ The next question is: Why does he who knows, on obtaining the Sat, not return, while he who does not know, though obtaining the Sat in death, returns? An illustration is chosen which is intended to show how knowledge produces a material effect. The belief in the efficacy of ordeals must have existed at the time, and appealing to that belief, the teacher says that the man who knows himself guilty, is really burnt by the heated iron, while the man who knows himself innocent, is not. In the same manner the man who knows his Self to be the true Self, on approaching after death the true Self, is not repelled and sent back into a new existence, while he who does not know, is sent back into a new round of births and deaths. The man who tells a falsehood about himself, loses his true Self and is burnt; the man who has a false conception about his Self, loses likewise his true Self, and not knowing the true Self, even though approaching it in death, he has to suffer till he acquires some day the true knowledge.
- ↑ This passage, exhibiting the sacred literature as known at the time, should be compared with the Brihadâranyaka, II, 4, 10. The explanation of the old titles rests on the authority of Sankara, and he is not always consistent. See Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, 1873, II, p. 10.
- ↑ Why a man who knows the Veda should not know the Self, while in other places it is said that the Veda teaches the Self, is well illustrated by the commentary. If a royal procession approaches, he says, then, though we do not see the king, because he is hidden by flags, parasols, &c, yet we say, there is the king. And if we ask who is the king, then again, though we cannot see him and point him out, we can say, at least, that he is different from all that is seen. The Self is hidden in the Veda as a king is hidden in a royal procession.
- ↑ The commentator explains vyagñâpayishyat by avigñâtam abhavishyat. Possibly hridayagño stands for hridayagñam.
- ↑ The commentator explains this by saying that, without the instrument of the mind, the Self cannot act or enjoy.
- ↑ Saṅkalpa is elsewhere defined as a modification of manas. The commentator says that, like thinking, it is an activity of the inner organ. It is difficult to find any English term exactly corresponding to saṅkalpa. Rajendralal Mitra translates it by will, but it implies not only will, but at the same time conception, determination, and desire.
- ↑ This paragraph is obscure. The text seems doubtful, for instance, in samaklipatâm, samakalpetâm, and samakalpatâm. Then the question is the exact meaning of samkliptyai, which must be taken as an instrumental case. What is intended is that, without rain, food is impossible &c. or inconceivable; but the text says, 'By the will of rain food wills,' &c. Will seems almost to be taken here in the sense in which modern philosophers use it, as a kind of creative will. By the will of rain food wills, would mean, that first rain wills and exists, and afterwards the vital airs will and exist, &c.
- ↑ Kitta, thought, implies here consideration and reflection.
- ↑ Reflection is concentration of all our thoughts on one object, ekâgratâ. And as a man who reflects and meditates on the highest objects acquires thereby repose, becomes firm and immovable, so the earth is supposed to be in repose and immovable, as it were, by reflection and meditation.
- ↑ See before, p. 109.
- ↑ The commentator takes vigñâna here as understanding of sacred books, gñâna as cleverness with regard to other subjects.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. IV, 5, i.
- ↑ The seed grows upwards towards the ether; not downwards.
- ↑ Cf. Kâth. Up. II, ii.
- ↑ The apparent distance between ether and memory is bridged over by the commentator pointing out that without memory everything would be as if it were not, so far as we are concerned.
- ↑ Prâna is used here in a technical sense. It does not mean simply breath, but the spirit, the conscious self (pragñâtman) which, as we saw, enters the body in order to reveal the whole variety of forms and names. It is in one sense the mukhya prâna.
- ↑ The commentary carries the simile still further. The felloe, he says, holds to the spokes, the spokes to the nave. So do the bhûtamâtrâs hold to the pragñâmâtrâs, and these to the prâna.
- ↑ One who declares something that goes beyond all the declarations made before, beginning with the declaration that names are Brahman, and ending with the declaration that hope is Brahman;—one who knows that prâna, spirit, the conscious self, is Brahman. This declaration represents the highest point reached by ordinary people, but Nârada wishes to go beyond. In the Mundaka, III, 1, 4, an ativâdin is contrasted with one who really knows the highest truth.
- ↑ As Nârada asks no further, whether there is anything better, higher, truer than prâna, he is supposed to be satisfied with his belief that prâna is the Highest Being. Sanatkumâra, however, wishes to lead him on to a still higher view; hence the paragraphs which follow from 16 to 26.
- ↑ He would, for instance, call fire real, not knowing that fire is only a mixture of the three elements (cf. VI, 4), the rûpatraya, a mere variety (vikâra), and name (nâman).
- ↑ The duties of a student, such as restraint of the senses, concentration of the mind, &c.
- ↑ Bhûman is sometimes translated by grandeur, the superlative, the akme. It is the highest point that can be reached, the infinite and the true.
- ↑ This phrase reminds one of the last verse in the No sad âsîd hymn, where, likewise, the expression of the highest certainty is followed by a misgiving that after all it may be otherwise. The commentator takes yadi vâ in the sense of, If you ask in the highest sense, then I say no; for the Infinite cannot rest in anything, not even in greatness.
- ↑ Before the acquirement of true knowledge, all that has been mentioned before, spirit, hope, memory, &c., on to names, was supposed to spring from the Sat, as something different from oneself. Now he is to know that the Sat is the Self.
- ↑ In the preceding paragraphs appearance and disappearance (birth and death) are not mentioned. This shows how easy it was in these treatises either to omit or to add anything that seemed important.
- ↑ This too is meant as a verse. The commentary says that the various numbers are intended to show the endless variety of form on the Self after creation. Cf. Mait Up. V, 2.
- ↑ The eighth Prapâthaka seems to form a kind of appendix to the Upanishad. The highest point that can be reached by speculation had been reached in the seventh Prapâthaka, the identity of our self and of everything else with the Highest Self. This speculative effort, however, is too much for ordinary people. They cannot conceive the Sat or Brahman as out of space and time, as free from all qualities, and in order to help them, they are taught to adore the Brahman, as it appears in space and time, an object endowed with certain qualities, living in nature and in the human heart. The Highest Brahman, besides which there is nothing, and which can neither be reached as an object, nor be considered as an effect, seems to ordinary minds like a thing which is not. Therefore while the trite philosopher, after acquiring the knowledge of the Highest Sat, becomes identified with it suddenly, like lightning, the ordinary mortal must reach it by slow degrees, and as a preparation for that higher knowledge which is to follow, the eighth Prapâthaka, particularly the first portion of it, has been added to the teaching contained in the earlier books.
- ↑ The ether in the heart is really a name of Brahman. He is there, and therefore all that comes of him when he assumes bodily shapes, both what is and what is not, i. e. what is no longer or not yet; for the absolute nothing is not intended here.
- ↑ I translate this somewhat differently from the commentator, though the argument remains the same.
- ↑ True desires are those which we ought to desire, and the fulfilment of which depends on ourselves, supposing that we have acquired the knowledge which enables us to fulfil them.
- ↑ World is the nearest approach to loka: it means life with the fathers, or enjoying the company of the fathers.
- ↑ All the desires mentioned before are fulfilled, if we find their fulfilment in our Self, in the city of Brahman within our heart. There we always can possess those whom we have loved, only we must not wish to see them with our eyes; that would be a false covering to a true desire.
- ↑ Cf. Kh. Up. VIII, 12, 3.
- ↑ We ought probably to read Sattyam, and then Sat-tî-yam. The î in tî would then be the dual of an anubandha ǐ. Instead of yaddhi, I conjecture yatti. See Ait. Aranyaka II, 5, 5.
- ↑ Setu, generally translated by bridge, was originally a bank of earth (mridâdimaya), thrown up to serve as a pathway (pons) through water or a swamp. Such banks exist still in many places, and they serve at the same time as boundaries (maryâdâ) between fields belonging to different: properties. Cf. Mait. Up. VII, 7; Kâth. Up. III, 2; Talav. Up. comm. p. 59; Mund, Up. II, 2, 5.
- ↑ Kh. Up. III, 11, 3.
- ↑ In the Kaush. Br. Up. I, 3, the kae is called Âra, at least according to the commentator.
- ↑ In the Kaush. Br. Up. Aparâgita is not pûh, but âyatanam.
- ↑ The fifth khanda is chiefly meant to recommend brahmakarya or abstinence from all worldly enjoyments, enjoined on the brahmakârin, the student, as a means of obtaining a knowledge of Brahman. But instead of showing that such abstinence is indispensable for a proper concentration of our intellectual faculties, we are told that abstinence is the same as certain sacrifices; and this is shown, not by arguments, but by a number of very far-fetched plays on words. These it is impossible to render in any translation, nay, they hardly deserve being translated. Thus abstinence is said to be identical with sacrifice, yagña, because yo gñâtâ, 'he who knows,' has a certain similarity with yagña. Ishta, another kind of sacrifice, is compared with eshanâ, search; sattrâ-yana with Sat, the True, the Brahman, and trâyana, protection; mauna, silence, with manana, meditating (which may be right); anâsakâyana, fasting, with nas, to perish, and aranyâgana, a hermit's life, with ara, nya, and ayana, going to the two lakes Ara and Nya, which are believed to exist in the legendary world of Brahman. Nothing can be more absurd. Having once struck the note of Brahmanic legends, such as we find it, for instance, in the Kaushîtaki-brâhmana-upanishad, the author goes on. Besides the lakes Ara and Nya (in the Kaushîtaki-brâhmana-upanishad we have only one lake, called Âra), he mentions the Airammadiya lake, and explains it as aira (irâ annam, tanmaya airo mandas, tena pûrnam airam) and madîya, delightful. The Asvattha tree, which pours down Soma, is not tortured into anything else, except that Soma is explained as the immortal, or nectar. Aparâgita becomes the city of Brahman, because it can be conquered by no one except those who have practised abstinence. And the hall which elsewhere is called Vibhu-pramita becomes Prabhu-vimitam, or Prabhu-vinirmita, made by Prabhu, i. e. Brahman. All the fulfilled desires, as enumerated in khandas 2–5, whether the finding again of our fathers and mothers, or entering the Brahmaloka with its lakes and palaces, must be taken, not as material (sthûla), but as mental only (mânasa). On that account, however, they are by no means considered as false or unreal, as little as dreams are. Dreams are false and unreal, relatively only, i. e. relatively to what we see, when we awake; but not in themselves. Whatever we see in waking, also, has been shown to be false; because it consists of forms and names only; yet these forms and names have a true element in them, viz. the Sat. Before we know that Sat, all the objects we see in waking seem true; as dreams seem true in dreaming. But when once we awake from our waking by true knowledge, we see that nothing is true but the Sat. When we imagine we see a serpent, and then discover that it is a rope, the serpent disappears as false, but what was true in it, the rope, remains true.
- ↑ Svapna in Sanskrit is both somnus and somnium. Hence one might translate also, 'so that he is not aware that he is asleep,' which in some respects would seem even more appropriate in our passage; cf. VIII, 11, 1.
- ↑ According to the explanation given of the Om in the Upanishads, and more particularly in the Dahara-vidyâ contained in this Prapâthaka.
- ↑ Prasna Up. II, 1.
- ↑ The same verse occurs in the Katha 6, 16 , and is frequently quoted elsewhere, for instance, Mait. comm. p. 164. For vishvaṅṅ, the right reading would seem to be vishvak. In the Mait. Up. VI, 30, the Trishtubh are reduced to Anushtubh verses. See also Prasna Up. III, 6–7; Mund. Up. II, 2.
- ↑ Here the highest problem is treated again, the knowledge of the true Self, which leads beyond the world of Brahmâ (masc.), and enables the individual self to return into the Highest Self.
Generally a pupil has first to pass through several initiatory rites before he is admitted to the benefit of his master's teaching.