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CHAPTERS |
1. CHHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD
FIRST KHANDA
1. LET a man meditate on the syllable Om, called the Udgitha; for
the Udgitha (a portion of the Sama-Veda) is sung, beginning with Om.
The full account, however, of Om is this:-
2. The essence 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 Sama-Veda, the essence of the
Sama-Veda the Udgitha (which is Om).
3. That Udgitha (Om) is the best of all essences, the highest,
deserving the highest place, the eighth.
4. What then is the Rik? What is the Saman? What is the Udgitha?
This is the question.
5. The Rik indeed is speech, Saman is breath, the Udgitha is the
syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Rik and Saman, 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
Udgitha, 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 Udgitha, 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 Udgatri 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).
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. But this is not so, for knowledge and
ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with
knowledge, faith, and the Upanishad is more powerful. This is the full
account of the syllable Om.
1. When the Devas and Asuras struggled together, both of the race of
Prajapati, the Devas took the Udgitha (Om), thinking they would
vanquish the Asuras with it.
2. They meditated on the Udgitha (Om) as the breath (scent) in the
nose, 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 Udgitha (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 Udgitha (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 Udgitha (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 Udgitha (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. They meditated
on the Udgitha (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 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 meditated on the Udgitha (Om) as that breath, and people
hold it to be Angiras, i.e. the essence of the members (anganam
rasah);
11. Therefore Brihaspati meditated on Udgitha (Om) as that breath,
and people hold it to be Brihaspati, for speech is brihati, and he
(that breath) is the lord (pati) of speech;
12. Therefore Ayasya meditated on the Udgitha (Om) as that breath,
and people hold it to be Ayasya, because it comes (ayati) from the
mouth (asya);
13. Therefore Vaka Dalbhya knew it. He was the Udgatri (singer) of
the Naimishiya-sacrificers, and by singing he obtained for them
their wishes.
14. He who knows this, and meditates on the syllable Om (the
imperishable Udgitha) as the breath of life in the mouth, he obtains
all wishes by singing. So much for the Udgitha (Om) as meditated on
with reference to the body.
THIRD KHANDA
1. Now follows the meditation on the Udgitha with reference to the
gods. Let a man meditate on the Udgitha (Om) as he who sends warmth
(the sun in the sky). When the sun rises it sings as Udgatri 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 pratyasvara (reflected sound). Therefore let a man
meditate on the Udgitha (Om) as this and that (as breath and as sun).
3. Then let a man meditate on the Udgitha (Om) as Vyana indeed. If
we breathe up, that is Prana, the up-breathing. If we breathe down,
that is Apana, the down-breathing. The combination of Prana and
Apana is Vyana, back-breathing or holding in of the breath. This Vyana
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 Saman, and therefore when a man utters a Saman verse he
neither breathes up nor down.
Saman is Udgitha, and therefore when a man sings (the Udgitha, 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 Udgitha (Om) as Vyana.
6. Let a man meditate on the syllables of the Udgitha, i.e. of the
word Udgitha. Ut is breath (Prana), for by means of breath a man rises
(uttishthati). Gi is speech, for speeches are called girah. Tha is
food, for by means of food all subsists (sthita).
7. Ut is heaven, gi the sky, tha the earth. Ut is the sun, gi the
air, tha the fire. Ut is the Sama-Veda, gi the Yagur-veda, tha the
Rig-Veda. Speech yields the milk, which is the milk of speech
itself, to him who thus knowing meditates on those syllables of the
name of Udgitha, he becomes rich in food and able to eat food.
8. Next follows the fulfillment of prayers. Let a man thus meditate
on the Upasaranas, i.e. the objects which have to be approached by
meditation: Let him (the Udgatri) quickly reflect on the Saman with
which he is going to praise;
9. Let him quickly reflect on the Rik in which that Saman
occurs; on the Rishi (poet) by whom it was seen or composed; on the
Devata (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 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.
FOURTH KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the syllable Om, for the Udgitha 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 Chandas.
3. Then, as a fisherman might observe a fish in the water, Death
observed the Devas in the Rik, Yajur, and Saman-(sacrifices). And
the Devas seeing this, rose from the Rik, Yajur, and
Saman-sacrifices, and entered the Svara, 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 Saman and the Yajur. 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) 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 Udgitha is the Pranava, the Pranava is the Udgitha. And as
the Udgitha is the sun, 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 Kaushitaki 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 Udgitha
as the breath (in the mouth), for he goes sounding Om.
4. 'Him I sang praises to, therefore art thou my only son,' thus
said Kaushitaki 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 Udgitha is the Pranava, and the Pranava the
Udgitha, rectifies from the seat of the Hotri priest any mistake
committed by the Udgatri priest in performing the Udgitha, yea, in
performing the Udgitha.
SIXTH KHANDA
1. The Rik (Veda) is this earth, the Saman (Veda) is fire. This
Saman (fire) rests on that Rik (earth). Therefore the Saman is
sung as resting on the Rik. Sa is this earth, ama is fire, and
that makes Sama.
2. The Rik is the sky, the Saman air. This Saman (air) rests on
that Rik (sky). Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rik.
Sa is the sky, ama the air, and that makes Sama.
3. Rik is heaven, Saman the sun. This Saman (sun) rests on that
Rik (heaven). Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rik.
Sa is heaven, ama the sun, and that makes Sama.
4. Rik is the stars, Saman the moon. This Saman (moon) rests on
that Rik (stars). Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the
Rik. Sa is the stars, ama the moon, and that makes Sama.
5. Rik is the white light of the sun, Saman the blue exceeding
darkness (in the sun). This Saman (darkness) rests on that Rik
(brightness). Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rik.
6. Sa is the white light of the sun, ama the blue exceeding
darkness, and that makes Sama.
Now that golden 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, his name is ut, for he has
risen (udita) above all evil. He also who knows this, rises above
all evil.
8. Rik and Saman are his joints, and therefore he is Udgitha.
And therefore he who praises him (the ut) is called the Ud-gatri
(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, Saman breath.
This Saman (breath) rests on that Rik (speech). Therefore the
Saman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sa is speech, ama is breath,
and that makes Sama.
2. Rik is the eye, Saman the self. This Saman (shadow) rests on
that Rik (eye). Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rik.
Sa is the eye, ama the self, and that makes Sama.
3. Rik is the ear, Saman the mind. This Saman (mind) rests on that
Rik (ear). Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sa
is the ear, ama the mind, and that makes Sama.
4. Rik is the white light of the eye, Saman the blue exceeding
darkness. This Saman (darkness) rests on the Rik (brightness).
Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rik. Sa is the white
light of the eye, ama the blue exceeding darkness, and that makes
Sama.
5. Now the person who is seen in the eye, he is Rik, he is
Saman, Uktha, Yagus, Brahman. The form of that person (in the eye)
is the same as the form of the other person (in the sun), the joints
of the one (Rik and Saman) 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 vina
(lyre), sing him, and from him also they obtain wealth.
7. He who knowing this sings a Saman, sings to both (the adhidaivata
and adhyatma 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 Udgatri 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 Saman is able to obtain wishes through his
song, yea, through his song.
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. There were once three men, well-versed in udgitha, Silaka
Salavatya, Kaikitayana Dalbhya, and Pravahana Gaivali. They said:
'We are well-versed in udgitha. Let us have a discussion on udgitha.'
2. They all agreed and sat down. Then Pravahana Gaivali said: 'Sirs,
do you both speak first, for I wish to hear what two Brahmanas have to
say.'
3. Then Silaka Salavatya said to Kaikitayana Dalbhya: 'Let me ask
you.'
'Ask,' he replied.
4. 'What is the origin of the Saman?' '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 Saman beyond the world of svarga
(heaven). We place (recognise) the Saman in the world of svarga, for
the Saman is extolled as svarga (heaven).'
6. Then said Silaka Salavatya to Kaikitayana Dalbhya: 'O Dalbhya,
thy Saman 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 Dalbhya.
'Know it,' replied Silaka Salavatya.
'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 Saman beyond this world as its
rest. We place the Saman in this world as its rest, for the Saman is
extolled as rest.'
8. Then said Pravahana Gaivali to Silaka Salavatya: 'Your Saman (the
earth), O Salavatya, 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 Salavatya.
'Know it,' replied Gaivali.
NINTH KHANDA
1. 'What is the origin of this world?' 'Ether,' 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 udgitha (Om = Brahman), greater than great
(parovariyas), he is without end.
He who knowing this meditates on the udgitha, 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 udgitha to Udara-sandilya,
said: 'As long as they will know in your family this udgitha, 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 udgitha, 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, Ushasti
Kakrayana lived as a beggar with his virgin wife at Ibhyagrama.
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.'
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 Udgatris, who were
going to sing their hymns of praise. And he said to the Prastotri (the
leader):
9. 'Prastotri, if you, without knowing the deity which belongs to
the prastava (the hymns &c. of the Prastotri), are going to sing it,
your head will fall off.'
10. In the same manner he addressed the Udgatri: 'Udgatri, if you,
without knowing the deity which belongs to the udgitha (the hymns of
the Udgatri), 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 pratihara
(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 Kakrayana.'
2. He said: 'I looked for you, Sir, for all these sacrificial
offices, but not finding you, 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
prastava, are going to sing it, your head will fall off,"- which
then is that deity?'
5. He said: 'Breath (prana). For all these beings merge into
breath alone, and from breath they arise. This is the deity
belonging to the prastava. 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 Udgatri approached him, saying: 'Sir, you said to me,
"Udgatri, if you, without knowing the deity which belongs to the
udgitha, are going to sing it, your head will fall off,"- which then
is that deity?'
7. He said: 'The sun (Aditya). For all these beings praise the sun
when it stands on high. This is the deity belonging to the udgitha.
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
pratihara, 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 pratihara. If,
without knowing that deity, you had sung your hymns, your head would
have fallen off, after you had been warned by me.'
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. Now follows the udgitha of the dogs. Vaka Dalbhya, or, as he
was also called, Glava 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 Dalbhya, or, as he was also called, Glava 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 Vahishpavamana hymn. After they had
settled down, they began to say Hin.
5. 'Om, let us eat! Om, let us drink! Om, may the divine Varuna,
Pragapati, Savitri bring us food! Lord of food, bring hither food,
bring it, Om!'
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. The syllable Hau is this world (the earth), the syllable Hai
the air, the syllable Atha the moon, the syllable Iha the self, the
syllable I is Agni, fire.
2. The syllable U is the sun, the syllable E is the Nihava or
invocation, the syllable Auhoi is the Visve Devas, the syllable Hin is
Prajapati, Svara (tone) is breath (prana), the syllable Ya is food,
the syllable Vag is Virag.
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 Samans in this wise.
He becomes rich in food, and able to eat food,- yea, able to eat food.
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FIRST KHANDA
1. Meditation on the whole of the Saman is good, and people, when
anything is good, say it is Saman; when it is not good, it is not
Saman.
2. Thus they also say, he approached him with Saman, i.e.
becomingly; and he approached him without Saman, i.e. unbecomingly.
3. And they also say, truly this is Saman for us, i.e. it is good
for us, when it is good; and truly that is not Saman for us, i.e. it
is not good for us, when it is not good.
4. If any one knowing this meditates on the Saman as good, depend
upon it all good qualities will approach quickly, aye, they will
become his own.
SECOND KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman as the five worlds.
The hinkara is the earth, the prastava the fire, the udgitha the
sky, the pratihara the sun, the nidhana heaven; so in an ascending
line.
2. In a descending line, the hinkara is heaven, the prastava the
sun, the udgitha the sky, the pratihara 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 Saman as the worlds.
THIRD KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman as rain. The hinkara
is wind (that brings the rain); the prastava is, 'the cloud is
come;' the udgitha is, 'it rains;' the pratihara, '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
Saman as rain.
FOURTH KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman in all waters. When
the clouds gather, that is the hinkara; when it rains, that is the
prastava; that which flows in the east, that is the udgitha; that
which flows in the west, that is the pratihara; the sea is the
nidhana.
2. He does not die in water, nay, he is rich in water who knowing
this meditates on the fivefold Saman as all waters.
FIFTH KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman as the seasons. The
hinkara is spring, the prastava summer (harvest of yava, &c.), the
udgitha the rainy season, the pratihara autumn, the nidhana winter.
2. The seasons belong to him, nay, he is always in season
(successful) who knowing this meditates on the fivefold Saman as the
seasons.
SIXTH KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman in animals. The
hinkara is goats, the prastava sheep, the udgitha cows, the
pratihara horses, the nidhana man.
2. Animals belong to him, nay, he is rich in animals who knowing
this meditates on the fivefold Saman as animals.
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman, which is greater than
great, as the pranas (senses). The hinkara is smell (nose), the
prastava speech (tongue), the udgitha sight (eye), the pratihara
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 Saman, which is greater than great, as the pranas (senses).
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. Next for the sevenfold Saman. Let a man meditate on the sevenfold
Saman in speech. Whenever there is in speech the syllable hun, that is
hinkara, pra is the prastava, a is the adi, the first, i.e. Om,
2. Ud is the udgitha, pra the pratihara, 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 Saman in speech. He
becomes rich in food, and able to eat food.
NINTH KHANDA
1. Let a man meditate on the sevenfold Saman as the sun. The sun
is Saman, because he is always the same (sama); he is Saman because he
is the same, everybody thinking he looks towards me, he looks
towards me.
2. Let him know that all beings are dependent on him (the sun). What
he is before his rising, that is the hinkara. On it animals are
dependent. Therefore animals say hin (before sunrise), for they
share the hinkara of that Saman (the sun).
3. What he is when first risen, that is the prastava. On it men
are dependent. Therefore men love praise (prastuti) and celebrity, for
they share the prastava of that Saman.
4. What he is at the time of the sangava, that is the adi, the
first, the Om. On it birds are dependent. Therefore birds fly about in
the sky without support, holding themselves, for they share the adi
(the Om) of that Saman.
5. What he is just at noon, that is the udgitha. On it the Devas are
dependent (because they are brilliant). Therefore they are the best of
all the descendants of Pragapati, for they share the udgitha of that
Saman.
6. What he is after midday and before afternoon, that is the
pratihara. On it all germs are dependent. Therefore these, having been
conceived (pratihrita), do not fall, for they share the pratihara of
that Saman.
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 Saman.
8. What he is when he first sets, that is the nidhana. On it the
fathers are dependent. Therefore they put them down (nidadhati), for
they share the nidhana of that Saman. Thus a man meditates on the
sevenfold Saman as the sun.
TENTH KHANDA
1. Next let a man meditate on the sevenfold Saman which is uniform
in itself and leads beyond death. The word hinkara has three
syllables, the word prastava has three syllables: that is equal
(sama).
2. The word adi (first, Om) has two syllables, the word pratihara
has four syllables. Taking one syllable from that over, that is
equal (sama).
3. The word udgitha 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 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 Saman as uniform in itself, which
leads beyond death, yea, which leads beyond death.
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. The hinkara is mind, the prastava speech, the udgitha sight,
the pratihara hearing, the nidhana breath. That is the Gayatra
Saman, as interwoven in the (five) pranas.
2. He who thus knows this Gayatra interwoven in the pranas, keeps
his senses, reaches the full life, he lives long, becomes great with
children and cattle, great by fame. The rule of him who thus meditates
on the Gayatra is, 'Be not high-minded.'
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. The hinkara is, he rubs (the fire-stick); the prastava, smoke
rises; the udgitha, it burns; the pratihara, there are glowing
coals; the nidhana, it goes down; the nidhana, it is gone out. This is
the Rathantara Saman as interwoven in fire.
2. He who thus knows this Rathantara interwoven in fire, becomes
radiant 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 Vamadevya as interwoven in generation.
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. Rising, the sun is the hinkara, risen, he is the prastava, at
noon he is the udgitha, in the afternoon he is the pratihara, setting,
he is the nidhana. That is the Brihat Saman as interwoven in the sun.
2. He who thus knows the Brihat as interwoven in the sun, becomes
refulgent 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 hinkara; the cloud has risen,
that is the prastava; it rains, that is the udgitha; it flashes and
thunders, that is the pratihara; it stops, that is the nidhana. That
is the Vairupa Saman, as interwoven in Parganya, the god of rain.
2. He who thus knows the Vairupa as interwoven in Parganya,
obtains all kinds of cattle (virupa), 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 hinkara is spring, the prastava summer, the udgitha the rainy
season, the pratihara autumn, the nidhana winter. That is the
Vairaga Saman, as interwoven in the seasons.
2. He who thus knows the Vairaga, as interwoven in the seasons,
shines (viragati) 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 hinkara is the earth, the prastava the sky, the udgitha
heaven, the pratihara the regions, the nidhana the sea. These are
the Sakvari Samans, as interwoven in the worlds.
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 hinkara is goats, the prastava sheep, the udgitha cows, the
pratihara horses, the nidhana man. These are the Revati Samans, as
interwoven in animals.
2. He who thus knows these Revatis, as interwoven in animals,
becomes rich in animals, 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 hinkara is hair, the prastava skin, the udgitha flesh, the
pratihara bone, the nidhana marrow. That is the Yagnayagniya Saman, as
interwoven in the members of the body.
2. He who thus knows the Yagnayagniya, 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 hinkara is fire, the prastava air, the udgitha the sun, the
pratihara the stars, the nidhana the moon. That is the Ragana Saman,
as interwoven in the deities.
2. He who thus knows the Ragana, 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 Brahmanas.'
TWENTY-FIRST KHANDA
1. The hinkara is the threefold knowledge, the prastava these
three worlds, the udgitha Agni (fire), Vayu (air), and Aditya (sun),
the pratihara the stars, the birds, and the rays, the nidhana the
serpents, Gandharvas, and fathers. That is the Saman, as interwoven in
everything.
2. He who thus knows this Saman, 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
hinkara, the prastava, &c.), and the other forms of the Saman. 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 Saman), knowing that he is
everything, yea, that he is everything.'
TWENTY-SECOND KHANDA
1. The udgitha, of which a poet said, I choose the deep sounding
note of the Saman as good for cattle, belongs to Agni; the
indefinite note belongs to Pragapati, the definite note to Soma, the
soft and smooth note to Vayu, 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, wishing to obtain by his song immortality for the
Devas. 'May I obtain by my song oblations (svadha) 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
(Udgatri priest) sing praises, without making mistakes in
pronunciation, &c.
3. All vowels (svara) belong to Indra, all sibilants (ushman) to
Pragapati, 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 Pragapati 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 Udgatri may give strength to Indra. All
sibilants are to be pronounced, neither as if swallowed (agrasta), nor
as if thrown out (nirasta), but well opened (vivrita), so that the
Udgatri may give himself to Pragapati. All consonants are to be
pronounced slowly, and without crowding them together, so that the
Udgatri may withdraw himself from Mrityu.
TWENTY-THIRD KHANDA
1. There are three branches of the law. Sacrifice, study, and
charity are the first,
2. Austerity the second, and to dwell as a Brahmakarin 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. Pragapati 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, Bhuh,
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 Pratah-savana
(morning-oblation) belongs to the Vasus, the Madhyandina-savana
(noon-libation) to the Rudras, the third Savana (evening-libation)
to the Adityas 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.
3. Before the beginning of the Prataranuvaka (matin-chant), the
sacrificer, sitting down behind the household altar (garhapatya),
and looking towards the north, sings the Saman, 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 Madhyandina-savana, the
noon-oblation, the sacrificer, sitting down behind the Agnidhriya
altar, and looking towards the north, sings the Saman, 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 Vayu (air), who
dwells in the sky, who dwells in the world. Obtain that world for
me, the sacrificer! That is the world for 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 Ahavaniya altar, and looking towards the
north, sings the Saman, addressed to the Adityas 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
Adityas.
13. Next the Saman 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 Adityas 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 Adityas and the Visve Devas fulfil the third
oblation. He who knows this, knows the full measure of the
sacrifice, yea, he knows it.
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FIRST KHANDA
1. The sun is indeed the honey 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.
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.
4. That (essence) flowed forth and went towards the sun. 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 Saman
verses are the bees, the Sama-veda sacrifice is the flower, the
water is the nectar.
2. Those very Saman verses (as bees) brooded over the Sama-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
1. The northern rays of the sun are the honey-cells on the left. The
(hymns of the) Atharvangiras are the bees, the Itihasa-purana (the
reading of the old stories) is the flower, the water is the nectar.
2. Those very hymns of the Atharvangiras (as bees) brooded over
the Itihasa-purana; 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.
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, 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 Adityas 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 Adityas, 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 Adityas.
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 Sadhyas 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 Sadhyas, 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 Sadhyas.
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.
4. This doctrine (beginning with III, 1, 1) Brahman (m.
Hiranyagarbha) told to Pragapati (Virag), Pragapati to Manu, Manu to
his offspring (Ikshvaku, &c.) And the father told that (doctrine of)
Brahman (n.) to Uddalaka Aruni.
5. A father may therefore tell that doctrine of Brahman to his
eldest son, 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 Gayatri (verse) is everything whatsoever here exists. Gayatri
indeed is speech, for speech sings forth (gaya-ti) and protects
(traya-te) everything that here exists.
2. That Gayatri 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
(pranas, which are everything) rest, and do not go beyond.
4. That body again in man is the heart within man, for in it the
pranas (which are everything) rest, and do not go beyond.
5. That Gayatri has four feet and is sixfold. 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
Gayatri); greater than it is the Person (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 Gayatri) 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
1. For that heart there are five gates belonging to the Devas (the
senses). The eastern gate is the Prana (up-breathing), that is the
eye, that is Aditya (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 Vyana (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 Apana (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 Samana (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 Udana (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:
8. Namely, when we thus perceive by touch the warmth here in the
body. 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
(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 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 has no doubt; thus said Sandilya, yea, thus he
said.
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
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 Guhu, its southern Sahamana, its
western Ragni, its northern Subhuta. The child of those quarters is
Vayu, 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.'
'I turn to the Prana (life) with such and such and such.' 'I turn to
Bhuh with such and such and such.' 'I turn to Bhuvah with such and
such and such.' 'I turn to Svah with such and such and such.'
4. 'When I said, I turn to Prana, then Prana means all whatever
exists here- to that I turn.'
5. 'When I said, I turn to Bhuh, 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), Vayu (air), Aditya (sun).'
7. 'When I said, I turn to Svah, what I said is, I turn to the
Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, and Sama-veda. That is what I said, yea, that is
what I said.'
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. Man is sacrifice. His (first) twenty-four years are the
morning-libation. The Gayatri has twenty-four syllables, the
morning-libation is offered with Gayatri hymns. The Vasus are
connected with that part of the sacrifice. The Pranas (the five
senses) are the Vasus, for they make all this to abide (vasayanti).
2. If anything ails him in that (early) age, let him say: 'Ye
Pranas, ye Vasus, extend this my morning-libation unto the
midday-libation, that I, the sacrificer, may not perish in the midst
of the Pranas 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 Pranas are the Rudras, for they make all this to cry (rodayanti).
4. If anything ails him in that (second) age, let him say: 'Ye
Pranas, ye Rudras, extend this my midday-libation unto the third
libation, that I, the sacrificer, may not perish in the midst of the
Pranas or Rudras.' Thus he recovers from his illness, and becomes
whole.
5. The next forty-eight years are the third libation. The Gagati has
forty-eight syllables, the third libation is offered with Gagati
hymns. The Adityas are connected with that part of it. The Pranas
are the Adityas, for they take up all this (adadate).
6. If anything ails him in that (third) age, let him say: 'Ye
Pranas, ye Adityas, extend this my third libation unto the full age,
that I, the sacrificer, may not perish in the midst of the Pranas or
Adityas.' Thus he recovers from his illness, and becomes whole.
7. Mahidasa Aitareya (the son of Itara), 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
1. When a man (who is the sacrificer) hungers, thirsts, and abstains
from pleasures, that is the Diksha (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 Dakshinas (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 Angirasa, after having communicated this (view of the
sacrifice) to Krishna, the son of Devaki- and he never thirsted
again (after other knowledge)- said: 'Let a man, when his end
approaches, take refuge with this Triad: "Thou art the
imperishable," "Thou art the unchangeable," "Thou art the edge of
Prana."' On this subject there are two Rik verses (Rig-veda VIII, 6,
30):-
7. 'Then they see (within themselves) the ever-present 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.'
EIGHTEENTH KHANDA
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, Vayu (air) is one foot, Aditya (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 Vayu (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 Aditya (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. Aditya (the sun) is Brahman, this is the doctrine, and this is
the fuller account of it:-
In the beginning this was non-existent. It became existent, it grew.
It turned into an egg. 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 Aditya, 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST KHANDA
1. There lived once upon a time Ganasruti Pautrayana (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, Bhallaksha, Bhallaksha
(short-sighted friend). The light (glory) of Ganasruti Pautrayana
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 raganya, noble), as if he were like Raikva with the car?'
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
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. Ganasruti Pautrayana 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 Brahmana
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. 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 Ganasruti Pautrayana 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 Sudra,
together with the cows.'
Then Ganasruti Pautrayana 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, said: 'You have brought these (cows and
other presents), O Sudra, but only by that mouth did you make me
speak.'
These are the Raikva-parna villages in the country of the
Mahavrishas (mahapunyas) where Raikva dwelt under him. And he said
to him:
THIRD KHANDA
1. 'Air (vayu) is indeed the end of all. 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 (prana) 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 (pranah).'
5. Once while Saunaka Kapeya and Abhipratarin Kakshaseni 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, he,
the guardian of the world. O Kapeya, mortals see him not, O
Abhipratarin, though he dwells in many places. He to whom this food
belongs, to him it has not been given.'
7. Saunaka Kapeya, 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. Thus do we, O Brahmakarin, meditate on that
Being.' Then he said: 'Give him food.'
8. They gave him food. Now these five (the eater Vayu (air), and his
food, Agni (fire), Aditya (sun), Kandramas (moon), Ap (water)) and the
other five (the eater Prana (breath), and his food, speech, sight,
hearing, mind) make ten, and that is the Krita (the highest) 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 Virag (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
1. Satyakama, the son of Gabala, addressed his mother and said: 'I
wish to become a Brahmakarin (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 Gabala by name, thou art Satyakama
(Philalethes). Say that thou art Satyakama Gabala.'
3. He going to Gautama Haridrumata said to him, 'I wish to become
a Brahmakarin 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 Gabala by name, thou art Satyakama," I am therefore Satyakama
Gabala, Sir.'
5. He said to him: 'No one but a true Brahmana 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 Vayu) said to him: 'Satyakama!'
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 Prakasavat (endowed with
splendour).
3. 'He who knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman,
consisting of four quarters, by the name of Prakasavat, 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 Prakasavat.
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|6TH_KHANDA
SIXTH KHANDA
1. 'Agni will declare to you another foot of Brahman.'
(After these words of the bull), Satyakama, 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: 'Satyakama!' 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), Satyakama, 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: 'Satyakama.' 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 Prana) will declare to you
another foot of Brahman.'
(After these words of the Hamsa), Satyakama, 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: 'Satyakama.' 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 Ayatanavat (having
a home).
'He who knows this and meditates on the foot of Brahman,
consisting of four quarters, by the name of Ayatanavat, 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 Ayatanavat.'
NINTH KHANDA
1. Thus he reached the house of his teacher. The teacher said to
him: 'Satyakama.' He replied: 'Sir.'
2. The teacher said: 'Friend, you shine like one who knows
Brahman. Who then has taught you?' He replied: 'Not men. But you only,
Sir, I wish, should teach me;
3. 'For I have heard from men like you, Sir, that only knowledge
which is learnt from a teacher (Akarya), leads to real good.' Then
he taught him the same knowledge. Nothing was left out, yea, nothing
was left out.
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|10TH_KHANDA
TENTH KHANDA
1. Upakosala Kamalayana dwelt as a Brahmacharin (religious student)
in the house of Satyakama Gabala. 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.'
They said: 'What is Ka is Kha, what is Kha is Ka.' They therefore
taught him Brahman as breath, and as the ether (in the heart).
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|11TH_KHANDA
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. After that the Garhapatya fire 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.
2. 'He who knowing this meditates on him, destroys sin, obtains
the world (of Agni Garhapatya), 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.'
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|12TH_KHANDA
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. Then the Anvaharya fire 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 Anvaharya), 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.'
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|13TH_KHANDA
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then the Ahavaniya fire taught him: 'Breath, ether, heaven, and
lightning (these are my forms). The person that is seen in the
lightning, I am he, I am he indeed.
2. 'He who knowing this meditates on him, destroys sin, obtains
the world (of Agni Ahavaniya), 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.'
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|14TH_KHANDA
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.'
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|15TH_KHANDA
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. Even though
they drop melted butter or water on him, it runs away on both sides.
2. 'They call him Samyadvama, for all blessings (vama) go towards
him (samyanti). All blessings go towards him who knows this.
3. 'He is also Vamani, for he leads (nayati) all blessings (vama).
He leads all blessings who knows this.
4. 'He is also Bhamani, for he shines (bhati) 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), 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.'
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|16TH_KHANDA
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. Verily, he who purifies (Vayu) 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, the Hotri,
Adhvaryu, and Udgatri priests perform the other by words. When the
Brahman priest, after the Prataranuvaka ceremony has begun, but before
the recitation of the Paridhaniya 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 Prataranuvaka ceremony has begun, and before
the recitation of the Paridhaniya 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.
4TH_PRAPATHAKA|17TH_KHANDA
SEVENTEENTH KHANDA
1. Pragapati brooded over the worlds, and from them thus brooded
on he squeezed out the essences, Agni (fire) from the earth, Vayu
(air) from the sky, Aditya (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 Vayu, the Saman verses from Aditya.
3. He brooded over the threefold knowledge (the three Vedas), and
from it thus brooded on he squeezed out the essences, the sacred
interjection Bhus from the Rik verses, the sacred interjection
Bhuvas from the Yagus verses, the sacred interjection Svar from the
Saman verses.
4. If the sacrifice is injured from the Rig-veda side, let him offer
a libation in the Garhapatya fire, saying, Bhuh, Svaha! 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, Svaha! 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 Sama-veda side, let him
offer a libation in the Ahavaniya fire, saying, Svah, Svaha! Thus does
he bind together and heal, by means of the essence and the power of
the Saman verses themselves, whatever break the Saman sacrifice may
have suffered.
7. As one binds (softens) gold by means of lavana (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 Vyahritis 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 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 Gatha: 'Wherever it
falls back, thither the man 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.
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5TH_PRAPATHAKA|1ST_KHANDA
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, who was the best, saying,
I am better, I am better.
7. They went to their father Pragapati 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. 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.'
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 (prana, the senses). For breath are all
these.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|2ND_KHANDA
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. 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.' He (prana) thus gains a dress,
and is no longer naked.
3. Satyakama Gabala, after he had communicated this to Gosruti
Vaiyaghrapadya, said to him: 'If you were to tell this to a dry stick,
branches would grow, and leaves spring from it.'
4. If a man wishes to reach greatness, let him perform the Diksha
(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 (avasathya
laukika), saying, 'Svaha to the oldest and the best.' After that let
him throw all that remains (of the ghee) into the mash.
5. In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying,
'Svaha 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, 'Svaha
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, 'Svaha
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 (Prana) art Ama 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
(prana)'- here he swallows- 'The best and all-supporting food'- here
he swallows- 'We meditate on the speed of Bhaga (Savitri, prana)'-
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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|3RD_KHANDA
THIRD KHANDA
1. Svetaketu Aruneya went to an assembly of the Pankalas.
Pravahana Gaivali 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 never becomes full?' 'No, Sir,' he
replied.
'Do you know why in the fifth libation water is called Man?' '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 Raganya 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. If I knew these
questions, how should I not have told you?'
6. Then Gautama went to the king's 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. 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 Brahmana before you, and
therefore this teaching belonged in all the worlds to the Kshatra
class alone. Then he began:
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|4TH_KHANDA
FOURTH KHANDA
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 pranas, represented by Agni, &c.)
offer the sraddha libation (consisting of water). From that oblation
rises Soma, the king (the moon).
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|5TH_KHANDA
FIFTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar is Parganya (the god of rain), O Gautama; its fuel
is the air itself, the smoke the cloud, the light the lightning, the
coals the thunderbolt, the sparks the thunderings.
2. 'On that altar the Devas offer Soma, the king (the moon). From
that oblation rises rain.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|6TH_KHANDA
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 (pranas) offer rain. From that
oblation rises food (corn, &c.)
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|7TH_KHANDA
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 (pranas) offer food. From that
oblation rises seed.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|8TH_KHANDA
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar is woman, O Gautama.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer seed. From that
oblation rises the germ.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|9TH_KHANDA
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.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|10TH_KHANDA
TENTH KHANDA
1. 'Those who know this (even though they still be grihasthas,
householders) and those who in the forest follow faith and austerities
(the vanaprasthas, and of the parivragakas those who do not yet know
the Highest Brahman) go 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,-
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.
5. 'Having dwelt there, till their (good) works are consumed, they
return again that way as they came, 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 Brahmana, 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 Kandala.
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 (cf. V, 3, 2).
'Hence let a man take care to himself! And thus it is said in the
following Sloka:-
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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|11TH_KHANDA
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. Prakinasala Aupamanyava, Satyayagna Paulushi, Indradyumna
Bhallaveya, Gana Sarkarakshya, and Budila Asvatarasvi, these five
great householders and great theologians came once together and held a
discussion as to What is our Self, and what is Brahman.
2. They reflected and said: 'Sirs, there is that Uddalaka Aruni, who
knows at present that Self, called Vaisvanara. 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 Vaisvanara. 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 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 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 Vaisvanara 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, said
to them:
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|12TH_KHANDA
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 Vaisvanara Self, called Sutegas (having good light).
Therefore every kind of Soma libation is seen in your house.
2. 'You eat food, and see your desire (a son, &c.), and whoever thus
meditates on that Vaisvanara 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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|13TH_KHANDA
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Satyayagna Paulushi: 'O Prakinayogya, 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 Vaisvanara
Self, called Visvarupa (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
Vaisvanara 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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|14TH_KHANDA
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Indradyumna Bhallaveya: 'O Vaiyaghrapadya, whom
do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Air only, venerable
king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara
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 Vaisvanara 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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|15TH_KHANDA
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Gana Sarkarakshya: 'Whom do you meditate on as
the Self?' He replied: 'Ether only, venerable king.' He said: 'The
Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara 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 Vaisvanara 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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|16TH_KHANDA
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Budila Asvatarasvi, 'O Vaiyaghrapadya, whom do
you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Water only, venerable
king.' He said; 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara
Self, called Rayi (wealth). Therefore are you wealthy and flourishing.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates
on that Vaisvanara 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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|17TH_KHANDA
SEVENTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Auddalaka Aruni: '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 Vaisvanara Self, called
Pratishtha (firm rest). Therefore you stand firm with offspring and
cattle.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates
on that Vaisvanara 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.'
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|18TH_KHANDA
EIGHTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to them all: 'You eat your food, knowing that
Vaisvanara Self as if it were many. But he who worships the Vaisvanara
Self as a span long, and as identical with himself, he eats food in
all worlds, in all beings, in all Selfs.
2. 'Of that Vaisvanara Self the head is Sutegas (having good light),
the eye Visvarupa (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 Garhapatya fire, the mind the Anvaharya
fire, the mouth the Ahavaniya fire.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|19TH_KHANDA
NINETEENTH KHANDA
1. 'Therefore 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
Prana (up-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Prana (up-breathing) is
satisfied,
2. 'If Prana 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.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|20TH_KHANDA
TWENTIETH KHANDA
1. And he who offers the second oblation, should offer it to
Vyana (back-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Vyana is satisfied,
2. If Vyana 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.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|21ST_KHANDA
TWENTY-FIRST KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the third oblation, should offer it to Apana
(down-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Apana is satisfied. If Apana 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.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|22ND_KHANDA
TWENTY-SECOND KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the fourth oblation, should offer it to Samana
(on-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Samana is satisfied,
2. 'If Samana 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.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|23RD_KHANDA
TWENTY-THIRD KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the fifth oblation, should offer it to Udana
(out-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Udana is satisfied,
2. 'If Udana is satisfied, Vayu (air) is satisfied, if Vayu is
satisfied, ether is satisfied, if ether is satisfied, whatever is
under Vayu 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.
5TH_PRAPATHAKA|24TH_KHANDA
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) in all worlds, in all
beings, in all Selfs.
3. 'As the soft fibres of the Ishika 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 Kandala, it would
be offered in his (the Kandala's) Vaisvanara 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.'
----------------------------------------------------------
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|1ST_KHANDA
FIRST KHANDA
-
1. Harih, Om. There lived once Svetaketu Aruneya (the grandson of
Aruna). To him his father (Uddalaka, 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
Brahmana by birth only.'
2. Having begun his apprenticeship (with a teacher) when he was
twelve years of age, 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 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 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 (karshnayasam) 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|2ND_KHANDA
SECOND KHANDA
-
1. 'In the beginning,' my dear, 'there was that only which is (to
on), one only, without a second. Others say, in the beginning there
was that only which is not (to me on), 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, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth fire.
'That fire thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth
water.
'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 (food).
'Therefore whenever it rains anywhere, most food is then produced.
From water alone is eatable food produced.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|3RD_KHANDA
THIRD KHANDA
-
1. 'Of all living things there are indeed three origins only, 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 (i.e. that which had produced fire, water, and earth)
thought, let me now enter those three beings (fire, water, earth) with
this living Self (giva atma), 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 (devata) 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!
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|4TH_KHANDA
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 (aditya) 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." 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 (devata).
Now learn from me, my friend, how those three beings, when they
reach man, become each of them tripartite.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|5TH_KHANDA
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.
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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|6TH_KHANDA
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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|7TH_KHANDA
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 Saman 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|8TH_KHANDA
EIGHTH KHANDA
-
1. Uddalaka Aruni 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, he is gone to his own (Self).
Therefore they say, svapiti, he sleeps, because he is gone (apita)
to his own (sva).
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 giva, or living Self in the mind, see VI, 3, 2),
after flying in every direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles
down on breath; 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-naya), a
horse-leader (asva-naya), a man-leader (purusha-naya), so they call
water (which digests food and causes hunger) food-leader (asa-naya).
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)? 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-naya), of a horse-leader (asva-naya), of a man-leader
(purusha-naya), so they call fire udanya, 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 (devata), 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 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|9TH_KHANDA
NINTH KHANDA
-
1. 'As the bees, 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 mosquito, 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|10TH_KHANDA
TENTH KHANDA
1. 'These rivers, my son, run, the eastern (like the Ganga) 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|11TH_KHANDA
ELEVENTH KHANDA
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 a second, that branch withers; if it
leaves a third, that branch withers. If it leaves the whole tree,
the whole tree withers. 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|12TH_KHANDA
TWELFTH KHANDA
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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|13TH_KHANDA
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
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 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|14TH_KHANDA
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'As one might lead a person with his eyes covered away from the
Gandharas, 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 Gandhara, 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 Gandhara,- in exactly the same manner does a man, who meets
with a teacher to inform him, obtain the true knowledge. For him there
is only delay so long as he is not delivered (from the body); then
he will be perfect.
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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|15TH_KHANDA
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
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 (devata), 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 subtle 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.
6TH_PRAPATHAKA|16TH_KHANDA
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
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.
------------------------------------------------------------
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|1ST_KHANDA
FIRST KHANDA
1. Narada approached Sanatkumara and said, 'Teach me, Sir!'
Sanatkumara said to him: 'Please to tell me what you know; afterward I
shall tell you what is beyond.'
2. Narada said: 'I know the Rig-Veda, Sir, the Yagur-veda, the
Sama-Veda, as the fourth the Atharva, as the fifth the
Itihasa-purana (the Bharata); the Veda of the Vedas (grammar); the
Pitrya (the rules for the sacrifices for the ancestors); the Rasi (the
science of numbers); the Daiva (the science of portents); the Nidhi
(the science of time); the Vakovakya (logic); the Ekayana (ethics);
the Deva-vidya (etymology); the Brahma-vidya (pronunciation, siksha,
ceremonial, kalpa, prosody, khandas); the Bhuta-vidya (the science
of demons); the Kshatra-vidya (the science of weapons); the
Nakshatra-vidya (astronomy); the Sarpa and Devagana-vidya (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).
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.'
Sanatkumara said to him: 'Whatever you have read, is only a name.
4. 'A name is the Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, Sama-veda, and as the fourth
the Atharvana, as the fifth the Itihasa-purana, the Veda of the Vedas,
the Pitrya, the Rasi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vakovakya, the
Ekayana, the Deva-vidya, the Brahma-vidya, the Bhuta-vidya, the
Kshatra-vidya, the Nakshatra-vidya, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidya.
All these are a name only. Meditate on the name.
5. 'He who meditates on the name as Brahman, 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|2ND_KHANDA
SECOND KHANDA
1. 'Speech is better than a name. Speech makes us understand the
Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Sama-veda, and as the fourth the Atharvana, as
the fifth the Itihasa-purana, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the
Rasi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vakovakya, the Ekayana, the
Deva-vidya, the Brahma-vidya, the Kshatra-vidya, the
Nakshatra-vidya, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidya; 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, 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|3RD_KHANDA
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, 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|4TH_KHANDA
FOURTH KHANDA
1. 'Will (sankalpa) 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. 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|5TH_KHANDA
FIFTH KHANDA
1. 'Consideration (kitta) 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|6TH_KHANDA
SIXTH KHANDA
1. 'Reflection (dhyana) 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|7TH_KHANDA
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. 'Understanding (vignana) is better than reflection. Through
understanding we understand the Rig-veda, the Yagur-veda, the
Sama-veda, and as the fourth the Atharvana, as the fifth the
Itihasa-purana, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the Rasi, the
Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vakovakya, the Ekayana, the Deva-vidya, the
Brahma-vidya, the Bhuta-vidya, the Kshatra-vidya the
Nakshatra-vidya, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidya, 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; 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|8TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|9TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|10TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|11TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|12TH_KHANDA
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. 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. 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; 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|13TH_KHANDA
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
-
1. 'Memory (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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|14TH_KHANDA
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'Hope (asa) 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 to me.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|15TH_KHANDA
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'Spirit (prana) is better than hope. As the spokes of a wheel
hold to the nave, 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, Brahmana is spirit.
2. 'For if one says anything unbecoming to a father, mother,
brother, sister, tutor or Brahmana, then people say, Shame on thee!
thou hast offended thy father, mother, brother, sister, tutor, or a
Brahmana.
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
Brahmana.
4. 'Spirit then is all this. He who sees this, perceives this, and
understands this, becomes an ativadin. If people say to such a man,
Thou art an ativadin, he may say, I am an ativadin; he need not deny
it.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|16TH_KHANDA
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'But in reality he is an ativadin who declares the Highest
Being to be the True (Satya, to ontos on).'
'Sir, may I become an ativadin by the True?'
'But we must desire to know the True.'
'Sir, I desire to know the True.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|17TH_KHANDA
SEVENTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'When one understands the True, then one declares the True. One
who does not understand it, does not declare the True. Only he who
understands it, declares the True. This understanding, however, we
must desire to understand.'
'Sir, I desire to understand it.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|18TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|19TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|20TH_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|21ST_KHANDA
TWENTY-FIRST KHANDA
-
1. 'When one performs all sacred duties, 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|22ND_KHANDA
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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|23RD_KHANDA
TWENTY-THIRD KHANDA
-
1. 'The Infinite (bhuman) 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.'
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|24TH_KHANDA
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.'
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.)
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|25TH_KHANDA
TWENTY-FIFTH KHANDA
-
1. 'The Infinite indeed is below, above, behind, before, right and
left- it is indeed all 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 Svarag, (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.
7TH_PRAPATHAKA|26TH_KHANDA
TWENTY-SIXTH KHANDA
-
1. 'To him who sees, perceives, and understands this, the spirit
(prana) springs from the Self, hope springs from the Self, memory
springs from the Self; so do ether, fire, water, appearance and
disappearance, 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."
'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 Sanatkumara showed to Narada, after his faults had
been rubbed out, the other side of darkness. They call Sanatkumara
Skanda, yea, Skanda they call him.'
------------------------------------------------------
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|1ST_KHANDA
FIRST KHANDA
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.'
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 Brahman) is
the true Brahma-city (not the body). 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, for them there is freedom in all the worlds.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|2ND_KHANDA
SECOND KHANDA
1. 'Thus he who desires the world 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
(gandhamalya), 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.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|3RD_KHANDA
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. 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 hrid-ayam, instead of hridy-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 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-ti-yam. 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).
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|4TH_KHANDA
FOURTH KHANDA
1. That Self is a bank, 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.
3. And that world of Brahman belongs to those only who find it by
abstinence- for them there is freedom in all the worlds.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|5TH_KHANDA
FIFTH KHANDA
1. What people call sacrifice (yagna), 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 (ishtva), he obtains the Self.
2. What people call sacrifice (sattrayana), that is really
abstinence, for by abstinence he obtains from the Sat (the true),
the safety (trana) 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 (anasakayana), 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 (aranyayana), that is really
abstinence. Ara and Nya are two lakes in the world of Brahman, in
the third heaven from hence; and there is the lake Airammadiya, and
the Asvattha tree, showering down Soma, and the city of Brahman
(Hiranyagarbha) Aparagita, and the golden Prabhu-vimita (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.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|6TH_KHANDA
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, 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 (and thus
securing an entrance into the Brahma-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: '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.'
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|7TH_KHANDA
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. Prajapati 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, Virochana from the Asuras, and
both, without having communicated with each other, approached
Prajapati, 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 Prajapati
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.'
Prajapati said to them: 'The person that is seen in the eye, 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.'
8TH_PRAPATHAKA | 8TH_KHANDA
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. 'Look at your Self in a pan of water, and whatever you do not
understand of your Self, come and tell me.'
They looked in the water-pan. Then Prajapati 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. Prajapati 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 two, 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 self (the body) alone is to be served, and
that he who worships the self and serves the self, gains both
worlds, this and the next.
5. Therefore they call even now a man who does not give alms here,
who has no faith, and offers no sacrifices, an Asura, for this is
the doctrine (Upanishad) of the Asuras. They deck out the body of
the dead with perfumes, flowers, and fine raiment by way of
ornament, and think they will thus conquer that world.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|9TH_KHANDA
NINTH KHANDA
1. But Indra, before he had returned to the Devas, saw this
difficulty. As this self (the shadow in the water) is well adorned,
when the body is well adorned, well dressed, when the body is well
dressed, well cleaned, if the body is well cleaned, that self will
also be blind, if the body is blind, lame, if the body is lame,
crippled, if the body is crippled, and will perish in fact as soon
as the body perishes. Therefore I see no good in this (doctrine).
2. Taking fuel in his hand he came again as a pupil to Pragapati.
Prajapati said to him: 'Maghavat (Indra), as you went away with
Virochana, satisfied in your heart, for what purpose did you come
back?'
He said: 'Sir, as this self (the shadow) is well adorned, when the
body is well adorned, well dressed, when the body is well dressed,
well cleaned, if the body is well cleaned, that self will also be
blind, if the body is blind, lame, if the body is lame, crippled, if
the body is crippled, and will perish in fact as soon as the body
perishes. Therefore I see no good in this (doctrine).'
3. 'So it is indeed, Maghavat,' replied Prajapati; 'but I shall
explain him (the true Self) further to you. Live with me another
thirty-two years.'
He lived with him another thirty-two years, and then Pragapati said:
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|10TH_KHANDA
TENTH KHANDA
1. 'He who moves about happy in dreams, he is the Self, this is
the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman.'
Then Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But before he had
returned to the Devas, he saw this difficulty. Although it is true
that that self is not blind, even if the body is blind, nor lame, if
the body is lame, though it is true that that self is not rendered
faulty by the faults of it (the body),
2. Nor struck when it (the body) is struck, nor lamed when it is
lamed, yet it is as if they struck him (the self) in dreams, as if
they chased him. He becomes even conscious, as it were, of pain, and
sheds tears. Therefore I see no good in this.
3. Taking fuel in his hands, he went again as a pupil to
Prajapati. Prajapati said to him: 'Maghavat, as you went away
satisfied in your heart, for what purpose did you come back?'
He said: 'Sir, although it is true that that self is not blind
even if the body is blind, nor lame, if the body is lame, though it is
true that that self is not rendered faulty by the faults of it (the
body),
4. Nor struck when it (the body) is struck, nor lamed when it is
lamed, yet it is as if they struck him (the self) in dreams, as if
they chased him. He becomes even conscious, as it were, of pain, and
sheds tears. Therefore I see no good in this.'
'So it is indeed, Maghavat,' replied Prajapati; 'but I shall explain
him (the true Self) further to you. Live with me another thirty-two
years.'
He lived with him another thirty-two years. Then Prajapati said:
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|11TH_KHANDA
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. 'When a man being asleep, reposing, and at perfect rest, sees
no dreams, that is the Self, this is the immortal, the fearless,
this is Brahman.'
Then Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But before he had
returned to the Devas, he saw this difficulty. In truth he thus does
not know himself (his self) that he is I, nor does he know anything
that exists. He is gone to utter annihilation. I see no good in this.
2. Taking fuel in his hand he went again as a pupil to Pragapati.
Pragapati said to him: 'Maghavat, as you went away satisfied in your
heart, for what purpose did you come back?'
He said: 'Sir, in that way he does not know himself (his self)
that he is I, nor does he know anything that exists. He is gone to
utter annihilation. I see no good in this.'
3. 'So it is indeed, Maghavat,' replied Pragapati; but I shall
explain him (the true Self ) further to you, and nothing more than
this. Live here other five years.'
He lived there other five years. This made in all one hundred and
one years, and therefore it is said that Indra Maghavat lived one
hundred and one years as a pupil with Pragapati. Pragapati said to
him:
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|12TH_KHANDA
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. 'Maghavat, this body is mortal and always held by death. It is
the abode of that Self which is immortal and without body. When in the
body (by thinking this body is I and I am this body) the Self is
held by pleasure and pain. So long as he is in the body, he cannot get
free from pleasure and pain. But when he is free of the body (when
he knows himself different from the body), then neither pleasure nor
pain touches him.
2. 'The wind is without body, the cloud, lightning, and thunder
are without body (without hands, feet, &c.) Now as these, arising from
this heavenly ether (space), appear in their own form, as soon as they
have approached the highest light,
3. 'Thus does that serene being, arising from this body, appear in
its own form, as soon as it has approached the highest light (the
knowledge of Self). He (in that state) is the highest person (uttama
purusha). He moves about there laughing (or eating), playing, and
rejoicing (in his mind), be it with women, carriages, or relatives,
never minding that body into which he was born.
'Like as a horse attached to a cart, so is the spirit (prana,
pragnatman) attached to this body.
4. 'Now where the sight has entered into the void (the open space,
the black pupil of the eye), there is the person of the eye, the eye
itself is the instrument of seeing. He who knows, let me smell this,
he is the Self, the nose is the instrument of smelling. He who
knows, let me say this, he is the Self, the tongue is the instrument
of saying. He who knows, let me hear this, he is the Self, the ear
is the instrument of hearing.
5. 'He who knows, let me think this, he is the Self, the mind is his
divine eye. He, the Self, seeing these pleasures (which to others
are hidden like a buried treasure of gold) through his divine eye,
i.e. the mind, rejoices.
'The Devas who are in the world of Brahman meditate on that Self (as
taught by Pragapati to Indra, and by Indra to the Devas). Therefore
all worlds belong to them, and all desires. He who knows that Self and
understands it, obtains all worlds and all desires.' Thus said
Pragapati, yea, thus said Pragapati.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|13TH_KHANDA
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. From the dark (the Brahman of the heart) I come to the nebulous
(the world of Brahman), from the nebulous to the dark, shaking off all
evil, as a horse shakes his hairs, and as the moon frees herself
from the mouth of Rahu. Having shaken off the body, I obtain, self
made and satisfied, the uncreated world of Brahman, yea, I obtain it.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|14TH_KHANDA
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. He who is called ether (akasa) is the revealer of all forms and
names. That within which these forms and names are contained is the
Brahman, the Immortal, the Self.
I come to the hall of Pragapati, to the house; I am the glorious
among Brahmans, glorious among princes, glorious among men. I obtained
that glory, I am glorious among the glorious. May I never go to the
white, toothless, yet devouring, white abode; may I never go to it.
8TH_PRAPATHAKA|15TH_KHANDA
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. Brahma (Hiranyagarbha or Paramesvara) told this to Pragapati
(Kasyapa), Pragapati to Manu (his son), Manu to mankind. He who has
learnt the Veda from a family of teachers, according to the sacred
rule, in the leisure time left from the duties to be performed for the
Guru, who, after receiving his discharge, has settled in his own
house, keeping up the memory of what he has learnt by repeating it
regularly in some sacred spot, who has begotten virtuous sons, and
concentrated all his senses on the Self, never giving pain to any
creature, except at the tirthas (sacrifices, &c.), he who behaves thus
all his life, reaches the world of Brahman, and does not return,
yea, he does not return.
OM - SHANTI - SHANTI - SHANTI