1. Sixty Upanisads of the Veda -Part- 1

PAUL DEUSSEN

Sixty Upanisads

of the Veda

Translated from German by

V. M. BEDEKAR

and

G. B. PALSULE

PART ONE

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The German Edition :

Sechzig Upanisad's des Veda

Leipzig: 1897, 1905, 1921

First Edition: Delhi, 1980

Price : Rs. 150 (for 2 Parts)

Printed in India

By Shantilal Jain, at Shri Jainendra Press, A-45, Phase-I,

Industrial Area, Naraina, New Delhi-110 028,

Published by Narendra Prakash Jain, for Motilal Banarsidass,

Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-110 007.

To

THE SPIRITUAL ANCESTORS

Of

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER

How the Oupnek'hat (the Persian-Latin translation of the Upaniṣads) breathes throughout the sacred spirit of the Vedas ! How one, to whom the Persian-Latin of this incomparable book has become familiar through diligent reading, has been struck by that spirit in the very innermost recesses of his heart ! How every line, is full of sure, definite and throughout harmonizing significance! How out of every page confront us deep, original, elevated thoughts, while a higher and highly sacred earnestness vibrates through the whole! Everything here breathes forth the Indian atmosphere and primordial existence akin to nature! And, O! how here the mind is washed of all Jewish superstitions which it had formerly cherished! It is the most rewarding and the most elevating book which (excepting the original text) there can possibly be in this world! It has become the solace of my life and will be the solace of my death.

SCHOPENHAUER Parerga II, 185 (Works VI 427)

TRANSLATOR'S PREFATORY NOTE

I have great pleasure in presenting this English translation of

Deussen's Sechzig Upaniṣad's des Veda to the world of scholars

and general readers.

The late Prof. V.M. Bedekar had already completed a little

more than half of the whole work (to be exact: upto page 567, line

28 of the third German edition=page 598, line 28 of this edition)

of translation when he unfortunately passed away unexpectedly

on the 3rd of January, 1978.1 After his sad demise the arduous

task of completing the translation devolved on my slender

shoulders.

I may perhaps mention here that I had no occasion to discuss

with Prof. Bedekar the lines of the present translation. In fact

I came to know about it only when it was suggested to me,

after his death, that I should complete the work which he had

left incomplete. There is therefore no question of joint transla-

tors following a common policy. There are just two translators.

As for me, my watchword in translating has been 'literal and

faithful' which, I am sure, must have been the guiding principle

of Prof. Bedekar also. As a rule, Deussen's translation is, in the

true traditions of German scholars, exact and objective. Occa-

sionally, however, I found it somewhat loose or free (to quote

from the Māṇḍ. Up. Kārikās: II, 24;33; III, 6; 9; IV, 9; 49; 67)

and, in a few cases, even wrong (see foot-notes 856.1,2 869.1,

932.1, 932.5). But in all such cases I have translated Deussen's

original-as it is, never forgetting that this is an English translation

of Deussen's German translation, and not of the Sanskrit original.

In a few places where I differed from Deussen, whether in under-

standing a Sanskrit exrpession or on some other point, I have

1. I have heard that he had been awake late in the night before,

working on this translation.

2. Unless otherwise specified, references are to page and foot-note.

Incidentally, I have characterised my foot-notes by GBP to distinguish them

from those of Deussen.

viii

Sixty Upaniṣads

expressed my opinion in footnotes (e.g. 647.6, 661.1, 698.1, 760.1,

769.2, 776.1, 903.2, 903.4, 909.3). I have also mentioned a

number of other readings in the original Sanskrit Upaniṣads

(particularly when Deussen had found his text unsatisfactory,

but even at other places; e.g. 647.5, 702.3, 718.1, 735.1, 737.2,

761.1, 805.1, 855.1, 917.1, 921.1, 937.2). Further, I have also added

here and there in footnotes small informatory points which I

thought would help to understand the text better (e.g. 646.1,

647.3, 656.1, 657.1, 661.3, 686.1, 695.4. 735.1, 751.1, 781.1-2,

780.1, 801.2, 833.1, 872.2, 894.1, 910.1, 909.2, 909.4). Lastly,

even after diligent attempts, a few places in Deussen’s German

original have not been quite clear to me (e.g. 661.2, 823.1

[Deussen’s coinage?], 871, stanza 5, 895.1, 941.4). At such places

I have satisfied myself with giving a literal translation. (How

often I remember European scholars here on visit to India

throwing up their hands or shrugging their shoulders in despair

when I consulted them on these obscure points !)

Some Upaniṣads included in this collection (in the Supplement)

were not available in Sanskrit original to Deussen. Since then,

however, they have become available with the publication of

the Unpublished Upaniṣads from Adyar in 1933 under the

supervision of Kunhan Raja. I have avoided a detailed com-

parison of this version with the Persian-Latin one in view of

the restricted scope of the present work. Still I have written

notes here and there to draw attention to certain important

points of agreement and difference between the two versions,

confining myself mostly to translating Deussen’s German

original.

There was some hesitation initially about retaining the

extremely voluminous Index compiled by Deussen for his

German edition. Finally it has been retained (in the English form,

of course) in view of its vast usefulness, although it involved

tremendous labour (in that the whole thing had to be translated

first into English and alphabetized according to English and the

new page-references according to this English edition had to be

substituted in place of those of the German edition). It is hoped

that this will be appreciated and the Index copiously utilised by

the reader.

Prefatory Note

The Additions and Corrections are somewhat numerous.

This is because it was thought proper to indicate whatever

omissions and mistakes (due, in some measure, to the indifferent

health of Prof. V. M. Bedekar in his last days) came to my

notice.

I am thankful to Shri N.P. Jain of Messrs. Motilal Banarsidass

who gave me an opportunity to participate in this great

undertaking. I do not know how to thank adequately Dr. V. V.

Gokhale and Dr. R.N. Dandekar who encouraged me to under-

take this work when I was hesitating to do so at the beginning.

I am particularly obliged to Dr. Gokhale to whom I had a free

access and to whom I used to run whenever I had any difficulty

about German. In this context I must not fail to mention my

colleague Father S. J. Carri, a research Fellow at the Centre of

Advanced Study in Sanskrit, whom I often consulted and from

whose knowledge of Greek and Latin I have profited consider-

ably. Librarians of the Centre of Advanced Study in Sanskrit

and of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Shri Goswami

and Shri Manjul respectively, were very helpful, not only

promptly supplying me books required, but also giving a lot of

other information which good librarians specialize in possessing.

As usual my erstwhile pupils Dr. (Mrs.) Asha Gurjar, Sub-

Editor in the Sanskrit Dictionary Department at the Deccan

College and Dr. Pratibha Gokhale, Research Associate, Centre

of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, Pune, rendered me help in a

number of ways, including taking down the translation I dictat-

ed when I was suffering for months from a pain in the shoulder.

Lastly I must not forget Shri J. V. Bhide who has efficiently and

promptly typed the whole huge press-copy (running into nearly

1400 typed sheets), not just as a business proposition, but with

a sort of devotion.

This project was originally conceived by the late Prof. Bedekar

and he had executed a substantial part of it by dint of his

characteristically vigorous and hard work in spite of his indifferent

health. It would have been in the fitness of things if he could

have lived long enough to finish it. But that was not to be. I do

not possess the vast experience and the capacity which Prof.

Bedekar had. I am only glad that I could finish the work which

x

Sixty Upaniṣads

he had to leave half done.1 How far it is a success, I leave it for

the scholars to say.

Pune,

January 26, 1980

G. B. Palsule

1. My feelings are somewhat the same as those of Bhūṣaṇa who says,

yāte divyam pitari tadvacasaiva sārdham

vicchedam āpa bhuvi yas tu kathāprabandhaḥ,

duḥkham satāṁ tadasamāptikrtaṁ vilokya

prārabadha eva sa mayā na kavitvadarpāt.

FOREWORD

( to the First German Edition )

The Upaniṣads are for the Veda, what the New Testament

is for the Bible; and the analogy is not mere external (formal)

and accidental but such as is full of great profundity and is

founded, in general, on the laws of development of religious

life manifested in both the fields (of literature).

In the childhood of mankind religion lays down commands

and prohibitions and emphasises them through promise of

reward and threat of punishment; it thus concerns itself with

the egotism, which it presupposes as the real core of man and

beyond which it does not lead.

A higher state of religious consciousness is attained with the

knowledge that all works (deeds or actions), which depend on

fear or hope as their driving motives, are worthless from the

point of the eternal destiny of man, that the highest function

of. existence consists not in the gratification of egoism, but in

its own complete heightening (sublimation) and that in this

state (of heightened consciousness), our true divine essence

attains a break-through through the individuality as through a

shell or a husk.

That childlike standpoint of the validity of actions is repre-

sented in the Bible through the rules in the Old Testament, and

correspondingly in the Vedas through what the Indian theolo-

gians name the Karma-Kāṇḍa (the part devoted to rites and

ritual), under which name is included the whole literature of

the hymns and the Brāhmaṇas with the exception of the parts

like the Upaniṣads, interlaced here and there in between. Both

the Old Testament and the Karmakāṇḍa of the Vedas proclaim

a law and set forth the prospect of reward for the observance

of that law and of punishment for its transgression. The Indian

theory has the advantage that it can remove or transfer the

requital (of actions) partly to the world beyond and thus avoid

conflict with actual experience; the theory of requital, in the

Old Testament, however, restricted to this existence, creates

xii

Sixty Upaniṣads

many dilemmas. On the other hand, the distinctive character of

the Biblical ‘validity of the law’ lies in the fact that, in com-

parison with the Indian one, it is less concerned with going

beyond the ritual directions and on account of that reason, lays

greater emphasis on the moral, ‘unpunishable’ conduct of life.

From the point of the interest of human society, this advantage

is very great; but by itself and from the point of ‘moral’ worth

of actions, there is basically no difference whether man exerts

himself to offer service to an imaginary god or to his own

fellow-beings. Both these, so long as one’s own well-being is

present before the mind, however vaguely, are a mere means

towards this egotistic aim and, therefore are, like the egotistic

aim itself, worthless and objectionable from the point of moral

considerations.

This knowledge breaks new ground in the New Testament,

when it teaches the worthlessness of bad actions and in the

Upaniṣadic teaching which lays down that all, even good, actions

are objectionable. Both the New Testament and the Upaniṣads

make salvation dependent not on any actions of one’s own doing

but on a complete transformation of the whole natural man.

Both consider this transformation as a deliverance from the

fetters of this whole empirical reality, rooted in egotism.

But why do we need a deliverance out of this existence?

“Because this existence is the realm of sin and evil” answers

the Bible. “Because it is the realm of error or ignorance” answers

the Veda. The Bible sees the corruption in the willing part of

man, the Upaniṣads see it in the knowing part of man; the

Bible promotes the transformation of the will, the Upaniṣads

the transformation in knowledge. On which side lies the truth?—

Were man a mere will or a mere knowledge, we would, corres-

pondingly, have been able to decide in favour of one or the

other interpretation. But man is at the same time a willing and

a knowing being; so that great transformation, in which the

Bible and the Upaniṣads discover salvation, will have to be

brought about in both the spheres; it will, according to the

Biblical view, soften the heart petrified in natural egoism and

make it capable of practising righteousness, love and self-

negation –and secondly, hand in hand with it, it will, at the

same time, anticipating Kant’s doctrine, allow the knowledge,

Foreword

xiii

which the Upaniṣads advocate, to dawn on us, to the effect that this whole world-order, entirely spatial, i.e. manifold, i.e. an egoistic world-order only depends on an illusion (māyā) inborn in us through the constitution of our intellect, that there is an eternal being beyond space and time, beyond plurality and becoming, which comes into manifestation in all forms of nature and which I feel and find to be whole, undivided as my real self, in my innermost being, as the Ātman.

Undoubtedly, according to Schopenhauer's great teaching, the will and not the intellect forms the core of man; equally undoubtedly, the preference of Christianity is for the promotion of the rebirth of the will, which is the really central and the essential one. —But at the same time, there is no doubt that the man is not mere will but is also, at the same time, intellect. Therefore, that Christian rebirth of the will can be surely demonstrated, on the other side, as the rebirth of knowledge, just as the Upaniṣads teach it. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" so the Bible demands. —But whence comes this demand, that I feel in me and not in the other? —"Because" here intervenes the Veda (the Upaniṣads) providing clarification, "thy neighbour, in truth, is thy own self and what separates thee from him is mere illusion". —As in this particular case, so also it is on all points between the two systems. The New Testament and the Upaniṣads—both are the highest products of religious consciousness of mankind. If one does not cling to the externals, he will find that both these do nowhere, at no point, stand in irreconcilable contradiction but serve, in the most exquisite manner, to elucidate and supplement each other.

An example may show the value which the Upaniṣads have for us from the point of the pattern of our Christian consciousness.

Christianity teaches, though not everywhere according to the letter, that the man, as such, is sinful, i.e. capable of egotistic actions (Römer, 7.18) and that everything which is good according to its motive will as well as its accomplishment can be effected only by God (Phil. 2.13). This teaching, not so much expressed in separate passages, lies, however, inherent as such in the whole system for any one who has the eyes to see;

xiv

Sixty Upaniṣads

periods of history, to take kindly to it. Instead, a way out was

found by evolving a synergism with all its half-measures and

possibly to leave a back-door open for the actions of men,

evidently because they saw behind the monergism, which

refers everything good, back to God, the ghastly absurdities of

predestination, standing as frightful spectres. And this, indeed,

follows as an unavoidable consequence, as soon as one combines

that Christian knowledge—so deep and true—of monergism with

the Jew realism handed down by the Old Testament—the Jew

realism which juxtaposes against each other God and man as

two exclusive entities. —In these obscuring conditions, comes to

us a light from the East—from India. Undoubtedly, Paul makes

a start to identify God with Anthropos Pneumatikós1 (1Cor. 15.47)

and Kant also tries to explain the wonderful phenomenon of the

categorical imperative in us to the effect that in the categorical

imperative man as thing-in-itself points out the law to the man

as appearance. But these appear as hesitating and groping

attempts as against the basic view of the Vedānta which peeps

out of the pages of the Upaniṣads that the God, who alone

effects whatever is good in us, is not, as in the Old Testament, a

being standing different from, and juxtaposed to, us but that,

He is, on the contrary, without prejudice to his being in full

contrast to our own corrupt empirical ‘I’ (jīva)—our own metaphy-

sical ‘I’, our permanent, blessed, divine self enduring in undis-

turbed wholeness among all the aberrations of human nature;

He is our Ātman.

We could learn this and many other things from the

Upaniṣads. We should learn it from the Upaniṣads, if we wish

to bring our Christian consciousness to consistent perfection—

complete from all sides.

When we consider the significance which the Upaniṣads of

the Veda would surely contribute to our religious and philoso-

phical knowledge, it would be really surprising that until now,

there is no reliable, readable, complete translation in German

of these most important records of Indian antiquity, though the

1. This is the transliteration of the Greek words given in the Greek

script by the author. ‘Anthropos Pneumatikós’ means ‘spiritual man’.

(Translator)

Foreword

production of such a translation confronts partly insurmount-

able difficulties. A translation of the Upaniṣads satisfying all

demands would first presuppose a critical edition of the

Upaniṣadic texts, for which a small start has just been made

and which is not yet possible with regard to the Atharva-

Upaniṣads, i.e. until we presuppose a connected history of the

Upaniṣadic tradition which can be settled in a definite way in

India itself. So long as such critical edition is not available,

every translation, though most scholarly and conscientious, will,

in many respects, rest on uncertain foundations. With the

resources at our command, an understandable text sufficiently

containing the requisite thoughts might be available but it would

not afford guarantee that the particular text is the right and

original one. It cannot, therefore, lay claim to higher worth or

reliability than the classic edition of the Bible of Humanists or of

Luther's translation o f the Bible. But just as the latter, in spite

of their several deficiencies clinging to them, have been more in

use than the later critical editions and authentic translations,

we also indulge in the hope that out of our translation, a faith-

ful picture of the Upaniṣads in all its essentials will be present

before the reader. The uncertainty of tradition, which has

already been mentioned, holds good in full measure only in the

case of the Upaniṣads of the Atharvaveda, and to a lesser extent

in the case of the Upaniṣads of the Ṛg-, Sāma-, and Yajurveda.

In the latter case, the transmission, apart from negligence in

the handwriting of the copyist and the editor, which can be

easily corrected, is essentially good and such an effort of pro-

ducing the restored text, as has been undertaken by Böhtlingk,

for instance, under the present circumstances, no doubt

exceeds our humble desideratum. The readings of his edition

of the Chāndogyopaniṣad preserve a similar usage just as

Horatius of Bentley; his notes are, throughout, interesting and

instructive but in his conjectures one will agree with him in very

few cases. Less high stands his edition of the Bṛhadāraṇyakam;

what can be gained out of his editions of the Aitareya, Kāṭhaka

and Praśna is still less.1 Throughout, where the text was

1. Böhtlingk's discussion of the passage in the Kauṣītaki—1.2. (Berichte

der Sachs, Ges. d.W. 42, 198 fg) was unknown to me, while my translation

xvi

Sixty Upaniṣads

already previously translated, I have, as a rule, only after the completion of my own translation, compared the newest or the best translations of the same by Böhtlingk, Cowell, M. Müller, Weber etc., in order that I should not come from the first under these external influences. Where I differ from my predecessors, I do so with full consciousness and on grounds which the well-versed reader will easily understand, without any reference thereto. Similar is the case with the most important commentaries which are transmitted under the name of Śaṅkara. Throughout, I have looked into them afterwards, after I had a clear comprehension of the Upaniṣadic texts, out of a sort of feeling of duty, but I cannot say that the gain coming from these commentaries is, in any way, proportionate to the expense of time and toil. Still less is this the case with regard to the remaining commentaries of Śaṅkarānanda and Nārāyaṇa etc. They dilate over the self-intelligible things while real difficulties are often not noticed by them or are passed over in silence.

On rare occasions, it also appears that they elucidate, at the great expense of acumen and pedantry, what is only a palpable scribal error. We would like to recommend to the future editors that they should not burden their editions of the Upaniṣads with all this ballast of the commentaries and to restrict themselves to a selection of only such as are likely to be useful.

A ‘complete’ collection of the Upaniṣads, as far as it can be ascertained, is not possible and will not be possible, as this literature does not denote a closed body (corpus) of writings but a species of writings, the products of which have never come to a real concluding point; why, possibly in the present and the future a continuation of this species of literature can still proceed! Every edition or translation of the Upaniṣads must, therefore, restrict itself to a choice. Our choice includes first the eleven Upaniṣads of the three older Vedas, then all those Atharva-Upaniṣads which occur with a certain regularity in all or most collections and the lists of the Upaniṣads and

was being printed. Otherwise, I would not have omitted to mention it there that he alone before me has understood rightly the main points.

Foreword

which, thus, appear to have attained a sort of canonical regard. Our choice of the Sixty Upaniṣads offers, all in all, everything that is of interest from this field of literature; particularly, we have taken care to incorporate into our collection not only all the Upaniṣads of Colebrooke's list but also all those occurring in the Oupnek'hat.1

In the introductions (to each Upaniṣad and its sections) the attempt is made for the first time to clear up the literary composition of the several sections, in order to render possible, on the one hand, the full philosophical understanding of those sections and on the other, to present the data of their inter-dependence on one another and thus of their relative period of composition. These investigations will be found continued, with the elucidation of their inter-connections, in the Second Part, devoted to the Upaniṣads, in my Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie (General History of Philosophy). The first part of this work appeared before two years and sets forth together the preparatory first steps of the Upaniṣadic doctrines discovered in the Hymns and the Brāhmaṇas. It will serve as an introduction in the study of the Upaniṣads and will essentially facilitate their understanding.

We close with the expression of thanks to the Königl. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin for the assistance which it has rendered towards the printing of this present work.

Kiel, P.D. January 1897.

1. Oupnek'hat (i.e. Upaniṣad)—Dupperon, Anquetil, Strassburg, Levrault, 2 vols. 1801-1802, 735 and 916 pp.—This is a translation into Latin of a translation into Persian of the original Sanskrit of fifty of the Upaniṣads. The primary translation was made at Delhi (1656-1657) by Pandits who had been brought from Benares for this purpose by Prince Dārā Shukōh, son of the Moghul emperor, Shāh Jehan. Oupnek'hat was translated into German by Franz Michel, Dresden, Heinrich, 1882. 618 pp.

Deussen's German translation of the Sixty Upaniṣads contains the classical Upaniṣads, all of the fifty included in Dupperon's Oupnek'hat, together with the more important of the later Atharvan Upaniṣads.

—Translator

FOREWORD

(to the Second German Edition)

Since the appearance of the first edition, the interest for the

Upaniṣads, which are the deepest and most precious among all

(the literary works) which the wisdom of India can present to

the world, has grown in a gratifying manner and so it is to be

hoped that also the attempt to present systematically the phi-

losophy of the Upaniṣads and to ascertain in them a process of

historical development, such as has been undertaken in my

Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie (General History of

Philosophy) (Vol. I, Part II), would have to undergo more

exhaustive examination. This is not the occasion to undertake

considerable changes in the present second edition, so that the

number of pages could remain the same as in the first edition

and in view of this the citing according to the pages of our

translation should not find an obstacle in future also. A lone

exception is made with respect to the pages 859ff (containing

the Praṇavopaniṣad). In the first edition there is the translation

of the Praṇava-Upaniṣad as it appears in the Oupnek'hat. But

since then, it has been demonstrated to be a part of the

Gopatha Brāhmaṇa ( I. 1. 16-30) (See Bloomfield, Atharvaveda

in Bühler's Grundriss II, 1, B and the same conclusion arrived

at in the Miscellanea Linguistica in honour of G. Ascoli,

p.31 ff). Therefore, in this second edition, the translation of the

Sanskrit original of the Pranava-Upanisad in the Gopatha

Brāhmaṇa could be and has since been added.

Kiel,

August 1905.

P.D.

CONTENTS

Translator’s Prefatory Note

vii

Foreword (to Ist German Edn.)

xi

Foreword (to IInd German Edn.)

xviii

Deussen’s Addenda

xxxiii

Pronunciation

xxxiii

Alphabetical List of the Upaniṣads

xxxiv

Part I

Introduction

1

A. THE UPANIṢADS OF THE ṚGVEDA 5-58

1. The Aitareya Upaniṣad 7-20

Introduction

7

I World and man as creation of the Ātman

15

II The three-fold birth of Ātman

18

III Consciousness as the essence of Ātman

19

2. The Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad 21-58

Introduction

21

I The way towards the Yonder (world)

25

II 1-2. The Prāṇa as Brahman

30

3. The garnering or storing of definite good or merit

32

4. Daivah smarah ...... magic spell of love

32

5. The inward Agnihotram

33

6. The Uktham as Brahman

33

7-11. Ceremonies

7. for the removal of sin

34

8-9. to secure that the children should not die before the father

35

10. nor before the mother

37

11. to secure long life for the son

37

12-13. The Vāyu-Prāṇa as the principle of cosmic and psychic life (daivah parimaraḥ)

38

14. The quarrel among the organs for the highest rank and the victory of Prāṇa

40

15. Ceremony of bequest

41

III Conversation of Indra with Pratardana

The dependence of sense-objects on the sense-organs and of these again on Prāṇa i. e. on the Prajñātman

43

IV The conversation of Ajātaśatru with Bālāki:

Superiority of Prāṇa-Brahman over the forces and the phenomena of nature and over the psychical organs in man

51

B. THE UPANIṢADS OF THE SĀMAVEDA 59-213

3. The Chāndogya Upaniṣad 61-205

Introduction

61

I Five contemplations for the glorification of Udgītha, besides three legends and an allegorical supplement

68

II Allegorical contemplation over Sāman, its parts and kinds, besides a supplement

85

III 1-11 Brahman as the sun of the Universe

101

12-19. Seven passages : 12. Brahman as the Gāyatrī p. 107. 13. Gates of the gods p. 108. 14. The doctrine of Śāṇḍilya p. 110. 15. The world as the skid (the supporting timber-frame) of Soma p. 111.

16-17. Life as Soma-sacrifice p. 112. 18. The four feet of Brahman p. 116. 19. cosmogony p. 117

IV 1-3. Instruction to Jānaśruti by Raikva about the wind and Breath as Gatherers-in-themselves

118

4-9. Instruction to Satyakāma about the four feet of Brahman

122

10-15. Instruction to Upakosala about the Brahman and the way towards it

126

Contents

16-17. Two Ritual passages

130

V 1-2. Precedence or priority of Prāṇa; its food

and garment. Enthusiastic drinking

ceremony

133

3-10. Theory of the transmigration of the soul

(Pañcāgni-vidyā)

138

11-24. Aśvapati instructs Uddālaka and others

about the Ātman Vaiśvānara and the Prāṇa-

agnihotram

146

VI 1-7. Uddālaka teaches Śvetaketu about the

origin of the Elements and of man

162

8-16. as well as about sleep, hunger and thirst

and about the mysterious principle in the

phenomena of nature (tat tvam asi)

166

VII Sanatkumāra leads Nārada step by step, higher

and higher, towards the knowledge of Prāṇa

and of Bhūman (Infinity) (1-26 Khaṇḍas)

176

VIII 1-6. About the Ātman in the heart and in the

Universe and about the way leading to him

191

7-12. Step-by-step instruction to Indra by Prajāpati

about the nature of Ātman

198

13-15. Wishes for abundance and the concluding

exhortation to the departing student

203

4. The Kena Upaniṣad 207-213

1-13. The unknowability of Brahman

209

14-28. Superiority of Brahman over gods

211

29-34. Epilogue

212

C. The Upaniṣads of the Black

Yajurveda 215-386

5. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad 217-246

I Śikṣāvallī 1. Inaugural prayer p. 221. 2. The

Phonetics p. 222. 3. The Saṃdhi p. 222. 4 The

Prayer for wisdom p. 223. 5. The Vyāhṛtis

(p. 225). 6. The Vyāhṛtis as the way leading to

xxii

Sixty Upaniṣads

Brahman p. 225. 7. Everything is fivefold

p. 226. 8. Om as Brahman p. 227. 9. Veda-

study p. 228. 10. Panegyric by Triśaṅku of

the study of the Vedas p. 228. 11. Golden

rules for the student p. 229. 12. Concluding

prayer p. 231.

221

II Ānandavallī Step-by-step penetration through

the phenomenal forms of the Ātman as

material nature ( annarasamaya ), as life-

principle of the same (prāṇamaya), as the

subject of the sacrificial cult (manomaya), as

the subject of knowledge (vijñānamaya) upto

the innermost core which is the Ātman who

is not known but who is experienced as the

real 'I' in the state of unutterable beatitude

(ānandamaya).

232

III Bhrguvallī 1-6. Repetition of this thought

in the form of conversation between Bhrgu

and Varuṇa p. 242. 6-10. Brahman as the

essence of nutrition and the consumer of

nutrition (objectivism and subjectivism)

p. 244.

241

6. The Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad 247-268

7. The greatness of Ātman p. 249. 2-9. Sundry

topics p. 252. 10. Brahman in the world and

in man p. 254. 11. The Ātman as Nārāyaṇa

p. 257. 12-61. Sundry topics p. 259. 62.

Among the twelve goals of human endeavour

the highest is renunciation p. 262. 63. The

same teaching in the form of some legends p.

263. 64. Life as sacrificial festival p. 264.

264. The Kāṭhaka Upaniṣad 269-300

Introduction

I Introductory story (Naciketas and the god

of death)

275

II The Ātman according to its own self-

existent essence

281

Contents

III The embodiment of the Ātman and the

latter's return from it

286

IV Ātman as subject of knowledge

290

V The appearance of Ātman in the world and

in man

293

VI The Yoga as the way to the highest goal

296

8. The Śvetāśvatara-Upaniṣad 301-326

I The basic questions: the individual and the

highest soul; the means of knowledge

305

II Prayer to Savitṛ; the Yoga

309

III The Ātman as personal and super-personal

God

311

IV Brahman as cosmic and psychic principle

becomes personified and is visualized in

Rudra

315

V Ignorance and knowledge—both encompassed

in Brahman

319

VI Periodic creation and freedom of the released

(souls); supremacy of Brahman; the deliver-

ance as entry into it

322

9. The Maitrāyaṇa Upaniṣad 327-386

Introduction

327

I Introductory story (Bṛhadratha and

Śākāyanya)

331

II How Ātman enters the body

333

III Through what does the highest Ātman

become individual?

338

IV How deliverance from this condition is

possible?

340

V-VII Supplement and additions

V 1. Hymns of Kutsāyana p. 344 V 2. Creation

of Tamas, Rajas and Sattvam p. 345. VI

1-8. Āditya and Prāṇa p. 346. VI 9-17. The

Prāṇāgnihotram p. 350. VI 18-30. The

Yoga p. 358. VI 31-32. The Ātman and the

organs p. 369. VI 33-38. The sacrifice is

xxiv

Sixty Upaniṣads

Prāṇāgnihotram which has become visible

p. 371. VII 1-7. The Ātman as the Sun of

the Universe p. 379. VII 8-10. Polemic

p. 382. VII 11. Om and the four feet of

Brahman p. 384.

D. THE UPANIṢADS OF THE WHITE

YAJURVEDA 387-551

10. The Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad 389-544

Introduction 389

I-II Madhukāṇḍam 399

I 1-2. Allegorical interpretation of horse-

sacrifice 399

3. Prāṇa as saviour and sustainer of the

organs 402

4. Creation of the world out of Ātman

409

5. Manas, Vāc, Prāṇa created by Prajāpati

416

6. Ātman as name, form and work

424

II 1. Conversation of Ajātaśatru with Bālāki:

the Ātman and the vital organs

425

2. Embodiment of Prāṇa in the body

429

3. The two forms of Brahman

431

4. Conversation of Yājñavalkya with

Maitreyī: With the knowledge of the

Ātman, everything is known; it is the

objectless subject of knowledge

433

5. Relativity of all phenomena, Ātman is

absolute (the lore of 'honey')

437

6. List of teachers

442

III-IV Yājñavalkya-Kāṇḍam 444

III 1-9. Yājñavalkya demonstrates his superiority

over new interlocutors

445

Contents

xxv

IV 1-2. Yājñavalkya criticises, before Janaka,

six definitions of Brahman; fate of

souls after death

475

3-4. Yājñavalkya explains to Janaka wakeful-

ness, dream, deep sleep, death and

deliverance

482

5. Conversation of Yājñavalkya with

Maitreyī (= II 4)

500

6. List of teachers

505

V-VI Khila Kāṇḍam 507

V. Supplement. 1 Inexhaustibility of God

p. 507. 2. Three cardinal virtues p. 508.

3. Brahman as heart p. 509. 4. tad vai

tad p. 599. 5. The Satyam p. 510. 6.

The doctrine ot Śāṇḍilya p. 511. 7.

Brahman as lightning p. 511. 8.Prāṇa,

Vāc and Manas p. 512. 9. The diges-

tive fire p. 512. 10. The way to the

beyond p. 513. 11. The highest tapas

p. 513. 12. Brahman as renunciation

p. 514. 13. Four forms of Prāṇa

p. 515. 14. The four feet of Gāyatrī

p. 515. 15. Prayer to Pūṣan at the time

of death p. 515

VI 1. The quarrel among organs for precedence

519

2. The doctrine of the transmigration of the

soul (Pañcāgnividyā)

525

3. The churning out of happiness (Śrīmantha)

529

4. The churning out of the Son (Putra-

mantha)

534

5. Two lists of teachers

542

Part II

11. The Īśa Upaniṣad 545-551

1-14. The knowledge of the Ātman and

individual knowledge

547

15-18. Looking into the beyond

550

xxvi

Sixty Upaniṣads

E. THE UPANIṢADS OF THE ATHARVAVEDA

553-888

Introduction. 555-568

1. General 555

2. The collection of 108 Upaniṣads 556

3. The collection of Oupnek'hat 558

4. Colebrooke's collection 561

5. The collection of Nārāyaṇa 562

6. Selection and arrangement 565

(a) Pure Vedānta-Upaniṣads 569

12. The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 569-587

I 1-2. Preparation for the knowledge of Brahman 570

II 1-2. The Doctrine of Brahman 577

III 1-2. The way to Brahman 582

13. The Praśna Upaniṣad 589-603

I The origin of matter and life out of Prajāpati 589

II Superiority of Prāṇa over the remaining vital organs 592

III Prāṇa and its ramifications in man 594

IV About dreamy sleep and deep sleep 597

V Meditation over the syllable Om 600

VI The sixteen parts of man

14. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad with the Gauḍapāda-Kārikā 605-637

Introduction 605

I The Upaniṣad, together with metrical paraphrase 611

II Vaitathyam, the unreality of empirical reality 616

Contents

xxvii

III Advaitam, the non-duality

620

IV The extinction of the fire-brand cycle

626

15. The Garbha Upaniṣad 639-644

The human body and the development of the embryo

16. The Prāṇāgnihotra Upaniṣad 645-651

1-2. The sacrifice into the Prāṇa

646

3-4. Man as sacrifice

649

17. The Piṇḍa Upaniṣad 653-654

The new animation of the dead

653

18. The Ātma Upaniṣad 655-656

The external, inner and the highest Ātman

655

19. The Sarva-Upaniṣat-Sāra 657-661

23 main ideas of the Vedānta system enumerated and elucidated

657

20. The Gāruḍa Upaniṣad 663-664

Magical formula against serpent-bite

663

(b) Yoga Upaniṣads 665

21. The Brahmavidyā Upaniṣad 667-670

Body, location, time, terminus and disappearance of the Om syllable

667

22. The Kṣurikā Upaniṣad 671-675

The successive clippings of the body

671

23. The Cūlikā Upaniṣad 677-681

Interpretation of the Sāṁkhya-doctrine in the interest of Theism

677

24. The Nādabindu Upaniṣad 683-686

The four Mātrās (moras) and twelve aspects of the same

683

xxviii

Sixty Upaniṣads

25. The Brahma-Bindu Upaniṣad 687-690

Bondage and Deliverance. The Ātman and its phenomenal forms

687

26. The Amṛtabindu Upaniṣad 691-698

The Yoga and its six constituents.

691

27. The Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad 699-703

Subtileness and all-penetratingness of Ātman

699

28. The Tejobindu Upaniṣad 705-707

The meditation and its object

705

29. The Yoga-śikhā Upaniṣad 709-711

The Yoga-meditation and the pointed flame in the heart.

709

30. The Yogatattva Upaniṣad 713-716

The cycle of births and meditation

713

31. The Haṃsa Upaniṣad 717-721

The Haṃsa and the Paramahaṃsa

(e) Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads 723

32. The Brahma Upaniṣad 725-732

The four states of Ātman and the Saṃnyāsa

725

33. The Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣad 733-739

The beginning of Saṃnyāsin—state and description of the same

733

34. The Āruṇeya Upaniṣad 741-743

The way of life of a Saṃnyāsin

741

35. The Kaṇṭha-śruti Upaniṣad 745-751

The beginning of the Saṃnyāsin-state and the description of the same

745

36. The Paramahaṃsa Upaniṣad 753-755

The description of the Paramahaṃsa (the homeless Saṃnyāsin)

753

Contents

37. The Jābāla Upaniṣad 757-761

About avimuktam. Beginning of the Sāṁnyāsin-state

757

38. The Āśrama Upaniṣad 763-766

Four Āśramas with sixteen subdivisions

(d) Śiva Upaniṣads 767

763

39. The Atharvaśira’ Upaniṣad 769-778

Rudra as the principle of things. Man, his creature (paśu)

769

40. The Atharva-śikhā Upaniṣad 779-782

Meditation of the Om syllable which is identical with Śiva

779

41. The Nīlarudra Upaniṣad 783-787

Rudra as the god of lightning (Extract from Śatarudriyam)

783

42. The Kālägnirudra Upaniṣad 789-790

Allegorical interpretation of the sectarian mark Tripundram

789

43. The Kaivalya Upaniṣad 791-795

Description of Kaivalyam (of the attained condition of the Absolute)

(e) Viṣṇu Upaniṣads 797

791

44. The Mahā Upaniṣad 799-801

Nārāyaṇa raised above the Sāṁkhya principles, Śiva and Brahman

799

45. The Nārāyaṇa-Upaniṣad 803-805

Glorification of Nārāyaṇa and his form

803

46. The Ātmabodha Upaniṣad 807-808

The form of Nārāyaṇa (copied from Nārāyaṇa Upan. 5)

807

xxx

47. The Nṛsiṁhapūrvatāpanīya Upaniṣad 809-833

I Glorification of Nṛsiṁha-formula

813

II Its combination with Om. Elucidation of its

words

818

III The seed and force of the same (Ākāśa and

Māyā)

823

IV Its words which serve us an escort

(añgamantras)

824

V Diagram of the Nṛsiṁha formula. Promises of

rewards

828

48. The Nṛsiṁhottara-tāpanīya Upaniṣad 835-858

49. Wakefulness, dream, deep sleep, turīya as

states of Ātman. Four parts of Turīya named

as ota, anujñātṛ, anujñā and avikalpa

837

2. The Turīya, by means of the Om syllable,

invests the world with reality

839

3. The lines of the Nṛsiṁha-formula correspond

with the Om syllable and Turīya

842

4. Identity of Ātman with Nṛsiṁha

845

5. Identity of the Om-syllable with Nṛsiṁha

846

6. Non-conquest and conquest of duality (of

evil)

848

7. The Ātman is, through Om and Nṛsiṁha,

identical with Brahman

849

8. The Nṛsiṁha-Ātmán, as the Om-syllable is

ota, anujñātṛ, anujñā, avikalpa; in the strict

sense, however, only avikalpa

852

9. Absolute reality of Ātman (Jīva and Īśvara

are māyā); comprehension of Ātman through

inwardization (anubhava); Om as the symbol

of the same

854

49. The Rāmapūrvatāpanīya Upaniṣad 859-877

1-57. Preparatory glorification of Rāma

863

Contents

xxxi

58-84. Construction of the diagram consecrated

to him

871

85-94. Epilogue (glorification of Rāma)

875

50. The Rāmottaratāpanīya Upaniṣad 879-888

51. avimuktam (= Jābāla-Up. 1)

881

2-3. Interpolation of Tāraka-Upaniṣad and inter-

pretation of the Om-syllable glorified by it on

the basis of the Rāma-myth

881

4. That all dying in Avimuktam get deliverance is

the gift of grace of Rāma to Śiva

884

5. the glorification of Rāma by Brahman

885

F. SUPPLEMENT 889-947

The remaining Upaniṣads of the Oupnek'hat1

Prefatory Note 891

51. Bark'he Soukt

(Puruṣasūktam, Ṛg. 10-90, besides, Vāj. Saṁh.

31. 17-22). Creation of the world out of

Puruṣa

893

52. Tadiw

(Tad eva, Vāj. Saṁh. 32. 1-12) The Puruṣa as

the principle underlying all things

897

53. Schiw Sanklap

(Śiva-saṁkalpa, Vāj. Saṁh. 34.1.6). Brahman

as the consciousness (manas)

901

54. Baschkl

(Bāṣkala Upaniṣad) Indra reveals himself as

Ātman to Medhātithi

903

55. Tschhakli

(Chāgaleya Upaniṣad ?) The birth as Brāhmaṇa

is not essential as the Being lies not in the

body but in the Soul.

909

1. For Oupnek'hat, see p. Foreword. xviii fn. 1.

xxxii

Sixty Upanisads

56. PANKL

(Paiṅgala Upaniṣad) The man who has got knowledge does not require the funeral-ceremonial

915

57. MRAT LANKOUL

(Mṛtyu-lāṅgala Upaniṣad) Formula against premature death

917

58. ARK'HI

(Āṛṣeya Upaniṣad) Five definitions of Brahman; Brahman is undefinable

919

59. PRANOU

(Praṇava Upaniṣad) Glorification of Praṇava (of the Om Syllable)

925

60. SCHAVANK 943

(Śaunaka Upaniṣad) The gods conquer the Asuras by means of Praṇava

943

INDEX

949

Additions and Corrections

987

DEUSSEN'S

ADDENDA

Page

129

line

35

(Chānd.

4,

15,

:

āvarta

'whirlpool',

better

perhaps

simply

'a

return'

:

"They

do

not

return

to

the

way

back

to

this

human

existence".

Page

565,

line

3

:

About

Nārāyaṇa's

list

of

Upaniṣads

reconstructed

by

me

it

is

to

be

observed

that

No.

50

is

not

Gopīcandana

(as

I

concluded

since

it

can

follow

No.

49

Vāsudeva)

but,

as

Col.

Jacob

has

ascertained

for

me

most

kindly,

Śvetāśvatara;

Nārāyaṇa

describes

this

as

pañcāśattamī

at

the

beginning

of

his

commentary

(now

available

in

print

in

the

Ānandāśrama

series);

he

must

have

certainly

commented

on

the

Gopīcandana,

but

he

must

have

looked

upon

it

only

as

an

appendix

to

the

Vāsudeva,

and

therefore

not

included

in

the

reckoning.

PRONUNCIATION

P.

Deussen

has

given

rules

of

pronunciation

of

Sanskrit

words

for

the

guidance

of

his

contemporary

readers.

Since

then

the

system

of

transliteration

of

Sanskrit

words

has

become

standardized.

That

standardized

system

of

the

translation

of

Sanskrit

words

has

been

observed

in

the

present

translation.

TRANSLATOR

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE UPANIṢADS

[Pages in Antique occur in PART I]

Aitareya 7

Mahānārāyaṇa 247

Amṛtabindu 691

Maitrāyaṇa 327

Āṛṣeya 919

Māṇḍūkya 605

Āruṇeya 741

Mṛtyulāṅgala 917

Āśrama 763

Muṇḍaka 569

Atharvaśikhā 779

Nādabindu 683

Atharvaśiras 769

Nārāyaṇa 803

Ātma 655

Nīlarudra 783

Ātma(pra)bodha 807

Nṛsiṁha-pūrvatāpanīya 809

Bāṣkala 903

Nṛsiṁha-uttaratāpanīya 835

Brahm a 725

Paingala 915

Brahmabindu 687

Paramahaṁsa 753

Brahmavidyā 667

Piṇḍa 653

Bṛhadāraṇyaka 389

Prānāgnihotra 645

Chāgaleya 909

Praṇava 925

Chāndogya 61

Praśna 589

Cūlikā 677

Puruṣasūkta 893

Dhyānabindu 699

Rāma-pūrvatāpanīya 863

Garbha 639

Rāma-uttaratāpanīya 879

Gāruḍa 663

Śaunaka 943

Haṁsa 717

Śivasamkalpa 901

Īśā 545

Śvetāśvatara 301

Jābāla 757

Saṁnyāsa 733

Kaivalya 791

Sarvopanisatsāra 657

Kālāgnirudra 789

Tadeva 897

Kaṭhaśruti 745

Taittirīya 217

Kāṭhaka 269

Tejobindu 705

Kauṣītaki 21

Yogaśikhā 709

Kena 207

Yogatattva 713

Kṣurikā 671

Mahā 799

PART

ONE

INTRODUCTION

The Veda i.e. ‘the sacred knowledge’ embraces the entire literature held by the Indians as super-human and inspired. The Vedic Literature is organized into four sectors which are as follows:

I. Ṛgveda, the Veda of the verses (Ṛc)

II. Sāmaveda, the Veda of songs (Sāman)

III. Yajurveda, the Veda of sacrificial texts (Yajus)

IV. Atharvaveda, so named after Atharvan, a mythical priest of the past ages.

The arrangement of all this stuff in these four sectors depends on the fact that the four chief priests belong to a festive Soma Sacrifice:

I. The Hotṛ, who invites the gods by reciting the verses (Ṛc),

II. The Udgāṭṛ, by whose songs (Sāman) the sacrifice is accompanied,

III. The Adhvaryu who carries out the holy rites, while muttering the sacrificial texts (Yajus).

IV. The Brahman, the chief priest who leads the whole ceremony, without interfering in the rules of the sacrifice.

The handbook of the Hotṛ is the Ṛgveda, that of the Adhvaryu the Yajurveda. On the other hand, Brahman has no special handbook but he must know all the three Vedas mentioned above. Only artificially and in a later period, there was established a connection with the Atharvaveda, a collection of apocryphal matter which distinctly exhibits this characteristic in all the parts of which it consists.

Every one of these three priests required for carrying out his duties (A) a Saṃhitā (collection) which provided him with the material of hymns and texts to be employed by him; (B) a Brāhmaṇa (theological elucidation) which imparted to him the directives for the right use of this material during the sacrificial service; the extensive contents of the Brāhmaṇa can be classified under three rubrics or categories : as (a) Vidhi (directives) (b) Arthavāda (explanation of an exegetical, mythological and polemical type) and (c) Vedānta or Upaniṣad (theological and philosophical reflections about the essential nature of things). The last mentioned category was called the Vedānta (the end of the Veda, later meant as the final goal of the Veda) because it was, as a rule, located at the end of the Brāhmaṇa; it was also called the Upaniṣad (literally ‘confidential session’ with the teacher, later meant as ‘secret lore’) because it used to be imparted to the pupil towards the-end of the period of instruction, wider circles of pupils being excluded. Besides the Saṃhitā and Brāhmaṇa; (C) every Veda has a Sūtra (a manual) belonging to it; the contents of the Sūtra are parallel to those of the Brāhmaṇa, in so far as the Sūtra reproduces them in a short, well-arranged form and completes them into a systematic whole. Accordingly, Vedic literature is divided into twelve sub-divisions :

2

Sixty Upaniṣads

I. Rgveda

II. Sāmaveda

III. Yajurveda

IV. Atharvaveda

A. Sam்hitā

B. Brāhmaṇa

C. Sūtra

a. Vidhi

b. Arthavāda

c. Vedānta (Upanisad)

Every one of these twelve sub-divisions is, however, available not in a simple but repeatedly in a manifold form. Every one of these four Vedas was taught in different Śākhās (‘branches’) i.e. Vedic Schools which deviated so much from one another in the treatment of the total material, that in course of time different works of parallel contents developed out of them. This deviation or difference is not so considerable in the case of the Sam்hitā because its contents had become already too fixed, and if at all, restricts itself as to differences of recension or redaction. But this difference is discernible all the more in the case of the Brāhmaṇas and the Sūtras such that, as every one of the four Vedas continued in different Śākhās and each one produced its own Brāhmaṇa and later, under repeated shifting of names and conditions, its own Sūtras. We can leave here the Sūtras out of account; they arose, presumably, to be understood as an attempt to get oriented on new lines vis-à-vis the massive material of the Vedic sacrificial character, after people had got alienated from the Vedic sacrifice for a long period of many centuries, on account of the blossoming of Buddhism and of its anti-sacrificial tendencies. However, whatever may be the case, the Sūtras in any case, do not belong in the strict sense, to the Vedic canon which encompasses only the Mantra (hymns and sacrificial texts) and Brāhmaṇa (theological elucidations) and finds its conclusion, with the concluding chapters of the Brāhmaṇas, as their name Vedānta (the end or concluding part of the Veda) already signifies. Only till the period which is inclusive of the Vedānta, the inspiration of the Veda extends itself, whereas the Sūtras are no more regarded as inspired and they no more enjoy the authority of the Śruti (revelation) but only that of the Smṛti (tradition).

Every Śākhā had accordingly its own Brāhmaṇa which contains in Vidhi and Arthavāda the ritual textbook and in the Vedānta i.e. the Upanisad the doctrinal textbook of the school. The Upanisads are, therefore, originally nothing else than the doctrinal textbooks of respective Vedic schools; from this it becomes clear that all of them (such as belong to the older period) treat the same contents — the doctrine of Ātman or Brahman — sometimes briefly, sometimes at length, in a manner which, more or less, deviates from text to text. Accordingly, there must have been as many Upanisads as there were Vedic Schools, and when, indeed the Muktikā-upaniṣad (Indische Studien III, 324) asserts, that there had been 21 schools of the Rgveda, 1000 of the Sāmaveda, 109 of the Yajurveda and 50 of the Atharvaveda, it follows therefrom that there must have been 21+1000+109 +50=1180 Upaniṣads. In reality, however, the state of things was much simpler, so far as the number of the Śākhās, which, as we actually know, restricts for every Veda only a few Upaniṣads.

Introduction

3

Each of these Śākhās had, therefore, its own Brāhmaṇa and its Upaniṣad joined or annexed to it. However, this annexure was not directly joined to it but used to be mediated to the supplement of the Brāhmaṇa through an Āraṇyaka i.e. (a text) prescribed for study in the forest, which usually contained an Upaniṣad embedded in it and according to its stress and content formed the transition from the Brāhmaṇa to the Upaniṣad. This relation between Brāhmaṇa and Āraṇyaka (together with the Upaniṣad contained in it) appears to have been based on the Brahmanical ordering of life, according to which every Ārya, after he had completed his period of life as Brahmacārin (Brahman-student) had to pursue in his next period of life viz. manhood (youth) as a Grhastha (householder), the sacrificial cult or had to make arrangement for its expenses and after that with approaching old age, had to leave his house and family according to the instructions under the rules in that behalf and live alone in the solitude of the forest in order to practise as Vānaprastha (a hermit in the forest) penance and meditation, whereby the real sacrifice not mostly practicable in this condition, was replaced by a mental or spiritual pursuit of the same according to its deep and mystic meaning. What for the Grhastha was the Brāhmaṇa, was for the Vānaprastha the Āraṇyaka. The Āraṇyaka contained the Upaniṣad which, already studied in studentshood, i.e. already committed to memory (because, there was still no written record), now, however, with old age and death approaching, offered at last a fully intelligible final explanation of the nature of the world and of man's own self.

However, this original definite position of the Upaniṣad (which in the beginning only was handed down orally but later on fixed also in wording) as constituent part of a Vedic School holds good only for the oldest Upaniṣads and was in the later products of this name, repressed or was entirely left out. In course of time, the connection of the Vedic Schools, mostly, decayed and got obliterated. On the other hand, a new interest in the Yogic practices, in the life of the Saṁnyāsin (a recluse) and the characteristics of the sects came to the fore and the Upaniṣadic form which was handed down by tradition and was held in holy esteem was pressed into the service of the new products. Therefore, while the older Upaniṣads namely, the Aitareya and Kauṣītaki-Upaniṣads of the Ṛgveda, the Chāndogya and Keṇa Upaniṣads of the Sāmaveda, the Taittirīya, and Kāṭhaka Upaniṣads of the Kṛṣṇa (black) Yajurveda, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, besides the Īśa and possibly the Jābāla Upaniṣads of the Śukla (white) Yajurveda had their base in the real Vedic Schools, we also meet with an Upaniṣad — the Śvetāśvatara in the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, whose school has been entirely forgotten and another, the Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad, which without evident qualification establishes its connection with an ancient famous school. Still, much less valid is the connection of most Upaniṣads of the Atharvaveda in which, corresponding to their character, apocryphal products of all kinds are found including. The most important Atharvaveda Upaniṣads which in the truest sense represent the Vedānta doctrine are the Muṇḍaka — the Praśna — and to some extent the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣads. To the Atharvaveda are attached

4

Sixty Upaniṣads

a great number of other, mostly small, Upaniṣads, the number and

of which have not been fully ascertained. A large part of these Upaniṣads

is devoted to the mystic contemplation of the syllable Om and to the practice

of Yoga connected therewith later on. Others aim at the glorification of the

life of a religious mendicant, (Samnyāsin Parivrājaka, Bhikṣu) and others

are the symbolic books, of the Śivaite and Viṣnuite sects, which take shape

after appropriating the original Upaniṣadic thought in their own way.

In course of time, the collection of the Upaniṣads began to be arranged

and was fixed partly according to different principles and, partly as it appears

without any recognizable principles. Thus, the Oupnekhat i.e. got trans-

lated by Dara Sehakoh from Sanskrit into Persian and then translated into

Latin by Anquetil Duperron contains fifty Upaniṣads of which three longest

(Chāndogya, Brhadāraṇyaka and Maitrī) stand forth prominently while

the remaining follow in a motley collection lacking any order. The Muktika-

Upaniṣad recommends (verse 26) these Upaniṣads which help the student

to strive for emancipation, above all, however, the Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad, then

"the first ten", then "the thirty two" and finally "the hundred and eight

Upaniṣads" as a perfect means of knowledge, of which the last is the Mukti-

kopniṣad which then enumerates them. These 108 Upaniṣads have been

printed in Cennapuri (Madras) in 1833; they are, however, printed in Telugu-

script and have therefore, remained almost wholly unknown beyond Southern

India, whereas a collection of the ten first among them (in the sequence :

Īśa, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya,

Chāndogya, Brhadāraṇyaka) are available everywhere. A collection of

52 Upaniṣads, beginning with Muṇḍaka, found general currency. This

list was first made known by Colebrooke. There is a continuous commen-

tary on them by Nārāyaṇa, which, in part, strikingly coincides with the

number and partly does not, - a point which is still to be investigated.

We have followed in our arrangement of the order of the Upaniṣads the

sequence of the four Vedas which has been conventional in which we have

this advantage (incidentally, without fixing, in any way, the historical

sequence) that we are able in general, to present the oldest and the most

important texts.

A

THE UPANIṢADS OF THE ṚGVEDA

AITAREYA UPANIṢAD

KAUṢĪTAKI UPANIṢAD

THE AITAREYA UPANIṢAD OF THE ṚGVEDA

INTRODUCTION

The Aitareya Upaniṣad belongs to the school of the Aitareyins who possess the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa and the Aitareya Āraṇyaka, in which latter is included the Aitareya Upaniṣad. Sāyaṇa in the preamble of his commentary on Ait. Br. narrates the following legend:

"There was once a great sage who had many wives. Among them was one named Itarā. This Itarā had a son; the boy was called Mahīdāsa. It is said in the part of the Āraṇyaka: 'Mahīdāsa Aitareya (i.e. the son of Itarā) spoke, indeed, such (a piece of knowledge)' (Ait. Ār. 2.1.8.2). The father of this Mahīdāsa had greater love towards his son from another wife, than that towards Mahīdāsa. Once, in a sacrificial assembly he demonstrated scorn towards Mahīdāsa, because he took the other son on his lap. Thereupon, his mother, Itarā, when she saw the afflicted face of Mahīdāsa, thought of their family goddess, Earth. Then as it happened the goddess Earth appeared in her celestial form before the sacrificial assembly, presented to Mahīdāsa a heavenly thronelike chair and seated him in it. Then she proclaimed his superiority in knowledge over all other boys and conferred on him as a gift the mental vision of the present Brāhmaṇa. Through her mercy, the Brāhmaṇa consisting of forty chapters was revealed through the mind of Mahīdāsa. The Brāhmaṇa begins with 'Agnir vai devānām avamaḥ' and ends with 'Strṇute Strṇute' (Ait. Br. 1.1.1 and 8.28.20). Further, also the portion of this particular Brāhmaṇa beginning with 'atha Mahāvratam', and ending with 'acāryā', ācāryāḥ (Ait. Ār. 1.1.1.1 and 3.2.6.9) was revealed to him for the vow of life in the forest".

Out of this narration, we notice an implication of two sorts: (i) that the Aitareya-brāhmaṇa and the Aitareya-āraṇyaka were considered as two parts of a whole belonging together; (ii) that this whole revealed through divine inspiration extended only upto Ait. Ār. 3.2.6.9 and consequently did not include Ait. Ār. 4 and 5. In fact, Ait. Ār. 4 contains only a list of the Mahānāmnī verse and passes for a work of Āśvalāyana (the author of a sūtra-work on the Ṛgveda), whereas Ait. Ār. 5 is attributed to Śaunaka, the teacher of Āśvalāyana and it again takes up the theme of Ait. Ār. 1 in the Sūtra style. Both books Ait. Ār. 4 and 5 are not considered as revealed and are perhaps accidentally joined to the Āraṇyaka instead of the Sūtras to which they belong. A concise statement of the contents of the Aitareya-brāhmaṇa and the Aitareya-Āraṇyaka is given below as a sample of the contents of, and connection between, these both kinds of texts. The first is divided into 40 adhyāyas (the 40 paragraphs of our summary), each one of which is collected in one Pañcikā (a bunch of five), while the latter is divided into 18 adhyāyas, which are distributed unequally in the Āraṇyaka 5.

8

Sixty Upaniṣads

AITAREYA BRĀHMAṆA

Khaṇḍa

First Pañcikā

1-6 Dīkṣā, Initiation before the Soma-sacrifice (Agnistoma, first day).

7-11 Prāyaṇīya, Initial gifts of the Soma-sacrifice.

12-17 Soma-kraya and Ātithyam, buying and hospitable reception of Soma.

18-26 Pravargya, Upasad, Tānnūnaptram, Boiling of milk in the Mahāvīra-cauldron, gifts with total abstinence, swearing by truth (Agnistoma, second and third day).

27-30 Agni-pranayanam, Havirdhāna-pravartanam, Agnistoma-praṇayanam, conveying of fire, fetching of the chariot with Soma, establishment of Agni and Soma in their places.

Second Pañcikā

1-10 Paśukarman, the animal sacrifice preceding the pressing of Soma (a he-goat is killed by throttling).

11-18 Treatment of Vapā, the retina of the sacrificial animal (Agnistoma, the fourth day)--Prātarānuvāka morning prayer on the day of the pressing of Soma.

19-24 Aponaptrīyam, consecration of the water-pitcher - The pressing of Soma and offering the upāmśu and Antaryāma-gifts.

25-32 Dvidevatyam, offerings to the two gods; Ṛtuyāga, gifts to the seasons; Tūṣṇīṃśaṃsā, the silent prayer.

33-41 Ājya-śastram, Recitation of the Ājya-lītany during the morning-offering.

Third Pañcikā

1-11 The Pra-uga-Sastram, recited during the morning offering. The Vaṣaṭkāra and the Nivids.

12-24 Marutvatīyam and Niṣkevalyam recited during the midday-offering.

25-38 Vaiśvadevam and Āgnimārutam recited during the evening-(Agnistoma, fifth day).

39-44 The Agnistoma described up to now (when complete, it is also named Catuhstoma, Jyotistoma) with 12 Sastras is the model (prakṛti) of the Soma-sacrifice lasting for one day. Other forms of the same are: The Ukthyam with 15, the Sodasin with 16, the Vājapeya with 17, the Atirātra with 29, the Āptoryāma with 33 Sastras.

45-50 General about the sacrifice, priests and the metres - the Ukthya.

Fourth Pañcikā

1-6 The Sodasin and the Atirātra.

7-14 The āśvinaṃ Sastram, a long morning prayer (prātarānuvāka) after the overnight Soma-sacrifice (Atirātra). The Caturvimśa, i.e. the

Aitareya Upaniṣad

9

beginning day of the 360 day Soma-sacrifice, called Gavām-ayanam,

following the Atirātra. About both Sāmans Brhat and Rathantaram

and their alternate employment during Gāvam-ayanam. The

Mahāvratam, i.e. the penultimate day of the Gavām-ayanam,

preceding the concluding Atirātra.

15-22 The Sadahas, subdivisions into 6 days during the Gavām-ayanam.

The Visnuvant or the mid-day of the Gavām-ayanam and the day

adjoining it, (Abhijit, Svarasāmans, Viśvajit.)

23-28 The Dvādaśāha, the twelve day Soma-sacrifice. The origin, general,

initial ritual of the same.

29-32 The first and the second day of the Dvādaśāha.

Fifth Pañcikā

1-5 Sastras for the third and the fourth day of the Dvādaśāha.

6-15 Sastras for the fifth and sixth day of the Dvādaśāha.

16-19 Sastras for the seventh and the eighth day of Dvādaśāha.

20-25 Sastras for the ninth and the tenth day of Dvādaśāha.

26-34 The Agnihotram, the daily morning and evening sacrifice. Duties of

the Brāhman.

Sixth Pañcikā

1-3 Duties of the priests Grāvastut and Subrahmaṇya.

4-8 Duties of subordinate Hotr priest.

9-16 Continuation and particulars.

17-26 Specialities in the use of certain hymns.

27-36 Continuation and confirmation through myths.

Seventh Pañcikā

1 Distribution of fragments of sacrificial animals among the priests.

2-12 Expiation for mistakes committed during the Agnihotram.

13-18 History of Śunaḥśepa. The origin and the use of his hymns.

19-26 Rājasūya, the consecration of the King - Introduction.

27-34 Continuation. Substitute of Soma, when the king drinks.

Eighth Pañcikā

1-4 Continuation. Sastras and Stotras during the king's consecration.

5-11 Punarabiṣeka, re-anointing of the king.

12-14 Mahābhiṣeka, the great anointment of the king.

15-23 Continuation. Value of the ceremony. Rewards for the same to

the priests and dreadful consequences, if they are withheld.

24-28 About the Purohita, the house-priest Brahmaṇaḥ parimaraḥ, the

death (of the enemies) by the spell-formula uttered by the king.

10

AITAREYA ĀRANYAKA

First Āranyaka

1. Allegorical interpretation of Uktham as Prāṇa (Life). (Nis̱kevalya- Sastram consisting of 80 verses, used during the Mahāvrata. The Uktham is earth, aerial space, heaven, and is in the man mouth, nose, forehead, (with Vāc, Prāṇa and Cakṣus). Brahman enters as Prāṇa into the man and reaches

the head, where eyes, ears, manas, speech, Prāṇa (breath) stay as its splendour. These last quarrel as to who is Uktham among them, and Prāṇa stands the test as Uktham. His sides Prāṇa and Apāna are day and night, while the

Sun, the quarters, the moon and the fire correspond to the remaining organs. ‘This Puruṣa’ (i.e. the cosmic Prāṇa) unfolds its speech in earth and fire, its

breath in aerial space and wind, its eyes in the heaven and the Sun, its ears in the quarters and the moon, its Manas in water and Varuṇa). But out of

hills of Brahman i.e. of Prāṇa.

2. “All verses, all Vedas, all Sounds are only a word namely Prāṇa” (Ait. Ār. 2.2.2.11). This has been developed through the explanations of the names of the Ṛṣis, of the hymns and their parts — Viśvāmitra offers to Indra

the hymns of the Mahāvrata-day as food and in return for it receives, as present, the knowledge that Indra is the Prāṇa, the Prāṇa of everything and is

at the same time the self of the worshipper himself.

3. Further considerations about the Prāṇa, identical with one’s own self, representing symbolically the fivefold Uktham. This same Uktham is the

five elements, is nutrition and the consumer of the nutrition, is developed in the creation, gradually, is sacrifice and is at its highest the nils̱kevaya-śastram

of the Mahāvrata-day; the following is the result of its completion in 1000

Br̥hatī-verses and identity with Indra.

4. The Ātman at the beginning created the worlds and the eight guardians of the world out of the Puruṣa grown from the waters; they then enter into

men and obtain nutrition in it. Hereafter the Ātman himself goes into man through the seam of his skull (where the hairs part).

5. The man experiences a threefold birth: the first, when he procreates a son, the second when the latter develops into a grown up person, the third

when he is born anew after death.

6. What is the nature of the Ātman ? — It is all the psychic functions, all gods, elements and intelligence prajñānam lying at the basis of all created

beings; it is the Brahman and by means of it, one becomes immortal in heaven.

7. The kind wishes of the student, in which he prays that the Ātman be revealed to him and that he should not forget what is learnt.

Third Āranyaka

1. The Upaniṣad, i.e. the secret allegorical meaning of the Sam̱hitāpāṭha,, Padapāṭha and Kramapāṭha (three kinds, developed to recite the Veda by

Aitareya Upaniṣad

11

taking into consideration the meanings of different teachers and the manifold

references to heaven and earth, means, speech, breath, etc.)

2. About the secret meaning of the vowels, semivowels, consonants with

various references to cosmic and psychic relations, a digression describing the

harbingers of death, a warning not to impart this secret meaning of the letters

and their inter-connection to the unworthy.

Fourth Āraṇyaka

This contains only a list of the Mahānāmnī verses to be employed during

the ritual and it is considered to be a work of Āśvalāyana, the author of the

Sūtras.

Fifth Āraṇyaka

In three Adhyāyas, the reference is to the Mahāvrata-day of Gavām-ayanam

and use of the niskevalya-Sastram to be employed, its parts being described as

the parts of the body of a bird. As previously (Ait. Ār. 1.4) in the Brāhmaṇa-

style, this matter is presented in the Sūtra-style. Śaunaka, the teacher of

Āśvalāyana, is considered to be the author of the Āraṇyaka.

Leaving out of consideration Āraṇyakas 4 and 5, which belong to the

Sūtra literature, we have, in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa and the Aitareya-

Āraṇyaka, a consistent whole before us, which, in the period when there was,

and used to be no Sūtras, because the system of sacrifice still was in its most

lively flourishing condition, offers Hotṛ priests belonging to the school of

Aitareyins in conjunction with the Ṛgveda-saṁhitā (which is, everywhere,

presumed to be, in its essentials, in the form which is today available to us),

the necessary directions for giving the requisite clue for performing the

sacrifices obligatory for the duties of a Grhastha (house-holder), for practising

the prescribed meditation obligatory for the forest life of a Vānaprastha (one

living in the forest) and also for (the practices of) a Saṁnyāsin (a hermit) who

had knowledge of the Ātman, providing also though short, an explanation

about his relation to the world. The Brāhmaṇa conforms to the require-

ments of the Grhastha, the Āraṇyaka to those of the Vānaprastha and the

Upaniṣad contained in the last part to those of the Saṁnyāsin. It is remark-

able that all these heterogenous elements were already incorporated into the

memory of the Brahmacārin, in order to bring them into practice in the course

of his life, one after another. As regards the principal contradiction between

the mental attitudes of the Brāhmaṇa and the Upaniṣad, one must explain

it in a similar way as that difference between the Old and the New Testaments

among us (the Christians).

The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa mainly restricts itself to describing the functions

of the Hotṛ, for whom it was particularly incumbent to compile the Śastram

(the song of praise) to be recited by him, corresponding to every act of the

sacrificial ritual out of his Saṁhitā. But herewith the work, is, in no way,

complete. While the later sister-work Kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇa describes in

systematic sequence the daily morning and evening sacrifices (agnihotram),

12

Sixty Upaniṣads

the sacrifices to be performed on the new moon- and full moon-days (darśa-pūrṇamāsān) besides its Aṅgas, the four months-sacrifices (Cāturmāsyāni) and lastly the Soma-sacrifice, the Aitareya-brāhmaṇa, on the other hand, essentially restricts itself to the Soma-sacrifice, when it describes, first, the Soma-sacrifice with one-day pressing (the Aṅgiṣṭoma) and its variations Adhy.1-16), then the Gavām-ayanam (Adhy. 17-18) lasting for 360 days and finally the twelve-day Dvādaśāha (Adhy. 19-24). The following part (Adhy. 25-32) which deals with the Agnihotram and other rites, has already the character of a supplement and in one such part are also described (Adhy. 33-40) the ceremonies concerning the consecration of the king and the position of his Purohita or the chief priest.

The Aitareya Āraṇyaka, leaving out of consideration the last two chapters (4 and 5) which are of the Sūtra type, falls into four distinct different parts: (1) Āraṇyaka 1 deals with in a pure ritualistic manner, with the different Śastras during the morning, midday and evening gifts of the Mahā-vrata-day of the Gavām-ayanam, a related theme (like Ait. Br. 3.1-38; 4.14) spun out more elaborately and provided with allegorical interpretations which, as is customary, are included in the Brāhmaṇa without fail. As a reason for the inclusion of this section in the Āraṇyaka, it is specified that without it, the following would not be completely intelligible. But then with equal justice, must be included still many others, as for example, the whole Samhitā for the understanding of Ār. 2.2. It amounts to this that the first Āraṇyaka, according to all appearance, is meant, not for mere meditation but for practical use. Consequently, according to its whole character, it belongs more as an enlarged supplement to the foregoing Brāhmaṇa than to the succeeding Āraṇyaka and, perhaps on predominantly external grounds, has been placed the last. (2) Āraṇyaka 2, 1-3 is a real Āraṇyaka, aimed at replacing cultic practices no more practicable in the forest by meditation about the same. This meditation is connected with the niṣkevalyam of the Mahāvrataday as the highest performance of the sacrifice (Ait. Ār. 2, 3, 4.1) (similar to the Brh. Up. 1.1 which starts with Aśvamedha as the highest sacrifice) but is related in a further sense with the Uktham, the hymn as the great instrument of the Hotṛ in general, because the Uktham is interpreted as the Prāṇa or also as the Purusa (both are not essentially different) realized in man as well as the Universe. As Prāṇa just like Purusa are the exoteric symbols of Brahman or Ātman, the contents of the Āraṇyaka are already closely related to the Upaniṣads and M. Muller has done well in admitting it in his translation of the Upaniṣads. However, the Upaniṣadic thought here is so little clear and is so much mixed with what does not belong to it, that we prefer to follow the example of Śaṅkara and exclude Ait. Ār. 2.1-3 from its inclusion in the Upaniṣad, all the more so as the precious thoughts in the Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad recur, partly verbatim. (3) Āraṇyaka 2, 4-6, concluding with the benedictory passages 2.7, contains the proper Upaniṣad of the Aitareyins, about which we shall say in the sequel. (4) Āraṇyakam 3 deals with the secret meaning (Upaniṣad) of the letters and the connections among the letters which, as it occurs also in a different way with the imparting to the student of

Aitareya Upaniṣad

knowledge held as secret (Bṛh. Up. 6.4), is joined to the Upanisad; but

according to its contents it is so heterogenous that here we can leave it out

of consideration.

The Upaniṣad of the Aitareyins in a strict sense (in three Adhyāyas, Ait.

Ār. 2.4-6 is one of the shortest Upaniṣads and it appears that this school

has found more delight in the mysteries of its Ukthas (of which, indeed, they

possessed a splendid collection) than in the considerations about the world-

spirit. The contents of the three Adhyāyas are, in short, as follows:

I. World and man as creation of the Ātman. In the beginning, Ātman

alone existed. He resolved to create the worlds and created as such the

four spheres: ambhaḥ 'the flood' of the heavenly ocean beyond the heaven;

Marīciḥ, 'the Light-atom' of the aerial space; maram the earth as 'the death';

and āpas, the 'ur-water' primeval serving as the basis for the whole structure

below the earth. Further the Ātman creates eight 'world-guardians', when

he out of 'ur-water' brings forth the Purusa (ur-man-the primeval man) and

first creates out of mouth, nose, eyes, ears, skin, heart, navel and the generative

organ the corresponding psychical organs (speech, in-breathing, sight, hearing,

hair, Manas, out-breath, semen) and out of these Agni, Vāyu, Āditya, quarters or

directions, plants, moon, death and water as world-guardians. But imme-

diately, weakness overcomes these world-guardian-gods. They fall back in

fluctuating waves of the primeval waters which the creator exposed to two

evil powers - the hunger and the thirst. Afflicted by these both, the world-

guardians beseech for a firm place in which they could keep off these by eating

food. The creator, thereupon, offers them a cow, then a horse and finally,

after both these had been refused as being insufficient, a man into whom the

world-guardians enter through mouth, nose, eye, ear, skin, heart, navel and

the generative organ. Here they could receive nutrition, only because at the

same time they allowed hunger and thirst to have the same (nutrition);

therefore, hunger and thirst have their share in every sacrifice pro-offered to

the gods. This feature is supposed to illustrate the neediness of the gods.

—The Ātman created the third creation, viz. the food which sought to run

away from him, as the mouse from the cat, whereupon he strives to seize it

with the remaining organs: breath, eyes, ears, etc., but in vain, until he finally

seizes it again with Apāna (which here is well a principle of digestion). The

Ātman understands that without him, without the self, the created human

being in spite of all its organs, could not last. He puts to them and to their

functions a question: “But then who am I ?”; this question finds its answer

at the conclusion of the Upaniṣad. Then the Ātman enters into the man

through the viḍṛti (cleft), the seam or suture of the skull, in which he has

three places of residence (senses, Manas and heart) and three states (stations)

(of waking, dreaming and deep sleep). He looks around at all beings and

finds that among them there is no one whom he could designate as other or

different from himself but that, nevertheless, of all, the man mostly is Brahman.

This presentation or account (as it is to be reasonably expected in a school

belonging to the Ṛgveda) is connected with the Purusa-hymn of the Ṛgveda

10.90. As in that hymn (verses 13-14), so also in this Upaniṣad, arise, only-

14

Sixty Upaniṣads

with a few variations and amplifications, the gods, out of the parts of the body

of the Puruṣa, who then take up their residence in man. But the great

difference is that in the Upanisad, the ur-man (primaeval man) is a being

dependent on the Ātman, which the Ātman brings forth out of the primaeval

(Ur-) waters created by him, forms and hatches. And thus the man, in spite

of all the gods who have entered into him, cannot last without the Ātman

(Katham nu idam mad rte syāt) who, therefore, enters into him and has his

seat in the senses during the waking state, in the manas during the dream-state

and in the heart during deep sleep. The world as a creation, the man as the

highest manifestation of the Ātman who is also named as the Brahman. - this

is the basic idea of this section.

II. The Threefold Birth of the Ātman:

As the comparison with the Śatap. Br. 11.2.1.1 shows, the theory of the

three births is a theme which is often propounded, though it is continually

found to have been treated differently. Because while in the Śatap. Br. the

three births are being born out of sexual union, the performance of the sacri-

fice and new birth after death, the passage in the Upanisad enumerates them

as follows: (1) The begetting of the child, (2) The care of the child before and

after birth, until it is in position to represent the father in the performance

of holy works, (3) The new birth of the father after death. The inconsistency

that, while in the first two cases, there is an express reference to the soul of

the child, whereas in the last case there is an express reference to the father,

does not escape the scholiasts who get over it by explaining that the Ātman

in both cases is identical. However, this explaining away is not, strictly

considering, admissible from the exoteric standpoint which is authoritative in

this case, as the soul of the child stays only as a stranger (a guest) in the

mother's womb as also in the father's sperm. By the way, the view empha-

sised here that not the mother but the father sticks to the child rests on a

right consideration and is a philosophically precious idea. In conclusion,

the deliverance is pointed out as the end of the cycle of births, which is envis-

aged as an immortal continuance in the heavens for him who (supposedly

like Vāmadeva, Ṛgveda 4-27-1) sees through or has a clear understanding of,

this cyclic course of births.

III. The nature of the Ātman: All sense-organs and organs of action,

all intellectual and moral forces, all gods, elements, animals and plants are

prajñānetra, Prajñāne pratiṣṭhita "led by consciousness, grounded in con-

sciousness", the consciousness is Brahman.--This comprehension (of reality)

as seen, repeatedly in the Upaniṣads as well as in Western Philosophy, is

true, so far as it seems to discover the key to the riddle of the Universe in one's

own inner self; but it is false so far as it stops with the phenomenal world of

the organic function of consciousness confronting us, instead of penetrating

into the proper root of our existence which is the substratum of the phenomena.

AITAREYA UPANIṢAD

First Adhyāya

First Part

1. In the beginning of this world, there was Ātman alone; there was no other thing there, which cast up the eyes. He cogitated: "I will create the worlds".

2. Then he created the worlds: the Flood, Light-space, the Death, the Water. That is the flood, beyond it the heaven; the heaven is its bottom;— The light-spaces are the air-space. The death is the earth. What is below it, are the waters.

3. He thought: "Now these are the worlds. I will now create the world-guardians!" Then he brought forth out of the waters a Puruṣa (man) and formed him.

4. He brooded over him; then he hatched him.

His mouth split itself like an egg, out of the mouth sprang forth speech, out of speech Agni;

the nose split itself, out of the nose sprang forth the Prāṇa, out of Prāṇa Vāyu;

the eyes split themselves, out of the eyes sprang the sight, out of the sight, Āditya;

the ears split themselves, out of the ears sprang the sense of hearing, the ears, out of ears the Diśas - the quarters of the heaven;

the skin split itself, out of the skin sprang the hair, out of the hair, plants and trees;

the heart split itself, out of the heart sprang the Manas, out of the Manas, the moon;

the navel split itself, out of the navel sprang forth the Apāna, Mrtyu (death);

the generative organ split itself, out of the generative organ, sprang forth the semen, out ofthe semen, the waters.

16

Sixty Upanisads

Second Part

1. These god-heads* after they were created, tumbled into this great ocean. He subjected it (the ocean) to hunger and thirst. Then these (gods) said to him: 'Provide us with a place in which we shall be able to establish ourselves and eat food!'

2. Then he produced before them a cow; but they said: 'This will not suffice us'.—Then he produced before them a horse; but they said, 'This will not suffice us'.

3. Then he produced before them a man. Then they said, 'Indeed! our purpose is accomplished!' Because man well succeeds (in accomplishing our purpose). He spoke to them: 'Enter into him, each according to your place'.

4. Then it so happened that Vāyu entered into his nose as Prāṇa (breath), Āditya entered into his eyes as sight, the Diśas (quarters) entered into his ears as sense of hearing, plants and trees entered into his skin as hair, the moon entered into his heart as Manas (Mind), Mrtyu entered into his navel as Apāna (out-breath), the water entered into his generative organ as semen.

5. Then hunger and thirst said to him: 'Provide for us also a place'. And he spoke: 'I will allow you to eat and drink, along with these divinities, I will make you co-sharers or partakers among these'. Therefore, it happens that hunger and thirst become partakers in the sacrificial food which is offered to whichever divinity.

Third Part

1. He cogitated: 'Now here are the worlds and the world-guardians; I will now create for them food (nutrition)'.

2. And he incubated the waters; as they were incubated, out of them there arose a material form. The material form that arose there, that was food.

3. This (food) when it was created (abhiṣṛṣṭam sat), tried to flee away from him; he tried to grasp it with speech but he could not grasp it with speech; had he grasped it with speech, man

*These godheads are the world-guardians referred to in 3 (Part I).

would have been satisfied with food through mere utterance of speech instead;

4. then he tried to grasp it with the in-breath (Prāṇa) but he could not grasp it with the in-breath; had he grasped it with the in-breath, man would have been satisfied through mere breathing food;

5. then he tried to grasp it with the eyes: but he could not grasp it with the eyes; had he grasped it with the eyes, man would have been satisfied with mere sight of food;

6. then he tried to grasp it with the ears; but he could not grasp it with the ears; had he grasped it with the ears, man would have been satisfied with the mere hearing of food;

7. then he tried to grasp it with the skin but he could not grasp it with the skin; had he grasped it with the skin, man would have been satisfied with the mere touch of food;

8. then he tried to grasp it with Manas (Mind), but he could not grasp it with Manas ; had he grasped it with Manas, man would have been satisfied with the mere thought of food;

9. then he tried to grasp it with the generative organ, but he could not grasp it with the generative organ; had he grasped it with the generative organ, man would have been satisfied with mere discharging of food;

10. then he tried to grasp it with the mere breathing-out (Apāna,—here it may well be the principle of (principal factor governing) digestion; then he devoured it. That is why it is the wind which digests food (a play on the words—āvayat and vāyu), — Vāyu and Annāyu.

11. He cogitated: “How could this structure of man last without me ?” And he reflected: “Through which way, shall I enter in this same (human body) ?” And he bethought himself: If speech is uttered through the organ of speech, if breath is inhaled through Prāṇa, if the seeing is done through the eyes, if hearing is done through the ears, if the touch is felt through the skin, if thinking is done through the Manas (mind), if breath is discharged out through Apāna (breathing out), if the discharge is let out through the organ of generation — then who am I?”

18

Sixty Upaniṣads

12. Then he split the part of the skull (Siman) on which the

parting of the hair is done and entered through this aperture.

This aperture is called Vidṛti (the seam or suture) of the head,

literally ‘the crack’, and the same is the state of bliss. He has

three places of residence and three states of dreaming (wake-

fulness, dream, deep sleep): he dwells here (in the eye, during

wakefulness) and dwells here (in Manas during dreaming) and

dwells here (in the ether-vacuum of the heart during deep sleep).

13. After he was born, he espied all creatures and spoke:

“What would make clear the difference here for one (for me)?”

But, however, he recognized this man as the Brahman, the most

penetrating.1

And he spoke: “This have I seen” (idam adarśam).

14. That is why he is called Idam-dra; because he is really

called Idam-dra; but they name him who is called Idandra, Indra

in a mystical way; because the gods love, as it were, the

mystical, — the gods love, as it were, the mystical.

SECOND ADHYĀYA

1. In man, indeed, lies this (Ātman) in the beginning as a

germ, because what is his semen, it is its vigour or strength

collected together out of all the limbs; then he carries the self

itself in it; and he discharges it in the wife, thus he makes him

take birth; it is its (of the Ātman of the child) first birth.

2. Then he enters into the self-essence of the wife, just as

into a limb of hers; therefore, it comes about that he commits

no injury to her. But she, after this his Ātman has got into

her, fosters him with care.

3. Because she fosters him, that is why care is to be taken

of her. And the wife bears him as foetus. But he first shapes the

boy and thus nourishes him from the birth onwards. As he

nourishes his own self, for the continuation of this world; then

this world is continued; it is the second birth of his (of the

Ātman of the child).

1. Brahmatatatnam-is possibly the Brahma-tatatnam as in Chānd.

5.10.6 durnisprapatataram is for durnisprapatatāram.

Aitareya Upaniṣad

4. Then this (child or boy) is installed as his (the father's) Ātman, in order to accomplish the holy works; but his other Ātman, after he has accomplished what is to be done and has become old, departs from here ; this, departing from here, becomes once more reborn; this is the third birth of his (of the Ātman of the father). That is why the Ṛṣi (sage) says (Ṛgveda 4.27.1):

"Abiding in the mothers' womb,

I have known all the births of these gods.

A hundred iron strongholds held me,

still (read ‘ādha’), like a falcon of swift flight,

I have escaped."

Thus, Vāmadeva, as he lay in this way in the mother's womb, has spoken.

5. And, because he had such knowledge he has ascended upwards, after the separation from his body, has attained all his wishes in that heavenly world and has become immortal — has become immortal.

Third Adhyāya

1. Who is this (whom Vāmadeva knew)? We adore him as Ātman? Which of two (the individual or the highest) is this Ātman?

Is it he who, through the man, sees the form or he who, through the man hears the sound, or he who, through the man smells the smell, or he who through the man utters speech, or he, who through the man distinguishes between the sweet and the unsweet?

2. What is this heart and Manas, it is the thinking over, the contriving, the reflection, the imagination, the understanding, the insight, the resolution, the purpose, the demanding desire, the passion, the remembrance, the concept, the vigour, the life, the love, the will — all these are the names of consciousness.

3. This is Brahman, this is Indra, this is Prajāpati, this is all gods,

is the five elements, earth, wind, ether, water and light,

is the tiny living objects and what are similar to them,

is the seed (origin) of one kind or another,

20

Sixty Upanisads

is those born from the egg, born from the womb, born from

sweat, born from sprout,

is the horses, cattle, men and elephants,

is everything that lives, that moves and flees and

that is motionless,—

all this is directed by consciousness grounded in consciousness;

the world is directed by consciousness, the consciousness is its

basis, the consciousness is Brahman!

4. Ascending upwards from this world, by means of this con-

scious self, he (Vāmadeva) has attained all his wishes in the

yonder heavenly world and has become immortal — has become

immortal — Om! it is so.

THE KAUSĪTAKI UPANIṢAD OF THE ṚGVEDA

INTRODUCTION

The Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad (also called the Kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇa-upaniṣad) belongs to the part of the Brāhmaṇa of the school of the Kauṣītakins, or as they are also named, the Śāṅkhāyanas, who possess a Brāhmaṇa and an Āraṇyaka joined with it, including the Upanisad, the first consisting of 30 Adhyāyas and the latter of 15 Adhyāyas, its main contents being as follows:

Kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇa

1. Agni-ādhānam, the establishment of the sacred fire.

2. Agnihotram, the daily morning and evening sacrifice.

3. Darśapūrṇamāsau, the sacrifices during the time of the new and full moon.

4. Aṅgas, subsidiary rites during the new-moon-and-full-moon sacrifices.

5. Cāturmāsyāni, four-months-sacrifice.

6. General.

7-13. The preparatory rites of the Soma-sacrifice.

14-16. Agni-ṣṭoma as the basic form of the Soma-sacrifice.

17-27. Other forms of Soma-sacrifice.

28-30. Functions of the Hotrakas, the assistants of the Hotr.

Kauṣītaki-āraṇyaka1

1-2. Corresponding to the Ait. Ār. 1 and 5.

3-6. The Kauṣītaki-Upaniṣad.

7-8. Correspond to the Ait. Ār. 3.

9. About the quarrel of the sense-organs regarding their rank.

10. atha ato ādhyātmikam āntaram agnihotram.

11. Prajāpatir vā imam puruṣam udañcat (according to Cowell's reading).

12. Hastivarcasam prathatām brhad vayo....

13. atha ato vairāgya-saṁskṛte śarīre....

14. ṛcāṁ mūrdhānam, yajuṣām uttama-aṅgam.

15. atha vamśah containing the following list of teachers:

Brahmā svayambhūḥ

Prajāpatiḥ

Indrah

Viśvāmitraḥ

1. These contents of the Kau. Ār. are taken from Weber's Ind. Literaturgeschichte (History of Indian Literature), 2nd edition, p. 54 and the index of Berlin Manuscripts (Berliner Handschriften-verzeichnisse) II. 1 p. 5 where, however, only the beginning words and not the contents are given.

22

Sixty Upaniṣads

Devarātaḥ

Sākamasvaḥ

Vyaśvaḥ

Viśvamanāḥ

Uddālakaḥ

Brhad-divaḥ Sumnayuḥ

Prativeśyaḥ

Somaḥ Prātiveśyaḥ

Somapaḥ

Priyavrataḥ Saumāpiḥ

Uddālaka Arunih

Kaholaḥ Kauṣitakiḥ

Gunākhyaḥ Sāṅkhāyanạḥ

The unnamed author was the pupil of the last teacher.

The position of the Upaniṣad in the Āraṇyaka is different according to

different manuscripts. Some number it as Adhy. 1, 2, 3, 4 of the Āraṇyaka,

others as Adhy. 6, 7, 8, 9, still others supposedly as Adhy. 1, 7, 8, 9. This pheno-

menon can, perhaps be explained by the fact that the finished Upaniṣad was

incorporated in the finished Araṇyaka afterwards and that also was not

incorporated in the same place or order. But we can leave out of considera-

tion these differences as also the question of different rescensions, as, in general,

they are irrelevant for us.

About the connection or coherence of the four parts of our Upaniṣad, the

commentator Saṅkarānanda says in the introduction as follows:

"The Kauṣitaki-brāhmaṇa-upaniṣad consisting of four Adhyāyas, begins

with the words Ciro ha vai Gāṅgyāyanịḥ and ends with ya evam veda. It contains:

"in the first Adhyāya, the Paryañka-vidyā (the lore of the bedstead of rest)

so-called because therein the soul attaining to the yonder world appears

before the bedstead of Brahman in order to be tested or examined by him,

together with the destination of the Southern way (of the Pitryāṇa which

leads back to the earth) and of the Northern Way (of the Devayāna which

leads to Brahman);

"in the second Adhyāya, the Prāṇa-vidyā (the doctrine of Prāṇa, life as a

symbol of the Ātman) and for him who knows it, certain useful works

referring to others and to one's own I and to the attainment of certain fruits;

"in the third and the fourth Adhyāyas, the Ātma-vidyā (the doctrine of

the Ātman).

"Though the Section Pratardano ha etc. (i.e. the esoteric doctrine in

Adhyāyas 3 and 4) is to be studied in preference to the rest, it could also

happen that a pure mind itself, so long as one does not still know the nature

of Brahman, may in the beginning experience dread, in the presence of the

attributeless Brahman though it is not to be dreaded just like a virtuous son

when he sees his father for the first time - the father who was a stranger to

him before his birth. That is why, the text first (in the Adhyāya 1) describes,

in order to remove the fright, the Brahman of attributes sitting on a throne

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

like a king on this earth, as the final aim of the Northern Way. Herein it is

said: ‘Then he comes to the bed of rest Amitaujās, which is the Prāṇa.’ Thus

Prāṇa is described as a bed of rest in the first Adhyāya. With regard to

Prāṇa, the question arises before the listener whether this Prāṇa is mere

breath or whether on the contrary, he does or does not rejoice in the manifold

perfections of power. In order to solve this question, the reverential consi-

deration of Prāṇa is undertaken in the Second Adhyāya. Thus the text, in

an excellent way, prepares the way for teaching further (in Adhyāyas 3-4) the

Brahmavidyā. But if the teaching of Brahman with attributes was itself

received, in all humility, out of the mouth of the teacher, by such great men as

Gautama and Śvetaketu, today those who are called upon to learn must also

in all humility receive the Brahman of attributes as well as the Brahman

without attributes. —This narrative serves to teach this doctrine”.

—The view or purpose emphasised by the commentator, to lead the reader

gradually upwards from the exoteric to the esoteric, from personal Brahman

to Prāṇa and from Prāṇa to the Ātman appears, as a matter of fact, to have

been at the basis of the arrangement of the Adhyāyas 1, 2, 3-4, though not

in the original draft, of the Kausītaki Upaniṣad.

KAUṢĪTAKI UPANIṢAD

First Adhyāya

[For the stages of development of the belief in the transmigration of the soul which appear here, compare the preparatory remarks on Chāndogya 5, 3-10.]

It once happened that Citra, the scion of Gāṅgya, wished to perform a sacrifice and chose Āruṇi as his priest. But he (Āruṇi) sent his son Śvetaketu to him, to be his priest. When he (Śvetketu) arrived, Citra asked him : “So, you are Gautama’s son! Is there an end (of transmigration of the soul) in the world, which you will be able to convey to me ? Or is there, otherwise, a way which leads to it and which you would convey to me ?” He replied : “I know it not. Nevertheless, I will ask my father with regard to it.” Thereupon he went to his father and asked him : “He has enquired of me thus. What answer shall I give to him ?”—The father spoke : “I also don’t know it. Let us hold (our session of) Vedic studies in his hall of sacrifice and receive instead what others better than we impart! Come, we will both go!” So, with a fuel-stick in his hand, he came to Citra, the scion of.Gāṅgya and said : “Let us both be your pupils!” Then he (Citra) spoke to him : “You are the leader of the priests, O Gautama, and you have shown no pride; come I will teach you !”

2. And he said: “All that depart from this world — all of them go (first) to the moon; through their life, the waxing lunar half (of the month) grows and by virtue of its waning half, it conveys them (on the path of the Pitṛyāṇa) to (repeated) rebirths — But the moon is also the door to the heavenly world (— the Devayāna path leads beyond the moon); and him, who is able to answer his questions,1 he (the moon) allows him to attain (to

3. As Brahman does afterwards, the moon examines here the ascending souls regarding their knowledge. He who stands the test, goes to the Deva-yāna; one, who does not pass the test, goes to the Pitṛyāṇa. My understanding of this passage here and of the corresponding passages differs from that of the commentator and that of all other translators (Anquetil, Weber, Cowell, Max Müller). I hope that readers would agree with me.

the worlds) beyond. On the other hand, him who cannot

answer him, he allows to become rain and to rain down below

(in the vanishing part which consists of souls returning to the

world). He is born here below in this or that place, be he as a

worm, or as a fly, or as a fish, or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a

boar, or as a bull, or as a tiger or as a man, each according

to his works (deeds), each according to his knowledge. — That

is, when anybody comes to the moon, the moon asks

him, “who are you”? Then he will reply :

“From the light,1 from the seasons, I came as seed

From the fifteenfold produced realm1 of the fathers;

You have squeezed2 me in man as creator sprinkles2 in the

mother

Born am I3 and again reborn

As twelvefold year,4 as thirteenth beyond the moon4

From the twelvefold, from the thirteenfold father

The this one5 and the other versus this5 to know;—

Until ye, seasons, me6 led to death by virtue of this truth, by

virtue of this mortification (tapas), I am the seasons,7 I am

the child of the seasons !”—

“Who are you ?8 “I am you”.

If and when he speaks thus (to the moon), then he allows him

to go beyond (to the Devayāna).

3. When he now sets out upon this path called Devayāna, he

attains to the world of fire, then to the world of wind, then to

the world of Varuṇa, then to the world of Indra, then to the

world of Prajāpati, then to the world of Brahman. In this

world there, indeed, are

1. from the moon.

2. read airayadhvam and perhaps (with B.C.E.) mā asisikta (compare,

for example, amumuktam).

3. read jayamānah.

4. The soul comes from the moon, is the moon, and as such, year and

season, which both depend on the moon.

5. The Devayāna and Pitryāna.

6. read ma'rtavao above.

7. See note 4 above.

8. Incidental question of the moon.

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

27

the lake (the tossing flood),

the hours Yeștiha (meaning : duration of the sacrifice),

the large river Vijarā (ageless, everlasting),

the tree Ilya (meaning rich with refreshing juice),

the city Sālajya (meaning : protected with bow-strings as

thick as the Sāla trees),

the palace Aparājita (Invincible)

as doorkeepers Indra and Prajāpati,

the hall Vibhu (the expansive one),

the throne Vicakṣaṇā (visible from afar),

the bedstead of rest Amitaujas (full of immeasurable strength)

and the sweetheart Mānasī (the spirit of intelligence) and her

counterpart Cākṣuṣī (the spirits in the eyes, who hold

flowers in hand, it is they who (as Nāma and Rūpam)

weave the texture of the world,

and the Apsarasas Ambas and Ambāyavis (mother and wet-nurse) and the rivers (meaning : motherhood).

In this world, he who knows all this, attains everything and

Brahman says : “Run towards him. Because through my power

and splendour, he has arrived at the river Vijarā (ageless) and

will, truly, never become old !’

4. Then five hundred Apsarasas go towards him, a hundred

Apsarasas with fruits in their hands, a hundred with ointments,

a hundred with garments, a hundred with sweet-smelling

powders; they adorn him with the ornaments of Brahman; and

after he is adorned with the ornaments of Brahman, he, the

knower of Brahman, goes towards Brahman;

first, he comes to the lake Āra,

crosses it with the manas; but

those who proceed through it,

only thinking of the present,

sink into it;

then, he comes to the hours

yeștiha. which run away from him;

then, he comes to the river Vijarā

which he also crosses with the Manas;

there, he shakes off good and bad works;

then his acquaintances who are friendly to him take charge

of his good work and those who are not friendly, his bad work;

just as one, riding aspeedy chariot,

looks down at the wheels of the chariot (the spokes of which

become indistinct to him), in the same way he looks down

on day and night, as also on good and bad works and on the

pairs of the opposites; but he who, as the knower of Brahman,

is free from good and bad works, enters into the presence of Brahman.

5. Then he comes to the tree Ilya, where he is filled with the

fragrance of Brahman;

then, he comes to the city Sālajya, where he is filled with the

flavour of Brahman;

then, he comes to the palace Aparājita, where he is filled with

the splendour of Brahman;

then, he comes to the doorkeepers Indra and Prajāpati, who

run away from him;

then, he comes to the hall Vibhu where he is filled with the

glory of Brahman;

then, he comes to the throne, Vicakṣaṇā; it has as its forelegs

the Sāmans Brhad and Rathantaram, as its hind legs the

Samans Syaitam and Naudhasam and as the lengthwise

elevations Vairūpam and Vairājam and as oblique elevations

Śakvaram and Raivatam, and is, according to its essence,

knowledge, because through knowledge one, reaching the

throne, becomes farseeing;

then he comes to the bedstead of rest called Amitaujās, it is

the Prāṇa (the life); past and future are its forelegs, happiness

and freshness (vigour) its hind legs, (the Sāmans) Bhadram

and Yajñāyajñīyam its top elevations, Brhad and Rathantaram

are its lengthwise elevations, Ṛcs and Sāman are its lengthwise

lace-braids (decorations), Yajus its cross or oblique lace-braids,

Soma-fibres its padding (upholstering), Udgītha its bed-cover,

beauty or fineness its top-cushion;

On it sits Brahman; he, who possesses such knowledge,

ascends up to him, stepping with his feet (not crawling).

Then Brahman asks him : “Who are you ?”—

Then he will reply :

Kauṣītakī Upaniṣad

6. “I am the season, I have sprouted forth from the season, I am born out of ether as my cradle, as the seed or sperm of my wife, as the splendour of the year, as the self of every being. You are the self of every being; what you are, I am.” And he asks Brahman : “Who am I then ?”

— Then he will say : “The truth.”

“How, in what manner, the truth ?”

— “What is different from the gods and the corresponding living organs, that is ‘true’; but what the gods and living organs are, it is (true), ‘ness’. It is expressed through this one word ‘truth’. This comprehends the whole world, you are the whole world.”

He then will speak thus.

It is signified by the verse :

7. With Yajus as belly, Sāman as head, with Ṛc as body, as the everlasting one

He is to be regarded as Brahman,

The great wise sage, full of brahman1

The Ṛṣi who arises

And he asks him :

“Through whom do you comprehend my masculine names ?”

— “Through the Prāṇa” he will answer.

“Through what, my neuter names ?”

— “Through the Manas.”

“Through whom, my female names ?”

— “Through the Vāc, (Speech)”

“Wherewith, my smells ?”

— “With the breath.”

“Wherewith, my forms ?”

— “With the eyes.”

“Wherewith, my sounds ?”

— “With the ears.”

“Wherewith my juice of nutrition ?”

1. Yajus, Sāman, Ṛc are the essence of Brahman (of prayer in the form of the Veda). The Ṛṣi who has his entire being in Yajus, Sāman and Ṛc, becomes Brahman: — Brahman is the Universe, with which the Brahman appearing in an individual through different organs of the same is connected. This is the sense of the following interrogation.

— “With the tongue.”

“Wherewith my actions ?”

— “With the hands.”

“Wherewith my pleasure and pain ?”

— “Through the body.”

“Wherewith my bliss, sex-pleasure, and procreation ?”

— “Through the organ of procreation.”

“Wherewith my movements from place to place ?”

— “With the feet.”

“Wherewith my thoughts, (my objects of knowledge) that to be known, and my wishes ?”

— “With intelligence (prajñā).”

Thus then he will reply.

Then he will say to him : “The primaeval waters are, indeed my world (as Hiranyagarbha) and it is yours !” Indeed, every conquest of Brahman, every unfoldment of Brahman — he who has such a knowledge acquires this conquest, unfolds himself with this unfoldment — he who has such knowledge.

SECOND ADHYĀYA

1

[The Prāṇa (the life) as Brahman according to the teaching of the Kauṣītaki. He who knows his life as identical with the all-corresponding Brahman, to that extent he is Brahman. All creatures wait upon him (just as the living organs serve the life), without his being required to pray.]

The Prāṇa is the Brahman, thus spoke Kauṣītaki. To the Prāṇa as Brahman, the Manas serves as the messenger, the eye as the watchman, the ear as the announcer, the speech as the attendant or the stewardess.

Indeed, he, who knows how the manas serves as messenger to Prāṇa as Brahman, does not fail to have a messenger; he who knows how the eye serves as a watchman, does not fail to have a watchman; he, who knows how the ear serves as an announcer, does not fail to have the announcer; he, who knows how the speech as an attendant, does not fail to have an attendant.

All these godheads (Manas, eye, ear, speech) bring offerings

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

to this Prāṇa as Brahman, without his asking (for them). So

also all those beings offer gifts to him who has such knowledge,

without his asking.

His Upaniṣad (the secret watchword) is not to ask for or to

beg. Because, just as one, who goes through the village asking

for alms and has obtained nothing, sits and thinks : Now I

would not like to eat (food) from them, even though they would

give it”, and then they’ who had previously refused (to give)

him, come to him and accost him1).— Such is the conduct

of him who does not ask (for food). On the contrary, (instead

of he begging as he did previously), people bringing food address

him and say : “Allow us to give (food) to you !”

2

The Prāṇa is Brahman according to the teaching of Paiṅgya.

Manas, ears, eyes, speech, which were previously the servants

of Prāṇa, appear here as layers placed one after another (cf.

the four sheaths, Taitt. Up. 2) which surround Prāṇa protecting

him, as Prāṇa again surrounds Ātman protecting him.

The Prāṇa is the Brahman, thus spoke Paiṅgya. Around this

Prāṇa as Brahman, the speech is situated beyond the speech

(in the inside); beyond the eye, the ear is situated; beyond the

ear, the manas is situated; beyond the manas the Prāṇa is situated

(around the Brahman itself, the Ātman). To this Prāṇa as

Brahman, all those godheads (manas, eye, ear, speech) give

offerings without his asking. Thus all beings give gifts to him

who has such knowledge, without his asking.

His Upaniṣad (the secret watchword) is not to beg. Because,

just as one, who goes through the village asking for alms and

has obtained nothing, sits and thinks:

“Now I would not like to eat (food) from them, even though

they would give it”, and then they who had previously refused

(to give him) come to him and accost him. — Such is the

conduct of him who does not ask (for food). On the con-

trary, (instead of he begging, as he did previously), people

1. The man before and after the attainment of knowledge corresponds to

the mendicant, who first, could not get through begging what, after he has

resigned himself to his condition, falls to his share, unsought.

bringing food address him and say: “Allow us to give (food to) you!”

3

[To the exoteric, not still purified character of the adoration of Prāṇa as Brahman, corresponds this teaching in this and the following sub-sections (similar to the theism.in a few psalms), it becomes, a means for satisfying the-earthly mundane goal of avarice and a desire for vengeance.]

Now next, the garnering (acquisition) of particular benefit.

If a man intends to possess a particular benefit, he should, in the full-moon-night, or in the new-moon-night or during the-bright half of the month, under a favourable constellation, establish a fire during one of the points of time, should sweep, strew, sprinkle around it; he should bend the right knee and offer an oblation of butter with the ladle and, while so doing, say: “Speech is called the divinity of acquisition; let it acquire for me (benefit) from this; obeisance (svāhā) to it! — Breath is called the divinity of acquisition; let it acquire for me (benefit) from this; obeisance (svāhā) to it! — The eye is called the divinity of acquisition; let it acquire for me (benefit) from this: obeisance (svāhā) to it! — The ear is called the divinity of acquisition; let it acquire for me (benefit) from this; obeisance (svāhā) to it! — Manas is called the divinity of acquisition; let it acquire for me (benefit) from this; obeisance (svāhā) to it! — knowledge (prajñā) is called the divinity of acquisition; let it acquire for me (benefit) from this; obeisance (svāhā) to it — Then he shall inhale the smell of the smoke, besmear his limbs with butter — ointment and silently go forth to the object concerned and name the thing or he can also send a messenger, then he will certainly get it.

4

[The new doctrine is recommended with a view to providing the means of securing the popular charm or spell of love.]

Now then, the intense longing of love stimulated by the gods (speech, breath, eye, ear, manas and knowledge) or intelligence (daivah smarah).

When one desires to be loved by a man or woman or by men or women, he shall offer to the above-mentioned gods in one of the (above-mentioned) points of time in the above-mentioned way and manner the same oblation of butter and while doing it utter:

"Your speech I sacrifice in myself, my obeisance to you! Your breath (Prāṇa) I sacrifice in myself, my obeisance (svāha) to you! Your eye I sacrifice in myself, my obeisance to you! Your ear I sacrifice in myself, my obeisance to you! Your manas (mind) I sacrifice in myself, my obeisance to you! Your intelligence I sacrifice in myself, my obeisance to you!" - Then he shall inhale the smell of the smoke, besmear his limbs with the ointment of butter and silently go forth to the object concerned and seek to touch it or he might also stand on the side from which the wind is blowing and thus speak with it; certainly he will be dear or beloved to him or her, certainly he or she will have intense longing for him.

5

[The custom to sacrifice was so deeply rooted that one had not been able to eliminate it without some substitute. Here in place of the Agnihotram to be daily offered or performed in the morning and the evening, there comes the uninterruptedly continuous process of in-breathing (Prāṇa) and of out-breathing during speech (vāc) the first is the offering of Vāc into Prāṇa, the latter, of Prāṇa in Vāc.—Religion is supposed not to consist in the observance of the external cult but that in which one places the whole life with every breath in its service.]

Now, the self-constraint of Pratardana (Samyamanam Prātardanam), or as it is also named, the inner Agnihotram.

So long as man speaks, he cannot breathe in; then he offers or sacrifices the breath in the speech; — and so long as man breathes in, he cannot speak; then he sacrifices the speech in the breath. Both these sacrifices are unending, immortal because man offers them without interruption in wakefulness as well as in sleep. On the other hand, other sacrifices have an end, because they consist of works (Karmanayyah). That is why the wise men of olden times did not perform the Agnihotram.

6

[As in Ait. Ār. 2.1-3, the Uktham (i.e. the niskevalyaśastram used during the mahāvrata) is identified with Prāṇa, so it is here identified

34

Sixty Upanisads

with the Brahman (i e the underlying principle of things consisting of Rc, Yajus and Sāman ) In order to understand the concluding section, one must recollect the idea that the functioning priest (Hotr, Udgātr, Adhvaryu) consecrates his self (ātmānam Samiskaroti) in such a way that it only consists of Rc, Sāman and Yajus (cf the passages in my Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie (‘General History of Philosophy’) I 328) Here first, the Adhvaryu consecrates his self in such a way that it entirely becomes a sort of sacrificial rite (astikam), (or a sort of bricks (of the altar), if one prefers reading astakam) become entirely a sort of sacrificial work with which are interwoven - connected the remaining - the self of the Adhvaryu consisting of Yajus, as well as the self of the Hotr consisting of Rc so also the self of the Udgātr consisting of Sāman]

The Uktham is Brahman, thus spoke Śuskabhingāra. One should adore it (the Uktham) as Rc, because all beings are made to sing (praise) (a pun on the word abhyavacyante) to him for his supremacy, as Yajus, as all beings join together (yujyante) into him for his supremacy, as Sāman because all beings bow down (samnamante) to him for his supremacy One shall adore it (the Uktham) as beauty, as glory, as strength or splendour

And just as this (Uktham) is the most beautiful, the most glorious and the strongest among the Śastias,1 so also, he who has such knowledge, is also the most beautiful, the most glorious and the strongest of all

Thus the Adhvaryu consecrates his self in such a way that it becomes capable of performing sacrificial rites, and ritual, into this he weaves his self capable of Yajus, in this self which is capable of Yajus, the Hotr weaves his self capable of Rc (singing praises), in this self capable of Rc, the Udgātr weaves his self capable of Sāman, this is then the self of the threefold knowledge (i e the Brahman) And he who has such knowledge becomes the self of Indra (compare Ait Ār. 2 3 7 1)

7

[Ceremony, according to the procedure of Kausītaki, in order to purify oneself through the daily three adorations of the Sun]

Now, follow the three adorations of the all-conquering Kausītaki.

1. i.e. ‘among the invocations’ which the Hotr and his assistants have to recite. Cowell and Max Muller, following Śamkarānanda, translate ‘Among the weapons’.

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

35

Thus, the all-conquering Kauṣītaki used to adore the rising sun, with the sacrificial thread on, sipping water, and, while pouring it three times in a vessel, address the sun “You are the lifter (remover), lift off (remove) my sins away!” And in the same way to the midday sun; “You are the lifter lifting upwards, (disperse), lift off my sins!” In the same way to the setting sun “You are the lifter (who lifts all away), lift away my sins”. Then the sun lifted off all his sins which he had committed during the day and night. And so also, of one who has such knowledge and adores the sun in this way, the sun lifts off all the sins which he has committed by day and bynight.

8

[According to Kaus 1 2 (see above), the waxing of the moon is conditioned by the souls which depart through him and the souls which reach him Therefore, here in the new-moon-stage, the supplication is directed to the moon not to effect his waxing through the children of the supplicant but through those of his enemies]

Now further in every month, when the new-moon-night comes, he shall adore the moon appearing in the west in the way described previously (2.7) or he may also offer towards him two green blades of grass and speak :

“My heart, of pretty seam,1

which in heaven, in the moon rests,

I am aware of my belief,

May I not weep for my son’s ill”.

His sons are not deceased before him, rather he deceased before them. Thus, when a son is already born to him

But he to whom a son has not yet been born, shall recite to himself (mutter) the three following verses :

“Wax and swell ! I enter thee (Rg 1.91.16),

Drinks or beverages are fond of thee,

Strength comes towards thee (Rgv.1.91.18),

The ray which the Ādityas increase.”

Cf Atharvaveda 7.81.6)

1 Susīman hrdayam is, probably, here as elsewhere, to be read as ‘susīme’ (of pretty seam or of pretty parting of the hair) as addressed to the wife (cf. Āśval Grhyasūtra 1 13.7).

36

Sixty Upanisads

and then say : "Mayest thou not through my life, increase my descendants, my cattle1 But he who hates and whom we hate, him thou mayest increase with his life, his descendants and cattle1 (cf Atharvaveda 7 8 1 5 ) With this I turn myself to the return of Indra, I turn myself around for the return of the sun " With this, so saying, he turns himself around towards his right arm1).

9

[An analogous ceremony now follows, meant for the evening of the full moon, in which however, the conditions are often different from those described previously. The imminent waning of the moon is not understood (as one should expect according to 1 2 and 2 8 ) as a descent of the soul to the new life on the earth but the disappearance of the moon implies here, in direct counterpart, a disappearance of earthly life, at the averting of which the ceremony aims· Also the turning around towards the right, here in this context, from the east towards the west, set forth at the end, cannot be plained, as in the previous section where one assumes a half turning around, while here is meant a full turning round to which the dakṣ̣̣āvrt, as a return to both gods, Varuna in the west and thereafter Indra in the east, would be suitable —The moon is Prajāpatı, so far as the births depend on him, but so far as death is conditioned by it, it is the pañcamukhah Prajāpatıh and the principle of extermination of all things, as it is practised by the Brāhmaṇas, the Kṣatriyas, the falcon, the fire and finally by the moon itself—an attribute which the supplicant would like to see transferred to himself ]

Now in the full-moon-night, he shall adore the moon arising in the east and proceeding in the previously mentioned way, speak "Thou art King Soma, the farseeing one, thou art the five-faced Prajāpatı,

"the Brāhmaṇa is a mouth of thine; with this mouth thou eatest the Kings; with this mouth I make myself the consumer of food;

"the king is a mouth of thine, with this mouth thou eatest the Vaisyas; with this mouth I make myself the consumer of food;

1. The supplicant looks towards the west and then turns himself round to the right, just as the sun in the night, turns towards the east, the heavenly-realm of Indra. The sun returning in the night from the west towards the east appears here to be as a symbol of the life of the father renewing itself in the progeny.

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

37

"the falcon is a mouth of thine; with this mouth thou eatest

the birds, with this mouth I make myself the consumer of food;

"the fire is a mouth of thine, with this mouth thou eatest this

world, with this mouth, I make myself the consumer of food,

"In thee is the fifth mouth; with this mouth thou eatest all

beings, with this mouth I make myself the consumer of food,

"Mayest thou not decrease, through my life, my descendants,

my cattle' But of him who hates us and whom we hate,

— mayest thou decrease, with this life, his descendants and the

cattle Herewith I turn myself for the return to the gods (Varuṇa

in the west and then Indra in the east); I turn around to the

return of the sun " Thus he turns himself around towards his

right arm

10

[Now the following is prevented through both the foregong ceremonies

so that the children will not die before their father, they will not die before

their mother

Now when he will cohabit with his wife (read samveksyan) he

will touch her heart and speak:

'Thine heart (read 'hrdayam') of beautiful seam

Which rests inside in Prajāpati,

With that, oh mistress of immortality,

Do not experience the sorrow of the son '

From her her ihildren are not separated (by death), before she

departs or dies

11

[A ceremony with which the father, returning from a journey, greets his

son in order to secure for him the full duration of life ]

Further, when he returns from a journey, he shall kiss the

head of his son and say:

"Out of my limbs thy birth

Out of my heart thy origin

You are myself truly, O son,

So live long for hundred autumns."

Then he utters his name.

"Be firm as stone, as sharp as a hatchet

Be compact like a stronghold of gold,

Truly, my son, you are my splendour,

38

Sixty Upaniṣads

So live long for hundred autumns.

While so doing, he mentions his name

Then he hugs him and says

"Wherewith Prajāpatī hugs his creatures, so that they remain

(unhurt) safe and sound, therewith I hug you, you there" (here

he again mentions his name)

Then he whispers into his right ear

"Give him presents, O giver of presents, O presser "

(Rv 3 36 10).

and in the left ear

'O Indra, present him the best of good things

(Rv 2 21 6).

and speaks.

"Do not break nor waver

Live a hundred autumns! O Son! with your name

I kiss your head!"

here he kisses his head thrice —

"As the cows call their calves

with lowing 'hıṅ', I address you!"

Then he

utters three times the call 'hıṅ' unto his head

12-13

[Now follows the dāvah parimaraṇ, the death of the divinities (Agni,

Āditya, Candramas, Vidyut and their analogues Vāc, Śrotram, Manas) dissolving into Vāyu-Prāṇa, out of which they again issue forth A similar, only

much more simple view appears at the basis of brahmaṇah parimaraḥ (Ait

Br 8 28) There Vidyut, Vṛṣṭi, Candramas, Āditya, Agni enter into Vāyu

and issue forth out of it in such a way, that the lightning is extinguished in

the rain, the rain is extinguished in the sun, the sun in the fire, the fire in the

wind, whereupon then again issues forth the fire out of the wind, the sun out

of the fire, the moon out of the sun, the rain out of the moon and the lightning

out of rain Thus the main weight falls on the magic formula connected with

this simple nature-view, for the destruction of the enemy —In our passage,

this practical aim is in the back ground, because at the conclusion a promise

with regard to it is remembered, whereas as against it, the nature-view appears

to have been developed in its own way, firstly, so far that besides the cosmic

gods (Agni, Āditya, Candramas, Vidyut) there appear the corresponding

psychical divinities (Vāc, Cakṣus, Śrotram, Manas) which enter into Prāṇa

just as those (cosmic divinities) in Vāyu, — so that, thus far with this Vāyu-

Prāṇa, the cosmic and psychic Brahman is identical or is approximately

identical The cosmic Brahman, i e. that the Vedic word is realized in the

world, manifests itself in Agni, Āditya, Candramas, Vidyut, and appears

Kausītaki Upanisad

39

to die by the cessation of these manifestations But, in truth, these (divini-

ties) do not die, they give up their splendour (tejas) into other phenomena,

but then life (Prāna) returns back in the Vāyu In a similar way, the psychic

Brahman manifests itself, i e the Vedic word awaking in men as prayer, in

Vāc, Caksus, Śotram, Manas, they also (and with them the Brahman) do not

die but they give up their splendour (tejas) to other psychic forces, while they,

themselves, continue to stay, in the Prāna, the psychical equivalent of Vāyu

—The basic thought accordingly is this The Vāyu-Prāna as the principle

of cosmic, and psychic life, on which here the Brahman is,

dependent, though in an indistinct way, it is treated as identical with it ]

12

Now then, dying around of the gods (for the Prāna).

Indeed, this Brahman shines when the fire burns and it dies

when it does not burn, then its splendour enters into the sun, its

life-breath into the wind,

indeed, this Brahman shines when the sun shines and it dies

when it does not shine, then its splendour enters into the moon,

its life breath into the wind,

Indeed, this Brahman shines when the moon shines, and it dies

when it does not shine, then its splendour enters into the lightn-

ing, its life-breath into the wind,

indeed, this Brahman shines, when the lightning quivers, and

it dies when it does not quiver, then its splendour enters into

the heavenly regions,1 its life-breath into the wind

Therefore, all these divinities enter into the wind, die in the

wind, but even if they enter, they are not lost but out of it,

they raise themselves again.

So far with reference to the gods

Now with reference to the self

13

Indeed, this Brahman shines, when one speaks with his

speech, and it dies, when he does not speak, then its (read

‘tasyāh’) splendour enters into the eye, its life-breath into

the vital (breath (prāna),

indeed, this Brahman shines, when one sees with the eyes, and

1 It is better to read according to the commentary 'in the wind', in

which case (see Ait. Br 8 28) the transition of the phenomenon into one

another reaches its end

40

Sixty Upaniṣads

it dies when he does not see, then its splendour enters into the

ear, its life-breath into the vital breath,

indeed, this Brahman shines, when one hears with the ears,

and it dies, when one does not hear; then its splendour enters

into the Manas, its life-breath into the vital breath,

indeed, this Brahman shines, when one thinks with the Manas

(mind), and it dies when one does not think, then its splendour

enters into the life-breath, its life-breath into the vital breath

Thus all these divinities enter into the vital breath (Prāṇa),

die in the vital breath, but although they enter there, they are

not lost, but they raise themselves out of it again

Indeed, though both the mountains, the southern and north-

ern (the Vindhya and the Himālaya) move in order to bury him

who has such knowledge, they would not be able to bury him!

• But those who hate him and whom he hates, all these die

around him in a circle

[The quarrel of the organs for supremacy and the victory of Prāna or vital

breath, which is equated with the cosmic Vāyu, over the rest, is here, as is

often the case, the theme of the exoteric Upaniṣadic teaching which looks

upon the Prāṇa-Vāyu as the underlying principle of things]

Now, then the possession of supremacy

Those same (previously mentioned) divinities, when they

quarrelled among themselves for supremacy, went out of this

body; there it (body) lay without breath, dried up like a piece of

wood

Then the speech entered into it, but although it (the body)

spoke with speech, it still remained lying down.

Then the eye entered into it but though it spoke with speech

and saw with the eyes, it still remained lying down.

Then the ear entered into it, but though it spoke with speech,

saw with eyes and heard with the ears, it still remained lying

down.

Then the Manas entered into it; but though it spoke with

speech, saw with eyes, heard with ears and thought with the

mind, it still remained lying.

Then the Prāṇa (vital breath) entered into it, thereupon

immediately it stood up.

14

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

Then all those divinities recognized the supremacy of Prāṇa

and when they became participants of Prāṇa

and of the Intelligence-

self (prajñātman), they pulled those (ramifications of Prāṇa,

prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna, udāna) out of the body and when

they entered into the wind, they became ether and attained to

the heaven

And likewise, he who has such knowledge, recognizes the su-

premacy of Prāṇa and he becomes the participant of Prāṇa,

of the intelligence-self, pulls, with all those (organs) out of this body

and enters into the wind, becomes ether and attains to heaven

Thus he reaches thither where those gods have reached, after

they had recognized this, and inasmuch as those gods are

immortal, he who has such knowledge becomes also immortal.

[Besides the belief in the transmigration of the soul which makes the welfare

in the world beyond and in the repeated earthly lives dependent on the ritual

and moral conduct of individual man, there also continued to exist the cult of

the manes. The idea which lay at the basis of this cult was that the deeds

of the descendants benefit the ancestors staying in the world beyond. There-

fore, the begetting of a son appears as a debt (rṇam) which one pays off by

being a father, therefore also, the dying father solemnly appoints his son as

the continuer of his work To this, the following section (Cf Brh Up.

1 5 17.20) refers ]

Now, then, the father-son ceremony or as it is called the

ceremony of bequeathing (sampradānam).

When the father feels that he is going to die, he sends for his

son to be by his side and after he has strewn the house with

fresh grass, prepared the fire, laid down the water-pitcher beside

a tray, the father, putting on an unwashed (new) garment, then

remains lying down The son approaches him and bends over him,

bowing the top of his head, brings his sense-organs into contact

with those of his father — or the latter (the father) as he is

seated towards him can make the bequest to him. This he

delivers to him in the following way'

The father says: “I would lay my speech in you,”

The son says: “I take (receive) your speech in me ”

The father· “I would lay my breath in you.”

The son . “I receive your breath in me ”

The father “I would lay my eyes in you ”

42

Sixty Upanisads

The son "I receive your eyes in me "

The father "I would lay my ears in you "

The son "I receive your ears in me "

The father "I would lay my sense of taste in you "

The son "I receive your sense of taste in me "

The father "I would lay my deeds in you "

The son "I receive your deeds in me."

The father "I would lay my pleasure and pain in you "

The son "I receive your pleasure and pain in me "

The father, "I would lay my sex-pleasure, desire for joy and the power of procreation in you "

The son "I receive in me your sex-pleasure, your desire for joy and your power of procreation "

The father: "I would lay my movements in you "

The son "I receive in me your movements "

The father "I would lay may Manas (Mind) in you "

The son "I receive in me your Manas "

The father:"I would lay my consciousness in you "

The son "I receive in me your consciousness "

If, however, the father is able to speak only with effort (literally only 'from near') he may say in short "I would lay in you all my life-forces (prānān)" and the son will reply "I receive in me your life-forces "

Then he (the son) walks, keeping the father to the light, ascending towards him and the father invokes with regard to him the words "May splendour, the dignity or power of Brahman and glory inhabit you!" Thereupon the son looks back at him from over his left shoulder and when he through the holding out of his hand or with the tip of his garment keeps (his eyes) covered, he speaks the following words. "May you attain the heavenly worlds and joys!"

If the father again becomes hale and sound, he must reside under the direction (mastery) of his son or he may wander about as a pilgrim (parivrājaka) If on the other hand, he dies, the life forces of the father take possession of the son, as it is proper — as it is proper.

Kausītaki Upanisad

Third Adhyāya

43

[After the more exoteric and preparatory consideration of the Ātman as personified God and as Prāna in the first and second Adhyāyas, there, now, follows in the thud Adhyāya, the philosophical doctrine of the Ātman, as the real kernel of the Upanisad Only the wording in which it is embodied is mythical, so far as the god Indra (who, also, otherwise, appears as the personification of the Ātman—see Ait Ār 22, Ait Up 1 3 14, Kaus 2 6) communicates the knowledge of himself as the Ātman to Pratardana, after the latter has luckily withstood the attempt (as Naciketas in Katha Up 1 has resisted other attempts) to make a choice, by himself and thus to make a worse choice. Thereafter, follows a well-ordered and excellently presented consideration, based on the essentially right psychological view, about the dependence of the sense-objects on the sense-organs and of these sense-organs on the Prāna (vital breath) or Prajñātman (Intelligence-self) i e on the principle of conscious and un-(sub)conscious life Both of these, because they live together in the body and together go out of it, are explained as being identical and that also, on the most fundamental basis though, according to their origin, they originate as two stems of different kinds [See my Elemente der Metaphysik (Elements of Metaphysics), Part II, chap 4 ‘the conscious and the unconscious wills’] The result of this demonstrated dependence of all sense-objects and sense-organs on the Intelligence-self is the exhortation that the aspirant, after the releasing knowledge has to seek, not the objects, not also the subjective psychical powers or forces but the subject of knowledge and action alone, who is to us solemnly in a splendid description, as the highest God and at the same time as the Ātman

For the sake of easy survey, the arrangement of this whole Adhyāya is indicated as follows

A The Prajñātman and the Sense-organ

1 The organs go together in unity (ekabhūyam gacchanti) which unity or unison, as a totality of the organs, is efficient in every one of them

2 This unity does not lie outside the organs or Prānāh but in one among them, which has precedence (mūśreyasam) over all othets, i e in the Prāna or Prajñātman The latter’s precedence, however, depends on the following grounds

(a) dispensability of other organs,

(b) indispensability of Prāna,

(c) its continuance in deep sleep, and

(d) in the death

B The Prajñātman and the Sense-objects

1. The sense-objects as organs (i e by means of these) are gathered (abhiviśnyante) in the Prajñātman so that he reaches the objects through the organs

44

Sixty Upanisads

2 Out of the Prajñātman, the organs have risen forth (udulham), out of

them again, it projects itself outwards towards the concerned (particular)

objects (pañastāt pratvṛhita), therefore, the Prajñā (intelligence) reaches the

objects through the organs

3 Impossibility of knowing objects without the Prāṇa through the organs

alone

C The Subject of Knowledge

1 One should try to know, not the objects but the subject

2 No objects (bhūtamātīh) without subjective organs (prajñāmātrāḥ),

no subjective organs without objects

3 Both go together in this subject like the spokes in the rim of a wheel

and the felly in the nave or hub of a wheel

4 The subject is the permanent blessed God who, being omnipotent,

predestines man for good and evil, for salvation and perdition

5 And this Lord of all worlds is my soul, my Ātman ]

1. It happened that Pratardana, the son of Divodāsa reached

the dear dwelling place of Indra, through struggle and through

manliness :

Indra said to him “Pratardana, choose for yourself a boon !”

And Pratardana replied “You yourself choose for me what

you consider as the most wholesome for man!”

But Indra said “The higher one does never choose for the

lower one. You yourself only should choose, because you are

yet lower than I.” Thus Indra spoke 1

But Pratardana did not divert himself from the truth;

because the truth is Indra

Then Indra said to him

“Know me so! Then this I consider as the most wholesome

for men, so that he should know me. Because, although I have

killed the three-headed son of Tvaṣṭṛ, have thrown to the wild

1 Possibly a copyist who understood the words Satyān na iyāya as “he

fulfilled his promise”, appears (p 75) to have exchanged both names, which

then further was, as a result, the correction of ma iti into mā iti — If, on the

other hand, one wishes to stick to the traditional text which has been handed

down, he must take avara both times in a completely different sense and

translate “The higher one does not choose for the lower one (avarasmai)”

You choose yourself !”—“Then no gift (avara) will fall to my share” thus

spoke Pratardana. But Indra did not deviate from truth, from holding

to his promise;

because Indra is truth

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

45

hounds the Arunmukhas (i e. those whose mouths are

wounded or disfigured, the word Arunmukhān is, however, a

corruption of Arunmaghān which means ‘the niggards’, see Ait.

Br 7 28), and the Yatis (those aspirants who perform penance),

although breaking many promises, I have pierced or stabbed

(atnam = atrnadam) the Prahlādis (the blusterers) in heaven, the

Paulomas (perhaps means ‘thick-bellied’) in the aerial space, the

Kālakañjas (the dark-headed) on the earth, not a hair (of mine)

has been affected or injured, — and thus to him who knows me,

his world (i e his place in heaven) will indeed, not be lessened

or lost (loko miyate) (even) though his (any mis-) deed, through

his act of theft, through his daughter of a living foetus, through

his slaughter of mother or father,1 even though he has com-

mitted (read ‘cakruṣah’) an evil, the (natural) dark-brown colour

of his face does not change (i e no fright makes him pale) ”

2 And Indra said:

"I am the life-breath (prāṇah); adore me as the intelligence

self (prajñātman), as life, as the immortal one. The Prāṇa is life

and life is Prāṇa So long as Prāṇa stays in this body, so long

also life stays (in the body); because through the Prāṇa, one

attains an undying condition and through intelligence (prajñā),

true knowledge He who adores me as life, as the immortal

one, attains in this world the full duration of life and he attains

immortality, imperishability in the heavenly world."

[Pratardana said] "Some say that vital forces go (operate),

together in unity (ekabhūyam gacchanti); none could at the

same time, bring into consciousness, by itself; the names

through the speech, forms or shapes through the eyes, by them-

selves, the sounds through the ears by themselves, and the

thoughts through the Manas (mind) by itself, but because, on

the contrary, the vital forces operate together in unity, there-

fore, they bring every one of these to consciousness, one after

another When the speech speaks, all the life forces speak follow-

1 He, who has attained the knowledge of the Ātman and his unity with

it, is freed there through, from the illusion of individual existence, his good

and bad deeds come to naught, they are no more his works, because he is

no more an individual (In the language of Christianity, to him who has the

belief, his sins are forgiven.)—How true and still how dangerous is this

doctrine, if it is only half understood'

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Sixty Upanisads

ing it (1.e with it), and when the eyes see, all the life-forces

see following them, when the ears hear, all the life-forces hear

following them, when the Manas thinks, all the life-forces think

following it and when the breath breathes, all the life-forces

breathe following it "

"Indeed, it is so" spoke Indra "But, still!" he continued,

"there is an order of precedence among the life-forces ;

3 For instance -

One lives also without speech, for we see the dumb

One also lives without sight, for we see the blind,

One also lives without hearing, for we see the deaf,

One also lives without Manas, for we see the fools,

One also lives with arms cut off

One also lives with legs cut off, for, thus we see.

But it is the Prāṇa, the Prajñātman, which encompasses this

body and makes it erect (utthāpayati), that is why one should

adore it as Uktham (cf Ait Ār 2.1).

This is the penetration of all life-forces into Prāṇa

But what is Prāṇa, is the Prajña (the consciousness or intelli-

gence) and what is Prajñā, is Prāṇa.

This is his view, this is his knowledge, when a man is so

deep in sleep that he sees no dream-image, then he has attained

union with this Prāṇa, then enter into him,

the speech with all names,

the eyes with all shapes or forms,

the ears with all sounds,

the Manas with all thoughts

And when one wakes, then it happens that, just as the sparks

out of the blazing fire scatter towards all sides, so also out of

this Ātman all life-forces, each according to its location rise

forth, out of the life-forces (speech, eyes, ears and Manas) the

gods (Agni, Sūrya, Diśah, Candramāḥ) issue forth, out of the

gods issue forth the worlds (names, forms, sounds, thoughts)

It is the Prāṇa, the Prajñātman, which encompasses this body

and keeps it erect; that is why one should adore it as the

uktham.

This is the penetration of all (life forces) in the Prāṇa.

But what is Prāṇa, is Prajñā .(the intelligence, consciousness)

and what Prajñā is, Prāṇa.

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

47

And this is its proof, this its knowledge, when man, sorrowing and on the point of dying, overcome by weakness, falls into unconsciousness and the people say — ‘his spirit has flown off, he hears nothing, sees nothing, speaks nothing, thinks nothing,’ —then he has just become one with this Prāṇa, then he enters into

the speech with all names,

the eyes with all forms,

the ears with all sounds,

the Manas with all thoughts,

and when he moves out of this body, he moves out with them all 1

4 As speech, in him all names are poured (abhiṣiṛyante, much better reading is abhiṣiṣrjate = pratītyajati, which the commentator reads) in him, through the speech, he attains all names,

as breath, all smells are poured in him, through breath he attains all smells,

as eyes, all forms are poured in him, through the eyes he attains all forms,

as ears, all sounds are poured in him, through the ears he attains all souuds,

as Manas, all thoughts are poured in him, through Manas, he attains all thoughts;

this is the penetration of all in Prāṇa.

But what is Prāṇa, i, Prajñā, and what is Prajñā is Prāṇa, because both dwell united in the body and united, go out of it

Now, we will explain, how also all beings form a unity with this Prajñā (the consciousness, intelligence)

1 The chief aim of this consideration about deep sleep and swoon is to demonstrate the identity of Prāṇa (of vital breath) and of Prajñā (consciousness or intelligence) In deep sleep and swoon, the Prajñā appears to be extinct In truth, however, it is not extinct but has become one with the Prāṇa, out of which it again rises forth during the waking state Consequently, the Prajñā has only skipped, in wakefulness it is different from Prāṇa and for the rest, forms a unity with it. In deep sleep, however, the sense-organs also and along with them the sense-objects dive into Prāṇa. Consequently, they also together are united with the Prāṇa, as it is set forth in the following in more details.

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Sixty Upanisads

5 The speech is, as a part of it (of consciousness), taken out (read Udūlham) of it, of this the name is an externally transplanted element of being,

the breath is, as a part of it, taken out of it, of this the smell is an externally transplanted element of being

the eye is, as a part of it, taken out of it; of this the form is an externally transplanted element of being

the ear is, as a part of it, taken out of it, of this the sound is an externally transplanted element of being,

the tongue is, as a part of it, taken out of it, of this, the food-juice is an externally transplanted element of being,

the hands are, as a part of it, taken out of it· of these work is an externally transplanted element of being,

the body is, as a part of it, taken out of it, of it, pleasure and pain are an externally transplanted element of being,

the organ of generation is, as a part of it, taken out of it, of this, the sexual pleasure, the joy of love, and the power of reproduction (viz the sexual excitement) are an externally transplanted element of being,

the Manas is, as a part of it, taken out of it, of this thoughts and desires are an externally transplanted element of being,

6 Mounting speech through intelligence (prajñā), one attains all names1 through speech,

mounting the breath through intelligence, one attains all smells through breath,

mounting the eyes through intelligence, one attains all forms through the eyes,

mounting the ears through intelligence, one attains all sounds through the ears;

1 The commentator Samkarānanda comments on this passage as follows . “The meaning is this the concerned organ (indriyam is nothing without intelligence (prajñā) and without the concerned organ of the concerned object (visaya) nothing is attained or perceived Consequently then, when something does not exist or is not perceived without another thing, it is of its essential being — just as the texture, because it is not perceived without the threads, is of the essential being of threads,—or as silver, because it is not perceived without having the splendour of the mother-of-pearls, is of the essential nature of the mother-of-pearls, — so also the object, as it does not exist or is not perceived without the concerned organ, and the concerned organ, as it is not perceived without intelligence, are essentially of the nature of intelligence ”

Kausītaki Upanisad

mounting the tongue through intelligence, one attains all food-juices through the tongue,

mounting the hands through intelligence, one attains (does) all works through the hands,

mounting the body through intelligence, one attains pleasure and pain through the body,

mounting the organ of generation through intelligence, one attains sexual pleasure, the joy of love and the power of reproduction (its excitement) through the organ of generation;

mounting the feet through intelligence, one attains (performs) all walking movements through feet,

mounting Manas through intelligence, one attains all thoughts (and the objects exciting desires)

7 For, the speech, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any name into consciousness, because one says 'my mind was elsewhere, that is why I was not conscious of that name,'

and the breath, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any smell into consciousness; because one says : 'my mind was elsewhere, that is why I was not conscious of the smell,'

and the eyes, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any form into consciousness; because one says . 'my mind was elsewhere that is why I was not conscious of the form,'

and the ears, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any sound into consciousness, because one says 'my mind was elsewhere, that is why I was, not conscious of that sound;'

and the tongue, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any food-juice into consciousness, because one says 'my mind was elsewhere, that is why I was not conscious of that food-juice,'

and the hands, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any work into consciousness, because one says (the reading 'āhatuh' is not acceptable) . 'my mind was not conscious of that work,'

and the body, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any pleasure or pain into consciousness, because one says, 'my mind was elsewhere; that is why I was not conscious of that pleasure and pain,'

and the organ of generation, forsaken by intelligence, cannot bring any sex-pleasure, joy of love and the power of reproduction into consciousness, because one says, 'my mind was

50

Sixty Upanisads

elsewhere, that is why I was not conscious of that sex-pleasure,

joy of love and the power of reproduction;'

and the feet, forsaken by consciousness, cannot bring into

consciousness, any walking movements, because one says, my

mind was elsewhere, that is why I was not conscious of those

walking movements,

and a thought forsaken by intelligence, cannot come about

or cannot be realized, or any object of knowledge cannot

come into consciousness

8 One should not desire to understand the speech but should

desire to know him who speaks,1

one should not desire to understand the smell, but should

desire to know him who smells,

one should not desire to understand the form but to know

him who sees (the form),

one should not desire to know the sound but to know him

who hears,

one should not desire to understand the food juice but to

know him who tastes the food juice,

one should not desire to understand the deed but to know

him who performs the deed,

one should not desire to understand pleasure and pain (which

excites) but to know him who feels pleasure and pain,

one should not desire to understand sex-pleasure, joy of love,

and the power of reproduction, but to know him who experiences

the sex-pleasure, the joy of love and the power of reproduction,

one should not desire to understand walking movements but

to know him who walks,

one should not desire to understand the Manas (thinking)

but to know him who thinks

So all the ten elements of material being are dependent on

intelligence and the ten elements of intelligence are dependent

on the material being; for if there were no elements of material

being, there would, also be no elements of intelligence, and if

there were no elements of intelligence, there would also be no

1 In short, one "should not strive after the empirical knowledge of

plurality or multiplicity (i e after avidyā) but should strive after the

metaphysical knowledge of unity (i e after vidyā)

Kausītaki Upaniṣad

51

elements of material being, because any one phenomenon does

' not come about through the one without the other.

Still, it is not a plurality or multiplicity. but, just as the rim

of a wheel is fastened to the spokes and the spokes are fastened

to the hub or nave, so also those elements of material being are

fastened to the elements of intelligence and the elements of

intelligence are fixed in the Prāṇa because this Prāṇa is also the

intelligence-self (prajñātman), is bliss, is not ageing, is immortal!

It does not become higher or greater through good deeds nor

does it become lower or less through evil deeds, but it is he

who makes him, whom he wishes to take higher up from this

world, to do good deeds, and it is he who makes him, whom

he wants to lead downwards, to do evil deeds

He is the protector of the world, he is the ruler of the world,

and this is my soul (ātman) which one should know — this is

my soul which one should know !"

FOURTH ADHYĀYA

[This section can be considered1 as an enlarged supplement of what has

been previously mentioned, so far as it concerns the thoughts of the entry

of the bodily organs in the Prāṇa or Prajñātman in deep sleep and their

re-emergence again, of its penetration into the whole body and of its

supremacy over the bodily organs, which previously Indra imparts to

Pratardana Here those thoughts appear in the form of an instruction

which Ajātaśatru, king of Kāśī (Banaras) imparts to the Brāhmana named

Bālāki Gāṛgya (i e the son of Balāka from the family of Garga) after the

latter had offered to elucidate Brahman Bālāki tried to explain that

Brahman in a series of definitions which were, however, rejected by the

king Thereupon, the Brāhmana, convinced of his ignorance, requests the

king for instruction, which the king delivers by the example of a man

awakening from deep sleep. — This narration is found in a shorter form and,

mostly in the same (turns of speech) again in Brh Up where Gāṛgya

offers only twelve definitions which, with one omission (dikṣu) and five new

additions (stanayitnau, pratiśrutkāyam, svapnayā, dakṣiṇe and savye akṣiṇi)

become sixteen in the Kaus Up There are found many differences between

both the recensions in the order of sequence and the counter-clarifications

1 The meaning of the commentary that here an ascent from the

exoteric Prāṇa to the esoteric Caitanya may be intended (prāṇāt susuptāva-

sthāt apagatacaitanyāt param cetanam ānandātmānam vivakṣuḥ) has no

support in the text of the Upaniṣad.

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Sixty Upaniṣads

of Ajātaśatru The same appear to depend not on one another but on one narration serving as a both-sided source, which circulated orally and was fixed in writing by the redactors of both the Upaniṣads in adaptation with the view and the way of presentation of their schools The narration in none of both the recensions is entirely suitable as the frame for the instruction to be imparted by Ajātaśatru Because according to the narration one would expect an explanation about the relation of Brahman (Prāṇa and Prajñātman) to the twelve which sixteen Puruṣas, whereas in the following instruction this question which is not at all touched in the Brh Up, is dismissed in a short remark that one has to investigate into their Kartṛ (creator), whereupon Ajātaśatru in his explanation exemplified in a man in deep sleep, discusses only the relation of Brahman (Prāna and Prajñātman) to the living organs (prāṇa, vāc, cakṣus, śrotram, manas) The doctrine of the entry of it during the waking state is common to both the recensions With this is connected, only in Kaus Up, the penetration of the body by Prāṇa, which has already been previously presented through the Sarvāpti in Kaus 3 3-4 In its presentation, it is, however, parallel with Brh Up 1-4 7 In conclusion, the relation of Prāṇa to the organs which was explained in the Kaus 3 8 by the comparison with the hub of a wheel and the spokes, is here explained by the comparison with the chief and his followers A proof for the value of this instiuction imparted here, through which India also has gained his superior power over the demons, is the conclusion of this section The basic thought underlying this section can be designated as the superiority of Prāṇa-Brahman over the forces and the phenomena of nature (the Puruṣas of Gāṛgya) and over the psychical organs in man ]

1. Now Gāṛgya Bālāki was first famous as the teacher of the Veda; he resided in the regions of the Uśīnarās, the Satvans, the Matsyas, the Kuruṣ, the Pañcālas, the Kāśīs, and the Videhas

Once he came to Ajātaśatru, the king of Kāśī and said “I would teach you the Brahman!” Ajātaśatru replied

“A thousand cows I shall give for it, when one says so, people come running shouting : “a Janaka, a Janaka !” (a king of Videha who had become proverbial on account of his liberality).

2. [The narrator himself visualizes, before he continues, the main points of the speech which follows. (These are the clue-words of the subsequent conversation)]

in the sun — the Great

in the moon — the Food

in the lightning — Truth

in thunder — Sound

Kauṣītakī Upaniṣad

in wind — Indra Vaikuṇṭha

in ether — Plenitude

in fire — Overpowerer

in water — Splendour

so much with regard to the divinities. Now with regard to the

self

in mirror — Image

in shadows — the Companion

in echo — Life

in sound — Death

in dream or sleep — Yama

in the body — Prajāpatī

in the right eye—Speech (self)

in the left eye —Truth (self).

3 Bālāki said · “The Spirit, who is in the Sun, him I adore ”

Then Ajātaśatru spoke · “In this way, you will not further

promote conversation with me, (Samvādayiṣthāh, or according to

Text B Samavādayiṣthāh “You will not get my assent” ) I

revere (adore) him as the Great, as the bright-robed, as the

highest, as the head of all beings ”

He who adores him thus, he will become the highest, the head

of all beings.1

4 Bālāki said : “The spirit who is in the moon, him I

adore ”

Then spoke Ajātaśatru “In this way, you will not promote

conversation with me, as King Soma, as the Self of food2 or

nutrition I adore him.”

He who adores him thus, becomes the food

5. Bālāki said · “The spirit, who is in the lightning, him I

adore.”

1 The words belong, as the place of itti points out, not to the king, as

Cowell and M. Muller assume or construe, but to the narrator

2 The words “as King Soma” have been taken from Text B, as they

cannot be dispensed with, on account of their recurrence in 19 below, — The

moon is annasya Ātmā, the self of nutrition, so far as he, by virtue of his

waxing through consuming souls and by virtue of his waning through its

being consumed owing to the descent of souls, is the prototype of that what

eats and is eaten.

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Sixty Upanisads

Then spoke Ajāśatru . "In this way you will not promote

conversation with me as the self of truth (which, like lightning

brings light into the darkness of ignorance or nescience) I adore

him "

He, who thus adores him, becomes the self of truth

6

Bālāki said "The spirit who is the thunder — him I

adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way, you will not promote

conversation with me, as the self of sound, I adore him "

He who thus adores him, becomes the self of sound

7

Bālāki said . "The spirit who is in the wind, him I adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru In this way you will not promote

conversation with me; as Indra Vaikuntha, as the invincible

hero of the army, I adore him "

He, who thus adores him, becomes victorious, invincible, and

vanquishes his adversaries

8

Bālāki said "The spirit who is in the ether (space), him I

adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru . "In this way, you will not promote

conversation with me, as plenitude, which is the unmoved

Brahman, I adore him "

He, who thus adores him, is filled with offspring, cattle,

renown, Brāhmanic splendour, and the heavenly world and

attains the full span of life

9

Bālāki said, "The spirit who is in the fire, him I adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way, you will not promote

conversation with me; as the overpowering one I adore him "

He, who adores him thus becomes one, who overpowers

others.

10. Bālāki said . "The spirit who is in the waters, him I

adore."

Then spoke Ajātaśatru : "In this way you will not promote

conversation with me; as the soul of splendour I adore him "

He, who thus adores him, becomes the self of splendour.

So much about the divinities. - Now about the self

11 Bālāki said . "The spirit who is in the mirror him I

adore."

Kausītakī Upaniṣad

55

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way, you will not promote

conversation with me; as the image I adore him."

He who thus adores him — his image arises in his descendants,

not what is dissimilar to him

12 Bālāki said 'The spirit who is in the shadow, him I

adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way you will not promote

conversation with me; as inseparable companion I adore him "

He, who adores him thus, finds companions (read dvitīyān)

who then agree with him

13 Bālāki said "The spirit who is with echo, him I adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way, you will not promote

conversation with me, as life1 (asu) I adore him "

He who adores him thus does not lapse into loss of conscious-

ness before the time.

14 Bālāki said "The spirit, who is in the sound,2 him I

adore"

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way you will not promote

conversation with me, as death I adore him "

He who adores him thus, does not depart from this world

before time

15 Bālāki said : "The spirit who, in sleep, wanders as

dream, him I adore "

Then spoke Ajātaśatru "In this way you will not promote

conversation with me, as King Yama3 I adore him"

He who adores him thus, is fit in this world for all the best

things

16 Bālāki said "The spirit who is in the body, him I

adore "

1 The (conscious) life consists in the fact that the impressions of things

find a response in us, as the sound finds response in the echo

2. The sound Śabda could here be the echo, Yah Śabdah puruṣam

anvett, as it has appeared in Text B in a changed context.

3 Just as deep sleep is understood as staying with (remaining in the

state of) Brahman, so also here dream-sleep appears to have been understood

in the preceding stage of staying with Yama, the god of death In contrast

to deep sleep the phenomena of waking and dream are called the forms of

death, 'mrtyo rūpāṇi' (Br Up 4 3 7)

56

Sixty Upanisads

Then spoke Ajātaśatru : “In this way you will not promote

conversatıon with me, as Prajāpatı1 I adore hım ”

He who adores hım thus, is propagated through off-spring,

cattle, glory, Brāhmaṇıc splendour and the heavenly world and

lıves the full duratıon of lıfe

17. Bālākı saıd . “The spırıt who ıs ın the rıght eye, hım I

adore.”

Then spoke Ajātaśatru In thıs way, you wıll not promote

conversatıon wıth me, as the self of speech, as the self of fıre,

as the self of lıght,2 I adore hım ”

He who adores hım thus, becomes the self of all.

18. Bālākı saıd : “The spırıt who ıs ın the left eye, hım I

adore.”

Then spoke Ajātaśatru “In thıs way, you wıll not promote

conversatıon wıth me, as the self of truth, as the self of lıght-

nıng, as the self of splendour, I adore hım ”

He, who adores hım thus, becomes the self of all

19 Then Bālākı remaıned sıent Ajātaśatru saıd to hım

“Is that all, Bālākı ?” — “That ıs all” replıed Bālākı. Now

then Ajātaśatru saıd to hım “You have allowed yourself to

contınue the conversatıon wıth me ın vaın, wıthout any founda-

tıon or reason, when you offered to elucidate Brahman to me !

Because, O Bālākı, thıs world ıs the work of Hım who ıs the

creator of all spırıts of souls, ıt ıs, ındeed, hım whom one must

know !

Then Bālākı took the fuel-stıck (the sıgn of pupılshıp) ın hıs

hand, stepped towards the kıng and saıd “Take me as your

pupıl !”

And Ajātaśatru spoke to hım “Thıs happens, I thınk,

agaınst the graın (contrary to usual practıce), that a Ksatrya

takes a Brāhmaṇa as pupıl ! — But come ! I wıll teach you

about ıt (the Brahman).”

1. Prajāpatı, as the prıncıple of corporealıty cf. Vāj Samh 31 19

(cf Atharvā v 10.8 13) “Prajāpatı operates ın the mother's body The

unborn ıs repeatedly reborn ”

2. The eye as the symbol of physıcal as well as spırıtual lıght ıs under-

standable ; so also the orıgınal (speech, fıre and lıght) are allotted to the rıght

eye, and truth, lıghtnıng and splendour derıved therefrom are allotted to the

left eye.

Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad

With these words, he seized his hand and went out with him

There, they come to a man who was asleep And Ajātaśatru

addressed him saying 'O great one ! O bright-robed one !

O King Soma !' But the man still remained lying Then he

pricked him with his stick and then only he stood up 1

Then spoke Ajātaśatru to him (Bālāki) : 'O Bālāki, where

was this man before ? What has now happened to him ? whence has he come ?'

But Bālāki did not know it

And Ajātaśatru said to him : 'Where this man was just

before, what has happened to him, whence he has come - do

you desire to know it (iti)'

'In man are arteries which are called Hita (salutarily active,

beneficent) which, arising out of the heart, surround the pouch

of the heart or pericardium These arteries, as fine as a hair

split thousandfold, find themselves filled by the fineness of a

brown, white, dark, yellow and red (sap). In these one stays,

when one is asleep, so that he sees no dreams

20 'Then he becomes one with Prāna, then enters into him

the speech with all names

the eye with all forms

the ear with all sounds

the Manas (mind) with all thoughts.

And when one wakes, then it happens that just as the sparks

fly out of one another from the blazing fire towards all sides,

so also out of the Ātman all life-forces, each according to its

location - come forth, out of the life-forces (speech, eyes, ears,

Manas) come forth the divinities (Agni, Sūrya, Diśah, Candramāḥ)

and out of the divinities the worlds (names, forms, sounds and

thoughts).

'It is the Prāna, Prajñātman, which has entered this body as

self, down to the hair, down to the nails For that reason,

just as a razor is concealed in its sheath, or the fire in its fire-

place (in the wood), so also this Prajñātman has entered into

1 The deep sleep is near to Brahman Now if the Brahman had been

one of the spirits named by Bālāki, the sleeping man would have awakened,

when he was called by these names. But he continued to sleep and awakens

only, after the usual means were employed viz. to prick him with stick.

58

Sixty Upanisads

this body as the self down to or as far as the hair, down to the

nails

"O! this self are dependent those selves (the organs) just as

the servants are dependent on the chief Then, just as the chief

supports himself together with his servants, and just as the servants

support themselves together with their chief, so also this

intelligence-self (prajñātman) supports itself with those other

selves, and those other selves support themselves in this self

"So long as Indra had not known this Ātman (Self), Asuras

(demons) were superior to him, but after he had known him,

he defeated the Asuras and attained, thereby, a state in which

he gained victory, supremacy, independence, sovereignty over all

gods and all creatures

And so also, the man having such knowledge repels all evil

and attains, over all beings, supremacy, independence, sover-

eignty, when he has such knowledge, when he has such

knowledge"

B

THE UPANISADS OF THE SĀMAVEDA

CHĀNDOGYA UPANIṢAD

KENA UPANISAD

THE CHĀNDOGYOPANISAD OF THE SĀMAVEDA

INTRODUCTION

In a memorial verse by Sāyana (Sāmavidhānam, Müller, Rgveda, 2nd edition, I p XXVII), the following eight works are enumerated as belonging to the Brāhmaṇa-Upanisad-literature of the Sāmaveda

1 Pañcavimśam (Tāṇḍyam, Praudham), 2 Sadvimśam, 3 Sāma-vidhānam, 4 Ārseyam, 5 Devatādhyāya, 6 Upanisad, 7 Samhitopanisad, 8 Vamśa

The greatest part of the Talavakāra-brāhmaṇa is not found in this list, particularly the Kena Upanisad contained in its Upanisad-brāhmaṇa, possibly because the author of the verse had only, before his eyes, that in the Atharvaveda-recension and reckoned it under Atharvan (Weber, Lit 2nd edition, p 82) On the other hand, all the named eight works cannot claim to be real Brāhmaṇas, i e the independent ritual and dogmatic Text-books of the Sākhās (Vedic schools)

One such is firstly, the Pañcavimśam ('the twentyfive-fold)' belonging to the school of the Tāṇḍins, besides its supplement, the Sadvimśam ('the twenty-sixth section) Further, the Chāndogya-brāhmaṇa as also the Chāndo-gyopanisad (forming Adhyāyas 3-10 of the same) have been cited by Śaṅkara as belonging to the school of the Tāṇḍins (Cf my System des Vedānta p 9), while this name signifies it as the Upanisad of the Chāndogyas i e of the Sāmaveda-singers in general Possibly it soon became (for want of other Upanisads of the Sāmaveda, except the small Kena Up.) the general Upanisad of the theologians of the Sāmaveda, as it appears to have been positively indicated as the Upanisad in the enumeration of the above list.

A second, but not well-known, as a completely independent, school of the Sāmaveda is that of the Talavakāras (or Jaiminiyas), whose Brāh-maṇa contains, according to Śaṅkara (in his introduction to the Kena Up ), on the whole apparently, nine, but, in the form described by Burnell (see Muller, Up 1 p xc) five Adhyāyas About the contents of this Brāh-mana, both versions are in essential agreement that it deals with the Agniṣṭoma and other ceremonies in the first books of the Agnihotram and then with the glorification of Prāṇa and of Sāman (of the fivefold and seven-fold Sāman, as the commentator adds while commenting on it). There-after (anantaram) follows the Upanisad-brāhmaṇa,1 Book IV according to Burnell's enumeration which 1 1-4, 17 contains allegories of all kinds, like the Āraṇyaka, besides two 'lists of teachers (3 40-42-4, 16-17), further 4, 18-21 the Kena Upanisad and also 4 22-28 a section on the origin of Prāṇa, its entrance into man, and on the Sāvitrī, As Book V follows in

1 Recently edited by Hans Ortel (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. XVI, 1894).

62

Sixty Upaniṣads

conclusion, the Āṛṡeya-brāhmaṇa containing a short enumeration of the

Rṣis of the Sāma-veda (edited by Burnell, Mangalore, 1878)

The Sāmavidhāna-Brāhmaṇa, is a short treatise concerning 'the

employment of the Sāman to serve the superstitious aims of all kinds' (ed

Burnell 1873)

The Devatādhyāya-brāhmaṇa 'contains only a few statements about

the divinities of different Sāmans, to which other few short portions are

joined' (ed Burnell 1873)

The Samhitopanisad deals about the way in which the Veda is to be

read (Cf Ait Ār 3)

The Vamśa-brāhmaṇa finally contains a genealogy of the teachers of the

Sāmaveda (ed Weber, Ind Stud IV, and Burnell, 1873)

As the above-mentioned works are not the real Brāhmaṇas and can, at

best, hold good as remnants of such as there may be, there remain as in the

case of the Rgveda, so also in the case of the Sāmaveda, only two schools

of the Brāhmaṇa period, which can be testified as such through their present

works, that of the Talavakāras or Jaiminiyas whose Brāhmaṇa, for the

most part, remains unpublished, and that of the Tāṇḍins to which the Pañca-

viṁśam, Ṣaḍviṁśam, Chāndogya-brāhmaṇa and the Chāndogya-Upaniṣad

belong. A short table of contents of these works may pave the way to the

introduction of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad

I Pañcaviṁśa-brāhmaṇa

It is also called the Tāṇḍya-brāhmaṇa or Praudha-brāhmaṇa. As

the name indicates, it consists of twentyfive adhyāyas, the chief contents of

which are as follows

1 A list of the chants (mantras) which are to be muttered, on different

occasions of the Soma-sacrifice, by the Udgātr and his assistants.

2-3. The different ways of reciting (viṣṭuti) the Stomas to be used by

the Udgātr and his assistants.

4-5. The Gavām-ayanam, the name of the 360 days' Soma-festival and

its different days

6 The Agniṣṭoma as the model of the Soma-sacrifice

7-8 The Bahiṣpavamānam and other Sāmans and their way of

recitation

9 The Āturātra

10. The modalities of the Dvādaśāha.

11-13 The Daśarātra

14-15 Chandoma-and Aṣṭacatvāriṁśa-stoma

16. Modifications of the Agniṣṭoma.

17 Vṛātya-yajñāh and Brhaspatisava etc

18 Upahavya, Rtapeya, Ṣuṁāṡirya, Vaiṡyastoma, Tivrasoma, Vājapeya,

Rājasūya

19. Different Kratus, such as Rāṭ, Viṣṭat, Aupaṡada, Punahstoma Catuh-

ṣṭoma, Udbhid, Valabhid, Apaciti, Paksin, Jyotis, Rsabha, Gosava, Marut-

stoma, Indrā-stoma, Indrāgniṣṭoma, Vighana.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

63

20 Aturātra, Dvirātra, Trirātra

21 Trirātra (contd), Catūrātra, Pañcarātra

22. Śadrātra, Saptarātra, Astarātra, Navarātra, Daśarātra, Ekādaśarātra

23 Satras, from 12 days upto 32 days

24 Satras, from 33 days to 360 days

25 Satras, longer upto a thousand-year sacrifice

II. Sadvimśa-Brāhmaṇa

"In this supplement to the Tāndya are treated the works not previously described and the subvarieties of the works already described." (Sāyana, Comm ) These are the rather detailed contents of the 5 Prapāṭhakas =6 Adhyāyas) according to Sāyana and Weber (Ind Stud I 36)

1 Subrahmanyā, the three pressings (of Soma), the prayer, occasional expiations, Saumya-caru

2 Bahispavamānam, Mixtures, hotrādyupavahah, the Rtvik, occasional sacrifice, Adhvaryu, the place of sacrifice

3 (=Adhy III-IV) Purificatory bath, spell oi charm, Dvādaśāha-Śyena, Trivrdagnistoma, Samdamśa, Vajra, Vaiśvadevam

4 Vaiśvadevam, Agnihotram, Audumbarī, Yūpa, Sandhyā, vicissitudes of the moon, Svāhā

5 (=Adhy VI) also named Adbhuta-brāhmaṇam which describes adbhutānām Karmanām Śāntim, what to do when extra-ordinary events take place, in order to ward them off in the case of worry, sickness of human beings and cattle, damage to corn, loss of valuables, etc , earth-quakes, atmospheric phenomena, phenomena in the heavens (falling of meteors, comets), phenomena appearing in the altars and the images of gods (when they laugh, weep, sing, dance, crack, perspire, etc ), miscarriages, tilting of the mountains, rain of hailstones etc

III Chāndogya-Brāhmaṇa

1 This contains six mantras concerning the marriage ceremony and two concerning the birth of a child

2 This has six mantras addressed to gods and divine beings, one against insects etc and one concerning a marriage-ceremony

3-10 These form the eight Prapāṭhakas of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.

IV Chāndogya Upaniṣad

The Chāndogya Upaniṣad is, besides a little more bulky than Brhadāran-yaka Upanisad, the greatest and the most significant one of those collections of theological-philosophical utterances, thoughts and legends which have come down to us under the name of the Upanisads and in the form of the textbook of tenets of individual Vedic schools As the Upanisads of the Ṛgveda are connected with the Uktham, this Upanisad of the Sāmaveda is

64

Sixty Upanisads

connected with the Sāman and leads on, through the allegorical consideration

and interpretation of the Sāman, to the idea of Brahman or Ātman which

forms the common kernel of all the Upanisads But the Upanisads agree

so much not only in these ideas, but also in the form of their final presenta-

tion, that we are obliged to presuppose partly at least, their common, oral

circulating material out of which the collections of individual schools

disengaged themselves slowly and slowly afterwards

Like the Brhadāranyaka, the Chāndogya Upanisad also shows this

secondary character of collection most clearly Firstly, every one of these

eight Prapāthakas, of which this upanisad consists, is an independent

whole, consisting of one or more main fragments, in which again a few

small fragments are many times inserted as supplements, which come at the

conclusion of the Prapāthaka and which often have very little relation with

the chief contents This formal compendium of the Upanisad consisting

of eight Prapāthakas, each Prapāthaka consisting again of small fragments

will appear clear to the reader through the following preliminary and

summary survey of the whole

I Five individual considerations for the glorification of the Udgītha

(1, 2-3, 4, 5, 6-7) to which are annexed three legends of related contents

(8-9, 10-11, 12) and a sporadic fragment of an allegorical kind (13)

II Allegorical considerations about the Sāman, its parts and its varieties

(a) Intıoduction (1)

(b) The fivefold Sāman is glorified through discovering the analogies

with it in the world, in the rain, water, seasons, domestic animals

and life-breaths (2-7)

(c) So also the sevenfold Sāman through its analogy with speech,

sun, and through the consideration of the number of syllables

of its name (8-10).

(d) Ten varieties of Sāman are equated with life-breaths, fire, copu-

lation, sun, rain, seasons, worlds, domestic animals, parts of the

body, gods and finally the Sāman itself is equated with the Universe

(11-21)

(e) Supplement Four separate considerations about the manner

of chanting, the stages of life, the origin of the syllable Om, and

Soma-pressings (22-24)

III A long section solemnises the Brahman as the sun of the Universe

(1-11), then follow seven separate pieces about Gāyatrī (12), the

gates of gods (13), the doctrine of Śāndilya (14), the Universe as Soma-

skid (15), life as Soma-sacrifice (16, 17), the four feet of Brahman (18)

and cosmogony (19)

IV (a) Jānaśruti is instructed by Raikva about the wind and the breath

as gatherers-in-themselves (1-3)

(b) Instruction to Satyakāma through the bull, fire, goose and the

water-bird, about the heavenly regions, parts of the world, light

and life-breath as the four feet of Brahman (4-9)

(c) Upakosala is instructed by the sacrificial fires and by the teacher

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

65

about the spirit in the sun, moon and lightning, and about the

Ātman and its way to Brahman after death (10-15).

(d) Two ritualistic passages (16, 17)

V (a) The precedence of Prāṇa (1), its food and garment (2), and a

stirring drinking ceremony (2 at the end)

(b) Theory of the transmigration of the soul (3-10)

(c) Asvapati instructs Uddālaka and five other Brāhmaṇas about

the Ātman Vaiśvānara, and its glorification in the Agnihotram

(11-24)

VI Uddālaka instructs his son Śvetaketu about the origin of the elements

and of man (1-7), about sleep, hunger and thirst (8) and about the

mysterious principle which emerges forth in death, in the unity

of the sap of blossoms, in the water, in the life-force of the tree, in the

growth of the tree out of its seed, in the lumps of salt dissolved in water,

in the erring or misguided, in the dying and in the ordeal and its

essence or being is realized in the world as in the individual man (8-16)

VII Sanatkumāra instructs Nārada about the series of steps of nāman,

vāc, manas, samkalpa, cittam dhyānam, vijñānam, balam, annam, āpah,

tejas, ākāśa, smara, āśā, and Prāṇa, as well as about the knowledge

of truth by means of penetration through vijñānam, mati, śraddhā,

ṇisthā, ṛtti, sukhām, towards Bhūman which is all in all and is the

Ātman (1-26)

VIII (a) About the Ātman in the lotus-flower of the heart, and in the

Universe and about the way to attain it (1-6)

(b) Step-by-step instruction of Indra by Prajāpati about the nature

of the Ātman (7-12)

(c) At the conclusion, there are the two wishes of benediction one

about the entry into Brahman (13) and the other about the ward-

ing off of rebirth (14), besides, an exhortation to the departing

student (15)

THE CHĀNDOGYA UPANISAD

First Chapter (Prapāthaka)

As the Upanisads of the Rgveda begin with an allegorical consideration of Uktham (Ait Ār 2l-3, Kaus Up 2 6), both the first Prapāthakas of the Chāndogya Upanisad belonging to the Sāmaveda deal with the mystical interpretation of Sāman and its main parts, of Udgītha ('high song')

The Agnıstoma, the Soma-sacrifice in its simplest form, has after a series of preparatory days only one Sutyā-day, in which the Soma is pressed in the Prātah-savana, Mādhyamdina-savana, and Tritya-savana in the morning, at midday and in the evening The chief moments in this celebration of Soma-pressing are (1) Graha the production of pressed out Soma in goblets by the Adhvaryu and his assistants, then (2) the Stotram the song of praise by Udgātr and his assistants, then (3) the Sastram the recitation by the Hotr and his assistants, and finally (4) the āhuti, the libation of Soma in the fire This process of production, singing of praise, recitation, and libation (graha) stotram, Sastram, āhuti, is again repeated (apart from some modalities) in the morning gifts of the Agniṣṭoma five times, in the midday gifts five times and in the evening gifts two times In this process, all the preceding graha, stotra and Sastra have different names and have undergone manifold interpretations.

A stotra, which is to be sung by the Udgātr and his assistants and which is incumbent on the prastotr and the pratihartr, used to consist of some verses, of which each one is divided by the named priests during the recitation in five parts hımkāra, prastāva, udgītha, pratıhāra and nıdhana. Thus, for example, the verses (Rgveda 7 32 22-23 =Sāmaveda I, 3, 5, 1 and II, 1, 1, 11, 1) form the basis of the Sāman Rathantaram, which is employed as the second stotra, of the midday gift.

These shape themselves (according to Haug, Aitareya Brāhmana II. 198, if we unite the pratıhāra and upadrava) into the following stotra.

(a) hımkāra (sung by Udgātr)

(b) prastāva (sung by Prastotr) hum' abhı tvā sūra nonumo

(c) udgītha (by Udgātr) Om' adugdha iva dhenavā ıṣānam asya jagatah suvardrṣam

(d) pratıhāra (by Pratihartr) ā ıṣānam ā Indra susthūṣā ovā hā avā

(e) nıdhanam (all three) as 1

II

(a) hımkāra

(b) prastāva ıśovā

(c) udgītha: om nama Indra susthuso na tvāvān anyo divyo na pārthivah

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Sixty Upanisads

(d) pratihāra na jāto nā jānā-isyāta ovā hā uvā

(e) nidhana as1

III

(a) himkāra

(b) prastāva na jovā

(c) udgītha Oṇ- to na jāisyate aśvāyanto maghavan Indra vājinah

(d) pratihāra gavyantas tvā hā-vāmāhā ovā hā uvā,

(e) nidhana as!

Of other Sāmans besides the Rathantaram, are mentioned (Chānd Up. 2.11-21) Gāyatram, Vāmadevyam, Brhad, Vairūpam, Vairājam, Śākvaram, Ravatam, Yajñāyajñiyam, Rājanam, and Sāman in general and after them are allegorically elaborated five parts himkāra, prastāva, udgītha, prati-hāra, and nidhana

Besides this fivefold Sāman, there is a sevenfold Sāman (Chānd 2 8-10) which thus originates between prastāva and udgītha, the syllable Om is inserted as a new part the Ādih, and further pratihāra is divided into prati-hāra and upadava

So much regarding the introduction in Prapāthaka 1 and 2 in general Though all these details with the allegories presented with them, have no interest for us who are separated from them by a long distance of time, we must assume that had they not been held equal in status to the most precious philosophical thoughts, they would not have been so important and interesting and to the Indian (who, brought up in the atmosphere of these liturgical ideas, knew, through interpretations of this liturgy, how to use it as a transitional stage for the attainment of a higher philosophical view)

But he alone can be called a historian, in the full sense, who knows how to transplant himself entirely in that foreign and distant past, so as to be able to assimilate temporarily then prevailing feeling about the worth and worthlessness of things

The First Part (KhandA)

[The Udgītha, the main business of the Chief Soma-priest is placed as identical with the holy syllable Om (forming the beginning of the Udgītha) As such, it is the essence of all essences, the product of Vāc (appearing as Ṛc) and of Prāṇa (appearing as Sāman) With this syllable is associated the prosperity of the sacrifice, it is the point from which the three Vedas issue forth, and the Udgātr who glorifies this syllable as the Udgītha, makes therethrough his work more effective]

1. Om! One should adore the Udgītha as this syllable Because one sings it beginning with Om.

2. The essence of all these beings is the earth,

the essence of the earth is water,

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

69

the essence of water are the plants,

the essence of plants is man,

the essence of man is speech,

the essence of speech is the Ṛc,

the essence of Ṛc is the Sāman,

the essence of the Sāman is the Udgītha.

3 This is the most essential of all essences,

the highest and the transcendent one, the

eighth which is the Udgītha.

4. Which among all is the Ṛc,

Which among all is the Sāman,

Which among all is the Udgītha?

That is the question for consideration

5 The Ṛc is the speech, the Sāman is the breath

(Prāṇa), the Udgītha is the syllable Om

That is why they form a pair 1 — the speech

and the breath, the Ṛc and the Sāman

6 And this pair is united in the syllable Om

But when these two paired or mated ones

find themselves together, they bring forth

love or desire for each other.

7. Truly, he is the one who fulfills love — he, who

knowing this, adores the Udgītha as this

syllable.

8 It is also the syllable of agreement or concurrence, because

when one agrees to something, he says ‘Om’ (yes’)

But agreement or concurrence further promoter (of prosperity)

— Indeed he who, knowing this adores the Udgītha as

this syllable prospers in (the fulfilment of) his desires

9 The threefold knowledge (of the three Vedas) exists in it,

because the Adhvaryū invokes with Om, the Hotṛ recites

with Om, the Udgātr sings with Om in order to invest this

syllable with awe and reverence, on account of its

sovereign power, on account of its essence (intrinsic

quality).

10 With it both perform the (sacrificial) rite: he who knows

this and he, who does not know it. However, what one

1 cf. Talavakāra-Upaniṣad Brāhmaṇa 3 34.1

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Sixty Upaniṣads

performs with knowledge, with faith, with the Upaniṣad (the knowledge of the secret meaning of Udgītha as Om)

is more powerful in its effect

Thus, therefore, is this elucidation of the syllable

The Second Part (Khaṇḍa)

[The syllable Om appears previously as the symbol of all the Vedas,

it now appears here as the Udgītha, the symbol of Prāṇa (vital breath, the principle of life) in man Its superiority over the other living organs and

its sole right to be adored in the Udgītha, is presented through a legend

which also occurs in the Brh. Up 1.3 But whereas, in the latter, it deals

with the question as to why it alone among all vital organs, is qualified to

sing the Udgītha, our passage here deals with the question as to which

of the vital organs is entitled to be adored in the Udgītha The original

version is undoubtedly the one in the Brh Up which is more remarkable

than the narration here dealing with the Udgītha as it1 appears to have

originated in the circle of the theologians of the Sāmaveda ]

1. Once, while the gods and the demons, both descended

from Prajāpatī, fought with each other, the gods took to

Udgītha because they thought, they would vanquish those

demons with it

2 But then they adored the Udgītha as the breath in the

nose But the demons struck it with evil. That is why one smells

both with it, the sweet-smelling and bad-smelling, because the

breath is struck with evil.

3 Then they adored the Udgītha as the speech, then the

demons struck it with evil. That is why one speaks both, the

truth and the untruth, because it (speech) is struck with evil.

4 Then they adored the Udgītha as the eye, then again the

demons struck it with evil That is why one sees with it both

worth seeing and what is not worth seeing, because the eye is

struck with evil

5 Then they adored Udgītha as the ear, but then the demons

struck it with evil. That is why one hears with his ears both,

what is worth hearing and what is not worth hearing; because

it (the ear) is struck with evil

6 Then they adored the Udgītha as the Manas (mind); but

1 That the version in the Brh. 1.3 is original has now been confirmed

by the Talav. Up Br. 1, 6° 2, 1° 2, 3° 2, 10.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

when the demons struck it with evil. That is why one imagines

with it both — what is worth imagining and what is not worth

imagining, because it (the mind) is struck with evil.

7 Then they adored the Udgītha as that breath (the vital

breath, Prāṇa) in the mouth, the demons hit it, but then they

fell to pieces, like one who falls to pieces when he strikes

against a stone

8 Even so it occurs that, just as he who strikes against a

stone falls to pieces, he also, who wishes evil or persecutes him

who knows this, falls to pieces, because to him he is like a stone

against which one strikes

9 With this (Prāṇa) one neither distinguishes the sweet-

smelling and evil-smelling, because he has expelled the evil

from itself With this one eats and drinks and nourishes there-

through the other vital organs And when the Prāṇa finally

no more finds this nutrition (āhāram, the word which we must

supply here) for himself and others, he goes out (of the mouth).

Therefore one keeps his mouth open in death (when the Prāṇa

still wished nutrition and gasped for it)

10 As Angiras adored the Udgītha, one considers1 it (the

Udgītha itself) as Angiras; that is why he is the vital sap of all

limbs or organs (angānām rasah)

11 As Brhaspati adored the Udgītha, then one considers it

(the Udgītha itself) as Brhaspati, that is why the speech is Brhatī

(the heaving one) and he is her lord (pati).

12 As Ayāsya adored Udgītha, then one considers it (the

Udgītha itself) as Ayāsya, because he goes forth (ayate) out of

the mouth (āsyam)

13 Baka, the descendant of Dalbha knew this; he was the

Udgātr of the people of Naimiṣa and he used to sing to them

what they desired

14 Indeed, he who knows this, and adores the Udgītha as

the syllable2 Om, becomes the singer who sings to the people

their wishes

So much with regard to the self

1 The identity of one who adores with the object of adoration is

familiar to the Indian through the doctrine of the Ātman.

2 One expects here, according to what has been said before, 'as the

Prāṇa'.

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Sixty Upaniṣads

Third Part (Khaṇḍa)

[Continuation Just as the Udgītha is, in the psychical aspect, the symbol

of Prāṇa, it is, in the cosmic aspect, a symbol of the sun (1-2) One should

adore the Udgītha as Vyāna (3-5) — Then according to the scheme

represented in the following table (cf Tālav Up Br I 57-7),

Ud- prāṇa dyauṣ Āditya Sāmaveda

-gī- vāc antarikṣam Vāyu Yajurveda

-tha annam prthivī Agni Rgveda

it will be easily seen that the three syllables of the word Udgītha have been

interpreted as the three chief activities of man (breathing, speaking, eating),

as the three realms of the universe, as then three regents, and as the three

Vedas (6-7)—In conclusion, there follows an Āśīḥ-saṃ̣ddhi (similar to

the Pavamānānām Adhyāyohah which forms the concluding part of the

kindred section of the Brh 13) i e a directive in which one has to con-

template during the singing of the Udgītha, in order to secure complete

success for this ceremony (8-12) ]

1. Now with respect to the divinity There it (the Sun) shines,

one should adore it as the Udgītha Because when it rises (ud-

yan), it sings the praise (udgāyati) for the sake of the creatures.

And when it rises, it scares away darkness and fright. Indeed,

he who knows this, becomes the scarer of darkness and fright

2 This (Prāna) and that (Sun) are alike This is named as

(Prāna), that is named as that (Sun) One signifies this

(Prāna) as sound, and that (sun) also as sound (svara, which is

reminiscent of svar, light), as the daily recurring new sound

That is why one should, revere the Udgītha, as this (Prāna)

here and as that (sun) there

3 But one should also adore the Udgītha as the Vyāna

(the breath between the out-breathing and the in-breathing);

because when one breathes out, it is the Prāna (out-breathing),

and when one breathes in,1 it is the Apāna (breathing in) and

the binding factor between Prāna and Apāna,is the Vyāna.

The Vyāna, however, is the same as the speech, as it comes

about that one utters speech without breathing out and without

breathing in

4. The speech, again, is the same as the Ṛc, thus, it comes

about that 'one utters the Ṛc without breathing out and without

breathing in. The Ṛc again is the same as the Sāman, thus it

1. Apāna is here 'breathing-in', just as in Talav Up. Br. 4.22. 2-3

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

73

comes about that one sings the Sāman without breathing out

and without breathing in. Finally, the Sāman is the same as the

Udgītha, thus it comes about that one sings the Udgītha without

breathing out and without breathing in

5 Also the activities which put a strain on the strength

(of man) such as the rubbing of fire-sticks (into fire), the run-

ning for a race (with another), the stretching of a strong bow—all

these activities one performs without breathing out and without

breathing in — On account of this reason, one should adore

the Udgītha as the Vyāna

6 Further, one should also adore the syllables of the word

Udgītha (cf Talav Up Br 1. 57. 7-8).

Ud is the Prāna, because through the Prāna, one stands erect

(uttisthati Cf Kaus 3 3 ); gī is the speech because invocations

(girah) are utterances or speeches; tha is the food or nutrition

because the whole world is dependent (sthita) on food.

7 Ud is the heaven, gī is the aerial space, tha is the earth:

Ud is Āditya, gī is Vāyu, tha Agni

Ud is the Sāmaveda, gī the Yajurveda, tha the Rgveda The

speech allows the milk-potion to flow for him, the milk-potion

is the milk-potion for him — he, who knowing this, adores the

syllables of the word Udgītha, becomes rich with nutrition,

consuming food

8 Now for the success of the kind wishes As places of refuge,

one should adore the following.

One should take recourse to Sāman, with which one wishes to

sing the stotra (panegyric).

9 One should take refuge in the Rc on which it (Sāman)

depends, in the Rṣi whom it has as its composer (poet), in the

divinity which he wishes to praise in the Stotra.

10. One should take refuge in the metre, in which one

wishes to sing the stotra; one should take refuge in the form

of the stotra in which one wishes to sing the stotra

11 One should take refuge in the regions of the heavens to

which he wishes to sing the stotra.

12. Finally, one should turn back to one's own self and sing

the stotra, when he unswervingly reflects upon his wish.

Then there is the hope that the wish of him who cherishes a

desire and sings the stotra is fulfilled — of him who cherishes

— a desire and sings the stotra.

Fourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[Superiority of the syllable Om over the three Vedas (i e over the con-

templation of the sacrificial cult) According to Paiṅc Br 22 12 1, the gods

were afraid of death and Prajāpati gives them immortality, when he com-

municates to them the Navarātra (a Soma-sacrifice with the nine days of

pressing Soma) According to our passage (here in Chān) on the other

hand, the gods seek in vain protection from death in the threefold lore

of the Vedas and they become immortal only when they enter into the

syllable Om (cf Talav Up 1 18)]

1 Om 1 One should adore this syllable Beginning with Om

one certainly sings the Udgītha The elucidation about that is as

follows

2 The gods, when they were afraid of death, fled away for

refuge in the threefold lore (of the) Vedas They covered1

selves in the metre Because they covered themselves (ācchādayan),

that is why the metre is called chandas.

3 But death espied them in the same place, in the Rc, in the

Sāman, in the Yajus, as one espies fish in water The gods

observed it, they rose above the Rc, the Sāman and the Yajus-

and fled for refuge in the sound

4 When one employs a Rc, he sounds out in the sound Om, so

also in the case of Sāman and Yajus Therefore, the sound,

it is that syllable; it is the immortal, fearless one Because the

gods fled for refuge in it, they became immortal and fearless

5 He who, having this knowledge, makes this syllable re-

sound as Pranava, flies for safety to this syllable which sound is

the immortal and the fearless one And he, who flies for refuge

in it, becomes also immortal, just as the gods are immortal

1. Böhtlingk tam acchadayan But has the trayī Vidyā ever been

in existence without being covered in the metre?

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Fifth Part (Khanda)

[As (according to 1-2-3), the Udgītha is the symbol of the Sun and Prāna,

so also, the same holds good in the case of the syllable Om which is identical

with the Udgītha Kausītaki who had sung the unity of the enlivening force

in nature (as the Sun) and the unity of vitalizing force in man (as Prāna),

had also, therefore, only one son But as that unity of the sun, and of the

vital breath is not without multiplicity but is such as includes the multiplicity

of the rays, and of the vital forces, Kausītaki had also compensated the

singleness of his only son through the multiplicity of grandsons — This

too short and, therefore on that account, obscure passage appears as a warn-

ing or caution to monism which lay in the tendency of the thoughts of anti-

quity, not to allow itself to be a rigid one, excluding the multiplicity of

things On the identity of Udgītha with the Om alloted to the Hotr depends

the interference of the Hotr on the Udgātr committing errors ]

1. Now the Udgītha is the Pranava (the holy sound Om) and

the Pranava is the Udgītha. Therefore the Udgītha is the yon-

der sun and it is the Pranava, because as the resounding Om it

changes or moves forth.

2 “Because I have sung praise to it alone, you are my only

one ” Thus once Kausītaki spoke to his son, “it travels and

changes itself in its rays and many sons will be born to you!”—

So much with regard to the divinity.

3. Now with regard to the Self — One should adore the

Udgītha as that vital breath in the mouth, because as the

resounding Om, it spreads or moves forth.

4 “Because I have sung praises to him only, therefore you

are my only one (son)”, thus spake Kausītaki to his son;

“Sing praises to the vital breath (prānān as Śankara also appears

to read) as their being (in multiplicity) manifold and know that

many (sons) will be born to you! ” (cf Talav. Up Br 2 6 10)

5 Thus, therefore, the Udgītha is the Pranava and the

Pranava the Udgītha. Therefore, one can from the seat of the

Hotr rectify the Udgītha wrongly sung by the Udgātr — he can

again rectify

Sixth Part (Khanda)

[6-7 Khandas the adoration of the Udgītha as that of the cosmic and

psychic principle (as man in the sun and as man appearing in the eye — On the

Rc depends the Sāman, but the overpowering power of Sāman is the Udgītha

76

Sixty Upanisads

Just in the same way, in the cosmic aspect, Agni depends on earth, Vāyu

on aerial space, Āditya on the heavens (as chief gods of the three spheres),

the moon on the positions of the moon (they occur in the moon one after

another), the obscure, complete darkness depends on the bright light of the

sun ("because this appears to the steadfast glance1 directed on it" —

Śankara) — Correspondingly, in the psychical aspects, the outbreath depends

on the speech (because during speech, it streams out), the physical form

(ātman, according to Śankara, Chāyātman the reflected image) on the eye,

the manas on the ear (because the word awakens the idea or thought), the

obscure, complete darkness on the white or wise one in the eye — But

just as the Udgītha governs or rules over Rc and Sāman, so also, the moon

in the sun and the man in the eye rule over the mentioned cosmic and psychi-

cal phenomena, one governs the boundless external world beyond the

sun (ye amusmāt parānco lokāḥ), the other governs the equally boundless

inner world on this side of the eye (ye etasmāt arvāñco lokāḥ) i e the world

in the innmost being of man, for the rest, both, according to form and name

(Ud, symbolized through the Udgītha) and the way of adoration (through

the singing of the Rg — and Sāmaveda) are identical (Identity of the cosmic

and psychical principles) cf Talav Up Br 1 25–27 ]

1. The Rc is the earth, the Sāman is Agni, the mentioned

Sāman is based on the mentioned Rc. That is why the Sāman

is sung as based on the Rc The same Sā is the earth, ama is

Agni; it makes the Sāma

2 The Rc is the aerial space, the Sāman is Vāyu and the

mentioned Sāman is based on the mentioned Rc. That is why

the Sāman is sung as based on the Rc. The same Sā is the aerial

space, ama is Vāyu, that makes Sāma

3. The Rc is the heavens, the Sāman is the Āditya and the

mentioned Sāman is based on the mentioned Rc That is why

the Sāman is sung as based on the Rc The same Sā is the

heavens, ama is Āditya, that makes Sāma

4 The Rc is the constellation (nakṣatra-lunar mansion or

constellation), the Sāman is the moon and the mentioned

Sāman is based on the mentioned Rc That is why the Sāman is

1. At Vālakeśvara in Bombay, I saw (November 1892) an old woman who

worshipped the morning sun, when she, sprinkling water, stared at it She

was supposed to have pursued this since twenty years, without her eyes

being hurt, as my Hindū friend assured me Credas Judaeus Apella !

(This is the quotation from the Roman Poet Horace (Sat 1 5 100 ) It lite-

rally means . ‘Let the Jew Apella believe !’ By implication it here means,

"I certainly am not going to believe "—Translator)

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

77

sung as based on the Rc. The same Sā is the constellation, ama

is the moon, that makes Sāma.

5. But further the Rc is also that white light of the sun, and

the Sāman is the obscure, complete darkness, the mentioned

Sāman is based on the mentioned Rc That is why the Sāman is

sung as based on the Rc.

6 The same Sā is also the white light of the sun and ama is

the obscure, complete darkness, that makes the sāma

But now the golden man (purusaḥ) who is seen in the sun with

golden beard and golden hair, entirely of gold up to even in the

tips of the nails

7 His eyes are like the bloom of the Kapyāsa-lotus his

name is ‘high’ (ud) because he is ‘high’ over all evil. He who

has such knowledge raises himself over all evil, -

8. His songs (geṣnau) are Rc and Sāman; that is why they

are said the highly-sung (udgītha), therefore also he who is its

singer is called the singer of the high (udgātr,) also the worlds

which lie beyond the sun - over them he rules and over the

wishes of the gods.

So much with regard to the divinity.

Seventh Part (Khanda)

1 Now with respect to the self. The Ṛc is the speech, the

Sāman is the breath and the mentioned Sāman is based on the

mentioned Ṛc That is why the Sāman is sung as based on the

Ṛc The Sā is the speech, ama is the breath, that makes Sāma

2 The Ṛc is the eye, the Sāman is the proper person (ātman)

and the mentioned Sāman is based on the mentioned Ṛc. That

is why the Sāman is sung as based on the Ṛc. The same Sā is the

eye, ama is the proper Person; that makes Sāma

3. The Ṛc is the ear, the Sāman the Manas (Mind) and the

mentioned Sāman is based on the Ṛc. That is why the Sāman

is sung as based on the Ṛc. The same Sā is the ear, ama is the

Manas; that makes Sāman

4. But further, the Ṛc is also that white light of the eye and

the Sāman is the obscure, complete black in it; and the mentioned

78

Sixty Upaniṣads

Sāman is based on the mentioned Ṛc. That is why the Sāman is sung as based on the Ṛc. The same Sā is also that white light of the eye and the ama is the obscure, completely black; that makes Sāma.

5. But now the man who is seen in the innermost part of the eye, he is this Ṛc, this Sāman, this speech of praise (uktham) this sacrificial speech (yajus) this prayer (brahman). The form which that has, is also possessed by this, those songs are also its songs, that name its name.

6. Also the worlds which lie on this side of it (on this side of the eye, i.e. in the innermost being of man), over these worlds he rules and he rules over the wishes of men. That is why those, who sing here the sounds, sing it; on that account good things become their share.

7. He, who has such knowledge, sings this Sāman — he sings in it both; he will also attain from this the worlds lying on the other side and the desires of the gods;

8. and further, he will also attain from this the worlds lying on this side of him and the desires of men. Therefore, and Udgātṛ who knows such knowledge — he is able to say:

9. "Which wish shall I sing thee?" Then he is the master of the singing of the wish — he, who knowing this, sings the Sāman — sings the Sāman

Eighth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[8-9 Khaṇdas : Conversation among three men about the Udgītha in which king Pravāhaṇa (well known in Br̥h. 6.2 and Chānd. 5-3) appears wiser than the two Brāhmaṇas Śilaka and Caikitāyana. Caikitāyana explains that the heavenly world is the ultimate basis of Sāman and therewith, of that which one has to adore as representing the symbol of the Udgītha. Śilaka, on the other hand, holds it valid to consider that the heavenly world (so far as the gods of the sacrifice need it) is dependent on the earthly world, so that the earthly world must be the ultimate basis of the Udgītha. Finally, Pravāhaṇa proves that it is the Ākāśa (space, ether ) on which the heavenly world and as well as the earthly world are dependent — the Ākāśa i.e. the boundless one out of which all creatures (heavenly as well as earthly) issue forth and into which again they return back. The Ākāśa (which itself again is a symbolic idea of Brahman) is to be adored as the highest among the symbols of the Udgītha (as parovariyān udgīthah). In the dependence of

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

79

life on food, of food on rain, of this rain on the heaven, of heaven again on

earth, there dimly peeps in the doctrine, according to which 'to speak of

the water with human voice after the fifth offering' i.e. the theory of the

transmigration of the soul which is presented by this same king Pravāhaṇa

in this form in the Brh. 6.2 and Chānd. 5.3-10.]

1. Formerly, three were experts in the Udgītha. Śilaka

Śālāvātya, Caikitāyana, Dālbhya and Pravāhaṇa Jaivalī. They

said: “We are, indeed, expert in the Udgītha; well, let us hold

a consultation about the Udgītha.”

2. “So be it” said they and sat down together. Then Pravā-

haṇa Jaivalī said; “You two venerable ones speak first. While

you speak, I shall hear your speech.”

3. Then Śilaka Śālāvātya spoke to Caikitāyana Dālbhya:

“Well! let me question you!” “Question then” replied he.

4. “To what does the Sāman go back?” he asked. “To

the sound” was the reply. — “To what does the sound go back?”

“To the vital breath.” — “To what does the vital breath go

back?” “To the food.” — “To what does the food go back?”

“To water.”

5. “To what does the water go back?” “To the yonder

world.” — “To what does the yonder world go back?” “As to

beyond the heavenly. world, one cannot assert anything” he re-

plied, “I establish the Sāman as the heavenly world, because what

is praised in the (symbol of) Sāman is the heaven”. —

6. Then Śilaka Śālāvātya said to Caikitāyana Dālbhya:

“Your Sāman is, indeed, without support, O Dālbhya and if one

would say “Your head will burst or crack”, your head would

burst.”

7. “Well, let me question you, O venerable one!” “Ques-

tion” he replied.

“To what does that yonder world go back ?” The other one

asked. “To this world” was the reply. — “And to what does

this world go back?” “One cannot assert anything beyond this

fundamental world”, he replied, “I establish the Sāman as the

fundamental or the supporting world”, because that which is

praised in the (symbol of) Sāman, is the support.

8. Then Pravāhaṇa Jaivalī spoke : “Your Sāman, indeed,

has an end; O Śālāvātya and if one would say 'Your head shall

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Sixty Upaniṣads

split', your head would then split". — "Well, let me question

you, O venerable one !" "Question me" he replied.

Ninth Part (Khanda)

1. "To what does this world go back?" questioned the other

one. — "To the Ākāśa". — he replied, "because it is the Ākāśa

(space) out of which all these beings arise and in which they

again disappear; The ākāśa is older than all of them, the ākāśa

is the final starting point.

2. "This is the most excellent Udgītha, it is the endless one.

He, who knowing this adores the most excellent Udgītha will

share the most excellent things and will gain the most excellent

worlds."

3. "Formerly Atidhanvan Śaunaka taught this to Udaraśā-

ndilya and said: "So long as those among your descendants will

know the Udgītha as such a one, they will share that long the

most excellent life in this world,

4. "and also they will share in that world a homely place —

in that world a homely place."

Tenth Part (Khanda)

[10-11 It begins with the story of an extremely impoverished Cākrāyaṇa,

still proud in his poverty. Uṣasta Cākrāyaṇa — one Uṣasta Cākrāyaṇa

in Brh. 3.4 plays only a subordinate role — throws into dismay the priests

assembled for singing the stotra, through his questions and immediately

gains advantage over the heads of all. This story owes its inclusion in the

Upaniṣad more on account of its graphicness than on account of the signi-

ficance of its contents. Because when Uṣasti devolops, as his own contri-

bution, the highly valuable knowledge which is nothing more than the postu-

lation that in the three parts of the Stotra - Prastāva, Udgītha, Pratihāra

• the three divinities Prāṇa, Āditya, Anna, (Breath, the sun and food) have

their share, the basis of this unusual combination and parallelization is

scarcely to be sought in anything else than in the reception or assimilation

of Prastāva in Prāṇa, of Udgītha in Ud (high) and Pratihāra in pratihṛ

(to receive into oneself). If, according to the opinion of Śaṅkara (Brahma-

sūtrāṇi 1.1.23, see also my System des Vedānta p. 158 ff), the Prāṇa here,

as very often, is supposed to be the symbol of Brahman, this prohibits not

only the combination with the sun and food, which Śaṅkara too lightly

dismisses with a statement samnidānāsya akimcitkaratvāt (this combination

being in no way significant), but also goes against the wording in the text

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

itself; because the words sarvāṇi ha vā imāni bhūtāni prāṇam eva abhiśam-viśanti, prāṇam abhyujjihate, do not signify (as we have, following Śaṅkara, necessarily translated it — Sūtras des Vedānta p. 66) that 'all these beings enter into the Prāṇa and arise out of the Prāṇa' but (as the accusative prāṇam signifies in the second passage) that 'all these living beings (souls) enter into the body behind or after the Breath' or after the Breath". Thus the Prāṇa is only the Breath with whose staying in the body is connected the staying of the creatures in it (the body), as in another respect it is connected with the existence of the sun and food which are here placed in line or equal in rank with the Prāṇa.— We would like to surmise that the whole passage is transmitted out of an older tradition, when one could make an impression with such fleeting fugitive, analogies, i.e. out of the tradition current during the period of the consolidation of the doctrines in the Brāhmaṇas; because when once this had been done, everything was referred to Brahman directly or indirectly (through the symbols of Om, Udgītha, Prāṇa, Ākāśa etc.). This origin out of the ancient period is confirmed through the fact that the Soma-sacrifice described here appears to have a different and more simple form than that which is known to us from the Brāhmaṇas and the Sūtras, because, according to the latter, the introduction of a foreign strange element in the Sutyā-days and the choice thereafter, of the 16 priests already previously made five days before, in order to be entrusted with all the official functions of the priests, would be quite unthinkable.]

1. In the land of the Kurus which was hit by hailstorm there lived Uṣasti Cākrāyaṇa with his wife Āṭikī. He roamed about in poverty in the village of a rich man.

2. There he saw the rich man while the latter was eating a dish of beans. He begged of him. The latter replied to him : “There is nothing else here, than what has been placed before me.”

3. “Then give me (some) from them” he (Uṣasti) begged. The latter (the rich man) gave him some of them, “Here is also a drink (water) along with them”, added the rich man. But the other (Uṣasti) said: “Then (by drinking this water) I would drink that (tasted and) left by you (which is, therefore, polluted.”)

4. “But these here (the beans taken by you) are also the residues or leavings (from what I have eaten).” “If I had not eaten them, I could not live” rejoined he (Uṣasti). “But to drink water — it depends on my pleasure.”

5. After he had eaten, he brought beans that remained to his

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wife. But she had already previously found sufficient enough to

eat. She took them (the beans) and kept them.

6. On the next morning, he got up and called out: “If I

would only know how to get food now for eating (in order to

strengthen me and keep me fit for wandering), I would also

know how to get some money. The king over there is about to

get a sacrifice performed for himself; he would choose me for all

the priestly offices.”1

7. His wife said: “Now, Sire, there are still the beans.” —

Then he ate them2 and went to the sacrifice which had already

begun.

8. Then he came to the Udgātr̥s who were about to sing seated

on their specific seats in connection with the sacrifice and

stood in front of them. And he said to the prastotṛ:

9. “Prastotar ! If you will sing the Prastāva without know-

ing the divinity which is concerned with the Prastāva, your

head would break to pieces!”

10 So also he said to the Udgātr̥ : “Udgātar! If you will sing

the Udgītha without knowing the divinity which- is concerned

with the Udgītha, your head would break to pieces!”

11. So also he said to the Pratihartr̥ : “Pratihartar! If you

will sing the Pratihāra without knowing the divinity which is

concerned with the Pratihāra, your head would break to pieces!”

Then they ceased and sat there silent.

Eleventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Then the organizer of the sacrifice said to him: “Sir,

I wish to know who you are.” He replied: “ I am Uṣasti

Cākrāyaṇa.”

2. And the other said: “Sir, I searched for you all around in

order to entrust you with all these priestly functions; and because

I could not find you, I have chosen others.

3. “Now, Sir, you share, for my sake, in all the priestly

functions.”— “So be it” he replied, “Still, let these be permitted

1. Sarvair ārtvijyaiḥ here, in 1.11.2 and 1.11.3, it is dependent on

“Kartum” which is to be supplemented.

2. Though they were doubly impure, being the leavings (Ucchiṣṭa)

and stale being of the previous day (paryuṣitam).

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

to sing the Stotra. Now, (though I may not take part with

them), you must give me as much reward or fee as you would

give them (all together)" ('So be it' said the organizer of the

sacrifice).

4. Then the Prastotr̥ approached him and said “Sir, you said

to me: 'Prastotr̥, if you will sing the Prastāva without knowing

the divinity which is concerned in it, your head will break to

pieces.' Therefore, tell me which divinity it is.”

5. “The Breath” he replied, “because all these beings enter

into the body with the breath and again go out of the body with

the breath. That is the divinity which is concerned in the

Prastāva. Had you, after you had been warned by me, sung the

Prastāva without knowing this, your head would have broken

to pieces.”

6. Then the Udgātṛ approached him and said: “Sir, you had

said to me: 'Udgātar, if you will sing the Udgītha without know-

ing the divinity which is concerned with the Udgītha, your head

will break into pieces.' Now tell me which this divinity is.”

7. “The sun” he replied, “Because all these beings sing to the

sun high up (in the sky). It is the divinity which is concerned

in the Udgītha. Had you, after you had been warned by me,

sung the Udgītha without knowing this, your head would have

broken into pieces.”

8. Then the Pratihartṛ approached him and said: “Sir, you

had said to me: 'O Pratihartar, if you will sing the Pratihāra

without knowing the divinity which is concerned in the Pratihāra,

your head will break into pieces.' Now tell me, which that

divinity is.”

9. “The food” he replied, “Because all these beings live, if

they take food (pratiharamānāni). That is the divinity which is

concerned in the Pratihāra. Your head would have broken into

pieces, if you had sung the Pratihāra without knowing this, even

after you had been warned by me - even after you had been

warned by me.”

Twelfth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[In the following dog-udgītha (the Udgītha of the dogs), there is found

hardly any other sense than that it was (as already explicitly stated in the

System des Vedānta (p. 13 note 11) originally, similar to the song on the

frogs in the Ṛgveda 7.103, a satire on the activities of the priests and their

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egotistic final aim which, later any how interpreted allegorically, found

acceptance in the canon. These allegorical interpretations (— the gods,

rejoicing at the studies of Baka appear before him in the form of dogs in order

to impart to him the instruction that the aim of study is the earning of

bread — or in this form had made him understand, allegorically that the

vital breath becomes nourished with food through the mukhya prāṇa)

are too senseless for wasting any words on them. But this passage, through

the dogs and through what they do and say, ridicules exceedingly well the

behaviour of the priests and their hungry beggarliness.]

1. Now hence, the Udgītha of the dogs. Once Baka Dālbhya

— who was also called Glāva Maitreya, went on a travel in

order to study.

2. There appeared before him a white dog; towards that dog,

other dogs came running and said: “Sir, sing to us for (—so that

we may get — ) food, because we are hungry.”

3. And he said to them: “Meet me all of you here together

early in the morning”. Baka Dālbhya, who was also called

Glāva Maitreya, resolved to wait for them.

4. Then they came pulling together, like the priests, when

the latter, about to sing the Bahiṣpavamāna-stotram, seizing one

another, come pulling together, (in their dresses — Ind. Stud.

IX. 224). And they sat down and sang the Him.

5. And they sang: “Om! I wish to eat; Om! I wish to drink.

Om! May the god Varuṇa, Prajāpati, and Savitṛ procure food;

O lord of food, procure food — procure food! Om!”

Thirteenth Part (KhaṇDA)

[This is about the mystic meaning (Upaniṣad ) of certain sounds occurring

during the singing of the Sāman. Thirteen such sounds in the Chant

(Stobha) are interpreted, without any further proof, as thirteen world

phenomena which appear pellmell without any arrangement. We, in the

following, have mainly adduced the elucidations of Śaṅkara, because they

show how little sense there lies behind these allegorical childish plays of

the imagination.]

1. Hā-u is this world (it occurs in Rathantaram which is the

earth);

hā-i is the wind (it occurs in the Vāmadevyam, which springs

forth out of wind and water);

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85

atha is the moon (because a reminds of annam (food) and tha

of sthitam (lasting) but the moon according to its nature is

food);

iha is the body (ātman, because it is present ‘here’);

i is Agni (because all Sāmans addressed to Agni end in

sound i).

2. ū is Āditya (because he is Ūrdhva ‘high above all’);

e is calling hither (on account of ehi which means come hither);

au-ho-i are the Viśve devāḥ (because this invocation occurs in

Vaiśvadevyam);

him is Prajāpati (because Prajāpati is anirukta undefined, and

him is avyakta, indistinct;

Svara (the sound) is Prāṇa (the breath) (because it depends on

it).

yā is food (because everything goes into movement (yāti)

through food.

vāc is Virāj (because it occurs in the vairājam).

3. huṁ is the undefinable thirteenth singing sound, the

unsteady variable one.

4. The speech lets itself stream forth the drink of milk, the

speech is itself the drink of milk. He therefore who knows this

mystic meaning (Upaniṣad) of the Sāma-chant, becomes rich in

food, and the eater of food - he who knows this mystic

meaning (cf. 1.3.7).

Second Chapter (Prapāṭhaka)

First Part (Khaṇḍa)

[In the first Prapāṭhaka (chapter) several parts of Sāman (Udgītha) Om

etc.) have been recommended for adoration; in the second also, there are

the total Sāman and (1) the fivefold Sāman 2-7, (2) the sevenfold Sāman

8-10, (3) the ten main varieties of Sāman and as the eleventh this itself

11-21, to which are annexed (22-24) a few supplements. - For the whole

of the first Khaṇda, the contemplation over the total Sāman (samastam

Sāma) as the good (sādhu) is laid down. In this are inserted pellmell the

three independent interpretations of the word Sāman. The Sāman signifies

(a) (from sā to bind) binding together, connection - the Sāman (b)

(from sā to bind) the obligingness, friendliness (c) (from san to acquire)

the riches.]

1. The adoration of the total Sāman is that of everything

that is the good; because that which is good, one says, is Sāman

and that which is not good is not Sāman (aśāman).

2. That is why one, indeed, says: “He approached with

Sāman (friendliness)” and thereby means : “he approached him

with what is good” ; or “He approached him with asāman

(‘unfriendliness’)” and means thereby: “He approached with

what is not good.”

3. Further one also says: “Ah ! we have, indeed, Sāman

(riches)”, when one has what is good and means thereby:

“Yes we have what is good”; or “Ah! we have no sāman, if one

has nothing that is good” and means thereby: “We have, indeed,

nothing that is good.”

4. He who knows this, adores the Sāman as good; there is

the prospect before him that good manners or morals enlist

themselves on his side and the good manners or morals of others

feel drawn towards him.

Second Part (Khanda)

[2–7 Khandas : Six states of the world on which man’s good journey

of life depends are namely, the world-space, the rain, the water, the seasons,

the domestic animals and the vital breath. These — every one of them —

as far as it is quite in order — are placed in their relation to the Sāmàn in

its five parts, himkāra, prastāva, udgītha, pratihāra, nidhanam separated

according to five parts or joined to them, so that the fivefold Sāman — this

chief instrument of the Sāmaveda-priest becomes a symbol under which the

mentioned states of the world are adored, for making the man who knows

it a sharer in the abundance of its parts.]

1. In the space (i.e. when one sees in it the space symboli-

cally) one shall adore the fivefold Sāman:

himkāra is the earth

prastāva the fire

udgītha the aerial space

pratihāra the sun

nidhanam the heavens

Thus it is in the ascending order.

2. Now in the reverse order:

himkāra is the heavens.

prastāva the sun

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87

udgītha the aerial space

pratihāra the fire

nidhanam the earth.

3. The parts of the world in the ascending and reverse order

are beneficial to him who, knowing this, adores the fivefold

Sāman in the (mentioned) parts of the world.

Third Part (Khanda)

1. In the rain, one should adore the fivefold Sāman. (cf.

Talav. Up. Br. 1.12.9 ff, 1.36:1).

hiṅkāra is the preceding wind.

prastāva when the cloud is formed.

Udgītha, when it rains.

pratihāra, when it is lightning and thunder.

nidhanam when it ceases to rain.

2. It rains for him, indeed he causes to rain, he who, knowing

this, adores the fivefold Sāman in the rain.

Fourth Part (Khanda)

1. In all waters, one should adore the fivefold Sāman.

hiṅkāra is when the clouds gather.

prastāva when it rains.

udgītha when the waters are flowing to the east.

pratihāra when the waters are flowing to the west.

nidhanam is the ocean.

2. He does not perish in water, he has abundance of water—

he who knowing this, adores the fivefold Sāman.

Fifth Part (Khanda)

1. In the seasons, one should adore the fivefold Sāman.

(Cf. Talav. Up. Br. 1.12.7 and 1.35):

hiṅkāra is the spring.

prastāva the summer.

udgītha the rainy season.

pratihāra the autumn.

nidhanam the winter.

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2. To him seasons are beneficial, he becomes rich (commanding the plenty) in seasons, he who knowing this, adores the fivefold Sāman in the seasons.

Sixth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. In the domestic animals, one should adore the fivefold Sāman:

hiṅkāra are the goats

prastāva the sheep

udgītha the cows

pratihāra the horses

nidhanam the man

2 He who knows this and adores the fivefold Sāman in the domestic animals, he becomes rich in the domestic animals.

Seventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

1 In the vital breaths, one should adore the fivefold all-excelling Sāman. (cf. Talav. Up. Br. 1.13.5).

hiṅkāra is the breath

prastāva the speech

udgītha the eyes

pratihāra the ears

nidhanam the manas (mind)

these, indeed, are the all-excelling (world-phenomena).

2. He who, knowing this, adores in the vital breaths the fivefold all-excelling Sāman, gains the all-excelling worlds and will share in the all-excelling.

So much regarding. the fivefold.

Eighth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[8-10 As previously the fivefold Sāman, now the sevenfold Sāman is adored in speech, as the sun and that which is itself formally adored i.e. which becomes symbols (1) of certain, oft-occurring particles of speech, (2) of the sun in its different positions and (3) of the number of syllables of the name with its parts which as 3 × 7 + 1 = 22 forms a mystic number and leads beyond the sun to the realm of immortality, sorrowlessness. — The sevenfold Sāman is formed out of the parts of the fivefold one —

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89

hiṁkāra, prastāva, udgītha, pratihāra, nidhānam, when one interpolates before udgītha the Om, as a separate part named ādi and divides the pratihāra into pratihāra and upādrava.

1. Now regarding the sevenfold.

In the speech, one should adore the sevenfold Sāman:

Whatever that sounds as huṁ in speech is hiṁkāra, whatever sounds as pra is prastāva, whatever sounds as ā is ādi,

2. Whatever sounds as Ud is ud, whatever sounds as prati is pratihāra, whatever sounds as upa is upādrava, whatever as ni is nidhānam.

3. For him the speech streams forth milk-drink, the speech is itself the milk-drink; he who, knowing this, adores the seven-fold Sāman in speech becomes rich in food and consumer of food, (cf. 1.3.7; 1.13.4).

Ninth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Further, one should also adore the yonder sun as the sevenfold Sāman. All the time, it remains alike (Sama), there-fore it is Sāman; one says1 “Towards me it shines, towards me”—because it appears the same (sama) to every one; that is why it is Sāman (cf. Talav. Up. Br. 1.12.5).

2. With it, however, all these beings are connected: this one should know (for the following, cf. Talav. Up.Br. 1.11.12.). Hiṁkāra is its position before its rising; with this position, the domestic animals are connected; that is why they make hiṁ!

3. Prastāva is its position when it has already risen; with this its position the men are connected; that is why they like prastuti (commendation) and praśaṁsā (praise): For, they have a share in the prastāva of this Sāman.

4. Ādi is its position for the milking time of the cows; with this its position are the birds connected, because they holding themselves on (ādāya) in the aerial space without support, fly about. They, indeed, share in the Ādi of this Sāman.

5. Bohtlingk compares it with the relevant Taitt. Saṁh. 6, 5, 4, 2 : “For all beings it rises dexterously; because every one thinks: towards me it has risen.

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5. Udgītha is its position just at midday; with this position the gods are connected. Therefore they are the best among the children of Prajāpati. They, indeed, partake in the Udgītha of this Sāman.

6. Pratihāra is its position after midday and before (the later) afternoon; with this its position are the embryos (foetuses) connected; that is why they do not fall down, although they are contained (pratihṛta) in a trembling state. They indeed, partake in the pratihāra of this Sāman.

7. Upadrava is its position after the afternoon and before sunset; with this position, the forest animals are connected; therefore, when they espy a man, they run (upadravanti) into the hollow like the den. They, indeed, partake in the upadrava of this Sāman.

8. Nidhanam is its position when it has already set; with this its position are the manes connected; that is why one buries them (i.e. their unburnt bones). They, indeed, partake in the nidhanam of the Sāman.

In this way, one adores the sevenfold Sāman as that yonder sun.

Tenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Further, one should also adore the sevenfold Sāman as that measured in itself (in its own number of syllables), leading beyond death.

Hiṅkāra is of three syllables and prastāva is of three syllables; it is alike (sama).

2. Ādi is of two syllables and pratihāra is of four syllables; one less from this and one (added) to that; so it is alike (sama).

3. Udgītha is of three syllables and upadrava of four syllables; three and three are alike and one syllable scores over; so three syllables remain; that is alike.

4. Nidhunam is of three syllables, therefore, it is alike. That adds up to twenty-two syllables.

5. With twenty-one, one attains to the sun; because that sun is the twentyfirst1 from here; through the twentysecond, spaces and the sun (e.g. Śatap. Brāh. 1, 3, 5, 11).

Chāndogya Upanisad

one gains the realm beyond the sun; it is the heaven (nākam),

it is the sorrowless (i.e., na a-kam = not-without bliss).

6 He attains the victory of the sun; his victory is beyond

the victory of the sun - He who, knowing this, adores the

sevenfold Sāman measured as that in itself, leading beyond

death - He who adores the Sāman.

Eleventh Part (Khanda)

[11-21 Khandas : The Vedic word (brahman) is, according to the

Indian view, the creative principle which lies realized in the whole world.

The different Sāmans which are sung during the Soma-sacrifice are a part

of this Vedic word. The ten parts of the Sāman (gāyatrām, rathantaram,

vāmadevyam, bhad, vairūpam vairājam, śakvaram, raivatam, yajñāyajñī-

yam, rājanam) are here described as interwoven, i.e. forming, as it were, the

basic texture of the ten psychical and cosmic phenomena (vital breath, fire,

copulation, sun, rain, seasons, world spaces, domestic animals, parts of the

body and divinities); the eleventh is the Sāman which is explained, in general,

as 'interwoven with all'. All these eleven phenomena are neatly divided

into five parts or acts which then respectively, are equated with the five

parts of the Sāman (himkāra, prastāva, udgītha, pratihāra, nidhana. Through

the whole there peeps in the above-mentioned idea that the universe is an

embodiment of Brahman, that the Sāman is interwoven into the whole

world and that its ten main parts are interwoven into the most important

world phenomena. A deeper reason, however, cannot be discovered for the

combination of the particular world phenomena and of their parts with its

parts; what Śankara says about this, just in 1.13 above, is too artificial

to deserve consideration. At the conclusion of every section there follows

a promise and a maxim (? vow—Translator) (vratam) which, as a rule,

amounts to the same thing viz. that the respective nature-phenomena into

which the Sāman is interwoven, should not be scorned.]

1. himkāra is the manas (mind).

prastāva the speech.

udgītha the eyes.

pratihāra the ears.

nidhana the breath;

This is the Gāytram as interwoven in the vital breath.

2. He who knows the Gāyatrām as interwoven into the vital

breath, becomes a partaker of the vital breath, lives the full

duration of life, lives long, becomes great or eminent in his

posterity and cattle and also eminent in renown.

His maxim is to be of great mind (mahāmanas).

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Sixty Upaniṣads

Twelfth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. hiṅkāra is when one rubs the faggots.

Prastāva, when the smoke issues forth.

udgītha, when the wood kindles.

Pratihāra, when the coals are formed.

nidhana, when the glow of the fire decreases,

nidhana, when it is extinguished.

It is the Rathantaram as interwoven into the fire.

2. He, who knows this Rathantaram as interwoven into the fire, becomes a partaker of Brahmanic splendour, becomes an eater of food, lives the full duration of life, lives long, becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he does not rinse water from his mouth towards the fire nor does he spit.

Thirteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. hiṅkāra is when one summons (the wife).

prastāva when he makes a proposal (to her).

udgītha, when he lies down (with her).

pratihāra, when he lies down with her, lying upon her

nidhana, when one comes to or attains the desideratum

nidhana, when he, finishing, comes out of it.

It is the Vāmadevyam as interwoven into the copulation.

2. He who knows this Vāmadevyam as interwoven into the copulation, becomes a partaker in the copulation, procreates himself out of every copulation, lives the full duration of life, lives long and becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he never withdraws or abstains from woman.

Fourteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. hiṅkāra is the rising sun.

prastāva the sun which has risen.

udgītha the midday.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

pratihāra the afternoon.

nidhana the setting sun.

It is the Ḅrhad as interwoven into the sun;

2. He who knows the Ḅrhad as interwoven into the sun

becomes full of splendour, becomes an eater of food, lives the

full duration of life, lives long and becomes great in his

posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he does not blame the sun when it

scorches.

Fifteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. himkāra is when the mists or vapours flow together.

prastāva when the clouds are formed.

udgītha when it rains.

pratihāra when there is lightning and thunder.

nidhana when it ceases to rain.

It is the Vairūpam as interwoven in the rain.

2. He who knows this Vairūpam as interwoven in the rain,

has, in his cattlepen cattle of different varieties and of beautiful

varieties, lives the full duration of life, lives long, becomes great

in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he does not blame the rain when it streams

down.

Sixteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. himkāra is the spring,

prastāva the summer,

udgītha the rainy season,

pratihāra the autum,

nidhana the winter,

It is the Vairājam as interwoven in the seasons.

2. Consequently, he who knows this Vairājam as interwoven

in the seasons, shines (virājati) through his posterity, cattle and

Brāhmanic splendour, lives the full duration of life, lives long,

and becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in

renown.

His maxim is that he does not blame the seasons.

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Seventeenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Himkāra is the earth,

prastāva the aerial space,

udgītha the heavens,

pratihāra the regions of the heavens or quarters,

nidhana the ocean;

These are the Śakvarī-verses as interwoven in the world-space.

2. Consequently, he, who knows these Śakvarī verses as interwoven in the world-space, becomes partaker in the world-space, lives the full duration of life, lives long, becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he does not find fault with the world-space.

Eighteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. himkāra are the goats,

Prastāva the sheep,

udgītha the cattle,

pratihāra the horses,

nidhana the man;

These are the Revatī verses as interwoven in the domestic animals.

2. Consequently, he, who knows these Revatī-verses as interwoven in the domestic animals, lives the full duration of life, lives long, becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he does not find fault with the domestic animals.

Nineteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. himkāra is the hair,

prastāva the skin,

udgītha the flesh,

pratihāra the bones,

nidhana the marrow;

This is the Yajñāyajñīyam as interwoven in the parts of the body.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

2. Consequently, he who knows this Yajñāyajñiyam as interwoven in the parts of the body becomes the possessor of the parts of the body, becomes never infirm in any part of the body, lives the full duration of life, lives long, becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is that he does not eat, for one year (articles of) marrow, or in general, he does not eat marrow.

Twentieth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. himkāra is Agni (fire),

prastāva Vāyu wind,

udgītha Āditya sun,

pratihāra the nakṣatras (lunar mansions)

This is the Rājanam as interwoven in the divinities.

2. He, who knows this Rājanam as interwoven in the divinities, enters, with those divinities, into a world common with them, into a power common with them and into a life common with them, lives the full duration of life, lives long, becomes great in his posterity and cattle and great in renown.

His maxim is; he does not find fault with the Brāhmaṇas as (the representatives of gods).

Twentyfirst Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. himkāra is the threefold knowledge (of the Vedas),

prastāva the three world-spaces (earth, aerial space, heavens),

udgītha Agni, Vāyu, Āditya (their regents),

pratihāra the stars,1 birds, rays,

nidhana the serpents, Gandharvas, Manes;

This is the Sāman as interwoven in the universe.

2. Consequently, he, who knows this Sāman as interwoven in the universe, becomes the universe.

3. Concerning it is this verse:

Those, which are fivefold for the every triad

There is nothing higher than these.

1. One expects here something that corresponds to Agni, as the birds correspond to the Vāyu, the rays correspond to the Āditya. Also the serpents, Gandharvas and manes correspond to the three worlds.

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4. He, who knows this, knows the universe

To him all the points of the world bring gift.

"I am the Universe;" To adore this consciousness is his maxim—his maxim.

Twentysecond Part (Khaṇḍa)

[This part consists of three sections which concern themselves with the way of the recitation of the Sāman.

The first section enumerates seven different gānas, the ways of singing the Sāman; their difference appears to consist in the chosen timbre (characteristic quality of sound, depending on the form of vibrations) and other peculiarities of reciting (cf. Talav. Up. Br. 1, 37. 51-52).

The second section teaches about on what one has to contemplate during the singing (of the Sāman), in order to achieve definite results through it.

The third places the letters of the texts under the protection of particular gods and shows how the syllables are to be pronounced, in order to give irght expression to the essence of the gods underlying them.]

1. "I choose the cattle-like lowing way of reciting the Sāman" — thus is described the udgītha of Agni; The indistinct (veiled) way belongs to Prajāpati, the distinct one to Soma.

Soft and tender is the way of singing to Vāyu, tender yet powerful to Indra; the heron-like to Brhaspati, that of false tone (like that of the cracked metal) to Varuṇa alone. — One should respect all these but while using them, should rather, avoid that to Varuṇa.

2. One should sing with a view to obtaining, by singing, immortality for the gods; or one may sing the stotra after careful thought with a view to obtaining, by singing, the refreshing libations for the manes, with a view to obtaining (by singing) for men what they hope for, to obtainting (by singing) grass and water for cattle, the heavenly world for the organiser of the sacrifice and food for himself — while one meditates in his mind on what now follows:

3. All vowels are the embodiments of Indra, all the sibilants and 'spirants the embodiments of Prajāpati, all other consonants the embodiments of Mṛtyu (death) — If any one were to find fault with the man (who knows this) with regard to the vowels (in his recitation), he should reply to him: "I have surrendered myself to the protection of Indra who will answer you."

Chāndogya Upanisad

97

4. If one were to find fault with him in regard to the sibilants and spirants, he should reply: “I have surrendered myself

to the protection of Prajāpati who will crush you.” If one were to find fault with him in regard to the consonants, he should

reply: “I have surrendered myself to the protection of Mrtyu who will burn you.”

5. All vowels must be pronounced sonorously and forcefully, because in so doing one thinks, “I should be able to give

strength to Indra”. All sibilants and spirants must be openly pronounced, without skipping (over any), without faltering,

because in so doing one thinks: “I should be able to entrust myself to Prajāpati.” All consonants must be pronounced

without being joined together, because in so doing, one thinks: “I should be able to preserve myself from death ”

Twentythird Part (Khanda)

[There are two sections in this part, the connection between which has been construed very artificially by Sankara.

The first is the fore-runner of the later theory of the four Āśramas or stages of life, according to which every Ārya in the course of his life (i) as a

Brahmacārin, should study the Vedas in the house of his teacher, (ii) as grhastha should found the family, (iii) as vānaprastha should perform austerities in the solitude of the forest and finally, (iv) in his most advanced age

should wander about as samnyāsin (parivrājaka, bhiksu) without any possession of his own. Our passage describes only the three ‘ramifications of this duty or obligation’ (dharmaskandhāh). From this expression and also

from the statement that three pure worlds are promised for all the three, it follows that the three are not considered as following one another in

succession but are considered to be equated with one another. There appears here also a defective ordering (of the Āśramas), as the first is named

the grhastha, then, penance i.e. the vānaprastha and lastly the brahmacārin. By the last, it is here to be understood, according to the supplementary

statement ‘atyantam ātmānam ācāryakule’ vasādayet’ that one is to remain as a naiṣṭhika brahmacārin (dedicated to the study of the Vedas) for life in

the house of his teacher; and this can only be of equal status beside the grhastha and vānaprastha as a special ‘branch of obligation’ (dharma-skandha); therefore the supplementary statement which Böhtlingk wishes to

erase or omit, can certainly not be dropped. - There is a great controversy among the Vedāntins, whether by the expression ‘remaining fixed in Brah-

man’ (brahma-samsthah), the parivrājaka legitimately belonging to the fourth āśrama is to be understood or not (cf. Sankara in this passage and on

Brahmasūtra 3, 4, 18-20). The correct thing would be that our author knows

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only three branches of duty' — the stage of a householder, that of a student (brahmacārin) and juxtaposes, beside them all, 'the remaining steadfast in Brahman' (brahmasamstha) which is the standpoint of the Upaniṣads, as the higher goal of all works; but out of this higher position of the knowledge of the Brahman — higher over all works (sacrifice, penance, Vedic studies) — the later fourth āśrama has developed as the practical execution of the Upaniṣadic teaching.

To this section is annexed the section of a creation-myth which also appears in all its entirety in Ait. Br. 5.32, Śatap. Br. 11-5-8, as well as in Talav. Up. Br. 3.15. Here the section serves the purpose of the adoration of the word Oṁ as the essence of the Veda i.e. of Brahman.]

1. There are three branches of (religious) duty: Sacrifice, Vedic studies, giving of alms form the first; penance is the second; the Brahman-pupil (the Brahmacārin) who lives in the house of the teacher is the third, provided that he settles down for ever in the house of the teacher. All these bring as reward the holy worlds; but he who remains steadfast in Brahman attains immortality.

2. Prajāpati brooded over world-spaces; out of them as he brooded over them, flowed forth the threefold knowledge (the three Vedas). He brooded over this; out of it, as he brooded over it, flowed forth these sounds: bhūr, bhuvah, svar (earth, world-space, heaven).

3. He brooded over these; out of them, as he brooded over them, flowed forth the sound Oṁ. That is why, just as by means of a nail (śaṅku), all leaves are perforated1 together (saṁtrṇṇa), so also by means of Oṁ, all speech is perforated

4. Śaṅku, in respect of the network of the arteries (sirajālam) of the leaf, is hardly applicable here, as every leaf has its own network of arteries; also the expression Saṁtrṇṇa would be a bad choice in that case. So also one cannot say that the stem or the stalk of the plant (is meant here), that through it, the separate leaves are 'perforated together.' In one does not wish to explain this phrase, on the pre-supposition of the art of the copyist that 'just as by means of a wooden pin, all the leaves of a manuscript are perforated together', one will have to think (as in the parallel passage of the Talav. Up. Br. 1.10.3) yathā sūcyā palāśāni saṁtrṇṇāni syuḥ ) of the leaves of a tree which in a collection are pierced together by means of a needle or a nail. Even today in India, in betelchewing, for the collection (of Tāmbūla) areca-nut, keeping together of the remaining ingredients (of Tāmbūla) cardamom, cinnamon) the tāmbula leaves offered by the dealers to the customers require to be pierced through layers in a pin.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

together. The sound Oṁ is this whole-world — the sound Oṁ

is this whole world.

Twentyfourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[This liturgical passage is introduced here at the conclusion of the second

chapter; it teaches, how the organizer (yajamāna) of the Soma-sacrifice

can secure for himself after his death a place (loka) in the three realms of

the universe viz. the earth, aerial space and heaven. According to the view

presented here, the earth belongs to the Vasus with Agni at the head, the

aerial space to the Rudras with Vāyu at the head, the heaven to the Viśve-

devāḥ and Ādityas; the morning libation of the Soma-sacrifice is dedicated

to the first (the Vasus), the midday libation to the second (the Rudras), and

the evening libations to the third (Viśve-devāḥ etc.). Through a special

ceremony, these deities are induced to make the yajamāna or the sacrificer

a share in their libations, by means of which he acquires for himself after

his death a place in the corresponding realm of the universe.]

1. The teachers of Brahman say: if the morning libation

belongs to the Vasus, the midday libation to the Rudras, the

third (evening) libation to the Ādityas and Viśve-devas;

2. where remains then, a place for the sacrifice (as all the

three realms of the universe — the earth, aerial space and

heaven — have been taken away by these above-mentioned

classes of gods)? How can he, who does not know this (place

after death), perform a successful sacrifice ? One should sacri-

fice, when he knows it.

3. Before the invitation to the morning libation (with which

the morning pressing of Soma begins, see Ait. Br. 2.15), the

sacrificer should take his seat behind the Gārhapatya fire with

his face towards the north and sing the following Sāman to the

Vasus:

4. "Open the door to the world-space (the earth)

So that we see you, to gain sovereignty!"

5. Then he sacrifices and says:

"Adoration to Agni, the possessor of the earth, the

possessor of world-space, !

O! find out for me, the sacrificer, a place !

Yes, there it is, the place of the sacrificer.

6. "I, the sacrificer, will go there after this life.

(Hail to you)! Push back the bolt!" Thus he speaks

and rises. Then the Vasus give (samprayacchanti) him a share of their morning libation.

7. Before the invitation to the midday libation, the sacrificer should take his seat behind the Āgnīdhrya fire with his face towards the north and sing the following Sāman to the Rudras:

8. "Open the door to the world space (the aerial space) So that we shall see you, to acquire further sovereignty!"

9. Then he sacrifices and says: "Adoration to Vāyu, the possessor of the aerial space, the possessor of world space! Find out for me the sacrificer, a place! Yea! that is the place of the sacrificer.

10. I, the sacrificer, will go to that place. Hail to you! Push back the bolt!" Thus he speaks and rises. Then the Rudras give him a share of the midday libation.

11. Before the invitation to the third libation the sacrificer should take his seat behind the Āhavanīya fire, with his face towards north and sing the following Sāman to the Ādityas and Viśve-devah:

12. "Open the door to the world space (of heaven), so that we will see you, to attain self-control."

13. Then to the Ādityas; thereafter to the Viśve-devāḥ: "Open the door to the world space (of heaven) so that we will see you, to attain sovereignty over all."

14. Then he sacrifices and speaks: "Adoration to Ādityas and Viśve-devāḥ; the possessors of heaven, the possessor of world space! Find out for me the sacrifice, a place !

15. Yea! that is the place of the sacrificer; There I, the sacrificer, will go after this life. (Svāhā) Hail! Push the bolt!" He speaks thus and rises.

16. Then the Ādityas and the Viśve-devāḥ give him a share of the third libation.

Truly, he knows the measure or extent and aim of sacrifice, he who knows this — who knows this.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Third Chapter (Prapāṭhaka)

First Part (Khaṇḍa)

[1-11 Parts (khaṇḍas) : The Brahman is the sun of the universe, the

natural sun is a phenomenal form of Brahman. — This is the basic idea of

this section gigantic in its layout, though less pleasing to our relish in its

statement. The high estimation of its worth is evinced in the warning at

the conclusion (of the section) of not communicating this teaching to the

unworthy, and in its position higher than the earth with all its riches.

In a grotesque image, the visible sun appears as the honey streaming

forth together out of the Vedas; by this honey the gods nourish themselves.

In this image, the heaven which is the carrier of the sun and aerial space,

is the trestle (the supporting frame) (tiraścīna vaṃśa ) supporting the

honeycombs (which have been built from above), corresponding to our

beehives. The aerial space forms honeycombs (apūpa) which are filled by

the light-elements (marīcayaḥ) as their brood (putrāḥ). The solar rays

(raśmayaḥ) spreading towards the east, the south, the west, the north and

above are the tubular honey-cells (madhunāḍyaḥ) of this honeycomb,

through which the honey-essence (sap) streams towards the centre and

forms the body of the sun.

The flowers from which the honey of the sun is obtained are : (1) Ṛgveda,

Yajurveda, (3) Sāmaveda, (4) the epic and mythological poems (itihāsa-

purāṇam), 5 the Upaniṣads (named here as Brahman) — The bees which

prepare the honey out of these flowers are correspondingly (i) the verses of

the Ṛgveda, (ii) the maxims for texts of the Yajurveda, (iii) the songs of the

Sāmaveda, (iv) the verses in the Atharvaveda (atharvāṅgirasaḥ), and (v) the

secret doctrines (guhyā ādeśāḥ) of the Upaniṣads. The Vedas are, therefore,

the primaries (the flowers ), their verses, maxims and songs are only the

vehicle — the bees — through which their contents are transmitted to us.

That is why they brood over (abhitapati) the corresponding Veda-flowers

and through that is obtained as ‘the immortal sap or fluid of nectar (ta amṛta

apaḥ).’ This sap or fluid (rasa) streams forth out of the Vedas in the form

of renown, splendour, strength, manliness and food (yaśas, tejas, indriyam,

vīryam, annādyam and collects itself in the sun as its red, white, dark,

deep-dark, and the bubbling forms at its centre. Among them the Upaniṣadic

teachings stand topmost; they are the essence of essences, the nectar of

nectars.

The food and drink of gods is not earthly; the gods satiate themselves

with the five kinds of nectar welling up out of the Vedas in the following

serial order : (i) the Vasus, (ii) the Rudras, (iii) the Maruts, (iv) the

Ādityas, (v) the Sādhyas. These gods are ruled respectively according to

their order by (i) Agni (earth), (ii) Indra (aerial space), (iii) Varuṇa

(heavens), (iv) Soma (ritual) and (v) Brahman (philosophy) He who knows

the nectar of the respective Veda, partakes in its drinking; why! he even

exercises, over the classes of gods concerned, overall supremacy and mastery.

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over his self and doubtlessly attains in time-space increasing longitude in geometrical progression. Thus (i) in the present world-period, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; (ii) twice as long (two world-periods) it rises in the south and sets in the north, then (iii) twice that long (four world-periods) it rises in the west and sets in the east, then (iv) twice that long (eight world-periods) it rises in the north and sets in the south, and finally (v) twice that long (sixteen world periods) it rises in the zenith and sets in the nadir (in the earth ?). Correspondingly long is the overall supremacy of him who knows the nectar of the respective Veda. A time, however, will come when the sun will no more rise or set but will remain only in the centre and this period of permanent day without night is only for him who knows this Upanisad (the secret knowledge) of Brahman. He has seized the essence throughout, through the natural sun he has seized (attained) the sun of Brahman throughout; for him has dawned the day of perfect knowledge — the day which knows no night.]

1. The sun is the honey of the gods. The heaven is the transverse beam or trestle (on which the honeycombs hang), the aerial space is the honeycomb, the light elements are the brood.

2. The easterly rays of the sun — they are the honey-cells; the Ṛgverses are the bees, the Ṛgveda is the flower. This is the fluid nectar, those Ṛgverses —

3. they brood over the Ṛgveda and out of it, when it is brooded over, issue forth renown, splendour, strength, manliness and food as sap.

4. This sap dissolves or melts and lies around in the sun. It is that which is the red appearance of the yonder sun.

Second Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The southerly rays of the sun — they are the southerly honey-cells; the Yajus-maxims are the bees, the Yajurveda is the flower; it is this the nectar juice,

2. when these Yajus-maxims brood over the Yajurveda and as it is brooded over, there issue forth out of it renown, splendour, strength, manliness and food as the sap;

3. this sap dissolves or melts and lies around in the sun; it is the white appearance of that yonder sun.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Third Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The westerly rays of the sun — they are the westerly honey-cells; the Sāma-songs are the bees, the Sāmaveda is the flower; it is this nectar juice,

2. when the Sāma-songs brood over the Sāmaveda and as it is brooded over, there issue forth, out of it, renown, splendour, strength, manliness, and food as sap;

3. this sap dissolves or melts and lies around in the sun; it is the dark appearance of that yonder sun.

Fourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The northerly rays of the sun — they are the northerly cells; the Atharva-verses are the bees; the epic and mythological poems are the flowers; it is this nectar juice,

2. when those Atharva-verses brood over the epic and mythological poems and as they are brooded over, there issue forth, out of them, renown, splendour, strength, manhood, and food as sap;

3. this dissolves or melts and lies around in the sun; it is that deep-dark appearance of that yonder sun.

Fifth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The upward-going rays of the sun — they are the upward-going honey-cells; the secret instructions are the bees; the Brahman is the flowers; it is this nectar juice,

2. when those secret instructions brood over the Brahman and, as it is brooded over, there issue forth out of it renown, splendour, strength, manliness and food as sap;

3. that dissolves or melts and lies around in the sun; it is that which bubbles up at the centre in that yonder sun.

4. These, indeed (the juices of the Upaniṣads)1 are the juice of juices; because the Vedas are the juice and they (the Upaniṣads) are the nectar of nectar; because the Vedas are the nectar and they (the Upaniṣads) are the nectar of them (the Vedas).

5. Śaṅkara connects this supplementary part with all the five kinds of sap; it is not so appropriate.

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Sixty Upaniṣads

Sixth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Now what is that first nectar (of the Ṛgveda) — on it

the Vasus live through Agni as their mouth; because the gods

do neither eat nor drink, but they are satisfied when they see

that nectar.

2. They dive into that (red) appearance of the sun (in order

to satisfy themselves, while looking at it) and again emerge

forth out of it.

3. He who knows this nectar becomes one of the Vasus and

satiates himself through Agni as his mouth, when he looks

at it. He also dives into that appearance of the sun

and again emerges out of it.

4. So long as the sun will rise in the east and set in the west,

that long he will attain overall-sovereignty and self-mastery over

the Vasus.

Seventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. That which is that second nectar (of the Yajurveda) —

on it the Rudras live through Indra as the mouth; the gods

eat not nor do they drink, but when they see the nectar, they

are satisfied.

2. They dive into that (white) appearance of the sun and

emerge out of it.

3. He who knows this nectar becomes one of the Rudras

and he satisfies himself with that nectar with Indra as his

mouth, when he sees it. He also dives into that appearance of

the sun and again emerges out of it.

4. As long as the sun will rise in the east and will set in the

west, twice that long it will rise in the south and set in the

north — so long he will attain an overall supremacy over the

Rudras and self-mastery.

Eighth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. That which is that third nectar (of the Sāmaveda) — on

that the Ādityas live through Varuṇa as their mouth; because

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

105

the gods eat not nor do they drink but they become satisfied

when they see that nectar.

2. They dive into a dark appearance of the sun and again

emerge out of it.

3. He, who knows this nectar, becomes one of the Ādityas

and he satisfies himself with nectar with Varuṇa as his mouth,

when he sees it (the nectar). He also dives into that appear-

ance of the sun and again emerges out of it. — So long as the

sun will rise in the south and set in the north, twice that long it

will rise in the west and set in the west — that long he will

attain all-over-supremacy over the Ādityas and self-mastery.

Ninth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. That which is that fourth nectar (of the Atharvaveda),

on that live the Maruts with Soma as the mouth; because the

gods eat not nor do they drink, but they are satisfied when

they see that nectar.

2. They dive into that (deep-dark) appearance of the sun

and again emerge out of it.

3. He, who knows this nectar, becomes one of the Maruts

and he satisfies himself with that nectar with Soma as the

mouth, when he sees it. He also dives into appearance of the

sun and again emerges out of it.

4. As long as the sun will rise in the west and set in the

east, twice that long, it will rise in the north and set in the

south; and that long he will attain over the Maruts overall

supremacy and self-mastery.

Tenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. That which is now that fifth nectar of the Upaniṣads—on

that the Sādhyas live through Brahman as the mouth; because

the gods eat not nor do they drink but when they see the nectar,

they are satisfied.

2. They dive into that appearance of the sun (boiling in the

centre) and again emerge out of it.

3. Now one, who knows this nectar, becomes one of the

Sādhyas and he satisfies himself with that nectar through Brah-

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man as mouth, when he sees it. He also dives into that appearance

of the sun and again emerges out of it.

4. As long as the sun will rise in the north and set in the

south, twice that long, he will rise high above and set hither-

ward, — and that long he will attain overall supremacy over the

Sādhyas and self-mastery.

Eleventh Part (Khanda)

1. But thereafter, after it has risen towards the above, it will

no more rise nor set but will remain only standing alone at the

centre. About that is the following verse :

2. It did not then further set,

nor did it rise once again.

So true this is, so true, O gods !

I should not lose Brahman.

3. Truly, it does no more rise

nor sets for him; it is all the time

the day for him who knows this

Upaniṣad of Brahman.

4. God Brahman has proclaimed this doctrine to

Prajāpati, Prajāpati to Manu, Manu to his progeny;

This doctrine has been proclaimed as the Brahman

to Uddālaka Āruni, as his eldest son by his father.

5. Therefore, only to the eldest son shall his father proclaim

the Brahman or to a trusted pupil,

6. but to no one else whoever he be. Even if

one should offer him for that the water-

encircled earth with all its riches, he

should thus think: “This is more precious’’;

“This is more precious” he should think.

Twelfth Part (Khanda)

[This infinite Brahman dwells whole and undivided in the heart of man.

As this frequent thought occurs in the Upaniṣads like the many following

ones, it also lies at the basis of the present section in which the Brahman

appears under the symbol of the Gāyatrī, a Vedic metre of especial sacred-

ness, which represents here the sacred speech of the Veda in general i.e. the

Brahman.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

107

As such the Gāyatrī is the essence of all beings because it as speech (i.e. here, indeed, the holy speech of the Vedas) sings (gāyati) to all beings and protects (trāyate) them. Further the Gāyatrī is identical with the earth (because this is the support of all beings), therefore also identical with the human body (because the human body is the support of the vital organs,—the carriers of all life in nature) and is again identical with the human heart (for the same reasons, if this passage is not corrupt.) Thus the Gāyatrī is sixfold, as speech, beings, earth, body, heart and vital organs "because otherwise the number of six does not apply", as we must confess with the commentators. This sixfold Gāyatrī is four-footed (catuṣpada here= catuṣpād, catuspāda); the thought regarding the verse-foot as Bṛh. Up. 5.14 lies here far from consideration on account of the succeeding appeal to the verse Ṛgveda 10.90.3, according to which a foot of the Puruṣa (here identical with Brahman, Gāyatrī) is embodied in all beings, while the three feet are immortal in heaven. "This mentioned Brahman to be comprehended as the Gāyatrī" i.e. "three-footed Brahman to be comprehended as the Gāyatrī" (see the commentary of Śaṅkara)" is identical with the space outside man, it is identical with the space within man, it is identical with the space in the heart. (cf. the later Vedānta image of the world-space and space in the pitcher). This space in the heart is ‘the fullness (filling everything), the unchangeable", a definition of Brahman which is found inadequate (see Brh. Up. 2.1.5 cf. also Kaus. 4.8).]

1. Gāyatrī is every one of these beings which exist here, because the Gāyatrī is the speech; the speech sings (gāyatrī) to everything and protects it.

2. What this Gāyatrī is, is the same as the earth is, because it is the support of all beings who do not exist outside it.

3. What this earth is, is the same as the body is in man here; because it is the support of these vital breaths which do not exist outside it.

4. What this body in man is, is the same as the heart is in man hear; because it is the support of all vital breaths which do not exist outside it.

5. This sixfold Gāyatrī has four feet; about that a Vedic verse (Ṛgveda 10.90.3) says:

6. Great is the mystery of nature,

Still greater, high above it is of the Spirit (Puruṣa),

All the beings are one foot of it,

The three are high above the immortal in the heaven.

7. What is now named as Brahman,

is the same as that space outside man.

That space which is outside man is

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8. the same as that which is inside man,

and that space which is inside man

9. is the same which is inside heart.

That is fullness, the unchangeable.

He who knows this, invariably attains prosperity

and happiness.

Thirteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[This section is connected with the foregoing one with which, already

the Brahmasūtra 1.1.24 ff is related; but it has also an independent signifi-

cance, to the extent to which it occupies itself with the problem as to how we

shall be able to attain Brahman; in the way by which it deals with it, it is

evidently the harbinger and the first germination of the later idea of the

distinction between the exoteric doctrine which teaches a way towards

Brahman by the Deva-yāna (the way of the gods) and the esoteric doctrine

according to which, the union or communion with Brahman consists only

in the knowledge of the original identity with it.

This contrast lies as a sort of germ in both the parts of our Khaṇḍa 1-6

and 7-8 though Śaṅkara or anybody to our knowledge does not appear to

have recognized it.

1-6. These describe five Deva-suṣayah (openings for the gods) analogous

to the later Devayāna, of which — corresponding to the identity of heart,

body, earth, as well as space in the heart, space in the body and world-space

mentioned already in the previous Part — each respectively, consists of one

of the five vital breaths (prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, samāna, udāna), identically

with it, of one of the five sense-organs (cakṣuh, śrotram, vāc, manas —

and we must here add — tvac) and again identically with it, of one of the

five nature-gods āditya, candramas, agni, parjanya, vāyu as the five porters

of Brahman and, the gate-keepers of the heavenly world. He who knows

them attains to the heavenly worlds (pratipadyate svargam lokam).

7-8. That light, however, in the furthest space beyond the heavens is

identical with the light in man where it makes itself perceptible as warmth

in the body and whizzing in the ears (identity of Brahman and the soul in

the esoteric sense).

The way to the Brahman in the first section, through vital breaths, sense-

organs and nature-gods points too, clearly outwards, so that with Śaṅkara

we must consider the world of the heart described in the second part together

with the heavenly world mentioned in the first part. Consequently,

nothing remains but to recognize, in our present Part, the first beginnings

of the later distinction between the transmundane Brahman with attributes

and the attributeless Brahman identical with the soul.]

1. Even this heart has now fixed openings for the gods.

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That which is its easterly opening is the inbreathing, it is the eye, it is the sun;—one should adore this whole (inbreathing etc.) as splendour and food. He who knows this becomes full of splendour and an eater of food.

2. Further, that which is its southerly opening is the breath—between (vyāna),—it is the ear, it is the mouth. One should adore all this whole as beauty and renown. He who knows it, will become beautiful and renowned.

3. Further, that which is its westerly opening—it is the out-breath, it is the speech, it is the fire. One should adore this whole as Brahmanical splendour and food. He who knows this will become partaker of the Brahmanic splendour, and the eater of food.

4. Further, that which is its northerly opening—it is the all-breath, it is the Manas, it is the Parjanya. One should adore the whole as renown and splendour. He who knows this becomes renowned and full of splendour.

5. Further, that which is its opening directed upwards—it is the up-breath (udāna), it is the skin,1 it is the wind, it is the ether. One should adore the whole as strength and power. He who knows this will become strong and powerful.

6. These are indeed the five door-keepers of Brahman and the gate-keepers of the heavenly world—He, who knows these five door-keepers of the Brahman and the gate-keepers of the heavenly world—in his family a hero will be born. He who knows the five door-keepers of Brahman and gate-keepers of the heavenly world, attains the heavenly world.

7. But the light which shines there beyond the heavens at the back of all, at the back of that (which is) in the highest and overall highest worlds—that is certainly the light which is here inside man.2

The view about it is

8. that when one touches here in the body, he feels a warmth; the hearing is that when one closes the ears, he at the same time hears a humming sound, as it were the whizzing like

9. We have inserted ‘it is the skin’, then the following ‘it is the ether’ is perhaps to be dropped. cf. Chān. 5.23.2,

10. cf. Talav. Up. Br. 1.43.10.

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that of the fire which burns.1 One should adore this his view

and this his hearing. He becomes esteemed and heard (by all)—

he who knows this, who knows this.

Fourteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[‘The doctrine of Śāṇḍilya’ which is set forth here and in a little discon-

nected way in Śatap. Br. 10.6.3, is perhaps the oldest passage in which the

basic tenet of the Vedānta teaching — the identity of Brahman with the

Ātman, of God with the soul is expressed with full consciousness. The

soul which appears to the empirical (exoteric) view as a drop of the ocean,

as a spark of the great world-fire, is, in reality, not such. It is not a part,

an emanation of the divine essence but fully and entirely this divine essence

itself, which appears infinitely small in us and infinitely great outside us but

in both cases is one and the same. For the elucidation as also for the con-

firmation of this great truth containing the whole metaphysic in essence,

the following beautiful words of Plotinus (5.1.2) deserve to be quoted.2

“First then let every Soul consider that it is the universal Soul which

created all things, breathing into them the breath of life — into all

living things which are on earth, in the air, and in the sea, and the

Divine stars in heaven, the sun and the great firmament itself. The

Soul sets them in their order and directs their motions, keeping itself

the thing-in-itself apart from the things which are appearances, which

it orders and moves and causes to live.” (Enneades 5, 1, 2).

Compare the following further passage with the beginnings of this part from

fourteenth which follows :

“The Great Soul must be contemplated by another Soul, itself no

small thing, but one that makes itself worthy to contemplate the Great

Soul by ridding itself, through quiet recollection, of deceit and of all

that bewitches vulgar souls.” (Ibid).

1. Certainly, this universe is Brahman; one should worship

it in tranquillity, as Tajjalān3 (one arising in it).

1. Brh. Up. 5.9 contains another, more physiological elucidation of

this phenomenon concerned.

2. This is the English translation of the original Greek quotation

given by Deussen.

3. Significantly but without any necessity, Böhtlingk reconstructs it as

taj jānāni. The Upaniṣads like such mystic expressions, which are intelli-

gible only to the initiated. Cf. tadvanam (Kena 31), brahmajajñam (Kaṭh.

1–17), neti, neti (Brh. 2.3.8), dadada (Brh. 5.2), viram (Brh. 5.12), idandra

(Ait. Up. 1.3.13), Samyadvāma (Chānd. 4.15.2) āmamsi āmaṃhi te mahi

(Brh. 3.3.5).

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111

Indeed, the man is made up of insight or intelligence. Just as

man becomes that on which he exercises his intelligence to be,

he will, after he has departed from this world, accordingly be-

come. That is why one should attend to exercising intelligence.

2. Mind is his stuff, living (breathing) is his body, light his

form, resolution is truth, his self is infinity (literally : ether). He

is all-doing, all-wishing, all-smelling, all-tasting, encompassing

all, silent, unconcerned:-

3. this is my soul (ātman) in the innermost part of the

heart, smaller than a grain of rice, or a grain of barley, or a

grain of mustard or a grain of millet or a grain of the grain of

the millet;-

this is my soul in my innermost heart, greater than the earth,

greater than the aerial space, greater than these worlds. (cf.

Talav. Up. Br. 4. 4. 24.13).

4. The all-doing, the all-wishing, the all-smelling, the all-

tasting, the all-encompassing, silent, unconcerned - this is my

soul in the innermost part of the heart, this is the Brahman,

into which I shall enter, after departing from here.-

He, who becomes this, does not doubt;

Thus spoke Śāṇḍilya-Śāṇḍilya.

Fifteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[The new doctrine of the essential unity of man and the universe is here

at once (‘O ! miserable minds of men ! O ! blind hearts!)1 made sub-

ordinate to an egotistic interest in a ceremony which is prescribed to secure

long life and wellbeing for the son so that he is placed under the protection

of the universe, imagined as a chest rich with treasures with its imperishable

dimensions and particularly under the protection of the wind as the breath

of the world, which assumes the place in the universe, as a child of the

heavenly regions like the son in the family . Further it is sought to secure

for the son, under a very arbitrary interpretation of the syllables bhūr,

bhuvaḥ, svar, also the protection of the three divisions of the universe, of

their three regents and of the three Vedas. Other ceremonies also serve

the same goal, as e.g. the ceremony occurring in Kaus. 2.8-10.]

1. With aerial space as its cavity, earthspace as its bottom

the treasure is undecaying.

1. This is a translation of the original Latin phrases — Translator.

the directions of the heavens are its edges.

Heavens are its upper opening

Yea ! this chest is rich with treasure !

Everything is preserved in it.

2. In it, the easterly direction is called the ladle (juhū,

because one turning towards the east, sacrifices — Śaṅkara), the

southerly direction is called the overpowering one (as the abode

of Yama), the westerly direction is called the queen (as the

residence of Varuṇa), the northerly one is called the wealthy one

(as the residence of Kubera). The wind is the child of these

directions of the heavens.

He who knows the wind as the child of the directions or the

quarters does not weep with sorrow for his son.

(The performer speaks :)

I, here, know this wind as the child of the quarters; let me

not weep (with sorrow) for my son !

3. I enter into the inviolate chest, with this, with this,

with this!

I enter into the breath (the wind as the world-breath)

with this, with this, with this!

I enter into bhūḥ with this, with this, with this!

I enter into bhuvah with this, with this, with this!

I enter into svah with this, with this!

4. When I have said that I enter into the breath, all these

beings that ever exist are the breath and into this I have entered.

5. When I have said that I enter into bhūḥ, I have said

thereby that I enter into the earth, that I enter into the aerial

space, and that I enter into heaven.

6. When I have said that I enter into bhuvah, I have said

thereby that I enter into Agni, that I enter into Vāyu, and that

I enter into Āditya.

7. When I have said that I enter into svah, I have said there-

by that I enter into the Ṛgveda, that I enter into the Yajurveda

and that I enter into the Sāmaveda — that I enter.

Sixteenth Part (KHANDA)

[We have already often seen how for the Vānaprastha and the Saṁ-

nyāsin, in place of the sacrifice which can no more be performed by them,

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113

there appears a mental or spiritual image of the same sacrifice or an interpretation of the sacrificial ceremonies in their natural perspective and performance (cf. Kauṣ. 2.5). Particularly, thus the sacrifice in terms of the circumstances of human body and life is repeated and has rightly been already explained by the Brahmaśūtra (3.3.24) that such passages of the different Upaniṣads, as their view-points of their allegorical interpretation in individual cases are different, must not be compounded together to form a unity of a Vidyā (a doctrine). Only Śaṅkara there (on the Brahmaśūtra) and in his commentary on our present passage has gone further and has been required to separate Chānd. 3.16 from Chānd. 3.17 as the theme of ‘the man as sacrifice’ common to both is implemented from two different standpoints which are not reconcilable.

In the present part, in place of the three main rites on a Sutyā-day of the Soma-sacrifice, namely the morning pressing (of Soma), the midday pressing and the evening pressing, there appear the early age (youth), the middle age and the later (advanced) age of human life, to which (corresponding to the number of syllables of the three principal metres) 24, 44 and 48 years — a total of 116 years has been allotted (whereas, otherwise as a rule the full duration of life is estimated to be 100 years). The gods - (Vasus, Rudras and Ādityas - who are mainly concerned in the three pressings) are here interpreted as the vital breaths (prāṇāḥ), the right adoration of which brings about surely the full duration of life, so that one can regard any illness about to crop up with ironical compassion regarding the vanity of its onset, like Mahīdāsa, the alleged author of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa and Āraṇyaka. As the Prāṇas here, as they are, frequently, the symbol of Brahman or Ātman elevated over all nature-gods, the whole interpretation amounts to the same thing, viz. the replacement of the three chief classes of gods - Vasus, Rudras and Ādityas - by the Prāṇa i.e. the Ātman.]

1. Truly, the man is a sacrifice.

His first twentyfour years are the morning pressing or libation; because Gāyatrī has twentyfour syllables and the morning libation is accompanied by a Gāyatrī hymn. In this part of this sacrifice, the Vasus are the partakers; but the Vasus are the vital breaths; because it is they who make all beings live (vāsayanti).

2. If in this (age) period of life, one is perhaps afflicted by sickness, he should say : “Ye vital breaths, ye Vasus, may ye continue to spin or weave this morning libation of mine up to the midday libation; may I not be a sacrifice which is broken off in the midst. in the vital breaths, the Vasus.” When he says

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so, he rises from it (sickness) and becomes again sound and healthy.

3. His (following) twentyfour years are the midday libation; because the Triṣṭubh has twentyfour syllables and the midday libation is accompanied by a Triṣṭubh hymn. In this part of this sacrifice, the Rudras are the partakers; but the Rudras are the life-breaths, because it is they who (pulling out) make all beings weep (rodayanti).

4. If in this period (age) of life, one is, perhaps, afflicted by sickness, he should say: “Ye vital breaths, ye Rudras, may you continue to weave or spin this my midday libation upto the evening libation. May I not be a sacrifice which is broken off in the midst, in the vital breaths, the Rudras !” When he says so, he rises from it (sickness) and again becomes sound and healthy.

5. His (following) fourtyeight years are the evening libation because the Jagatī has fourtyeight syllables and the evening libation is accompanied by a Jagatī-hymn. In this part of this (sacrifice), the Ādityas are partakers; but the Ādityas are the vital breaths, because it is they who (pulling out) take away everything, with themselves.

6. If in this period (age) of his life, he is, perhaps, afflicted by sickness, he should say : ‘Ye Vital Breaths, ye Ādityas, may you continue to spin or weave this my evening libation upto the full length of life. May I not be a sacrifice which is broken off in the midst, in the vital breaths, in the Ādityas !’ When thus says, he rises from it (sickness) and again becomes sound and healthy.

7. It was this that Mahīdasā, the son of Itarā knew when he said : “Why do you afflict me (my body), because I am not going to die with it ?” And he lived for hundred and sixteen years. — One who knows this, lives for hundred and sixteen years.

Seventeenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[The man as sacrifice (puruṣo yajñah) is the theme of this section as of the previous one, though under essentially other different viewpoints. In the previous section the three libations of a single sutyā-day are equated

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with the three ages of man; here in the present section, on the other hand,

a series of rites are spoken of (dīkṣā, upasad, stutasastras, dakṣiṇā, avabhrtha),

which drag on from the beginning to the end of at least the fifteen-day

Soma-festival. They are not equated with the periods of life but with the

functions of hunger, eating, begetting etc. Especially beautiful is the

idea that in this whole conduct of life to be celebrated as a Soma-festival,

in the place of the dakṣiṇā (the sacrificial fee to be paid to the priest), there

appears the moral conduct in which a small ethical code has been formu-

lated in five words; they are : tapas (penance), dānam (giving of alms),

ārjavam (honesty), ahiṁsā (non-violence), and satyavacanāṁ (truthfulness).

He, who has led his whole life as divine service like the Soma-sacrifice, be-

coming free from desire (apipāsa=Bṛh. 4.4.6 akāmamayāmā) will feel

himself as Ghora, the teacher of Kṛṣṇa, imperishable and imperturbable,

at the time of death, like the quintessence of vital breaths (prāṇasaṁchitam);

to him the sun-rise, described in the two Ṛgveda-verses, symbolically inter-

preted will become the ascent of everlasting light.]

1. When one hungers, thirsts and does not enjoy himself,

that is his dīkṣā (the consecration before the Soma-sacrifice);

2. when he, on the other hand, eats, drinks, and enjoys him-

self, that corresponds to (literally, goes along with) the

Upaniṣad-ceremonies (a preliminary ceremony of the Soma-

libation, lasting for three more days);

3. further when he jests and laughs and practices copulation,

that corresponds to the stotras and śastras (with the singing

and recitation of which, the priests of the Sāma — and Ṛgveda

accompany the libation);

4. but penance, charitableness, honesty, non-violence and

truthfulness — these are his Dakṣiṇā (the sacrificial fee to be

donated to the priests).

5. That is why one says : “sosyyati (he will press Soma, he

will beget), asoṣṭa (he has pressed Soma, he has begotten);

particularly death is the avabhrtha (the bath of purification,

when the Soma-pressing concludes).

6. Ghora Āṅgirasa has explained it to Kṛṣṇa, the son of

Devakī, and he adds thereto — particularly he was free from

desire (literally, ‘thirst’) — : At the time of the final end, one

shall then take recourse to these three maxims :

Thou art the indestructible

Thou art the imperturbable

Thou art the crest (or the of spearhead) vital breaths 1’

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The following two verses of the Ṛgveda deal also with the same (theme) :

Then, from the old germ, originally descended

They gaze at the beautiful morning light which blazes there beyond heaven (Ṛgv. 8.6.30)

Above are we, from out of darkness.

gazing at the elevated light

gazing at the elevated splendour

To the sun-god surrounded by gods

we have attained to the overall highest light

we have attained to the overall highest light.”

(Ṛgv. 1.15.10)

Eighteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[The four feet of Brahman, referred to, as far back as in the Ṛgveda 10.90.3 have repeatedly influenced the thought of the succeeding periods, without, however, sticking to the original viewpoint (according to which one foot is all beings and three feet are transcendental). - Thus in our passage in a somewhat matter-of-fact and self-complacent systematization, the adoration of Brahman is recommended, from the psychological viewpoint, under the symbol of Manas and from the cosmological viewpoint, under the symbol of Ākāśa; according to one viewpoint, speech, breath, eyes, ears are the four feet of Brahman ; according to the other fire, wind, sun, the directions of the heavens are the four feet. These viewpoints are placed in reference to each other in the usual manner, without, however, bringing to light the original and significant views.]

1. One should adore the Manas (mind) as Brahman; this is in regard to the self. Now in regard to the godhead : one should adore Ākāśa (ether or space) as Brahman. Thus it is the twofold instruction; one in regard to the self and the other in regard to the godhead.

2. This Brahman has four feet; the speech is one foot, the breath one foot, the eyes one foot, the ears one foot : that is in regard to the self. Now in regard to the godhead : the fire is one foot, wind one foot, sun one foot, the directions one foot. Thus it is the twofold instruction - one in regard to the self and the other in regard to the godhead.

3. The speech is one of the four feet of Brahman; and through the fire it shines and glows as light. - He, who knows

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117

this, shines and glows with reputation, renown and Brāhmanic splendour.

4. The breath is one of the four feet of Brahman, and through the wind it shines and glows as light. - He, who knows this, shines and glows with reputation, renown and Brāhmanic splendour.

5. The eyes are one of the four feet of Brahman, and through the sun, it shines and glows as light. - He, who knows this, shines and glows with reputation, renown and Brāhmanic splendour.

6. The ears are one of the four feet of Brahman; through the directions (points) of the heavens, it shines and glows as light. He, who knows this, shines and glows with reputation, renown and Brāhmanic splendour.

Nineteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[There are here two ideas handed down from ancient times: (i) that of the world-egg originating in the primaeval waters (which idea traces itself back to the Ṛgveda 10.129.3 ‘tucchyenā abhu apihitam yad āsīt’ ‘the one powerful with vitality was enclosed in a shell’ and to ‘the golden germ’ (‘hiranya-garbha) mentioned in the Ṛgveda 10.121.1); (ii) the other of Brahman as the sun (particularly in the hymn ‘brahmajajñānam prathamam purastāt’).

Both these ideas are here connected to form a myth of creation, which forms an important connecting link between the above-mentioned ancient ideas and the cosmogony described by Manu and his successors.

Also, the idea of the shouting in exultation by creatures at sunrise appears to have already belonged to the old brahmaja-jñānam hymn; cf. the words following, thereafter, in the passage in which a part of it has been quoted: Atharvaveda 2.1.1 : ‘jāyamānaḥ sarvido abhyamṛṣata vrāḥ; Taitt. Brahm. 2.8.8.9 ‘tam arkaiḥ abhyarcanti vatsam’. (Geschichte der Philosophie I 253, 251)

1. The sun is the Brahman, such is the directive (for adoration). About that is this explanation :

This world was, in the beginning, non-being; this (non-being) was the being. The same originated. An egg then developed itself. It lay there, as long as a year. Thereupon, it split itself; of both shells of the egg, the one was of silver, the other was of gold.

2. The silver one is the earth, the golden one is the heavens there. (Here the idea of the bird’s egg passes into that of the

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foetus). The outer membrane (jarāyu=chorion) are these mountains; the inner membrane (ulvam, amnion) — (this inner membrane enclosing the foetus) are here the clouds and the mist, the vascular arteries are the rivers, the feeding water within is the ocean.

3. What was thus born, it is the yonder sun there; when it was born, the noisy shoutings, in exultation, of all beings with and all wishes rose up towards it. Therefore, at its rising and its every re-appearance, the noisy shoutings in exultation, and all beings and all wishes rise upwards towards it.

4. He, who knowing this, adores the sun as Brahman — for him there is hope that approving shoutings (of beings) in exultation will ring towards him and will refresh him — and will refresh him.

Fourth Chapter (Prapāṭhaka)

First Part (Khaṇḍa)

[1-3 Khaṇḍas (parts) deal with the Samvargavidyā, the doctrine of the 'gatherer-in-itself'. The doctrine of Brahman as that principle which animates the vital organs as Prāṇa (life) and the nature-forces as Vāyu is not rare to find. Already, according to Brahmaṇaḥ parimaraḥ (Ait. Br. 8.28), lightning, rain, moon, sun and fire enter into the wind and again emerge out of it. — According to the Śatapatha Br. 10.3.3. 6-8 speech, eyes (sight), Manas (mind), ears (hearing) enter into the vital breath (Prāṇa) during sleep and are again produced out of it during wakefulness; in the cosmic aspect the fire, sun, moon and the directions of the heavens which enter into the wind and again issue out of it are identical with them (the vital organs).

— So also according to Kauṣ. Up. 2-12-13, fire, sun, moon and lightning enter into the wind — speech, eyes, ears and Manas (mind) enter into the vital breath — and again raise themselves out of it. Our passage describes the wind and vital breath as the 'gatherers-in-themselves' (samvarga) which as wind gathers in itself (samvr̥ṇkte) the nature-gods fire, sun, moon and water and as vital breath the vital organs speech, eyes, ears and Manas (mind). The idea in our passage is this: He who knows that he is identical with the wind and the vital breath and consequently with the nature-gods and the vital organs attributed to them — unto him flows all nutrition as an indwelling principle in all things, the nutrition with which all beings nourish themselves.

Just as, in the play of dice, to the Kr̥ta which is the highest cast or dice with four eyes (points), the lower throws or dice (Tretā with three eyes, Dvāpara with two eyes, Kali with one eye) are imputed — thus in entirety ten eyes being imputed, so also for him, who knows the Samvarga-doctrine, all the good things

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

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are accomplished by the remaining beings identical with him. One such

man is Raikva, who, in spite of poverty and miserable plight, knows himself

identical with all beings; therefore, he stands higher than the rich Jāna-

śruti whose gifts are at first proudly rejected by him. He only after repeated

importunities, imparts to Jānaśruti, the knowledge on account of which he

(Raikva) is superior to all. It is, however, strange that this knowledge so

dearly purchased or acquired by Jānaśruti is in no way quite new and is

not peculiar to Raikva alone. Not only the above referred to pas ages as

well as their systematising, secondary pattern in which this doctrine here

appears bespeak its being well-known in wider circles but particulary also

the existence of casually mentioned legends of Brāhmaṇa pupils asking for

alms, in which (legends) the knowledge of the Saṁvarga-doctrine by the

interlocutor in the argument and counter argument during the bantering

employment of riddles and its general dissemination is presupposed.]

1. Jānaśruti, the great-grandson (of Janaśruta) was a devout

donor, giving away liberally and having much cooked food

(which he distributed). He had hostels built everywhere, so that

people from everywhere had food got prepared by him.

2. Once, geese (or flamingoes) flew over there at night.

Then one flamingo said to the other : “Oh ! there, thou blink-

ing-eyed ! (don’t you see ?). The splendour of Jānaśruti

the great-grandson (of Janaśruti) has spread itself presently through-

out the heavens! Touch it not, so that it should not burn you !”

3. The other flamingo replied to the first : “Who is this man

of whom you are speaking, as if he were Raikva with the cart ?”

4. “As (in the play of dice), when one has won the krta-throw

(the highest one) (or according to the krta-throw which has been

won according to the reading ‘vijitāya’ from Vij cf. Ṛgveda

1.92.10; 2.12.5 vijah), the lower throws of dice are counted as

won along with it, so also, whatever good the beings do, comes

home to or becomes appropriated by him (Raikva). This also

holds good for him who knows what he (Raikva) knows.”

5. Jānaśruti, the great-grandson (of Janaśruta) over-heard it.

Immediately he got up and said to his retainer (who extolled

him in the manner, as later the Vaitālikas — bards — used to do)

“You, indeed, speak of me, as if I were Raikva with the cart !”-

“How is it, with Raikva with the cart ?”

6. "Just as in the case of the Kṛta-throw of dice, when one

has won it, the lower throws of dice are counted as won along

with it, so also whatever good the beings do, becomes appro-

priated by him (Raikva) : This also holds good for him who

knows what he (Raikva) knows."

7. Then the retainer (of Jānaśruti) set out to search him

(Raikva). He came back and said : "I have not found him".

Then the other (i.e. Jānaśruti) said to him : "Go to search after

him in a place where one has to seek a Brāhmaṇa (an imagi-

native, inventive man (knowing Brahman) cf. Bṛh. 3.5.1; 3.8.10)

[i.e. in a solitary spot, in the forest, on a sand-bank of a river,

in some remote region - as explained by the commentators.]

8. There that one (Raikva) sat under his cart and scratched

himself (his body) owing to itch (skin-disease). He (the retainer

of Jānaśruti) seated himself low down and said : "Are you the

venerable Raikva with the cart ?" "Indeed, I am that" replied

he. - The retainer came back and said : "I have found him."

Second Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Jānaśruti, the great-grandson, (of Janaśruta) took with

him six hundred cows, a gold-chain and a car drawn by mules,

went to him (Raikva) and said :

2. "Raikva, here are six hundred cows, here a gold chain,

here a car drawn by mules; teach me, O venerable one, about

the divinity whom you adore !"

3. The other (Raikva) replied to him : "Ah ! for a trinket

and risk,1 O you Śūdra ! Keep them for yourself, together

with the cows."

Then, Jānaśruti, the great-grandson (of Janaśruta) took again

with him a thousand cows, a gold-chain, a car with mules and

his daughter; he took them and went to him (Raikva),

4. and said : "Raikva, here are a thousand cows, here a

golden chain, here a car with mules, here is a wife, here a

village - Teach me, O venerable one !"

1. Very appealing is Böhtlingk's interpretation : ahaha are tva, śūdra

"I laugh at you, O śūdra' and further his conjecture : ahaha are imāḥ,

śūdra ! "I laugh at them (cows), O śūdra".

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5. Then he (Raikva) lifted her (bashfully lowered) face and

said : “There he drags the cows nearly here ! Śūdra, through

this face alone, you could make me speak.” These are the

villages named Raikvaparna in the region of the Mahāvrṣas in

which he resided on this occasion.

And he (Raikva) spoke to him :

Third Part1 (Khaṇḍa)

1. “The wind is, indeed, the gatherer-in-itself. Because when

the fire blows away, it enters the wind; and when the sun sets,

it enters into the wind; and when the moon sets, it enters into

the wind; and when the waters dry up, they enter into the wind;

because the wind gathers them all in itself. — Thus in regard to

the divinity.

2. Now in regard to the self. — The breath, indeed, is the

gatherer-in-itself. — Because when one sleeps, the speech enters

into the breath, the eyes (sight) into the breath, the ears

(hearing) into the breath, the manas (mind) into the breath.

Then the Breath gathers them all in itself.

3. Both these are the gatherers-in-themselves, the wind among

the divinities and the breath (Prāṇa) among the vital breaths.

4. Now it once so happened that while food was served up

before Śaunaka Kāpeya and Abhipratārin Kakṣaseni, a Brāhmaṇa

pupil begged alms. But they gave him nothing.

5. Then he said :

Who is the one God, the protector of the universe,

who swallowed in himself the four of great might ?

Him the mortals see not, O Kāpeya,

Although he dwells in many ways, O Abhipratārin !

Indeed, to Him whose food it is, —

to Him it has not been given.”

6. Thereupon, Śaunaka Kāpeya after he had reflected (upon

what had been said), rejoined to him :

“The God Breath, the begetter of all beings,

with golden teeth, eating, not unwise,

1. Parallel to this Part is Talav. Up. Br. 3-1-2.

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mighty, they say, is his greatness,

Because unconsumed, he consumes what is not consumable;

So, O ! Brāhmaṇa-pupil, we adore him (of whom you speak).

Give him to eat.'

7. And they gave him.

These, indeed, are the five ones (wind, fire, sun, moon, water)

and the five others (Breath, speech, eyes, ears, Manas), which

together make up ten; it is the Kṛta-throw in dice. That is why

the ten signify the ten — the Kṛta-throw; food in all directions.

And this is also Virāj (the mythological representative of matter

also a ten-syllabled metre), the consumer of food. Through it,

thus the whole world becomes visible.

He who knows this — to him this whole world becomes

visible and he becomes the consumer of food — he who knows.

Fourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[4-9 Parts: Satyakāma, the son of Jabālā, of uncertain parentage, is recognized by Hāridrumata in his openheartedness as a Brāhmaṇa, is accepted for tuition and is, first of all, entrusted with the keeping of the cows. While so doing, he (Satyakāma) becomes a partaker (just as Moses Ex. 3 through the burning bush) of a supernatural revelation through the (medium of) bull, fire, goose, and a diver-bird which here, according to Śaṅkara's quite acceptable explanation, are the representatives of the three chief divinities of the Brāhmaṇa period — Vāyu, Agni, Āditya and, fourthly Prāṇa. The content of this revelation is not (as in the case of the referred to Semitic analogy) of practical tendency but it deals theoretically with the four feet of Brahman under which are to be understood (in contrast to the Ṛgveda 10.90.3, Chānd. 3.12.5, Bṛh. 5.14) the four phenomenal forms of Brahman viz. the directions, world-parts, world-light and vital breaths (everyone of these again divided into four parts), just as in Chānd. 3.18. The nature itself, on the other hand, of Brahman appearing in these four fourfold forms has not been revealed by bull, fire, goose, and diver-bird but it remains reserved for the teacher to impart the same. What he imparts to Satyakāma, is, indeed, not explicitly said; but once again (as Śaṅkara means) it is hardly the doctrine of the four feet of Brahman but it is probably the knowledge of the Brahman itself and the way to it, in the possession of which Satyakāma finds himself in the following section.]

1. Satyakāma Jābāla said to his mother Jabālā : 'Venerable mother! I wish to join (the school of a teacher) as a Brahman-pupil (pupil wishing to learn the Veda). Please tell me from what family I hail.'

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123

2. She said to him : “My child, I don’t know from what

family you are. In my youth, I went about in many places as a

maid-servant; during that period I begot you; I myself do not

know from what family (parent) you hail; I am called Jabālā

and you are called Satyakāma; so call yourself then (instead of

after the father) Satyakāma, the son of Jabālā.”

3. Then he went to Hāridrumata Gautama and said : “I

wish to join (the school of) you, venerable Sir, as a Brahmacārin

(a pupil studying the sacred Veda), if you, venerable sir, would

desire to accept me.”

4. He said to him : “My dear child ? from what family do

you hail ?” He replied : “Venerable Sir, I do not know from

what family I hail; I have asked the mother who answered me :

‘In my youth, I went about in many places as a maid-servant;

during that period I begot you. I myself don’t know from what

family (parent) you hail. I am called Jabālā and you are called

Satyakāma”. Therefore I call myself Satyakāma, son of Jabālā,

Venerable Sir!’

5. He (the preceptor) replied to him “Only a Brāhmaṇa can

speak so candidly. My dear child, bring here the fuel-sticks

(which are requisite for the ceremonial rite). I will accept you,

because you have not swerved from truthfulness.”

After he had accepted him, he separated (from the herd) four

hundred lean and weak cows and said : “My dear, go after

them and tend them !” He (Satyakāma) then drove them forth

and said (to his teacher) : “Not before they have become one

thousand, I will return back.” So he lived away far, for a

number of years.

When they had become one thousand,

Fifth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Then a bull addressed him and said : “Satyakāma !” “O !

venerable one” he replied — “We have reached (the figure of)

one thousand, my dear ! so bring us then to the residence of

your teacher;

2. I will also proclaim to you a foot (a fourth part) of

Brahman.” — “You venerable Sir, proclaim it to me.” — And

he (the bull) said to him : “One-sixteenth is the easterly region,

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one sixteenth the westerly region, one sixteenth the southerly region, and one sixteenth is the northerly region; this, my child, consists of the four sixteenth feet (the fourth (quarter) part) of Brahman, which therefore is called the expansive one.

3. He, who knows this, adores this foot or quarter of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts, as the expansive one, becomes expansive in this world; and he gains expansive worlds, he who knowing this, adores this foot or quarter of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts as the expansive one.

Sixth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The fire will communicate to you further another foot or quarter of Brahman." When it was again morning, he drove the cows further. Where and when it was evening, he established the fire, huddled together the cows, laid on fuel and seated himself on the western side of the fire, with his face bent down, turned towards the east.

2. Then the fire addressed him and said : ‘Satyakāma !!’ “Venerable Sir”, he replied.

3. "I will communicate to you, my dear, another foot or quarter of Brahman" — "Venerable Sir, please communicate to me !" — And he (the fire) said to him : “The earth is a sixteenth part, the air-space a sixteenth part, the heavens a sixteenth part and the ocean, the sixteenth part; this, my dear child, is the foot or quarter of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts; it is called the boundless or the infinite one.

4. He, who knowing this, adores this foot of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts as the infinite one, becomes infinite in this world; and he, who knowing this adores this foot of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts as the infinite one, attains boundless worlds.

Seventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The goose (swan) will further communicate to you another foot of Brahman."

When it was again morning, he drove the cows further. Where and when it was evening, he established the fire, huddled

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125

together the cows, laid on fuel, and seated himself on the western side of the fire, with his face bent down turned towards the east.

2. A goose flew towards him, addressed him and said : “Satyakāma !” “O ! Venerable one” replied he —

3. ‘I will communicate to you, my dear, another foot or quarter of Brahman.’ — “Venerable Sir, communicate it to me” — and the goose said to him : “The fire is a sixteenth part, the sun a sixteenth part, the moon a sixteenth part, the lightning a sixteenth part; this, my dear, is the foot or quarter of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts; it is called the luminous one.

4. He, who knowing this, adores this foot of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts as the luminous one, becomes luminous in this world; and he, who, knowing this, adores this foot of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts, attains the luminous worlds.

Eighth Part (Khanda)

1. The diver-bird will further communicate to you another foot of Brahman.'

When it was again morning, he (Satyakāma) drove the cows further. Where and when they arrived at evening, he establis-hed the fire, huddled together the cows, laid on the fuel and seated himself to the west of the fire, with his face bent down, turned towards the east.

2. Then a diver-bird flew unto him, addressed him and said : “Satyakāma !” “Venerable Sir” replied he.—

3. “I will further communicate to you, my dear, one foot of Brahman.” “Venerable Sir! communicate it to me!” And he (the diver-bird) said to him : “The breath is a sixteenth part, the eyes a sixteenth part, the ears a sixteenth part, the Manas (mind) a sixteenth part; this is the foot of Brahman, my dear, consistihg of four sixteenth parts; it is called the supporting one.

4. He, who, knowing this, adores this foot of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts, becomes the supporting one. in this world; he, who knowing this, adores this foot of Brahman consisting of four sixteenth parts as the supporting one, attains the supporting worlds.'

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Ninth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. And he arrived at the residence of the teacher. Then the teacher addressed him and said : “Satyakāma!” “Venerable Sir!” replied he.

2. “You shine, (are full of splendour), my dear one, as one who knows Brahman—Who can it be, that has taught you?” “Others than men” replied he: “but you, venerable sir, should, I pray,1 explain it to me.

3. Because, I have heard men, who are like you, venerable sir, say that, the knowledge which one learns from his teacher, leads most surely to the goal.”

Then he (the teacher) explained to him the same (Brahman); In that (explanation) nothing, was omitted—nothing was omitted.

Tenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[10-11 Khaṇḍas : Upakosala, the pupil of Satyakāma receives, like him, supernatural instruction in his youth. (cf. the wonder of Elias repeated by Elisa). Though the teacher withdraws from him the knowledge, the three sacrificial fires, tended by him for several years, address him and the first teaching which they impart to him is that Brahman, as the principle of life, bliss and infinity is not to be attained by the way of the hard, depressing penance. Further the three fires - i.e. the Brahman revealing itself in them (eṣā asmadvidyā ātma-vidyā ca) - enumerate as their manifestations various natural phenomena (not quite well-arranged), particularly :

1. earth, fire, food, sun

2. water, directions of the heavens, stars, moon

3. vital breath, ether, heavens, lightning, in which they are explained as identical (along with the Brahman in them) with the man (Person, Spirit, Puruṣa) in the sun, with the man in the moon, with the man in the lightning. With various promises, they conclude their instruction with the following words : “The teacher will proclaim to you the way to attain us and Brahman.” - In fact, the teacher then proclaims to him the way to the sun, moon and lightning and to the superhuman man (puruṣa amānava) in them but he does not stop therewith : “They have only told you the world-

4. bhagavāns tu eva me kāme brūyāt. Kāme for icchāyām is hardly tenable. But in Böhtlingk’s reading : ‘hhagavāns tu evam eko me brūyāt’, evam is not suitable . Perhaps kāmam is the reading. [In the later edition, e.g. in the Eighteen Upaniṣads edited by R. D. Vadekar and V. P. Limaye the reading is ‘kāmam’ - Translator.]

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

spaces (which lead to it) but I will tell you that itself." And he proclaims

to him the Brahman, not as the man in the sun, moon and lightning but

as the man (person, spirit, puruṣa) who appears in the eye i.e. (here) as the

seer of seeing, the subject of knowledge, the soul in us. - Peculiarly in

contra-distinction with this there stands the doctrine, further taught, the

way to Brahman after death (with which we shall again meet as the doctrine

of the five fires in Chānd. 5.3=10-Bṛh. 6.2), because for him who has

found the Brahman in his own self, there remains no more attaining to the

Brahman (Bṛh. 4.4.6). This is just like what we find in the sphere of reli-

gion - the new breaking forth through the old, without there being any

clear consciousness of contradiction in which the old stands with the new.]

1. Upakosala, the scion of Kamala, lived, as a Brahmacārin

(a pupil to learn the Veda or Brahman), with Satyakāma the

son of Jabālā. For twelve years, he made him tend his fires;

then he allowed other pupils to leave but he did not wish to

allow him (Upakosala) to leave.

2. Then his wife spoke to him : "The pupil is pining; he

has attended the fires well; take care that the fires do not speak

to him, bypassing you. (Comm. : speaking evil about you);

teach him the knowledge." -But he did not wish to teach him;

on the other hand, he went off on a journey.

3. Then the pupil became ill and did not wish to eat any-

thing. Then the wife of the teacher said to him : "eat, pupil !

why do you not eat, nevertheless!" He, however, replied: "Alas!

in man, there are various desires ! I am fully afflicted with

illness; I should not like to eat."

4. Then the fires spoke among themselves: "The pupil is

pining and he has nevertheless, tended us well. Now then, let

us teach him knowledge !" -And they spoke to him :

5. "Brahman is life, Brahman is joy, Brahman is expanse"

-But he said : "I know that Brahman is life: but (that it is)

joy and expanse, I do not know." -But they said : "Truly,

the expanse-it is the joy-and the joy -it is the expanse." And

they explained to him how Brahman has been life and the

expansive space.

Eleventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Then one of the fires called Gārhapatya taught him (as

follows):

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"The earth, the fire, the food and the sun (are my forms).

2. (The chorus of the fire) "He who knowing this, adores this

fire, averts all evil deeds, -he becomes expansive, he lives the

full duration of life, he lives long, his race does not become

extinct; we help him in this world and the yonder world—him

who, knowing this, adores us."

Twelfth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Then the second fire called Anvāhāryapacana taught him

(as follows :) "The water, the directions, the stars and the

moon (are my forms). But the man (person) whom one sees

in the moon, I am that, I am he."

2. (The chorus of the fire:) "He, who, knowing this, adores,

averts the evil deeds, -he becomes expansive. he lives the full

duration of life, he lives long, his race does not become extinct;

we help him in this world and in the yonder world—him who,

knowing this, adores us."

Thirteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. The third fire called the Āhavanīya taught him (as follows:).

"The breath, the ether, the heaven and the lightning (are my

forms). But the man (person) whom one sees in the lightning,

I am that and I am he."

2. (The chorus of the fire :) "He, who, knowing this, adores,

averts the evil deeds, -he becomes expansive, lives the full

duration of life, lives long, his race does not become extinct;

we help him in this world and in the yonder world—him, who,

knowing thiṡ, adores us."

Fourteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. And they (fires) said to him: "Now you know, O, Upa-

kosala, dear one, the doctrine from us and the doctrine of the

Ātman. But the teacher will show you the way to him(Ātman)."

Now when his teacher returned then he addressed him:

"Upakosala ! "

2. And he replied and said : 'Venerable Sir ! "—He (the

teacher), however, said: "Your countenance shines, my dear

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129

one, as of one who knows the Brahman. Who has taught you? And he practised simulation and said : 'Who should have taught me ? These here, indeed, look such and also those others.' Thus he spoke and pointed at the fires —“What have they told you, my dear one ?”

3. And he replied to him : “thus and thus.” Then the teacher said: “They have only told you their world-spaces (i.e. those leading to them). But I personally will tell you; as the water does not cling to the petal or leaf of a lotus-flower, so also no base act sticks to one who knows this.” — And he (the pupil) said: “The venerable teacher should tell it to me !”—And he (the teacher) said to him :

Fifteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “The man, whom one sees in the eye, is the Ātman,” he (the teacher) said : “He is the immortal one, the fearless one — he is the Brahman. So even if clarified butter or water enters the eye, it flows away towards the edges.”

2. He is called the stronghold of love, because he is the stronghold of all lovable things. He who knows this, is the stronghold of all lovable things.

3. He is also called the prince of love (literally the leader of love) because. he guides or leads all lovable things; he, who knows this, guides or leads all lovable things.

4. He is also called the prince of splendour because he shines in all worlds; he who knows this, shines in all worlds.

5. That is why (when such men die, though one may bury them or not), they enter into a flame, from the flame into the day, from the day into the bright half of the month, from the bright half of the month into the half year, in which the sun turns northwards, out of the half year into the year, out of the year into the sun, out of the sun into the moon, out of the moon into the lightning. This is the Man who is not like human being;

6. He leads them on to Brahman. It is the way of gods, the way of Brahman. For them who go to it, there is no more return to this earthly whirl-pool or vortex — there is no return.

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Sixteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

[16-17 Parts : This supplement to the fourth Chapter (Prapāṭhaka) describes the functions of Brahmā, the chief priest superintending the sacrifice and also directs when he has to remain silent (16), and when he has to speak (17). In contrast to the other priests (Hotr, Udgātr, Adhvaryu) the Brahmā has, as a rule, to remain silent. His silent thinking (manas) and the speech (vāc) of the other priests - these both are the moving track of the sacrifice, which there through, has a similarity with the wind. These tracks, paths, ways and yoked teams are spoken of, many times, in the Ṛgveda. When the Brahmā breaks his silence without any necessity, for example, when he, during the morning prayer (prātarānuvāka), speaks before the concluding verse (paridhāniya) (as has already occurred according to the Ait. Br. 5.33.3) he makes the sacrifice one-legged, one-wheeled (vāc without manas) and injures the sacrifice and the sacrificer. On the other hand, the Brahmā must break his silence, if one of the three other priests does something perverted. As an atonement, the Brahmā, then, has to throw an offering into one of the corresponding sacrificial fires and while doing it, has to employ one of the exclamations bhūr, bhuvah, svar, which are the quintessence of creation according to a casually mentioned myth of Prajāpati. Through this, the Brahmā mends the sacrifice, as one patches together different metals; one such sacrifice is provided with medicine (bhesaja-kṛta), its priests are protected by the Brahmā like the herd which is protected by a dog (-if our interpretation is right-) and the sacrifice is, as an obscure hint suggests, udakpravana i.e. beneficial to the Devayāna (characterized by the sun going northwards). - The mention of the Devayāna as well as of the three sacrificial fires appears to be the only reason by which this ritual passage would be connected with the foregoing matter. (The similarity between the silence of Brahmā and the silence of the Muni, as M. Muller interprets it, cannot be this reason, because our passage deals very considerably with the well-timed speech as well as well-timed silence of the Brahmā). Finally, it should be noted that the whole passage according to its content and particularly according to its wording agrees1 with the Ait. Br. 5.32-34 (cf. Śaṅk. 6.10.12) and finds its best interpretation in the approximate statements given there although none of the translators up-to-now (Rājendralal Mitra, M. Müller, Bohtlingk) has drawn attention to that parallel passage.]

1. Indeed, that is the sacrifice, there he (the wind) purifies; because it is he, in his movement, who purifies this world; as he in the movement (yan) purifies this whole world, that is why he is also the sacrifice.

2. More exactly than the Ait. Br., the parallel passages of our section agree with the Talav. Up. Br. (3.15-17).

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131

The two tracks of this sacrifice are Manas (thought) and Vāc (speech);

2. The Brahmā forms one track through his Manas (silent) thought), the Hotṛ, Adhvaryu and Udgātṛ from the other through their speech (their recitation, muttering and singing).

If now, after the invitation to the morning prayer has commenced, the Brahmā breaks the silence before the concluding verse,

3. he only forms (together with the others) the one track and the other track gets lost. As a one-legged man who wishes to walk, or a chariot which has only one wheel, suffers injury, so also his sacrifice suffers injury; but just as the sacrifice is injured, so also he who institutes it is injured and through his sacrifice his condition becomes only worse.

4. If, on the other hand, after the invitation to the morning prayer has begun, the Brahmā does not break his silence before the concluding verse, then they (all the four priests) form both the tracks; the other one does not get lost.

5. Just as a two-legged one who wishes to walk or a chariot which has two wheels, is well-supported, so also he who institutes the sacrifice, is well-supported and his condition becomes better through sacrifice.

Seventeenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Prajāpati brooded over the parts of the universe. While they were being brooded upon, he extracted essences out of them. the fire out of the earth, the wind out of the aerial space and the sun out of the heavens.

2. He brooded over these three divinities; while they were being brooded over, he extracted their essences, out of fire the Ṛg-verses, out of the wind the Yajus-maxims, out of the sun Sāman-songs.

3. He brooded over this threefold knowledge; while it was being brooded over, he extracted their essences, out of the Ṛg-verses the syllable bhūr, out of the Yajus-maxims the syllable bhuvar and out of the Sāman-songs the syllable svar.

4. If now, in the Ṛg-verses, something miscarries. he (the Brahmā) should utter bhūḥ svāhā and offer an offering into the

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Gārhapatya fire; there through he again patches up or mends the injured or miscarried parts in the Ṛg-verses with the essence of the Ṛg-verses and with the power of the Ṛg-verses.

5. If on the other hand, in the Yajus-maxims, something miscarries, he should utter bhuvah svāhā and offer an offering into the Dakṣiṇā fire. There through, he again patches up or mends the injured or miscarried parts in the Yajus-maxims of the sacrifice with the essence of the Yajus-maxims and with the power of the Yajus-maxims.

6. Or if something in the Sāman-songs miscarries, he should utter svāh svāhā and offer an offering into the Āhavanīya-fire; there through, he again patches up or mends injured or miscarried parts in the Sāman-songs of the sacrifice, with the essence of the Sāman – songs and with the power of the Sāman-songs.

7. That is why one patches up or solders gold with borax-salt, silver with gold, tin with silver, lead with tin, iron with lead, wood with iron or wood with leather;1

8. in the same way the Brahmā patches up or mends the injured parts of the sacrifice with the power of those world-spaces, of those divinities, of that three-fold knowledge. Indeed, that sacrifice in which the Brahmā has such knowledge, is provided with medicine.

9. Indeed, that sacrifice, in which the Brahmā possesses this knowledge, is inclined2 towards the north. About such a Brahmā who possesses this knowledge, there runs this poetical verse:

Whither one turns his steps

Thither reaches

10. a common man3

11. Cf. Ait. Br. 5 32.6 : “What these exclamations (bhūr, bhuvah, svah) are, they are the sticking (patching-up) means of the Vedas. That is why, just as one mends or patches up something, when one joins one link or part with another when one glues together something of leather or another thing which has gone out of joint, so also one sticks together the parts in the sacrifice which have gone out of joint with these exclamations (bhūr etc.)

12. Cf. Sāṅkh. Br. 6.10. “This sacrifice, more precious than the southern one, is inclined towards the north — the sacrifice in which, there is a Brahmā who has such knowledge.”

13. Just like our proverb, “As one begs or desires, so he is situated”. In the following aśvā 'just like a dog' is a brilliant observation of P. W., which appears to have been partly omitted by the succeeding translators

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

only the Brahmā protects the sacrificers

watchful, just like a dog.

Really a Brahmā having such knowledge watches the sacrifice

protecting the sacrifice, the performer of the sacrifice and all

sacrificial priests. That it why one should choose as Brahmā

only such a one who has this knowledge, not one who has no

such knowledge — not one who has such knowledge !

Fifth Chapter (Prapāṭhaka)

[The first half of this Prapāṭhaka, Chānd. 5.1-10 is approximately identical

with B!h. 6.1-3 and deals with two themes : (1) The churning-of-the-

drink-ceremony Chānd. 5.1-2 (B!h. 6.1 and 6.3), (2) the doctrine of the

five fires i.e. the doctrine of transmigration of the soul, Chānd. 5.3-10

(B!h. 6.2). The churning-of-the-drink ceremony is originally aimed at

attaining the worldly greatness (mahat, jyaiṣṭhyam, śraiṣṭhyam, rājyam

ādhipatyam), as one after a long preparation prepares a mixed potion or

drink out of soured milk (curds), honey and herbs of all kinds, pours into

the fire the offering of clarified butter to every one of the vital organs (prāṇa,

vāc, cakṣus, śrotram, manas, — to which the B!h. adds one more which is

prajñāti), every time mixes the remaining ingredients to the churned potion

and finally drinks it up with the recitation of the Sāvitrī-verses. The signi-

ficance of the ceremony apppears originally to lie in the idea that a man

(through drinking the remainder of the clarified butter offered to the vital

organs) sets his own vital organs in tune with the vital organs thought of in

their cosmic potency and thereby participates in their greatness. So far

the whole theme would belong more to the category of the Brāhmaṇas than

to that of the Upaniṣads. Under the latter there is interpolated, only

secondarily and contrary to the original aim, the desire : aham eva idam

sarvam syām (bhūyāsam), Chānd. 5.2.6, B!h 6.3.6, which (according to the

position of the words in the B!h.) can here only mean : “May I become

this universe!” To the corresponding five organs enumerated in the

Chānd. namely 1 prāṇa, 2 vāc 3 cakṣus 4 śrotram 5 manas are besıdes, added

in the B!h. 6 prajñāti, 7 agni, 8 soma, 9 bhūr, 10 bhuvah, 11 svar, 12 bhūr,

bhuvaḥ, svar 13 brahman 14 kṣatram 15 bhūtam 16 bhaviṣyat 17 viśvam

18 sarvam 19 Prajāpati and through the pouring of dregs of things offered

into the churned drink, the desire to become one with them is explicitly

expressed. — Likewise, secondarily interpolated, because it interrupts the

context, is the legend of the struggle for supremacy of the vital organs,

(as it stands somewhat concealed) and appears to have been partly forgotten.

The silent watching of the Brahmā is suitably compared with the watchfulness

of the dog; it is unsuitably compared with the rescue from the bustle

of the battle through a mare (aśvā).

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Sixty Upaniṣads

of the victory of Prāṇa over others and the nutrition of Prāṇa through everything without exception and the clothing of Prāṇa by water with which one rinses his mouth before and after meals, Chānd. 5.1.6–5.2.2, corresponding to Brh. 6.1.7–6.1.14. After this insertion, the context in the Bṛh. is further interrupted by the interpolation of the whole doctrine of the five fires Brh. 6.2; the Chānd. 5.3-10 places its passage after the churned-drink-ceremony, while the Mādhyamdina recension of the Br. Up., places it before the same (Śatapatha Brāh. 14.9.1); both are considerably suitable, though a connection between the two doctrines, which justifies the interpolation, is not discernible.

Accordingly, we think that the history of this section is as follows :

Chānd. 5.1-11 and Bṛh. 6.1-3 go back to a common source oral, but fairly faithfully preserved in memory, which contained the churned drink-ceremony for the attainment of worldly greatness and the doctrine of the five fires, about the fate of the soul in the next world, connected with it. The former was changed, through a reference to the universe (aham eva idam sarvam asāni) in contradiction to the original not eliminated tendency, to an Upaniṣadic piece. Secondly, in this same passage was interpolated the struggle for supremacy of the organs (a frequent and favourite theme) adapted as an attribute to the same as jyeṣṭha, vasiṣṭha, etc. Thus the whole attained a form in the Chānd. Up. of the Sāmaveda. The white Yajurveda, on the other hand, in order to join directly the son-begetting ceremony (putramantha Bṛh. 6.4) with the churned-drink-ceremony (śrīmantha) lifted out of it the doctrine of the fires; while doing so, the branch-school viz. that of the Mādhyamdinas inserted the same before the churned-drink-ceremony, while the other branch — the Kāṇvas, inserted it very unsuitably in the middle. Thus from the point of the arrangement as also of greater simplicity of presentation the original is on the side of the Chānd., whereas the mode of expression found mostly in the Brh. exhibits an ancient attitude or slant.

Only the passage of the withered tree, the branches and the leaves of which grow when one pours on it the churned drink, stands rightly alone in the Bṛh.; in the Chānd. 5.2.3 it comes after 'the struggle for supremacy of the organs' and in order to make it suitable there has been entirely adulterated through the alteration brūyāt.]

First Part (Khaṇḍa)

[1-2 Khaṇḍas (Parts). The churned-drink ceremony, together with the legend of the struggle of the organs for supremacy which is casually mentioned.]

1. Om ! Indeed, he, who knows the noblest and the best, becomes the noblest and the best. The vital breath, truly, is the noblest and the best.

2. Indeed, he, who knows, the richest, becomes the richest among the beings. The speech, truly, is the richest.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

135

3. Indeed, he who knows the location, finds a location in this

world and in the yonder world. The eye, truly, is the location.

4. Indeed, he who knows the attainment, attains the wishes,

divine as well as human. The ear, truly, is the attainment.

5. Indeed, he who knows the point of support, becomes the point

of support or fulcrum of beings. The Manas (mind),

truly, is the point of support.

6. It once happened that the vital breaths (organs) struggled

for supremacy and said : "I have the precedence or the first

rank; no, I alone have the first rank." Then these vital breaths

(organs) went to Prajāpati and said : "Venerable Sir ! who has

the first rank among us ?"

7. And he said to them : "That one among you, after whose

removal or exit from the body, the body is found in the worst

condition - that one has the first rank among you."

8. Then the speech pulled itself (out of the body), tarried a

year long, returned back and said : "How have you been able

to live without me ?" - "Just as the dumb" they said, "the

dumb who do not speak but who still breathe with the breath,

see with the eyes, hear with the ears, and think with the Manas

(Mind)." Then the speech again entered (into the body).

9. Then the eye pulled itself out (of the body), tarried a year

long outside, returned back and said: "How have you been able

to live without me ?" "Just like the blind" they said, "They

do not see, still they breathe with the breath, speak with the

speech, hear with the ears, and think with the mind." - Then

the eye again entered (into the body).

10. Then the ear pulled itself out, tarried a year long out-

side, returned back and said : "How have you been able to

live without me ?" - "Just like the deaf" they said, "they do not

hear, still they breathe with the breath, speak with the

speech, see with the eyes, and think with the manas (mind)."

Then the ear again entered (into the body).

11. Then the Manas (Mind) pulled itself out, tarried a year

long outside, returned back and said : "How have you been

able to live without me ?" - "Just like nincompoop or a

simpleton" they said, "they are without mind or reasoning

faculty, and still they breathe with the breath, speak with the

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Sixty Upanisads

speech, see with the eyes, hear with the ears." Then the Manas (mind) again entered (into the body).

12. Then the breath wished, and was about to pull out, but just as a noble steed (when he tears himself off) might tear out the pegs of the fetters tethering his fetlock, he tore out the other vital organs along with him. Then all of the vital breaths (senses) came to him and said : "Venerable Sir ! be you here, remain ! You have the first rank among us; do not pull out !"

13. Then the speech said to him : "With whatever I am the richest, therewith you are the richest."

Then the eye said to him : "With whatever I am the location therewith you are the location."

14. Then the ear said to him : "With whatever I am the attainment, therewith you are the attainment."

Then the Manas (mind) said to him : "With whatever I am the supporting point or the fulcrum, therewith you are the supporting point."

15. That is why one does not name them as the speech, the eyes, the ears, the reasoning (thinking) faculty, but calls them the vital breaths because the vital breath is all these.

Second Part (Khanda)

1. And he said ; "What will be my food or nutrition ?" — They, however, said : "Whatever there is here — even that (which serves as food) of the dogs and the birds",1 that is why all that is the food (annam) of Ana (Breath); because Ana is its direct (unveiled) name. Truly, for him who knows this, there is nothing which would not be its food.2

2. Dogs and birds are proverbially known for the fact that they eat everything, even the most impure food. (Naturally, there cannot be any explicit mention of that which becomes their food, just as already the redactor of B:h. 6.1.14 appears to understand the state of things.)

3. This passage, first of all, does not imply (just as the cloth appearing before Petrus, Act. 10.11) a removal of prohibitions on food (-such practical tendencies lie far away from the spirit of the Upanisads--) but only implies that he who knows himself as the Prana eats the food in everything animated by him. (cf. B:h. 1.3.17, Chānd. 5.18.1). Still as the passage could be misunderstood in the first sense, so it is changed (evidently secondarily)

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

137

2. And further he said : "What will be my garment or clothing ?" — They, however, said : "The water" (cf. Ṛgveda 10.12.7; Atharvaveda 10.2.7). — That is why it occurs when they wish to eat thus (— etad does not refer to annam —), they surround it with water before and after (eating) (when they rinse the mouth with water); thus in particular, he (the breath) receives a garment and therefore it becomes not naked.

3. Sātyakāma, the son of Jābālā taught this to Gośruti, the scion of Vyāghrapāda and said : ‘If one said this to a dried-up trunk of a tree, the branches would grow on it and the leaves would sprout forth.’

4. If one wishes to achieve something great, he should, after he has performed the consecration ceremony on the new-moonnight, stir and churn a potion of all sorts of herbs in sour milk (curds) and honey and then say :

"Svāhā (offering) to the noblest and the best" — he offers the clarified butter into the fire and pours the dregs at the bottom into the churned potion;

5. "Svāhā to the most opulent !" — With this, he offers the clarified butter into the fire and pours the dregs at the bottom in the churned potion;

"Svāhā to the location !" — With this he offers the clarified butter into the fire and pours the dregs at the bottom in the churned potion;

"Svāhā to the attainment !" — With this he offers the clarified butter into the fire and pours the dregs at the bottom in the churned potion:

"Svāhā to the supporting point !" "With this he offers clarified butter into the fire and pours the dregs at the bottom in the churned potion.

6. Thereupon, he moves himself back from the fire, seizes the churned potion in the hollow of his hands and mutters : "You are the powerful one (ama), because this whole world is under your power (amā). Yea, he is the noblest and the best, the king and the overlord. Let him enable me to attain the

in the Bṛh. 6.1.14 as follows : "He who knows this as the food of Ana (read Anasya annam) — by him no nonfood (i.e. unpermitted food) will be eaten, no unpermitted food will be eaten)).

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Sixty Upaniṣads

noblest and the best, the kingship and the overlordship ! May I

be this universe !

7. Then, he uses the following verses (Ṛgveda 5.82.1) and

with every line, sips from the churned potion :

"The good of God Savitṛ" — here he sips

"The rich in refreshment we choose", — here he sips

"The best and the most animating" — here he sips

"Of the power of him who blesses,

we are mindful" — here he drinks up the whole.

8. After he has washed out the goblet or the bowl, he lets

himself sleep to the west of the fire, on a hide or on bare

ground, without speaking and undisturbed in heart. Then if a

woman appears before him (in a dream), he should know that

his work has succeeded.

9. Concerning it is the (following) verse ;

"If before one, who performs

a sacrificial rite for the attainment of his wish,

a woman appears in a dream,

then his wishes will be fulfilled.

This is implied by the apparition in the dream

—implied by the apparition in the dream."

Third Part (Khaṇḍa)

[3-10 Parts : The Pañcāgnividyā — the doctrine of the five fires,

and the two paths in the yonder world. — This section, mostly literally

agreeing with Bṛh. 6.2 (Śatap. Br. 14.9.1) contains the most important and

detailed text on the theory of the transmigration of the soul, which we possess

from Vedic times. Which of the two recensions may be the original one,

it is difficult to decide. In general, that in the Chānd. is simple, while in

the Bṛh., it is represented in more glowing colours. On the other hand,

the Chānd. contains some supplements not found in the Bṛh. which appear

certainly to have been added later on; thus particularly is the case in the

case of the distinction between those who come from the moon, such

persons of satisfactory conduct and others of stinking conduct (Chānd.5.10.7),

which stands in contradiction to the preceding description, as previously

only the performers of pious works attain the Pitṛyāṇa leading to the moon

and return from it; so also the warning at the end: "That is why one should

beware ……." etc. (Chānd. 5.10.8.10).— But the common source of the

Chānd. and Bṛh. in this section was not a homogenous product but a welding

together of two related sections which, however, are regarded in a different

spirit — which we can distinguish as the doctrine of the five fires (the name

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

139

of the whole in later Vedānta) and the doctrine of the paths; in the former,

the two of the five are concerned with the preamble of the questions already

stated, while in the latter, it is the remaining three that are concerned.

1. The doctrine of the five fires (in a strict sense, i.e. in Chānd. 5.4.1—

2. 9. 2 = Bṛh. 6.2.9 . . 6.2.14) will provide answers to both the questions: (a) why, in spite of the continuous deaths of persons, the yonder world is

not over-full, and (b) how after the fifth sacrificial offering, the waters

speak with human voice, i.e. how the watery stuff (in the strict sense, only

the last mentioned virile man's semen in which, perhaps, all the five stuffs

viz. faith, Soma, rain, food, sperm, through which all these, man returning

from the beyond passes) assumes again a human form through a kind of

sacrifice. Just as the picture of the men having the sperm-seed lowered

in the earth (1. Kor. 15) is approximately like that of those who bury the

dead, so also it is approximately a like condition, in which the burning of

the dead is customary, the same is to be compared to the sacrificial offering

of the corpse. cf. Ṛgveda 10.16.5. Just as the sacrificial offering is thrown

into the fire in order that it should ascend out of it above towards the

gods, so also the fire, in which the corpse is burnt, is a sacrificial fire; “in

this fire the gods sacrifice the man; out of this sacrifice, the man rises forth

in the form of the colour of light” (only Bṛh. 6.2.14). Analogous with

this appears also the return of man out of the yonder world as a passage

of the same through five sacrificial fires, the yonder world, Parjanya

(rain), earth, (Bṛh. ‘this world’), man, woman, in which the man is sacri-

ficed, successively as faith, Soma, rain, food, sperm (semen). In the

description of the five sacrificial fires, there are found in several cases,

many deviations in the three recensions: See table on p. 140.

According to this table, the original form appears to have been

preserved in the Śatap. Br.; only instead of Vāyu, there must have been

inserted Agni in Bṛh. (as fire in the role of smoke must have been more

striking and was therefore put in as an improved substitute) and instead of

Saṃvatasara, vāyuḥ must have been inserted in the Chānd. — Because evi-

dently one arrived at these stages of the passage (towards the beyond), when

he started from the old tripartite division — heaven, air-space, and earth

and added in that series man and woman (cf. Chānd. 1.8). In this sacri-

ficial fire, the deceased person is sacrificed serially, as faith, Soma, rain,

food and semen, in order to arise again as a human being. What is meant

here by faith is what the Vedānta-theologians thought most proper to name

(cf. my System des Vedānta pp. 401, 408 and Taitav. Up. Br. 3.11.7 where

it is understood as ‘from the faith of the survivor’). In any case, it is that

from which man continues into the beyond after death, and it is charac-

teristic and suits quite well when one seeks the imperishable part of man

(Bṛh. 3.2.13) in Karman (work) and in our passage in Śraddhā (the carrier

of religious deeds). This faith becomes, through its sacrificial offering in

the heavenly fire, the waxing and waning moon (Somo rājā) through the

accretion and depletion of the soul; this, sacrificed in the fire of the aerial

space, naturally becomes rain; this rain, sacrificed in the fire of the earth,

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Sixty Upaniṣads

Out of this

sacrifice,

The gods five

fice in this

arises

Sparks

Ṣatap Br. 14.9.1. 12–16

Bṛh. 6.2. 9–13

Chand. 5. 4–9

Flame

rasmayāḥ

abhrāṇi

vidyut

raṛīḥ

vāk

yonīḥ

rasmayāḥ

abhrāṇi

agnīḥ

prāṇaḥ

lomānī

rasmayāḥ

abhrāṇi

ākāśaḥ

prāṇaḥ

yad upaman-

trayate

Smoke

Fuel

ādityāḥ

sainisarāḥ

prthivī

vyātm

upasthalī

ādityāḥ

sainisarāḥ

vāk

upasthalī

Fire

asau lokaḥ

parjanyāḥ

ayam lokaḥ

puruṣaḥ

yoṣā

asau lokaḥ

parjanyāḥ

ayam lokaḥ

puruṣaḥ

yoṣā

asau lokaḥ

parjanyāḥ

pṛthvī

puruṣaḥ

yoṣā

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

becomes food and this latter, on account of its passage through man and

woman becomes the sperm and then again becomes man. The author of

this doctrine of five fires, according to all appearance, does not make any

distinction between good and bad men; he appears to stick to that stand-

point, in which the highest achievement of man was faith (together with

the ritual works arising out of it) which not only ensures man's agreeable

reception in the yonder world but also, as its reward, the return to the earth.

2. Very different is the spirit which animates the doctrine of the two

paths (Chānd. 5.10 = Bṛh. 6.2.15-16) already welded together in this

piece in the common original; this doctrine of the two Paths holds forth

the prospect of the Devayāna (the way of gods) with its entry into Brahman

without return by virtue of knowledge, and life in the forest with faith as

penance (Bṛh.: knowledge, faith and truthfulness), while on the other

hand, it teaches (the way of the manes) Pitṛyāṇa for the life in the village

of the grhastha performing sacrifice and pious works as a tribute to the gods

(Bṛh.: for sacrifice, almsgiving or charity and penance) with the reward

of (staying in) the moon and return to the earth. It is not only that the

stations on the way return back, in the doctrine of the five fires (Faith, Soma,

rain, food, semen) and in the doctrine of the Two Paths (moon, ether,

wind, smoke, vapour, clouds, rain, plants, mother's womb — Bṛh.: moon,

ether, wind, rain, earth, food, man-fire, woman-fire which all is secondary)

have arisen out of different viewpoints — it is not only that the faith leads

to Brahman without being required to return in the doctrine of Two Paths,

whereas it is already the vehicle of returning back in the doctrine of the Five

Fires — why, the basic view itself has also changed; beside the return-back

to the earth, the higher goal of remaining in the abode of Brahman is re-

vealed. The suitable supplements of the Chānd. (5.10.7, 5, 10, 8-10) alone

designate still further steps, which distinguish between the destinies of the

good and the bad, whereas in the original text the last steps of the Devayāna

(the path of the gods) and the Pitṛyāṇa (the path of the manes) are excluded

and through short enigmatic pointers, those towards the lower world of

animals have been indicated.

Now accordingly, we shall have to distinguish the following stages in the

development of the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul :

I. Ṛgveda : The good continue to lie in the abode of Yama; the fate

of persons of evil conduct has been indicated not clearly; there is no return

back.

II. Bṛh. 3.2.13; 4.4.2-6. The actions (Karman) or knowledge, actions

and the newly acquired experience or knowledge, (vidyā-karmaṇī pūrva-

prajñā ca). These immediately, without their requital in the yonder world

(cf. Bṛh. 4.4.3), produce a new life (birth) on the earth, corresponding to

their quality.

III. The combination of I and II is the original doctrine of the five fires.

By virtue of their faith, the dead reach the (region of) gods; this faith, how-

ever, passing through the stages of five sacrifices is the basis of a new exis-

tence on the earth.

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Sixty Upanisads

IV. There is the knowledge of Brahman and the prospect of abiding in Brahman, there being no return to the earth (devapatha, brahmapatha — Chānd. 3.14.4; 4.15.5-6).

V. The combination of III and IV is the doctrine of the two paths: The path of the gods without return to the earth for Vānaprastha, on account of knowledge and faith; the path of the manes with return to the earth, for grhastha, on account of sacrifice and meritorious deeds. The third place (rebirth as lower animals) is for those who fail to go by either of these Paths.

VI. Combination of the doctrine of the five Fires with the doctrine of the two Paths is already in the original source of the Chānd 5.3-10, Bṛh. 6.2.

VII. There is a supplement to all this in Chānd. Up. There is a distinction of the good and the bad among those who return from-beyond, on account of which arises a contradiction against the original meaning of the way of manes. The third place (of the rebirth as the lower animals) becomes superfluous, which is quite proper.

VIII. In Kauṣ. Up. 1, there is the elimination of the third place. All those, who die, go to the moon, from where some enter on the way of the gods which leads to Brahman and others return back to the existence on earth as animals and men.]

1. It once happened that Śvetaketu, the son of Āruṇi, went to an assembly of the Pañcālas. There, Pravāhaṇa, the son of Jīvāla, said to him :

"Boy, has your father taught you ?"

"Well, yes, venerable sir!" he replied.

2. "Do you know whither from here the beings reach ?"

"No, venerable sir !" he replied.

"Do you know the separate two paths — that of gods and that of manes ?"

"No, venerable Sir !" he replied.

3. "Do you know how it comes about that the yonder world does not become (over—) full ?"

"No, venerable Sir!", he replied.

"Do you know how during the fifth sacrificial offering, the water happens to speak with human voice ?"

"Not even that, venerable Sir," he replied.

4. "Now then, why have you stated that you have been instructed ? "How can he, who cannot answer these questions, explain that he has been instructed ?"

Then he (Śvetaketu), distressed went thither where his father was and said to him :

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

143

"Venerable Sir, you, without instructing me, stated that you had instructed me !

5. The member of the princely class addressed me five questions, of which I could not answer even one."

The other (the father) replied : "As you have, just now, communicated to me these questions, (I must confess) that I also do not know even one of them. If I had known them, how could I have not explained them to you ?"

6. Then (the father) Gautama went thither where the king was. When he arrived, he (the king) received him respectfully.

The next morning, when the king went to the audience hall, the other one (Gautama) approached him. And the king said to him : "Venerable Gautama, from the goods (good things), as men desire them, you choose a gift (for yourself)" - But he (Gautama) replied : "O King !, please keep (with yourself) such goods, as men desire. But the words which you said in the presence of the boy—please explain those words to me !"

7. Then the king was in an embarrassed condition and he suggested to him that he should wait a while. Then he said to him : "Because, as you, O Gautama, have said to me, this doctrine or teaching has not been formerly, before you, in circulation among the Brāhmaṇas. That is why even in the whole world, the rulership has remained among the warrior-class."

And he said to him :

Fourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "Indeed, that yonder world, O Gautama, is a sacrificial fire; the sun is its fuel, the rays its smoke, the day its flame, the moon its coals, the stars its sparks.

2. Into this fire, the gods give an offering of faith Out of this sacrificial offering arises Soma.

Fifth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Indeed, Parjanya (rain cloud), O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire; the wind is its fuel, the clouds its smoke, the lightning its flame, the thunderbolt its coals, the hailstones its sparks.

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2. Into this fire, the gods sacrifice the King Soma in this fire: Out of this sacrificial offering arises the rain.

Sixth Part (Khanda)

1. Indeed, the earth, O Gautama, is a sacrificial fire; the year is its fuel, the ether its smoke, the night its flame, the points of heavens its coals, the intermediate points (of directions) the sparks.

2. Into this fire, the gods sacrifice the rain. Out of this sacrificial offering arises the food.

Seventh Part (Khanda)

1. Indeed, the man, O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire; the speech its fuel, the breath its smoke, the tongue its flame, the eyes its coals, the ears its sparks.

2. Into this fire, the gods sacrifice food; out of this offering arises the semen or sperm.

Eighth Part (Khanda)

1. Indeed. the woman, O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire, the lap or sexual organ its fuel; when one appeals to her, it is the smoke, the vulva the flame, the insertion the coals, the sexual pleasure the sparks.

2. Into this fire, the gods sacrifice the semen. Out of this sacrificial offering arises the foetus.

Ninth Part (Khanda)

1. Thus it occurs that during the fifth sacrificial offering the water comes to have human voice.

After the embryo, covered by the membrane, has lain in the interior for ten months or as long as it may be, he is born.

2. After one is born, he lives so long as his life duration is. After he is dead, they carry him to his destination in the fire, from which he had come, out of which he had arisen.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Tenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Now they, who have this knowledge, and those who practise worship in the forest with the words “The faith is our penance” - they go first into the flame (of the funeral fire), out of the flame into the day, out of the day into the bright half of the month, out of the bright half of the month into the half-year in which the sun goes northwards;

2. out of the half-year into the year, out of the year into the sun, out of the sun into the moon, out of the moon into the lightning. There is there a Person (puruṣa) who is not like an ordinary man (i.e. who is superhuman?) who leads them on to Brahman. This path is called the path of gods.

3. On the other hand, those who in the villages practise worship with the words “Sacrifice and works of piety are our alms-giving or charity”, go first into the smoke (of the funeral fire), out of the smoke into the night, out of the night into the dark half of the month, out of the dark half of the month into the half-year, when the sun goes southwards; these do not reach the year,

4. but out of the half-year into the world of the manes, out of the world of the manes into the ether, out of the ether into the moon; the moon is King Soma and he is the food of the gods; the gods eat it.

5. After they have stayed there, as long as there is a residue of (of their good actions), they return back on the same way by which they had come, into the ether (space), out of the ether into the wind; after he has become a wind, he becomes smoke;

6. after he has become smoke, he becomes mist; after he has become mist, he becomes a cloud; after he has become a cloud, he rains down. Here below, such are born as rice, and barley, plants and trees, sesame and beans. Indeed, it is difficult to emerge out of them; because when one eats them as food and emits it as semen, thus (only) can further develop out of them (tad bhūya eva bhavati).

7. For those, who have led a satisfactory life, the prospect is that they enter into a good, agreeable mother's womb, a Brāhmaṇa-womb or a Kṣatriya-womb or a Vaiśya-womb; but for those who have led an obnoxious life, the prospect is that

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they enter into an obnoxious mother-womb, into the dog-womb or the swine-womb or into the Cāndāla-womb.

8. But on none of these ways are found those tiny, continually returning creatures of whom it is said : "Be born and die." This is the third place.

That is why that (yonder) world is not full. — Therefore, one should guard himself ! — Regarding that, there is the following verse :

9. The thief who steals gold and one who drinks spirituous drinks,

the murderer of a Brāhman, one who stains the teacher's bed —

These four come to ruin and the fifth who associates with them.

10. But on the other hand, he who knows these fires, is not tainted by evil, even though he associates with them, but he remains pure and untainted in the world of the pure — he who knows this — he who knows this.

Eleventh Part (KhandA)

[11-24 parts : This section consists of two connected parts, of which the first (11-18) contains a further formulation of the doctrine of Agni Vaiśānara set forth in the Śatap. Br. 10.6.1 into the doctrine of Ātman Vaiśānara, whereas the second (19-24) connected therewith remodels the Agnihotram or fire-sacrifice offered twice daily to the gods into a Prānāgni-hotram — a fire-sacrifice offered to Prāṇa (the life-force).

According to the Śatap. Br. 10.6.1, six Brāhmaṇas (mostly of the same names as in the Chāndogya version) request King Ajātaśatru for instruction about Agni Vaiśānara. This is originally "the fire commonly existing in all men (it was found striking that god Agni supports all men — friends as well as foes, — therefore is this name Vaiśvānara; similarly Jesus found it striking that the sun shines over the good and the bad — Matth. 5.45),

but in our present story, or narration, Agni Vaiśvānara, with the emphasis on the latter accompanying word Vaiśvānara, is as a rule named only Vaiśvānara, the omnipresent world-principle which is united or reconciled with that in the head of man, as a microcosm, of the size of a span (prādeśa-mātram). Aśvapati begins his instruction first by interrogating the Brāhmaṇas about their idea of Vaiśvānara. The Brāhmaṇas, in reply to his question, state in definite terms, their ideas seriatim as the earth, water, space, wind, sun and heavens. Aśvapati finds these definitions inadequate

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

147

because that they were one-sided; the earth is only the foot, the water only

the bladder, the wind the breath, the sun the eyes, the heavens the head of

Vaiśvānara; these six are only as the substructure of Vaiśvānara, as its

riches, as its manifold aspects of separate paths, as brilliantly shining as

surprising all, but not the full, complete Vaiśvānara. “And he said to them :

All of you, because you have thought the food of Vaiśvānara only as separate

from yours, you have eaten the food seperated from him. But indeed, the

gods have been thought (abhisamppanna) to be easily comprehensible as the

size of a span (prādeśamātra) as it were, and I will explain to you that I

represent them as of the size of a span. And he said, as he showed them

the stars: ‘this is Vaiśvānara as all-surprising’; as he pointed, towards

the eyes, he said: “this is Vaiśvānara as shining and full of splendour”

and as he pointed to the nostrils, he said : ‘this Vaiśvānara of separate

paths’; and as he pointed to the space in the mouth, he said : ‘this is Vaiśvā-

nara as a manifold one’; and as he pointed to the water in the mouth, he

said : ‘this is Vaiśvānara as riches;’ and as he pointed to the chin, he said :

‘this is Vaiśvānara as the basis’. The man — that is the Agni Vaiśvānara,

and he who knows this Agni Vaiśvānara as incorporated in the man, as

grounded in man — he averts recurring death, lives the full duration of life;

yea, not once will Vaiśvānara injure him who utters his name.”

This narrative, which already contains the idea of the unity of the

universe and of the realization of this unity with man, appears to be

further significantly continued in our Chāndogya-passage which pro-

claims this unity of the Ātman. Therefore, the first question starts as

this :

“What is our self (ātman), what is the Brahman ?” And the theme is

no more Agni Vaiśvānara but the Ātmā Vaiśvānara — the omnipresent self.

The six Brāhmaṇas explain these in a descending order (on account of which

the beautiful and certainly the original ascending order which appears in

the Śatap. Br., gets lost), that these are heavens, sun, wind, aerial space,

water, earth. — This is aquiesced in by Aśvapati; and the Brāhmaṇas

explain that as head, eyes, breath, an aggregate of body, bladder, and foot

of the Ātman Vaiśvānara, that these are beautifully brilliant, have all forms,

have separate paths, are manifold, and that they are veritable riches and

basis. Thereupon, as the Śatap. states with regard to it, this (Ātman

Vaiśvānara) is to be adored not as prthak as different from oneself but as

prādeśamātram abhivimānam i.e. in one's own self. As the reference made

in the Śatap. Br. with regard to the entities from the stars to the chin and

head of the size of a span does not appear here (in the Chānd.), the prādeśa-

mātram became something indefinite and it became a subject of conjecture

and counter-conjecture for the Vedānta theologians; in any case, it is

the Ātman as the very small being in man (cf. its characterization in the

Chānd. 3.14 as smaller than a corn of barley, in the Kaṭh. 4-12 as of the

size of the point of a needle, and in Śvet. 5.8.9, as more tiny than split hair

etc.); whether in contrast to the above, abhivimānam designates the Ātman

as something extremely big outside man, whether it is to be read as ativi-

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mānam as Bohtlingk reads, and as P. W. then translates it as 'immense extent' it being perhaps an orally uttered conjecture of Weber, is another question; it is, however, not at all necessary; the parallel abhisampanna in Śatap. Br. speaks in favour of Śaṅkara's reference to one's own self (pratyagātmataȳ abhivimīyate, aham iti jñāyate, iti abhivimānaḥ). Such a mention, beside the uncertain prādeśamātram is welcome. In the quotation then sa sarveṣu lokeṣu etc., the reference to the universe stands forth all the more emphatically; it was little anticipated. For him who knows the Ātman Vaiśvānara (tasya ha vā etasya ātmano vaiśvānarasya), the mentioned world-phenomena become1 his head, eyes, breath etc., whereas the accessories of sacrifice Vedī, Barhis, Gārhapatya, Āhavanīya, collateral with the world-phenomena become his breast, hair heart, Manas and mouth.

With this instruction about the Ātman Vaiśvānara is connected further on (in Parts 19-24) a modification of the Agnihotra into a sacrifice for the Prāṇa and through it for the Ātman Vaiśvānara. The Agnihotram, in which a priest is only necessary (Taitt. Br. 2.3.6.1), is to be performed by offering oblations into the fire, after one has settled in the householder's state of life, throughout his whole life, immediately after sunset every evening and immediately before sunrise, every morning. With this aim, under a special ceremony, a whey of milk is made hot in an earthen vessel over the Gārhapatya fire, without boiling it, is mixed with water in a special ladle made of Vikaṅkata-wood and is poured by means of this ladle in two oblations into the Āhavanīya-fire. The first oblation (pūrvā āhuti) is offered on evenings with the following words : Agnir jyotir, jyotir agnih, svāhā !, and on mornings with the words : sūryo jyotir, jyotiḥ sūryaḥ, svāhā ! The second oblation (uttarā āhuti) has to be offered silently. The residue (ucchiṣṭam) of the offering, i.e. what remains in the ladle as well as in the vessel or the saucepan is to be eaten only by a Brāhmaṇa, not in his own house; no Kṣatriya or Vaiśya is to eat it. Through the offering poured out of the ladle, the gods are satiated, through what is wiped out of it, the manes and the plants, through the residue of the sacrificial drink drunk by the priests, the men and immediately through them the animals (are satiated). Therefore, as an ancient verse (Chānd. 5.24.5) says, all beings sit around the fire-sacrifice, as do hungry children around the mother.

Very different from this customary Agnihotram is the form which the author gives to it in order to make it into a Prāṇāgnihotram — a sacrificial offering into the fire to Prāṇa — and through it to the Ātman Vaiśvānara who fills everything with its presence. First of all, there is no need of a specially prepared sacrificial milk, but the first nutrition or food which is available (yad bhaktam prathamam āgacchet) is suitable for the sacrifice (homīyam). Also no sacrifice appears to be necessary, because in place of

1. Chānd. 5.18.2; according to Bohtlingk's interpretation, the passage would only be a tautological repetition of what has already been said.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

it, there is substituted one's own mouth (āsyam eva āhavanīyaḥ), in which

the sacrificial offering is offered. (Bohtlingk however differs from this

interpretation). In place of the two sacrificial offerings, there are five

which are offered with the words : prāṇāya svāhā ! vyānāya svāhā etc.,

to the five ramifications of Prāṇa or vital breath (prāṇa, vyāna, apāna,

samāna, udāna). With them and through them are satiated the five vital

organs, the five divinities and the five world-parts (spheres of the world)

and along with all these the whole Ātman Vaiśvānara, according to the

following scheme :

1. prāṇa

caksus

āditya

dyaus

2. vyāna

śrotram

candramas

diśas

3. apāna

vāc

agni

prthivī

4. samāna

manas

parjanya

vidyut

5. udāna

. .

vāyu

ākāśa

It is exactly the same scheme as in 3.13 and even in its omission — namely

the omission of the fifth vital organ (probably of the tvac, skin) both agree,

which is very curious. Regarding the reservation of the residue of the sacri-

fice (ucchiṣṭam) for the Brāhmaṇas, there is no more any mention. If the

residue itself is given to a Caṇḍāla (the lowermost among men), it is there-

with offered to Ātman Vaiśvānara present in all beings. — Also the verse

about the hungry children gains a deeper significance. The whole nature

participates in the destinies of the one who possesses the knowledge of

Brahman because the whole nature is his own self.]

1. Prācīnaśāla Aupamanyava, Satyayajña Pauluṣi, Indra-

dyumna Bhāllaveya, Jana Śārkarākṣya, and Budila Āśvatarāśvi

all these of great wealth, and of great erudition in scriptures,

assembled together and cogitated (with a view to investigate) :

"What is our self (Ātman) and what is the Brahman ?"

2. And they came to (the following) agreement : "Well,

there is there Uddālaka Āruṇi, venerable sirs; he is at present

engaged in the investigation of the Ātman Vaiśvānara (the self disseminated everywhere); well, let us, therefore, go to

him !" Then they approached him.

3. But he agreed with himself and thought : "These house-

holders of great wealth and of great erudition in scriptures will

question me and perhaps I shall not to able to answer them on

everything. Well ! I will refer them to another one."

4. And he said to them : "There is that Aśvapati Kaikeya,

venerable sirs ! He is at present engaged in the study of the

Vaiśvānara. Well ! let us go to him."

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5. When they approached, he (Aśvapati) rendered to every

one of them the respect due to him. Because he was a man who,

when he rose in the morning, could say

"In my realm, there is no thief,

no miser, no drunkard,

none without sacrifice, none without knowledge

no man unchaste, therefore, no unchaste woman."

And he said to them : "I have intended, venerable sirs, to

perform a sacrifice. Venerable sirs, I will give to (each of) you

as large a gift as I would give to each of the sacrificial priests.

You may, please, remain staying here."

6. They said : "A man should speak of the thing or the

subject with which he is occupied. You are studying just now

the Ātman Vaiśvānara. So you do explain him to us !"

And he said to them: "Tomorrow I will give you the answer.

Then they, next early morning, appeared before him with fuel-

sticks in their hands (as a token that they had let themselves

become already his disciples). But without first accepting them

as his disciples, he spoke to them as follows :

Twelfth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "Aupamanyava ! whom do you adore as the Ātman (the

self)?"

"The heavens, venerable King !" he replied.

"He is indeed, the Ātman Vaiśvānara as one full of splendour

(Śatap. Br. 'shining as Soma) whom you adore as the Ātman.

That is why one sees in your family the Soma being pressed for

one day, for several days, for many, many days.

2. And you eat food and see what is pleasing to you; he,

who, therefore, adores the Ātman Vaiśvānara, then eats food

and sees what is pleasing and in his family, Brāhmanic (sacred)

splendour is indigenous. But the same (Heavens) are still the

head of the Ātman" thus he said, "and your head would have

burst (cracked), if you had not come to me".

Thirteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. And further he said to Satyayajña Pauluṣi : "Prācīna-

yogya ! whom do you adore as the Ātman ?" — "The sun,

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

151

venerable King !” he said. — “He is, indeed, the Ātman

Vaiśvānara as the all-formed, whom you worship as the Ātman.

That is why, in your family many things of all forms are seen :

2. the rumbling chariot drawn by (she —) mules, the female

slave, the golden necklace, and you eat food and see what is

pleasing to you; then he, who adores as such a one (the sun)

the Ātman Vaiśvānara, eats food and sees what is pleasing and

in his family Brāhmanic (sacred) splendour becomes indigenous.

But the same (sun) is still only the eye of the Ātman” thus he

said : “and you would have become blind, if you had not

come to me !”

Fourteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. And further he said to Indradyumna Bhāllaveya : ‘Vaiyā-

ghrapadya ! whom do you adore as the Ātman ?’ — “The

wind, venerable King !” he said. — “He is indeed the Ātman

Vaiśvānara as one of several paths, whom you adore as the

Ātman. That is why special gifts of homage are offered to you

(āyanti) and separate rows of chariots follow after you;

2. and you eat food and see what is agreeable to you. Then

he, who adores the Ātman Vaiśvānara as such (the wind), eats

food, and sees what is pleasing and Brāhmanic (sacred) splendour

becomes indigenous in his family. But still the same (wind) is

only the breath of the Ātman” thus he said, “Your breath would

have stirred out (left you) if you had not come to me.”

Fifteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. And further he said to Jana : “Śārkarākṣya ! whom do

you adore as the Ātman ?” “The space, venerable king !” he

said. — “He is, indeed, the Ātman Vaiśvānara as the manifold

(extended) one, whom you adore as the Ātman. That is why you

are manifold and extended in progeny and wealth;

2. and you eat food and see what is pleasing to you. Then

he, who, therefore, adores the Ātman Vaiśvānara as such (space)

eats food and sees what is pleasing; Brāhmanic (sacred)

splendour becomes indigenous in his family. But, the same

(space) is only the constituent body of the Ātman”. So he said

"and your constituent body would have fallen to pieces, if you

had not come to me."

Sixteenth Part (Khanda)

1. And he further spoke to Budila Āśvatarāśvi : "Vaiyā-

ghrapadya, whom do you adore as the Ātman ?" — "The waters

venerable King" he replied. — "They are indeed the Ātman

Vaiśvānara, as the riches, which you adore as the Ātman. That

is why you are rich in wealth and prosperity,

2. and you eat the food and see what is pleasing to you;

then he, who adores the Ātman Vaiśvānara, as such (i.e. the

waters), eats the food and sees what is pleasing and Brāhmanic

(sacred) splendour becomes indigenous in his family. But the

same waters are the bladder of the Ātman" thus he spoke, "and

your bladder would have burst or split, if you had not come

to me".

Seventeenth Part (Khanda)

1. And further he said to Uddālaka Āruṇi: Gautama! whom

do you adore as the Ātman ?" — "The earth, venerable Sir" he

replied.— "It (the earth) is, indeed, the Ātman Vaiśvānara, as

the support which you adore as the Ātman Vaiśvānara. That is

why you are supported with your progeny and cattle,

2. and you eat food and see what is pleasing to you. Then,

he, who adores the Ātman Vaiśvānara as such (earth), eats food

and sees, what is pleasing and his Brāhmanic (sacred) splendour

becomes indigenous in his family. But still, the same (earth) is

only the foot of the Ātman" thus he said, "Your feet would

have withered, if you had not come to me".

Eighteenth Part (Khanda)

1. And he spoke to them : "All of you, who are here,

understand this Ātman Vaiśvānara, as if he were separate from

you, and eat food. But he, who considering this Ātman

Vaiśvānara as one of the size of a span, adores the Ātman as

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

153

measuring that size of a span, eats the food in all the worlds,

in all beings, in all selves.

2. And of this Ātman Vaiśvānara (embodied in one's own

self) the resplendent (heavens, full of splendour are) the head,

the multiformed (sun) the eye, that (wind) having separate

paths the breath, the manifold (space) its trunk — its body-

constituent, the riches (waters) its bladder, the earth is its feet,

the place of sacrifice is its breast, the sacrificial grass or straw

its hair, the (round) Gārhapatya fire its heart, the (half-moon-

formed) Anvāhāryapacana fire its manas (mind), the (quadrangu-

lar) Āhavanīya fire its mouth.

Nineteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. That is why what food comes to hand (is available) first,

is fit for sacrifice. Now one should offer the first sacrificial

oblation, which he wishes to offer, (into his mouth as the

Āhavanīya-fire) with the words : “To the in-breath, (prāṇa),

svāhā (hail!)”. Then his in-breath is satiated.

2. When the in-breath is satiated, the eyes are satiated; when

the eyes are satiated, the sun is satiated; when the sun is satiated

the heavens are satiated; when the heavens are satiated, every-

thing that is governed by the heavens and the sun is satiated.

After this satiation, one becomes satisfied in his progeny, cattle,

nutritive food, strength and Brāhmaṇic (sacred) splendour.

Twentieth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Further, one should sacrifice the second sacrificial offering,

which he wishes to offer, with the words : “To the connecting

Breath (vyāna), svāhā (hail) !” Then the connecting breath is

satiated.

2. When the connecting breath is satiated, the ears are

satiated; when the ears are satiated, the moon is satiated;

when the moon is satiated, the heavenly directions (diśaḥ) are satiated,

when the heavenly directions are satiated, everything that is

governed by the heavenly directions and the moon is satiated.

After this satiation, one is satisfied in his progeny, cattle,

nutritive food, strength and Brāhmaṇic (sacred) splendour.

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Sixty Upaniṣads

Twentyfirst Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Further, one should sacrifice the third sacrificial offering,

which he wishes to offer, with the words : “To the out-breath,

(apāna) svāhā (hail !)”

Then the out-breath becomes satiated.

2. When the out-breath is satiated the speech is satiated;

when the speech is satiated, the fire is satiated;

when the fire is satiated, the earth is satiated;

when the earth is satiated, every-

thing that is governed by earth and fire is satiated.

After this satiation, one is satisfied in his progeny, cattle, nutritive food,

strength and Brāhmanic (sacred) splendour.

Twentysecond Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Further, one should sacrifice the fourth sacrificial offering,

if he wishes to sacrifice, with the words : “To the all-breath

(Samāna), svāhā (hail !)”

Then the all-breath is satiated.

2. When the all-breath is satiated, the Manas is satiated;

when the Manas is satiated, the rain-god is satiated,

when rain-god is satiated the lightning is satiated;

when the lightning is satiated, everything that is governed by the lightning

and the rain-god, is satiated.

After this satiation, one is satiated in his progeny, cattle, nutritive food,

strength and Brāhmanic (sacred) splendour.

Twentythird Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Finally one should sacrifice the fifth sacrificial offering,

which he wishes to sacrifice, with the words : “To the up-breath

(udāna), svāhā (hail !)”

Then the upbreath is satiated.

2. When the up-breath is satiated,1 ... the wind is satiated;

when the wind is satiated, the ether is satiated;

when the ether is satiated, everything that is governed by the wind and the

ether is satiated.

After this satiation, one is satisfied in his progeny, cattle, nutritive food'

strength and Brāhmanic (sacred) splendour.

1. ‘The skin is satisfied, when the skin is satisfied’ (from the original Sanskrit; — In Deussen's German translation, the translation of this Sanskrit original does not appear. A line of three dots appears in Deussen. — Translator)

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Twentyfourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. If one, without this knowledge, performs the Agnihotram, it is as if he stokes away the coals and sacrifices into the ashes.

2. But he, who has this knowledge, performs the Agnihotram, offers sacrificial offerings to all the worlds, to all beings, to all selves.

3. Therefore, just as a blade of rush-grass, stuck in fire, burns, so also all sins of one who has this knowledge and performs the sacrifice, are burnt off.

4. Therefore, he, who having such knowledge, were to give the residue of the sacrificial offering to a Caṇḍāla, he would thereby, offer the sacrificial offering to the Ātman Vaiśvānara. With regard to this is the following verses;

5. Just as hungry children

sit around their mother,

so also all beings sit

here around the Agnihotram

— here around the Agnihotram.

Sixth Chapter (Prapāṭhaka)

[The whole Prapāṭhaka (chapter) forms a connected whole, in which Śvetaketu is taught by his father Uddālaka about the Being and its unfoldment into the world. Externally both the sections 1-7 and 8-16 are divided from one another through the doubling of the concluding words 7.6 and of the new beginning 8.1. However, this division purely external was occasioned only (perhaps afterwards) by the desire to separate the longer section into two approximate equal learning lessons for study. From the point of view of inner contents both the parts closely belong together, because not only in the second part the back-reference is mentioned (8.6 tad uktam purastāt eva bhavati cf. 4.7 following ) but there is also the constant refrain, joined with 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, which is, as we will show, the basic thought of 1-7. Still it is to be mentioned beforehand that the present situation of Śvetaketu returning from his instruction for the period of twelve years and then being taught by his father Uddālaka about the deepest secret of existence is in no way reconcilable with the role which both play in Chānd. 5.3.1 (foll.). When one takes into consideration the several other contradictions about these persons (e.g. Br̥h. 6.37; 6.5.3 in which Yājñavalkya is a pupil of Uddālaka, and Br̥h. 3.7 cf. 3.9.27 in which also Uddālaka is silenced by Yājñavalkya; or Br̥h. 4.6.2 in which Uddālakāyana is the pupil of Jābālāyana, whereas Br̥h. 6.3.8-12 in which Satyakāma follows as one of the fifth rank after Uddālaka), it appears probable that one possessed not only fixed traditions from ancient times but on the contrary, only famous

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names to whom were ascribed the new emerging doctrine without giving

much anxious thought to the resulting contradictions.

The importance and passage-after-passage difficulties in the present

Prapāṭhaka (chapter ) requires an analysis of the sixteen sections of which

it consists, individually.

1. Śvetaketu, twelve years old, is instructed in the teaching of (the

Vedas) as a Brahmacārin by his father and returns back after twelve years.

He has studied all the Vedas (— in the later expanded size, every Veda re-

quired twelve years for study — ) and is full of conceit about his knowledge.

The father asks him : “Have you also inquired into the instruction : yena

aśrutam śrutam bhavati etc.? What is it called ?” Max Müller translates

it : “by which we hear what cannot be heard.” According to Bohtlingk,

it means : “by means of which the unheard becomes heard.” Both are

wrong, though the latter could have found the right interpretation in my

‘System des Vedānta’ (p. 282) viz. “though which also the unheard one

becomes already a heard one”. It is the theme of the whole book which

proclaims itself in these words. The existing one or being is one and is

everything. He who knows the Being knows everything in it, also the

unknown. As confirmation of this, there are the following words of the

ancient wise men, 4.5 : na no adya kaścana aśrutam, amatam, avijñātam

udāhariṣyati” (which is completely misunderstood by Bohtlingk); so also

there is the repetition and thus it is the oldest interpretation of our passage

in Muṇḍaka 1.1.3 : ‘Kasmin nu bhagavo vijñāte sarvam idam vijñātam

bhavati ?’ Also the Chānd. 6.1.3-5 intends only to elucidate this doctrine

by the following examples : As through a lump of clay or earth, copper,

iron, everything made of earth, copper, iron is known, so also through the

knowledge of the one Being or existent, everything whatever is “the un-

changing one clinging to (confined in) a word, a mere name”. This is the

oldest passage in which the unreality of the manifold world is expressed.

Not long after this, Parmenides in Greece attained to the same knowledge

and uttered it almost in the same way : “That is why everything which

trustful men have accepted as truth is all what arises and disappears, a mere

name.” Spinoza gives expression to the same knowledge when he explains

all individuals as modes (‘modi’) of a divine substance (‘substantia’). All

the three — Chāndogya, Parmenides, Spinoza (and thus all philosophers

before Kant) commit the error to transfer the empirical forms of ideas to the

metaphysical, wherethrough its metaphysic expresses the truth only in a

figurative metaphorical form. Thus here (in the Chānd.), the metaphysical

Being or existence (sat, substantia) is described according to analogy as a

substance persisting in the alternating changes of its state or condition.

That this idea is a figurative or a semfigurative one is proved by Parmenides

and as regards the Chāndogya by the passages following thereafter, in which

tejas, āpaḥ, annam, i.e. the basic elements of physical substance or matter

have been derived only out of the metaphysical substance the sat, the Being

or the existent.

2. The origination of the elements out of the existent (Being). — In the

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157

beginning there was the existent (Being), (Sat), alone, only one and without

a second. This primaeval Being was already characterized in the Ṛgveda

10.129.1 (nāsad āsin no sad āsīt tadānīm) as neither non-existent nor existent

(in the empirical sense). Since then, the latter alternative viz., the primaeval

Being as asat, non-existent, has been emphasised and designated as such.

cf. Ṛgveda 10.72—2-3, so also Śatap Br. 6.1.1 and Taittirīya Br. 2.2.9 (vide

the passages in my Allgemeinen Geschichte der Philosophie (‘General

History of Philosophy) I. p 145, 199, 202; Taitt. Up. 2.7.1 and Chānd.

3.19.1). As against this, our author (of these present Upaniṣadic passages)

disputes this alternative, and raises this question: “How could Being or the

existent arise out of the nonexistent? On the contrary, this world was

in the beginning, only the existent one (sat).”

This one Being or existent intended to be manifold and created (let arise

forth out of itself ‘asṛjata’ ) fire (tejas), this fire in the same way let the

water arise out of itself, the food (annam) was in the same way created out

of the water. For the origination of water out of fire and of food out of the

waters — as empirical confirmation of such creation, they pointed out the

facts of sweating after heating and of the growth of plants after rain. Since

fire, water and food have arisen out of the Being or the existent all these,

according to the view of the author (of this Upaniṣad), are only this (Being);

— yet, in the way in which their origination out of the Being is described,

they are, in reality, modifications (vikāra) of this same Being, the reality

of which was previously disputed. A certain relapse or harking back to

the realism, probably under the influence of earlier theories, is here undeni-

ably discernible. Our author knows only three elements of which every-

thing consists. According to another interpretation (represented particularly

in Taitt. Up. 2.1), two more (subtle) elements are interpolated between

them and the Being, so that the later elements, five in number, viz. ākāśa,

vāyu, agni, āpas, pṛthvī, were arrived at. Correspondingly, out of the three-

fold division of the elements which is described below, there arose the later

fivefold division (pañcīkaraṇam).

3-4. The threefold division of the Elements — First, there is made an

observation about the division of the living creatures as those born from

eggs, as those born from (the womb of) living creatures and those born from

sprouting (like plants from the earth); this observation disturbs and inter-

rupts the context and appears to have been interpolated later. — Then there

follows the general basic thought underlying Indian philosophy, which had

already developed in the hymns of the Ṛgveda; according to that thought,

the primaeval Being brings forth out of itself the Ur-matter (the primaeval

matter) and originates as the first creation in this itself. (cf. the proofs

hereof in my Allgemeinen Geschichte der Philosophie). Then the Being

resolves to create the primal (Ur -) elements out of itself. In these, the

individual souls (jīva-ātman) enter and propagate names and forms. With

this aim, there ensues the ‘threefold division’ of the elements i.e. the trans-

plantation into every element, of the ingredients of the two others. (Later

this theory is made precise so that, for example, empirical water, consists

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of 1/2 water + 1/8 earth + 1/8 fire + 1/8 air + 1/8 ether). The motive

behind this doctrine is evident; it is to comprehend all the manifold-

empirical things as mixtures of different sorts of the three primal (Ur-)

elements. This is explained, for example, in the phenomena of the fire,

the sun, the moon and the lightning; they are not purely fire but fire with the

admixture of water and food; the same is the case with all empirical things;

their difference is only apparent (an appearance) ("clinging to a word, a mere

name"), in truth, there is everywhere only fire, water and food; he who knows

these three knows all; to him the unknown becomes already the known.

(He who knows these three, knows the Being, which has unfolded itself).

5. Application to man : Also in the case of man, the threefold division

of the elements takes place; it is, however, to be understood in an entirely

different sense from the previous one (although described with the same

figure of speech). Previously, it dealt with an admixture of every one of the

three elements with the two remaining ones; but now in the case of man,

on the other hand, the threefold division is understood as a division of every

individual element into the grossest, the middling (intermediate) and the

finest. Accordingly, the constituents of the body originate according to

the following scheme:

Grossest Middling Finest

Food Faeces Flesh Manas (mind)

Water Urine Blood Prāṇa (Breath)

Fire Bone Marrow Speech

6. The elucidation of this Process : As in the case of milk, when it is

churned or shaken, the finest part goes up as butter, so also Manas, Prāṇa,

and speech are the fine parts emerging in the body from food, water and fire.

7. The proof that Manas consists of food and Prāṇa of water : The

proof lies in the fact that if one abstains from food and, on the other hand,

drinks water, the memory (manas) fades away, while on the contrary, Prāṇa

remains subsisting. This idea is considerably pushed back into the obscu-

rity or background on account of its amalgamation with another idea

(perhaps on account of the utilization of an older text devoted to this idea)

according to which man consists of sixteen parts, of which one fades away

on each day of fasting, until after the fifteenth day, only one remains, which

then through nutrition can again be animated or kindled, like a spark of

fire through its being supplied with fuel.

The next following half of the Prapāṭhaka (8-16) is only an elucidation

of the idea (presented in the first half) of the sole reality of the Being (the

existent) and of that Being's dissemination into the manifold world. Partly

through images (9 Bees, 10 Rivers, 11 lumps of salt, 14 an erring or a misled

man, 16 ordeal), partly in the phenomena themselves (8 sleep, hunger, thirst,

death, 11 a withering tree, 12 seed of corn, 15 a dying man), series of riddles

of nature are presented and their solution is found in the roots of the con-

cerned nature-phenomena lying in the one Being (the existent), unperceivable

(anu) to the senses. These riddles are:

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159

8. Sleep, hunger, thirst, death;

9. Unconsciousness (unawareness) of entry into the Being;

10. Unawareness of the arising forth out of the same;

11. The living man dies but not the soul;

12. The arising forth of the multiform tree out of the uniform content

of the germ;

13. The invisible Being (existent) penetrates all things;

14. Return to the Being from the aberration of earthly existence;

15. The vanishing of awareness during the entry into the Being;

16. Untruth brings bondage and sorrow, truth brings deliverance.

At the conclusion of every one of these new sections, there follows then

the famous formula : sa ya eso nimā, aitadātmyam idam sarvam, sa ātmā,

tat tvam asi Śvetaketo !".That which " this unperceivability (literally,

'subtility' in which the concerned mysterious phenomena are rooted, i.e.

the Being is, a (mere) consisting of this1 — this universe (the whole world

is only Being, as is shown in the first half of this section), it is the real

(everything else is merely a mere name, clinging to a word), it is the soul

(as individual souls, the Being itself entered into the fire, water, and food,

see above 3), you are that, O Śvetaketu" (really striking is the directness

with which here the whole essence of the mysterious highest Being, the

entire fullness of the godhead or divinity has been recognized in the dis-

course; the words tat tvam asi are rightly regarded as valid embodying the

sum-total of all Upaniṣadic teaching). This formula, therefore, contains

only a summary of the thoughts presented previously (1-7). Now let us deal

with the individual sections.

8 (a) The Sleep — We have here two explanations of this phenomenon

which do not properly agree with one another. (i) The sleep is an entering

into the Being and as this (Being) stays in man as his soul or self, the sleep

is an entering into itself (svam apīta, therefore, svapiti), (ii) The sleep is an

entering of the conscious (aware) Manas (mind) into the unconscious (un-

aware) Prāṇa.

(b) The hunger consists in a carrying away (towards the structure of

the organism) of the eaten food through water out of which it (food) has

arisen. Its name aśanāyā is etymologically explained as pointing to this

water 'as one which carries away food'. "This body" (etad, whole Śarīram)

is an effect or an operative apparatus (Śungam literally 'a budding point',

in further sense 'a sprouting or shooting forth' in general) and has as its

prime cause (mūlam, literally 'root') the food; the food has its prime

1. aitadātmyam is needlessly made to lose its force by reading it as

etadātmakam; etad-ātman (adj.) 'having this as essence or its nature' is far

off from the Substantivum Abstractum aitadātmyam 'the this-as-essence-

having'. The world is not a substance which would carry etadātman as

attribute but it is thoroughly only this attribute (it does not consist of it but

is a mere 'of-it-consisting') and for the rest an essenceless appearance. Thus

aitadātmyam is the product of a power of abstraction outbidding itself and

(taken strictly logically) shooting forth beyond the goal.

160

cause, the water, this water has as its prime cause the fire, the fire, the Being (as developed in 2 above).

(c) So also the thirst consists in the carrying away (towards the building up of the organism) of the drunk water by fire out of which it has arisen. — Again the body (etad) is, in accordance with its fluid part, an effect of water, the water of fire and fire of the Being.

(d) In death (for the description of which this passage is considered fundamental), first, speech enters into Manas (mind) (i.e. there ensues speechlessness, while the consciousness still continues), then the Manas (mind) into the Prāṇa (i.e. there ensues unconsciousness or unawareness, while the breathing still continues), then the Prāṇa enters the Being (death). This description corresponds to the factual process but is contrary to the scheme given above (5), according to which speech does not originate out of Manas (mind) but out of fire, the Manas (mind) does not originate out of Prāṇa but out of food, the Prāṇa does not directly originate out of fire but out of water.

9-10. The individual beings, when they enter into the Being (in deep sleep and death) have no awareness of entering into the Being (9), and so also, when they (the individual beings) proceed or rise forth again out of the Being (in the states of waking and rebirth), they have no awareness arising again out of Being. (10). Both these processes have been elucidated through the two images or similes of the juices of flowers becoming one with honey (9) and of the rivers becoming one with the ocean (10). However, these figures of speech do not elucidate as one should expect, the contrast between entering into (a thing) and again arising forth out of it but strangely they elucidate only the commonness in both the processes so that they could be exchanged with one another without disturbing the sense of the passage. A further inconsistency lies in the fact that the similes which should elucidate the un-awareness of entry (into Being) and of re-emergence (out of Being), in fact, however, elucidate not this but the un-awareness of the particular individuality after its merging into the Being.

11. The Being, as the Soul, is indestructible. The proof adduced for it is remarkably like the main proof adduced in Plato’s Phaedo (chap. 52-54). Plato says that just as cold is inseparable from snow or warmth from fire, so also life is inseparable from the soul. A non-living soul is an inner contradiction just like the non-cold snow, the non-warm fire : “The soul can never assume the opposite of what always accompanies it”.…— Our Upaniṣadic passage sets forth the same proof in the example of a withering, dying tree. Only in this case, the procedure is much simpler because the inseparability of the soul and the body is self-evident to the Indian insofar as both in Sanskrit (not accidentally, but on account of the philosophical disposition of the language), have been designated by the same word jīva. “That which is forsaken by life (by the soul jīva) dies but the life (the soul, (jīva) does not die.” But then where does it go after death ? Back to that unknowable underground of nature, the Being, which constitutes the whole theme of the book. Both Plato and the Upaniṣad hit the truth as

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Chāndogya Upaniṣad

161

far as one could hit it before Kant unearthed the foundations. The power,

the soul, 'the thing-in-itself' emerges into phenomenon when it seizes the

Matter (Space, Time, Causality) and then lets it go. The phenomenon

or the appearance originates and disappears but not that which assumes

appearance, because causality and all origination that goes along with it

are denied to it.

12. The arising forth of the differentiated out of the undifferentiated

one - Just as out of the apparently homogeneous content of the corn-seed,

the great Nyagrodha (Banyan) tree rises forth, so also the whole manifold-

ness of the world arises out of the undifferentiated Being.

13. The Being is unperceivable and still is omnipresent - Just as the

lump of salt, dissolved in water, disappears but demonstrates itself as present

in all the parts of the water through the salt taste, so also the Being which is

itself unperceivable and which still invests everything that is with its presence

is the reality.

14. The certainty of deliverance already during Saṃsāra (while living

in this world) - One who is is fortunate to attain permanent truth through

a teacher, is like an erring, confused man from whose eyes the bandage

has been taken away and to whom therefore, the way to home has been

shown. It is not that he is immediately in his home (of permanent truth)

but he knows that he will reach thither (home). He knows (-the following

passage is misunderstood by Max Müller and Bohtlingk -) 'I belong

to this world (tasyā i.e. saṃsārasya) only as long as (tāvad eva ciram like

tāvaj jyok-Śatap. Br. 11.5.1.2) until I am released; thereafter I shall be

in my home.'

15. The disappearance of consciousness in death is (just as already

explained above in 8d), only the return of speech into Manas (mind), of

Manas into Prāṇa (Breath), of Prāṇa into fire, of fire into the highest divinity,

i.e. into the Being.

16. The ordeal - One, suspected of robbery, theft, if he denies it, is

required to seize a glowing (red-hot) axe. If he tells a falsehood, he is burnt

or scalded by it and is judged (to be the criminal). If, however, he speaks

the truth, he is not burnt or scalded by it and is released. In the same way,

he, who is caught up in the unreality of this empirical reality, is exposed to

the sorrows of Saṃsāra (earthly existence): on the other hand, he, who has

known the truth of the one Being, participates in deliverance. - This passage

has one common point with the parable of the house-holder (Luk. 16, 1-9)

namely, that one need not have before his eyes the whole image or simile

but only a third part of the comparison. In the present case, this consists

simply in the fact that the untruth brings bondage and sorrow while the

truth brings deliverance. That in the comparison, it deals with a confession

of untruthfulness or truthfulness and a knowledge of the same, must be left

out of consideration.]

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First Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Śvetaketu was the son of (Uddālaka) Āruṇi. His father said to him : “Śvetaketu ! Move and go to study the Brahman (Vedas), because, my dear one, none of our family used to be unlearned (in the Vedas) and remain a (mere) appendage of Brāhmanhood (a Brāhmaṇa only in name).”

2. Then he, while twelve years of age, went as a pupil (to a teacher) and when he was twentyfour years old, had thoroughly studied all the Vedas. He returned back haughtly in mind, conceited and thinking himself wise (learned). Then his father said to him : “O dear one ! Since you are haughty in mind, conceited and consider yourself wise (learned), have you inquired into that instruction whereby what is even unheard of, becomes (already) heard, what is not comprehended becomes comprehended, what is not known becomes known ?”

3. “Venerable Sir, how is that instruction ?” — “Just as O dear one, through one lump of clay everything that consists of clay is known, modification being a clinging to words, (merely verbal) only a name, it is only clay in reality;—

4. Just as, O dear one, through a copper (ornamental) pommel, everything that consists of copper is known, modification being merely a clinging to words, only a name, it is only copper in reality;—

5. Just as, O dear one, through a nail-parer, everything that consists of iron is known, modification being merely a clinging to words, only a name, it is only iron in reality — Thus my, dear, is this instruction.”

6. “Certainly my venerable teachers must not have known this teaching; because if they had known it, why would they not have communicated it to me ? But venerable Sir, you will now please explain it to me ! ” “So be it, my dear !”

Second Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “This (world), my dear, was only the Being, in the beginning, the only one without a second. It is true that some say that this (world) was only non-being in the beginning, only one

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163

without a second; (according to them) out of this non-being,

the Being was born.

2. “But, O dear one, how could it be so ? How could the

Being or the existent be born out of the non-being or the non-

existent ? On the contrary, therefore, O dear one, there was

this Being in the beginning, only one, without a second.

3. “The same Being intended : ‘I will be many (manifold) I

will propagate myself’; then it created the fire (tejas). This fire

intended : ‘I will be many, I will propagate myself’; then it

created the waters (āpaḥ). That is why when a man feels fiery

heat of grief or perspires, then arises out of the fire, water (of

tears, of perspiration).

4. “The waters intended : ‘We will be many, we will pro-

pagate ourselves’. Then they created food (annam). That is why

when it rains there arises forth plentiful food; because, the food

which a man eats, originates out of the waters.

Third Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “Indeed, these beings here have three-fold seeds (i.e. kinds

of origin) : Born out of the egg, born out of the living, and

born out of the sprouting seed.

2. “That godhead intended : ‘Well ! I will enter into these

three divinities (Fire, Water and Food) with this living self (the

individual soul) and will disseminate names and forms separately.

3. But I will make each one of them threefold’.— Then that

god-head entered into these divinities with this living self and

spread, out of one another names and forms separately;

4. “But he made each one of them threefold.

Now, how, O dear one, each one of these three divinities

became threefold, you should learn it from me.

Fourth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “What in the fire is the red form, is the form of fire, what

is the white form, is that of water, what is the dark one, is of

food. The fireness has vanished from the fire, the modification

being a clinging to a word, a mere name; there are only three

forms, in truth.

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2. "What in the sun is the red form, is the form of fire, what is the white form, is that of water, what is the dark form, is that of food. The sun-ness has vanished from the sun, the modification being a clinging to a word, a mere name; there are only three forms, in truth.

3. "What in the moon is the red form, is the form of fire, what is the white form is that of water, what is the dark form is that of food. The moon-ness has vanished from the moon, the modification being a clinging to a word, a mere name; there are only three forms, in truth.

4. "What in the lightning is the red form, is the form of fire, what is the white form is that of water, what is the dark form, is that of food. The lightning-ness of the lightning has vanished, the modification being a clinging to a word, a mere name; there are only three forms, in truth.

5. "This, indeed, it was, what the forbears, great in wealth, great in the knowledge of the scriptures, knew when they said :

'Now, none can utter before us what we had not already heard, what we had not already understood, what we had not already known'.

6. "because they knew what was like a red one as the form of fire, what was like a white one they knew as the form of water and what was like a dark one they knew as the form of food;

7. "and they knew what was like an unknown one ( — read iva — ) as a combination just of those divinities (fire, water, food).

"Now, O dear one, you should learn from me how of those three divinities, when they have reached the man, each of these becomes threefold.

Fifth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "The food, when it is eaten, is divided into three parts : That which is the grossest constituent becomes the faeces that which is the middling one becomes flesh, that which is the finest becomes Manas (mind).

2. "The water, which is drunk, is divided into three parts; that which is the grossest constituent becomes urine, that which

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165

is the middling one becomes blood, that which is the finest one becomes Prāṇa (vital breath).

3. "Heat, when it is eaten, is divided into three parts; that which is the grossest constituent, becomes the bones, that which is the middling one becomes the marrow, that which is the finest becomes speech.

4. "Therefore, O dear one, the Manas (mind) consists of food, (breath) consists of water, and speech consists of heat or fire."

"Venerable Sir, teach me still further" said he (Śvetaketu)—"So be it" he (Āruṇi) replied.

Sixth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "That which in the coagulated milk (curds), O dear one, when it is churned, emerges upward, is the finest (essence); that becomes butter.

2. "So also, dear me, that which in the food, when it is eaten, emerges upward is the finest (essence); that becomes Manas (mind).

3. "And that which in the water, O dear one, when it is drunk emerges upward, is the finest (essence) : that becomes Prāṇa (vital breath).

4. "And that which in the heat, O dear one, when it is consumed, emerges upward, is the finest (essence), that becomes speech.

5. Therefore, O dear one, the Manas (Mind) consists of food, the Prāṇa (breath) consists of water, and heat or fire consists of speech."

— "Venerable Sir, teach me still further" he (Śvetaketu) said: "So be it" replied he (Āruṇi).

Seventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

"O dear one, man comprises sixteen parts; you should not eat just for fifteen days; but you may drink water as much as you like. The Prāṇa (the vital breath), which consists of water, will not escape out of you, if you drink water."

2. And he (Śvetaketu) did not eat throughout fifteen days.

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Then he approached him (Āruṇi) and said : “What shall I

recite, Sir ?” - “Recite the Ṛgverses, O dear one, (also) the

sacrificial formulas (Yajus), the Sāma-chants” he (Āruṇi) said —

“Ah ! they do not occur to me, Sir”, replied he (Śvetaketu).

3. And the other (Āruṇi) said to him : “Just as, O dear one,

of a great fire set up, there finally remains a (glowing) ember

the size of a glow-worm and through it, the fire no longer burns

more (brightly), so also, O dear one, of the sixteen parts in you,

only one still remains and through this you cannot recollect

the Vedas. Now you should eat (food),

4. “after that you will hear from me more.” Then he

(Śvetaketu) ate and then again stepped towards him. Then he

could answer everything which the other one (Āruṇi) asked him:

And the father said to him:

5. “Just as, O dear one, of a great fire set up, at last only

there remains only a (glowing) ember, of the size of a glow-

worm and one again kindles it into a flame through the straw

which he lays on it and consequently this (fire) burns again very

brightly,

6. “so also, O dear one, one part from among the sixteen

parts had remained in you and this was again kindled into a

flame, through food with which it was supplied; through this you

can again recollect the Vedas; because, O dear one, Manas (mind)

consists of food, Prāṇa (breath) consists of water and speech

consists of fire (heat).”

Thus he was instructed by him — was instructed by him.

Eighth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. Uddālaka Āruṇi said to his son Śvetaketu : “Let me, O

dear one, explain to you the state of sleep. When it is said that,

a man sleeps, then he has attained to the (state of) union with

the Being: He has entered into (or is united with) his own self;

that is why one says of him : ‘he sleeps’ (svapiti) because he

has entered into (— is united with —) himself (svam apīta).

2. “Just as a bird, who has been bound with a cord flies to

once to this and then to that side and after it has not found,

in any other way, a place of support, settles itself down in the

place of bondage, so also, O dear one, the Manas (mind) flies

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

to this and that side and after it has not found, in any way, a

point of support, lets itself settle down in the Prāṇa (Breath),

because, the Prāṇa, O dear one, is the place to which the Manas

is bound.

3. “Let me explain to you, O dear one, the hunger and the

thirst. When it is said that a man is hungry, that happens

because the water carries away the food eaten by him (aśitam

nayante). And just as one speaks of a leader of the cows, a

leader of the horses, a leader of men, so also one then calls the

water as ‘the leader which leads on nutrition (aśanāyā-the hunger

easily split into aśa-nāyā). Hereby (during the carrying away of

food by water for the building up of the body), know this (i.e.

the body), O dear one, as the sprout arisen out of it (as the

effect); the same cannot be without a root (a cause).

4. “But where else could this root be than in the food ?

And in the same way, O dear one, go back tracing from food

as the sprout to the water as the root, from the water, O dear

one, as the sprout, go back tracing to the fire as the root, from

the fire, O dear one, as the sprout, go back tracing to the

Being as the root; O dear one, all these creatures have the

Being as the root, the Being as the point of support, the Being

as the foundation.

5. “Further, when it is said that a man is thirsty, it happens

so because the fire (heat) carries away what has been drunk by

him. And as one speaks of a leader of cows, a leader of horses,

a leader of men, so also one then speaks of the fire (heat) as ‘the

leader of (who carries away) water’ (Udanyā, ‘the thirst,’ divided

into uda-nyā). Hereby (during the carrying away of water by

fire or heat to the building up of the body) know this (this

body), O dear one, as the sprout arisen out of that (as the

effect); the same will not be without root (cause);

6. “but where else could this root be than in the water ?

From the water, O dear one, as the sprout, go back tracing to

the fire as the root, from the fire, O dear one, as the sprout go

back tracing to the Being as the root; all these creatures have

the Being as root, the Being as the point of support, the Being

as the foundation.

“But how, O dear one, of these three divinities, when they

have joined to man, does each of them become individually

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threefold, as has been previously explained ? (See above 6.5.-1-4).

"In the case of man, O dear one, when he departs from here, speech enters into the Manas (mind), the Manas into the Prāṇa (the breath) and the Prāṇa into the highest divinity. - What that finest or most subtle essence (the unknowable entity) is,

7. it is this universe consisting of this, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art, O Śvetaketu !"

• "Venerable Sir, teach me still further" said he (Śvetaketu).

'So be it' he replied.

Ninth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "When, O dear one, the bees prepare honey, they gather the juice of manifold trees and assemble the juice into a unity.

2. "So also, in that juice of these, no distinction is preserved as that of a particular tree whose juices they are, so also, indeed, O dear one, all these creatures, when they enter into the Being (in deep sleep and death), have no consciousness thereof, that they enter into the Being.

3. "Whatever they may be here - a tiger, a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm or a bird or a gadfly or a gnat, they are again born in these forms.

4. "This universe consists of what that finest essence is, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art, Śvetaketu !"

• "Venerable Sir, teach me still further" he (Śvetaketu) said.

"So be it" he (Āruṇi) replied.

Tenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "These rivers, O dear one, flow in the east towards the morning1 and in the west towards evening;from ocean to ocean they flow (uniting themselves) they become purely ocean.2

2. Deussen translates here the original Sanskrit words 'purastāt' and pašcāt' as 'towards morning' and 'towards evening'. It would be more appropriate to translate as others, later on, have done - as follows : "The eastern rivers flow east and western rivers flow west".

-Translator.

2. In order to make a difference between this image or simile and the

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

169

"Just as these (rivers) do not know that they are this river

or that,

2. "so also, O dear one, all these creatures also know not,

though they have come forth again out of the Being, that they

again go forth out of the Being. Whether they may be here a

tiger or a lion or a wolf or a boar or a worm or a bird or a

gadfly or a gnat, what they may be, they are again born.

3. "This universe consists of what that finest essence is, it is

the real, that thou art, O Śvetaketu !"

— "Venerable Sir, teach me still further" he (Śvetaketu)

said — "So be it" he (Āruṇi) replied.

Eleventh Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "When one, O dear one, cuts this big tree here at the root,

it trickles sap, because it lives; when one cuts it in the middle,

it trickless sap, because it lives; when one cuts it at the top, it,

trickles sap, because it lives; thus it stands, penetrated through

by the living self, profusely (abundant), and rejoicing.

2. "Now if life departs from one branch, that branch withers;

if life departs from the second branch, that also withers; if

life departs from the third branch, that also withers; if life

departs from the whole tree the whole tree withers or dries up.

Therefore, O dear one, you should mark (take notice of) this"

he (Āruṇi) said.

3. "This body indeed dies if it is deserted by life; but this

life does not die. This universe consists of what that finest

essence is, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art, O

Śvetaketu !"

— "Venerable Sir, teach me still further" he (Śvetaketu) said.

— "So be it" he (Āruṇi) replied.

preceding one, I translated, following Śaṅkara, in my 'System des Vedānta'

(p. 285), this passage as follows : Out of the ocean (they come and) into

the ocean they enter; in the ocean, therefore, they are born."

But the text

contains no trace of the return-back of ocean-water in the rivers (through

clouds and rain).

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Sixty Upaniṣads

Twelfth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “Fetch me a fruit of that Nyagrodha (Banyan) tree there.”

“Here it is, Venerable Sir.”

“Split it”. — “It is split, Venerable Sir,”

“What do you see therein ?”

“I see here, Venerable Sir, very fine seeds”.

“Split one of them.”

“It is split, Venerable Sir !”

“What do you see therein ?”

“Nothing at all, Venerable Sir !”

2. Then he (Āruṇi) spoke : “That finest essence which you

do not perceive, O dear one — out of this finest essence, indeed,

this great Nyagrodha tree has arisen.

3. “Believe, my dear, this universe consists of what that

finest essence is, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art, O

Śvetaketu !”

“Teach me still further, venerable Sir.”

“So be it” he (Āruṇi) said.

Thirteenth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “Put this piece of salt, here, in water and come again to

me tomorrow.” — He did it. Then he (Āruṇi) said : “Bring

me the salt which you had put into the water last evening.”

He groped, feeling after it and found nothing of it; because it

was completely dissolved.

2. “Taste that water from this side ! How does it taste ?”—

“Saltish” — “Taste it from the middle ! — How does it taste ?”

“Saltish” — “Taste it from that side ! — How does it taste ?”

“Saltish”. — “Let it (water with salt) be there; seat yourself

by my side.” He did it (and said): “It (salt in water) is always

still present.” Then the other one (Āruṇi) said : “Indeed, you

do not perceive the Being here in the body but is, nevertheless,

therein.” —

3. “This universe consists of what that finest essence is, it is

the real, it is the soul, that thou art, O Śvetaketu !”

— “Venerable Sir, instruct me still further !” — “So be it”

he (Āruṇi) said.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

Fourteenth Part (Khanda)

1. 'Just as, O dear one, a man who, with eyes bandaged, is led away out of the region of Gandhāra and then is forsaken in a deserted uninhabited place, will grope blowing (breathlessly, heavily) (pradhmāyīta) (now) towards the north or towards the south, because he has been led away with bandaged eyes and has been left in an uninhabited place with bandaged eyes,

2. 'but thereafter somebody has removed the bandage from him and said to him : 'There lie the Gandhāra regions beyond; go thither from here', he reaches home in the Gandhāra region, inquiring further from village to village, instructed by others and (now quite) sensible; in the same way a man, who has here found a teacher, attains knowledge : 'I would belong to (get involved in) this (drift of worldly existence) until I have been released; thereafter I shall reach my home',

3. 'This universe consists of what that finest essence is, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art, O Śvetaketu !'

'Venerable Sir, teach me still further' — 'So be it' he (Āruṇi) said.

Fifteenth Part (Khanda)

1. 'Around a man dangerously ill, his relatives sit and ask him: 'Do you recognize me ? Do you recognize me ?' — As long as his speech has not entered into Manas (mind), his Manas into Prāṇa (vital breath), his Prāṇa into the fire (heat), the fire into the highest godhead, so long he recognizes them;

2. 'but after his speech has entered into the Manas, his Manas into the Prāṇa, his Prāṇa into the fire (heat), his fire into the highest godhead, then he recognizes them no more.

3. 'This universe consists of what that finest essence is, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art, O Śvetaketu !'

'Venerable Sir, teach me still further'. — 'So be it' he (Āruṇi) said.

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Sixty Upanisads

Sixteenth Part (Khanda)

1. 'O dear one, they bring a man here with his hands tied

and shout : 'He has robbed, he has committed a theft. Make a

hatchet glowing redhot for him !' If he is the perpetrator (of

the crime), he makes himself untrue. Uttering untruth he covers

himself in untruth, seizes the glowing hatchet burns himself and

is executed.

2. 'But if he is not the perpetrator, he makes himself true;

uttering truth, he covers himself in truth, seizes, the glowing

hatchet, does not burn himself, and is released. (i.e. From

untruth, follows bondage, from truth deliverance - Brahma-

sūtra).

3. 'This universe consists of that (the truth) on account of

which he is not burnt, it is the real, it is the soul, that thou art,

O Svetaketu !'

Thus he (Śvetaketu) was taught by him - taught by him.

Seventh Chapter (Prāpathaka)

[After the knowledge had attained a breakthrough as already in

hymns of the Rgveda (1.164; 10.129), that all gods, worlds and beings depend

upon a unity - one ultimate principle, there was and there still remained

the further task to determine this one more closely. Typical of such an

inquiry into it is, above all, the Prajāpati-hymn (Rgveda 10.121). But this

inquiry also continued itself in the period of the Brāhmaṇas and after one

had made a further advance in the Upaniṣads towards the characterization

of that one principle as the Brahman or the Ātman, the question just remained

still ventilated (open) what one has to understand and adore as the Brahman,

as the Ātman. Usually this inquiry appears in the form of a disputation

in which the part open to doubt presents a series of definitions which then

are disproved and lead to right knowledge. The examples of this kind are

numerous. Thus in B.h. 2.1 (Kauṣ. 4) Gāṅgya Bālāki volunteers to ex-

plain to the King Ajātaśatru to explain the Brahman and presents, one

after another, twelve (in Kauṣ. sixteen) definitions of the same, which

(however) have been found inadequate. In Brh. 3, 9, 10-18, 26 Vidagdha,

when asked by Yājñavalkya with regard to 'the spirit (purusa) which is the

highest summit or acme of personality (sarvasya ātmanah parāyaṇam)," sets

forth one after another eight definitions of the same but he fails to mention

(the spirit which is the essence of the Upaniṣadic teaching (aupanisadah

Puruṣah), which is superior to all others,for which failure he is required to

undergo bodily expiation. In Brh. 4.1, six definitions of another teacher

are criticized by Yājñavalkya and are rectified through one of a higher

comprehension. It is not only the opponents from whose mouth, inade-

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

173

quate definitions emerge, In Chānd. 5.11-24, it is mentioned that six

Brāhmaṇas seek explanation about the Ātman Vaiśvānara. After they

have given a one-sided explanation of it as the heavens, as the sun, as the

wind, as the ether, as the waters and as the earth, they are taught by the King

Aśvapati about the true nature of the Ātman Vaiśvānara. In the Taitt.

3, it is Bhrgu himself, who, led by his father, is raised, through repeated

mortifications, to a step-by-step progressive knowledge of comprehending

the Brahman as food, as Prāṇa (vital breath), as Manas (mind), as con-

sciousness (intelligence), and as bliss. In Chānd. 8.7-12, Prajāpati, teaching

Indra, offers three elucidations of Ātman or the self, as the physical body,

as the individual soul and as the highest soul, which represent the three steps

of knowledge deepening itself step by step.

Of this kind, is also the present section in which (as usual, a Brāhmaṇa

is taught by a Kṣatriya) Nārada, as the highest representative of Brāhmaṇa-

hood (cf. Bhagavadgītā 10.26 where Kṛṣṇa says : “I am Nārada among the

divine sages”) has been taught by a war-god Sanatkumāra or Skanda as the

highest representative of the Kṣatriyas (cf. Bhagavadgītā 10.24 “Among

the generals I am Skanda”). One after another Sanatkumāra sets forth

sixteen ways to adore the Brahman, as nāman, vāc, manas, saṃkalpa, cittam,

dhyānam, vijñānam balan, annam, āpah, tejas, ākāśa, smara, aśā, Prāṇa

and the highest of all — bhūman. Every following form of adoration is

explained as the greater (bhūyas) than the preceding one, up to the Bhūman

itself — positively the ‘greatest’ or ‘the infinite, unlimitedness’, which,

resting or remaining in its own majesty, has everything in itself, nothing

outside itself, which is identical with the ‘I’ (aham) and the Self (Ātman),

which is present everywhere which comes into manifestation in all the

thousands of beings and the knowledge of which alone brings about freedom

and dissolution (the untying ) of all the knots’. Thus herein lies positively

clearly the elevation from all the finite and the restricted to the bhūman

as the infinite and unlimited. Still the steps, through which this progress

to the infinite is described, appear to be now and then rather odd. We

will survey them in short :

1. All Vedic and worldly knowledge which Nārada possesses and the

inadequacy of which he himself already knows so much that it does not give

him the sought-for satisfaction or joy, is a mere name (nāman) and is, as

such, worthy of adoration. “He who adores the name as Brahman” reaps

rich rewards; but the Brahman, the Ātman, whatever, it may be, is in every

way the greatest of all — and there is still something greater than the name.

2. Greater than the name is the speech (vāc) because it makes manifest

the name and, along with it, everything in the world.

3. Greater than the speech is the Manas (understanding or intellect

and at the same time the conscious will, here particularly the latter) because

it is occupied with speech and name, just as the hand seizes the two fruits.

4. Greater than the Manas is the resolution (i.e. the idea or conception

saṃkalpa) because the will is dependent on resolution just as the speech and

name are dependent on the will.

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Sixty Upaniṣad

5. Greater than the resolution is the thought (cittam) because the

resolution, the will etc. depend on it.

6. Greater than the thought is the reflection or meditation (dhyānam):

there is no reason given for this statement; instead of this, there is found

only a hint towards the idea that everything great, resting in itself 'meditates

as it were'.

7. Greater than thought is knowledge (vijñānam) because it (— the

proof given is not connected with 6 above but with 2 — ) knows (vijānāti)

everything that the speech makes manifest (according to 2 above) and along

with it everything in the world.

8. Greater than knowledge is strength (or vigour) (balam) because

one with abundant strength is abler than one abounding in knowledge. —

This is a very surprising transition of thought particularly for the Indian

consciousness which, otherwise, seeks instead the essence of things in the

intellectual. Still more strange is the following:

9. Greater than strength is food or nutrition (annam) because all

physical and mental power depends on it.

10. Greater than the food is water (āpah) because all growth, along

with nutrition and everything connected with it, depends on it.

11. Greater than the water is the fire or heat (tejas) because the rain

customarily follows the solar heat and lightning.

12. Greater than the heat is the ether (or space ākāśa) because in it are

contained the sun, the moon, the stars, the lightning and fire as the carriers

of heat and also on account of the dependence of human drives and impulses

on it.

Strange as is the transition from the psychical factors 2-7 through the

intermediate meditation of balam to the elements 9-12, it has its analogue

in Chānd. 6-5 according to which Manas, Prāṇa and Speech are dependent

on food, water and heat. — But entirely unintelligible is the present follow-

ing rebound to the psychical in order to reach Prāṇa through memory and

hope.

13. Greater still than the ether is memory (the remembrance smara)

because without it, the human drive or effort, dependent on ether according

to 12 above, would not be possible.

14. Greater than the memory is hope (āśā) because it kindles the

memory (the will spurs the intellect).

15. Greater than the hope is the Prāṇa (the breath, the life). The

reason for this statement is not given; but there well follows a description of

Prāṇa which, just as the hub holds together all the spokes, above all like-

wise holds together all the constituents of the body and, according to this

extract, of the body of which only a worthless covering remains. — This

comprehension of Prāṇa as Brahman is as surpassing or excelling just

as the earlier ones. He, who possesses it, is one who excels

other in discussion (ativādin) i.e. who conquers all others in the

discussion-contest. And still it is not the highest attainable; because it is

only this empirical form of phenomena as an individual soul which has

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

175

juxtaposed itself as the subject against the object and is, therefore, finite and

tiny. It becomes the highest soul encompassing all, when one strips off this

empirical form of phenomenon — when one abrogating the distinction bet-

ween subject and object, elevates himself to full infinitude (bhīman). This

occurs in the following way:

Only he is really a speaker excelling all; he excels all in controversy

through the truth; this truth depends on knowledge, knowledge on thought,

thought on faith; faith depends on that which lies at the root of all, that

feeling about what lies at the root of depends on creation, creation depends

on desire or joy, which last depends on the infinitude. The joy which comes

from infinitude—why? it is identical with it (yo vai bhūmā tat sukham)—need

not be understood as the individual joy but the bliss (mostly named as

ānanda) as the attribute of the godhead. Correspondingly the creation (krti)

is not that of the individual but the divine creative activity flowing out of

the abundance of the joy of being or becoming; with it is united one who

elevates himself on the way of knowledge, thought, and faith (śraddhā, which

literally means ‘uniting by a bond’ with the divine) towards ‘niṣṭhā’ (‘the

development out of’—better, perhaps, ‘niṣṭhā’—i.e. ‘being rooted in’—the

divine.) Accordingly, the passage appears to describe the step-by-step

elevation of the Prāna containing, no doubt, the divine but also abundance

of multiplicity belonging to it, to the Bhūman, the Infinitude, in which all

distinctions vanish, as a consequence of which the knowing one himself

becomes one with the object and enters into it.

Then the description of Bhūman, the infinitude, that follows is magni-

ficent : The infinitude does not see, hear, know anything outside itself and

being immortal rests alone in its own supra-mundane majesty and like the

‘I’ the soul, which is identical with it, is directly fully present in all places.

He, who leading his life from this viewpoint, has his joy only in the Ātman

and knows that everything is conditional on the Ātman, is free, is raised

above death, pain and sorrow and again finds his ‘I’ in all the thousand

appearances of creation.1

How could a thinker, who commanded such elevated viewsfind pleasure

in those preceding definitions which tire the reader and lessen the interest on

the main points ? As opposing the contrary opinions, they would still rather

be tolerated. But they appear as series of attempts to excel (broybeat) others

in the definitions of Brahman itself through continually greater and greater

(definitions), and under these circumstances everyone is obliged to take an

objection to the arbitrariness of the choice (in definitions) and still more to

the ‘arbitrariness’ in the ordering of the elements in the series. Thus it is

wholly similar to the case of Plato in the Sophista in which the puerile and

1. On a less elevated plane stands the supplement 26.2 (which may well

have been inserted by another hand), which understands the material

all-penetration in the sense of a reproduction in the way the Yogin does and

makes the purity of the soul dependent on the purity of physical nutrition.

This word-play or pun on Skanda is not of much worth.

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Sixty Upanisads

careless careless definitions of the Sophists been introduced before the

profound investigations and we shall be compelled to aquiesce in the fact

that both the thinkers, when they introduce an apparently so unsuitable

introduction to their own communicative thoughts, they may well have had

their own special grounds which can however, no more be known by us—

just as I then formerly have put forth a hypothesis for the Diaresen of the

Platonic Sophists, which even today after twentyfive years, appears

throughout evident (cf. my Commentis de Platonis Sophistae Compositione

de ac doctrina, Bonnae 1869. p. 69 ff.)

First Part (Khanda)

1. “Teach me, venerable Sir!” — With these words Nārada

approached Sanatkumāra. He (Sanatkumāra) said to him :

“Tell me, what you already know; then I will impart to you

what lies outside it”.

2. And the other (Nārada) said, “I have, O Venerable Sir,

learnt the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, the Atharvaveda

as the fourth, the epic and mythological poems as the fifth Veda,

grammar, the ritual concerning the Manes, arithmetic, mantik,

counting or reckoning of time, dialectic, politics, divine lore,

the lore of the prayer, the lore of the ghosts, the science of

warfare, astronomy, spell against serpents, the art of the muse

(literally, of demigods ‘deva-jana’); — this it is, O venerable

Sir, that I have leaant;

3. “And thus I am, O venerable Sir, no doubt learned in

scriptures but not in the lore of the Ātman. Because I have heard

from such as are like you that he who knows the Ātman, over-

comes sorrow; but, Venerable Sir, I am afflicted with sorrow;

that is why you will carry me, O Sir, to that yonder beach

beyond sorrow!”

And he (Sanatkumāra) said to him : “Everything that you

have studied is mere name (nāman).

4. “The Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, the Atharvaveda as

the fourth, the epic and mythological poems as the fifth Veda,

grammar the ritual of the manes, arithmetic, mantik, reckon-

ing of time, dialectic, politics, the divine lore, the lore of

prayer, the lore of the ghosts, the science of warfare, astro-

nomy, spell against serpents and the art of the muse — all

these are a name, —everything of this is a name. You may

adore the name!

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

177

5. “He who adores the name as Brahman — so far as the

name extends itself that far, over that extent, he will be entitled

to move about according to his liking, that is why that he

adores the name as Brahman.”

“Is there, O venerable Sir, anything greater than the name?”

“Well, there is one greater than the name.”

“You will explain it to me, Sir!”

Second Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “The speech (vāc), indeed is greater than the name. Be-

cause it is the speech which utters forth the Ṛgveda, the Yajur-

veda, the Sāmaveda, the Atharvaveda as the fourth (Veda),

grammar, ritual about the names, arithmetic, mantik, reckoning

of time, dialectic, politics, divine lore, the lore of prayer, the lore

of the ghosts, the science of warfare, astronomy, spell against

serpents, and the art of the muse,’ in addition the heaven and

the earth, the wind, the ether, the waters and the fire, the gods

and men, the domestic animals and birds, the plants and trees,

the wild animals down to the worms, flies and ants, the right

and wrong, truth and untruth, good and evil, gratifying and

ungratifying; had there been no speech, they could not have

uttered right and wrong, nor good nor evil, nor gratifying nor

ungratifying; because only the speech utters every one of

these, you should adore the speech!

3, “He who adores speech as Brahman, as far as the speech

extends itself, that far over that extent, he will be entitled to

move about according to as he likes; that is why he adores

speech as Brahman.”

— “Venerable Sir, is there something greater than the

speech?”

“Well there is one greater than the speech.”

— “That you will explain to me, Sir’”.

Third Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. “The Manas (mind), indeed, is greater than the speech.

Just as a fist holds within itself two acorns or two berries or two

(dice —) nuts, so also the Manas (mind) encompasses the speech

and the name. When one directs his mind (Manas) towards

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the study of holy psalms or songs and sayings, he studies them; or (if one directs his mind) towards accomplishing the works, he accomplishes them; or if towards desiring sons and cattle, he desires them, or towards desiring this world and that yonder world, he desires them. Because the Manas is the Ātman, the Manas is the world, the Manas is the Brahman, you should adore the Manas!

2. “He who adores the Manas as Brahman so far as the Manas extends itself, that far, over that extent, he will beentitled to move about according as he likes; that is why he adores the Manas as the Brahman.”

—“Is there, venerable Sir, anything greater than the Manas?”

“Well, there is one greater than the Manas.”

—That Sir, you will please explain to me.”

Fourth Part (Khanda)

1. “The resolution (samkalpa) is indeed, greater than the Manas; because when one resolves on something, then he directs his mind to letting his speech utter again he lets his speech to speak out the name, in the name are included the songs or psalms and sayings, in the songs or psalms and sayings are included the works or actions.

2. “All these have their point of unity in the resolution (samkalpa), their self in the resolution and are founded on resolution. Through resolution, are realized (samkalpante) heaven and earth,1 through the resolution are realized the wind and the ether, the water and the fire; by their formation (samklpti), the rain comes about; on the formation of rain food comes into being, on the formation of food, the vital breath comes into being, on the realization of the vital breath, the songs and sayings come into existence; on the realization of songs and sayings, the works or actions come into being,

3. Cf. the usual statement : “That godhead intended or deliberated (aiksata), then it created” etc. In the passage that follows (above in the body of the text), the interplay on the words between Samkalpayati (‘to present in the right order or arrangement’ (to resolve) ),—and samkalpate (to be in right order or arrangement) can only be imperfectly rendered or translated.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad

179

on the accomplishment of works, the world comes into existence; on the coming into existence of the world everything

comes into existence; this is the resolution; you should adore

the resolution.

3. "He, who adores the resolution as Brahman, reaches the

worlds brought into being through resolution; as one who

stands steadfast, he attains the steadfast worlds; as one who

is well-established, he attains the well-established worlds; as

one who is unwavering he attains the unwavering worlds, and

as far as the resolution extends itself, over that extent, he is

entitled to move about according to his liking; that is why he

adores resolution (saṁkalpa) as the Brahman."

—“Is there, venerable Sir, anything greater than the reso-

lution?”

"Well, there is one greater than the resolution."

— "That you will please, Sir, explain to me."

Fifth Part (Khaṇḍa)

1. "The thought (cittam), indeed, is greater than the resolu-

tion; because one first conceives a thought, then he conceives

a resolution; then he directs his Manas (mind) on it; then he

lets the speech utter the name; in the name are included the songs and sayings; in the

songs and sayings are included works or deeds.

2. "All these have their point of unity in thought, their

self in the thought, they are based on thought. That

is why, when a man knows much and has no thought, one

says of him: ‘He is not (of importance), what he also knows

(is not important); because had he been really wise, he would

not have been devoid of thought’; but even if he knew only a

little and has thought regarding it, the people for that reason

listen to him. Therefore, thought is the point of unity of all

that, the thought is the self, the thought is the supporting

ground; you should adore the thought!

3. "He who adores the thought as Brahman, attains the

worlds thought by him; as one who stands steadfast, he attains

the steadfast worlds; as one who is well-established attains the

well-established worlds; as one, who is unwavering, attains the