32. Yajur Veda — Chapter 32

【 Verse 32.1 】

▸ Veda Mantra: तदे॒वाग्निस्तदा॑दि॒त्यस्तद्वा॒युस्तदु॑ च॒न्द्रमाः॑। तदे॒व शु॒क्रं तद् ब्रह्म॒ ताऽआपः॒ स प्र॒जाप॑तिः ॥१ ॥

▸ Translation: The One Eternal Lord Supreme is Agni, selfeffulgent and omniscient. That is Aditya, all-consuming on annihilation. That is Vayu, omnipotent, allsustaining. The same is Chandrama, blissful giver of joy. The same is Shukra, instant and immaculate. That is Brahma, greatest and infinite. That is Apah, immanent and omnipresent. And He is Prajapati, lord of creation and father of all His children.

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【 Verse 32.2 】

▸ Veda Mantra: सर्वे॑ निमे॒षा ज॑ज्ञिरे वि॒द्युतः॒ पुरु॑षा॒दधि॑। नैन॑मू॒र्द्ध्वं न ति॒र्य्यञ्चं॒ न मध्ये॒ परि॑ जग्रभत् ॥२ ॥

▸ Translation: From the brilliant supreme Purusha are born all the divisions of time from the moment onward, and all the movements from the twinkling of the eye onward. No one can ever catch or hold this Lord from above or middle or crosswise.

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【 Verse 32.3 】

▸ Veda Mantra: न तस्य॑ प्रति॒माऽअस्ति॒ यस्य॒ नाम॑ म॒हद्यशः॑। हि॒र॒ण्य॒ग॒र्भऽइत्ये॒ष मा मा॑ हिꣳसी॒दित्ये॒षा यस्मा॒न्न जा॒तऽइत्ये॒षः ॥३ ॥

▸ Translation: There is none and nothing like Him, no picture, no icon, no simile, no metaphor. Great is His Name, mighty His glory. “He is the Golden Seed of the universe”, it is apparent. “No, no, do not kill me, do not punish, I pray”, such is the prayer of humanity to Him. “No one ever born is greater than He or beyond Him”, such is clearly the voice of the Veda.

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【 Verse 32.4 】

▸ Veda Mantra: ए॒षो ह॑ दे॒वः प्र॒दिशोऽ नु॒ सर्वाः॒ पूर्वो॑ ह जा॒तः सऽ उ॒ गर्भे॑ऽ अ॒न्तः। सऽ ए॒व जा॒तः स ज॑नि॒ष्यमा॑णः प्र॒त्यङ् जना॑स्तिष्ठति स॒र्वतो॑मुखः ॥४ ॥

▸ Translation: Children of divinity, verily this glorious lord of the universe pervades all regions and quarters of space. First born, i.e., manifested, of existence, in truth, He is at the very centre of the universe and in the depths of the soul. Existent and manifest, He continues to manifest every moment and abides everywhere in everything facing forward in all directions.

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【 Verse 32.5 】

▸ Veda Mantra: यस्मा॑ज्जा॒तं न पु॒रा किं च॒नैव य आ॑ब॒भूव॒ भुव॑नानि॒ विश्वा॑। प्र॒जाप॑तिः प्र॒जया॑ सꣳररा॒णस्त्रीणि॒ ज्योती॑षि सचते॒ स॒ षो॑ड॒शी ॥५ ॥

▸ Translation: The glorious lord is He, nothing whatever was born before Him, none of all those worlds of the universe which came into existence later. Father and sustainer, abiding and rejoicing with His creation, lord of sixteen powers of perfection, He pervades and feeds the three lights of the earth, sky and heaven, i.e., fire, electric energy and sunlight. Note:- Sixteen seems to be the number of kalas (qualities, attributes, virtues and faculties) which comprise the model of perfection from different points of view. From Prashnopanishad, 6, 4, for example, we learn that ‘sixteen kalas’ means the sixteen creative powers of the Purusha, sixteen evolutionary stages of the created universe, and sixteen virtues, qualities and faculties of both cosmic and individual existence. These kalas are : Prana or energy and the Hiranyagarbha or the universally fertilized golden seed of the universe, shraddha or faith, akasha or space, vayu or wind energy, agni or fire and light, apah or waters, prithivi or earth, indriya or faculties of perception and volition, mana or mind, anna or food, virya or vitality of generation, tapa or discipline of inviolable austerity, mantra or knowledge or the art of living, karma or action, loka or world regions of the universe, and nama or individuality and identity. In Atharva-veda, 13, 4, 47-54, the divine virtues are described as: Shachipati or omnipotent, vibhu or infinite, prabhu or lord of all, ambha or cool as water, ama or energiser, mahasaha or constant, aruna rajata raja or brilliant, lovely and glorious, uru prithu or vast, subhu or grand, bhuva or omniscient, pratho vara or highest and best, vyacho loka or omnipresent, bhavadvasu or lord of universal honour, idadvasu or lord of universal wealth, samyatvasu or perefectly selfcontrolled, and ayat-vasu or ever lustrous and honourable. Reference may be made to Satyarth Prakash, chapter I, in which Swami Dayanand has listed 108 attributive names of Ishvara. ‘Sixteen’ refers to an ideal conceptual model.

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【 Verse 32.6 】

▸ Veda Mantra: येन॒ द्यौरु॒ग्रा पृ॑थि॒वी च॑ दृ॒ढा येन॒ स्व᳖ स्तभि॒तं येन॒ नाकः॑। योऽ अ॒न्तरि॑क्षे॒ रज॑सो वि॒मानः॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम ॥६ ॥

▸ Translation: By Him the heavens blaze, by Him the earth is firm, by Him the heaven of bliss is sustained, by Him the ecstasy of Moksha is constant, and He is the creator of the worlds in space. Let us worship that lord of glory and eternal bliss, and let us sing in honour of Him with the fragrance of yajna.

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【 Verse 32.7 】

▸ Veda Mantra: यं क्रन्द॑सी॒ऽ अव॑सा तस्तभा॒नेऽ अ॒भ्यैक्षे॑तां॒ मन॑सा॒ रेज॑माने। यत्राधि॒ सूर॒ऽ उदि॑तो वि॒भाति॒ कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम। आपो॑ ह॒ यद् बृ॑ह॒तीर्यश्चि॒दापः॑ ॥७ ॥

▸ Translation: To Him the heaven and earth, both constant and moving in ecstasy at heart, do homage with awe and reverence. Under His eye does the sun rise and blaze with light. To that Lord of awe and glorious bliss let us offer our homage of praise and worship with love and faith. Whatever the vast oceans of water, and whatever the expansive spaces, all exist in Him.

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【 Verse 32.8 】

▸ Veda Mantra: वे॒नस्तत्प॑श्य॒न्निहि॑तं॒ गुहा॒ सद्यत्र॒ विश्वं॒ भव॒त्येक॑नीडम्। तस्मि॑न्नि॒दꣳ सं च॒ वि चै॑ति॒ सर्व॒ꣳ सऽ ओतः॒ प्रोत॑श्च वि॒भूः प्र॒जासु॑ ॥८ ॥

▸ Translation: The man of vision and wisdom sees that eternal spirit hidden in mystery where the universe lies nestled in His presence. Therein all this comes into being together, and therein it falls asunder. Infinite is He, immanent and omnipresent in the created beings.

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【 Verse 32.9 】

▸ Veda Mantra: प्र तद्वो॑चेद॒मृतं॒ नु वि॒द्वान् ग॑न्ध॒र्वो धाम॒ विभृ॑तं॒ गुहा॒ सत्। त्रीणि॑ प॒दानि॒ निहि॑ता॒ गुहा॑स्य॒ यस्तानि॒ वेद॒ स पि॒तुः पि॒ताऽस॑त् ॥९ ॥

▸ Translation: The man of knowledge gifted with the divine voice may speak of this immortal haven and eternal spirit covered in mystery yet shining in the soul. Three parts of it are hidden in the cave. He who knows them is the man of super-wisdom, father of the paternal wise.

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【 Verse 32.10 】

▸ Veda Mantra: स नो॒ बन्धु॑र्जनि॒ता स वि॑धा॒ता धामा॑नि वेद॒ भुव॑नानि॒ विश्वा॑। यत्र॑ दे॒वाऽ अ॒मृत॑मानशा॒नास्तृ॒तीये॒ धाम॑न्न॒ध्यैर॑यन्त ॥१० ॥

▸ Translation: He is our father and our brother. He is our sustainer and controller. He knows all the worlds of existence which are home to the created beings. There in His supreme presence, third haven of being (the other two are Prakriti and jiva), the divine souls tasting of the immortal joy of heaven roam around at will.

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【 Verse 32.11 】

▸ Veda Mantra: प॒रीत्य॑ भू॒तानि॑ प॒रीत्य॑ लो॒कान् प॒रीत्य॒ सर्वाः॑ प्र॒दिशो॒ दिश॑श्च। उ॒प॒स्थाय॑ प्रथम॒जामृ॒तस्या॒त्मना॒ऽऽत्मान॑म॒भि सं वि॑वेश ॥११ ॥

▸ Translation: Having known and crossed over the material forms of existence, having gone over the regions of the world, having crossed through directions and subdirections all, and reaching the original voice of eternal truth in the Veda by the soul, the man of knowledge and vision attains to the supreme soul of the universe and, one with it in union, abides.

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【 Verse 32.12 】

▸ Veda Mantra: परि॒ द्यावा॑पृथि॒वी स॒द्यऽ इ॒त्वा परि॑ लो॒कान् परि॒ दि॒शः परि॒ स्वः᳖। ऋ॒तस्य॒ तन्तुं॒ वित॑तं वि॒चृत्य॒ तद॑पश्य॒त् तद॑भव॒त् तदा॑सीत् ॥१२ ॥

▸ Translation: Having known and crossed over earth and heaven simultaneously, having gone over the regions of the universe, having crossed through the directions and subdirections, and having transcended even the visions of paradise, and having over-seen the network of reality constituting the structure of the universe, the transcendent soul sees that Supreme Soul and finally grows one with That.

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【 Verse 32.13 】

▸ Veda Mantra: सद॑स॒स्पति॒मद्भु॑तं प्रि॒यमिन्द्र॑स्य॒ काम्य॑म्। स॒निं मे॒धाम॑यासिष॒ꣳ स्वाहा॑ ॥१३ ॥

▸ Translation: In truth of word and deed with all sincerity of mind and spirit I invoke the Lord of the universe, wondrous great, loved and worshipped by the human soul, and, pray for a gift of that intelligence which distinguishes between the temporary and the permanent.

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【 Verse 32.14 】

▸ Veda Mantra: यां मे॒धां दे॑वग॒णाः पि॒तर॑श्चो॒पास॑ते। तया॒ माम॒द्य मे॒धयाऽग्ने॑ मे॒धावि॑नं कुरु॒ स्वाहा॑ ॥१४ ॥

▸ Translation: Agni, lord of light and knowledge, I pray, enlighten me here and now with that discriminative intelligence which the noblest people of piety and senior guardians of humanity value and pray for. This is the voice of the heart in truth of word and deed.

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【 Verse 32.15 】

▸ Veda Mantra: मे॒धां मे॒ वरु॑णो ददातु मे॒धाम॒ग्निः प्र॒जाप॑तिः। मे॒धामिन्द्र॑श्च वा॒युश्च॑ मे॒धां धा॒ता द॑दातु मे॒ स्वाहा॑ ॥१५ ॥

▸ Translation: May Varuna, supreme lord of the universe, and the scholar of highest knowledge, bless me with supreme intelligence. May Agni, lord of universal light, and the eminent scholar and teacher, bless me with discriminative intelligence. May Prajapati, guardian sustainer of creation, and the generous scholar, bless me with generous and lifesustaining intelligence. May Indra, lord of universal grandeur, and the leader of honour and power, bless me with honourable intelligence. May Vayu, lord of universal energy and power, and the scholar of science and technology, bless me with intellectual and vitalizing intelligence. May Dhata, lord preserver of the universe, and scholar of life-sciences, bless me with life-preserving intelligence. This is the divine voice from the heart.

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【 Verse 32.16 】

▸ Veda Mantra: इ॒दं मे॒ ब्रह्म॑ च क्ष॒त्रं चो॒भे श्रिय॑मश्नुताम्। मयि॑ दे॒वा द॑धतु॒ श्रिय॒मुत्त॑मां॒ तस्यै॑ ते॒ स्वाहा॑ ॥१६ ॥

▸ Translation: May this knowledge of mine and the Brahmana fellowship, and this power and honour of mine and the Kshatra organisation, both grow to excellence and grace. May the noblest people bless me with the best of excellence and grace. All the best for you in truth of word and deed. This is the divine voice of the soul.