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Max Muller / Sacred Books of the EastLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Chandogya Upanishad First PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Second PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Third PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Fourth PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Fifth PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Sixth PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Seventh PrapathakaChandogya Upanishad Eighth PrapathakaTalavakara / Kena Upanishad First KhandaTalavakara / Kena Upanishad Second KhandaTalavakara / Kena Upanishad Third KhandaTalavakara / Kena Upanishad Fourth KhandaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad First AdhyayaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Second AdhyayaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Third AdhyayaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Fourth AdhyayaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Fifth AdhyayaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Sixth AdhyayaAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Seventh AdhyayaKaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad First AdhyayaKaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad Second AdhyayaKaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad Third AdhyayaKaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad Fourth AdhyayaVagasaneyi Samhita / Isha UpanishadKatha Upanishad First AdhyayaKatha Upanishad Second AdhyayaMundaka Upanishad First KhandaMundaka Upanishad Second KhandaTaittiriya Upanishad First ValliTaittiriya Upanishad Second ValliTaittiriya Upanishad Third ValliBrihadaranyaka Upanishad First AdhyayaBrihadaranyaka Upanishad Second AdhyayaBrihadaranyaka Upanishad Third AdhyayaBrihadaranyaka Upanishad Fourth AdhyayaBrihadaranyaka Upanishad Fifth AdhyayaBrihadaranyaka Upanishad Sixth AdhyayaSvetasvatara Upanishad First AdhyayaSvetasvatara Upanishad Second AdhyayaSvetasvatara Upanishad Third AdhyayaSvetasvatara Upanishad Fourth AdhyayaSvetasvatara Upanishad Fifth AdhyayaSvetasvatara Upanishad Sixth AdhyayaPrasna Upanishad First QuestionPrasna Upanishad Second QuestionPrasna Upanishad Third QuestionPrasna Upanishad Fourth QuestionPrasna Upanishad Fifth QuestionPrasna Upanishad Sixth QuestionMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad First PrapathakaMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Second PrapathakaMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Third PrapathakaMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Fourth PrapathakaMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Fifth PrapathakaMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Sixth PrapathakaMaitrayana Brahmana Upanishad Seventh Prapathaka›Kaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad: First AdhyayaKaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad First AdhyayaListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1i. Attra Gangyayani \ forsooth, wishing to per¬ form a sacrifice, chose Arum (Uddalaka 1 2, to be his chief priest). But Arum sent his son, Avetaketu, and said: ‘ Perform the sacrifice for him/ When The question put by Witra to Vvetaketu is very obscure, and was probably from the first intended to be obscure in its very wording. What Witra wished to ask we can gather from other passages in the Upanishads, where we^ see another royal sage, Pravaha^a Gaivali (Kh. Up. V, 3; Brzh. Ar. VI, 2), enlightening Vvetaketu on the future life. That future life is reached by two roads ] He answered and said: ‘I do not know this. But, let me ask the master.’ Having approached his father, he asked: ‘ Thus has -ATitra asked me, how shall I answer?’ one, the Devapatha, leading to the world of Brahman (the con¬ ditioned), beyond which there lies one other stage only, represented by knowledge of and identity with the unconditioned Brahman, the other leading to the world of the fathers, and from thence, after the reward of good works has been consumed, back to a new round of mundane existence. There is a third road foi creatures which live and die, worms, insects, and creeping thin 0 s, but they are of little consequence. 1.2Now it is quite clear that the knowledge which king Antra possesses, and which Nvetaketu does not possess, is that of the two roads after death, sometimes called the right and the left, or the southern and northern roads. These roads are fully described in the AMndogya-upanishad and in the Brz'had-arawyaka, with certain variations, yet on the whole with the same purpose. The northern or left road, called also the path of the Devas, passes on from light and day to the bright half of the moon; the southern or right road, called also the path of the fathers, passes on from smoke and night to the dark half of the moon. Both roads therefore meet in the moon, but diverge after¬ wards. While the northern road passes by the six months when the sun moves towards the north, through the sun, (moon,) and the lightning to the world of Brahman, the southern passes by the six months when the sun moves towards the south, to the world of the fathers, the ether, and the moon. The great difference, however, between the two roads is, that while those who travel on the former do not return again to a new life on earth, but reach in the end a true knowledge of the unconditioned Brahman, those who pass on to the world of the fathers and the moon return to earth to be born again and again. 1.3The question therefore which Aitra addresses to Avetaketu can refer to these two roads only, and though the text is very corrupt, and was so evidently even at the time when the commentary was written, we must try to restore it in accordance with the teaching imparted by Antra in what follows. I propose to read: Gautamasya putra, asti sawvntaw loke yasmin ma dhasyasy anyatamo vadhva tasya (or yasya) ma loke dhasyasi, ‘ Is there a hidden place in the world where you (by your sacrificing and teaching) are able to 2 73 Arum said: ‘ I also do not know this. Only after having learnt the proper portion of the Veda in itras own dwelling, shall we obtain what others give us (knowledge). Come, we will both go.’ Having said this he took fuel in his hand (like a pupil), and approached ATitra Gaiigydyani, say¬ ing: 'May I come near to you?’ He replied- You are worthy of Brahman >, O Gautama, because you were not led away by pride. Come hither, I shall make you know clearly/ 2 ' Artra said: All who depart from this world (or this body) go to the moon 2. In the former, (the bright) half, the moon delights in their spirits; 1.4in the other, (the dark) half, the moon sends them on place me, or is it the other way, and will you place me in the world to which it leads?’ Even thus the text is by no means satisfactory, but it is better than anyam aho v^dhvS, adopted by the commentator and explained by him: Is there a hidden place in that world in which you will place me as another, i.e. as different from e whole world or identical with the whole world, and, if as dif¬ ferent, then having bound me (vadhvd=baddhva) and made me a ifferent person? We may read anyataro for anyatamo vadhva The commentator sums up the question as referring to a hidden or not idden place, where.ffltra should be placed as another person or not another person, as bound or not bound; or, as Professor owe renders it, ‘ O son of Gautama, is there any secret place in the world where thou canst set me unconnected, having fixed me there (as wood united with glue); or is there some other place where thou canst set me?’ The speculations on the fate of the soul after death seem to have been peculiar to the royal families of India, while the Brahmans dwelt more on what may be called the s orter cut, a knowledge of Brahman as the true Self. To know,, them > was t0 be > and > af ter the dissolution of the body they looked forward to immediate emancipation, without any further wanderings. 1.5J brah/ 01 ^ 7 t0 /TV Brahman > or > as the commentator, who reads urahmargha, thinks, to be honoured like Brahman. Both roads lead to the moon, and diverge afterwards [ 3 ] T to be born again k Verily, the moon is the door of the Svarga world (the heavenly world). Now, if a man objects to the moon (if one is not satisfie wi 1 life there) the moon sets him free 1 2 *. But 1 a man does not object, then the moon sends him down as rain upon this earth. And according to his deeds and according to his knowledge he is born again here as a worm, or as an insect, or as a fish, or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a boar, or as a serpent or as a tiger, or as a man, or as something else in dif¬ ferent places 4 *. When he has thus returned to the. earth, some one (a sage) asks: ‘ Who art thou. And he should answer: ‘ From the wise moon, who orders the seasons 6, when it is born consisting o fifteen parts, from the moon who is the home of our ancestors, the seed was brought. This seed, even me they (the gods mentioned in the PanAigmvidya ‘) gathered up in an active man, and through an active This is supposed to be the hidden place, or rathei the way to it, when the departed leave the moon, and pass on to lightning and to the world of Brahman. This is in fact the Devayana opposed to the Ktriyfina, described in the A'fendogya-upamshad. 1.6» Parana, dandariikavkesha/i. There is no authority for translating it by dog; cf. Indische Studien I, 396. > If rrtavaA is here the genitive of rAu, its meaning would be the ordainer of the seasons; cf. Hibbert Lectures, p. 247. 1 a ‘ kshawa is applied to the moon ^again, II, 9. * nd the throne 0 Brahman also is called vtfakshaHti, I, 3 - « Kh. Up. V, 4-8. 2 75 man they brought me to a mother. Then I, growing up to be born, a being living by months, whether twelve or thirteen, was together with my father, who also lived by (years of) twelve or thirteen months, that I might either know it (the true Brahman) or not know it. Therefore, O ye seasons *, grant that may attain immortality (knowledge of Brahman). By this my true saying, by this my toil (beginning with the dwelling in the moon and ending with my nth on earth) I am (like) a season, and the child of the seasons.’ ‘ Who art thou? ’ the sage asks again ‘ I am thou,’ he replies. Then he sets him tree (to proceed onward).., 3 ' H. e, the time of death), having reached the path of the gods, comes to the world of Agni (re), to the world of Vayu (air), to the world of Varava, to the world of Indra, to the world of rafapati (Vir&g), to the world of Brahman (Hirai «yagarbha). In that world there is the lake Ara 3,! 1.7* he mo ments called YeshZiha 4, the river Vigani (age-less), the tree Ilya 3, the city -Salayya, the palace Aparayita (unconquerable), the door-keepers Indra The commentator takes retavab as an accusative. I take it as eJtW tlV f’AT d “ Td “ a 361136 anal °g° us t0 Zend ratu, an epithet of Ahura. Darmesteter, Ormazd, p. 12, n. 3. ledie^/ru fina ‘ ^ erati0n ’ then he is fit to Proceed to a knowed„e of Brahman. It would seem that after this, this person is in ' ff me P ° Sltl ° n as the other who » objecting to remain in the moon, was set free at once. Kh {j°" Vm S ° f aH - S ’ enemieS ’ SUCh “,0Ve ’ an S er > &c ‘ In ‘he Kl ' UP- 5 > 3 > is called Ara. hesire X £ al irlman mean ’ ki " in§ ^ wMch COnsistS a The same as the awattha/z somasavana^ in Kh. Up. VIII, 5, 3. and Pranapati, the hall of Brahman, called Vibhu^ (built by vibhu, egoism), the throne Vi/£aksha«a (buddhi, perception), the couch Amitau/as (endless splendour), and the beloved Manasi (mind) and er image /dakshushi (eye), who, as if taking dowers, are weaving the worlds, and the Apsaras, the AmMs (iruti, sacred scriptures), and Ambayavis (buddhi, understanding), and the rivers Ambayas (leading to the knowledge of Brahman). To t is wor e who knows this (who knows the Paryanka-vidya) approaches. Brahman says to him: 1.8‘ Run towar s him (servants) with such worship as is due to myse. He has reached the river Vifara (age-less), he will never age/ 4. Then five hundred Apsaras go towards him, one hundred with garlands in their hands, one hundred with ointments in their hands, one hundred with per¬ fumes in their hands, one hundred with garments in their hands, one hundred with fruit 2 in their han s. They adorn him with an adornment worthy of Brah¬ man, and when thus adorned with the adornment o Brahman, the knower of Brahman moves towards Brahman (neut.) 3. He comes to the lake Ara, and e crosses it by the mind, while those who come to it without knowing the truth 4, are drowned. He comes to the moments called Yeshdha, they flee from him. phawa by abharawa..., s Though Brahman is used here as a neuter, it refers to the conditioned Brahman.. AA. while in other places (Ait. Ar. II, 3, 0 * stands for samyagabhi^na. If the latter is the true meaning, we might read here tam itvasamprativido. He comes to the river Vi^ara, and crosses it by the mind alone, and there shakes off his good and evil deeds. His beloved relatives obtain the good, his unbeloved relatives the evil he has done. 1.9And as a man, driving in a chariot, might look at the two wheels (without being touched by them), thus he will look at day and night, thus at good and evil deeds, and at all pairs (at all correlative things, such as light and darkness, heat and cold, &c.). Being freed from good and freed from evil he, the knower of Brahman (neut.), moves towards Brahman. 5He approaches the tree Ilya, and the odour of Brahman reaches him. He approaches the city Sala^ya, and the flavour of Brahman reaches him. He approaches the palace Apara^ita, and the splen¬ dour of Brahman reaches him. He approaches the door-keepers Indra and Prafapati, and they run away from him. He approaches the hall Vibhu, and the glory of Brahman reaches him (he thinks, I am Brahman). He approaches the throne VL£aksha?za. The Saman verses, Brzhad and Rathantara, are the eastern feet of that throne 1; the Saman verses, Syaita and Naudhasa, its western feet; the Saman verses, Vairupa and Vairafa, its sides lengthways (south and north); the Saman verses, Sakvara and Raivata, its sides crossways (east and west). That throne is Pra¬ sha, knowledge, for by knowledge (self-knowledge) he sees clearly. He approaches the couch Amitau^as. That is Pra;za (speech). The past and the future are its eastern feet; prosperity and earth its western feet; the Saman verses, B/Thad and Rathantara, are the two sides lengthways of the couch (south and north); 122. 2J& the Siman verses, Bhadra and Ya^naya^hiya, are its cross-sides at the head and feet (east and west); the Rik and Saman are the long sheets 1 (east and west); the Ya^us the cross-sheets (south and north); the moon-beam the cushion; the Udgitha the (white) coverlet; 5.2prosperity the pillow 2. On this couch sits Brahman, and he who knows this (who knows him¬ self one with Brahman sitting on the couch) mounts it first with one foot only. Then Brahman says to him: ‘ Who art thou?’ and he shall answer: 6. ‘ I am (like) a season, and the child of the seasons, sprung from the womb of endless space, from the light (from the luminous Brahman). The light, the origin of the year, which is the past, which is the present, which is all living things, and all ele¬ ments, is the Self 3. Thou art the Self. What thou art, that am I.’ Brahman says to him: ‘ Wko am I? He shall answer: ‘ That which is, the true ’ (Sat-tyam). Brahman asks: ‘What is the true? He says to him: ‘What is different from the gods and from the senses (pra/za) that is Sat, but the gods and the senses are Tyam. Therefore by that name Sattya (true) is called all this whatever there is. All this thou art.’ 7This is also declared by a verse: ‘ This great Xzshl, whose belly is the Ya^us, the head the Saman, the form the Rik, is to be known as being imperish¬ able, as being Brahman.’ Brahman says to him: ‘ How dost thou obtain my male names?’ He should answer: ‘ By breath (pra;za/£).’ Brahman asks: ‘ How my female names?’ He should answer: ‘ By speech (va/§).’ Brahman asks: ‘ How my neuter names?’ He should answer: ‘ By mind (manas).’ ‘How smells?’ ‘By the nose.’ ‘How forms?’ ‘By the eye.’ ‘How sounds?’ ‘By the ear.’ k How flavours of food?’ ‘By the tongue.’ ‘ How actions?’ ‘ By the hands.’ ‘ How pleasures and pain?’ ‘ By the body.’ ‘ How joy, delight, and offspring?’ f By the organ.’ ‘How journeyings?’ Brahman says to him: ‘ Water indeed is this my world 1, the whole Brahman world, and it is thine.’ Whatever victory, whatever might belongs to Brahman, that victory and that might he obtains who knows this, yea, who knows this 2. 28 o ‹Previous chapterAitareya Aranyaka / Upanishad Seventh AdhyayaNext chapterKaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad Second Adhyaya›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public-domain 1879/1884/1900 English translation