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upanishads
khandogya-upanishad 3
FIFTH PRAPATHAKA
FIRST KHANDA
1. He who knows the oldest and the best becomes himself the
oldest and the best. Breath indeed is the oldest and the best.
2. He who knows the richest, becomes himself the richest.
Speech indeed is the richest.
3. He who knows the firm rest, becomes himself firm in this
world and in the next. The eye indeed is the firm rest.
4. He who knows success, his wishes succeed, both his divine
and human wishes. The ear indeed is success.
5. He who knows the home, becomes a home of his people. The
mind indeed is the home.
6. The five senses quarrelled together, who was the best,
saying, I am better, I am better.
7. They went to their father Pragapati and said: 'Sir, who is
the best of us?' He replied: ' He by
whose departure the body seems worse than worst, he is the best
of you.'
8. The tongue (speech) departed, and having been absent for a
year, it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They
replied: 'Like mute people, not speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing
with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. 'thus we lived.'
Then speech went back.
9. The eye (sight) departed, and having been absent for a year,
it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They
replied: 'Like blind people, not seeing, but breathing with the breath, speaking
with the tongue, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.'
Then the eye went back.
10. The ear (hearing) departed, and having been absent for a
year, it came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They
replied: 'Like deaf people, not hearing, but breathing with the breath, speaking
with the tongue, thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.' Then the ear went
back.
11. The mind departed, and having been absent for a year, it
came round and said: 'How have you been able to live without me?' They replied:
'Like children whose mind is not yet formed, but breathing with the breath,
speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear. Thus we
lived.' Then the mind went back.
12. The breath, when on the point of departing, tore up the
other senses, as a horse, going to start, might tear up the pegs to which he is
tethered'. They came to him and said: 'Sir, be thou (our lord); thou art the
best among us. Do not depart from us!'
13. Then the tongue said to him: 'If I am the richest, thou art
the richest.' The eye said to him If I am the firm rest, thou art the firm
rest.'
14. The ear said to him: 'If I am success, thou art success.'
The mind said to him: 'If I am the home, thou art the home.'
15. And people do not call them, the tongues, the eyes, the
ears, the minds, but the breaths (prana, the senses). For breath are all
these.
SECOND KHANDA
1. Breath said: 'What shall be my food?.' They answered:
'Whatever there is, even unto dogs and birds.' Therefore this is food for Ana
(the breather). His name is clearly Ana. To him who knows this there is nothing
that is not (proper) food.
2. He said: 'What shall be my dress?' They answered: 'Water.'
Therefore wise people, when they are going to eat food, surround their food
before and after with water.' He (prana) thus gains a dress, and is no longer
naked.
3. Satyakama Gabala, after he had communicated this to Gosruti
Vaiyaghrapadya, said to him: 'If you were to tell this to a dry stick, branches
would grow, and leaves spring from it.'
4. If a man wishes to reach greatness, let him perform the
Diksha (a preparatory rite) on the day of the new moon, and then, on the night
of the full moon, let him stir a mash of all kinds of herbs with curds and
honey, and let him pour ghee on the fire (avasathya laukika), saying; 'Svaha to
the oldest and the best.' After that let him throw all that remains (of the
ghee) into the mash.
5. In the same manner let him pour ghee on. the fire, saying,
'Svaha to the richest.' After that let him throw all that remains together into
the mash.
In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying,
'Svaha to the firm rest.' After that let him throw all that remains together
into the mash.
In the same manner let him pour ghee on the fire, saying,
'Svaha to success.' After that let him throw all that remains together into the
mash.
6. Then going forward and placing the mash in his hands, he
recites: 'Thou (Prana) art Ama by name, for all this together exists in thee. He
is the oldest and best, the king, the sovereign. May he make me the oldest, the
best, the king, the sovereign. May I be all this.'
7. Then he eats with the following Rik verse at every foot: 'We
choose that food'-- here he swallows -- 'Of the divine Savitri (prana)' -- here
he swallows -- 'The best and all-supporting food' -- here he swallows -- 'We
meditate on the speed of Bhaga (Savitri, prana)'-here he drinks all.
8. Having cleansed the vessel, whether it be a kamsa or a
kamasa, he sits down behind the fire on a skin or on the bare ground, without
speaking or making any other effort. If in his dream he sees a woman, let him
know this to be a sign that his sacrifice has succeeded.
9. On this there is a Sloka: 'If during sacrifices which are to
fulfil certain wishes he sees in his dreams a woman, let him know success from
this vision in a dream, yea, from this vision in a dream.'
THIRD KHANDA
1. Svetaketu Aruneya went to an assembly of the Pankalas.
Pravahana Gaivali said to him: 'Boy, has your father instructed you?' Yes, Sir,'
he replied.
2. 'Do you know to what place men go from here?' 'No Sir' he
replied.
'Do you know how they return again? No Sir,' he replied.
'Do you know where the path of Devas and the path of the
fathers diverge? No, Sir,' he replied.
3. 'Do you know why that world' never becomes full?' 'No, Sir,'
he replied.
'Do you know why in the fifth libation water is called Man?'
'No, Sir,' he replied.
4. 'Then why did you say (you had been) instructed? How could
anybody who did not know these things say that he had been instructed?' Then the
boy went back sorrowful to the place of his father, and said: 'Though you had
not instructed me, Sir, you said you had instructed me.
5. 'That fellow of a Raganya asked me five questions, and I
could not answer one of them.' The father said: 'As you have told me these
questions of his, I do not know any one of them. If I knew these questions, how
should I not have told you?.
6. Then Gautama went to the king's place, and when he had come
to him, the king offered him proper respect. In the morning the king went out on
his way to the assembly. The king said to him:
'Sir, Gautama, ask a boon of such things as men possess.' He
replied: 'Such things as men possess may remain with you. Tell me the speech
which you addressed to the boy.'
7. The king was perplexed, and commanded him, saying: 'Stay
with me some time.' Then he said: 'As (to what) you have said to me, Gautama,
this knowledge did not go to any Brahmana before you, and therefore this
teaching belonged in all the worlds to the Kshatra class alone. Then he
began:
FOURTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar (on which the sacrifice is supposed to be
offered) is that world (heaven), O Gautama; its fuel is the sun itself, the
smoke his rays, the light the day, the coals the moon, the sparks the stars.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (or pranas, represented by Agni,
&c.) offer the sraddhi libation (consisting of water). From that oblation
rises Soma, the king (the moon).
FIFTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar is Parganya (the god of rain), O Gautama; its
fuel is the air itself, the smoke the cloud, the light the lightning, the coals.
the thunderbolt, the sparks the thunderings.
2. 'On that altar the Devas offer Soma, the king (the moon).
From that oblation rises rain.
SIXTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar is the earth, O Gautama; its fuel is the year
itself, the smoke the ether, the light the night, the coals the quarters, the
sparks the intermediate quarters.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer rain. From that
oblation rises food (corn, &c.)
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar is man, O Gautama; its fuel speech itself, the
smoke the breath, the light the tongue, the coals the eye, the sparks the
ear.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer food. From that
oblation rises seed.
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. 'The altar is woman, O Gautama.
2. 'On that altar the Devas (pranas) offer seed. From that
oblation rises the germ.
NINTH KHANDA
1. 'For this reason is water in the fifth oblation called Man.
This germ, covered in the womb, having dwelt there ten months, or more or less,
is born.
2. 'When born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be.
When he has departed, his friends carry him, as appointed, to the fire (of the
funeral pile) from whence he came, from whence he sprang.
TENTH KHANDA
1. 'Those who know this (even though they still be grihasthas,
householders) and those who in the forest follow faith and austerities (the
vanaprasthas, and of the parivragakas those who do not yet know the Highest
Brahman) go to light (arkis), from light to day, from day to the light half of
the moon, from the light half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to
the north, from the six months when the sun goes to the north to the year, from
the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the lightning.
There is a person not human, --
2. 'He leads them to Brahman (the conditioned Brahman). This is
the path of the Devas.
3. 'But they who living in a village practice (a life of)
sacrifices, works of public utility, and alms, they go to the smoke, from smoke
to night, from night to the dark half of the moon, from the dark half of the
moon to the six months when the sun goes to the south. But they do not reach the
year.
4. 'From the months they go to the world of the fathers, from
the world of the fathers to the ether, from the ether to the moon. That is Soma,
the king. Here they are loved (eaten) by the Devas, yes, the Devas love (eat)
them.
5. 'Having dwelt there, till their (good) works are consumed,
they return again that way as they came', to the ether, from the ether to the
air. Then the sacrificer, having become air, becomes smoke, having become smoke,
he becomes mist,
6. 'Having become mist, he becomes a cloud, having become a
cloud, he rains down. Then he is born as rice and corn, herbs and trees, sesamum
and beans. From thence the escape is beset with most difficulties. For whoever
the persons may be that eat the food, and beget offspring, he henceforth becomes
like unto them.
7. 'Those whose conduct has been good, will quickly attain some
good birth, the birth of a Brahmana, or a Kshatriya, or a Vaisya. But those
whose conduct has been evil, will quickly attain an evil birth, the birth of a
dog, or a hog, or a Kandala.
8. 'On neither of these two ways those small creatures (flies,
worms, &c.) are continually returning of whom it may be said, Live and die.
Theirs is a third place.
'Therefore that world never becomes full' (cf.V, 3, 2). 'Hence
let a man take care to himself! And thus it is said in the following Sloka:-
9. 'A man who steals gold, who drinks spirits, who dishonours
his Guru's bed, who kills a Brahman, these four fall, and as a fifth he who
associates with them.
10. 'But he who thus knows the five fires is not defiled by sin
even though he associates with them. He who knows this, is pure, clean, and
obtains the world of the blessed, yea, he obtains the world of the blessed.'
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. Pranasala Aupamanyava, Satyayagna Paulushi, Indradyumna
Bhallaveya, Gana Sarkarakshya, and Budila Asvatarasvi, these five great
householders and great theologians came once together and held a discussion as
to What is our Self, and what is Brahman.
2. They reflected and said: 'Sirs, there is that Uddalaka
Aruni, who knows at present that Self, called Vaisvanara. Well, let us go to
him.' They went to him.
3. But he reflected: 'Those great householders and great
theologians will examine me, and I shall not be able to tell them all; therefore
I shall recommend another teacher to them.'
4. He said to them: 'Sirs, Asvapati Kaikeya knows at present
that Self, called Vaisvanara. Well, let us go to him.' They went to him.
5. When they arrived (the king) ordered proper presents to be
made separately to each of them. And rising the next morning' he said: 'In my
kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man without an altar in his
house, no ignorant person, no adulterer, much less an adulteress. I am going to
perform a sacrifice, Sirs, and as much wealth as I give to each Ritvig priest, I
shall give to you, Sirs. Please to stay here.'
6. They replied: 'Every man ought to say for what purpose he
comes. You know at present that Vaisvanara Self, tell us that.'
7. He said: 'To-morrow I shall give you an answer.' Therefore
on the next morning they approached him, carrying fuel in their hands (like
students), and he, without first demanding any preparatory rites, said to
them:
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. 'Aupamanyava, whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He
replied: 'Heaven only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which you meditate on
is the Vaisvanara Self, called Sutegas (having good light). Therefore every kind
of Soma libation is seen in your house'.
2. 'You eat food, and see your desire (a son, &c.), and
whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food, sees his desire, and
has Vedic glory (arising from study and sacrifice) in his house. That, however,
is but the head of the Self, and thus your head would have fallen (in a
discussion), if you had not come to me.'
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Satyayagna Paulushi: 'O Prakinayogya, whom
do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'The sun only, venerable king.' He
said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Visvartupa
(multiform). Therefore much and manifold wealth is seen in your house.
2. 'There is a car with mules, full of slaves and jewels. You
eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus meditates on that Vaisvanara
Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the eye of the Self, and you would have
become blind, if you had not come to me.'
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Indradyumna Bhallaveya: 'O Vaiyaghrapadya,
whom do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Air only, venerable king.' He
said: 'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvinara Self, called
Prithagvartman (having various courses). Therefore offerings come to you in
various ways, and rows of cars follow you in various ways.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus
meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic
glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the breath of the Self, and your breath
would have left you, if you had not come to me.'
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Gana Sarkarakshya: 'Whom do you meditate on
as the Self?' He replied: 'Ether only, venerable king.' He said: 'The Self which
you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Bahula (full). Therefore you are
full of offspring and wealth.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus
meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic
glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the trunk of the Self, and your trunk
would have perished, if you had not come to me.'
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Budila Asvatarasvi, 'O Vaiyaghrapadya, whom
do you meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'Water only, venerable king.' He
said;
'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called
Rayi (wealth). Therefore are you wealthy and flourishing.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus
meditates on that Vaisvanara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic
glory in his house.
'That, however, is but the bladder of the Self, and your
bladder would have burst, if you had not come to me.'
SEVENTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to Auddalaka Aruni: O Gautama, whom do you
meditate on as the Self?' He replied: 'The earth only, venerable king.' He said:
'The Self which you meditate on is the Vaisvanara Self, called Pratishtha. (firm
rest). Therefore you stand firm with offspring and cattle.
2. 'You eat food and see your desire, and whoever thus
meditates on that Vaisvgnara Self, eats food and sees his desire, and has Vedic
glory in his house.
'That, however, are but the feet of the Self, and your feet
would have given way, if you had not come to me.'
EIGHTEENTH KHANDA
1. Then he said to them all: 'You eat your food, knowing that
Vaisvanara Self as if it were many. But he who worships the Vaisvanara Self as a
span long, and as' identical with himself, he eats food in all worlds, in all
beings, in all Selfs.
2. 'Of that Vaisvanara Self the head is Sutegas (having good
light), the eye Visvariupa (multiform), the breath Prithagvartman (having
various courses), the trunk Bahula (full), the bladder Rayi (wealth), the feet
the earth, the chest the altar, the hairs the grass on the altar, the heart the
Garhapatya fire, the mind the Anvaharya fire, the mouth the Ahavaniya fire.
NINETEENTH KHANDA
1. 'Therefore the first food which a man may take, is in the
place of Homa. And he who offers that first oblation, should offer it to Prana
(up-breathing), saying Svaha,. Then Prana (up-breathing) is satisfied,
2. 'If Prana is satisfied, the eye is satisfied, if the eye is
satisfied, the sun is satisfied, if the sun is satisfied, heaven is satisfied,
if heaven is satisfied, whatever is under heaven and under the sun is
satisfied.. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater) himself
is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic
splendour.
TWENTIETH KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the second oblation, should offer it to
Vyana (back-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Vyana is satisfied,
2. 'If Vyana is satisfied, the ear is satisfied, if the ear is
satisfied, the moon is satisfied, if the moon is satisfied, the quarters are
satisfied, if the quarters are satisfied, whatever is under the quarters and
under the moon is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer
or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring,. cattle, health, brightness, and
Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-FIRST KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the third oblation, should offer it to
Apana (down-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Apana is satisfied. If Apana is
satisfied, the tongue is satisfied, if the tongue is satisfied, Agni (fire) is
satisfied, if Agni is satisfied, the earth is satisfied, if the earth is
satisfied, whatever is under the earth and under fire is satisfied.
2. 'And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer or eater)
himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and Vedic
splendour.
TWENTY-SECOND KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the fourth oblation, should offer it to
Samana (on-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Samana is satisfied,
2. 'If Samana is satisfied, the mind is satisfied, if the mind
is satisfied, Parganya (god of rain) is satisfied, if Parganya is satisfied,
lightning is satisfied, if lightning is satisfied, whatever is under Parganya
and under lightning is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the
sacrificer or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health,
brightness, and Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-THIRD KHANDA
1. 'And he who offers the fifth oblation, should offer it to
Udana (out-breathing), saying Svaha. Then Udana is satisfied,
2. 'If Udana is satisfied, Vayu (air) is satisfied, if Vayu is
satisfied, ether is satisfied, if ether is satisfied, whatever is under Vayu and
under the ether is satisfied. And through their satisfaction he (the sacrificer
or eater) himself is satisfied with offspring, cattle, health, brightness, and
Vedic splendour.
TWENTY-FOURTH KHANDA
1. 'If, without knowing this, one offers an Agnihotra, it would
be as if a man were to remove the live coals and pour his libation on dead
ashes.
2. 'But he who offers this Agnihotra with a full knowledge of
its true purport, he offers it (i.e. he eats food)' in all worlds, in all
beings, in all Selfs.
3. 'As the soft fibres of the Ishika. reed, when thrown into
the fire, are burnt, thus all his sins are burnt whoever offers this Agnihotra
with a full knowledge of its true purport.
4. 'Even if he gives what is left of his food to a Kandala, it
would be offered in his (the Kandala's) Vaisvanara Self. And so it is said in
this Sloka: --
'As hungry children here on earth sit (expectantly) round their
mother, so. do all beings sit round the Agnihotra, yea, round the
Agnihotra.'
SIXTH PRAPATHAKA
FIRST KHANDA
1. Harih, Om. There lived once Svetaketu Aruneya (the grandson
of Aruna). To him his father (Uddilaka, the son of Aruna) said: 'Svetaketu, go
to school; for there is none belonging to our race, darling, who, not having
studied (the Veda), is, as it were, a Brahmana by birth only.'
2. Having begun his apprenticeship (with a teacher) when he was
twelve years of age, Svetaketu returned to his father, when he was twenty-four,
having then studied all the Vedas, -- conceited, considering himself well-read,
and stern.
3. His father said to him: 'Svetaketu, as you are so conceited,
considering yourself so well-read, and so stern, my dear, have you ever asked
for that instruction by which we hear what cannot be heard, by which we perceive
what cannot be perceived, by which we know what cannot be known?'
4. 'What is that instruction, Sir?' he asked. The father
replied: 'My dear, as by one clod of clay all that is made of clay is known, the
difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the truth being that all
is clay;
5. 'And as, my dear, by one nugget of gold all that is made of
gold is known, the difference being only a name, arising from speech, but the
truth being that all is gold?
6. 'And as, my dear, by one pair of nail-scissors all that is
made of iron (karshnayasam) is known, the difference being only a name, arising
from speech, but the truth being that all is iron,-thus, my dear, is that
instruction.'
7. The son said: 'Surely those venerable men (my teachers) did
not know that. For if they had known it, why should they not have told it me? Do
you, Sir, therefore tell me that.' 'Be it so,' said the father.
SECOND KHAVDA
1. 'In the beginning,' my dear, 'there was that only which is,
one only, without a second. Others say, in the beginning there was that only
which is not, one only, without a second; and from that which is not, that which
is was born.
2. 'But how could it be thus, my dear?' the father continued.
'How could that which is, be born of that which is not? No, my dear, only that
which is, was in the beginning, one only, without a second.
3. 'It thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth
fire.
'That fire thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent
forth water.
'And therefore whenever anybody anywhere is hot and perspires,
water is produced on him from fire alone.
4. 'Water thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent
forth earth (food).
'Therefore whenever it rains anywhere, most food is then
produced. From water alone is eatable food produced.
THIRD KHANDA
1. 'Of all living things there are indeed three origins only,
that which springs from an egg (oviparous), that which springs from a living
being (viviparous), and that which springs from a germ.
2. 'That Being, (i. e. that which had produced fire, water, and
earth) thought, let me now enter those three beings, (fire, water, earth) with
this living Self (giva atma)', and let me then reveal (develop) names and
forms.
3. 'Then that Being having said, Let me make each of these
three tripartite (so that fire, water, and earth should each have itself for its
principal ingredient, besides an admixture of the other two) entered into those
three beings (devata) with this living self only, and revealed names and
forms.
4. 'He made each of these tripartite; and how these three
beings become each of them tripartite, that learn from me now, my friend!
FOURTH KHANDA
1. 'The red colour of burning fire (agni) is the colour of
fire, the white colour of fire is the colour of water, the black colour of fire
the colour of earth. Thus vanishes what we call fire, as a mere variety, being a
name, arising from speech. What is true (satya) are the three colours (or
forms).
2. 'The red colour of the sun (aditya) is the colour of fire,
the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the sun, as a
mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three
colours.
3. 'The red colour of the moon is the colour of fire, the white
of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the moon, as a mere
variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three
colours.
4. 'The red colour of the lightning is the colour of fire, the
white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the lightning, as
a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three
colours.
5. 'Great householders and great theologians of olden times who
knew this, have declared the same, saying, " No one can henceforth mention to us
anything which we have not heard, perceived, or known'." Out of these (three
colours or forms) they knew all.
6. 'Whatever they thought looked red, they knew was the colour
of fire. Whatever they thought looked white, they knew was the colour of water.
Whatever they thought looked black, they knew was the colour of earth.
7. 'Whatever they thought was altogether unknown, they knew was
some combination of those three beings (devata).
'Now learn from me, my friend, how those three beings, when
they reach man, become each of them tripartite.
FIFTH KHANDA
1. 'The earth (food) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest
portion becomes feces, its middle portion flesh, its subtilest portion mind.
2. 'Water when drunk becomes threefold; its grossest portion
becomes water, its middle portion blood, its subtilest portion breath.
3. 'Fire (i.e. in oil, butter, &c.) when eaten becomes
threefold; its grossest portion becomes bone, its middle portion marrow, its
subtilest portion speech.
4. 'For truly, my child, mind comes of earth, breath of water,
speech of fire.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
SIXTH KHANDA
1. 'That which is the subtile portion of curds, when churned,
rises upwards, and becomes butter.
2. 'In the same manner, my child, the subtile portion of earth
(food), when eaten, rises upwards, and becomes mind.
3. 'That which is the subtile portion of water, when drunk,
rises upwards, and becomes breath.
4. 'That which is the subtile portion of fire, when consumed,
rises upwards, and becomes speech. 5. 'For mind, my child, comes of earth,
breath of water, speech of fire.'
' Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
SEVENTH KHANDA
1. 'Man (purusha), my son, consists of sixteen parts. Abstain
from food for fifteen days, but drink as much water as you like, for breath
comes from water, and will not be cut off, if you drink water.'
2. Svetaketu abstained from food for fifteen days. Then he came
to his father and said: 'What shall I say?' The father said: 'Repeat the Rik,
Yagus, and Saman verses.' He replied: 'They do not occur to me, Sir.'
3. The father said to him: 'As of a great lighted fire one coal
only of the size of a firefly may be left, which would not burn much more than
this (i. e. very little), thus, my dear son, one part only of the sixteen parts
(of you) is left, and therefore with that one part you do not remember the
Vedas. Go and eat!
4. 'Then wilt thou understand me.' Then Svetaketu ate, and
afterwards approached his father. And whatever his father asked him, he knew it
all by heart. Then his father said to him:
5. 'As of a great lighted fire one coal of the size of a
firefly, if left, may be made to blaze up again by putting grass upon it, and
will thus burn more than this,
6. 'Thus, my dear son, there was one part of the sixteen parts
left to you, and that, lighted up with food, burnt up, and by it you remember
now the Vedas.' After that, he understood what his father meant when he said:
'Mind, my son, comes from food, breath from water, speech from fire.' He
understood what he said, yea, he understood it'.
EIGHTH KHANDA
1. Uddalaka Aruni said to his son Svetaketu: 'Learn from me the
true nature of sleep (svapna).
When a man sleeps here, then, my dear son, he becomes united
with the True, he is gone to his own (Self). Therefore they say, svapiti, he
sleeps, because he is gone (apita) to his own (sva).
2. 'As a bird when tied by a string flies first in every
direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles down at last on the very place
where it is fastened, exactly in the same manner, my son, that mind (the giva,
or living Self in the mind, see VI, 3, 2), after flying in every direction, and
finding- no rest anywhere, settles down on breath; for indeed, my son, mind is
fastened to breath.
3. 'Learn from me, my son, what are hunger and thirst. When a
man is thus said to be hungry, water is carrying away (digests) what has been
eaten by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-naya), a horse-leader
(asva-naya), a man-leader (purusha-naya), so they call water (which digests food
and causes hunger) food-leader (asa-naya). Thus (by food digested &c.), my
son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth, for this (body) could
not be without a root (cause).
4. 'And where could its root be except in food (earth)? And in
the same manner, my son, as food (earth) too is an offshoot, seek after its
root, viz. water. And as water too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz.
fire. And as fire too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes,
all these creatures, my son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the
True, they rest in the True.
5. 'When a man is thus said to be thirsty, fire carries away
what has been drunk by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-naya),
of a horse-leader (asva-naya), of a man-leader (purusha-naya), so they call fire
udanyi, thirst, i. e. water-leader. Thus (by water digested &c.), my son,
know this offshoot (the.body) to be brought forth: this (body) could not be
without a root (cause).
6. 'And where could its root be except in water? As water is an
offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. As fire is an offshoot, seek after its
root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, O son, have their root in the
True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.
'And how these three beings (devata), fire, water, earth, O
son, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite, has been said before
(VI, 4, 7). When a man departs from hence, his speech is merged in his mind, his
mind in his breath, his breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being.
7. 'Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all),
in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O
Svetaketu, art it.' 'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
NINTH KHANDA
1. 'As the bees, my son, make honey by collecting the juices of
distant trees, and reduce the juice into one form,
2. 'And as these juices have no discrimination, so that they
might say, I am the juice of this tree or that, in the same manner, my son, all
these creatures, when they have become merged in the True (either in deep sleep
or in death), know not that they are merged in the True.
3. 'Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a
wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they
become again and again.
4. 'Now ' that which is that subtile essence, in it all that
exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art
it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
' Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
TENTH KHANDA
1. 'These rivers, my son, run, the eastern (like the Ganga)
toward the east, the western (like the Sindhu) toward the west. They go from sea
to sea (i. e. the clouds lift up the water from the sea to the sky, and send it
back as rain to the sea). They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they
are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river,
2. In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they
have come back from the True, know not that they have come back from the True.
Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a
worm, or a mid-e, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they become again and
again.
3. 'That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists
has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art
it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
ELEVENTH KHANDA
1. 'If some one were to strike at the root of this large tree
here, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its stem, it would
bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its top, it would bleed, but live.
Pervaded by the living Self that tree stands firm, drinking in its nourishment
and rejoicing;
2. 'But if the life (the living Self) leaves one of its
branches, that branch withers; if it leaves a second, that branch withers; if it
leaves a third, that branch withers. If it leaves the whole tree, the whole tree
withers. In exactly the same manner, my son, know this.' Thus he spoke:
3- 'This (body) indeed withers and dies when the living Self
has left it; the living Self dies not.
'That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has
its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
TWELFTH KHANDA
1. 'Fetch me from thence a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree.'
Here is one, Sir.'
Break it.'
'It is broken, Sir.'
'What do you see there?'
'These seeds, almost infinitesimal.'
'Break one of them.'
'It is broken, Sir.'
'What do you see there?'
'Not anything, Sir.'
2. The father said: 'My son, that subtile essence which you do
not perceive there, of that very essence this great Nyagrodha tree exists.
3. 'Believe it, my son. That which is the subtile essence, in
it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O
Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
THIRTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'Place this salt in water, and then wait on me in the
morning.'
The son did as he was commanded.
The father said to him: 'Bring me the salt, which you placed in
the water last night.'
The son having looked for it, found it not, for, of course, it
was melted.
2. The father said: 'Taste it from the surface of the water.
How is it?'
The son replied: 'It is salt.'
'Taste it from the middle. How is it?'
The son replied: ' It is salt.'
'Taste it from the bottom. How is it?'
The son replied: 'It is salt.'
The father said: 'Throw it away' and then wait on me.
He did so; but salt exists for ever.
Then the father said: 'Here also, in this body, forsooth, you
do not perceive the True (Sat), my son; but there indeed it is.
3- 'That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists
has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art
it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
FOURTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'As one might lead a person with his eyes covered away from
the Gandharas, and leave him then in a place where there are no human beings;
and as that person would turn towards the east, or the north, or the west, and
shout, "I have been brought here with my eyes covered, I have been left here
with my eyes covered,"
2. 'And as thereupon some one might loose his bandage and say
to him, "Go in that direction, it is Gandhara, go in that direction;" and as
thereupon, having been informed and being able to judge for himself, he would by
asking his way from village to village arrive at last at Gandhara, -- in exactly
the same manner does a man, who meets with a teacher to inform him, obtain the
true knowlede. For him there is only delay so long as he is not delivered (from
the body); then he will be perfect.
3. 'That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists
has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art
it.'
' Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
FIFTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'If a man is ill, his relatives assemble round him and ask:
" Dost thou know me? Dost thou know me?" Now as long as his speech is not merged
in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest
Being (devati), he knows them.
2. 'But when his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in
breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being, then he knows them
not.
'That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has
its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.'
'Please, Sir, inform me still more,' said the son.
'Be it so, my child,' the father replied.
SIXTEENTH KHANDA
1. 'My child, they bring a man hither whom they have taken by
the hand, and they say: "He has taken something, he has committed a theft."
(When he denies, they say), "Heat the hatchet for him." If he committed the
theft, then he makes himself to be what he is not. Then the false-minded, having
covered his true Self by a falsehood, grasps the heated hatchet-he is burnt, and
he is killed.
2. 'But if he did not commit the theft, then he makes himself
to be what he is. Then the true minded, having covered his true Self by truth,
grasps the heated hatchet-he is not burnt, and he is delivered.
'As that (truthful) man is not burnt, thus has all that exists
its self in That. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art
it.' He understood what he said, yea, he understood it.
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HINDUISM