Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The editions of the text, commentaries, and glosses, and the earlier translations may be seen in the works quoted before, p. Ixxxiv. . Digitized by Google KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. FIRST PRAPA7HAKA. First Kuawpal. 1. Let a man meditate on the syllable? Om, called the udgttha; for the udgitha (a portion of the Sama-veda) is sung, beginning with Om. The full account, however, of Om is this:— 2. The essence® of all beings is the earth, the essence of the earth is water, the essence of water 1 The XAAndogya-upanishad begins with recommending meditation on the syllable Om, a sacred syllable that had to be pronounced at the beginning of each Veda and of every recitation of Vedic hymns. As connected with the Séma-veda, that syllable Om is called udgitha. Its more usual name is prazava. The object of the Upanishad is to explain the various meanings which the syllable Om may assume in the mind of a devotee, some of them being extremely artificial and senseless, till at last the highest meaning of Om is reached, viz. Brahman, the intelligent cause of the universe. * Akshara means both syllable and the imperishable, i.e. Brahman. 5 Essence, rasa, is explained in different ways, as origin, support, end, cause, and effect. Rasa means originally the sap of trees. That sap may be conceived either as the essence extracted from the tree, or as what gives vigour and life to a tree. In the former case it might be transferred to the conception of effect, in the latter to that of cause. In our sentence it has sometimes the one, sometimes the other meaning. Earth is the support of all beings, water pervades the earth, plants arise from water, man lives by plants, speech is the best part of man, the Rig-veda the best part of speech, the Sima-veda the best extract from the Rz&, udgitha, or the syllable Om, the crown of the Sama-veda. [5] B an 2 KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. the plants, the essence of plants man, the essence of man speech, the essence of speech the Rig-veda, the essence of the Rig-veda the S4ma-veda?, the essence of the Sdma-veda the udgitha (which is Om). 3. That udgitha (Om) is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place ?, the eighth. 4. What then is the Az? What is the SAman? What is the udgitha ? This is the question. 5. The z& indeed is speech, SAman is breath, the udgitha is the syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Azé and SA4man, form one couple. 6. And that couple is joined together in the syllable Om. When two people come together, they fulfil each other’s desire. 7. Thus he who knowing this, meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a fulfiller of desires. 8. That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires.
28. That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires. 9. By that syllable does the threefold knowledge (the sacrifice, more particularly the Somasacrifice, as founded on the three Vedas) proceed. When the Adhvaryu priest gives an order, he says Om. When the Hotvz priest recites, he says Om. When the Udgatv? priest sings, he says Om, 1 Because most of the hymns of the SAma-veda are taken from the Rig-veda. * ParArdhya is here derived from para, highest, and ardha, place. The eighth means the eighth or last in the series of essences. I PRAPATHAKA, I KHANDA, IO. | 3 —all for the glory of that syllable. The threefold knowledge (the sacrifice) proceeds by the greatness of that syllable (the vital breaths), and by its essence (the oblations) }. 10. Now therefore it would seem to follow, that both he who knows this (the true meaning of the syllable Om), and he who does not, perform the same sacrifice?, But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith, and the Upanishad? is more powerful. This is the full account of the syllable Om. 1 These are allusions to sacrificial technicalities, all intended to show the importance of the syllable Om, partly as a mere word, used at the sacrifices, partly as the mysterious name of the Highest Self. As every priest at the Soma-sacrifices, in which three classes of priests are always engaged, has to begin his part of the ceremonial with Om, therefore the whole sacrifice is said to be dependent on the syllable Om, and to be for the glory of that syllable, as an emblem of the Highest Self, a knowledge of whom is the indirect result of all sacrifices. The greatness of the syllable Om is explained by the vital breaths of the priest, the sacrificer, and his wife ; its essence by rice, corn, &c., which constitute the oblations. Why breath and food are due to the syllable Om is explained by the sacrifice, which is dependent on that syllable, ascending to the sun, the sun sending rain, rain producing food, and food producing breath and life. % He who simply pronounces the syllable Om as part of his © recitation at a sacrifice, and he who knows the hidden meaning of that syllable, both may perform the same sacrifice. But that performed by the latter is more powerful, because knowledge is better than ignorance. This is, as usual, explained by some comparisons. It is true that both he who knows the quality of the haritakf and he who does not, are purged alike if they take it. But on the other hand, if a jeweller and a mere clod sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter. * Upanishad is here explained by yoga, and yoga by devat&divishayam updsanam, meditation directed to certain deities. More B2
3But on the other hand, if a jeweller and a mere clod sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter. * Upanishad is here explained by yoga, and yoga by devat&divishayam updsanam, meditation directed to certain deities. More B2 4 KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. SEconD Kuawpa}, 1. Whent he Devas and Asuras? struggled together, both of the race of Pragdpati, the Devas took the udgitha® (Om), thinking they would vanquish the Asuras with it. 2. They meditated on the udgitha* (Om) as the breath (scent) in the nose‘, but the Asuras pierced it (the breath) with evil. Therefore we smell by the breath in the nose both what is goodsmelling and what is bad-smelling. For the breath was pierced by evil. 3. Then they meditated on the udgttha (Om) as speech, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we speak both truth and falsehood. For speech is pierced by evil. 4. Then they meditated on the udgttha (Om) as the eye, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. There- likely, however, it refers to this very upanishad, i.e. to the udgfthavidya, the doctrine of the secret meaning of Om, as here explained. 1 A very similar story is told in the Brzhad-aranyaka I, 1, 3, 1 But though the coincidences between the two are considerable, amounting sometimes to verbal identity, the purport of the two seems to be different. See Vedanta-sftra III, 3, 6. * Devas and Asuras, gods and demons, are here explained by the commentator as the good and evil inclinations of man; Pra- ” g&pati as man in general. * Udgitha stands, according to the commentator, for the sacri- ‘ficial act to be performed by the Udg4tr?, the Sama-veda priest, with the udgitha hymns; and as these sacrificial acts always form part of the Gyotishfoma &c., these great Soma-sacrifices are really intended. In the second place, however, the commentator takes udgftha in the sense of Udg4tr?, the performer of the udgitha, which is or was by the Devas thought to be the breath in the nose. I have preferred to take udgitha in the sense of Om, and all that is implied by it. * They asked that breath should recite the udgitha. Comm. I PRAPATHAKA, 2 KHANDA, 9. 5 fore we see both what is sightly and unsightly. For the eye is pierced by evil. 5. Then they meditated on the udgttha (Om) as the ear, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we hear both what should be heard and what should not be heard. For the ear is pierced by evil. 6. Then they meditated on the udgitha (Om) as the mind, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we conceive both what should be conceived and what should not be conceived. For the mind is pierced by evil. 7. Then comes this breath (of life) in the mouth’. They meditated on the udgitha (Om) as that breath. When the Asuras came to it, they were scattered, as (a ball of earth) would be scattered when hitting a solid stone.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The editions of the text, commentaries, and glosses, and the earlier translations may be seen in the works quoted before, p. Ixxxiv. . Digitized by Google KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. FIRST PRAPA7HAKA. First Kuawpal. 1. Let a man meditate on the syllable? Om, called the udgttha; for the udgitha (a portion of the Sama-veda) is sung, beginning with Om. The full account, however, of Om is this:— 2. The essence® of all beings is the earth, the essence of the earth is water, the essence of water 1 The XAAndogya-upanishad begins with recommending meditation on the syllable Om, a sacred syllable that had to be pronounced at the beginning of each Veda and of every recitation of Vedic hymns. As connected with the Séma-veda, that syllable Om is called udgitha. Its more usual name is prazava. The object of the Upanishad is to explain the various meanings which the syllable Om may assume in the mind of a devotee, some of them being extremely artificial and senseless, till at last the highest meaning of Om is reached, viz. Brahman, the intelligent cause of the universe. * Akshara means both syllable and the imperishable, i.e. Brahman. 5 Essence, rasa, is explained in different ways, as origin, support, end, cause, and effect. Rasa means originally the sap of trees. That sap may be conceived either as the essence extracted from the tree, or as what gives vigour and life to a tree. In the former case it might be transferred to the conception of effect, in the latter to that of cause. In our sentence it has sometimes the one, sometimes the other meaning. Earth is the support of all beings, water pervades the earth, plants arise from water, man lives by plants, speech is the best part of man, the Rig-veda the best part of speech, the Sima-veda the best extract from the Rz&, udgitha, or the syllable Om, the crown of the Sama-veda. [5] B an 2 KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. the plants, the essence of plants man, the essence of man speech, the essence of speech the Rig-veda, the essence of the Rig-veda the S4ma-veda?, the essence of the Sdma-veda the udgitha (which is Om). 3. That udgitha (Om) is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place ?, the eighth. 4. What then is the Az? What is the SAman? What is the udgitha ? This is the question. 5. The z& indeed is speech, SAman is breath, the udgitha is the syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Azé and SA4man, form one couple. 6. And that couple is joined together in the syllable Om. When two people come together, they fulfil each other’s desire. 7. Thus he who knowing this, meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a fulfiller of desires. 8. That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires.
28. That syllable is a syllable of permission, for whenever we permit anything, we say Om, yes. Now permission is gratification. He who knowing this meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a gratifier of desires. 9. By that syllable does the threefold knowledge (the sacrifice, more particularly the Somasacrifice, as founded on the three Vedas) proceed. When the Adhvaryu priest gives an order, he says Om. When the Hotvz priest recites, he says Om. When the Udgatv? priest sings, he says Om, 1 Because most of the hymns of the SAma-veda are taken from the Rig-veda. * ParArdhya is here derived from para, highest, and ardha, place. The eighth means the eighth or last in the series of essences. I PRAPATHAKA, I KHANDA, IO. | 3 —all for the glory of that syllable. The threefold knowledge (the sacrifice) proceeds by the greatness of that syllable (the vital breaths), and by its essence (the oblations) }. 10. Now therefore it would seem to follow, that both he who knows this (the true meaning of the syllable Om), and he who does not, perform the same sacrifice?, But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different. The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith, and the Upanishad? is more powerful. This is the full account of the syllable Om. 1 These are allusions to sacrificial technicalities, all intended to show the importance of the syllable Om, partly as a mere word, used at the sacrifices, partly as the mysterious name of the Highest Self. As every priest at the Soma-sacrifices, in which three classes of priests are always engaged, has to begin his part of the ceremonial with Om, therefore the whole sacrifice is said to be dependent on the syllable Om, and to be for the glory of that syllable, as an emblem of the Highest Self, a knowledge of whom is the indirect result of all sacrifices. The greatness of the syllable Om is explained by the vital breaths of the priest, the sacrificer, and his wife ; its essence by rice, corn, &c., which constitute the oblations. Why breath and food are due to the syllable Om is explained by the sacrifice, which is dependent on that syllable, ascending to the sun, the sun sending rain, rain producing food, and food producing breath and life. % He who simply pronounces the syllable Om as part of his © recitation at a sacrifice, and he who knows the hidden meaning of that syllable, both may perform the same sacrifice. But that performed by the latter is more powerful, because knowledge is better than ignorance. This is, as usual, explained by some comparisons. It is true that both he who knows the quality of the haritakf and he who does not, are purged alike if they take it. But on the other hand, if a jeweller and a mere clod sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter. * Upanishad is here explained by yoga, and yoga by devat&divishayam updsanam, meditation directed to certain deities. More B2
3But on the other hand, if a jeweller and a mere clod sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter. * Upanishad is here explained by yoga, and yoga by devat&divishayam updsanam, meditation directed to certain deities. More B2 4 KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD. SEconD Kuawpa}, 1. Whent he Devas and Asuras? struggled together, both of the race of Pragdpati, the Devas took the udgitha® (Om), thinking they would vanquish the Asuras with it. 2. They meditated on the udgitha* (Om) as the breath (scent) in the nose‘, but the Asuras pierced it (the breath) with evil. Therefore we smell by the breath in the nose both what is goodsmelling and what is bad-smelling. For the breath was pierced by evil. 3. Then they meditated on the udgttha (Om) as speech, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we speak both truth and falsehood. For speech is pierced by evil. 4. Then they meditated on the udgttha (Om) as the eye, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. There- likely, however, it refers to this very upanishad, i.e. to the udgfthavidya, the doctrine of the secret meaning of Om, as here explained. 1 A very similar story is told in the Brzhad-aranyaka I, 1, 3, 1 But though the coincidences between the two are considerable, amounting sometimes to verbal identity, the purport of the two seems to be different. See Vedanta-sftra III, 3, 6. * Devas and Asuras, gods and demons, are here explained by the commentator as the good and evil inclinations of man; Pra- ” g&pati as man in general. * Udgitha stands, according to the commentator, for the sacri- ‘ficial act to be performed by the Udg4tr?, the Sama-veda priest, with the udgitha hymns; and as these sacrificial acts always form part of the Gyotishfoma &c., these great Soma-sacrifices are really intended. In the second place, however, the commentator takes udgftha in the sense of Udg4tr?, the performer of the udgitha, which is or was by the Devas thought to be the breath in the nose. I have preferred to take udgitha in the sense of Om, and all that is implied by it. * They asked that breath should recite the udgitha. Comm. I PRAPATHAKA, 2 KHANDA, 9. 5 fore we see both what is sightly and unsightly. For the eye is pierced by evil. 5. Then they meditated on the udgttha (Om) as the ear, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we hear both what should be heard and what should not be heard. For the ear is pierced by evil. 6. Then they meditated on the udgitha (Om) as the mind, but the Asuras pierced it with evil. Therefore we conceive both what should be conceived and what should not be conceived. For the mind is pierced by evil. 7. Then comes this breath (of life) in the mouth’. They meditated on the udgitha (Om) as that breath. When the Asuras came to it, they were scattered, as (a ball of earth) would be scattered when hitting a solid stone.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
No commentary for this page.