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Maha
Narayana Upanishad

 

 

Hari
Om ! May Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, Indra, Brihaspati

And
all-pervading Vishnu be propitious to us

And
grant us welfare and bliss.

I
bow down to Brahman in reverence.

O
Vayu, I bow down to Thee in adoration.

Thou
verily art perceptible Brahman.

I
shall declare: Thou art right.

Thou
art the true and the good.

May
that – the Supreme Being adored as Vayu – preserve
me.

May
He preserve the teacher.

Me,
may He protect; My teacher, may He protect.

Om
! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both
together;

May
we work conjointly with great energy,

May
our study be vigorous and effective;

May
we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om
! Let there be Peace in me !

Let
there be Peace in my environment !

Let
there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

 

 

I-1:
The Lord of creation, who is present in the shoreless
waters, on the earth and above the heaven and who is greater
than the great, having entered the shining intelligences of
creatures in seed form, acts in the foetus (which grows into
the living being that is born).

I-2:
That in which all this universe exists together and into
which it dissolves. That in which all the gods remain
enjoying their respective powers – That certainly is
whatever that has been in the past and whatever indeed is to
come in the future. This cause of the universe, Prajapati,
is supported by His own imperishable nature described as
absolute ether.

I-3:
He by whom the space between heaven and earth as well as the
heaven and the earth are enveloped. He by whom the sun burns
with heat and gives light, and He whom the sages bind in the
ether of their hearts (with the string of meditation), in
whom – The Imperishable One – all creatures
abide.

I-4-5:
From whom the creatrix of the world, Prakriti, was born, who
created in the world creatures out of elements such as
water, who entered beings consisting of herbs, quadrupeds
and men as the inner controller, who is greater than the
greatest, who is one without a second, who is imperishable,
who is of unlimited forms, who is the universe, who is
ancient, who remains beyond darkness or Prakriti and who is
higher than the highest – nothing else exists other
than, or subtler than, Him.

I-6:
Sages declare: That alone is right and That alone is true:
That alone is the venerable Brahman contemplated by the
wise. Acts of worship and social utility also are that
Reality. That alone being the navel of the universe,
sustains manifoldly the universe which arose in the past and
which springs to existence at present.

I-7:
That alone is Fire: That is Air; That is Sun; That verily is
Moon; That alone is shining Stars and Ambrosia. That is
Food; That is Water and He is the Lord of creatures.

I-8-9:
All nimesas, kalas, muhurtas, kasthas, days, half-months,
months, and seasons, were born from the self-luminous
Person. The year also was born from Him. He milked water and
also these two, the firmament and the heaven.

I-10:
No person ever grasped by his understanding the upward limit
of this Paramatman, nor His limit across, nor His middle
portion. His name is ‘great glory’ for no one
limits His nature by definition.

I-11:
His form is not to be beheld; none whosoever beholds Him
with the eye. Those who meditate on Him with their minds
undistracted and fixed in the heart know Him; they become
immortal.

[Paramatma-sukta
or Hiranyagarbha-sukta – from Yajur-Veda-Samhita:

1.
The universe arose from Visvakarman through water, earth,
fire and other elements. He excelled Aditya, Indra and other
gods. The sun called Tvasta rises in the morning embodying
His brilliance. In the beginning of creation the mortal
world enveloped in gloom received its divine brilliance from
the sun shining in the glory of Paramatman.

2.
I know this Great Person who is beyond ignorance and
darkness and whose splendour is comparable to that of the
sun. Knowing Him thus in this life itself, one transcends
death. There is no other path leading to the attainment of
liberation.

3.
The sun who is the Lord of creatures moves about in the
space between heaven and earth causing day and night.
Although He is unborn, being the Self of all, He manifests
Himself as the manifold universe. Wise men realize the
source of the universe, the all-pervading Paramatman.
Prajapati, the first patriarchs, sought the position, which
Marichi and other sages attained.

4.
Salutation to the resplendent Sun-God who is the son of
Para-Brahman, who shines for the benefit of gods, who is
invoked as the beneficent leader of the gods, and who was
born as the eldest among the gods.

5.
When the gods instituted the Knowledge of Brahman they
declared thus teaching about the Supreme reality. –
That sage who knows the Supreme as described before will
have sovereignty over gods, for he has become the Inmost
Self of all.

6.
O Sun, Hri and Lakshmi are Thy consorts, Thyself being
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. Day and night are Thy two sides.
Asterisms in the sky are Thine own form. The Ashvins are Thy
mouth. Being such, grant me whatever I desire, spiritual
illumination, happiness here and other objects of
desire.]

[Hymn
to Hiranyagarbha – from Taittiriya-Samhita IV-1-8:

1.
The resplendent Prajapati was born at the beginning of
creation from the Supreme potent with the power of Maya.
Having been born He became the one sustainer and nourisher
of all beings. The same Paramatman, here designated as
Hiranyagarbha, supports the earth as well as heaven. May we
worship that shining One with offerings – who is of the
nature of bliss or whose characteristic nature cannot be
interrogated.

2.
Who became the sovereign ruler of all beings living and
existing on the earth; who controls as the indwelling Spirit
all the bipeds and quadrupeds evident on the earth;

3.
Who is the giver of Self (all Selves in reality being
Himself); who is the bestower of strength (as nourisher
through food); whose command even gods are eager to receive;
whom immortality and death obey like shadow;

4.
Whose glory the mountains, the Himalayas and the rest,
declare; whose greatness the ocean along with rivers
proclaim; to whose hands engaged in dispensing justice may
be compared the eight directions;

5. Whom the dual deity, heaven and earth, shining by light
and established for the protection of the world view in mind
as the source of their greatness; supported by whom the sun
moves gloriously after rising;

6. By whom the powerful sky and the terrestrial region were
made firm; by whom the blissful heaven was awarded to the
virtuous, by whom Release was appointed for the virtuous;
who is the maker of Rajasa creation in the mid-region;

7. Through the power of whom the great Causal Waters holding
within it the power of unfoldment and the capacity to
produce fire transformed itself into the form of the world
and from whom the one Breath of all gods came into
existence;

8. Who – the Hiranyagarbha – viewed the waters
which create fire and support the Vedic acts of worship (in
order to endow it with such potency); who is the one God
ruling over all the rest.]

I-12: This Self-luminous Lord renowned in the scriptures
pervades all the quarters of heaven.

 

Having
been born as Hiranyagarbha in the beginning He indeed is
inside the universe represented as the womb. He alone is the
manifold world of creation now springing into existence and
causing the birth of the world of creation yet to come. As
one having face everywhere, He dwells also as the inner most
Self leading all creatures.

I-13: The Self-luminous Reality is one without a second and
is the creator of heaven and earth. (Having created the
universe by Himself and out of Himself.) He became the
possessor of the eyes, faces, hands and feet of all
creatures in every part of the universe. He controls all of
them by dharma and adharma (merit and demerit) represented
as His two hands and the constituent elements of the
universe which have supplied the Souls with the material
embodiment represented as patatra or legs.

I-14-15: He in whom this universe originates and into whom
it is absorbed; He who exists as the warp and woof in all
created beings; He by whom the three states (of waking,
dream and deep sleep) are appointed in the intellects hidden
in creatures; He in whom the universe finds a single place
of rest – having seen that Paramatman, the Gandharva
named Vena became a true knower of all the worlds and
proclaimed (to his disciples for the first time) that
Reality as immortal. He who knows that all-pervasive One
becomes worthy of receiving the honour due to a father even
from his own natural father.

I-16: Through whose power the gods who have attained
immortality in the third region of heaven got allotted their
respective places, He is our friend, father and ordainer. He
knows the proper places of each because He understands all
created beings.

I-17: They (i.e. those who have realized their identity with
the Highest Lord) immediately spread over heaven and earth.
They pervade other worlds, the quarters of heaven and the
heavenly region called Suvarloka. Whosoever among created
beings sees that Brahman named Rita or ‘the True’,
unintermittently pervading the creation like the thread of a
cloth, by contemplation in mind, truly becomes That.

I-18: Having pervaded the worlds and the created beings and
all the quarters and intermediate quarters, the first born
of Brahman known as Prajapati or Hiranyagarbha became by His
own nature as Paramatman, the ruler and protector of
individual souls.

I-19: I pray I may attain to the marvellously excellent Lord
of the unmanifest cause of the universe who is dear to Indra
and my own Self, who is covetable, who is worthy of
reverence and who is the bestower of intellectual powers.

I-20: O Jatavedas, shine brilliantly in order to destroy the
sins connected with me. Confer on me enjoyments of various
kinds including cattle. Give me sustenance and longevity and
appoint a suitable dwelling for me in any direction.

I-21: O Jatavedas, through Thy grace may not the evil one
slay our cows, horses, men and other belongings in the
world. O Fire, come to succour us without holding weapons in
Thy hand or thoughts of our offences in Thy mind. Unite me
on all sides with wealth.

I-22: May we know the Supreme Person and for the attainment
of His Knowledge may we meditate upon Him, the thousand-eyed
Great God. May Rudra, the giver of Knowledge, impel us
towards such meditation and keep us in it.

I-23: May we know or realize the Supreme Person. For that,
may we meditate upon Mahadeva and to that meditation may
Rudra impel us.

I-24: May we know the Supreme Person. For that, may we
meditate upon Vakratunda. May Dantin impel us towards it.

I-25: May we know the Divine Person. For that, may we
meditate upon Chakratunda. May Nandi impel us towards it.

I-26: May we know that Divine Person. For that, may we
meditate upon Mahasena. May Shanmukha impel us towards
it.

I-27:
May we know that Divine Person. For that, may we meditate on
Suvarnapaksha. May

Garuda
impel us towards it.

I-28:
May we know the Veda, embodied as the four-faced Brahma. For
that, may we meditate upon Hiranyagarbha. May Brahman impel
us towards it.

I-29:
May we know Narayana. For that, may we meditate upon
Vasudeva. May Vishnu impel us towards it.

I-30:
May we know Vajranakha. For that, may we meditate upon
Tikshnadamstra. May Narasimha impel us towards it.

I-31:
May we know Bhaskara. For that, may we meditate upon the
great-light-producer. May Aditya impel us towards it.

I-32:
May we know Vaishvanara. For that, may we meditate upon
Lalila. May Agni impel us towards it.

I-33:
May we know Katyayana. For that, may we meditate upon
Kanyakumari. May Durgi impel us towards it.

I-34:
May durva (the panic grass), who represents the divine
Spirit, who is superior to a thousand purifying agencies,
who has innumerable nodes and sprouts and who destroys the
effects of evil dreams, remove all my impurities.

I-35:
O durva, just as thou growest farther and farther
multiplying at every node putting forth roots and fresh
stalks, so also help us to grow in progeny by hundreds and
thousands.

I-36:
O Devi, worshipped by devotees, may we worship thee with
oblations – thou who multipliest thyself by hundreds
and growest in thousands.

I-37:
O earth that is traversed by a horse, a chariot and Vishnu,
I shall keep thee on my head; protect me at every step.

I-38:
The earth is the giver of happiness like the milch cow, the
sustainer of life and support for all living beings.
(Represented as such the earth is addressed): Thou wert
raised up by Krishna in His incarnation of the boar having
hundred hands.

I-39:
O excellent earth, destroy my evil deeds as well as sins
connected with me. O excellent earth, thou art a gift from
God to creatures. Thou art prayed over by Kashyapa. O
excellent earth grant me prosperity, for everything depends
on thee.

I-40:
O excellent earth, on which all creatures are supported,
cleanse all that (sin) from me. O excellent earth, my sins
having been destroyed by thee, I attain to the highest
goal.

I-41:
O Indra, make us fearless of those (causes such as sin,
enemies and hell) of which we are afraid. O Maghavan,
destroy that, i.e. the cause of fear, that is in us (thy
devotees). For our protection destroy our harassing
enemies.

I-42:
May Indra come to our succour – Indra who is the giver
of welfare on earth and bliss in the next world, who is the
lord of people, who is the slayer of Vritra, who is the
subduer of enemies and giver of rain, who is peaceable and
giver of safety.

I-43:
May Indra who is profusely praised by the devotees through
sacred hymns, or frequently worshipped with oblations,
vouchsafe to us safety and well-being. May the all-knowing
or all-possessing Pusan vouchsafe to us well-being. May
Garuda, the son of Triksha, whose chariot is not injured by
anyone, vouchsafe to us safety. May Brihaspati, the
preceptor of gods, grant us well-being.

I-44:
Soma who is of mild anger, who strikes with stones, who
shakes enemies, who has many deeds, who wields weapons and
who delights in soma juice kept over, causes the jungles of
dried up trees and bushes (to grow by the downpour of
rains). Counter-weights do not weigh down making Indra
light.

I-45:
Vena, the noon sun who was born at the beginning of creation
as the first effect of the Supreme Reality, Brahman, and who
is of excellent brilliance, spreads over the whole world up
to its boundary. He illumines also the heavenly bodies. He
remains manifoldly in his own limited forms which are like
himself. He also spreads over and permeates the causal
substance out of which the visible and the invisible
universe emerges.

I-46:
Being the producer of creatures including men and their
settler in respective regions and also far-famed for
forbearance, O earth, be to us an ender of sorrows and giver
of bliss here and hereafter.

I-47:
I invoke in this act of worship Sri, the support of all, who
is known through smell, who is unassailable, perpetually
prosperous, rich in cowdung and the mistress of all created
beings.

I-48:
May Sri favour me. May Alakshmi connected with me and mine
be destroyed. The gods having Vishnu for their chief (who is
the perpetual abode of Sri) by the help of (the means
prescribed in) the Vedas won these worlds for themselves
free from the fear of enemies. May Indra armed with
thunderbolt and worshipful moon grant us happiness.

I-49:
May Indra grant us welfare. May he destroy the evil one
hostile to us.

I-50:
O Lord of prayers, make me the presser of soma juice, well
known among the gods like Kakshivan, the son of Usik. Make
me physically capable of performing sacrifices. Let those
who are hostile to us remain ‘there’ long, in the
hell.

I-51:
He who is rendered holy by the ancient, widespread,
sanctifying feet (or by virtuous conduct) crosses over evil
deeds and their effects. Having been rendered holy by that
naturally pure and purifying feet of the Lord (or conduct)
may we overcome our enemies, the sins.

I-52:
O Indra, O slayer of Vritra, O valorous one and all-knowing
one, accept with pleasure our soma oblation in the company
of your retinue and troop of gods. Slay our enemies, give us
victory in battle and grant us safety and fearlessness from
every quarter.

I-53:
For us may (the regents of) water and herbs be friendly and
to those who dislike us and whom we dislike let them be
unfriendly.

I-54:
O waters, verily you are bliss-conferring. Being such, grant
us food, and great and beautiful insight (of the Supreme
Truth). Further make us in this very life participators of
that joy of yours which is most auspicious, just like fond
mothers (who nurse their darlings with nourishment).

 

May
we attain to that satisfactory abode of yours which you are
pleased to grant us. Generate for us also the waters of life
and pleasures on earth (during our sojourn here).

I-55:
I take refuge in Varuna, who is of golden lustre or who has
a golden diadem. O Varuna, being entreated by me, grant me
the saving grace. For I have enjoyed what belongs to bad
people and accepted gift from sinners.

I-56:
May Indra, Varuna, Brihaspati and Savitur completely destroy
that sin committed by me and my people in thought, word and
act.

I-57:
Salutation to fire hidden in water. Salutation to Indra.
Salutation to Varuna. Salutation to Varuni, the consort of
Varuna. Salutation to the deities of waters.

I-58:
(Through the power of this mantra) let all that is
injurious, impure and troublesome in water be destroyed.

I-59:
May the King Varuna efface by his hand whatever sin I have
incurred by unlawful eating, unlawful drinking and accepting
gifts from an unlawful person.

I-60:
Thus being sinless, stainless and unbound by evil and
bondage, may I ascend to the happy heaven and enjoy equality
of status with Brahman.

I-61:
May the sin-effacing Varuna who dwells in other sources of
water like rivers, tanks and wells also purify us.

I-62:
O Ganga, O Yamuna, O Sarasvati, O Sutudri, O Marudvrudha, O
Arjikiya, come together and listen to this hymn of mine
along with Parushni, Asikni, Vitasta and Sushoma.

I-63:
From the all-illuminating Supreme, by His resolve, the right
and the true were generated. From Him night and day were
generated. And from Him again was generated the sea with
different waters.

I-64-65:
Then, after the creation of the vast ocean the year was
generated. Afterwards the ruler of the world of sentient and
non-sentient beings who made day and night ordained sun and
moon, sky and earth and the atmosphere and blissful heaven,
just as they were in the previous cycles of creation.

I-66:
May the sin-effacing Varuna, the deity presiding over the
waters, purify the taint of sin that attaches to the beings
dwelling on the earth, in the atmospheric region and in the
space between the earth and heaven and also connected with
us (the performers of religious work). May the Vasus purify
us. May Varuna purify us. May Aghamarshana, the sage called
by that name, purify us. He, Varuna, is the protector of the
world that was and also the world that exists at present
between the past and the future worlds. He grants to the
doers of meritorious deeds the worlds which they deserve and
to the sinful the world of death called Hiranmaya. Again
Varuna who is the support of heaven and earth, having become
the sun is wholesome and attractive. Being such, blissful in
nature, thou O Varuna, grant us thy favours and purify
us.

I-67:
That Supreme Light which projected Itself as the universe
like a soaked seed which sprouts (or that Supreme Light
which shines as the substratum of the liquid element) –
I am that Supreme Light. I am that supreme light of Brahman
which shines as the inmost essence of all that exists. In
reality I am the same infinite Brahman even when I am
experiencing myself as a finite self owing to Ignorance. Now
by the onset of knowledge I am really that Brahman which is
my eternal nature. Therefore I realise this identity by
making myself, the finite self, an oblation into the fire of
the infinite Brahman which I am always. May this oblation be
well made.

I-68: He who is a transgressor of the scriptural conduct, a
recreant, a thief, a feticide or an outrager of his
preceptor’s honour is released from his sins; for
Varuna, the regent of waters and effacer of sins (absolves
them from sins by the repetition of this mantra).

I-69: I am the ground of sins. Therefore you cause me to
weep. Wise men say (don’t make me weep, but favour me
by destroying my sins).

I-70: The Supreme represented as the ocean has overflown to
the whole creation. He has created at first creatures
according to the deserts of their various past deeds. He is
the ruler of the universe and the munificent giver of gifts
to the devotees. He dwells together with Uma (His power
giving spiritual illumination) in the hearts of devotees
which are holier than other parts of their body (the seat of
the Divine) and therefore superior and elevated like a peak
and affording protection. The Jiva who is his abode grows to
be infinite. He is the Lord who delights the individual
souls by guiding according to their deeds and conferring on
them fruits of their actions.

 

II-1:
May we offer oblations of soma to Jatavedas. May the
all-knowing One destroy what is unfriendly to us. May He,
the Divine Fire that leads all, protect us by taking across
all perils even as a captain takes the boat across the sea.
May He also save us from all wrongs.

II-2: I take refuge in Her, the Goddess Durga, who is fiery
in lustre and radiant with ardency, who is the Power
belonging to the Supreme who manifests Himself manifoldly,
who is the Power residing in actions and their fruits
rendering them efficacious (or the Power that is supplicated
to by the devotees for the fruition of their work). O Thou
Goddess skilled in saving. Thou takest us across
difficulties excellently well. Our salutations to Thee.

II-3: O Fire, thou art worthy of praise. With happy methods
take us beyond all difficulties. May our home town and home
land become extensive and may the plot of earth (for growing
the crops) also be ample. Further be thou pleased to join
our children and their children with joy.

II-4: O Jatavedas, Thou who art the destroyer of all sins
takest us beyond all troubles and protectest us just as one
is taken across the sea by a boat. O Fire, guard our bodies
and be mindful (of its safety) like the sage Atri who always
repeats mentally (‘May everyone be whole and
happy’).

II-5: We invoke from the highest place of assembly the
Fire-God who is the leader of all, who is the charger and
vanquisher of the hosts of enemies, and who is fierce. May
He, the Fire-God take us across all our difficulties and
wrongs and all that is perishable, and protect us.

II-6: Thou who art lauded in sacrifices increasest our
happiness. Thou abidest in the form of sacrifices, ancient
and recent, in the places of sacrifice. O Fire, be thou
pleased to make (us) happy (who are) thine own selves.
Further grant us from all sides good fortune.

II-7: O Lord, Thou art unconnected (with sin and sorrow) and
Thou pervadest (all sacrifices). (Desirous of good fortune)
comprising in cattle and overflowing (with the current of
immortal bliss) may we serve Thee without break. May the
gods who dwell in the highest region of heaven delight me
– (practising loving adoration) for Vishnu – here
on the earth by granting my wish.

 

III-1:
(May the Deity) Earth (grant me) food. For that I make
oblation to Fire and Earth. Hail ! (May the Deity of)
Atmosphere (grant me) food. For that I make oblation to Air
and Atmosphere. Hail ! (May the Deity of) Heaven (grant me)
food. For that I make oblation to the Sun and Heaven. Hail !
(May the Deities of) Earth, Atmosphere and Heaven (grant me)
food. For that I make oblation to the Moon and the Quarters.
Hail ! Salutation to Gods ! Svadha (reverence) to Manes !
(May the Deities of) Earth, Atmosphere and Heaven (assert to
my desire with the utterance of) Om (and grant me) food.

 

IV-1:
Hail ! I offer this oblation to Brahman who is expressed by
the first Vyahriti, to Fire created by Him and to the Earth
dependent on Him. Hail ! I offer this oblation to Brahman
who is expressed by the second Vyahriti, to the Air created
by Him and to the Atmosphere dependent on Him. Hail ! I
offer this oblation to Brahman who is expressed by the third
Vyahriti, to the Sun created by Him and to Heaven dependent
on Him. Hail ! I offer this oblation to Brahman who is
expressed by the Vyahritis, Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah, to the
Moon created by Him and to the Quarters. Salutations to the
gods dwelling in all the regions ! Reverence to the departed
ancestors ! I am that Brahman expressed by Om in unity and
also expressed by the three Vyahritis in His threefold
aspect. O Divine Fire, assent to my prayer.

 

V
-1: Hail ! I offer this oblation to the adorable Supreme who
is the All and to His parts, the Deities, Bhuh, Fire and
Earth. Hail ! I offer this oblation to the adorable Supreme
who is the All and to His parts, Bhuvah, Air and Atmosphere.
Hail ! I offer this oblation to the adorable Supreme who is
the All and to His parts, Suvah, the Sun and Heaven. Hail !
I offer this oblation to the adorable Supreme who is the All
and to His parts, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Suvah, the Moon, the
Asterisms and the Quarters. Salutations to Gods ! Reverence
to Manes ! I am that Supreme Reality expressed by the
syllable Om and the three Vyahritis, Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah.
May I attain the supreme !

 

VI-1:
O Fire, preserve us from sin. Hail ! Preserve us so that we
may attain full knowledge. Hail ! O Resplendent One,
preserve our sacrificial acts. Hail ! O Satakratu, preserve
everything (that belongs to us). Hail !

 

VII-1:
O Divine Fire, O settler of all creatures, being praised by
the hymns of the first Veda be gracious to protect us. Hail
! Further, being praised by the hymns of the second Veda be
gracious to protect us. Hail ! Being praised by the hymns of
the third Veda be gracious to protect our food and
strengthening essence of it. Hail ! Being praised by the
hymns of the four Vedas be gracious to protect us. Hail !

 

VIII-1:
The Supreme Being, Indra, who is the most excellent Pranava
taught in the Vedas, who ensouls the entire universe, who
leads the collection of Vedic utterances in Gayatri and
other metres standing in their beginning, who is capable of
being attained by the worshippers and who is the first in
the causal link, taught the contemplative sages the sacred
wisdom of the Upanishad, Himself being the subject-matter of
them, in order to strengthen them with the power of
knowledge. I salute the gods for removing the obstacles in
my path to illumination. For the same I also reverence the
Manes. The triple regions of Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah and the
entire Veda are comprised in Om.

 

IX-1:
My salutations to the Supreme. May I concentrate my thoughts
upon Him (in order that I may be united with Him). May I
become one practising concentration of thought without
distraction. I have heard enough with my ears (and perceived
pleasurable objects through other senses). O my senses, do
not fail me now (but settle yourselves in the Supreme
Brahman with whom I wish to unite myself through the
meditation of) Om.

 

X-1:
Right is austerity. Truth is austerity. Understanding of the
scriptures is austerity. Subduing of one’s senses is
austerity. Restraint of the body through such means like
fast is austerity. Cultivation of a peaceable disposition is
austerity. Giving gifts without selfish motives is
austerity. Worship is austerity. The Supreme Brahman has
manifested Himself as Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah. Meditate upon
Him. This is austerity par excellence.

 

XI-1:
Just in the same manner as the fragrance of a tree in full
blossom is wafted by the wind from a distant place, the
fragrance of meritorious deeds – the good name that
accrues from them – spreads to a great distance (as far
as heaven). There is gain this illustration. The cutting
edge of a sword is laid across a pit. ‘I am placing my
feet on it, I am treading over it. So saying if I walk over
it, I will be perturbed by the thought of hurt or fall into
the pit’. In the same manner a man who is exposed to
open and hidden sins must seek to guard himself from either
in order that he may attain Immortality.

 

XII-1:
The Infinite Self more minute than the minute and greater
than the great is set in the heart of the beings here.
Through the grace of the Creator one realises Him who is
free from desires based on values, who is supremely great
and who is the highest ruler and master of all, and becomes
free from sorrows.

XII-2: From Him originate the seven Pranas, the seven
flames, their fuel, the seven tongues and the seven worlds
in which the life-breaths move. (Further other things that
are) sevenfold also come forth from Him, who dwells in the
secret place of the heart and are set (in their respective
places).

XII-3: From Him arise all the seas and mountains. From Him
flow rivers of all kinds and from Him all herbs and essences
come forth; united with the essence of the herbs the
individual Soul seated in the subtle body dwells in
creatures.

XII-4: The Supreme having become the four-faced Brahma among
gods, the master of right words among the composers, the
seer among the intelligent people, the buffalo among
animals, the kite among the birds, the cutting axe among the
destructive tools and soma among the sacrificers, transcends
all purifying agencies accompanied by the sound (of holy
chant).

XII-5: There is one unborn Female (Maya, the uncaused
substance of the universe) red, white and black
(representing Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) producing manifold
offspring of the same nature. There is one unborn (in the
generic sense some Jivas who are attached) who lies by her
taking delight in her; there is another unborn (in the
generic sense those who are not attached) who leaves her
after having enjoyed her.

XII-6: That which is the sun who abides in the clear sky, is
the Vasu (the air that moves) in the mid-region, is the fire
that dwells in the sacrificial altar and in the domestic
hearth as the guest, is the fire that shines in men and in
the gods, as the Soul, is the fire that is consecrated in
the sacrifice, is dwelling in the sky as air, is born in
water as submarine heat, is born in the rays of the sun, is
the fire that is directly seen as the luminary, and is born
on the mountain as the rising sun – that is the Supreme
Truth, the Reality underlying all.

XII-6 (A): The beings born from Prajapati are not separate
from Him. Before their birth nothing whatsoever existed
other than Him, who entered all the creatures of the world
as their in-most Self. Prajapati has identified Himself with
the creatures. He imparts the three luminaries, fire, sun
and moon, lustre by identifying Himself with them. He is
endowed with sixteen parts.

XII-6 (B): We invoke the creator of the universe who
sustains the creation in many ways and who witnesses the
thoughts and deeds of men. May He grant us plenty of
excellent wealth.

XII-7: The sacrificers poured clarified butter into the
consecrated Fire. Clarified butter is the place of origin of
this one and in clarified butter is his support. Indeed
clarified butter is his luminant and residence. O Fire, with
every offering of oblation bring here the gods and delight
them. O thou excellent one, convey to gods the offerings we
have made with Svaha.

XII-8: From the Supreme Fount, vast as the ocean, arose the
universe in the shape of waves yielding enjoyment to created
beings. The name designating the self-luminous Reality and
consisting of the syllable Om is hidden in the Vedas. By
contemplating on the Supreme along with the slow repetition
of that name one attains to immortality. This designation of
the Supreme is on the lips of contemplative sages and it is
the central support of undying bliss.

XII-9: May we always repeat in our contemplative sacrifices
the designation Om which has for its cause the Self-luminous
Reality and may we also hold Him in our hearts with
salutations. The four-horned white Bull has expressed this
Supreme Brahman praised by us in the hearing of co-seekers.

XII-10: The syllable Om conceived as the Bull possesses four
horns, three feet and two heads. He has seven hands. This
Bull connected in a threefold manner, eloquently declares
the Supreme. The Self-luminous Deity has entered the mortals
everywhere.

XII-11: God-like sages attained in the order (of their
spiritual practices) the Self-luminous Reality laid in the
three states of consciousness and secretly held by the
teachers who praise it by chants in the Vedic speech (the
great formulas such as ‘Thou art That’). Indra or
Virat, the regent of the visible universe and the waking
consciousness created one, the visible world. Surya
representing Taijasa and Hiranyagarbha created one, namely,
the world of dream, and from Vena came the remaining one,
the dreamless sleep. By the self-supporting Paramatman all
these threefold categories were fashioned.

XII-12: May He, the Lord, join us with beneficial
remembrance – He who is superior to all, who has been
revealed in the Vedas, who is the Supreme Seer and who sees
Hiranyagarbha who is the first among the gods and who is
born before all the rest.

XII-13: Other than whom there is nothing higher, nothing
minuter, nothing greater, by that Purusha – the One who
stands still like a tree established in heaven – all
this is filled.

XII-14: Not by work, not by progeny, not by wealth, they
have attained Immortality. Some have attained Immortality by
renunciation. That which the hermits attain is laid beyond
the heaven; yet it shines brilliantly in the (purified)
heart.

XII-15: Having attained the Immortality consisting of
identity with the Supreme, all those aspirants who strive
for self-control, who have rigorously arrived at the
conclusion taught by the Vedanta through direct knowledge,
and who have attained purity of mind through the practice of
the discipline of yoga and steadfastness in the knowledge of
Brahman preceded by renunciation, get themselves released
into the region of Brahman at the dissolution of their final
body.

XII-16:
In the citadel of the body there is the small sinless and
pure lotus of the heart which is the residence of the
Supreme. Further in the interior of this small area there is
the sorrowless Ether. That is to be meditated upon
continually.

XII-17:
He is the Supreme Lord who transcends the syllable Om which
is uttered at the commencement of the recital of the Vedas,
which is well established in the Upanishads and which is
dissolved in the primal cause during contemplation.

 

XIII-1-3:
This universe is truly the Divine Person only. Therefore it
subsists on Him – the self-effulgent Divine Being
– who has many heads and many eyes, who is the producer
of joy for the universe, who exists in the form of the
universe, who is the master and the cause of humanity, whose
forms are the various gods, who is imperishable, who is the
all-surpassing ruler and saviour, who is superior to the
world, who is endless and omniform, who is the goal of
humanity, who is the destroyer of sin and ignorance, who is
the protector of the universe and the ruler of individual
souls, who is permanent, supremely auspicious and
unchanging, who has embodied Himself in man as his support
(being the indwelling Spirit), who is supremely worthy of
being known by the creatures, who is embodied in the
universe and who is the supreme goal.

XIII-4:
Narayana is the Supreme Reality designated as Brahman.
Narayana is the highest (Self). Narayana is the supreme
Light (described in the Upanishads). Narayana is the
infinite Self. [Narayana is the most excellent meditator
and meditation.]

XIII-5: Whatsoever there is in this world known through
perception (because of their proximity) or known through
report (because of their distance), all that is pervaded by
Narayana within and without.

XIII-6: One should meditate upon the Supreme – the
limitless, unchanging, all-knowing, cause of the happiness
of the world, dwelling in the sea of one’s one heart,
as the goal of all striving. The place for His meditation is
the ether in the heart – the heart which is comparable
to an inverted lotus bud.

XIII-7: It should be known that the heart which is located
just at the distance of a finger span below the Adam’s apple
and above the navel is the great abode of the universe.

XIII-8: Like the bud of a lotus, suspends in an inverted
position, the heart, surrounded by arteries. In it there is
a narrow space (or near it there is a narrow space called
Susumna). In it everything is supported.

XIII-9-11: In the middle of that (narrow space of the heart
or Susumna) remains the undecaying, all-knowing, omnifaced,
great Fire, which has flames on every side, which enjoys the
food presented before it, which remains assimilating the
food consumed, (the rays of which spread scattering
themselves vertically and horizontally), and which warms its
own body from the insole to the crown. In the centre of that
Fire Which permeates the whole body, there abides a tongue
of Fire, of the colour of shining gold, which is the topmost
among the subtle, which is dazzling like the flash of the
lightning that appears in the middle of a rain-bearing
cloud, which is as slender as the awn of a paddy grain; and
which serves as a comparison to illustrate subtlety.

XIII-12: Paramatman dwells in the middle of that flame.
(Although He is thus limited) still He is the four-faced
creator, Siva, Vishnu, Indra, the material and efficient
cause of the Universe and the Supreme Self-luminous Pure
Consciousness.

 

XIV-1:
Verily Aditya is He; This orb of His gives light and heat;
The well-known Rik verses are there; Therefore the orb is
the collection of Riks; He is the abode of the Rik verses.
Now this flame which is shining in the orb of the sun is the
collection of Saman chants; That is the abode of Saman
chants. Now He who is the Person in the flame within the orb
of the sun (is to be meditated as) the collection of Yajus;
that part of the orb is the collection of Yajus; That is the
abode of Yajus. Thus by these three the threefold knowledge
alone shines. He who is within the sun is the Golden Person.

 

XV-1:
The sun alone is verily all these: — energy, splendour,
strength, renown, sight, hearing, body, mind, anger, Seer,
the Deities Death, Satya, Mitra, Wind, Ether and Breath, the
Rulers of the world, Prajapati, the Indeterminable One,
happiness, that which transcends the senses, truth, food,
(span of life), liberation or Immortality, individual Soul,
the Universe, the acme of bliss and the self-born Brahman.
This Person in the sun is eternal. He is the Lord of all
creatures. He who meditates thus upon Him attains union with
Brahman and lives in the same region of enjoyment with Him;
he attains union, co-residence and like-enjoyment with these
gods in their worlds. The secret knowledge is thus imparted.

XV-2: Aditya, the supreme cause of the universe, is the
giver of light and water and is the source of all energy. He
is denoted by the syllable Om. Gods worship Him as Tapas and
Truth. (Being worshipped thus) He grants bliss to the
worshippers. (Or the worshippers offer honey and sweet
offerings to Him). That form of the sun is Brahman. That is
the pervading cause of all. That is water, fire, flavour and
ambrosia. The three Vyahritis representing the three worlds
and the Pranava representing the cause of the universe
denote that Brahman.

 

XVI-1:
[By these twenty-two names ending with salutations they
consecrate the Sivalinga for all] – the Linga which
is representative of soma and Surya, and holding which in
the hand holy formulas are repeated and which purifies all:

Nidhanapataye Namah ! [Salutations to the Lord of the
dissolution of the universe ]]

Nidhanapataantikaya Namah ! [Salutations to the
end-maker (Yama who is responsible for the death of all
creatures) ]]

Urdhvaya Namah ! [Salutations to the Most High standing
at the head of the categories which evolve into the universe
]]

Urdhva-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to the principle of
Sadasiva embodying the power of Intelligence ]]

Hiranyaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
beneficial and charming to creatures ]]

Hiranya-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
visualized as the Linga made of gold ]]

Suvarnaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is endowed
with attractive splendour ]]

Suvarna-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
of the form of Linga made of suvarna (silver) ]]

Divyaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is the
source of bliss in heaven ]]

Divya-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
worshipped as the divine emblem ]]

Bhavaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is the
source of the cycle of birth and death ]]

Bhava-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
worshipped as the Linga by human beings ]]

Sarvaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is the
suppresser of the universe at the time of final dissolution
]]

Sarva-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who has
the shape of the Linga emblem of Sarva, who gives bliss
]]

Shivaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is most
auspicious ]]

Shiva-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who has
the form of Sivalinga ]]

Jvalaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who has the form
of a flaming splendour ]]

Jvala-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who has
the form of the brilliant Linga ]]

Atmaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is the Spirit
– Atman – dwelling in all creatures ]]

Atma-Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
concealed in the heart of all creatures being their inmost
Self ]]

Paramaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
unsurpassed ]]

Parama Lingaya Namah ! [Salutations to Him, He who is
the Supreme Lord of bliss and liberation indicated by the
Linga emblem ]]

 

XVII-1:
I take refuge in Sadyojata. Verily I salute Sadyojata again
and again. O Sadyojata, do not consign me to repeated birth;
lead me beyond birth, into the state of bliss and
liberation. I bow down to Him who is the source of
transmigratory existence.

 

XVIII-1:
Salutation to Vamadeva [the beautiful and shining One or
the generous God]. Salutation to Jyestha [the
Eldest, existing before creation]. Salutation to Srestha
[the most worthy and excellent]. Salutation to Rudra
[He who causes creatures to weep at the time of
dissolution]. Salutation to Kala [He who is the
Power of time responsible for the evolution of Nature].
Salutation to Kalavikarana [He who causes changes in the
evolution of the universe beginning with Prakriti].
Salutation to Balavikarana [He who is the producer of
varieties and degrees of strength]. Salutation to Bala
[He who is the source of all strength]. Salutation
to Balapramathana [He who suppresses all power at the
time of retraction]. Salutation to Sarvabhutadamana
[the Ruler of all the created beings]. Salutation to
Manonmana [He who is the kindler of the light of the
soul].

 

XIX-1:
Now, O Sarva, my salutations be at all times and all places
to Thy Rudra forms, benign, terrific, more terrific and
destructive.

 

XX-1:
May we know or realize the Supreme Person. For that, may we
meditate upon Mahadeva and to that meditation may Rudra
impel us.

 

XXI-1:
May the Supreme who is the ruler of all knowledge,
controller of all created beings, the preserver of the Vedas
and the one overlord of Hiranyagarbha, be benign to me. I am
the Sadasiva described thus and denoted by Pranava.

 

XXII-1:
Salutations again and again to Hiranyabahu [One who has
ornaments of gold on the arms or possessing a form having
the golden hue], Hiranyavarna [He who is the source
of the syllables of the Vedas which are as precious as
gold], Hiranyarupa [He who is shining in
splendour], Hiranyapati [the Lord of riches
wholesome and charming], Ambikapati [the consort of
Ambika, the Mother of the universe], Umapati [The
master of Uma, Brahma-vidya personified as such],
Pasupati [the Lord of all created beings].

 

XXIII-1:
Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Reality, has become an
androgynous Person in the form of Umamaheshvara, dark blue
and reddish brown in hue, absolutely chaste and possessing
uncommon eyes. Salutations to Him alone who is the Soul of
the universe or whose form is the universe.

 

XXIV-1:
All this verily is Rudra. To Rudra who is such we offer our
salutation. We salute again and again that Being, Rudra, who
alone is the light and the Soul of creatures. The material
universe the created beings and whatever there is manifoldly
and profusely created in the past and in the present in the
form of the world, all that is indeed this Rudra.
Salutations be to Rudra who is such.

 

XXV-1:
We sing a hymn that confers on us happiness in the highest
degree to Rudra who is worthy of praise, who is endowed with
the highest knowledge, who rains objects to the worshippers
most excellently, who is more powerful and who is dwelling
in the heart. Indeed all this is Rudra. Salutations be to
Rudra who is such.

 

XXVI-1:
He who has the sacrificial ladle made of Vikankata
(Flacourtia Spida) tree for his

Agnihotra
rite offers oblations effective in producing the desired
fruit. Further, these oblations contribute to establish (his
spiritual knowledge through the generation of mental
purity).

 

XXVII-1:
Krinushva paja iti panja.

[Five
mantras commencing with the lemma krinushva paja are only
indicated in the texts by reference to index words. They are
recited for effecting the destruction of hostile influences.

 

They
are from the Taittiriya-Samhita I-ii-14. Originally they are
from the Rig-Veda IV-iv-1-5.]

 

XXVIII-1:
The sage Vasistha declared that Aditi is the mother and
protector of gods, of celestial minstrels, of men, of
departed ancestors, of demons and others; that she is
possessed of hardness or cohesiveness, that she is excellent
and honoured, that she belongs to the Divine Spirit, that
she is fit to be praised, contingent and supporting all,
that she is rich in crops, broad and possessing a wealth of
objects, that she is universal and comprising of the primary
element, that she is exceedingly blissful, transformed into
the bodies of creatures, illustrious, enduring and hence
immortal.

 

XXIX-1:
Verily all this is water. All the created beings are water.
The vital breaths in the body are water. Quadrupeds are
water. Edible crops are water. Ambrosia is water. Samrat
[perpetually shining] is water. Virat
[manifoldly shining] is water. Svarat
[self-luminous] is water. The metres are water. The
luminaries are water. Vedic formulas are water. Truth is
water. All deities are water. The three worlds denoted by
Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah are water. The source of all these is
the Supreme denoted by the syllable ‘Om’.

 

XXX-1-2:
May this water cleanse my physical body that is made of
earthy substances. Thus purified, may the earthy body purify
me, the Soul within. May this water purify the guardian of
the Vedas, my preceptor. May the purified Vedas taught by
the purified teacher purify me. (Or may the Supreme purify
me. May the water purified by the Supreme purify me). My
defilement, repast on prohibited food and misconduct if any,
and the sin accruing from the acceptance of gifts from
persons disapproved by the scripture – from all these
may I be absolved. May the waters purify me. Hail !

 

XXXI-1:
May fire, Anger and Guardians of anger guard me from the
sins resulting from anger. May the Day efface completely
whatever sin I have committed on this day by thought, word,
hands, feet, stomach and the procreative organ. Further
whatever sinful deed has been committed by me, all that and
myself I offer as an oblation into the Self-luminous Truth,
the source of Immortality. Hail !

 

XXXII-1:
May the Sun, Anger and the Guardians of anger guard me from
the sins resulting from anger. May the Night efface
completely whatever sin I have committed during the last
night by thought, word, hands, feet, stomach and the
procreative organ. Further, whatever sinful deed has been
committed by me all that and myself I offer as an oblation
into the Supreme Light represented by the sun, the source of
Immortality. Hail !

 

XXXIII-1:
The one syllable ‘Om’ is Brahman. Agni is its
Deity. Its Rishi also is Brahman. Its metre is Gayatri. Its
use is for the union with Paramatman who exists as the
manifold universe.

 

XXXIV-1:
May the boon-conferring discrimination Gayatri come to us
(in order to instruct us about) the imperishable Brahman who
is determined by the Vedanta. May Gayatri, the mother of
metres, favour us with the Supreme just mentioned.

XXXIV-2: O thou who art the source of all letters, O thou
the great Deity, O thou the object of meditation at
twilight, O thou Sarasvati, may thy devotee be liberated
from the sin which he commits during the day by the same day
and the sin which he commits during the night by the same
night.

 

XXXV-1:
O Gayatri, Thou art the essence of strength. Thou art
patience, or the subduing power. Thou art physical capacity.
Thou art splendour. Thou art the abode of gods and their
name. Thou art the insentient universe. Thou art the full
span of life or the Lord of all. Thou art every living
thing. Thou art the life span of all. Thou art the
vanquisher of all that is hostile to us. Thou art the Truth
denoted by the Pranava. I invoke Gayatri, (into my heart). I
invoke Savitri. I invoke Sarasvati. I invoke the metres, the
Rishis (and the gods). I invoke the splendour (of all the
gods). Of Gayatri the metre is Gayatri, the Rishi is
Vishvamitra and the Deity is Savitur. Fire represents the
mouth; the four-faced Brahma, the head; Vishnu, the heart;
Rudra, the crown-hair; Earth, the source; the in-breath, the
out-breath, the diffused breath, the up-breath and the
middle breath, the breath. Gayatri is fair in hue and is of
the same family as Paramatman attained by the Sankhyas
– the illumined sages. The deity Gayatri (explained
further as a formula) has twenty-four syllables, comprised
in three feet, six sheaths or cavities and five heads. It is
employed in Upanayana, or initiation into Vedic studentship.

XXXV-2: Om Earth. Om Sky. Om Heaven. Om Middle Region. Om
Place of Birth. Om Mansion of the Blessed. Om Abode of
Truth. Om may we meditate on the Adorable Light of that
Divine Generator who quickens our understandings. Om He is
water, light, flavour, ambrosia and also the three worlds.
He who is denoted by Pranava is all these.

 

XXXVI-1:
O Goddess, Thou mayest go and remain at Thy pleasure on the
highest and holiest peak on the earth, or in any high place
until the brahmanas remember Thee gain.

XXXVI-2: May the boon-conferring Mother of the Vedas, who
has been magnified by me, who impels the created beings like
wind and who has two places of birth, depart to the
excellently produced world of Brahman having conferred on
me, here on the earth, long life, wealth and power of Vedic
learning.

 

XXXVII-1:
The imperishable Aditya who is the giver of lustre and the
creator of the universe moves in the sky like his own rays.
The essence of him in the form of sweet water flows in the
shape of rivers. He is the Truth. Aditya, the supreme cause
of the universe, is the giver of light and water and is the
source of all energy. He is denoted by the syllable Om. Gods
worship Him as Tapas and Truth. (Being worshipped thus) He
grants bliss to the worshippers. (Or the worshippers offer
honey and sweet offerings to Him). That form of the sun is
Brahman. That is the pervading cause of all. That is water,
fire, flavour and ambrosia. The three Vyahritis representing
the three worlds and the Pranava representing the cause of
the universe denote that Brahman.

 

XXXVIII-1:
May the Supreme reach me. May the Blissful reach me. May the
Supreme alone that is blissful reach me. O Lord, being one
among Thy creatures I am Thy child. Suppress the dreary
dream of the empirical existence that I experience. For that
I offer myself as an oblation into Thee. O Lord, and the
vital and mental powers. Thou hast kept in me

XXXVIII-2: One may impart Trisuparna to a Brahmana
unsolicited. Those brahmanas who recite Trisuparna indeed
destroy even the sin of brahminicide. They attain to the
fruit of the performance of Soma sacrifice. They purify all
those who sit in a row of a thousand (while at dinner) and
attain union with Pranava, i.e., the Deity of this mantra.

 

XXXIX-1:
That Brahman is attained through the power of intelligence.
That Bliss is attained through the power of intelligence.
The Bliss which is indeed Brahman is attained through the
power of intelligence.

XXXIX-2: O God, O Thou Creator, vouchsafe to us today the
prosperity consisting of progeny. Turn away from us this bad
dream (of the world).

XXXIX-3: O God, O Creator, turn away from me all the sins.
Bring to me that which is beneficial.

XXXIX-4: To me, who is the devotee of the Supreme Truth let
the wind blow sweetly. Let the rivers run sweetly. Let the
herbs be to us sweet and beneficial.

XXXIX-5: Let there be sweetness day and night. Let the
particles of the earth be sweetness bearing. Let heaven, our
father, be sweet to us.

XXXIX-6: Let the fruit-bearing trees be sweet to us. Let the
sun be sweet and beneficial to us. Let the cows be
sweetness-bearing to us.

XXXIX-7: One may impart Trisuparna to a Brahmana
unsolicited. Those brahmanas who recite Trisuparna indeed
destroy even the sin of feticide or hurting a Brahmana well
versed in the Vedas and in their auxiliaries. They attain to
the fruit of the performance of Soma sacrifice. They purify
all those who sit in a row of a thousand (while at dinner)
and attain union with Pranava, i.e., the Deity of this
mantra.

 

XXXX-1:
That Brahman is attained through the power of sacrifice.
That Bliss is attained through the power of sacrifice. The
Bliss which is indeed Brahman is attained through the power
of sacrifice.

XXXX-2: The Supreme having become the four-faced Brahma
among gods, the master of right words among the composers,
the seer among the intelligent people, the buffalo among
animals, the kite among the birds, the cutting axe among the
destructive tools and soma among the sacrificers, transcends
all purifying agencies accompanied by the sound (of holy
chant).

XXXX-3: That which is the sun who abides in the clear sky,
is the Vasu (the air that moves) in the mid-region, is the
fire that dwells in the sacrificial altar and in the
domestic hearth as the guest, is the fire that shines in men
and in the gods, as the Soul, is the fire that is
consecrated in the sacrifice, is dwelling in the sky as air,
is born in water as submarine heat, is born in the rays of
the sun, is the fire that is directly seen as the luminary,
and is born on the mountain as the rising sun – that is
the Supreme Truth, the Reality underlying all.

XXXX-4: I pile fuel in the consecrated fire with a view to
acquire the Vedas necessary for Thy worship, meditating on
Thee in the form of Rig-Veda. The unbroken currents of
clarified butter offered into the kindled fire –
rendered sacred by cordial and hearty thoughts – flow
like rivers, the water of which is potable for Gods. By this
I kindly the splendour of the holy fire.

XXXX-5: In that Ahavaniya Fire, amidst those currents of
clarified butter offered as oblation, abides the profusely
rich and splendid Supreme Being who is magnified in the
Trisuparna, who dwells in the nest of the bodies of created
beings, who confers bliss on creatures according to their
merit, and who shares with gods sweet ambrosia in the form
of oblations offered by worshippers in Fire. In His
proximity are seated the seven sages who destroy sins by
mere remembrance and who continuously pour oblations in the
form of a current of nectar keeping in mind the various gods
for whom they are meant.

 

XL-6:
This Trisuparna may be imparted to a Brahmana unsolicited.
Those brahmanas who recite Trisuparna indeed destroy even
the sin of slaying a worthy Brahmana or an anointed king.
They attain to the fruit of the performance of Soma
sacrifice. They purify all those who sit in a row of a
thousand (while at dinner) and attain union with Pranava,
i.e., the Deity of this mantra.

 

XLI-1:
May the all-penetrating goddess of intellect who is
beneficial, favourably disposed to, and delighting in, us
visit us, O goddess, may we who were delighting in
profitless speech before thy visit, now as the result of thy
delight in us, become enlightened and also capable of
expressing the Supreme Truth along with our heroic sons and
disciples.

XLI-2: O goddess of intellect, favoured by thee, one becomes
a seer; one becomes a Brahmana or a knower of Brahman.
Favoured by thee one becomes also possessed of riches.
Favoured by thee one obtains manifold wealth. Being such, O
goddess of intellect, delight in us and confer on us wealth.

 

XLII-1:
May Indra grant me intelligence. May goddess Sarasvati grant
me intelligence. May the two Ashvins wearing garlands of
lotus flowers engender in me intelligence.

XLII-2: Hail ! May that intelligence favour me – that
which is possessed by Apsaras (celestial women) that which
is the mental power in Gandharvas (celestial minstrels) that
intelligence expressed as the divine Vedic lore and that
intelligence which spreads like fragrance.

 

XLIII-1:
May that goddess of intelligence come to me with a joyful
face and favour me – That goddess of intelligence who
is pervasive like fragrance, who is capable of examining all
objects, who possesses golden letters in the shape of the
syllables of the Vedas (of who is wholesome and charming),
who is continuously present, who is fit to be resorted to by
the seekers of the values of life again and again, who
possesses flavour and strength and who nourishes me with
milk and other wealth.

 

XLIV-1:
May Agni render in me intelligence, continuity of progeny
and splendour born of Vedic study. May Indra render in me
intelligence, continuity of progeny and virility. May Surya
render in me intelligence, continuity of progeny and prowess
that strikes fear in the hearts of enemies.

 

XLV-1:
May death depart from us. May Immortality come to us. May
Vaivasvata Yama grant us safety. May the sins of us be
destroyed like the seared leaves of a tree. May the
strength-giving wealth come to us.

 

XLVI-1:
O Death, go back by thy own path which is other than that of
the gods. I entreat thee who art capable of seeing me and
listening to me; Do not destroy our progeny. Do not strike
down our heroes.

 

XLVII-1:
We heartily supplicate to the Lord of creatures who is the
protector of the universe and who is active within us as
life-breath and outside us as the blowing wind. May He guard
us from death and protect us from sin. May we live
brilliantly upto our old age.

 

XLVIII-1:
O Thou Supreme Being, release me from the fear of Yama and
accusation of people and the necessity of being in the
yonder world. O Agni, may the two divine physicians, the
Ashvins, chase away from us death by virtue of the powers of
religious work.

 

XLIX-1:
Like servants gods follow Hari who is the Lord of the
universe, who leads all thoughts as the foremost leader and
who absorbs into Himself the universe at the time of
dissolution (or who destroys the sins of devotees). May this
path to liberation taught in the Vedas having the same form
as Brahman open itself to me. Deprive not me of that. Strive
to secure it for me.

 

L-1:
Kindling the consecrated fire with chips of wood (in order
to offer oblations during worship) may I attain both the
worlds. Having attained the prosperity of this world and the
next I shall cross over death.

 

LI-1:
O fierce Death, do not cut off my life. Do not injure (my
interest). Do not cripple my strength. Do not subject me to
deprivation. Do not hurt my progeny and life. I shall serve
thee with oblations; for, thou art vigilant over the deeds
of men.

 

LII-1:
O Rudra, injure not our elders, our children, our adults
capable of procreation, the foetus we have laid in the
mother’s womb and our father and mother. Do not hurt
our dear selves.

 

LIII-1:
O Rudra do not hurt us in respect of our children, our
grand-children, other men belonging to us, our cattle and
our horses. Do not hurt in anger our heroes. We shall serve
thee with oblations and reverence.

 

LIV-1:
O Prajapati, all that is born is not different from Thee.
Thou art before them and after also (when they are
reabsorbed into Thee). The created beings cannot surpass
Thee. With whatever desire we offer oblations to Thee may
that be fulfilled. May we become lords of riches.

 

LV-1:
May Indra come to our succour – Indra who is the giver
of welfare on earth and bliss in the next world, who is the
lord of people, who is the slayer of Vritra, who is the
subduer of enemies and giver of rain, who is peaceable and
giver of safety.

 

LVI-1:
We worship the three-eyed Lord who is fragrant and who
increasingly nourishes the devotees. Worshipping Him may we
easily slip off from death just as the ripe cucumber easily
separates itself from the binding stalk. May we be never
separated from Immortality.

 

LVII-1:
O Death, those thousand and ten thousand and ten thousand
snares which thou hast laid for slaying man, all of them we
remove by the power of our deeds of worship.

 

LVIII-1:
Hail ! May this be an oblation made to Mrityu, the maker of
death.

 

LIX-1:
O Agni, thou art the remover of the offences we have
committed against gods. Hail ! Thou art the remover of the
offences we have committed against men. Hail ! Thou art the
remover of the offences we have committed against departed
ancestors. Hail ! Thou art the remover of the offences we
have committed to ourselves. Hail ! Thou art the remover of
the offences committed by others connected with us. Hail !
Thou art the remover of the offences committed by our
relatives. Hail ! Thou art the remover of the offences
committed during day and night. Hail ! Thou art the remover
of the offences committed in the state of dream and waking.
Hail ! Thou art the remover of the offences we have
committed in the state of deep sleep and waking. Hail ! Thou
art the remover of the offences committed consciously and
unconsciously. Hail ! Thou art the remover of the offences
committed by contact with those who are sinners. Hail !

 

LX-1:
O Gods, O Vasus, that serious god-offending sin which we
have committed by our tongues, by our understanding, and by
our actions, place that in those who come near and act in an
evil way towards us. Hail !

 

LXI-1:
Salutations to the gods. Desire performed the act. Desire
did the act. Desire is doing the act, not I. Desire is the
agent, not I. Desire causes the doer to act, not I. O
Desire, fascinating in form, let this oblation be offered to
thee. Hail !

 

LXII-1:
Salutations to the gods. Anger performed the act. Anger did
the act. Anger is doing the act, not I. Anger is the agent,
not I. Anger causes the doer to act, not I. O Anger, let
this oblation be offered to thee. Hail !

 

LXIII-1:
O Supreme Being, I offer oblations of tasty tila (Sesamum
indicum) seeds mixed with some flour, into the consecrated
fire; may my mind delight in the attributed of the Supreme
Hail !

LXIII-2:
O God, through Thy grace, may I obtain cattle, gold, wealth,
food and drink, and all desired objects and beauty and
prosperity; for that this oblation be offered to Thee. Hail
!

LXIII-3:
May God grant me royal prosperity, the bliss of freedom,
health, noble repute, capacity to pay off the debts to gods,
departed souls and sages, the qualities of an ideal
Brahmana, many sons, faith, intelligence and grandsons. May
this oblation be offered for that. Hail !

 

LXIV-1:
O Lord, through Thy grace, may these black Sesamum seeds,
white Sesamum seeds, healthful Sesamum seeds and own Sesamum
seeds cleanse whatever sin there is connected with me or
whatever wrong there is in me. For that I offer oblations.
Hail !

LXIV-2:
May the Sesamum seeds offered remove my sins, such as
partaking of the food supplied by theft, dining at a place
where food is served in connection with the funeral rites of
a single recently departed soul, slaying of a Brahmana,
outraging the preceptor’s honour, cattle-lifting, drink
and slaying a hero or a foetus. May I have peace. Hail !

LXIV-3:
May God grant me royal prosperity, the bliss of freedom,
health, noble repute, capacity to pay off the debts to gods,
departed souls and sages, the qualities of an ideal
Brahmana, many sons, faith, intelligence and grandsons. May
this oblation be offered for that. Hail O Jatavedas [the
all-knowing Supreme invoked in fire] !

 

LXV-1:
[Viraja Homa]: By this oblation may my in-breath,
our-breath, diffused breath, up-breath and middle breath
become purified. I pray that I become the Supreme Light
bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions
in me. For this end may this oblation be appropriately
offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXV-2:
By this oblation may my speech, mind, sight, hearing, taste,
smell, seed, intellect, intention and aim become purified. I
pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all
obstructing sins and their cause, the passions in me. For
this end may this oblation be appropriately offered into the
consecrated fire. Hail !

LXV-3:
By this oblation may my seven bodily ingredients –
outer and inner skin, flesh, blood, fat, marrow, sinew and
bone – become purified. I pray that I become the
Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their
cause, the passions in me. For this end may this oblation be
appropriately offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXV-4:
By this oblation may the limbs and the parts of my body
comprised by the head, hands, feet, sides, back, thighs,
belly, shanks, the generative organ, the middle part of the
body (or the male and female generative organs) and the anus
become purified. I pray that I become the Supreme Light
bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions
in me. For this end may this oblation be appropriately
offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXV-5:
O thou Divine Person, who is dark blue and brown and who is
red in eyes make haste to favour me. Grant me more and more
purity. Be a grantor of knowledge and purity to me through
the medium of my preceptor. May my thoughts become purified.
I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all
obstructing sins and their cause, the passions in me. For
this end may this oblation be appropriately offered into the
consecrated fire. Hail !

 

LXVI-1:
[Viraja Homa]: By this oblation may the five
constituent elements of my body – earth, water, fire
and ether – become purified. I pray that I become the
Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their
cause, the passions in me. For this end may this oblation be
appropriately offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXVI-2:
By this oblation may the qualities of sound, touch, colour,
taste and smell (residing in the above five elements
constituting my body) become purified. I pray that I become
the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their
cause, the passions in me. For this end may this oblation be
appropriately offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXVI-3:
By this oblation may the deeds accomplished by my mind,
speech and body become purified. I pray that I become the
Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their
cause, the passions in me. For this end may this oblation be
appropriately offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXVI-4:
May I not have any suppressed feelings of egoism. I pray
that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing
sins and their cause, the passions in me. For this end may
this oblation be appropriately offered into the consecrated
fire. Hail !

LXVI-5:
By this oblation may my body become purified. I pray that I
become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and
their cause, the passions in me. For this end may this
oblation be appropriately offered into the consecrated fire.
Hail !

LXVI-6:
By this oblation may my internal organs become purified. I
pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all
obstructing sins and their cause, the passions in me. For
this end may this oblation be appropriately offered into the
consecrated fire. Hail !

LXVI-7:
By this oblation may my infinite Self become purified. I
pray that I become the

Supreme
Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the
passions in me. For this end may this oblation be
appropriately offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !

LXVI-8:
May this oblation be made to the deity of hunger. Hail ! May
this oblation be made to the conjoined deities of hunger and
thirst. Hail ! May this oblation be made to the
all-pervasive Supreme. Hail ! May this oblation be made to
the Supreme who is the ordainer of Rik chants.

 

Hail
! May this oblation be made to the Supreme who is interested
in his creation. Hail ! (I am the Truth expressed by
Pranava. For the realization of that may this oblation be
offered into the consecrated fire. Hail !)

LXVI-9:
O Lord, through thy grace I remove from me that uncleanness
in the form of hunger and thirst, misfortune and adversity,
poverty and lack of progress, and all the like. Efface my
sins. Hail !

LXVI-10:
By this oblation may my five-fold self comprised by the
sheaths of food, breath, mind, intelligence and bliss become
purified. I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of
all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions in me.
For this end may this oblation be offered into the
consecrated fire. Hail !

 

LXVII-1:
Agnaye Svaha [oblation to Fire] !

Vishvebhyo
Devebhya Svaha [oblation to sum total of deities or
All-gods] !

Dhruvaya
Bhumaya Svaha [oblation to the permanent plenitude]
!

Dhruvakshitaye
Svaha [oblation to the permanent ground] !

Achyutakshitaye
Svaha [oblation to the unchanging abode] !

Agnaye
Svishtakrite Svaha [oblation to the maker of the right
sacrifice] !

Dharmaya
Svaha [oblation to the religious duty] !

Adharmaya
Svaha [oblation to the ir-religious duty] !

Adbhya
Svaha [oblation to the waters] !

Oshodhi-vanaspatibhya
Svaha [oblation to the herbs and trees] !

Raksho-devajanebhya
Svaha [oblation to the demons and gods] !

Grihyabhya
Svaha [oblation to the household deities] !

Avasanebhya
Svaha [oblation to the deities dwelling in the outskirts
of the house] !

 

Avasaanapatibhya
Svaha [ oblation to the leaders of such deities]
!

Sarvabhutebhya
Svaha [oblation to all spirits or the deities of the
five primordial elements] !

Kamaya
Svaha [oblation to the god of love] !

Antarikshaya
Svaha [oblation to the wind blowing in the sky]
!

Yadejati
jagati yachcha chestati namno bhagoyam namne Svaha

[oblation
to the Supreme Being who is the totality of words in the
Veda and also whatever there is in this world moving as
insentient and whatever that acts as sentient] !

Pritivyai
Svaha [oblation to the earth] !

Antarikshaya
Svaha [oblation to the spirits dwelling in the sky]
!

Deve
Svaha [oblation to the heaven] !

Suryaya
Svaha [oblation to the sun] !

Chandramase
Svaha [oblation to the moon] !

Nakshatrebhya
Svaha [oblation to the asterisms] !

Indraya
Svaha [oblation to the chief of gods] !

Brihaspataye
Svaha [oblation to the preceptor of gods] !

Prajapataye
Svaha [oblation to the lord of creatures] !

Brahmane
Svaha [oblation to the four-faced creator] !

Svadha
Pitrubhya Svaha [oblation to the departed ancestors]
!

Namo
Rudraya Pasupataye Svaha

[Salutation
and oblation to Rudra, the lord of living beings] !

Devebhya
Svaha [oblation to the gods] !

Pitrubhya
Svadhastu [oblation to the manes] !

Bhutebhyo
Namah [salutations to variety of gods] !

Manusyebhyo
Hantaa [oblation to men] !

Prajapataye
Svaha [oblation to the lord of creatures] !

Paramestine
Svaha [oblation to the four-faced creator dwelling in
Brahmaloka] !

LXVII-2:
Just as a perennial well is supplied with water by hundreds
and thousands of springs, so may I have an inexhaustible
supply of grain from a thousand sources. For that end, I
offer oblations to the wealth-holding deity. Hail !

LXVII-3:
With the intention of acquiring prosperity, I present
offering of food to those spirits who are the servants of
Rudra (dwelling in the cremation ground) causing pain to
creatures by death and bereavement, and who wander about day
and night in search of tribute. May the lord of prosperity
grant me all prosperity. Hail !

 

LXVIII-1:
Om that is Brahman. Om that is Vayu. Om that is the finite
self. Om that is the Supreme Truth. Om that is all. Om that
is the multitude of citadels 9the bodies of creatures).
Salutations to Him.

LXVIII-2:
That Supreme Being moves inside the heart of created beings
possessing manifold forms. O Supreme, Thou art the
sacrifice, Thou art the expression Vasat, Thou art Indra,
Thou art Rudra, Thou art Brahma, Thou art Prajapati, Thou
art That, Thou art the water in the rivers and the ocean,
Thou art the sun, Thou art flavour, Thou art ambrosia, Thou
art the body of the Vedas, Thou art the threefold world and
Thou art Om.

 

LXIX-1:

Firm
in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of ambrosia
into Prana with reverence.

Firm
in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of ambrosia
into Apana with reverence. Firm in my religious faith, I
offer this oblation of ambrosia into Vyana with reverence.

 Firm
in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of ambrosia
into Udana with reverence. Firm in my religious faith, I
offer this oblation of ambrosia into Samana with reverence.

By
these oblations may my Self be united with the Supreme, so
that I may attain Immortality.

LXIX-2:
O water, thou art the spread out seat of Anna-Brahman, the
immortal food.

LXIX-3:
Firm in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of
ambrosia into Prana with reverence. O thou offered
substance, be auspicious and get assimilated into me, so
that I may not be consumed by hunger. Oblation to Prana.
Firm in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of
ambrosia into Apana with reverence. O thou offered
substance, be auspicious and get assimilated into me, so
that I may not be consumed by hunger. Oblation to Apana.
Firm in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of
ambrosia into Vyana with reverence. O thou offered
substance, be auspicious and get assimilated into me, so
that I may not be consumed by hunger. Oblation to Vyana.
Firm in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of
ambrosia into Udana with reverence. O thou offered
substance, be auspicious and get assimilated into me, so
that I may not be consumed by hunger. Oblation to Udana.
Firm in my religious faith, I offer this oblation of
ambrosia into Samana with reverence. O thou offered
substance, be auspicious and get assimilated into me, so
that I may not be consumed by hunger. Oblation to Samana. By
these oblations may my Self be united with the Supreme, so
that I may attain Immortality.

LXIX-4:
O water, thou art the cover for Anna-Brahman, the immortal
food.

 

LXX-1:
Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of
ambrosia into Prana with reverence. O Prana, increase the
power of my in-breath by this food. Firm in my religious
faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia into Apana
with reverence. O Apana, increase the power of my out-breath
with this food. Firm in my religious faith, I have offered
this oblation of ambrosia into Vyana with reverence. O
Vyana, increase the power of my diffused breath with this
food. Firm in my religious faith, I have offered this
oblation of ambrosia into Udana with reverence. O Udana,
increase the power of my up-breath with this food. Firm in
my religious faith, I have offered this oblation of ambrosia
into Samana with reverence. O Samana, increase the power of
my middle breath with this food.

 

LXXI-1:
May the Supreme Lord be gratified (by this meal just taken)
– Who is the ruler of all the world and the enjoyer of
all, Who as the person dwelling in the body, is of the size
of the thumb, and Who is the support of the body –
imparting to it sentience and activity from the toe to

the
crown.

 

LXXII-1:
O Lord, after repast my powers of speech, of breath, of
sight, and of hearing, are firm in their respective stations
i.e., mouth, nostrils, eyes and ears; so also strength and
vitality have returned to my arms and thighs. My subtle body
and my gross body with all its limbs are now free from
inadequacy. My salutation to Thee. Do not cause any hurt to
me and mine.

 

LXXIII-1:
Like birds with handsome plumage the sages who were devoted
to sacrificial worship (or intent on the good of all)
approached Indra supplicating thus: Remove our darkness and
ignorance; fill our eyes with worthy sights; and release us
from the bondage of ignorance like birds trapped in snares.

 

LXXIV-1:
O Rudra, thou art the binding knot of the breaths and the
organs of senses functioning in the body. Enter me as the
end-maker of sorrows and increase and protect me by that
food which I have taken in.

 

LXXV-1:
Salutations to Rudra, and to Vishnu (or Rudra who is
Vishnu). Guard me from death.

 

LXXVI-1:
O Agni, thou art born on the days of sacrifices as the
protector of men in general and of those among men who offer
sacrifices. Thou art born spreading light around, or causing
pain quickly by mere touch. Thou art born from water as
lightning or as the heat under the sea. Thou art born from
clouds or stones by friction. Thou art born from the
forests. Thou art born from the herbs. Thou art born ever
pure or as the sun.

 

LXXVII-1:
O Thou Lord, who art worshipped in all the sacrifices, I
prostrate before Thee in deep reverence ! I prostrate before
Thee ! I prostrate before Thee ! Deign to remain with me as
the giver of what is auspicious. Deign to remain with me as
the giver of happiness here. Deign to remain with me as the
giver of good and divine qualities. Deign to remain with me
as the giver of splendour born of Vedic learning. When the
sacrifice which I have instituted has been completely
prosperously, be with me to confer the fruits of it.

 

LXXVIII-1:
Truthfulness is excellent. What is excellent is truthfulness
only. By truthfulness those who have attained to the state
of blissfulness never fall from there. What belongs to sat,
namely good people, that is indeed satyam (truthfulness).
For this reason seekers of the highest good find delight in
truthfulness.

LXXVIII-2:
Some hold the opinion that austerity is the means of
liberation and that there is no austerity higher than
religious fast. This excellent austerity is hard to be
practised. A person who practises it becomes invincible (or
such austerity is unthinkable for the commonalty). Therefore
seekers of the highest good delight in austerity.

LXXVIII-3:
Perfect ascetics declare that withdrawal of the senses from
the attraction of forbidden objects is the means of
liberation. Therefore they delight in it.

LXXVIII-4:
Hermits who dwell in the forest consider that tranquillity
of mind is the means of liberation and therefore they
delight in calmness.

LXXVIII-5:
All creatures praise selfless gift as supreme; for there is
nothing more difficult to perform than giving selfless gift.
Therefore seekers of the highest good delight in giving
selfless gift.

LXXVIII-6:
Some consider that scriptural duty is the means of
liberation. By the performance of scriptural duties all the
world is held together. There is nothing more difficult to
practise than the duties ordained by the scriptures.
Therefore seekers of the highest good find delight in the
scriptural duty.

LXXVIII-7:
The largest number of people consider that procreation is
the means of liberation. For that reason the largest number
of offsprings are born. Because procreation is deemed such a
means, therefore the largest number of people delight in
procreation.

LXXVIII-8:
Some one devoted to the Vedic religion says that the Vedic
Fires are the means of liberation. Therefore the Vedic Fires
must be consecrated.

LXXVIII-9:
Another person devoted to the Vedic religion says that
Agnihotra is the means of liberation. Therefore some seekers
of the highest delight in the Agnihotra sacrifice.

LXXVIII-10:
Others devoted to the Vedic religion say that sacrifice is
the means of liberation. Verily gods have attained heaven by
their own prior deeds of sacrifice. Therefore seekers of the
highest good delight in the performance of sacrifice.

LXXVIII-11:
Some wise people consider that inward worship is the means
of liberation. Therefore wise people delight only in inward
worship.

LXXVIII-12:
Brahma Hiranyagarbha considers that Sannyasa is the means of
liberation. Hiranyagarbha is indeed the Supreme. The Supreme
alone is Hiranyagarbha (although he is a personality).
Certainly these austerities set forth above are inferior.
Sannyasa alone surpassed all. To him who thus knows the
all-transcending excellence of Sannyasa precious knowledge
(has been imparted).

 

LXXIX-1:
Aruni, the son of Prajapati and Suparna approached his
father Prajapati – thus we have heard – and
questioned him, what is that which revered teachers declare
as the supreme means of liberation ? To him Prajapati thus
replied:

LXXIX-2:
By truth the wind blows. By truth the sun shines in the sky.
Truth is the foundation of speech. Everything in practical
life depends on truth. Therefore they say truth is the
supreme means of liberation.

LXXIX-3:
Be Tapas performed in the beginning gods attained godhood.
By Tapas seers attained to heaven gradually. By Tapas we get
rid of our enemies who stand in the way of our acquisitions.
Everything is founded in Tapas. Therefore they say Tapas is
the supreme (means of liberation).

LXXIX-4:
Persons who practise sense-control shake off their sin by
that. Perfect ascetics reached heaven gradually through
sense-control. Sense-control is inaccessible to ordinary
creatures. Everything is founded in sense-control. Therefore
they say sense-control is the supreme (means of
liberation).

LXXIX-5:
Those who are of a tranquil disposition do good merely by
calmness. Sages have attained to heaven through calmness of
mind. Calmness of mind is inaccessible for the ordinary
creatures. Everything is founded on calmness of mind.
Therefore they say that calmness of mind is the supreme
means of liberation.

LXXIX-6:
Giving of gift in the shape of dakshina is the secure abode
of the sacrifices. In the world all creatures subsist on a
giver. People remove by gifts those who are envious and
malignant towards them. By gift the unfriendly become
friendly. Everything is established in gift. Therefore they
say that the gift is the supreme means of liberation.

LXXIX-7:
Dharma, religious righteousness, is the support of the whole
universe. All people draw near a person who is fully devoted
to dharma. Through dharma a person chases away sin. All are
supported by dharma. Therefore they say that dharma is the
supreme means of liberation.

LXXIX-8:
In this world procreation is certainly the foundation of the
race. A person who extends the continuity of progeny in the
right way by rearing offsprings, according to the scriptural
rules, discharges his debt towards his departed ancestors.
That alone is the way for him to pay off his debts towards
his ancestors. Therefore they say that procreation is the
supreme means of liberation.

LXXIX-9:
The great sacrificial Fires are indeed the three-fold
knowledge and the path leading to godhood. Of them, the
Garhapatya Fire is Rig-Veda, the earth and the Rathantara
Saman chant; Anvaharyapachana is Yajur-Veda mid-region and
the Vamadevya Saman chant; Ahavaniya is the Sama-Veda, the
heavenly worlds and the Brihat Saman chant. Therefore they
say that the sacrificial Fires are the supreme means of
liberation.

LXXIX-10:
The performance of Agnihotra at dawn and sunset is an
expiation for sins incidental to house-keeping. It is a good
yaga and a good homa and also it is the commencement of all
yajna-s and kratu-s. It is a beacon to the heavenly world.
Therefore they say Agnihotra is the supreme means of
liberation.

LXXIX-11:
Others devoted to the Vedic religion say that sacrifice is
the means of liberation. Sacrifice is indeed dear to gods.
Verily gods have attained to heaven by their previous deeds
of sacrifice. They have driven away demons by sacrifice. By
sacrifice those who are hostile become friendly. Everything
is supported by sacrifice. Therefore they say sacrifice is
the supreme means of liberation.

LXXIX-12:
Inward worship or mental concentration is indeed the means
of attaining to the state of Prajapati and so that is holy.
Those who possess a mind endowed with the power of inward
concentration see and realise what is good. Through mental
concentration, seers like Vishvamitra created subjects by
mere wish. All depends upon this power of the mind.
Therefore they say that the power of inward concentration is
the supreme means of liberation.

LXXIX-13:
Wise seers declare that Sannyasa mentioned as the supreme
means of liberation is Brahman, and that Brahman is the
Universal Spirit, is supremely blissful, is self-born, is
the protector of created beings, is the soul of time, and so
forth.

LXXIX-14:
The year is the yonder sun. That Person who is in the sun is
Hiranyagarbha; He is Parameshthin (the protector of the
universe) and Brahmatman – Supreme Reality that is the
innermost Self of all creatures.

LXXIX-15:
Those rays by which the sun gives heat, the same rays
transform water into rain-cloud which showers the rain. By
the rain-cloud herbs and trees come into existence. From
herbs and trees food is produced. By the use of food the
breaths and sense are nourished. When the life-breath is
nourished one gets bodily strength. Bodily strength gives
the capacity to practise Tapas (in the shape of
self-control, religious fast and so forth). As the result of
such Tapas, faith in scriptural truths springs into
existence. By faith mental power comes. By mental power
sense-control is made possible. By sense-control reflection
is engendered. From reflection calmness of mind results.
Conclusive experience of Truth follows calmness. By
conclusive experience of Truth remembrance of It is
engendered. Remembrance produces continuous remembrance.
From continuous remembrance results unbroken direct
realization of Truth. By such realization a person knows the
Atman. For this reason, he who gives food gives all these.
For, it is found that the vital breaths and the senses of
creatures are from food, that reflection functions with the
vital breath and the senses, that unbroken direct
realization comes from reflection and that bliss comes from
unbroken direct realization of Truth. Thus having attained
bliss one becomes the Supreme which is the source of the
universe.

LXXIX-16:
He by whom all thus universe is pervaded – the earth
and the mid-region, the heaven and the quarters and the
sub-quarters – that Person is fivefold and is
constituted of five substances. He who has attained supreme
knowledge through Sannyasa is, indeed, this Person. He is
all that is perceptible at present, was in the past and will
be in the future. Through apparently human, his true nature
is that which is settled by the enquiry into the Vedas and
what is attained by his new birth in right knowledge. He is
firmly established in the richness of knowledge imparted by
his guru, as also in his faith and in Truth. He has become
the self-resplendent. Being such a one he remains beyond the
darkness of ignorance. O Aruni, having become one possessed
of knowledge by realizing Him, the Supreme, through Sannyasa
and with your mind fixed in the heart, do not again fall a
prey to death. Because Sannyasa is thus the supreme means of
realization, therefore wise men declare that to be above all
other means of liberation.

LXXIX-17:
O Supreme, Thou art the giver of the wealth of supreme
knowledge to us. Thou hast become all. Thou unitest the
individual Souls in the Sutratman. Thou pervadest the
universe. Thou art the giver of the lustre to fire. Thou art
the giver of light and heat to the sun. Thou art the
bestower of the riches of light to the moon. Thou art taken
in the upayama vessel as soma juice for oblation. We worship
Thee the Supreme who art such for the manifestation of
Light.

LXXIX-18:
(The Sannyasin having meditated upon the Supreme) should
concentrate his thoughts on Him uttering the syllable Om.
This, the syllable Om, verily is the substance of many great
Upanishads and a secret guarded by the gods without
imparting to the unfit. He who practises meditation on the
Supreme thus with the aid of Pranava after Sannyasa attains
to the unlimited greatness of the Supreme. By that he
attains to the greatness of Brahman. Thus the secret
knowledge has been imparted.

 

LXXX-1:
The institutor of the sacrifice, in the case of the
sacrifice offered by a Sannyasin who has attained supreme
knowledge in the manner already described, is his own Self.
His faith is his wife; his body is his sacrificial fuel; his
chest is his altar; his hairs are his holy grass; the Veda
he has learnt is his tuft of hair; his heart is his
sacrificial post; his desire is his clarified butter; his
anger is his animal to be immolated; his austerity is his
fire; his sense-control is his immolator; his gifts are his
dakshina; his speech is his Hotir priest; his breath is his
Udgatir priest; his sight is his Adhvaryu priest; his mind
is his Brahman priest; his hearing is his Agnid priest; the
span of his life is his preparatory rite; what he eats that
is his oblation; what he drinks that is his drinking of soma
juice; when he delights himself that is his Upasad rite;
when he walks, sits and stands that is his Pravargya rite;
that which is his mouth that is his Ahavaniya Fire; that
which is his utterance that is his offering of oblation;
that which is his knowledge that is his Homa sacrifices;
when he eats in the afternoon and forenoon that is his
Samid-homa (oblation of fuel in the fire); the three
divisions of the day – forenoon, midday and evening
– relating to him are his savanas; the day and night
are his Darsapurnamasa sacrifices; the half months and the
months are his Chaturmasya sacrifice; the seasons are his
Pasubandha sacrifice; the samvatsaras and the parivatsaras
are his Ahargana sacrifice; the total sacrifice is, indeed,
his Sattra; death is the Avabhritha or completion of his
sacrifice. That person who knows this, namely, the conduct
of a Sannyasin – covering all the duties from Agnihotra
to Sattra and terminating in death overcome by old age
– and who dies during the period of the sun’s
movement to the north attains to the overlordship of gods
like Indra and then reaches identity or companionship with
the sun. On the other hand he who dies during the period
when the sun moves to the south gets only the greatness of
the manes and then attains to the identity or companionship
with the moon. A Brahmana who knows separately the greatness
of the sun and the moon realizes these two; but he who has
become a knower of Hiranyagarbha wins further. From that
knowledge which was acquired in the world of Hiranyagarbha,
he attains to the greatness of Brahman, the Supreme who is
Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, at the dissolution of the world
of Hiranyagarbha. Thus the secret knowledge here, and in
this Upanishad, is concluded.

 

 

Hari
Om ! May Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, Indra, Brihaspati

And
all-pervading Vishnu be propitious to us

And
grant us welfare and bliss.

I
bow down to Brahman in reverence.

O
Vayu, I bow down to Thee in adoration.

Thou
verily art perceptible Brahman.

I
shall declare: Thou art right.

Thou
art the true and the good.

May
that – the Supreme Being adored as Vayu – preserve
me.

May
He preserve the teacher.

Me,
may He protect; My teacher, may He protect.

Om
! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both
together;

May
we work conjointly with great energy,

May
our study be vigorous and effective;

May
we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om
! Let there be Peace in me !

Let
there be Peace in my environment !

Let
there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

 

 

Here
ends the Mahanarayanopanishad, included in the
Krishna-Yajur-Veda.

 

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