Kena and Other Upanishads

The Brihad Aranyak Upanishad

[note] - situations requiring textual explication; all such information is printed in italics

Chapter One: Section I

उषा वा अश्वस्य मेध्यस्य शिरः । सूर्यश्चक्षुर्वातः प्राणो व्यात्तमग्निर्वैश्वानरः संवत्सर आत्माश्वस्य मेध्यस्य । द्यौः पृष्ठमन्तरिक्षमुदरं पृथिवी पाजस्यं दिशः पार्श्वे अवान्तरदिशः पर्शव ऋतवोऽङ्गानि मासाश्चार्धमासाश्च पर्वाण्यहोरात्राणि प्रतिष्ठा नक्षत्राण्यस्थीनि नभो मांसानि । ऊवध्यं सिकताः सिन्धवो गुदा यकृच्च ल्कोमानश्च पर्वता ओषधयश्च वनस्पतयश्च लोमान्युद्यन्पूर्वार्धो निम्लोचञ्जघनार्धो यद् विजृम्भते तद्विद्योतते यद्विधृनुते तत्स्तनयति यन्मेहति तद्वर्षति वागेवास्य वाक् ।।१।।

1) Dawn is the head¹ of the horse sacrificial.² The sun is his eye,³ his breath is the wind, his wide open mouth is Fire, the master might universal, Time is the self of the horse sacrificial.⁴ Heaven is his back & the midworld his belly, earth is his footing,—the regions are his flanks & the lesser regions their ribs, the seasons his members, the months & the half months are their joints, the days & nights are his standing place, the stars his bones & the sky is the flesh of his body. The strands are the food in his belly, the rivers are his veins, his liver & his lungs are the mountains, herbs & plants are his hairs, the rising is his front & the setting his hinder portion, when he stretches himself, then it lightens,

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when he shakes his frame, then it thunders, when he urines, then it rains. Speech, verily, is the sound of him.

अहर्वा अश्वं पुरस्तान्महिमान्वजायत तस्य पूर्वे समुद्रे योनी रात्रिरेनं पश्चान्महिमान्वजायत तस्यापरे समुद्रे योनिरेतौ वा अश्वं महिमानावभितः संबभूवतुः । हयो भूत्वा देवानवहद् वाजी गन्धर्वानर्वासुरानश्वो मनुष्यान् समुद्र एवास्य बन्धुः समुद्रो योनिः ।।२।।

2) Day was the grandeur that was born before the horse as he galloped, the eastern ocean gave it birth; night was the grandeur that was born behind him & its birth was from the other waters. These are the grandeurs that came into being on either side of the horse. He became Haya & bore the gods, Vaja & bore the Gandharvas, Arvan & bore the Titans, Aswa & bore mankind. The sea was his brother & the sea was his birthplace.

Chapter One: Section II

नैवेह किंचनाग्र आसीन्मृत्युनैवेदमावृतमासीत् । अशनाययाशनाया हि मृत्युस्तन्मनोऽकुरुतात्मन्वी स्यामिति । सोऽर्चन्नचरत् तस्यार्चत आपोऽजायन्तार्चते वै मे कमभूदिति तदेवार्कस्यार्कत्वं कं ह वा अस्मै भवति य एवमेतदर्कस्यार्कत्वं वेद ।।१।।

1) Formerly there was nothing here; this was concealed by Death—by Hunger, for it is Hunger that is Death. That created Mind, & he said, Let me have substance. He moved about working & as he worked the waters were born & he said, Felicity was born to me as I worked. This verily is the activity in action. Therefore felicity cometh to him who thus knoweth this soul of activity in action.

आपो वा अर्कस्तद्यदपां शर आसीत् तत्समहन्यत । सा पृथिव्यभवत् तस्यामश्राम्यत् तस्य श्रान्तस्य तप्तस्य तेजोरसो निरवर्तताग्निः ।।२।।

2) The waters verily (in their movement) are action; that which was a lake of waters was contracted & became compact. This became earth—upon earth he grew weary—in his

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weariness he was heated & the Essence of energy went out from him, even Fire.

स त्रेधात्मानं व्यकुरुतादित्यं तृतीयं वायुं तृतीयं स एष प्राणस्त्रेधा विहितः । तस्य प्राची दिक् शिरोऽसौ चासौ चेर्मौ । अथास्य प्रतीची दिक् पुच्छमसौ चासौ च सक्थ्यौ दक्षिणा चोदीची च पार्श्वे द्यौः पृष्ठमन्तरिक्षमुदरमियमुरः स एषोऽप्सु प्रतिष्ठितो यत्र क्व चैति तदेव प्रतितिष्ठत्येवं विद्वान् ।।३।।

3) Fire divided himself into three—the sun one of the three & Vayu one of the three; this is that force of life arranged triply. The east is his head and the northeast & the southeast are his arms. Now the west is his seat & the southwest & the northwest are his thighs; his sides are the south & the north; heaven is his back & the middle region is his belly; this earth is his bosom. This is he that is established in the waters wheresoever thou turn. And as that is he established who thus knoweth.

सोऽकामयत द्वितीयो म आत्मा जायेतेति स मनसा वाचं मिथुनं समभवदशनाया मृत्युस्तद्यद्रेत आसीत् स संवत्सरोऽभवत् । न ह पुरा ततः संवत्सर आस तमेतावन्तं कालमबिभः । यावान् संवत्सरस्तमेतावतः कालस्य परस्तादसृजत । तं जातमभिव्याददात् स भाणकरोत् सैव वागभवत् ।।४।।

4) He desired "Let a second self be born to me." He by mind had intercourse with speech, even Hunger that is Death; the seed that was of that union became Time. For before this Time was not (period of Time) but so long He had borne him in Himself. So long as is Time's period, after so long He gave it birth. He yawned upon him as soon as it was born; it cried out & that became speech.

स ऐक्षत यदि वा इममभिमंस्ये कनीयोऽन्नं करिष्य इति स तया वाचा तेनात्मनेदं सर्वमसृजत यदिदं किंचर्चो यजूंषि सामानि छन्दांसि यज्ञान्प्रजाः पशून् । स यद्यदेवासृजत तत्तदत्तुमध्रियत सर्वं वा अत्तीति तददितेरदितित्वं सर्वस्यैतस्यात्ता भवति सर्वमस्यात्रं भवति य एवमेतददितेरदितित्वं वेद ।।५।।

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5) He saw, If I devour this, I shall diminish food; therefore by that speech & by that self he created all this that we see, the Riks & the Yajus & the Samas & the rhythms & sacrifices & animals & these nations. Whatsoever he created, that he set about devouring, verily he devoureth all; this is the substantiality of being in substance (that it can be destroyed⁵). He becometh the eater of all the world & everything becometh his food who thus knoweth the substantiality of being in substance.

सोऽकामयत भूयसा यज्ञेन भूयो यजेयेति। सोऽश्राम्यत् स तपोऽतप्यत तस्य श्रान्तस्य तप्तस्य यशो वीर्यमुदक्रामत् । प्राणा वै यशो वीर्यं तत्प्राणेषूत्क्रान्तेषु शरीरं श्वयितुमध्रियत तस्य शरीर एव मन आसीत् ।।६।।

6) He desired "Let me sacrifice more richly with richer sacrifice." He laboured & put forth heat of force, & of him thus laboured & heated splendour & strength came forth. The life-forces are that splendour & strength, therefore when the life-forces go forth, the body sets about to rot, yet in his body even so mind was.

सोऽकामयत मेध्यं म इदं स्यादात्मन्व्यनेन स्यामिति । ततोऽश्वः समभवद् यदश्वत् तन्मेध्यमभूदिति तदेवाश्वमेधस्याश्वमेधत्वम् । एष ह वा अश्वमेधं वेद य एनमेवं वेद। तमनवरुध्यैवामन्यत । तं संवत्सरस्य परस्तादात्मन आलभत।...।।७।।

7) He desired "Let this have sacrificial capacity for me, by this let me be provided with a body." That which has expressed power & being, that is fit for the sacrifice. This verily is the secret of the Aswamedha & he knoweth indeed the Aswamedha who thus knoweth it. He gave him free course & thought, then after a year (a fixed period of time) he dedicated him to the self. [The rest of this section was not translated.]

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Chapter One: Section III

द्वया ह प्राजापत्या देवाश्चासुराश्च । ततः कानीयसा एव देवा ज्यायसा असुरास्त एषु लोकेष्वस्पर्धन्त ते ह देवा ऊचुर्हन्तासुरान् यज्ञ उद्गीथेनात्ययामेति ।।१।।

1) Two were the races of the Sons of God, the gods & the Titans. Thereafter the gods were weaker, mightier the Titans. They in these worlds strove together, & the gods said, Let us by the udgitha overpass the Titans in the yajna.

ते ह वाचमूचुस्त्वं न उद्गायेति तथेति तेभ्यो वागुदगायत् । यो वाचि भोगस्तं देवेभ्य आगायद् यत्कल्याणं वदति तदात्मने । ते विदुरनेन वै न उद्गात्रात्येष्यन्तीति तमभिद्गुत्य पाप्मनाविध्यन् स यः स पाप्मा यदेवेदमप्रतिरुपं वदति स एव स पाप्मा ।।२।।

2) They said to Speech, Do thou go upward (by the udgitha) for us. "So be it" said Speech and he went upward for them; the enjoyment that is in speech, he reached for the gods, the good that it speaks, he reached for the self. They thought it was by this singer they would overpass them, but they ran at him and penetrated him with evil. The evil that one speaketh this that hath no correspondence (to the thing or fact to be expressed),—this is that evil.

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