The Principal Upanishads

Only by doing your works here should you wish to live a hundred years.
So it is for you, and not otherwise: action does not cling to a man.

Worlds of the asuras they are called, covered in blind darkness;
to them, after death, go all those people who kill the self.note

Unmoving, the One is swifter than the mind; the gods could not catch it as it sped on ahead.
Standing still, it outruns others as they run; in it Matarishvan sets down the waters.note

It moves—it does not move; it is far away—and it is near.
It is inside all this, and it is outside all this.

But one who sees all beings in the self itself,
and the self in all beings, shrinks from nothing then.note

When, for one who knows, all beings have become the self itself,
what delusion can there be, what sorrow, for one who sees the oneness?

He has gone around—the bright, the bodiless, without wound, without sinew, pure, unpierced by evil.
The seer, the thinker, all-encompassing, self-existent, has rightly apportioned all things for endless years.

Into blind darkness go those who venerate ignorance;
into darkness greater still, as it were, those who delight in knowledge.

It is other than knowledge, they say, and other than ignorance, they say—
so we have heard from the wise who explained it to us.

One who knows both of them together—knowledge and ignorance—
crosses over death by ignorance and by knowledge reaches the immortal.

Into blind darkness go those who venerate non-becoming;
into darkness greater still, as it were, those who delight in becoming.

It is other than becoming, they say, and other than non-becoming, they say—
so we have heard from the wise who explained it to us.

One who knows both of them together—becoming and destruction—
crosses over death by destruction and by becoming reaches the immortal.

The face of truth is covered with a golden bowl.
Uncover it, Pushan, so that I, whose law is truth, may see.note

Pushan, sole seer, Yama, sun, son of Prajapati, spread out your rays, draw together your light!
That fairest form of yours—I see it. That person over there—I am he.note

Wind, air, the immortal—and this body ends in ashes.
Om! Purpose, remember! Remember what was done! Purpose, remember! Remember what was done!note

Agni, lead us by a good path to riches, god who knows all our ways.
Keep from us the crooked wrong; we will offer you our fullest words of homage.note

Impelled by whom, sent forth by whom, does the mind fly out? Yoked by whom does the first breath go forth?
Impelled by whom do people speak this speech? And which god yokes the eye and the ear?note

It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the breath of breath, the eye of the eye.
Setting themselves free, the wise, departing from this world, become immortal.

There the eye does not go, nor speech, nor the mind.
We do not know, we do not understand, how one could teach it.

It is other than what is known, and beyond what is unknown—
so we have heard from those of old who explained it to us.

What is not spoken by speech, but that by which speech is spoken—
know that alone as brahman, not this that people here venerate.note

What one does not think with the mind, but that by which, they say, the mind is thought—
know that alone as brahman, not this that people here venerate.

What one does not see with the eye, but that by which one sees the eyes—
know that alone as brahman, not this that people here venerate.

What one does not hear with the ear, but that by which this ear is heard—
know that alone as brahman, not this that people here venerate.

What one does not breathe with breath, but that by which breath is led forth—
know that alone as brahman, not this that people here venerate.

If you think, “I know it well,” surely you know only a little of the form of brahman—
its form that is you, and its form among the gods. So you must reflect on it further.—“I think it is known.”

I do not think, “I know it well,” nor that I do not know it—and yet I know.
Whoever of us knows it, knows it: not “I do not know,” and yet he knows.

One who has not thought it has thought it; one who has thought it does not know.
It is not understood by those who understand, and understood by those who do not.

When it is known through each awakening, it is truly thought, for one finds immortality.
Through the self one finds strength; through knowledge one finds the immortal.

If one has known it here, then there is truth; if one has not known it here, great is the loss.
Discerning it in being after being, the wise, departing from this world, become immortal.

Once brahman won a victory for the gods, and in that victory of brahman the gods exulted.

They thought, “This victory is ours alone; this greatness is ours alone.” Brahman knew this about them and appeared before them. They did not recognize it: “What is this strange marvel?”note

They said to Agni, “Jatavedas, find out what this marvel is.” “Very well.”note

He ran up to it. It said to him, “Who are you?” “I am Agni,” he said, “I am Jatavedas.”

“And what power is there in such a one as you?” “I could burn up everything here, whatever there is on earth.”

It set down a blade of grass before him: “Burn this.” He went at it with all his speed but could not burn it. So he turned back from there: “I could not find out what this marvel is.”

Then they said to Vayu, “Vayu, find out what this marvel is.” “Very well.”note

He ran up to it. It said to him, “Who are you?” “I am Vayu,” he said, “I am Matarishvan.”

“And what power is there in such a one as you?” “I could carry off everything here, whatever there is on earth.”

It set down a blade of grass before him: “Carry this off.” He went at it with all his speed but could not carry it off. So he turned back from there: “I could not find out what this marvel is.”

Then they said to Indra, “Maghavan, find out what this marvel is.” “Very well.” He ran up to it, but it vanished before him.note

In that very space he came upon a woman of radiant beauty, Uma, daughter of the Himalaya. He said to her, “What is this marvel?”note

“It is brahman,” she said. “It is in the victory of brahman that you have been exulting.” Only then did he know that it was brahman.

That is why these gods—Agni, Vayu and Indra—stand, as it were, far above the other gods: for they came closest to touching it, and they were the first to know it as brahman.

That is why Indra stands, as it were, far above the other gods: for he came closest to touching it, he was the first to know it as brahman.

Here is the teaching about it: that which flashes out in the lightning—ā!—and makes one blink—ā! That is with respect to the divine.note

Now, with respect to the self: that toward which the mind seems to go, and by which it constantly calls this to mind—that is intention.

Its name is Tadvana, “longing for it”; as Tadvana one should venerate it. When someone knows it in this way, all beings long for him.note

“Sir, tell me the secret teaching.” “The secret teaching has been told to you. It is the secret teaching about brahman that we have told you.”note

Austerity, self-restraint and ritual work are its foundation; the Vedas are all its limbs; truth is its home.note

One who knows it in this way strikes off evil and stands firm in the endless, supreme heavenly world—he stands firm.

Eager for the reward, Vajashravasa gave away all that he owned.
He had a son named Naciketas.note

Young boy though he was, as the gifts were being led away, faith entered him, and he thought:note

They have drunk their water, eaten their grass, given their milk, and they are barren—
joyless, those worlds are called, to which a man goes who gives such cows.

He said to his father, “Father, to whom will you give me?”
A second time he asked, and a third; and his father told him, “To Death I give you!”

Of many I go as the first, of many I go in the middle.
What is there for Yama to do that he will do with me today?

Look how those before us went; look how those after us will go.
Like grain a mortal ripens, like grain he is born again.

Like the fire in all men, a brahmin guest enters a house.
This is how people appease him—bring water, son of Vivasvat!note

Hope and expectation, friendship and kind speech, sacrifices and good works, sons and cattle, all of them—
these a brahmin takes away from the foolish man in whose house he stays without food.

Since you have stayed three nights in my house without food, brahmin, a guest worthy of homage—
homage to you, brahmin! May it be well with me—in return choose three boons.

That Gautama may be calm in his thoughts, kindly, his anger toward me gone, Death,
and greet me gladly when you have let me go—this I choose as the first of the three boons.note

Auddalaki Aruni, released by me, will be as glad as before.
He will sleep well at night, his anger gone, once he has seen you freed from the jaws of Death.note

In the heavenly world there is no fear at all; you are not there, and no one fears old age.
Crossing over both hunger and thirst, beyond sorrow, one rejoices in the heavenly world.

You know by heart the fire that leads to heaven, Death; explain it to me, for I have faith.
Those in the heavenly world share in immortality—this I choose as my second boon.

I will explain it to you—learn it from me, Naciketas, for I understand the fire that leads to heaven.
Know it as the winning of an endless world, and its foundation, hidden in the cave.

He told him of that fire, the beginning of the world—what bricks, how many, and how they are laid.
And the boy repeated it back just as it was told; then Death, pleased with him, spoke again.note

The great-souled one, delighted, said to him, “Here and now I grant you another boon:
this fire shall bear your very name. And take this many-shaped chain.”note

One who has kindled the Naciketa fire three times, joined with the three, doing the three rites, crosses over birth and death.
Knowing the god born of brahman, the one worthy of praise, and perceiving him, one goes to this peace forever.

One who has kindled the Naciketa fire three times, knowing these three, and who, knowing thus, builds the Naciketa altar,
thrusts off before him the fetters of Death and, beyond sorrow, rejoices in the heavenly world.

This is your fire that leads to heaven, Naciketas, which you chose with your second boon.
People will call this fire by your name. Choose your third boon, Naciketas.

There is this doubt about a man who has died: some say, “He is,” and some, “He is not.”
Taught by you, I would know this. This is the third of my boons.

Even the gods of old had doubts about this, for it is not easy to understand; subtle is this law.
Choose another boon, Naciketas; do not press me—release me from this one.

Even the gods had doubts about this, indeed, and you, Death, say it is not easy to understand.
And no other teacher of it like you can be found; no other boon is equal to this one.

Choose sons and grandsons who will live a hundred years, many cattle, elephants, gold and horses.
Choose a great expanse of land, and live yourself as many autumns as you wish.

If you think this an equal boon, choose wealth and long life.
Prosper on the wide earth, Naciketas; I will make you enjoy every desire.

Whatever desires are hard to win in the world of mortals—ask for all of them as you please.
Here are lovely women, with chariots and music—such as men cannot win.
Be waited on by these, whom I give you. Naciketas, do not ask me about death.

Things of a day, Ender, are the things of a mortal; they wear away the vigor of all the senses.
Even a whole life is short. Keep your horses; keep your dancing and your songs.

No man is satisfied by wealth. We shall have wealth, now that we have seen you.
We shall live as long as you rule. But the boon I choose is that one alone.

What decaying mortal on the earth below, coming near the undecaying immortals and knowing,
would delight in a very long life, brooding on the pleasures of beauty and love?

That about which people have this doubt, Death—what there is in the great passing on—tell us that.
This boon that goes into what is hidden—no other than this does Naciketas choose.

The good is one thing, the pleasant another; the two, with different aims, bind a man.
Of the two, it goes well for one who takes the good; one who chooses the pleasant misses his goal.note

The good and the pleasant both come to a man; the wise man looks them over and tells them apart.
The wise man chooses the good over the pleasant; the fool chooses the pleasant for getting and keeping.

But you, Naciketas, having weighed pleasures that are dear and seem dear, have let them go.
You have not taken this chain made of wealth, in which many men sink.

Far apart and leading opposite ways are these two: ignorance and what is known as knowledge.
I think Naciketas a seeker of knowledge; the many desires did not tempt you.

Living in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own eyes, thinking themselves learned,
the deluded wander about, staggering, like the blind led by one who is himself blind.

The passage beyond does not dawn on the childish, the heedless, deluded by the folly of wealth.
“This is the world, there is no other,” he thinks—and falls again and again into my power.

He whom many do not even get to hear of, whom many, even hearing, do not know—
a wonder is he who can teach him, skillful he who wins him; a wonder is he who knows him, taught by one who is skilled.

Taught by a lesser man, he is not easily grasped, though thought about in many ways.
Unless another teaches him, there is no way to him here; for he is subtler than the subtle, beyond all reasoning.

This insight is not to be gained by reasoning; taught by another, it is easily understood, dearest.
You have gained it—how firmly you hold to truth! May we find a questioner like you, Naciketas.

I know that treasure is impermanent, for the fixed is not gained by things unfixed.
So I have built the Naciketa fire; with impermanent things I have gained the permanent.

The winning of desire, the foundation of the world, the endless reward of the rite, the far shore of fearlessness,
great in praise, wide-ranging, the foundation—seeing these, wise Naciketas, you firmly let them go.

That god, hard to see, gone deep into what is hidden, set in the cave, dwelling in the depths, ancient—
by the yoga of the inner self, recognizing him as god, the wise man leaves behind both joy and sorrow.note

Hearing this and grasping it, drawing out this subtle thing that accords with right, and reaching it, a mortal
rejoices, for he has found what is worth rejoicing in. I think the house lies open for Naciketas.

Other than right and other than wrong, other than what is done and not done here,
other than what has been and what is to be—what you see, tell me that.

The word that all the Vedas proclaim, that all austerities declare,
desiring which people live the chaste life of Vedic students—that word I tell you in brief: it is Om.note

This syllable is brahman; this syllable is the highest.
Knowing this very syllable, whatever one wishes is his.note

This is the best support; this is the highest support.
Knowing this support, one is exalted in the world of brahman.

The knower is not born, nor does he die; he has not come from anywhere, nor has he become anyone.
Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient, he is not killed when the body is killed.note

If the killer thinks that he kills, if the killed thinks that he is killed,
neither of them understands: he does not kill, and he is not killed.

Smaller than the small, greater than the great, the self is set in the cave of this creature.
One free of desire, beyond sorrow, sees by the Creator’s grace the greatness of the self.note

Sitting, he travels far; lying down, he goes everywhere.
Who but I can know that god who rejoices and does not rejoice?

Bodiless among bodies, stable among the unstable—
knowing the self as great and all-pervading, the wise man does not grieve.

This self cannot be won by teaching, nor by intelligence, nor by much learning.
Only the one whom it chooses can win it; to him this self reveals its own form.

Not one who has not ceased from wrongdoing, not one who is not calm, not one who is not composed,
nor even one whose mind is not at peace, can reach it by insight.

He for whom priesthood and royal power are both the rice,
and death the sauce poured over it—who truly knows where he is?

The two who drink truth in the world of good deeds, who have entered the cave in the highest far realm—
knowers of brahman call them shade and light, and so do those who keep the five fires and those who have built the Naciketa fire three times.note

May we master the Naciketa fire, the bridge for those who sacrifice,
the imperishable, highest brahman, the far shore free of fear for those who wish to cross.

The senses, they say, are the horses, and the objects of sense the paths they range over.
The one joined with body, senses and mind is the enjoyer—so the wise declare.

Whoever lacks discernment, with a mind that is never disciplined—
his senses are out of control, like the bad horses of a charioteer.

But whoever has discernment, with a mind that is always disciplined—
his senses are under control, like the good horses of a charioteer.

Whoever lacks discernment, mindless and always impure,
does not reach that final step, but goes on in the round of rebirth.

But whoever has discernment, mindful and always pure,
reaches that final step, from which he is not born again.

The man who has discernment for his charioteer and holds the reins of the mind
reaches the end of the road—that highest step of Vishnu.note

Beyond the senses are their objects, and beyond the objects is the mind;
beyond the mind is understanding, and beyond understanding is the great self.

Beyond the great is the unmanifest, and beyond the unmanifest is the Person.
Beyond the Person there is nothing: that is the end, that is the highest goal.note

This self, hidden in all beings, does not shine forth;
yet it is seen by those of subtle vision, with a keen and subtle understanding.

A wise man should restrain speech in the mind, and restrain that in the knowing self;
he should restrain the knowing in the great self, and restrain that in the tranquil self.

Arise! Awake! Seek out the best of teachers and learn!
Sharp as a razor’s edge, hard to cross, a hard path—so the poets say.

Without sound, without touch, without form, undecaying, without taste, eternal, without smell—
without beginning, without end, beyond the great, unchanging: perceiving that, one is freed from the jaws of death.

The ancient story of Naciketas, told by Death—
by telling it and hearing it, a wise man is exalted in the world of brahman.

Whoever, purified, recites this highest secret in an assembly of brahmins,
or at the time of the offering to the dead, it makes for endlessness.
It makes for endlessness.note

The self-existent one pierced the openings outward; so one looks outward, not within oneself.
A certain wise man, seeking immortality, turned his eyes inward and saw the self within.

The childish follow outward desires; they walk into the net of death spread wide.
But the wise, knowing immortality, do not look for the fixed among things unfixed here.

That by which one knows form, taste, smell, sounds, touches and lovemaking—
by that alone one knows. What is left over here?
This, truly, is that.

That by which one perceives both the state of dream and the state of waking—
knowing that as the great, all-pervading self, the wise man does not grieve.

One who knows this honey-eater as the self, the living one, close at hand,
the lord of what was and what will be—he shrinks from nothing then.
This, truly, is that.

He who was born of old from austerity, who was born before the waters,
who entered the cave and stands there, who looked out through beings—
this, truly, is that.

Aditi, who comes into being with breath, made of the gods,
who entered the cave and stands there, who was born with beings—
this, truly, is that.note

Jatavedas, hidden in the two fire-sticks, well tended like the unborn child by pregnant women,
Agni is to be praised day after day by wakeful men bringing offerings.
This, truly, is that.note

That from which the sun rises and into which it sets—
on it all the gods are fixed; no one ever goes beyond it.
This, truly, is that.

What is here is there, and what is there is here as well.
From death to death goes he who sees here as if there were diversity.

By the mind alone is this to be grasped: there is no diversity here at all.
From death to death goes he who sees here as if there were diversity.

A person the size of a thumb dwells in the middle of the body,
the lord of what was and what will be—one shrinks from nothing then.
This, truly, is that.

A person the size of a thumb, like a flame without smoke,
the lord of what was and what will be—he is the same today and tomorrow.
This, truly, is that.

As water rained on rugged heights runs off down the mountainsides,
so one who sees qualities as separate runs after them.

As pure water poured into pure water becomes just the same,
so becomes the self of a sage who knows, Gautama.note

The city with eleven gates belongs to the unborn one, whose thought is never crooked.
Tending it, one does not grieve; freed, one is set free.
This, truly, is that.note

The goose dwelling in brightness, the Vasu dwelling in midair, the priest dwelling at the altar, the guest dwelling in the house,
dwelling in men, in the choicest, in truth, in the sky; born of water, born of cows, born of truth, born of rock—the great truth.note

It leads the out-breath upward and casts the in-breath back;
the dwarf seated in the middle—all the gods venerate him.note

When this embodied one, dwelling in the body, comes loose,
when he is released from the body, what is left over here?
This, truly, is that.

No mortal lives by the out-breath or by the in-breath;
they live by something else, on which these two depend.

Come, I will tell you this hidden, eternal brahman,
and how the self fares when it reaches death, Gautama.

Some embodied ones enter a womb to take on a body;
others pass into a plant—according to their deeds, according to their learning.

The person who stays awake in those who sleep, fashioning desire after desire—
that is the bright one, that is brahman, that indeed is called the immortal.
On it all the worlds rest; no one ever goes beyond it.
This, truly, is that.

As the one fire, entering the world, takes the shape of every form,
so the one self within all beings takes the shape of every form, and is outside as well.

As the one wind, entering the world, takes the shape of every form,
so the one self within all beings takes the shape of every form, and is outside as well.

As the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not stained by the outward faults of the eyes,
so the one self within all beings is not stained by the sorrow of the world, being outside it.

The one controller, the self within all beings, who makes one form into many—
the wise who see him dwelling in themselves, theirs is lasting happiness, not others’.

The permanent among the impermanent, the consciousness of the conscious, the one who grants the desires of many—
the wise who see him dwelling in themselves, theirs is lasting peace, not others’.

“This is that,” they think—the highest happiness, beyond all telling.
How then should I know it? Does it shine, or does it shine out?

There the sun does not shine, nor moon and stars, nor do these lightnings shine—how then this fire?
Everything shines only after him as he shines; by his light all this shines out.

Its roots above, its branches below—this is the eternal fig tree.
That is the bright one, that is brahman, that indeed is called the immortal.
On it all the worlds rest; no one ever goes beyond it.
This, truly, is that.note

This whole world, whatever there is, has come forth from breath and trembles in it.
A great terror, a raised thunderbolt—those who know it become immortal.

From fear of it Fire burns; from fear the Sun gives heat;
from fear Indra and Wind, and Death as the fifth, run their course.

If one has been able to awaken to it here, before the body falls apart,
then one is fit to take a body in the worlds that are created.

As in a mirror, so it is seen in the self; as in a dream, so in the world of the fathers;
as it is glimpsed, as it were, in water, so in the world of the Gandharvas; as in shade and light, so in the world of brahman.note

The separate nature of the senses, their rising and their setting,
as they arise each on its own—knowing this, the wise man does not grieve.

Beyond the senses is the mind; higher than the mind is the essence;
above the essence is the great self; higher than the great is the unmanifest.

But beyond the unmanifest is the Person, all-pervading and without any mark;
knowing him, a creature is set free and goes to immortality.

His form is not there to be seen; no one sees him with the eye.
By the heart, by insight, by the mind he is grasped—those who know this become immortal.

When the five perceptions come to rest together with the mind,
and understanding does not stir—that, they say, is the highest way.

This they consider yoga: the firm holding of the senses.
Then one becomes undistracted, for yoga is the arising and the passing away.

Not by speech, not by the mind, not by the eye can it be reached.
How can it be perceived except by one who says, “It is”?

It should be grasped simply as “It is,” and as the true nature of the two.
For one who has grasped it as “It is,” its true nature becomes clear.

When all the desires that lodge in one’s heart are let go,
then a mortal becomes immortal and reaches brahman here.

When all the knots of the heart are cut through here,
then a mortal becomes immortal—this is the whole of the teaching.

A hundred and one are the channels of the heart; one of them runs up to the crown of the head.
Going up by it, one reaches immortality; the others, going in every direction, serve for departing.

A person the size of a thumb, the inner self, always dwells in the heart of creatures.
One should draw him out of one’s own body with steadiness, as a stalk from a tuft of grass.
One should know him as the bright one, the immortal; one should know him as the bright one, the immortal.

Then Naciketas, having gained this knowledge taught by Death, and the whole rule of yoga,
reached brahman, free of passion, free of death—and so will any other who knows this about the self.

Sukesha Bharadvaja, Satyakama Shaibya, Sauryayani Gargya, Kausalya Ashvalayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi and Kabandhi Katyayana—these men were devoted to brahman, grounded in brahman, and in search of the highest brahman. Thinking, “He will tell us all of it,” they came, firewood in hand, to the venerable Pippalada.note

The seer said to them: “Live here another year with austerity, chastity and faith. Then ask whatever questions you like, and if we know, we will tell you all of it.”

Then Kabandhi Katyayana came up to him and asked:
“Sir, from where are these creatures born?”

He said to him: Prajapati desired offspring. He heated himself with austerity, and having done so he produced a pair, matter and breath, thinking, “These two will produce creatures for me in many ways.”note

The sun, indeed, is breath; matter is the moon. Matter, indeed, is all this, whatever has form and whatever is formless. So form itself is matter.

Now when the sun rises and enters the eastern quarter, it thereby gathers the eastern breaths into its rays. When it lights up the southern quarter, the western, the northern, the one below, the one above, the ones between—when it lights up everything, it thereby gathers all breaths into its rays.

He is the fire common to all men, taking every form, breath and fire, that rises. This has been declared in a verse:

Taking every form, golden, Jatavedas, the final goal, the one light, giving heat—
with a thousand rays, existing in a hundred ways, the breath of creatures, there rises the sun.

The year, indeed, is Prajapati, and it has two courses, the southern and the northern. Now those who venerate sacrifices and gifts as their accomplishment win only the world of the moon; they return again. So these seers who desire offspring take the southern course. This is matter—the path of the fathers.note

But by the northern course, seeking the self through austerity, chastity, faith and knowledge, they win the sun. That is the abode of the breaths, that is the immortal, free of fear, that is the final goal. From there they do not return—that is the barrier. On this there is this verse:

They call him the father with five feet and twelve forms, rich in waters, in the far half of the sky; and these others call him the far-seeing one, set on the chariot of seven wheels and six spokes.note

The month, indeed, is Prajapati. Its dark half is matter, its bright half breath. So these seers perform sacrifice in the bright half; others in the other.

Day and night, indeed, are Prajapati. The day is breath, the night is matter. Those who unite in lovemaking by day spill their breath; when they unite in lovemaking at night, that is chastity itself.

Food, indeed, is Prajapati. From it comes semen, and from that these creatures are born.

Now those who keep this vow of Prajapati produce a pair.
Theirs is this world of brahman—those who have austerity and chastity, in whom truth is established.

Theirs is that stainless world of brahman—those in whom there is no crookedness, no falsehood and no deceit.

Then Bhargava Vaidarbhi asked him: “Sir, how many gods support a creature? Which of them make it shine? And which of them is the greatest?”

He said to him: Space is that god—and wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, sight and hearing. Having made it shine, they declare, “We hold up this frame and support it.”

Breath, the greatest, said to them, “Do not fall into delusion. It is I who, dividing myself fivefold, hold up this frame and support it.” They did not believe him.

Out of pride he made as if to rise up and leave. As he rose up, all the others rose up too, and as he settled, all of them settled. As the bees all rise up when the king bee rises, and all settle when he settles, so did speech, mind, sight and hearing. Delighted, they praise breath:

As fire he burns; he is the sun, he is the rain-cloud, he is Maghavan, he is the wind; he is the earth, matter, god—what is and what is not, and what is immortal.note

Like spokes in the hub of a wheel, everything is fixed in breath—
the Rig verses, the Yajus formulas, the Saman chants, sacrifice, royal power and priestly power.note

As Prajapati you move in the womb; it is you who are born again.
To you, breath, these creatures bring tribute—you who are established with the breaths.

You are the best carrier to the gods, the first offering to the fathers;
you are the true conduct of the seers, of the Atharvans and the Angirases.note

You, breath, are Indra in your splendor; you are Rudra, the protector.
You move in the midair; you are the sun, lord of the lights.note

When you rain down, breath, these creatures of yours
stand full of joy, thinking, “There will be food, as much as we want.”

You are a Vratya, breath, the one seer, the eater, the true lord of all.
We are the givers of what you eat; you are our father, Matarishvan.note

That form of yours set in speech, in hearing, in sight, and spread out in the mind—make it kindly; do not go away!

All this is under the power of breath—whatever is set in the third heaven. Protect us as a mother protects her sons; give us prosperity and wisdom.

Then Kausalya Ashvalayana asked him: “Sir, from where is this breath born? How does it come into this body? How does it divide itself and settle there? By what does it depart? How does it sustain what is outside, and how what concerns the self?”

He said to him: “You are asking questions beyond questions. But you are most devoted to brahman, so I will tell you.”

This breath is born from the self. As a shadow is cast by a person, so is it stretched over this. It comes into this body by the working of the mind.

Just as a king appoints officials, telling them, “Govern these villages, govern those villages,” so this breath assigns the other breaths, each to its own place.

The in-breath is in the anus and the sexual organ; the out-breath itself is in the eye and the ear, together with the mouth and nose; and in the middle is the link-breath, for it distributes evenly the food that is offered here. From it arise the seven flames.note

The self is in the heart. Here there are a hundred and one channels. Each of them has a hundred, and each of these seventy-two thousand branching channels. In them moves the diffused breath.

And rising through one of them, the up-breath leads by good to a good world, by evil to an evil one, and by both to the human world.

The sun, indeed, is the outer breath; it rises, favoring this breath in the eye. The deity in the earth holds up a person’s in-breath. The space in between is the link-breath; the wind is the diffused breath.

Heat, indeed, is the up-breath; so one whose heat has died out
goes to rebirth, his senses merging into the mind.

Whatever one’s thought, with it one enters breath. Breath, joined with heat, together with the self, leads him to whatever world he has intended.

When someone who knows this knows breath, his offspring do not dwindle, and he becomes immortal. On this there is this verse:

Knowing the origin of breath, its entry, its place, its fivefold dominion and its relation to the self, one attains immortality—knowing it, one attains immortality.

Then Sauryayani Gargya asked him: “Sir, which are the ones that sleep in a person, and which stay awake in him? Which is the god who sees dreams? Whose is this happiness? In whom are they all established?”

He said to him: Gargya, as all the rays of the setting sun become one in its disk of light and spread out again each time it rises, so all of that becomes one in the highest god, the mind. So then this person does not hear, see, smell, taste or touch; he does not speak, grasp, delight, emit or move about. “He is asleep,” they say.

Only the fires of breath stay awake in this city. The in-breath is the householder’s fire; the diffused breath is the southern fire; the out-breath is the offering fire, because it is taken out from the householder’s fire—from being taken out.note

It is called the link-breath because it evenly distributes these two offerings, the out-breath and the in-breath. The mind is the sacrificer. The fruit of the sacrifice is the up-breath; it leads this sacrificer day after day to brahman.

Here, in dream, this god experiences greatness. Whatever he has seen he sees again; whatever he has heard he hears again; what he has experienced in different places and regions he experiences again and again. What has been seen and not seen, heard and not heard, experienced and not experienced, what is and what is not—he sees it all; he sees, being all.

When he is overcome by light, then this god does not see dreams; then this happiness arises in this body.

As birds come to rest in a tree to roost, my dear,
so all this comes to rest in the highest self.note

Earth and the subtle element of earth, water and the subtle element of water, heat and the subtle element of heat, wind and the subtle element of wind, space and the subtle element of space; sight and what can be seen, hearing and what can be heard, smell and what can be smelled, taste and what can be tasted, skin and what can be touched, speech and what can be spoken, the hands and what can be grasped, the sexual organ and what can be enjoyed, the anus and what can be excreted, the feet and where one can go, the mind and what can be thought, understanding and what can be understood, the sense of “I” and what can be claimed as “I,” awareness and what one can be aware of, light and what can be lit up, breath and what can be sustained.

For it is he who sees, touches, hears, smells, tastes, thinks, understands and acts—the person whose self is understanding. He comes to rest in the highest, imperishable self.

He reaches the highest imperishable itself. Whoever knows that shadowless, bodiless, bloodless, bright, imperishable one, my dear, becomes all-knowing and becomes the whole. On this there is this verse:

One who knows that imperishable, in which the self made of understanding comes to rest together with all the gods, the breaths and the beings—he, my dear, knowing all, has entered into all.

Then Satyakama Shaibya asked him: “Sir, if someone among men were to meditate on the syllable Om until his death, which world would he win by it?” He said to him:

Satyakama, the syllable Om is both the higher and the lower brahman. So one who knows reaches one or the other by this support alone.

If he meditates on it as one measure, then, enlightened by that alone, he quickly returns to earth. The Rig verses lead him to the human world; there, endowed with austerity, chastity and faith, he experiences greatness.note

If he is joined in mind with two measures, he is led up by the Yajus formulas to the midair, the world of the moon. Having experienced glory in the world of the moon, he returns again.

But if he meditates on the highest Person with this very syllable Om of three measures, he is joined with the light, the sun. As a snake is freed from its skin, so he is freed from evil; he is led up by the Saman chants to the world of brahman. From this mass of living beings he sees the Person higher than the high, who dwells in the city. On this there are these two verses:

The three measures, subject to death when used joined to one another, not used apart—
when they are rightly used in actions outer, inner and in between, the knower does not tremble.

By the Rig verses to this world, by the Yajus formulas to the midair, by the Saman chants to that which the poets make known—with the syllable Om as his support the one who knows reaches it: that which is calm, unaging, immortal, free of fear, and highest.

Then Sukesha Bharadvaja asked him: “Sir, Hiranyanabha, a prince of Kosala, came to me and asked this question: ‘Bharadvaja, do you know the person with sixteen parts?’ I told the young man, ‘I do not know him. If I knew him, how could I not tell you? A man who tells a lie dries up to his very roots; so I cannot tell a lie.’ He mounted his chariot in silence and went away. So I ask you: where is that person?”note

He said to him: Right here within the body, my dear, is that person in whom these sixteen parts arise.

He reflected: “Who is it by whose departure I will have departed, and by whose staying I will stay?”

He created breath; from breath faith, space, wind, light, water, earth, the senses, the mind,
food; from food strength, austerity, the sacred formulas, rites, the worlds, and in the worlds name.

As these flowing rivers, making for the ocean, disappear when they reach the ocean—their names and forms are shattered, and it is called simply “the ocean”—so these sixteen parts of the witness, making for the person, disappear when they reach the person; their names and forms are shattered, and it is called simply “the person.” He becomes partless and immortal. On this there is this verse:

In whom the parts are fixed like spokes in the hub of a wheel—
know him as the person to be known, so that death may not trouble you.

He said to them: “This is as much as I know of this highest brahman. There is nothing beyond it.”

Honoring him, they said, “You are our father, who carries us across to the far shore beyond ignorance.” Homage to the highest seers! Homage to the highest seers!

Brahma arose as the first of the gods, maker of all, guardian of the world.
He taught the knowledge of brahman, the foundation of all knowledge, to Atharvan, his eldest son.note

The knowledge of brahman that Brahma taught to Atharvan, Atharvan in ancient times told to Angir;
Angir taught it to Satyavaha of the Bharadvaja line, and the Bharadvaja taught it, handed down from higher to lower, to Angiras.note

Shaunaka, a householder of great wealth, approached Angiras in the proper manner and asked:
“Sir, what is it that, once it is known, makes this whole world known?”note

He said to him:
“There are two kinds of knowledge to be known—so those who know brahman declare—the higher and the lower.

Of these, the lower is the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda, phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, metrics and astronomy.
The higher is that by which the imperishable is grasped.note

That which cannot be seen, cannot be grasped, has no lineage and no color, no eye or ear, no hands or feet;
eternal, all-pervading, present everywhere, most subtle—that is the imperishable, which the wise perceive as the womb of beings.note

As a spider sends out its thread and draws it in, as plants spring up on the earth,
as hair grows on the head and body of a living person, so from the imperishable everything here arises.

By austerity brahman swells; from it food is born,
from food breath, mind, truth, the worlds, and, in actions, the immortal.

He who knows all, who is wise in all, whose austerity is made of knowledge—
from him are born this brahman, name and form, and food.

This is the truth: the rites the poets saw in the mantras were spread out in many ways in the triad.
Perform them always, you who desire the truth; this is your path to the world of good deeds.note

When the flame flickers once the fire, bearer of offerings, is kindled,
then one should offer the oblations between the two butter portions.note

Someone whose daily fire offering lacks the new-moon and full-moon rites, the four-monthly rites and the first-fruits rite, and is without guests,
or is left unoffered, lacks the offering to all the gods, or is offered against the rules—it destroys his worlds up to the seventh.note

Black, Terrible, Swift as Thought, Blood-Red, Smoke-Colored,
Sparkling, and the goddess All-Shining—these are the seven flickering tongues.note

If someone performs the rites while these are blazing, the oblations, taking hold of him at the proper time,
lead him as rays of the sun to where the one lord of the gods dwells.

“Come! Come!” the radiant oblations call, and carry the sacrificer on the rays of the sun,
speaking pleasant words and honoring him: “This is your holy world of brahman, won by good deeds.”

But these are leaky boats, these forms of sacrifice, the eighteen in which, it is said, the lower rite resides.
The fools who delight in this as the highest good return again to old age and death.note

Living in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own eyes, thinking themselves learned,
the fools wander about, hard pressed, like blind men led by one who is himself blind.

Living in ignorance in many ways, the childish think, “We have reached our goal.”
Because men of ritual do not understand, owing to their passion, they fall, wretched, when their worlds are exhausted.

Thinking sacrifices and gifts the best, the deluded know nothing better.
Having enjoyed their good deeds on the vault of heaven, they enter this world or a lower one.note

But those who practice austerity and faith in the forest, calm and wise, living on alms,
go, stainless, through the door of the sun to where that immortal Person is, whose self is imperishable.

Having examined the worlds built up by action, a brahmin should arrive at detachment: what is not made is not won by what is made.
To understand it he should go, kindling in hand, to a teacher learned in the Veda and grounded in brahman.

To him who has approached properly, whose mind is at peace, who has attained calm,
the wise one should teach, in its very truth, the knowledge of brahman by which one knows the imperishable Person, the real.

This is the truth: as from a blazing fire sparks of like form spring forth by the thousand,
so, my dear, from the imperishable various beings come forth, and into it they return.

Divine and formless is the Person; he is outside and within, unborn,
without breath, without mind, bright, higher than the high imperishable.

From him are born breath, mind and all the senses,
space, wind, light, water, and earth, which bears all.

Fire is his head, the moon and sun his eyes, the quarters his ears, the revealed Vedas his speech,
wind his breath, the universe his heart; from his feet comes the earth—he is the inner self of all beings.

From him comes fire, whose fuel is the sun; from Soma the rain cloud, and plants on the earth;
the man pours seed into the woman—from the Person many creatures are brought forth.note

From him come the Rig verses, the chant, the Yajus formulas, the consecration, all the sacrifices, rites and priestly fees,
the year, the sacrificer, and the worlds where Soma flows pure and where the sun shines.

From him too the gods were brought forth in many ways, the Sadhyas, humans, cattle and birds,
out-breath and in-breath, rice and barley, austerity, faith, truth, chastity and rule.note

The seven breaths spring from him, the seven flames, the seven kinds of fuel, the seven oblations,
these seven worlds in which the breaths move, placed within the cave, seven by seven.note

From him come all oceans and mountains; from him flow rivers of every form;
from him come all plants and the sap by which that inner self abides with the elements.

The Person is this whole world—action, austerity, brahman, the highest immortal.
One who knows this, hidden in the cave, undoes the knot of ignorance here, my dear.

Manifest, close at hand, called “moving in the cave,” is the great abode; in it is set all that stirs, breathes and blinks.
Know it as what is and what is not, the desirable, the highest, beyond the understanding of creatures, the best.

That which is radiant, which is smaller than the small, in which the worlds and their inhabitants are set—
that is the imperishable brahman; it is breath, it is speech and mind; it is the real, it is the immortal; it is to be pierced—pierce it, my dear!

Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad, fix on it an arrow sharpened by veneration;
drawing it with a mind absorbed in that, pierce that target, my dear—the imperishable.

The syllable Om is the bow, the self is the arrow, brahman is called its target.
It must be pierced with an undistracted mind; one should become one with it, like the arrow.note

He in whom the sky, the earth and the space between are woven, and the mind with all the breaths—
know him alone as the one self; give up other talk: he is the bridge to the immortal.

Where the channels meet like spokes in the hub of a wheel—
there he moves within, being born in many ways.
Meditate on the self as Om; may you go safely to the far shore beyond darkness!note

He who knows all, who is wise in all, whose greatness is this on earth—
he is the self established in the space of the divine city of brahman.
Made of mind, leader of breath and body, he is established in food, having placed the heart within;
by knowledge the wise perceive what shines forth as bliss, the immortal.note

The knot of the heart is cut, all doubts are severed,
and one’s deeds are exhausted, when he is seen who is both high and low.

In the highest sheath, made of gold, is brahman, stainless, without parts;
it is the bright one, the light of lights—that which the knowers of the self know.

There the sun does not shine, nor moon and stars; these lightnings do not shine—how then this fire?
Everything shines after him as he shines; by his light all this shines.

Brahman alone is this immortal: in front brahman, behind brahman, to the south and to the north,
below and above it spreads; brahman alone is this whole world, the most excellent.

On that same tree a person, sunk in it, grieves, bewildered by his helplessness;
but when he sees the other, the Lord, content, and sees his greatness, his grief is gone.

When the seer sees the gold-colored maker, the Lord, the Person, the source of brahman,
then, knowing, he shakes off good and evil, and, stainless, reaches the highest sameness.

This is breath, shining forth through all beings; knowing it, the wise man does not talk beyond it.
Playing in the self, delighting in the self, active—he is the best of those who know brahman.

This self can be won by truth, by austerity, by right knowledge, by chastity practiced constantly.
Within the body, made of light, bright, is he whom ascetics see when their faults are worn away.

Truth alone triumphs, not untruth; by truth is spread out the path leading to the gods,
by which the seers, their desires fulfilled, ascend to where the highest treasure of truth is.note

Vast and divine, its form beyond thought, subtler than the subtle, it shines forth;
farther than the far, and close at hand here, it is set, for those who see, right here in the cave.

He is not grasped by sight, nor by speech, nor by the other gods, by austerity or by rites;
when one’s nature is purified by the serenity of knowledge, then, meditating, one sees him, who has no parts.note

This subtle self is to be known by thought, here where breath has entered fivefold;
the whole thought of creatures is woven with the breaths; when it is purified, this self comes forth.

Whatever world one whose nature is purified pictures in his mind, and whatever desires he desires,
that world he wins and those desires; so one who wants prosperity should honor a knower of the self.

He knows this highest abode, brahman, in which the whole world is set and shines bright.
The wise who, free of desire, venerate the Person pass beyond this seed.note

Whoever desires desires, brooding on them, is born through his desires here and there;
but for one whose desire is fulfilled, whose self is perfected, all desires vanish right here.

This self cannot be won by instruction, nor by intellect, nor by much learning;
only the one he chooses can win him; to that one this self reveals his own form.

This self cannot be won by one who lacks strength, nor through carelessness, nor by austerity without its mark;
but the wise man who strives by these means—his self enters the abode of brahman.

Having reached him, the seers, sated with knowledge, their selves perfected, free of passion, at peace—the wise, having reached him who is everywhere, from every side, their selves disciplined, enter into the whole.

Ascetics who have firmly grasped the meaning of the knowledge of the Vedanta, their nature purified by the discipline of renunciation,
all become supremely immortal in the worlds of brahman at the final end, and are wholly freed.note

The fifteen parts have gone to their foundations, and all the gods to their counterpart deities;
deeds and the self made of understanding—all become one in the highest imperishable.note

As rivers flowing into the ocean disappear, leaving name and form behind,
so the knower, freed from name and form, reaches the divine Person, higher than the high.

Whoever knows that highest brahman becomes brahman itself; in his family no one is born who does not know brahman.
He crosses over grief, he crosses over evil; freed from the knots of the cave, he becomes immortal.

This has been declared in a verse:
“Those who perform the rites, learned in the Veda, grounded in brahman, who with faith make offerings themselves to the one seer—
to them alone should one teach this knowledge of brahman, to those who have duly performed the vow of the head.”note

This is the truth that the seer Angiras taught long ago; one who has not performed the vow does not study it.
Homage to the highest seers! Homage to the highest seers!

Om—this syllable is this whole world. Here is its explanation: the past, the present and the future—all of it is simply Om; and whatever else lies beyond the three times, that too is simply Om.note

For this whole world is brahman. This self is brahman. This self has four quarters.note

The first quarter is Vaishvanara, the Universal One: his sphere is the waking state, his awareness is turned outward, he has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and he enjoys gross things.note

The second quarter is Taijasa, the Brilliant One: his sphere is dreaming, his awareness is turned inward, he has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and he enjoys refined things.note

When a sleeper desires no desire and sees no dream, that is deep sleep. The third quarter is Prajna, the Wise One: his sphere is deep sleep, he has become one, he is a single mass of awareness, he is made of bliss and enjoys bliss, and his mouth is thought.note

He is the lord of all; he knows all; he is the inner controller; he is the womb of all, for he is the origin and the end of beings.

This self, as a syllable, is Om; as elements, the quarters are the elements and the elements are the quarters: the sound a, the sound u, the sound m.note

Vaishvanara, whose sphere is the waking state, is the sound a, the first element, because of obtaining or because of being first. One who knows this obtains all desires and becomes first.note

Taijasa, whose sphere is dreaming, is the sound u, the second element, because of elevation or because of being in between. One who knows this elevates the continuity of knowledge and becomes equal; in his family no one is born who does not know brahman.note

Prajna, whose sphere is deep sleep, is the sound m, the third element, because of measuring or because of merging. One who knows this measures this whole world and becomes its merging.note

Without elements is the fourth—beyond all dealings, where the manifold world comes to rest, auspicious, without a second. Thus Om is the self itself. One who knows this enters the self by the self.

Be kind to us, Mitra; be kind, Varuna; be kind to us, Aryaman; be kind to us, Indra and Brihaspati; be kind to us, Vishnu of the wide stride. Homage to brahman! Homage to you, Wind! You alone are brahman made visible. You alone I will proclaim as brahman made visible. I will speak what is right; I will speak what is true. May it protect me; may it protect the speaker. May it protect me; may it protect the speaker. Om. Peace, peace, peace.note

We will explain phonetics: sound, accent, quantity, force, evenness, connection. So the lesson on phonetics has been stated.note

Glory to us both together! The luster of sacred knowledge to us both together! Now we will explain the hidden teaching of combination under five headings: with respect to the worlds, with respect to the lights, with respect to knowledge, with respect to offspring, and with respect to the body. These they call the great combinations. Now, with respect to the worlds: the earth is the first form, the sky the latter form, space the junction,note

wind the link. So much with respect to the worlds. Now, with respect to the lights: fire is the first form, the sun the latter form, the waters the junction, lightning the link. So much with respect to the lights. Now, with respect to knowledge: the teacher is the first form,

the pupil the latter form, knowledge the junction, instruction the link. So much with respect to knowledge. Now, with respect to offspring: the mother is the first form, the father the latter form, offspring the junction, procreation the link. So much with respect to offspring.

Now, with respect to the body: the lower jaw is the first form, the upper jaw the latter form, speech the junction, the tongue the link. So much with respect to the body. These are the great combinations. One who knows these great combinations as they have been explained is joined with offspring, with livestock, with the luster of sacred knowledge, with food to eat, and with the heavenly world.

The bull of the meters, who has every form, who arose from the meters, from the immortal—may that Indra deliver me with wisdom. God, may I become a bearer of the immortal. May my body be vigorous, my tongue exceedingly sweet; may I hear abundantly with my ears. You are the sheath of brahman, covered over by wisdom. Guard what I have learned.note

She who brings, spreads out and swiftly makes for me clothes and cows, food and drink, at all times—then bring me prosperity, woolly, with livestock, svāhā! May students come to me, svāhā! May students come to me from all sides, svāhā! May students come forth to me, svāhā! May students be self-controlled, svāhā! May students be calm, svāhā!note

May I be glorious among people, svāhā! May I be better than the wealthy, svāhā! May I enter you, Bhaga, svāhā! May you, Bhaga, enter me, svāhā! In you of a thousand branches, Bhaga, I cleanse myself, svāhā! As waters run downhill, as the months into the wearer-out of days, so, Creator, may students come to me from all sides, svāhā! You are a shelter; shine on me; come to me!note

Bhūr, Bhuvas, Suvar—these are the three utterances. Mahachamasya made known a fourth of them: Mahas. That is brahman; that is the self. The other deities are its limbs. Bhūr is this world, Bhuvas the intermediate space, Suvar the world yonder.note

Mahas is the sun, for it is by the sun that all the worlds are made great. Bhūr is fire, Bhuvas wind, Suvar the sun, Mahas the moon, for it is by the moon that all the lights are made great. Bhūr is the Rig verses, Bhuvas the chants, Suvar the Yajus formulas,note

Mahas is brahman, for it is by brahman that all the Vedas are made great. Bhūr is the out-breath, Bhuvas the in-breath, Suvar the diffused breath, Mahas food, for it is by food that all the breaths are made great. These four are fourfold: the utterances are four times four. One who knows them knows brahman; all the gods bring him tribute.note

This space within the heart—in it is this person, made of mind, immortal, golden. That which hangs like a nipple between the two palates is Indra’s birthplace. Where the parting of the hair turns, it splits the two halves of the skull; with Bhūr it rests in fire, with Bhuvas in wind,note

with Suvar in the sun, with Mahas in brahman. He attains self-rule; he attains the lord of the mind—lord of speech, lord of sight, lord of hearing, lord of understanding. And then he becomes this: brahman, whose body is space, whose self is truth, whose delight is breath, whose mind is bliss, abounding in peace, immortal. Venerate it thus, Pracinayogya.note

Earth, intermediate space, sky, the quarters, the intermediate quarters; fire, wind, sun, moon, the stars; the waters, the plants, the trees, space, the body—so much with respect to beings. Now, with respect to oneself: out-breath, diffused breath, in-breath, up-breath, link-breath; sight, hearing, mind, speech, touch; skin, flesh, sinew, bone, marrow. Having arranged these, the seer declared: “This whole world is fivefold. By the fivefold one wins the fivefold.”note

Om is brahman. Om is this whole world. Om—this is assent; and when they say, “Om! Make them listen!” they make them listen. With Om they sing the chants. With “Om shom” they recite the praises. With Om the Adhvaryu priest gives his response. With Om the Brahman priest gives his consent. With Om one permits the daily fire offering. When a brahmin is about to recite, he says “Om,” thinking, “May I obtain brahman,” and he obtains brahman.note

Order—and study and teaching. Truth—and study and teaching. Austerity—and study and teaching. Self-control—and study and teaching. Calm—and study and teaching. The fires—and study and teaching. The daily fire offering—and study and teaching. Guests—and study and teaching. Human duties—and study and teaching. Offspring—and study and teaching. Procreation—and study and teaching. Propagation—and study and teaching. “Truth,” says Satyavacas Rathitara. “Austerity,” says Taponitya Paurushishti. “Only study and teaching,” says Naka Maudgalya, “for that is austerity, that is austerity.”note

I am the shaker of the tree; my fame is like a mountain’s peak. High and pure, like the strong one in the sun, I am the immortal, a treasure full of splendor, wise, immortal, sprinkled with the immortal.—This is Trishanku’s recitation of the Veda.note

Having taught the Veda, the teacher instructs the pupil: Speak the truth. Practice what is right. Do not neglect your recitation of the Veda. After bringing your teacher the wealth he likes, do not cut off the line of offspring. Do not neglect truth. Do not neglect what is right. Do not neglect what is wholesome. Do not neglect prosperity. Do not neglect study and teaching. Do not neglect the rites for the gods and the ancestors.note

Treat your mother as a god. Treat your father as a god. Treat your teacher as a god. Treat your guest as a god. Those deeds that are blameless should be practiced, not others. Those of our deeds that are good should be followed by you, not others.

When there are brahmins better than we are, you should refresh them with a seat. Give with faith; do not give without faith. Give with grace; give with modesty; give with fear; give with understanding. Now, should you be in doubt about a rite or in doubt about conduct,

you should behave in the way that brahmins there would behave in such a case: those who are competent to judge, devoted, not directed by others, not harsh, and eager for what is right. Now, with regard to those who have been accused: you should behave toward them in the way that brahmins there would behave toward them: those who are competent to judge, devoted, not directed by others, not harsh, and eager for what is right. This is the rule. This is the teaching. This is the secret of the Veda. This is the instruction. So one should venerate; so indeed should this be venerated.

Be kind to us, Mitra; be kind, Varuna; be kind to us, Aryaman; be kind to us, Indra and Brihaspati; be kind to us, Vishnu of the wide stride. Homage to brahman! Homage to you, Wind! You alone are brahman made visible. You alone I have proclaimed as brahman made visible. I have spoken what is right; I have spoken what is true. It has protected me; it has protected the speaker. It has protected me; it has protected the speaker. Om. Peace, peace, peace.

One who knows brahman attains the highest. On this there is this verse: “Brahman is truth, knowledge, the infinite. One who knows it hidden in the cave, in the highest heaven, attains all desires, together with brahman, the wise.” From this very self space came into being; from space, wind; from wind, fire; from fire, the waters; from the waters, the earth; from the earth, plants; from plants, food; from food, semen; from semen, the person. This person here is made of the essence of food. This is his head; this is the right wing; this is the left wing; this is the body; this is the tail, the foundation. On this too there is this verse:note

From food, indeed, creatures are born, all those that dwell on the earth; by food alone they live, and into it they pass in the end. For food is the eldest of beings; therefore it is called the remedy for all. Those who venerate food as brahman obtain all food. For food is the eldest of beings; therefore it is called the remedy for all. From food beings are born; once born, they grow by food. It is eaten and it eats beings; therefore it is called food. Different from this self made of the essence of food is another, inner self made of breath. By it this one is filled. This one too has the shape of a person; its human shape follows the human shape of the other. The out-breath is its head, the diffused breath its right wing, the in-breath its left wing, space its body, the earth its tail, its foundation. On this too there is this verse:note

The gods breathe along with breath, and so do humans and animals. For breath is the life of beings; therefore it is called the life of all. Those who venerate breath as brahman reach the full span of life. For breath is the life of beings; therefore it is called the life of all. The embodied self of this one is the same as that of the former. Different from this self made of breath is another, inner self made of mind. By it this one is filled. This one too has the shape of a person; its human shape follows the human shape of the other. The Yajus is its head, the Rig its right wing, the Saman its left wing, instruction its body, the hymns of Atharvan and Angiras its tail, its foundation. On this too there is this verse:note

From which words turn back, together with the mind, not reaching it—one who knows that bliss of brahman is never afraid. The embodied self of this one is the same as that of the former. Different from this self made of mind is another, inner self made of understanding. By it this one is filled. This one too has the shape of a person; its human shape follows the human shape of the other. Faith is its head, order its right wing, truth its left wing, yoga its body, greatness its tail, its foundation. On this too there is this verse:note

Understanding performs the sacrifice, and it performs the rites. All the gods venerate understanding as brahman, the eldest. If one knows understanding as brahman and does not stray from it, he leaves his evils in the body and attains all desires. The embodied self of this one is the same as that of the former. Different from this self made of understanding is another, inner self made of bliss. By it this one is filled. This one too has the shape of a person; its human shape follows the human shape of the other. Pleasure is its head, delight its right wing, great delight its left wing, bliss its body, brahman its tail, its foundation. On this too there is this verse:

If one knows brahman as the non-existent, he himself becomes non-existent. If one knows that brahman exists, people then know him as existing. The embodied self of this one is the same as that of the former. Next, the follow-up questions: Does anyone who does not know, on departing, go to that world—gacchatī? Or does anyone who knows, on departing, reach that world—samaśnutā u? He desired: “Let me become many; let me propagate myself.” He practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity, he created this whole world, whatever there is. Having created it, he entered it. Having entered it, he became the existent and the beyond, the defined and the undefined, the resting and the unresting, the known and the unknown, the real and the unreal. He became the real—whatever there is here. That is what they call the real. On this too there is this verse:note

In the beginning this world was the non-existent, and from it the existent was born. It made itself by itself; therefore it is called well made. What is well made is the essence, for only when one has obtained the essence does one become blissful. Who would breathe in, who would breathe out, if this bliss were not in space? For it is this that gives bliss. When someone finds a fearless foundation in that which is invisible, bodiless, undefined and unresting, then he has gone to fearlessness. But when he makes even the smallest gap in it, then he has fear. That is the fear of one who knows but does not reflect. On this too there is this verse:note

From fear of him the wind blows; from fear the sun rises; from fear of him fire and Indra, and Death, the fifth, run their course. Here is an inquiry into bliss. Suppose there is a young man, a good young man, learned, most vigorous, most steadfast, most strong, and this whole earth is full of wealth for him. That is one human bliss. A hundred human blisses are one bliss of the human Gandharvas—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of the human Gandharvas are one bliss of the divine Gandharvas—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of the divine Gandharvas are one bliss of the ancestors, whose world is lasting—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of the ancestors, whose world is lasting, are one bliss of the gods born so by birth—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of the gods born so by birth are one bliss of the gods who became gods by rites, those who reach the gods by their rites—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of the gods by rites are one bliss of the gods—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of the gods are one bliss of Indra—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of Indra are one bliss of Brihaspati—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of Brihaspati are one bliss of Prajapati—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. A hundred blisses of Prajapati are one bliss of brahman—and of a man learned in the Veda who is not struck by desire. He who is here in the person and he who is there in the sun—he is one. One who knows this, on departing from this world, passes into this self made of food, passes into this self made of breath, passes into this self made of mind, passes into this self made of understanding, passes into this self made of bliss. On this too there is this verse:note

From which words turn back, together with the mind, not reaching it—one who knows that bliss of brahman fears nothing at all. Such a man is not tormented by the thought: “Why did I not do what is good? Why did I do what is evil?” One who knows this saves himself from both of these; for he saves himself from both of these—one who knows this. Such is the hidden teaching.

Bhrigu, the son of Varuna, went up to his father Varuna and said: “Sir, teach me brahman.” He told him this: food, breath, sight, hearing, mind and speech. He said to him: “That from which these beings are born, that by which, once born, they live, that into which they pass when they depart—seek to know that. That is brahman.” He practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity,note

he understood that brahman is food. For it is from food that these beings are born; by food, once born, they live; into food they pass when they depart. Having understood this, he went up again to his father Varuna and said: “Sir, teach me brahman.” He said to him: “Seek to know brahman by austerity. Austerity is brahman.” He practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity,

he understood that brahman is breath. For it is from breath that these beings are born; by breath, once born, they live; into breath they pass when they depart. Having understood this, he went up again to his father Varuna and said: “Sir, teach me brahman.” He said to him: “Seek to know brahman by austerity. Austerity is brahman.” He practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity,

he understood that brahman is mind. For it is from mind that these beings are born; by mind, once born, they live; into mind they pass when they depart. Having understood this, he went up again to his father Varuna and said: “Sir, teach me brahman.” He said to him: “Seek to know brahman by austerity. Austerity is brahman.” He practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity,

he understood that brahman is understanding. For it is from understanding that these beings are born; by understanding, once born, they live; into understanding they pass when they depart. Having understood this, he went up again to his father Varuna and said: “Sir, teach me brahman.” He said to him: “Seek to know brahman by austerity. Austerity is brahman.” He practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity,

he understood that brahman is bliss. For it is from bliss that these beings are born; by bliss, once born, they live; into bliss they pass when they depart. This is the knowledge of Bhrigu and Varuna, established in the highest heaven. One who knows this becomes established; he comes to have food and to eat food; he becomes great in offspring, in livestock, in the luster of sacred knowledge, great in fame.

One should not despise food; that is the vow. Breath is food; the body is the eater of food. The body is established on breath; breath is established on the body. So this food is established on food. One who knows that this food is established on food becomes established; he comes to have food and to eat food; he becomes great in offspring, in livestock, in the luster of sacred knowledge, great in fame.

One should not reject food; that is the vow. The waters are food; light is the eater of food. Light is established in the waters; the waters are established in light. So this food is established on food. One who knows that this food is established on food becomes established; he comes to have food and to eat food; he becomes great in offspring, in livestock, in the luster of sacred knowledge, great in fame.

One should make much food; that is the vow. The earth is food; space is the eater of food. Space is established on the earth; the earth is established in space. So this food is established on food. One who knows that this food is established on food becomes established; he comes to have food and to eat food; he becomes great in offspring, in livestock, in the luster of sacred knowledge, great in fame.

One should not turn anyone away who seeks lodging; that is the vow. Therefore one should obtain much food by any means whatever. People say of such a man: “Food has been prepared for him.” If this food is prepared at the beginning, food is prepared for him at the beginning. If this food is prepared in the middle, food is prepared for him in the middle. If this food is prepared at the end, food is prepared for him at the end.

—for one who knows this. As well-being in speech; as gaining and keeping in the out-breath and the in-breath; as action in the hands; as movement in the feet; as release in the anus—these are the human recognitions. Now the divine: as satisfaction in rain; as strength in lightning;note

as glory in cattle; as light in the stars; as procreation, immortality and bliss in the sexual organ; as the whole in space. One should venerate it as foundation; one comes to have a foundation. One should venerate it as greatness; one becomes great. One should venerate it as mind; one becomes thoughtful.note

One should venerate it as homage; desires pay homage to him. One should venerate it as brahman; one comes to possess brahman. One should venerate it as brahman’s dying-around; his hateful rivals die around him, and so do the cousins he dislikes. He who is here in the person and he who is there in the sun—he is one.note

One who knows this, on departing from this world, having passed into this self made of food, having passed into this self made of breath, having passed into this self made of mind, having passed into this self made of understanding, having passed into this self made of bliss, roams these worlds, eating what he desires, taking whatever form he desires, and sits singing this chant: hā vu hā vu hā vu!note

I am food! I am food! I am food! I am the eater of food! I am the eater of food! I am the eater of food! I am the maker of verses! I am the maker of verses! I am the maker of verses! I am the first-born of order, earlier than the gods, in the navel of the immortal. Whoever gives me away has truly helped me. I, food, eat the one who eats food. I have overcome the whole world. Brilliant as the sun!—One who knows this. Such is the hidden teaching.note

In the beginning this world was the self, one alone; there was nothing else at all that blinked. He thought to himself: “Let me now create the worlds.”

He created these worlds: the flood, the glimmering specks, the mortal and the waters. The flood is up there, beyond the sky, and the sky is its foundation. The glimmering specks are the intermediate region. The mortal is the earth. The waters are what lie beneath.note

He thought to himself: “Here now are the worlds. Let me now create guardians of the worlds.” From the waters themselves he drew out a person and gave him solid form.

He brooded over him with heat, and from him, as he was being heated, a mouth split open, like an egg; from the mouth came speech, and from speech, fire. Two nostrils split open; from the nostrils came breath, and from breath, the wind. Two eyes split open; from the eyes came sight, and from sight, the sun. Two ears split open; from the ears came hearing, and from hearing, the quarters. Skin split open; from the skin came hairs, and from the hairs, plants and trees. A heart split open; from the heart came the mind, and from the mind, the moon. A navel split open; from the navel came the in-breath, and from the in-breath, death. A penis split open; from the penis came semen, and from semen, the waters.note

These deities, once created, fell into this great ocean. He afflicted him with hunger and thirst. They said to him: “Find us a dwelling where we can settle and eat food.”

He brought them a cow. They said: “This is not enough for us.” He brought them a horse. They said: “This is not enough for us.”

He brought them a person. They said: “Ah, this is well made!”—for a person is indeed well made. He said to them: “Enter, each into your own dwelling.”

Fire, becoming speech, entered the mouth. Wind, becoming breath, entered the nostrils. The sun, becoming sight, entered the eyes. The quarters, becoming hearing, entered the ears. Plants and trees, becoming hairs, entered the skin. The moon, becoming mind, entered the heart. Death, becoming the in-breath, entered the navel. The waters, becoming semen, entered the penis.

Hunger and thirst said to him: “Find a place for the two of us as well.” He said to them: “I give you a share in these very deities; I make you partners with them.” That is why, whenever an offering is taken up for any deity at all, hunger and thirst become partners in it.

He thought to himself: “Here now are the worlds and the guardians of the worlds. Let me create food for them.”

He brooded over the waters with heat, and from them, as they were being heated, a form was born. The form that was born—that is food.

Once it was created, it turned and tried to run away. He tried to seize it with speech, but he could not seize it with speech. Had he seized it with speech, one would be satisfied just by speaking about food.

He tried to seize it with breath, but he could not seize it with breath. Had he seized it with breath, one would be satisfied just by breathing on food.

He tried to seize it with sight, but he could not seize it with sight. Had he seized it with sight, one would be satisfied just by seeing food.

He tried to seize it with hearing, but he could not seize it with hearing. Had he seized it with hearing, one would be satisfied just by hearing about food.

He tried to seize it with the skin, but he could not seize it with the skin. Had he seized it with the skin, one would be satisfied just by touching food.

He tried to seize it with the mind, but he could not seize it with the mind. Had he seized it with the mind, one would be satisfied just by thinking about food.

He tried to seize it with the penis, but he could not seize it with the penis. Had he seized it with the penis, one would be satisfied just by emitting food.

He tried to seize it with the in-breath, and he got hold of it. So the one that seizes food is the wind; the wind is what lives on food.note

He thought to himself: “How could this exist without me?” He thought: “By which way should I enter?” He thought: “If speaking is done with speech, breathing with breath, seeing with sight, hearing with hearing, touching with the skin, thinking with the mind, breathing in with the in-breath and emitting with the penis—then who am I?”

So he split open the parting at the top of the head and entered through that door. That door is called “the split”; it is the place of delight. He has three dwellings, three dreams: this is a dwelling, this is a dwelling, this is a dwelling.note

Once born, he looked around at beings: “What here would want to speak of anything other?” He saw this very person as brahman, the most extended. “I have seen this!” he said.note

Therefore his name is Idandra—Idandra, indeed, is his name. Though he is Idandra, people call him Indra, cryptically; for the gods, as it were, love the cryptic—the gods, as it were, love the cryptic.note

In a man, first of all, this one becomes an embryo—what is called semen. This radiance gathered from all his limbs is his own self, which he carries within himself. When he pours it into a woman, he begets it. That is its first birth.

It becomes one with the woman’s own self, just as if it were a limb of her own. That is why it does not harm her. She nourishes this self of his that has come into her.

She, the nourisher, should be nourished. The woman carries him as an embryo. He cares for the child from the very start, even before its birth. In caring for the child before its birth he is caring for his own self, so that these worlds may continue; for this is how these worlds continue. That is his second birth.

This self of his is put in his place to perform holy works. Then his other self, having done what he had to do and reached old age, departs. And as soon as he departs from here, he is born again. That is his third birth.

This has been said by a seer: “While still in the womb I knew all the births of these gods. A hundred iron forts held me down, but as a falcon I flew out swiftly.” Vamadeva said this while he was still lying in the womb.note

Knowing this, he rose up when his body broke apart, and in that heavenly world he obtained all his desires and became immortal—he became immortal.

Who is this one we venerate as the self? Which one is the self? Is it that by which one sees, or by which one hears, or by which one smells odors, or by which one utters speech, or by which one tells the tasty from the tasteless?

It is the heart and the mind. Awareness, perception, discernment, cognition, wisdom, insight, steadfastness, thought, reflection, drive, memory, intention, purpose, life-force, desire, will—all these are simply names of cognition.

This is brahman; this is Indra; this is Prajapati; this is all the gods; and these five great elements—earth, wind, space, water and light; and these creatures, the tiny and the mixed, as it were; and the seeds of every kind—those born from eggs, those born from wombs, those born from sweat, those born from sprouts; horses, cattle, people, elephants; whatever breathes, whether it moves or flies—and whatever does not move: all that is guided by cognition and grounded in cognition. The world is guided by cognition; cognition is its foundation; cognition is brahman.

Through this self made of cognition he rose up from this world, and in that heavenly world he obtained all his desires and became immortal—he became immortal.

Om—one should venerate the High Chant as this syllable, for one begins to sing the High Chant with “Om.” Here is a further explanation of it.note

The essence of these beings is the earth; the essence of the earth is the waters; the essence of the waters is plants; the essence of plants is the person; the essence of the person is speech; the essence of speech is the Rig verse; the essence of the Rig verse is the chant; the essence of the chant is the High Chant.note

This High Chant is the most essential of essences, the highest, the uppermost, the eighth.

Which one, which one is the Rig verse? Which one, which one is the chant? Which one, which one is the High Chant? That is what is being considered.

The Rig verse is speech; the chant is breath; the High Chant is this syllable Om. Now, speech and breath, the Rig verse and the chant—these form a couple.

This couple is joined together in this syllable Om; and when a couple comes together, each satisfies the other’s desire.

One who knows this and venerates the High Chant as this syllable becomes one who satisfies desires.

This syllable is also the syllable of assent, for whenever one assents to anything, one simply says “Om.” And assent is success. One who knows this and venerates the High Chant as this syllable becomes one who brings desires to success.

By this syllable the threefold knowledge proceeds. With “Om” one gives the call; with “Om” one recites; with “Om” one sings the High Chant—in honor of this very syllable, with its greatness and its essence.note

Both perform it with this syllable—the one who knows this and the one who does not. But knowledge and ignorance are different things. What one does with knowledge, with faith, with the hidden connection—that alone becomes more potent. This, indeed, is the further explanation of this very syllable.note

Once, when the gods and the asuras, both offspring of Prajapati, were battling each other, the gods took up the High Chant, thinking: “With this we will overcome them.”

They venerated the High Chant as the breath in the nose. The asuras pierced it with evil. So with it one smells both the fragrant and the foul, for it is pierced with evil.

Then they venerated the High Chant as speech. The asuras pierced it with evil. So with it one speaks both the truth and the untruth, for it is pierced with evil.

Then they venerated the High Chant as sight. The asuras pierced it with evil. So with it one sees both what is worth seeing and what is not, for it is pierced with evil.

Then they venerated the High Chant as hearing. The asuras pierced it with evil. So with it one hears both what is worth hearing and what is not, for it is pierced with evil.

Then they venerated the High Chant as the mind. The asuras pierced it with evil. So with it one forms intentions both fitting and unfitting, for it is pierced with evil.

Then they venerated the High Chant as the breath within the mouth. When the asuras struck it, they were smashed to pieces, as a lump of earth is smashed to pieces when it strikes a solid rock.

Just as a lump of earth is smashed to pieces when it strikes a solid rock, so is a man smashed to pieces who wishes evil on one who knows this, or who harms him; for he is a solid rock.

With this breath one discerns neither the fragrant nor the foul, for it is free from evil. Whatever one eats or drinks with it sustains the other breaths. And when at the end one does not find it, one departs; that is why at the end one opens the mouth wide.

Angiras venerated it as the High Chant, and so people regard it as Angirasa, because it is the essence (rasa) of the limbs (aṅga).note

Therefore Brihaspati venerated it as the High Chant, and so people regard it as Brihaspati, for speech is great (bṛhatī) and it is its lord (pati).

Therefore Ayasya venerated it as the High Chant, and so people regard it as Ayasya, because it goes (ayate) from the mouth (āsya).note

Therefore Baka Dalbhya came to know it. He became the udgātṛ priest of the people of Naimisha, and he used to obtain their desires for them by his singing.note

One who knows this and venerates the High Chant as this syllable becomes one who obtains desires by singing. So much with respect to the body.

Next, with respect to the divine sphere. One should venerate the High Chant as the one who glows up there. As it rises, it sings the High Chant for creatures. As it rises, it drives away darkness and fear. One who knows this becomes a dispeller of fear and darkness.

This breath and that sun are the same. This is warm, and that is warm. People call this one “sound” (svara), and that one “sound” and “returning sound” (pratyāsvara). Therefore one should venerate the High Chant as this breath and as that sun.

Now, one should venerate the High Chant as the diffused breath. When one breathes out, that is the out-breath; when one breathes in, that is the in-breath. The juncture of the out-breath and the in-breath is the diffused breath, and the diffused breath is speech. That is why one speaks without breathing out or breathing in.

Speech is the Rig verse; that is why one recites a Rig verse without breathing out or breathing in. The Rig verse is the chant; that is why one sings a chant without breathing out or breathing in. The chant is the High Chant; that is why one sings the High Chant without breathing out or breathing in.

So too other deeds that need strength—kindling fire by friction, running a race, drawing a strong bow—one does without breathing out or breathing in. For this reason one should venerate the High Chant as the diffused breath.

Now, one should venerate the syllables of the High Chant, ud-gī-tha. Ud is breath, for one rises up (ut-tiṣṭhati) by means of breath. Gī is speech, for people call speech “words” (giraḥ). Tha is food, for this whole world rests (sthita) on food.note

The sky is ud, the intermediate region gī, the earth tha. The sun is ud, the wind gī, fire tha. The Sama Veda is ud, the Yajur Veda gī, the Rig Veda tha. Speech yields him her milk—the very milk of speech—and he comes to have food and to eat food, the one who knows this and venerates the syllables of the High Chant, ud-gī-tha.

Now, the fulfillment of wishes. One should venerate the things to turn to, as follows. One should turn to the chant with which one is about to sing praise.

One should turn to the Rig verse on which it is sung, to the seer to whom it belongs, and to the deity whom one is about to praise.

One should turn to the meter in which one is about to sing praise, and to the stoma with which one is about to sing praise.note

One should turn to the quarter toward which one is about to sing praise.

Finally one should go to oneself and sing the praise, meditating on one’s desire without distraction. Soon indeed the desire for which he sings the praise will be fulfilled for him—the desire for which he sings the praise.

Om—one should venerate the High Chant as this syllable, for one begins to sing the High Chant with “Om.” Here is a further explanation of it.

The gods, fearing Death, entered the threefold knowledge. They covered themselves with the meters. Because they covered (acchādayan) themselves with them, the meters are called chandas.note

Death saw them there, in the Rig verse, in the chant, in the Yajus formula, just as one might see a fish in water. When they realized this, they rose up out of the Rig verse, the chant and the Yajus formula, and entered the sound itself.note

When someone masters a Rig verse, he sounds out “Om”; so too with a chant, so too with a Yajus formula. This sound is that syllable; it is the immortal, the fearless. Having entered it, the gods became immortal and fearless.

One who knows this and intones this syllable enters this very syllable, the sound, the immortal and fearless; and having entered it, he becomes immortal, just as the gods are immortal.

Now, the High Chant is the praṇava, and the praṇava is the High Chant. The High Chant is the sun up there, and it is the praṇava, for it moves along sounding “Om.”note

“I sang the praise of that alone, and so you are my only son,” Kaushitaki said to his son. “Turn to its rays in your singing, and you will have many sons.” So much with respect to the divine sphere.note

Next, with respect to the body. One should venerate the High Chant as the breath within the mouth, for it moves along sounding “Om.”

“I sang the praise of that alone, and so you are my only son,” Kaushitaki said to his son. “Sing of the breaths as a multitude, thinking, ‘I shall have many.’”

Now, the High Chant is the praṇava, and the praṇava is the High Chant. Knowing this, one rectifies even a faulty High Chant from the seat of the hotṛ priest—one rectifies it.note

The Rig verse is this earth; the chant is fire. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is this earth; ama is fire; together they make sāma.note

The Rig verse is the intermediate region; the chant is the wind. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is the intermediate region; ama is the wind; together they make sāma.

The Rig verse is the sky; the chant is the sun. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is the sky; ama is the sun; together they make sāma.

The Rig verse is the stars; the chant is the moon. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is the stars; ama is the moon; together they make sāma.

Now, the bright white light of the sun is the Rig verse, and its dark blue, the deepest black, is the chant. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse.

Now, the bright white light of the sun is sā, and its dark blue, the deepest black, is ama; together they make sāma. And the golden person who is seen within the sun—golden-bearded, golden-haired, golden altogether to the very tips of his nails—

his eyes are like a deep-red lotus. His name is Ut, “Up,” for he has risen up (udita) above all evils. One who knows this rises up above all evils.note

The Rig verse and the chant are his two songs. That is why it is the High Chant (ud-gītha), and that is why the singer of the High Chant is so called, for he is the one who sings of Ut. He rules over the worlds beyond that sun and over the desires of the gods. So much with respect to the divine sphere.

Next, with respect to the body. The Rig verse is speech; the chant is breath. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is speech; ama is breath; together they make sāma.

The Rig verse is sight; the chant is the self. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is sight; ama is the self; together they make sāma.

The Rig verse is hearing; the chant is the mind. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Sā is hearing; ama is the mind; together they make sāma.

Now, the bright white light of the eye is the Rig verse, and its dark blue, the deepest black, is the chant. This chant rests upon this Rig verse; therefore the chant is sung resting upon the Rig verse. Now, the bright white light of the eye is sā, and its dark blue, the deepest black, is ama; together they make sāma.

And the person who is seen within the eye—he is the Rig verse, he is the chant, he is the recitation, he is the Yajus formula, he is the formulation. The form of this one is the same as the form of that one; the two songs of that one are the two songs of this one; the name of that one is the name of this one.note

He rules over the worlds below this one and over the desires of human beings. So those who sing to the lute sing of him, and therefore they win wealth.

Now, one who knows this and sings the chant sings of both. Through that person up there he wins the worlds beyond it and the desires of the gods;

and through this person here he wins the worlds below this one and the desires of human beings. Therefore an udgātṛ priest who knows this should say:

“What desire of yours shall I obtain for you by singing?” For he is master of obtaining desires by singing, the one who knows this and sings the chant—who sings the chant.

There were once three men well versed in the High Chant: Shilaka Shalavatya, Caikitayana Dalbhya and Pravahana Jaivali. They said: “We are well versed in the High Chant. Come, let us have a discussion about the High Chant.”note

“Very well,” they said, and sat down together. Pravahana Jaivali said: “You two gentlemen speak first. I will listen to the words of two brahmins in discussion.”

Shilaka Shalavatya said to Caikitayana Dalbhya: “Come, let me question you.” “Ask,” he said.

“What is the basis of the chant?” “Sound,” he said. “What is the basis of sound?” “Breath,” he said. “What is the basis of breath?” “Food,” he said. “What is the basis of food?” “Water,” he said.

“What is the basis of water?” “That world up there,” he said. “What is the basis of that world?” “One should not carry it beyond the heavenly world,” he said. “We establish the chant in the heavenly world, for the chant is praised as heaven.”

Shilaka Shalavatya said to Caikitayana Dalbhya: “Your chant, Dalbhya, has no foundation. If someone were to say to you now, ‘Your head will shatter apart,’ your head would shatter apart.”

“Well then, let me learn this from you, sir.” “Learn it,” he said. “What is the basis of that world?” “This world,” he said. “What is the basis of this world?” “One should not carry it beyond the world that is the foundation,” he said. “We establish the chant in the world that is the foundation, for the chant is praised as the foundation.”

Pravahana Jaivali said to him: “Your chant, Shalavatya, has an end. If someone were to say to you now, ‘Your head will shatter apart,’ your head would shatter apart.” “Well then, let me learn this from you, sir.” “Learn it,” he said.

“What is the basis of this world?” “Space,” he said. “For all these beings arise from space alone, and into space they pass away. Space is greater than they are; space is the final goal.”

This is the High Chant, higher than the high; it is without end. One who knows this and venerates the High Chant as higher than the high has what is higher than the high, and he wins worlds higher than the high.

When Atidhanvan Shaunaka had taught this to Udarashandilya, he said: “As long as people among your descendants know this High Chant, so long will their life in this world be higher than the high,”

“and so will their world in that other world.” One who knows this and venerates it thus—his life in this world is higher than the high, and so is his world in that other world—his world in that other world.

When the Kurus had been struck down by hailstorms, Ushasti Cakrayana lived in destitution with his young wife in a rich man’s village.note

He begged food from the rich man, who was eating boiled beans. The man said to him: “I have nothing but what has been set before me here.”

“Give me some of these,” he said. The man gave them to him and said: “Here is water to go with them.” “Then I would be drinking leftovers,” he said.

“Aren’t these beans leftovers too?” “I would not have survived if I had not eaten them,” he said, “but water I can drink whenever I like.”

When he had eaten, he brought what was left to his wife. She, however, had already received plenty of alms; she took them from him and put them away.

Getting up the next morning, he said: “If only we could get a little food, we could earn a little money. That king over there is going to hold a sacrifice; he might choose me for all the priestly offices.”

His wife said to him: “Here, husband, are those same beans.” He ate them and went to that sacrifice, which was already under way.

There he sat down near the udgātṛ priests at the place where they were about to sing their praises, and he said to the prastotṛ:

“Prastotṛ, if you sing the prastāva without knowing the deity linked with the prastāva, your head will shatter apart.”note

In the same way he said to the udgātṛ: “Udgātṛ, if you sing the High Chant without knowing the deity linked with the High Chant, your head will shatter apart.”

In the same way he said to the pratihartṛ: “Pratihartṛ, if you sing the pratihāra without knowing the deity linked with the pratihāra, your head will shatter apart.” They stopped, and sat in silence.note

Then the patron of the sacrifice said to him: “I would like to know who you are, sir.” “I am Ushasti Cakrayana,” he said.

He said: “I looked for you, sir, for all these priestly offices, and only because I could not find you did I choose others.”

“But now, sir, you shall hold all the priestly offices for me.” “Very well. But let these same men, with my permission, sing the praises; only give me as much money as you give them.” “Very well,” said the patron of the sacrifice.

Then the prastotṛ came up to him: “Sir, you told me: ‘Prastotṛ, if you sing the prastāva without knowing the deity linked with the prastāva, your head will shatter apart.’ Which is that deity?”

“Breath,” he said. “For all these beings enter into breath, and they rise up out of breath. That is the deity linked with the prastāva. Had you sung the prastāva without knowing it, after I had told you so, your head would have shattered apart.”

Then the udgātṛ came up to him: “Sir, you told me: ‘Udgātṛ, if you sing the High Chant without knowing the deity linked with the High Chant, your head will shatter apart.’ Which is that deity?”

“The sun,” he said. “For all these beings sing the praise of the sun when it is high up. That is the deity linked with the High Chant. Had you sung the High Chant without knowing it, after I had told you so, your head would have shattered apart.”

Then the pratihartṛ came up to him: “Sir, you told me: ‘Pratihartṛ, if you sing the pratihāra without knowing the deity linked with the pratihāra, your head will shatter apart.’ Which is that deity?”

“Food,” he said. “For all these beings live by taking food to themselves (pratiharamāṇa). That is the deity linked with the pratihāra. Had you sung the pratihāra without knowing it, after I had told you so, your head would have shattered apart—after I had told you so.”

Next, the High Chant of the dogs. Baka Dalbhya—or Glava Maitreya—went out to do his Vedic recitation.

A white dog appeared before him. Other dogs gathered around it and said: “Sir, obtain food for us by singing; we are hungry.”

He said to them: “Come to me here tomorrow morning.” Baka Dalbhya—or Glava Maitreya—kept watch.

Just as priests about to sing the praise with the bahiṣpavamāna chant creep along, each holding on to the one in front, so they crept along. Then they sat down together and made the sound hiṃ.note

“Om! Let us eat! Om! Let us drink! Om! May the god Varuna, Prajapati and Savitri bring food here! Lord of food, bring food here—bring it, bring it! Om!”note

This world is the sound hāu; the wind is the sound hāi; the moon is the sound atha; the self is the sound iha; fire is the sound ī.note

The sun is the sound ū; the invocation is the sound e; the All-gods are the sound auhoyi; Prajapati is the sound hiṃ; breath is the sound svara; food is yā; Viraj is vāk.note

The thirteenth stobha, the variable sound huṃ, is the undefined.

Speech yields him her milk—the very milk of speech—and he comes to have food and to eat food, the one who knows thus this hidden connection of the chants—who knows the hidden connection.

Venerating the chant as a whole is good. Whatever is good, people call sāman; whatever is not good, asāman.note

So people also say: “He approached him with sāman,” meaning, “He approached him in a good way”; and “He approached him with asāman,” meaning, “He approached him in a bad way.”

And they also say: “Oh, it’s sāman for us!” when something is good, meaning, “Oh, how good!” And “Oh, it’s asāman for us!” when something is not good, meaning, “Oh, how bad!”

One who knows this and venerates the chant as good—good ways will quickly come to him and bow to him.

One should venerate the fivefold chant in the worlds. The earth is the hiṅkāra; fire, the prastāva; the intermediate region, the High Chant; the sun, the pratihāra; the sky, the nidhana. So in the upward order.note

Now in the downward order: the sky is the hiṅkāra; the sun, the prastāva; the intermediate region, the High Chant; fire, the pratihāra; the earth, the nidhana.

The worlds, both upward and downward, are at the service of one who knows this and venerates the fivefold chant in the worlds.

One should venerate the fivefold chant in rain. The east wind is the hiṅkāra; a rain cloud forms—that is the prastāva; it rains—that is the High Chant; it flashes and thunders—that is the pratihāra; it stops—that is the nidhana.

It rains for him, and he brings rain—the one who knows this and venerates the fivefold chant in rain.

One should venerate the fivefold chant in all the waters. When the cloud gathers, that is the hiṅkāra; when it rains, that is the prastāva; the rivers that flow east, that is the High Chant; those that flow west, that is the pratihāra; the ocean is the nidhana.

He does not die in water, and he has plenty of water—the one who knows this and venerates the fivefold chant in all the waters.

One should venerate the fivefold chant in the seasons. Spring is the hiṅkāra; summer, the prastāva; the rains, the High Chant; autumn, the pratihāra; winter, the nidhana.

The seasons are at his service, and he is rich in seasons—the one who knows this and venerates the fivefold chant in the seasons.

One should venerate the fivefold chant in animals. Goats are the hiṅkāra; sheep, the prastāva; cows, the High Chant; horses, the pratihāra; the human being, the nidhana.

He comes to have animals, and he is rich in animals—the one who knows this and venerates the fivefold chant in animals.

One should venerate in the breaths the fivefold chant that is higher than the high. Breath is the hiṅkāra; speech, the prastāva; sight, the High Chant; hearing, the pratihāra; the mind, the nidhana. Each of these is higher than the one before.

He has what is higher than the high, and he wins worlds higher than the high—the one who knows this and venerates in the breaths the fivefold chant that is higher than the high. So much for the fivefold chant.

Next, the sevenfold chant. One should venerate the sevenfold chant in speech. Every huṃ in speech is the hiṅkāra; every pra is the prastāva; every ā is the ādi;

every ud is the High Chant; every prati is the pratihāra; every upa is the upadrava; every ni is the nidhana.note

Speech yields him her milk—the very milk of speech—and he comes to have food and to eat food, the one who knows this and venerates the sevenfold chant in speech.

Now, one should venerate that sun up there as the sevenfold chant. It is always the same (sama); therefore it is a chant (sāman). “It faces me! It faces me!”—so everyone thinks; since it is the same for all, it is a chant.note

One should know that all these beings depend on it. What it is before sunrise is the hiṅkāra; the animals depend on that part of it. That is why they make the sound hiṃ, for they share in the hiṅkāra of this chant.

What it is when it has just risen is the prastāva; human beings depend on that part of it. That is why they love praise (prastuti) and admiration, for they share in the prastāva of this chant.

What it is at the time when the cows are gathered is the ādi; the birds depend on that part of it. That is why they hold themselves up (ādāya) in the intermediate region without support and fly about, for they share in the ādi of this chant.note

What it is right at midday is the High Chant; the gods depend on that part of it. That is why they are the best of Prajapati’s offspring, for they share in the High Chant of this chant.

What it is after midday and before the afternoon is the pratihāra; embryos depend on that part of it. That is why they are held up (pratihṛta) and do not fall down, for they share in the pratihāra of this chant.

What it is after the afternoon and before sunset is the upadrava; wild animals depend on that part of it. That is why, when they see a man, they run off (upadravanti) to a thicket or a hole, for they share in the upadrava of this chant.

What it is just after sunset is the nidhana; the ancestors depend on that part of it. That is why people lay them down (nidadhati), for they share in the nidhana of this chant. In this way one venerates that sun up there as the sevenfold chant.

Now, one should venerate the sevenfold chant that is measured on itself and leads beyond death. Hiṅkāra has three syllables, and prastāva has three syllables: they are the same.

Ādi has two syllables, and pratihāra four. Take one from there and put it here: they are the same.

Udgītha has three syllables, and upadrava four. With three and three they are the same; one syllable is left over. That word “syllable” has three syllables: so it is the same.note

Nidhana has three syllables: it is simply the same. These make twenty-two syllables.

With twenty-one one reaches the sun, for the sun up there is the twenty-first from here. With the twenty-second one wins what lies beyond the sun: that is the firmament, that is the place without sorrow.

He attains victory over the sun, and a victory beyond victory over the sun is his—the one who knows this and venerates the sevenfold chant that is measured on itself and leads beyond death—who venerates the chant.

The mind is the hiṅkāra; speech, the prastāva; sight, the High Chant; hearing, the pratihāra; breath, the nidhana. This is the Gayatra chant, woven on the breaths.note

One who knows this Gayatra chant as woven on the breaths comes to possess breath; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should be great-minded: that is the observance.

One rubs the fire-sticks—that is the hiṅkāra; smoke arises—that is the prastāva; it blazes—that is the High Chant; embers form—that is the pratihāra; it dies down—that is the nidhana; it goes out—that is the nidhana. This is the Rathantara chant, woven on fire.

One who knows this Rathantara as woven on fire comes to shine with sacred knowledge and to eat food; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not sip water or spit facing the fire: that is the observance.

He summons her—that is the hiṅkāra; he makes his request—that is the prastāva; he lies down with the woman—that is the High Chant; he lies on top of the woman—that is the pratihāra; he reaches the moment—that is the nidhana; he reaches the far shore—that is the nidhana. This is the Vamadevya chant, woven on sexual intercourse.

One who knows this Vamadevya chant as woven on sexual intercourse comes to have intercourse and procreates from every act of intercourse; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not refuse any woman: that is the observance.

The rising sun is the hiṅkāra; the risen sun, the prastāva; midday, the High Chant; afternoon, the pratihāra; the setting sun, the nidhana. This is the Brihat chant, woven on the sun.

One who knows this Brihat as woven on the sun comes to be brilliant and to eat food; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the sun while it blazes: that is the observance.

The clouds gather—that is the hiṅkāra; a rain cloud forms—that is the prastāva; it rains—that is the High Chant; it flashes and thunders—that is the pratihāra; it stops—that is the nidhana. This is the Vairupa chant, woven on the rain cloud.

One who knows this Vairupa as woven on the rain cloud acquires livestock of varied form (virūpa) and of fine form; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the rain while it rains: that is the observance.

Spring is the hiṅkāra; summer, the prastāva; the rains, the High Chant; autumn, the pratihāra; winter, the nidhana. This is the Vairaja chant, woven on the seasons.

One who knows this Vairaja as woven on the seasons shines (virājati) with offspring, livestock and the splendor of sacred knowledge; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the seasons: that is the observance.

The earth is the hiṅkāra; the intermediate region, the prastāva; the sky, the High Chant; the quarters, the pratihāra; the ocean, the nidhana. These are the Shakvari chants, woven on the worlds.

One who knows these Shakvari chants as woven on the worlds comes to possess worlds; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not speak ill of the worlds: that is the observance.

Goats are the hiṅkāra; sheep, the prastāva; cows, the High Chant; horses, the pratihāra; the human being, the nidhana. These are the Revati chants, woven on animals.

One who knows these Revati chants as woven on animals comes to be rich in animals; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not speak ill of animals: that is the observance.

Hair is the hiṅkāra; skin, the prastāva; flesh, the High Chant; bone, the pratihāra; marrow, the nidhana. This is the Yajnayajniya chant, woven on the limbs of the body.

One who knows this Yajnayajniya as woven on the limbs of the body comes to have a whole body and is not impaired in any limb; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not eat marrow for a year: that is the observance—or else, “One should not eat marrow.”

Fire is the hiṅkāra; wind, the prastāva; the sun, the High Chant; the stars, the pratihāra; the moon, the nidhana. This is the Rajana chant, woven on the deities.

One who knows this Rajana as woven on the deities attains the same world as these very deities, equal rank with them and union with them; he reaches his full lifespan, lives long, and becomes great in offspring and livestock, great in fame. One should not speak ill of brahmins: that is the observance.

The threefold knowledge is the hiṅkāra; these three worlds—that is the prastāva; fire, wind and the sun—that is the High Chant; the stars, the birds and the rays of light—that is the pratihāra; the snakes, the Gandharvas and the ancestors—that is the nidhana. This is the chant woven on the whole.

One who knows this chant as woven on the whole becomes the whole.

On this there is this verse: “The things that are three and three, fivefold—there is nothing greater than these, nothing higher.”

“Whoever knows that knows the whole; all the quarters bring him tribute.” One should venerate it with the thought, “I am the whole”: that is the observance—that is the observance.

“I choose the roaring style of chant, good for livestock”—that is the High Chant of Agni. The indistinct style is Prajapati’s; the distinct is Soma’s; the soft and smooth is Vayu’s; the smooth and strong is Indra’s; the heron’s cry is Brihaspati’s; the discordant is Varuna’s. One may practice all of these, but should avoid Varuna’s.

“Let me obtain immortality for the gods by singing”—so one should sing. “Let me obtain by singing the ancestral offering for the ancestors, hope for human beings, grass and water for animals, the heavenly world for the patron of the sacrifice, and food for myself”—meditating on these in his mind, one should sing the praise without distraction.

All the vowels are selves of Indra; all the spirants are selves of Prajapati; all the stops are selves of Death. If someone should reproach him over his vowels, he should say to him: “I have gone to Indra for refuge; he will answer you.”note

And if someone should reproach him over his spirants, he should say to him: “I have gone to Prajapati for refuge; he will crush you.” And if someone should reproach him over his stops, he should say to him: “I have gone to Death for refuge; he will burn you up.”

All the vowels should be pronounced resonant and strong, with the thought, “Let me give strength to Indra.” All the spirants should be pronounced neither swallowed nor thrown out, but open, with the thought, “Let me give myself to Prajapati.” All the stops should be pronounced gently, without running them together, with the thought, “Let me withdraw myself from Death.”

There are three branches of the Law. Sacrifice, Vedic recitation and giving gifts—that is the first. Austerity alone is the second. A Vedic student living at his teacher’s house—one who settles himself for good in his teacher’s house—is the third. All these gain worlds earned by merit. One who stands firm in brahman reaches immortality.

Prajapati brooded over the worlds with heat, and from them, as they were being heated, the threefold knowledge flowed forth. He brooded over it with heat, and from it, as it was being heated, these syllables flowed forth: bhūr, bhuvaḥ, svar.

He brooded over them with heat, and from them, as they were being heated, the syllable Om flowed forth. As all the leaves are held together by a stalk, so all speech is held together by Om. Om is this whole world—Om is this whole world.

Those who speak about brahman say: “The morning pressing belongs to the Vasus, the midday pressing to the Rudras, and the third pressing to the Adityas and the All-gods.”note

“Where, then, is the world of the patron of the sacrifice?” How could one who does not know it perform the sacrifice? Only with knowledge should one perform it.

Before the opening of the morning litany, he sits down behind the householder’s fire, facing north, and sings the chant of the Vasus:note

“Open the door of the world, that we may see you—for sovereignty: rā … hum … ā … jyā … yo … ā!”note

Then he makes an offering: “Homage to Agni, who dwells on earth, who dwells in the world! Find a world for me, the patron of the sacrifice! That is the world of the patron of the sacrifice; I will go there.”

“Here, when his life is over, the patron of the sacrifice—svāhā! Knock back the bolt!” Having said this, he rises. The Vasus grant him the morning pressing.

Before the opening of the midday pressing, he sits down behind the Agnidhriya fire, facing north, and sings the chant of the Rudras:note

“Open the door of the world, that we may see you—for wide sovereignty: vai … rā … hum … ā … jyā … yo … ā!”

Then he makes an offering: “Homage to Vayu, who dwells in the intermediate region, who dwells in the world! Find a world for me, the patron of the sacrifice! That is the world of the patron of the sacrifice; I will go there.”

“Here, when his life is over, the patron of the sacrifice—svāhā! Knock back the bolt!” Having said this, he rises. The Rudras grant him the midday pressing.

Before the opening of the third pressing, he sits down behind the offering fire, facing north, and sings the chant of the Adityas and the chant of the All-gods:

“Open the door of the world, that we may see you—for self-rule: svā … rā … hum … ā … jyā … yo … ā!”

That is the chant of the Adityas; next, that of the All-gods: “Open the door of the world, that we may see you—for universal rule: sām … rā … hum … ā … jyā … yo … ā!”

Then he makes an offering: “Homage to the Adityas and to the All-gods, who dwell in the sky, who dwell in the world! Find a world for me, the patron of the sacrifice!

That is the world of the patron of the sacrifice; I will go there. Here, when his life is over, the patron of the sacrifice—svāhā! Knock back the bolt!” Having said this, he rises.

The Adityas and the All-gods grant him the third pressing. One who knows this knows the true measure of the sacrifice—one who knows this.

The sun up there is the honey of the gods. The sky is its crossbeam, the intermediate region the honeycomb, and the rays of light the brood.

Its eastern rays are its eastern honey cells. The Rig verses are the bees, the Rig Veda is the flower, and the waters are the nectar of immortality. These very Rig verses—

brooded over this Rig Veda with heat, and from it, as it was being heated, its essence arose: fame, splendor, vigor, strength and food.

It flowed out and settled around the sun. It is what appears as the red form of the sun.

Its southern rays are its southern honey cells. The Yajus formulas are the bees, the Yajur Veda is the flower, and the waters are the nectar of immortality.

These very Yajus formulas brooded over this Yajur Veda with heat, and from it, as it was being heated, its essence arose: fame, splendor, vigor, strength and food.

It flowed out and settled around the sun. It is what appears as the white form of the sun.

Its western rays are its western honey cells. The chants are the bees, the Sama Veda is the flower, and the waters are the nectar of immortality.

These very chants brooded over this Sama Veda with heat, and from it, as it was being heated, its essence arose: fame, splendor, vigor, strength and food.

It flowed out and settled around the sun. It is what appears as the black form of the sun.

Its northern rays are its northern honey cells. The hymns of the Atharvans and Angirases are the bees, the histories and ancient tales are the flower, and the waters are the nectar of immortality.note

These very hymns of the Atharvans and Angirases brooded over these histories and ancient tales with heat, and from them, as they were being heated, their essence arose: fame, splendor, vigor, strength and food.

It flowed out and settled around the sun. It is what appears as the deepest black form of the sun.

Its upward rays are its upward honey cells. The hidden teachings are the bees, the formulation is the flower, and the waters are the nectar of immortality.

These very hidden teachings brooded over this formulation with heat, and from it, as it was being heated, its essence arose: fame, splendor, vigor, strength and food.

It flowed out and settled around the sun. It is what seems to quiver in the middle of the sun.

These, truly, are the essences of the essences; for the Vedas are essences, and these are their essences. These, truly, are the nectars of the nectars; for the Vedas are nectars, and these are their nectars.

The Vasus live on the first of these nectars, with Agni as their mouth. The gods, of course, neither eat nor drink; they are satisfied just by looking at this nectar.

They enter into this very form, and they rise up out of this form.

One who knows this nectar in this way becomes one of the Vasus and, with Agni as his mouth, is satisfied just by looking at this nectar. He enters into this very form, and he rises up out of this form.

As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so long will he enjoy the sovereignty and self-rule of the Vasus.

The Rudras live on the second nectar, with Indra as their mouth. The gods, of course, neither eat nor drink; they are satisfied just by looking at this nectar.

They enter into this very form, and they rise up out of this form.

One who knows this nectar in this way becomes one of the Rudras and, with Indra as his mouth, is satisfied just by looking at this nectar. He enters into this very form, and he rises up out of this form.

As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, twice that long will it rise in the south and set in the north; and for that long will he enjoy the sovereignty and self-rule of the Rudras.

The Adityas live on the third nectar, with Varuna as their mouth. The gods, of course, neither eat nor drink; they are satisfied just by looking at this nectar.

They enter into this very form and rise up out of this form.

One who knows this nectar in this way becomes one of the Adityas and, with Varuna as his mouth, is satisfied just by seeing this nectar. He enters into this very form and rises up out of this form.

As long as the sun rises in the south and sets in the north, twice as long will it rise in the west and set in the east; for just that long he will attain the sovereignty and self-rule of the Adityas.

Now the fourth nectar: the Maruts live on it, with Soma as their mouth. The gods, of course, neither eat nor drink; they are satisfied just by seeing this nectar.note

They enter into this very form and rise up out of this form.

One who knows this nectar in this way becomes one of the Maruts and, with Soma as his mouth, is satisfied just by seeing this nectar. He enters into this very form and rises up out of this form.

As long as the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, twice as long will it rise in the north and set in the south; for just that long he will attain the sovereignty and self-rule of the Maruts.

Now the fifth nectar: the Sadhyas live on it, with brahman as their mouth. The gods, of course, neither eat nor drink; they are satisfied just by seeing this nectar.

They enter into this very form and rise up out of this form.

One who knows this nectar in this way becomes one of the Sadhyas and, with brahman as his mouth, is satisfied just by seeing this nectar. He enters into this very form and rises up out of this form.

As long as the sun rises in the north and sets in the south, twice as long will it rise above and set below; for just that long he will attain the sovereignty and self-rule of the Sadhyas.

Then, having risen upward, it will no longer rise or set. It will stand alone in the middle. On this there is this verse:

It has not set there, nor has it ever risen;
gods, by this truth may I never be parted from brahman.

For one who knows this hidden teaching of brahman in this way, the sun neither rises nor sets; for him it is day once and for all.

Brahma taught this to Prajapati, Prajapati to Manu, and Manu to his offspring. And his father proclaimed this brahman to Uddalaka Aruni, his eldest son.note

So a father may proclaim this brahman to his eldest son or to a worthy pupil,

and to no one else, even if someone were to give him this whole earth, encircled by the waters and full of wealth; for this is greater than that—this is greater than that!

The Gayatri is all this, whatever beings there are. The Gayatri is speech, for speech sings to all these beings and protects them.note

The Gayatri is this very earth, for all beings rest on it, and they do not go beyond it.

The earth is this body in a person, for the breaths rest in it, and they do not go beyond it.

The body in a person is this heart within a person, for the breaths rest in it, and they do not go beyond it.

This Gayatri has four quarters and is sixfold. A Rig Vedic verse declares this:

Such is its greatness, and the Person is greater still;
all beings are a quarter of him, three quarters of him are the immortal in heaven.note

What is called brahman is this space outside a person. And the space outside a person

is this space within a person. And the space within a person

is this space within the heart. It is full and unchanging. One who knows this obtains full and unchanging prosperity.

This heart has five openings for the gods. Its eastern opening is the out-breath; it is sight, it is the sun. One should venerate it as brilliance and as food to eat. One who knows this becomes brilliant and an eater of food.note

Its southern opening is the diffused breath; it is hearing, it is the moon. One should venerate it as splendor and fame. One who knows this comes to have splendor and fame.

Its western opening is the in-breath; it is speech, it is fire. One should venerate it as the luster of sacred knowledge and as food to eat. One who knows this comes to have the luster of sacred knowledge and becomes an eater of food.

Its northern opening is the link-breath; it is the mind, it is Parjanya, the rain-god. One should venerate it as renown and beauty. One who knows this comes to have renown and beauty.

Its upper opening is the up-breath; it is wind, it is space. One should venerate it as vigor and greatness. One who knows this comes to have vigor and greatness.

These are the five attendants of brahman, the doorkeepers of the heavenly world. When someone knows these five attendants of brahman, doorkeepers of the heavenly world, in this way, a hero is born in his family. One who knows these five attendants of brahman, doorkeepers of the heavenly world, in this way reaches the heavenly world.

Now, the light that shines higher than this heaven, on the backs of all, on the backs of everything, in the highest worlds, beyond which there are none higher—that is the same as this light here within a person.

This is how it can be seen: when one feels warmth on touching this body. This is how it can be heard: when one stops up one’s ears and hears something like a roar, like the rumble of a blazing fire. One should venerate it as what is seen and heard. One who knows this becomes pleasing to see and famous to hear of—one who knows this, one who knows this.note

He is made of mind; his body is breath; his form is light; his intention is truth; his self is space; he contains all actions, all desires, all smells, all tastes; he has taken hold of this whole world; he does not speak and is unconcerned.

This self of mine within the heart is smaller than a grain of rice or barley, smaller than a mustard seed, a millet grain or the kernel of a millet grain; this self of mine within the heart is larger than the earth, larger than the mid-region, larger than the sky, larger than all these worlds.

“Containing all actions, all desires, all smells, all tastes, having taken hold of this whole world, speechless and unconcerned—this is my self within the heart; this is brahman. On departing from here I will merge into it.” One who holds to this will have no doubt. So said Shandilya—Shandilya.note

The chest, whose belly is the mid-region and whose bottom is the earth, does not decay. For the quarters are its corners, and the sky its upper lid. This chest holds treasure; this whole world rests within it.

Its eastern quarter is called Juhu, its southern Sahamana, its western Rajni, its northern Subhuta. The wind is their calf. One who knows the wind in this way as the calf of the quarters does not weep in mourning for a son. I know the wind in this way as the calf of the quarters; may I not weep in mourning for a son.note

I take refuge in the imperishable chest, with so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so. I take refuge in the breath, with so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so. I take refuge in bhūr, with so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so. I take refuge in bhuvaḥ, with so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so. I take refuge in svaḥ, with so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so.note

When I said, “I take refuge in the breath”—breath is all this, whatever beings there are; so it is in that that I took refuge.

And when I said, “I take refuge in bhūr,” what I said was: “I take refuge in the earth, I take refuge in the mid-region, I take refuge in the sky.”

And when I said, “I take refuge in bhuvaḥ,” what I said was: “I take refuge in fire, I take refuge in wind, I take refuge in the sun.”

And when I said, “I take refuge in svaḥ,” what I said was: “I take refuge in the Rig Veda, I take refuge in the Yajur Veda, I take refuge in the Sama Veda”—that is what I said.

A person is indeed a sacrifice. His first twenty-four years are the morning pressing, for the Gayatri has twenty-four syllables, and the morning pressing belongs to the Gayatri. The Vasus are linked to this part of it. The breaths are the Vasus, for they make all this dwell.note

If anything should trouble him at this age, he should say: “Breaths, Vasus, extend this morning pressing of mine into the midday pressing. Let me, the sacrifice, not be cut off in the midst of the breaths, the Vasus.” He rises up from it and becomes free of illness.

Then the next forty-four years are the midday pressing, for the Trishtubh has forty-four syllables, and the midday pressing belongs to the Trishtubh. The Rudras are linked to this part of it. The breaths are the Rudras, for they make all this weep.note

If anything should trouble him at this age, he should say: “Breaths, Rudras, extend this midday pressing of mine into the third pressing. Let me, the sacrifice, not be cut off in the midst of the breaths, the Rudras.” He rises up from it and becomes free of illness.

Then the next forty-eight years are the third pressing, for the Jagati has forty-eight syllables, and the third pressing belongs to the Jagati. The Adityas are linked to this part of it. The breaths are the Adityas, for they take all this to themselves.note

If anything should trouble him at this age, he should say: “Breaths, Adityas, extend this third pressing of mine into a full life span. Let me, the sacrifice, not be cut off in the midst of the breaths, the Adityas.” He rises up from it and becomes free of illness.

It was because he knew this that Mahidasa Aitareya said: “Why do you trouble me with this, when I will not die of it?” He lived a hundred and sixteen years. One who knows this lives on for a hundred and sixteen years.note

When he is hungry, when he is thirsty, when he takes no pleasure—that is his consecration.note

When he eats, when he drinks, when he takes pleasure—by this he takes part in the upasad rites.note

When he laughs, when he feasts, when he has sex—by this he takes part in the chants and recitations of praise.

Austerity, generosity, uprightness, non-violence and truthful speech—these are his gifts to the priests.

Therefore they say: “He will press,” “He has pressed”—that is his rebirth. Death is his final bath.note

When Ghora Angirasa had taught this to Krishna, son of Devaki, he also told him—and Krishna became free of thirst—“At the hour of death one should take refuge in these three: ‘You are the imperishable; you are the unshaken; you are the finely honed breath.’” On this there are these two Rig Vedic verses:note

“Then of the ancient seed …” “Rising above the darkness, seeing the higher light, seeing the higher heaven, we have come to the sun, god among the gods, the highest light”—the highest light.note

One should venerate the mind as brahman—so with respect to the body. Next, with respect to the gods: space as brahman. Thus both are taught, with respect to the body and with respect to the gods.

This brahman has four quarters: speech is one quarter, breath one quarter, sight one quarter, hearing one quarter—so with respect to the body. Next, with respect to the gods: fire is one quarter, wind one quarter, the sun one quarter, the directions one quarter. Thus both are taught, with respect to the body and with respect to the gods.

Speech is one of the four quarters of brahman. It shines and gives warmth, with fire as its light. One who knows this shines and gives warmth with fame, renown and the luster of sacred knowledge.

Breath is one of the four quarters of brahman. It shines and gives warmth, with wind as its light. One who knows this shines and gives warmth with fame, renown and the luster of sacred knowledge.

Sight is one of the four quarters of brahman. It shines and gives warmth, with the sun as its light. One who knows this shines and gives warmth with fame, renown and the luster of sacred knowledge.

Hearing is one of the four quarters of brahman. It shines and gives warmth, with the directions as its light. One who knows this shines and gives warmth with fame, renown and the luster of sacred knowledge—one who knows this, one who knows this.

“The sun is brahman”—that is the teaching, and here is its explanation. In the beginning this world was non-existent. It became existent. It grew. It turned into an egg. It lay there for the span of a year. Then it split open. The two halves of the eggshell became silver and gold.

The silver half is this earth; the gold half is the sky. The outer membrane is the mountains; the inner membrane is the clouds and the mist; the veins are the rivers; the fluid in the bladder is the ocean.

And what was born from it is the sun up there. As it was being born, cries of joy and loud shouts rose up after it, and so did all beings and all desires. Therefore at its every rising and every return, cries of joy and loud shouts rise up after it, and so do all beings and all desires.

When someone who knows this venerates the sun as brahman, pleasant cries will quickly come to him and delight him—will delight him.

There was once Janashruti Pautrayana, a man who gave with faith, gave much and had much food cooked. He had rest houses built everywhere, thinking, “People everywhere will eat my food.”note

One night some geese flew past, and one goose said to another: “Hey! Hey, Bhallaksha! Bhallaksha! The light of Janashruti Pautrayana has spread out like the daylight. Don’t touch it, or it will burn you!”

The other replied: “Come now, who is he, that you speak of him as if he were Raikva with the cart?” “And who is this Raikva with the cart?”note

“Just as the lower throws of the dice all go to the winning throw, so everything good that people do comes to him. And whoever knows what he knows—I say the same of him.”note

Janashruti Pautrayana overheard this. As soon as he got up, he said to his steward: “Hey, friend, you speak of him as if he were Raikva with the cart!” “And who is this Raikva with the cart?”

“Just as the lower throws of the dice all go to the winning throw, so everything good that people do comes to him. And whoever knows what he knows—I say the same of him.”

The steward searched for him and came back, saying, “I did not find him.” Janashruti said to him: “Look for him, man, where one would look for a brahmin.”

He came upon a man under a cart, scratching his sores, and sat down beside him. He said to him: “Sir, are you Raikva with the cart?” “Yes, I am, arā!” he admitted. The steward came back, saying, “I have found him.”note

Then Janashruti Pautrayana took six hundred cows, a gold necklace and a chariot drawn by mules, and went back to him. He said to him:

“Raikva, here are six hundred cows, here is a gold necklace, here is a chariot drawn by mules. Sir, teach me the deity you venerate.”

The other replied: “Oho, you Shudra! Let it all stay yours, cows and all!” So Janashruti Pautrayana went back again, taking a thousand cows, a gold necklace, a chariot drawn by mules and his daughter.note

He said to him: “Raikva, here are a thousand cows, here is a gold necklace, here is a chariot drawn by mules, here is a wife, and here is the village where you are staying. Sir, please teach me!”

Lifting up her face, Raikva said: “He has brought these, you Shudra! With just this face you would have got me to talk.” Those are the villages called Raikvaparna in the land of the Mahavrishas, where Raikva came to live at his gift. And he told him:note

The wind is indeed a gatherer. When a fire goes out, it goes into the wind. When the sun sets, it goes into the wind. When the moon sets, it goes into the wind.note

When water dries up, it goes into the wind. For the wind gathers all these to itself—so with respect to the gods.

Next, with respect to the body. Breath is indeed a gatherer. When a person sleeps, speech goes into breath, and so do sight, hearing and mind. For breath gathers all these to itself.

So these are the two gatherers: the wind among the gods, and breath among the breaths.note

Once, as Shaunaka Kapeya and Abhipratarin Kakshaseni were being served a meal, a Vedic student begged food from them. They gave him nothing.

He said: “One god has swallowed four great ones—who is he, the guardian of the world? Kapeya, mortals do not see him, Abhipratarin, though he dwells in many forms—he for whom this food is given.”

Shaunaka Kapeya thought about this, went up to him and replied: “The self of the gods, the begetter of creatures, golden-toothed devourer, by no means unwise—great, they say, is his greatness, for, without being eaten, he eats what is not food. That, student, is what we venerate. Give him alms!”

So they gave to him. Now these five and those other five make ten, and that is the winning throw. Therefore in all the quarters these ten are food, the winning throw. This is Viraj, the eater of food. Through it all this is seen. One who knows this sees all this and becomes an eater of food—one who knows this, one who knows this.note

Satyakama Jabala once said to his mother Jabala: “I want to live as a Vedic student. What is my lineage?”note

She said to him: “I do not know what your lineage is, my son. I had you in my youth, when I went about a great deal as a servant. So I do not know what your lineage is. But my name is Jabala and your name is Satyakama. So you should just say that you are Satyakama Jabala.”

He went to Haridrumata Gautama and said: “I want to live with you, sir, as a Vedic student. May I become your pupil?”

He asked him: “My dear, what is your lineage?” He replied: “I do not know what my lineage is, sir. I asked my mother, and she answered me: ‘I had you in my youth, when I went about a great deal as a servant. So I do not know what your lineage is. But my name is Jabala and your name is Satyakama.’ So I am Satyakama Jabala, sir.”

He said to him: “No one who is not a brahmin could speak out like this. Fetch the firewood, my dear. I will initiate you. You have not departed from the truth.” He initiated him, set apart four hundred lean and weak cows, and said: “Follow these, my dear.” As he drove them off, Satyakama said: “I will not come back without a thousand.” He lived away for a number of years. When the cows had become a thousand,

the bull called out to him: “Satyakama!” “Sir?” he replied. “We have reached a thousand, my dear. Take us to the teacher’s house.note

And let me tell you one quarter of brahman.” “Tell me, sir.” So he told him: “The eastern direction is one sixteenth; the western direction is one sixteenth; the southern direction is one sixteenth; the northern direction is one sixteenth. This, my dear, is the quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths, and it is called Radiant.note

One who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Radiant becomes radiant in this world, and wins radiant worlds—one who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Radiant.

Fire will tell you another quarter.” The next morning he drove the cows on. Where they came to at evening, he lit a fire, penned in the cows, laid firewood on the fire and sat down west of the fire, facing east.

The fire called out to him: “Satyakama!” “Sir?” he replied.

“My dear, let me tell you one quarter of brahman.” “Tell me, sir.” So he told him: “The earth is one sixteenth; the mid-region is one sixteenth; the sky is one sixteenth; the ocean is one sixteenth. This, my dear, is the quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths, and it is called Endless.

One who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Endless becomes endless in this world, and wins endless worlds—one who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Endless.

A goose will tell you another quarter.” The next morning he drove the cows on. Where they came to at evening, he lit a fire, penned in the cows, laid firewood on the fire and sat down west of the fire, facing east.

A goose flew down to him and called out: “Satyakama!” “Sir?” he replied.

“My dear, let me tell you one quarter of brahman.” “Tell me, sir.” So he told him: “Fire is one sixteenth; the sun is one sixteenth; the moon is one sixteenth; lightning is one sixteenth. This, my dear, is the quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths, and it is called Luminous.

One who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Luminous becomes luminous in this world, and wins luminous worlds—one who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Luminous.

A cormorant will tell you another quarter.” The next morning he drove the cows on. Where they came to at evening, he lit a fire, penned in the cows, laid firewood on the fire and sat down west of the fire, facing east.

A cormorant flew down to him and called out: “Satyakama!” “Sir?” he replied.

“My dear, let me tell you one quarter of brahman.” “Tell me, sir.” So he told him: “Breath is one sixteenth; sight is one sixteenth; hearing is one sixteenth; mind is one sixteenth. This, my dear, is the quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths, and it is called Having a Support.

One who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Having a Support comes to have a support in this world, and wins worlds that have a support—one who knows this and venerates this quarter of brahman made up of four sixteenths as Having a Support.”

He reached the teacher’s house. The teacher called out to him: “Satyakama!” “Sir?” he replied.

“My dear, you shine like someone who knows brahman. Who has taught you?” “Beings other than humans,” he admitted. “But I would like you, sir, to teach me yourself.

For I have heard from people like you, sir, that knowledge learned from a teacher is what leads most surely to the goal.” So the teacher taught him that very same thing, and nothing at all was left out—nothing was left out.

Upakosala Kamalayana lived as a Vedic student with Satyakama Jabala. For twelve years he tended his fires. Satyakama allowed his other pupils to return home, but not him.

His wife said to him: “The student has done his austerities and tended the fires well. Don’t let the fires reproach you—teach him.” But he went away on a journey without teaching him.

In his anguish the student resolved not to eat. His teacher’s wife said to him: “Student, eat! Why aren’t you eating?” He said: “A person has many desires, going off in many directions. I am full of distress. I will not eat.”

Then the fires said to one another: “The student has done his austerities and tended us well. Come, let us teach him.” And they said to him:

“Brahman is breath. Brahman is joy. Brahman is space.” He said: “I understand that brahman is breath. But joy and space I do not understand.” They said: “Joy is the same as space; space is the same as joy.” And they explained to him breath and the space connected with it.note

Then the householder’s fire instructed him: “Earth, fire, food, sun. The person seen in the sun—I am he; I am he indeed.

One who knows this and venerates it drives off evil deeds, gains a world, reaches his full life span and lives long; his descendants do not die out. We serve him in this world and in the next—one who knows this and venerates it.”

Then the southern fire instructed him: “Water, the directions, the stars, the moon. The person seen in the moon—I am he; I am he indeed.

One who knows this and venerates it drives off evil deeds, gains a world, reaches his full life span and lives long; his descendants do not die out. We serve him in this world and in the next—one who knows this and venerates it.”

Then the offering fire instructed him: “Breath, space, sky, lightning. The person seen in the lightning—I am he; I am he indeed.

One who knows this and venerates it drives off evil deeds, gains a world, reaches his full life span and lives long; his descendants do not die out. We serve him in this world and in the next—one who knows this and venerates it.”

They said: “Upakosala, my dear, you now have this knowledge of ours and the knowledge of the self. But your teacher will tell you the way.” Then his teacher came back, and the teacher called out to him: “Upakosala!”

“Sir?” he replied. “My dear, your face shines like that of someone who knows brahman. Who has taught you?” “Who could have taught me, sir?”—and here he half denied it—“these here look like this now, but they were different before,” and here he pointed to the fires. “What was it, my dear, that they told you?”

“This,” he admitted. “They told you, my dear, only about the worlds. But I will tell you this: just as water does not cling to a lotus leaf, so evil deeds do not cling to one who knows this.” “Tell me, sir.” So he told him:

“The person seen in the eye—that is the self,” he said. “That is the immortal, the fearless; that is brahman. So even if someone pours ghee or water into it, it simply runs off to the rims.

They call it the Gatherer of Lovely Things, for all lovely things gather to it. All lovely things gather to one who knows this.note

It is also the Bringer of Lovely Things, for it brings all lovely things. One who knows this brings all lovely things.note

It is also the Bringer of Light, for it shines in all worlds. One who knows this shines in all worlds.note

Now, whether or not people perform a funeral for such a person, they pass into the flame; from the flame into the day; from the day into the fortnight of the waxing moon; from the waxing fortnight into the six months when the sun moves north; from those months into the year; from the year into the sun; from the sun into the moon; from the moon into lightning. There a person who is not human

leads them to brahman. This is the path of the gods, the path to brahman. Those who go by it do not return to this human whirl—they do not return.”

The one who blows here is the sacrifice, for as he moves he purifies all this. Because as he moves he purifies all this, he is the sacrifice. Mind and speech are its two tracks.note

The Brahman priest shapes one of them with his mind; the hotṛ, the Adhvaryu and the udgātṛ shape the other with speech. When the morning litany has begun and the Brahman priest breaks his silence before the concluding verse,

he shapes only one track, and the other is lost. As a man walking on one leg, or a chariot running on one wheel, comes to harm, so his sacrifice comes to harm; and when the sacrifice comes to harm, the patron of the sacrifice comes to harm after it. Having sacrificed, he is worse off.

But when the morning litany has begun and the Brahman priest does not break his silence before the concluding verse, they shape both tracks, and neither is lost.

As a man walking on both legs, or a chariot running on both wheels, stands firm, so his sacrifice stands firm; and when the sacrifice stands firm, the patron of the sacrifice stands firm after it. Having sacrificed, he is better off.

Prajapati brooded over the worlds, heating them. From them, as they were heated, he drew out their essences: fire from the earth, wind from the mid-region, the sun from the sky.

He brooded over these three deities, heating them. From them, as they were heated, he drew out their essences: the verses of the Rig from fire, the formulas of the Yajus from wind, the chants of the Saman from the sun.

He brooded over this threefold knowledge, heating it. From it, as it was heated, he drew out its essences: bhūr from the verses of the Rig, bhuvaḥ from the formulas of the Yajus, svar from the chants of the Saman.

So if the sacrifice should be injured on the side of the Rig verses, he should make an offering in the householder’s fire, saying, “Bhūr svāhā!” In this way, by the essence of the Rig verses, by the power of the Rig verses, he mends the injury to the sacrifice from the Rig verses.

And if it should be injured on the side of the Yajus formulas, he should make an offering in the southern fire, saying, “Bhuvaḥ svāhā!” In this way, by the essence of the Yajus formulas, by the power of the Yajus formulas, he mends the injury to the sacrifice from the Yajus formulas.

And if it should be injured on the side of the Saman chants, he should make an offering in the offering fire, saying, “Svaḥ svāhā!” In this way, by the essence of the Saman chants, by the power of the Saman chants, he mends the injury to the sacrifice from the Saman chants.

Just as one would join gold with salt, silver with gold, tin with silver, lead with tin, copper with lead, wood with copper, and wood with leather,

so by the power of these worlds, of these deities and of this threefold knowledge he mends the injury to the sacrifice. A sacrifice in which there is a Brahman priest who knows this is a sacrifice supplied with medicine.

A sacrifice in which there is a Brahman priest who knows this slopes to the north. And there is this song about a Brahman priest who knows this: “Wherever it turns back, there he goes.”note

The Brahman priest, the silent one, alone among the officiants protects the Kurus as a mare does. A Brahman priest who knows this protects the sacrifice, the patron and all the officiants. Therefore one should make only a man who knows this one’s Brahman priest, not one who does not know this—not one who does not know this.note

One who knows the eldest and the best becomes the eldest and the best. Breath is the eldest and the best.

One who knows the most excellent becomes the most excellent among his own people. Speech is the most excellent.

One who knows the foundation stands firm in this world and in the next. Sight is the foundation.

One who knows attainment—his desires, both divine and human, are attained. Hearing is attainment.

One who knows the home becomes a home to his own people. The mind is the home.

Now, the breaths were arguing about which of them was the best: “I am the best!” “I am the best!”

The breaths went to their father Prajapati and said: “Sir, which of us is the best?” He told them: “The one after whose departure the body looks the worst of all—he is the best among you.”

So speech departed. After spending a year away, it came back and asked: “How were you able to live without me?” “Like the mute, not speaking, but breathing with breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind—that is how.” And speech went back in.

Then sight departed. After spending a year away, it came back and asked: “How were you able to live without me?” “Like the blind, not seeing, but breathing with breath, speaking with speech, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind—that is how.” And sight went back in.

Then hearing departed. After spending a year away, it came back and asked: “How were you able to live without me?” “Like the deaf, not hearing, but breathing with breath, speaking with speech, seeing with the eye, thinking with the mind—that is how.” And hearing went back in.

Then the mind departed. After spending a year away, it came back and asked: “How were you able to live without me?” “Like infants, without minds, but breathing with breath, speaking with speech, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear—that is how.” And the mind went back in.

Then, as breath was about to depart, it tore up the other breaths, just as a fine horse would tear up the pegs that hobble its feet. They all gathered around it and said: “Sir, stay! You are the best of us. Do not depart!”

Then speech said to it: “If I am the most excellent, it is you who are the most excellent.” And sight said to it: “If I am the foundation, it is you who are the foundation.”

And hearing said to it: “If I am attainment, it is you who are attainment.” And the mind said to it: “If I am the home, it is you who are the home.”

So people do not call them “speeches,” “sights,” “hearings” or “minds”; they call them “breaths,” for breath is all of these.

Breath said: “What will be my food?” “Whatever there is here, down to dogs and birds,” they said. So all this is the food of ana, for ana is its obvious name. For one who knows this, nothing at all is not food.note

It said: “What will be my clothing?” “Water,” they said. That is why, when people are about to eat, they wrap it in water before and after. He obtains clothing; he does not go naked.note

When Satyakama Jabala had taught this to Goshruti Vaiyaghrapadya, he said: “Even if one were to tell this to a dry stump, branches would grow on it and leaves sprout.”

Now, if one wishes to attain greatness, one should undergo consecration on the new-moon day, and on the night of the full moon stir a mash of all herbs with curd and honey. Then, saying, “To the eldest and the best, svāhā!,” one should offer ghee in the fire and pour the remnant into the mash.

Saying, “To the most excellent, svāhā!,” one should offer ghee in the fire and pour the remnant into the mash. Saying, “To the foundation, svāhā!,” one should offer ghee in the fire and pour the remnant into the mash. Saying, “To attainment, svāhā!,” one should offer ghee in the fire and pour the remnant into the mash. Saying, “To the home, svāhā!,” one should offer ghee in the fire and pour the remnant into the mash.

Then, moving back a little, he holds the mash in his cupped hands and softly recites: “You are Ama by name, for all this is at home with you. For he is the eldest and the best, the king and overlord. May he lead me to eldership and to the first rank, to kingship and overlordship. May I become all this!”note

Then he sips it, one foot of this verse at a time. Saying, “We choose that of Savitri,” he sips. Saying, “the food of the god,” he sips. Saying, “the best, the all-sustaining,” he sips. Saying, “may we receive the swift power of Bhaga,” he drinks it all.note

After washing the bronze cup or wooden bowl, he lies down behind the fire, on a skin or on the bare ground, holding his speech and keeping calm. If he sees a woman, he should know that the rite has succeeded.

On this there is this verse: “When, during rites performed for a wish, people see a woman in their dreams, they should recognize success in that dream vision—in that dream vision.”

Shvetaketu Aruneya came to the assembly of the Panchalas. Pravahana Jaivali said to him: “Boy, has your father taught you?” “Yes, sir, he has.”note

“Do you know where creatures go from here?” “No, sir.” “Do you know how they come back again?” “No, sir.” “Do you know where the two paths, the path of the gods and the path of the fathers, part from each other?” “No, sir.”note

“Do you know why that world does not fill up?” “No, sir.” “Do you know how, at the fifth offering, water comes to have a human voice?” “No, sir, not at all.”

“Then why did you say that you had been taught? How can someone who does not know these things call himself taught?” Distressed, he went to his father’s place and said to him: “Sir, you told me you had taught me, when you had not taught me at all!

That excuse for a prince asked me five questions, and I could not answer a single one of them.” His father said: “As you have told them to me, I do not know a single one of them. If I had known them, how could I not have told you?”

So Gautama went to the king’s place. When he arrived, the king received him with honor. In the morning Gautama went up to him in the assembly hall. The king said to him: “Honored Gautama, choose a gift of human wealth.” He replied: “Keep your human wealth, king. Tell me the very words you spoke in the presence of the boy.” The king was troubled.note

He ordered him: “Stay a long while.” Then he said to him: “As to what you have asked me, Gautama: before you, this knowledge has never reached the brahmins. That is why in all the worlds government has belonged to the ruling class alone.” And he told him:

“That world up there, Gautama, is a fire. The sun is its firewood, the rays its smoke, the day its flame, the moon its embers, the stars its sparks.note

In this very fire the gods offer faith. From that offering King Soma comes into being.note

Parjanya, the rain-god, Gautama, is a fire. The wind is its firewood, the clouds its smoke, lightning its flame, the thunderbolt its embers, the rumblings its sparks.

In this very fire the gods offer King Soma. From that offering rain comes into being.

The earth, Gautama, is a fire. The year is its firewood, space its smoke, night its flame, the directions its embers, the intermediate directions its sparks.

In this very fire the gods offer rain. From that offering food comes into being.

A man, Gautama, is a fire. Speech is its firewood, breath its smoke, the tongue its flame, the eye its embers, the ear its sparks.

In this very fire the gods offer food. From that offering semen comes into being.

A woman, Gautama, is a fire. Her vulva is its firewood; when a man invites her, that is its smoke; the vagina is its flame; when he penetrates her, those are its embers; the climaxes are its sparks.

In this very fire the gods offer semen. From that offering a fetus comes into being.

So it is that at the fifth offering water comes to have a human voice. Wrapped in the membrane, the fetus lies inside for ten or nine months, or however long, and then it is born.

Once born, he lives as long as his life lasts. When he has departed at his appointed time, they carry him from here to the very fire from which he came, from which he arose.

Now, those who know this, and those who in the wilderness venerate faith as austerity, pass into the flame; from the flame into the day; from the day into the fortnight of the waxing moon; from the waxing fortnight into the six months when the sun moves north;

from the months into the year; from the year into the sun; from the sun into the moon; from the moon into lightning. There a person who is not human leads them to brahman. This is the path of the gods.

But those who in the village venerate sacrifices and pious works as gift-giving pass into the smoke; from the smoke into the night; from the night into the fortnight of the waning moon; from the waning fortnight into the six months when the sun moves south. They do not reach the year.

From the months they pass into the world of the fathers; from the world of the fathers into space; from space into the moon. That is King Soma, the food of the gods; the gods eat it.

They stay there as long as a remnant is left, and then return by the same way they came: into space, and from space into wind. Having become wind, one becomes smoke; having become smoke, one becomes mist;

having become mist, one becomes a cloud; having become a cloud, one rains down. Then they are born here as rice and barley, as plants and trees, as sesame and beans. It is very hard to get out of these; for only when someone eats the food and pours out the semen does one come into being again.

Now, people here whose conduct is pleasant can expect to enter a pleasant womb—the womb of a brahmin, a Kshatriya or a Vaishya woman. But people whose conduct is foul can expect to enter a foul womb—the womb of a dog, a pig or a woman outside caste.

And then there are those who go by neither of these two paths. They become the tiny creatures that keep returning again and again. “Be born! Die!”—that is a third state. That is why that world does not fill up. Therefore one should be on one’s guard. On this there is this verse:

“A man who steals gold, one who drinks liquor, one who sleeps with his teacher’s wife, one who kills a brahmin—these four fall, and the fifth is the one who keeps company with them.”

But one who knows these five fires in this way is not stained by evil, even if he keeps company with such people. One who knows this becomes clean and pure and gains a world of merit—one who knows this, one who knows this.

Pracinashala Aupamanyava, Satyayajna Paulushi, Indradyumna Bhallaveya, Jana Sharkarakshya and Budila Ashvatarashvi—these great householders, deeply learned in the Veda, came together and began a discussion: “What is our self? What is brahman?”

They came to an agreement: “Sirs, Uddalaka Aruni here is at present studying this very self, the self common to all men. Come, let us go to him.” And they went to him.

He reasoned: “These great householders, deeply learned in the Veda, are going to question me, and I will not be able to answer them fully. Come, let me direct them to someone else.”

He said to them: “Sirs, Ashvapati Kaikeya here is at present studying this very self, the self common to all men. Come, let us go to him.” And they went to him.note

When they arrived, he had each of them received with honor. In the morning, as he got up, he said: “In my realm there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no one without a sacred fire, no one unlearned, no adulterer—much less an adulteress. Sirs, I am about to perform a sacrifice. As much wealth as I give to each officiating priest, I will give to you, sirs. Please stay.”

They said: “A man should speak of the very purpose for which he has come. You now know this self common to all men; tell us about it.”

He said to them: “I will give you my answer in the morning.” Early the next day they came back to him with firewood in their hands. Without first initiating them as pupils, he spoke to them:note

“Aupamanyava, what do you venerate as the self?” “The sky, venerable king,” he replied. “The self common to all men that you venerate as the self is the one called Brilliant. That is why Soma is seen pressed, pressed out and pressed forth in your family.”note

“You eat food and see what pleases you. One who venerates this self common to all men in this way eats food, sees what pleases him and has the splendor of sacred knowledge in his family. But that is only the head of the self,” he said. “Your head would have shattered if you had not come to me.”note

Then he said to Satyayajna Paulushi: “Pracinayogya, what do you venerate as the self?” “The sun, venerable king,” he replied. “The self common to all men that you venerate as the self is the one called Multiform. That is why so much of every form is seen in your family.”

“A chariot drawn by she-mules stands ready for you, with slave girls and gold necklaces. You eat food and see what pleases you. One who venerates this self common to all men in this way eats food, sees what pleases him and has the splendor of sacred knowledge in his family. But that is only the eye of the self,” he said. “You would have gone blind if you had not come to me.”

Then he said to Indradyumna Bhallaveya: “Vaiyaghrapadya, what do you venerate as the self?” “The wind, venerable king,” he replied. “The self common to all men that you venerate as the self is the one called Diverse-Pathed. That is why tributes come to you from diverse sides, and rows of chariots follow you from diverse sides.”

“You eat food and see what pleases you. One who venerates this self common to all men in this way eats food, sees what pleases him and has the splendor of sacred knowledge in his family. But that is only the breath of the self,” he said. “Your breath would have left you if you had not come to me.”

Then he said to Jana: “Sharkarakshya, what do you venerate as the self?” “Space, venerable king,” he replied. “The self common to all men that you venerate as the self is the one called Abundant. That is why you abound in offspring and wealth.”

“You eat food and see what pleases you. One who venerates this self common to all men in this way eats food, sees what pleases him and has the splendor of sacred knowledge in his family. But that is only the trunk of the self,” he said. “Your trunk would have fallen apart if you had not come to me.”

Then he said to Budila Ashvatarashvi: “Vaiyaghrapadya, what do you venerate as the self?” “Water, venerable king,” he replied. “The self common to all men that you venerate as the self is the one called Wealth. That is why you are wealthy and thriving.”

“You eat food and see what pleases you. One who venerates this self common to all men in this way eats food, sees what pleases him and has the splendor of sacred knowledge in his family. But that is only the bladder of the self,” he said. “Your bladder would have burst if you had not come to me.”

Then he said to Uddalaka Aruni: “Gautama, what do you venerate as the self?” “The earth, venerable king,” he replied. “The self common to all men that you venerate as the self is the one called Foundation. That is why you stand firmly founded in offspring and livestock.”