Prashna Upanishad in English
A question-and-answer Upanishad where students ask about creation, breath, waking, Om, and the person.
Translator: Max Müller. The Upanishads, Sacred Books of the East.
This page reproduces the source-linked English translation. Original-language text appears only where safely aligned. Generated transliteration is a study aid. Plain meanings in the interactive reader are derived study notes, not a traditional commentary.
Prashna 1.
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com p. 268p. 269p. 270p. 271 Adoration to the Highest Self! Hari _h_, Om!
1. Suke _s_ as1 Bhâradvâ _g_ a2, and _S_ aivya Satyakâma, and Sauryâya _n_ in3 Gârgya, and Kausalya4 Â _s_ valâyana, and Bhârgava Vaidarbhi5, and Kabandhin Kâtyâyana, these were devoted to Brahman, firm in Brahman, seeking for the Highest Brahman. They thought that the venerable Pippalâda could tell them all that, and they therefore took fuel in their hands (like pupils), and approached him.
2. That _Ri_ shi said to them: 'Stay here a year longer, with penance, abstinence, and faith; then you may ask questions according to your pleasure, and if we know them, we shall tell you all.'
3. Then6 Kabandhin Kâtyâyana approached him and asked: 'Sir, from whence may these creatures be born?'
4. He replied: 'Pra _g_ âpati (the lord of creatures) was desirous of creatures (pra _g_ â _h_). He performed penance'1, and having performed penance, he produces a pair, matter (rayi) and spirit (prâ _n_ a), thinking that they together should produce creatures for him in many ways.
52. The sun is spirit, matter is the moon. All this, what has body and what has no body, is matter, and therefore body indeed is matter.
6. Now Âditya, the sun, when he rises, goes toward the East, and thus receives the Eastern spirits into his rays. And when he illuminates the South, the West, the North, the Zenith, the Nadir, the intermediate quarters, and everything, he thus receives all spirits into his rays.
7. Thus he rises, as Vai _s_ vânara, (belonging to all men,) assuming all forms, as spirit, as fire. This has been said in the following verse:
83. (They knew) him who assumes all forms, the golden4, who knows all things, who ascends highest, alone in his splendour, and warms us; the thousand-rayed, who abides in a hundred places, the spirit of all creatures, the Sun, rises.
9. The year indeed is Pra _g_ âpati, and there are two paths thereof, the Southern and the Northern. Now those who here believe in sacrifices and pious gifts as work done, gain the moon only as their [paragraph continues] (future) world, and return again. Therefore the _Ri_ shis who desire offspring, go to the South, and that path of the Fathers is matter (rayi).
10. But those who have sought the Self by penance, abstinence, faith, and knowledge, gain by the Northern path Âditya, the sun. This is the home of the spirits, the immortal, free from danger, the highest. From thence they do not return, for it is the end. Thus says the _S_ loka1:
11. Some call him the father with five feet (the five seasons), and with twelve shapes (the twelve months), the giver of rain in the highest half of heaven; others again say that the sage is placed in the lower half, in the chariot2 with seven wheels and six spokes.
12. The month is Pra _g_ âpati; its dark half is matter, its bright half spirit. Therefore some _Ri_ shis perform sacrifice in the bright half, others in the other half.
13. Day and Night3 are Pra _g_ âpati; its day is spirit, its night matter. Those who unite in love by day waste their spirit, but to unite in love by night is right.
14. Food is Pra _g_ âpati. Hence proceeds seed, and from it these creatures are born.
15. Those therefore who observe this rule of Pra _g_ âpati (as laid down in § 13), produce a pair, and to them belongs this Brahma-world here4. But those in whom dwell penance, abstinence, and truth,
16. To them belongs that pure Brahma-world, to them, namely, in whom there is nothing crooked, nothing false, and no guile.'
No aligned Sanskrit or transliteration is supplied for this section.
Prashna 2.
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Then Bhârgava Vaidarbhi asked him: 'Sir, How many gods1 keep what has thus been created, how many manifest this2, and who is the best of them?'
2. He replied: 'The ether is that god, the wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, eye, and ear. These, when they have manifested (their power), contend and say: We (each of us) support this body and keep it3.
34. Then Prâ _n_ a (breath, spirit, life), as the best, said to them: Be not deceived, I alone, dividing myself fivefold, support this body and keep it.
4. They were incredulous; so he, from pride, did as if he were going out from above. Thereupon, as he went out, all the others went out, and as he returned, all the others returned. As bees go out when their queen1 goes out, and return when she returns, thus (did) speech, mind, eye, and ear; and, being satisfied, they praise Prâ _n_ a, saying:
5. He is Agni (fire), he shines as Sûrya (sun), he is Par _g_ anya (rain), the powerful (Indra), he is Vâyu, (wind), he is the earth, he is matter, he is God--he is what is and what is not, and what is immortal.
6. As spokes in the nave of a wheel, everything is fixed in Prâ _n_ a, the verses of the _Ri_ g-veda, Ya _g_ ur-veda, Sâma-veda, the sacrifice, the Kshatriyas, and the Brâhmans.
7. As Pra _g_ âpati (lord of creatures) thou movest about in the womb, thou indeed art born again. To thee, the Prâ _n_ a, these creatures bring offerings, to thee who dwellest with the other prâ _n_ as (the organs of sense).
8. Thou art the best carrier for the Gods, thou art the first offering2 to the Fathers. Thou art the true work of the Rishis3, of the Atharvâṅgiras.
9. O Prâ _n_ a, thou art Indra by thy light, thou art Rudra, as a protector; thou movest in the sky, thou art the sun, the lord of lights.
10. When thou showerest down rain, then, O Prâ _n_ a, these creatures of thine are delighted4, hoping that there will be food, as much as they desire.
11. Thou art a Vrâtya1, O Prâ _n_ a, the only _Ri_ shi2, the consumer of everything, the good lord. We are the givers of what thou hast to consume, thou, O Mâtari _s_ va3, art our father.
12. Make propitious that body of thine which dwells in speech, in the ear, in the eye, and which pervades the mind; do not go away!
13. All this is in the power of Prâ _n_ a, whatever exists in the three heavens. Protect us like a mother her sons, and give us happiness and wisdom.'
No aligned Sanskrit or transliteration is supplied for this section.
Prashna 3.
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Then Kausalya  _s_ valâyana asked: 'Sir, whence is that Prâ _n_ a (spirit) born? How does it come into this body? And how does it abide, after it has divided itself? How does it go out? How does it support what is without4, and how what is within?'
2. He replied: 'You ask questions more difficult, but you are very fond of Brahman, therefore I shall tell it you.
3. This Prâ _n_ a (spirit) is born of the Self. Like the shadow thrown on a man, this (the prâ _n_ a) is spread out over it (the Brahman)1. By the work of the mind2 does it come into this body.
4. As a king commands officials, saying to them: Rule these villages or those, so does that Prâ _n_ a (spirit) dispose the other prâ _n_ as, each for their separate work.
5. The Apâna (the down-breathing) in the organs of excretion and generation; the Prâ _n_ a himself dwells in eye and ear, passing through mouth and nose. In the middle is the Samâna3 (the on-breathing); it carries what has been sacrificed as food equally (over the body), and the seven lights proceed from it.
6. The Self4 is in the heart. There are the 101 arteries, and in each of them there are a hundred (smaller veins), and for each of these branches there are 72,0005. In these the Vyâna (the back-breathing) moves.
7. Through one of them, the Udâna (the out-breathing) leads (us) upwards to the good world by good work, to the bad world by bad work, to the world of men by both.
8. The sun rises as the external Prâ _n_ a, for it assists the Prâ _n_ a in the eye1. The deity that exists in the earth, is there in support of man's Apâna (down-breathing). The ether between (sun and earth) is the Samâna (on-breathing), the air is Vyâna (back-breathing).
9. Light is the Udâna (out-breathing), and therefore he whose light has gone out comes to a new birth with his senses absorbed in the mind.
10. Whatever his thought (at the time of death) with that he goes back to Prâ _n_ a, and the Prâ _n_ a, united with light2, together with the self (the _g_ îvâtmâ) leads on to the world, as deserved.
11. He who, thus knowing, knows Prâ _n_ a, his offspring does not perish, and he becomes immortal. Thus says the _S_ loka:
12. He who has known the origin3, the entry, the place, the fivefold distribution, and the internal state4 of the Prâ _n_ a, obtains immortality, yes, obtains immortality.'
No aligned Sanskrit or transliteration is supplied for this section.
Prashna 4.
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Then Sauryâya _n_ in Gârgya asked: 'Sir, What are they that sleep in this man, and what are they that are awake in him? What power (deva) is it that sees dreams? Whose is the happiness? On what do all these depend?'
2. He replied: 'O Gârgya, As all the rays of the sun, when it sets, are gathered up in that disc of light, and as they, when the sun rises again and again, come forth, so is all this (all the senses) gathered up in the highest faculty (deva)1, the mind. Therefore at that time that man does not hear, see, smell, taste, touch, he does not speak, he does not take, does not enjoy, does not evacuate, does not move about. He sleeps, that is what people say.
3. The fires of the prâ _n_ as are, as it were2, awake in that town (the body). The Apâna is the Gârhapatya fire, the Vyâna the Anvâhâryapa _k_ ana fire; and because it is taken out of the Gârhapatya fire, which is fire for taking out3, therefore the Prâ _n_ a is the Âhavanîya fire4. Now the Apâna is identified with the Gârhapatya fire, no reason being given except afterwards, when it is said that the Prâ _n_ a is the Âhavanîya fire, being taken out of the Gârhapatya, here called p. 280 pra _n_ ayana, in the same manner as the prâ _n_ a proceeds in sleep from the apâna. The Vyâna is identified with the Dakshi _n_ âgni, the Southern fire, because it issues from the heart through an aperture on the right.
4. Because it carries equally these two oblations, the out-breathing and the in-breathing, the Samâna is he (the Hot _ri_ priest)1. The mind is the sacrificer, the Udâna is the reward of the sacrifice, and it leads the sacrificer every day (in deep sleep) to Brahman.
5. There that god2 (the mind) enjoys in sleep greatness. What has been seen, he2 sees again; what has been heard, he hears again; what has been enjoyed in different countries and quarters, he enjoys again; what has been seen and not seen, heard and not heard, enjoyed and not enjoyed, he sees it all; he, being all, sees.
6. And when he is overpowered by light3, then that god sees no dreams, and at that time that happiness arises in his body.
7. And, O friend, as birds go to a tree to roost, thus all this rests in the Highest Âtman,--
8. The earth and its subtile elements, the water and its subtile elements, the light and its subtile elements, the air and its subtile elements, the ether and its subtile elements; the eye and what can be seen, the ear and what can be heard, the nose and what can be smelled, the taste and what can be tasted, the skin and what can be touched, the voice and what can be spoken, the hands and what can be grasped, the feet and what can be walked, the mind and what can be perceived, intellect (buddhi) and what can be conceived, personality and what can be personified, thought and what can be thought, light and what can be lighted up, the Prâ _n_ a and what is to be supported by it.
9. For he it is who sees, hears, smells, tastes, perceives, conceives, acts, he whose essence is knowledge1, the person, and he dwells in the highest, indestructible Self,--
10. He who knows that indestructible being, obtains (what is) the highest and indestructible, he without a shadow, without a body, without colour, bright--,yes, O friend, he who knows it, becomes all-knowing, becomes all. On this there is this _S_ loka:
11. He, O friend, who knows that indestructible being wherein the true knower, the vital spirits (prâ _n_ as), together with all the powers (deva), and the elements rest, he, being all-knowing, has penetrated all.'
No aligned Sanskrit or transliteration is supplied for this section.
Prashna 5.
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Then _S_ aivya Satyakâma asked him:--'Sir, if some one among men should meditate here until death on the syllable Om, what would he obtain by it?'
2. He replied: 'O Satyakâma, the syllable Om (AUM) is the highest and also the other Brahman; therefore he who knows it arrives by the same means1 at one of the two.
3. If he meditate on one Mâtrâ (the A)2, then, being enlightened by that only, he arrives quickly at the earth3. The _Ri_ _k_-verses lead him to the world of men, and being endowed there with penance, abstinence, and faith, he enjoys greatness.
4. If he meditate with4 two Mâtrâs (A + U) he arrives at the Manas5, and is led up by the Ya _g_ us-verses to the sky, to the Soma-world. Having enjoyed greatness in the Soma-world, he returns again.
5. Again, he who meditates with this syllable AUM of three Mâtrâs, on the Highest Person, he comes to light and to the sun. And as a snake is freed from its skin, so is he freed from evil. He is led up by the Sâman-verses to the Brahma-world6; and from him, full of life (Hira _n_ yagarbha, the lord of the Satya-loka7), he learns8 to see the all-pervading, the Highest Person. And there are these two _S_ lokas:
6. The three Mâtrâs (A + U + M), if employed separate, and only joined one to another, are mortal9; but in acts, external, internal, or intermediate, if well performed, the sage trembles not1.
7. Through the _Ri_ _k_-verses he arrives at this world, through the Ya _g_ us-verses at the sky, through the Sâman-verses at that which the poets teach,--he arrives at this by means of the Oṅkâra; the wise arrives at that which is at rest, free from decay, from death, from fear,--the Highest.'
No aligned Sanskrit or transliteration is supplied for this section.
Prashna 6.
_The Upanishads, Part 2 (SBE15)_, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com
1. Then Suke _s_ as Bhâradvâga asked him, saying: 'Sir, Hira _n_ yanâbha, the prince of Kosalâ2, came to me and asked this question: Do you know the person of sixteen parts, O Bhâradvâga? I said to the prince: I do not know him; if I knew him, how should I not tell you? Surely, he who speaks what is untrue withers away to the very root; therefore I will not say what is untrue. Then he mounted his chariot and went away silently. Now I ask you, where is that person?'
2. He replied: 'Friend, that person is here within the body, he in whom these sixteen parts arise.
3. He reflected: What is it by whose departure I shall depart, and by whose staying I shall stay?
4. He sent forth (created) Prâ _n_ a (spirit)3; from paragraph continues] Prâ _n_ a _S_ raddhâ (faith)[1, ether, air, light, water, earth, sense, mind, food; from food came vigour, penance, hymns, sacrifice, the worlds, and in the worlds the name2 also.
5. As these flowing rivers3 that go towards the ocean, when they have reached the ocean, sink into it, their name and form are broken, and people speak of the ocean only, exactly thus these sixteen parts of the spectator that go towards the person (purusha), when they have reached the person, sink into him, their name and form are broken, and people speak of the person only, and he becomes without parts and immortal. On this there is this verse:
6. That person who is to be known, he in whom these parts rest, like spokes in the nave of a wheel, you know him, lest death should hurt you.'
7. Then he (Pippalâda) said to them: 'So far do I know this Highest Brahman, there is nothing higher than it.'
8. And they praising him, said: 'You, indeed, are our father, you who carry us from our ignorance to the other shore.' Adoration to the highest _Ri_ shis! Adoration to the highest _Ri_ shis! Tat sat. Hari _h_, Om!
No aligned Sanskrit or transliteration is supplied for this section.