इति प्रश्नोपनिषदि पञ्चमः प्रश्नः ॥
7 verses · 5 of 6
Satyakama, son of Shibi, asks: if a man meditates on Om until the end of his life, which world does he win by it? Pippalada answers that Om is both the higher and the lower Brahman, and the wise reach either by this support. He who meditates on one measure of Om is quickly born again on earth, led by the Rig verses to the human world. He who meditates on two measures is led by the Yajus to the world of the moon, and returns. He who meditates on the supreme Purusha with all three measures sheds sin like a snake's skin, is led by the Saman chants to the world of Brahma, and sees the Purusha who dwells in every body.
अथ हैनं शैब्यः सत्यकामः पप्रच्छ । स यो ह
वै तद्भगवन्मनुष्येषु प्रायणान्तमोङ्कारमभिध्यायीत ।
कतमं
वाव स तेन लोकं जयतीति । तस्मै स होवाच
atha hainaṃ śaibyaḥ satyakāmaḥ papraccha | sa yo ha
vai tadbhagavanmanuṣyeṣu prāyaṇāntamoṅkāramabhidhyāyīta |
katamaṃ
vāva sa tena lokaṃ jayatīti | tasmai sa hovāca
Then Satyakama son of Shibi asked him: "Revered sir, if a man among men meditates on Om until the end of his life, which world does he win by it?" He answered him:
एतद्वै सत्यकाम परं चापरं च ब्रह्म यदोङ्कारः ।
तस्माद्विद्वानेतेनैवायतनेनैकतरमन्वेति
etadvai satyakāma paraṃ cāparaṃ ca brahma yadoṅkāraḥ |
tasmādvidvānetenaivāyatanenaikataramanveti
Satyakama, this Om is both the higher and the lower Brahman. So the wise man, by this support alone, reaches one or the other.
स यद्येकमात्रमभिध्यायीत स तेनैव संवेदितस्तूर्णमेव
जगत्याभिसंपद्यते । तमृचो मनुष्यलोकमुपनयन्ते स तत्र
तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धया संपन्नो महिमानमनुभवति
sa yadyekamātramabhidhyāyīta sa tenaiva saṃveditastūrṇameva
jagatyābhisaṃpadyate | tamṛco manuṣyalokamupanayante sa tatra
tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śraddhayā saṃpanno mahimānamanubhavati
If he meditates on its one measure, enlightened by that alone he quickly returns to the earth. The Rig verses lead him to the world of men. There, endowed with tapas, brahmacharya and faith, he enjoys greatness.
अथ यदि द्विमात्रेण मनसि संपद्यते सोऽन्तरिक्षं
यजुर्भिरुन्नीयते सोमलोकम् । स सोमलोके विभूतिमनुभूय
पुनरावर्तते
atha yadi dvimātreṇa manasi saṃpadyate so'ntarikṣaṃ
yajurbhirunnīyate somalokam | sa somaloke vibhūtimanubhūya
punarāvartate
If he unites his mind with its two measures, the Yajur verses lead him up to the middle air, to the world of the moon. Having enjoyed its glory there, he returns.
यः पुनरेतं त्रिमात्रेणोमित्येतेनैवाक्षरेण परं पुरुषमभि-
ध्यायीत स तेजसि सूर्ये संपन्नः । यथा पादोदरस्त्वचा
विनिर्मुच्यत एवं ह वै स पाप्मना विनिर्मुक्तः स
सामभिरुन्नीयते ब्रह्मलोकं स एतस्माज्जीवघनात् परात्परं
पुरिशयं पुरुषमीक्षते । तदेतौ श्लोकौ भवतः
yaḥ punaretaṃ trimātreṇomityetenaivākṣareṇa paraṃ puruṣamabhi-
dhyāyīta sa tejasi sūrye saṃpannaḥ | yathā pādodarastvacā
vinirmucyata evaṃ ha vai sa pāpmanā vinirmuktaḥ sa
sāmabhirunnīyate brahmalokaṃ sa etasmājjīvaghanāt parātparaṃ
puriśayaṃ puruṣamīkṣate | tadetau ślokau bhavataḥ
But he who meditates on the supreme Purusha with this syllable Om of three measures becomes one with the light of the sun. As a snake is freed from its skin, he is freed from sin. The Sama chants lead him up to the world of Brahma. From that mass of living beings he beholds the Purusha higher than the highest, who dwells in every body. On this there are two verses:
तिस्रो मात्रा मृत्युमत्यः प्रयुक्ता
अन्योन्यसक्ताः अनविप्रयुक्ताः ।
क्रियासु बाह्याभ्यन्तरमध्यमासु
सम्यक् प्रयुक्तासु न कम्पते ज्ञः
tisro mātrā mṛtyumatyaḥ prayuktā
anyonyasaktāḥ anaviprayuktāḥ |
kriyāsu bāhyābhyantaramadhyamāsu
samyak prayuktāsu na kampate jñaḥ
The three measures, used apart, remain within death's reach. But when they are joined to one another and used rightly in outer, inner and middle acts, the knower does not waver.
ऋग्भिरेतं यजुर्भिरन्तरिक्षं
सामभिर्यत् तत् कवयो वेदयन्ते ।
तमोङ्कारेणैवायतनेनान्वेति विद्वान्
यत्तच्छान्तमजरममृतमभयं परं चेति
ṛgbhiretaṃ yajurbhirantarikṣaṃ
sāmabhiryat tat kavayo vedayante |
tamoṅkāreṇaivāyatanenānveti vidvān
yattacchāntamajaramamṛtamabhayaṃ paraṃ ceti
By the Rig verses one reaches this world, by the Yajur the middle air, by the Sama that which the seers know. With Om alone as his support the wise man reaches that which is peaceful, ageless, deathless, fearless and supreme.
1. Then Saivya 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 means at one of the two.
3. If he meditate on one Mâtrâ (the A), then, being enlightened by that only, he arrives quickly at the earth. The Rik-verses lead him to the world of men, and being endowed there with penance, abstinence, and faith, he enjoys greatness.
4. If he meditate with two Mâtrâs (A+U) he arrives at the Manas, and is led up by the Yagus-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-world; and from him, full of life (Hiranyagarbha,
the lord of the Satya-loka), he learns to see the all-pervading, the Highest Person. And there are these two Slokas:
6. The three Mâtrâs (A+U+M), if employed separate, and only joined one to another, are mortal; but in acts, external, internal, or intermediate, if well performed, the sage trembles not.
7. Through the Rik-verses he arrives at this world, through the Yagus-verses at the sky, through the Sâman-verses at that which the poets teach,— he arrives at this by means of the Onkâra; the wise arrives at that which is at rest, free from decay, from death, from fear,— the Highest."
Public-domain translation by F. Max Müller (1884).
Text source: Wikisource · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription of a public-domain text)
