Brihadaranyaka-upanishad — Sixth Adhyâya

1. Hariḥ, Om. He who knows the first and the best, becomes himself the first and the best among his people. Breath is indeed the first and the best. He who knows this, becomes the first and the best among his people, and among whomsoever he wishes to be so.
2. He who knows the richest, becomes himself the richest among his people. Speech is the richest. He who knows this, becomes the richest among his people, and among whomsoever he wishes to be so.
3. He who knows the firm rest, becomes himself firm on even and uneven ground. The eye indeed is the firm rest, for by means of the eye a man stands firm on even and uneven ground. He who knows this, stands firm on even and uneven ground.
4. He who knows success, whatever desire he desires, it succeeds to him. The ear indeed is success. For in the ear are all these Vedas successful. He who knows this, whatever desire he desires, it succeeds to him.
5. He who knows the home, becomes a home of his own people, a home of all men. The mind indeed is the home. He who knows this, becomes a home of his own people and a home of all men.
6. He who knows generation, becomes rich in offspring and cattle. Seed indeed is generation. He who knows this, becomes rich in offspring and cattle.

7. These Prâṇas (senses), when quarrelling together as to who was the best, went to Brahman and said: ‘Who is the richest of us?’ He replied: ‘He by whose departure this body seems worst, he is the richest.’
8. The tongue (speech) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came back and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like unto people, not speaking with the tongue, but breathing with breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, knowing with the mind, generating with seed. Thus we have lived.’ Then speech entered in.
9. The eye (sight) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came back and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like blind people, not seeing with the eye, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, hearing with the ear, knowing with the mind, generating with seed. Thus we have lived.’ Then the eye entered in.
10. The ear (hearing) departed, and having been absent for a year, it came back and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like deaf people, not hearing with the ear, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye, knowing with the mind, generating with seed. Thus we have lived.’ Then the ear entered in.

11. The mind departed, and having been absent for a year, it came back and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like fools, not knowing with their mind, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, generating with seed. Thus we have lived.’ Then the mind entered in.
12. The seed departed, and having been absent for a year, it came back and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They replied: ‘Like impotent people, not generating with seed, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, knowing with the mind. Thus we have lived.’ Then the seed entered in.
13. The (vital) breath, when on the point of departing, tore up these senses, as a great, excellent horse of the Sindhu country might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered. They said to him: ‘Sir, do not depart. We shall not be able to live without thee.’ He said: ‘Then make me an offering.’ They said: ‘Let it be so.’
14. Then the tongue said: ‘If I am the richest, then thou art the richest by it.’ The eye said: ‘If I am the firm rest, then thou art possessed of firm rest by it.’ The ear said: ‘If I am success, then thou art possessed of success by it.’ The mind said: ‘If I am the home, thou art the home by it.’ The seed said: ‘If I am generation, thou art possessed of generation by it.’ He said: ‘What shall be food, what shall be dress for me?’

They replied: ‘Whatever there is, even unto dogs, worms, insects, and birds, that is Thy food, and water Thy dress. He who thus knows the food of Ana (the breath), by him nothing is eaten that is not (proper) food, nothing is received that is not (proper) food. Śrotriyas (Vedic theologians) who know this, rinse the mouth with water when they are going to eat, and rinse the mouth with water after they have eaten, thinking that thereby they make the breath dressed (with water).’
1. Śvetaketu Aruṇeya went to the settlement of the Pañcâlas. He came near to Pravâhaṇa Jaivali, who was walking about (surrounded by his men). As soon as he (the king) saw him, he said: ‘My boy!’ Śvetaketu replied: ‘Sir!’
Then the king said: ‘Have you been taught by your father!’ ‘Yes,’ he replied.
2. The king said: ‘Do you know how men, when they depart from here, separate from each other?’ ‘No,’ he replied.
‘Do you know how they come back to this world?’ ‘No,’ he replied.
‘Do you know how that world does never become full with the many who again and again depart thither?’ ‘No,’ he replied.
‘Do you know at the offering of which libation the waters become endowed with a human voice and rise and speak?’ ‘No,’ he replied.
‘Do you know the access to the path leading to the Devas and to the path leading to the Fathers, i. e. by what deeds men gain access to the path leading to the Devas or to that leading to the Fathers? For we have heard even the saying of a Rishi: “I heard of two paths for men, one leading to the Fathers, the other leading to the Devas. On those paths all that lives moves on, whatever there is between father (sky) and mother (earth).”’

Śvetaketu said: ‘I do not know even one of all these questions.’
3. Then the king invited him to stay and accept his hospitality. But the boy, not caring for hospitality, ran away, went back to his father, and said: ‘Thus then you called me formerly well-instructed!’ The father said: ‘What then, you sage?’ The son replied: ‘That fellow of a Râganya asked me five questions, and I did not know one of them.’
‘What were they?’ said the father.
‘These were they,’ the son replied, mentioning the different heads.
4. The father said: ‘You know me, child, that whatever I know, I told you. But come, we shall go thither, and dwell there as students.’
‘You may go, Sir,’ the son replied.
Then Gautama went where (the place of) Pravâhaṇa Gâivali was, and the king offered him a seat, ordered water for him, and gave him the proper offerings. Then he said to him: ‘Sir, we offer a boon to Gautama.’
5. Gautama said: ‘That boon is promised to me; tell me the same speech which you made in the presence of my boy.’
6. He said: ‘That belongs to divine boons, name one of the human boons.’
7. He said: ‘You know well that I have plenty of gold, plenty of cows, horses, slaves, attendants, and apparel; do not heap on me what I have already in plenty, in abundance, and superabundance.’

The king said: ‘Gautama, do you wish (for instruction from me) in the proper way?’
Gautama replied: ‘I come to you as a pupil.’
In word only have former sages (though Brâhmans) come as pupils (to people of lower rank), but Gautama actually dwelt as a pupil (of Pravâhaṇa, who was a Râganya) in order to obtain the fame of having respectfully served his master.
8. The king said: ‘Do not be offended with us, neither you nor your forefathers, because this knowledge has before now never dwelt with any Brâhmana. But I shall tell it to you, for who could refuse you when you speak thus?
9. ‘The altar (fire), O Gautama, is that world (heaven); the fuel is the sun itself, the smoke His rays, the light the day, the coals the quarters, the sparks the intermediate quarters. On that altar the Devas offer the Sraddha libation (consisting of water). From that oblation rises Soma, the king (the moon).
10. ‘The altar, O Gautama, is Parjanya (the god of rain); the fuel is the year itself, the smoke the clouds, the light the lightning, the coals the thunderbolt, the sparks the thunderings. On that altar the Devas offer Soma, the king (the moon). From that oblation rises rain.
11. ‘The altar, O Gautama, is this world; the fuel is the earth itself, the smoke the fire, the light the night, the coals the moon, the sparks the stars. On that altar the Devas offer rain. From that oblation rises food.’

12. ‘The altar, O Gautama, is man; the fuel the opened mouth, the smoke the breath, the light the tongue, the coals the eye, the sparks the ear. On that altar the Devas offer food. From that oblation rises seed.
13. ‘The altar, O Gautama, is woman. On that altar the Devas offer seed. From that oblation rises man. He lives so long as he lives, and then when he dies,
14. ‘They take him to the fire (the funeral pile), and then the altar-fire is indeed fire, the fuel fuel, the smoke smoke, the light light, the coals coals, the sparks sparks. In that very altar-fire the Devas offer man, and from that oblation man rises, brilliant in colour.
15. ‘Those who thus know this (even Grihasthas), and those who in the forest worship faith and the True (Brahman Hiranyagarbha), go to light, from light to day, from day to the increasing half, from the increasing half to the six months when the sun goes to the north, from those six months to the world of the Devas (Devaloka), from the world of the Devas to the sun, from the sun to the place of lightning. When they have thus reached the place of lightning a spirit comes near them, and leads them to the worlds of the (conditioned) Brahman. In these worlds of Brahman they dwell exalted for ages. There is no returning for them.

16. ‘But they who conquer the worlds (future states) by means of sacrifice, charity, and austerity, go to smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the decreasing half of the moon, from the decreasing half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the south, from these months to the world of the fathers, from the world of the fathers to the moon. Having reached the moon, they become food, and then the Devas feed on them there, as sacrificers feed on Soma, as it increases and decreases. But when this (the result of their good works on earth) ceases, they return again to that ether, from ether to the air, from the air to rain, from rain to the earth. And when they have reached the earth, they become food, they are offered again in the altar-fire, which is man (see ii), and thence are born in the fire of woman. Thus they rise up towards the worlds, and go the same round as before.
‘Those, however, who know neither of these two paths, become worms, birds, and creeping things.’
1. If a man wishes to reach greatness (wealth for performing sacrifices), he performs the upasad rule during twelve days (i.e. he lives on small quantities of milk), beginning on an auspicious day of the light half of the moon during the northern progress of the sun, collecting at the same time in a cup or a dish

made of Udumbara wood all sorts of herbs, including fruits. He sweeps the floor (near the house-altar, avasathya), sprinkles it, lays the fire, spreads grass round it according to rule, prepares the clarified butter, and on a day, presided over by a male star (nakshatra), after having properly mixed the Mantha (the herbs, fruits, milk, honey, &c.), he sacrifices (he pours âjya into the fire), saying:
‘O Jâtavedas, whatever adverse gods there are in thee, who defeat the desires of men, to them I offer this portion; may they, being pleased, please me with all desires.’ Svâhâ!
‘That cross deity who lies down thinking that all things are kept asunder by her, I worship thee as propitious with this stream of ghee.’ Svâhâ!
2. He then says, Svâhâ to the First, Svâhâ to the Best, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Breath, Svâhâ to her who is the richest, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Speech, Svâhâ to the Support, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to the Eye, Svâhâ to Success, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).

He then says, Svâhâ to the Ear, Svâhâ to the Home, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to the Mind, Svâhâ to Offspring, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Seed, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
3. He then says, Svâhâ to Agni (fire), pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Soma, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Bhûḥ (earth), Svâhâ, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Bhuvaḥ (sky), Svâhâ, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svaḥ (heaven), Svâhâ, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Bhûr, Bhuvaḥ, Svaḥ, Svâhâ, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Brahman (the priesthood), pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Kshatra (the knighthood), pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).

He then says, Svâhâ to the Past, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to the Future, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to the Universe, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to all things, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
He then says, Svâhâ to Prajâpati, pours ghee into the fire, and throws what remains into the Mantha (mortar).
4. Then he touches it (the Mantha, which is dedicated to Praṇa, breath), saying: “Thou art fleet (as breath). Thou art burning (as fire). Thou art full (as Brahman). Thou art firm (as the sky). Thou art the abode of all (as the earth). Thou hast been saluted with Hiri (at the beginning of the sacrifice by the prastotṛ). Thou art saluted with Hin (in the middle of the sacrifice by the prastotṛ). Thou hast been sung (by the udgātṛ at the beginning of the sacrifice). Thou art sung (by the udgātṛ in the middle of the sacrifice). Thou hast been celebrated (by the adhvaryu at the beginning of the sacrifice). Thou art celebrated again (by the agnīdhra in the middle of the sacrifice). Thou art bright in the wet (cloud). Thou art great. Thou art powerful. Thou art food (as Soma). Thou art light (as Agni, fire, the eater). Thou art the end. Thou art the absorption (of all things).”

5. Then he holds it (the Mantha) forth, saying: “Thou knowest all, we know Thy greatness. He is indeed a king, a ruler, the highest lord. May that king, that ruler make me the highest lord.”
6. Then he eats it, saying: “Tat savitur vareṇyam (We meditate on that adorable light)—The winds drop honey for the righteous, the rivers drop honey, may our plants be sweet as honey! Bhūḥ (earth) Svāhā!
“Bhargo devasya dhīmahi (of the divine Savitṛ)—May the night be honey in the morning, may the air above the earth, may heaven, our father, be honey! Bhuvaḥ (sky) Svāhā!
“Dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt (who should rouse our thoughts)—May the tree be full of honey, may the sun be full of honey, may our cows be sweet like honey! Svaḥ (heaven) Svāhā!”
He repeats the whole Sāvitrī verse, and all the verses about the honey, thinking, “May I be all this! Bhūr, Bhuvaḥ, Svaḥ, Svāhā!” Having thus swallowed all, he washes his hands, and sits down behind the altar, turning his head to the East. In the morning he worships Āditya (the sun), with the hymn, “Thou art the best lotus of the four quarters, may I become the best lotus among men.” Then returning as he came, he sits down behind the altar and recites the genealogical list.
7. Uddālaka Āruṇi told this (Mantha-doctrine) to his pupil Vājasaneya Yājñavalkya, and said: “If a man were to pour it on a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring forth.”

8. Vājasaneya Yājñavalkya told the same to his pupil Madhuka Paiṅgya, and said: “If a man were to pour it on a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring forth.”
9. Madhuka Paiṅgya told the same to his pupil Kula Bhāgavitti, and said: “If a man were to pour it on a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring forth.”
10. Āsuri Bhāgavitti told the same to his pupil Gānaki Āyasthūṇa, and said: “If a man were to pour it on a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring forth.”
11. Gānaki Āyasthūṇa told the same to his pupil Satyakāma Jābāla, and said: “If a man were to pour it on a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring forth.”
12. Satyakāma Jābāla told the same to his pupils, and said: “If a man were to pour it on a dry stick, branches would grow, and leaves spring forth.”
Let no one tell this to any one, except to a son or to a pupil.
13. Four things are made of the wood of the Udumbara tree, the sacrificial ladle (sruva), the cup (camasa), the fuel, and the two churning sticks.
There are ten kinds of village (cultivated) seeds, viz. rice and barley (brihiyavas), sesamum and kidney-beans (tilamashas), millet and panic seed (aṇupriyanguvas), wheat (godhumas), lentils (masuras), pulse (khalvas), and vetches (khalakulas). After having