I. The Hour Before the Pillar

Every child of Bharata knows the pillar. The demon king asks where the god is hiding, the hall shakes, the stone splits along a seam nobody had seen, and out of the crack comes a shape that no taxonomy will hold: neither beast nor man, killing at neither day nor night, on neither earth nor sky, with neither weapon nor bare intent. The story is painted on every temple wall from Ahobilam to Simhachalam. It is one of the great terrors of the Sanatana imagination, and it is not what the Nrsimha-tapaniya Upanisad is about.

The Upanisad opens somewhere else entirely. It opens before the pillar, before Hiranyakasipu, before the boon, before the worlds, in the hour when nothing had yet been arranged, when there was as yet no direction in which a demon could stand and no hall in which a column could be raised. There is only Prajapati, and heat.

The text belongs to the Atharvaveda and comes in two halves that do not sound alike. The first, the Purva-tapaniya, moves through five sections called upanisads and is occupied entirely with a single mantra: how it was found, what its syllables carry, how it is transmitted, and what it does to the one who holds it. The second, the Uttara-tapaniya, moves through nine khandas and abandons the mantra's grammar for something colder and higher, the anatomy of Om and the four quarters of the Self, in language so close to the Mandukya that the two texts seem cut from one cloth.

Both halves were commented upon. The Anandasrama edition, the thirtieth volume of that series, prints the Purva-tapaniya with a bhasya ascribed to Sankaracarya, carries that bhasya into the first khanda of the Uttara, and then hands the remaining eight khandas to a Dipika by Vidyaranya. Two hands, then: the acarya who dismantled every form, and the minister-sannyasin whose brother's kingdom at Vijayanagara was at that moment the last wall standing between the Deccan and its erasure.

Between them those two hands made of a lion something neither half of the text achieves alone.

· · ·

II. A Commentator Who Bows First

The bhasya does not begin with an argument. It begins with a namaskara: om namo bhagavate laksminrsimhaya. Salutation to the Lord, to Nrsimha who is with Laksmi. The commentator whose signature move everywhere else is to strip the divine of attribute until nothing remains but pure awareness here opens by naming a god, giving him a consort, and bowing. Not to Brahman. To Laksmi-Nrsimha, who holds the terror and the fortune together in one body.

Then two verses of intent, and the first of them names the whole enterprise.

छन्दः · Chandas

अनुष्टुप् (anustubh), the ordinary sloka of thirty-two syllables in four padas of eight. The commentator opens his work in the same metre as the mantra he is about to expound. That is not accident; it is the first argument of the bhasya, made before a word of argument is spoken.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Bhasya, mangala 1
यन्नाम्नोपनिषत्ख्याता तपनं तं विभुं गुरुम् ।
प्रणम्योपासनागर्भां तद्व्याख्यां श्रद्धयाऽऽरभे ॥ १ ॥
yannamnopanisat khyata tapanam tam vibhum gurum |
pranamyopasanagarbham tadvyakhyam sraddhaya 'rabhe ||1||
Having bowed to that Tapana, the all-pervading Guru, by whose name this Upanisad is renowned, I begin with faith its exposition, pregnant with upasana.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
यत्-नाम्ना । उपनिषत् । ख्याता । तपनम् । तम् । विभुम् । गुरुम् ।
प्रणम्य । उपासना-गर्भाम् । तत्-व्याख्याम् । श्रद्धया । आरभे ॥
yat-namna | upanisat | khyata | tapanam | tam | vibhum | gurum |
pranamya | upasana-garbham | tat-vyakhyam | sraddhaya | arabhe ||
by-whose-name | the Upanisad | is-renowned | the Tapana | him | all-pervading | Guru | having-bowed | pregnant-with-upasana | its-exposition | with-faith | I-begin

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
यत्-नाम्ना उपनिषत् ख्याता, तं तपनं विभुं गुरुं प्रणम्य, उपासनागर्भां तद्व्याख्यां श्रद्धया आरभे ।
yat-namna upanisat khyata, tam tapanam vibhum gurum pranamya, upasanagarbham tadvyakhyam sraddhaya arabhe.
By whose name the Upanisad is renowned -- having bowed to that Tapana, the all-pervading Guru -- I begin with faith the exposition of it, an exposition pregnant with upasana.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the first mangala verse of the bhasya
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
यत्yatसर्वनाम, षष्ठी-सम्बन्धेఎవరిwhose
नाम्नाnamnaनामन्-शब्दः, तृतीया एकवचनम्పేరుతోby the name
उपनिषत्upanisatप्रथमा एकवचनम्ఉపనిషత్తుthe Upanisad
ख्याताkhyataख्या-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययः, स्त्रीलिङ्गम्ప్రసిద్ధమైనదిis renowned, is famed
तपनम्tapanamद्वितीया एकवचनम्తపనుడినిthe Tapana, the Burning One
तम्tamतत्-सर्वनाम, द्वितीयाఆయననుhim
विभुम्vibhumद्वितीया एकवचनम्సర్వవ్యాపినిthe all-pervading
गुरुम्gurumद्वितीया एकवचनम्గురువునుthe Guru
प्रणम्यpranamyaप्र + नम्-धातोः ल्यबन्तम्నమస్కరించిhaving bowed
उपासनागर्भाम्upasanagarbhamबहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीया स्त्रीलिङ्गम्ఉపాసనను గర్భంలో ధరించినhaving upasana in its womb
तद्व्याख्याम्tadvyakhyamषष्ठीतत्पुरुषः, द्वितीयाదాని వ్యాఖ్యానాన్నిthe exposition of it
श्रद्धयाsraddhayaतृतीया एकवचनम्శ్రద్ధతోwith faith
आरभेarabheआ + रभ्-धातुः, लट् उत्तमपुरुष एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्ఆరంభిస్తున్నానుI begin

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

ఏ దేవుడి పేరు మీద ఈ ఉపనిషత్తుకు "తాపనీయం" అనే పేరు వచ్చిందో, ఆ తపనుడికి, సర్వవ్యాపి అయిన గురువుకు నమస్కరించి, శ్రద్ధతో ఈ వ్యాఖ్యానాన్ని మొదలుపెడుతున్నాను. ఇది కేవలం అర్థాన్ని విడమరిచే వ్యాఖ్యానం కాదు; ఉపాసనను తన గర్భంలో మోస్తున్న వ్యాఖ్యానం.

Having bowed to that Tapana by whose name this Upanisad carries the title Tapaniya, and who is the all-pervading Guru, the commentator begins his exposition with faith. And he names what kind of exposition it will be: one that carries upasana in its womb.

व्याख्या · Vyakhya

The load-bearing word is upasanagarbham, and it is a bahuvrihi: that which has upasana for its womb. Not a commentary which mentions upasana, or tolerates it, or accommodates it for the weak. A commentary gestating it.

The vow announces at the outset that meditative worship will not be treated here as a concession made on the way to something better. It is the thing being born. Everything that follows in the Purva-tapaniya -- the seed-letters, the ledgers of fruit, the transmission from hand to hand -- is licensed by this single compound in the first verse.

The second load-bearing word is tapanam. The title Tapaniya is not decorative. It is a patronymic of sorts: the Upanisad is named after the Burning One, and the bhasya establishes the derivation before it establishes anything else. What Prajapati will shortly perform is tapas, and the god who is seen at the end of that heat is the Tapana. Text, practice and deity are locked together by a shared root before the exposition begins.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The choice to open in anustubh is the quiet signature of a commentator who knows what he is about to defend. The mantra at the centre of this Upanisad is an anustubh of thirty-two syllables. By writing his own vow of intent in that metre, the commentator places himself inside the form he is expounding rather than outside it, looking down. It is a small gesture and it sets the terms for one hundred and fifty pages.

· · ·

III. The King of Samans, and the Triple Power

The second verse of intent moves from the commentator to the cosmos, and does it in one sentence.

छन्दः · Chandas

अनुष्टुप् (anustubh). Four padas of eight, the whole verse turning on three past participles in the second line: jatam, sthitam, linam.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Bhasya, mangala 2
आनुष्टुभात्सामराजान्नारसिंहादिदं जगत् ।
जातं यस्मिन्स्थितं लीनं नमस्तस्मै त्रिशक्तये ॥ २ ॥
anustubhat samarajan narasimhad idam jagat |
jatam yasmin sthitam linam namas tasmai trisaktaye ||2||
From the Narasimha, the king of samans, who is in the anustubh, this world was born; in whom it stands; into whom it dissolves. Salutation to him, the one of triple power.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
आनुष्टुभात् । साम-राजात् । नारसिंहात् । इदम् । जगत् ।
जातम् । यस्मिन् । स्थितम् । लीनम् । नमः । तस्मै । त्रि-शक्तये ॥
anustubhat | sama-rajat | narasimhat | idam | jagat |
jatam | yasmin | sthitam | linam | namah | tasmai | tri-saktaye ||
from-the-anustubh-born | king-of-samans | from-the-Narasimha | this | world | born | in-whom | standing | dissolved | salutation | to-him | to-the-triple-powered

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
इदं जगत् आनुष्टुभात् सामराजात् नारसिंहात् जातम्, यस्मिन् स्थितम्, यस्मिन् लीनम्, तस्मै त्रिशक्तये नमः ।
idam jagat anustubhat samarajat narasimhat jatam, yasmin sthitam, yasmin linam, tasmai trisaktaye namah.
This world was born from the Narasimha, the king of samans, who is in the anustubh; in whom it stands; in whom it dissolves. To him, of triple power, salutation.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the second mangala verse of the bhasya
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
आनुष्टुभात्anustubhatतद्धितान्तम्, पञ्चमी एकवचनम्అనుష్టుప్పులో ఉన్నవాడి నుండిfrom him who abides in the anustubh
सामराजात्samarajatषष्ठीतत्पुरुषः, पञ्चमीసామాలకు రాజైనవాడి నుండిfrom the king of samans
नारसिंहात्narasimhatपञ्चमी एकवचनम्నారసింహుడి నుండిfrom the Narasimha
इदम्idamप्रथमा एकवचनम्, नपुंसकलिङ्गम्ఈthis
जगत्jagatप्रथमा एकवचनम्జగత్తుworld
जातम्jatamजन्-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःపుట్టిందిwas born
यस्मिन्yasminयत्-सर्वनाम, सप्तमीఎవరిలోin whom
स्थितम्sthitamस्था-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःనిలిచి ఉందిstands
लीनम्linamली-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःలయమవుతుందిdissolves
नमःnamahअव्ययम्నమస్కారంsalutation
तस्मैtasmaiतत्-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थीఆయనకుto him
त्रिशक्तयेtrisaktayeबहुव्रीहिः, चतुर्थी एकवचनम्మూడు శక్తులు కలవాడికిto him who has the three powers

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

అనుష్టుప్పులో నిలిచిన, సామాలన్నిటికీ రాజైన నారసింహుడి నుండే ఈ జగత్తు పుట్టింది; ఆయనలోనే నిలిచి ఉంది; ఆయనలోనే లయమవుతుంది. సృష్టి, స్థితి, లయం అనే మూడు శక్తులు ఆయనవే. ఆ మూడు శక్తులు కలవాడికి నమస్కారం.

Birth, standing and dissolution are named in a single line, and the being who performs all three is identified not as a philosophical absolute but as samaraja, the king of chants. The mantra and the god are welded together in the second verse of the commentary, before the Upanisad has been allowed to speak a word.

व्याख्या · Vyakhya

The three participles are the three functions that Vedanta ordinarily assigns to Brahman as the cause of the world: janma, sthiti, bhanga, the triad of Badarayana's second sutra. What the verse does is attach that triad not to an unqualified absolute but to a mantra-deity with a metre attached to his name.

Anustubhat. From him who is in the anustubh. The ablative is doing heavy work: the world is not merely described by the mantra, it issues from it. The first upanisad of the Purva-tapaniya will make this explicit when Prajapati creates with the mantra rather than praying with it, and the second mangala verse has already committed the commentator to that reading.

Trisakti, of triple power, is the bahuvrihi that holds the verse together and quietly answers an objection nobody has yet raised. If creation, maintenance and dissolution are three functions, the ordinary devotional habit is to distribute them among three deities. The verse refuses the distribution. One being, three powers, and the salutation is singular.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

Read together, the two vows say something precise about what kind of book is beginning. The first establishes that the exposition will carry upasana in its womb. The second establishes that the object of that upasana is not a departmental deity but the cause of the world in all three of its motions.

Between them they close off the later escape route in which the lion is a devotional preliminary and the philosophy arrives afterwards to correct it. The philosophy has arrived first, in the second verse, and it has arrived saying that the lion is the cause.

· · ·

IV. What Prajapati Saw

The first upanisad of the Purva-tapaniya begins where the Nasadiya begins, in a condition for which the language has no comfortable tense. Sato bandhum asati niravindan hrdi pratisya kavayo manisa: the seers, searching in their hearts with wisdom, found in the non-existent the bond of the existent. The bhasya takes asat not as absence but as Brahman before name and form, unavailable to any predicate, and cites asad va idam agra asit to fix the sense. What the seers found there was bandhu, the connecting joint, the seam. Not a cause standing outside its effect, but the place where the two are already one thing.

Then Prajapati performs tapas, and the sentence arrives on which the entire text stands.

छन्दः · Chandas

गद्यम् (gadya). The kandika is prose, not verse, and the Upanisad's own rhythm carries it: three short clauses in the aorist, each opening with sa, each shorter than the last.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Purva-tapaniya, upanisad 1
स तपोऽतप्यत । स तपस्तप्त्वा स एतं मन्त्रराजं नारसिंहमनुष्टुभमपश्यत् ।
तेनैव सर्वमिदमसृजत यदिदं किंच ॥
sa tapo 'tapyata | sa tapas taptva sa etam mantrarajam narasimham anustubham apasyat |
tenaiva sarvam idam asrjata yad idam kimca ||
He performed tapas. Having performed tapas, he saw this king of mantras, the Narasimha, in the anustubh metre. With that alone he created all this, whatever this is.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
सः । तपः । अतप्यत । सः । तपः । तप्त्वा । सः । एतम् । मन्त्र-राजम् । नारसिंहम् । आनुष्टुभम् । अपश्यत् ।
तेन । एव । सर्वम् । इदम् । असृजत । यत् । इदम् । किम् । च ॥
sah | tapah | atapyata | sah | tapah | taptva | sah | etam | mantra-rajam | narasimham | anustubham | apasyat |
tena | eva | sarvam | idam | asrjata | yat | idam | kim | ca ||
he | tapas | performed | he | tapas | having-performed | he | this | king-of-mantras | the-Narasimha | in-the-anustubh | saw | by-that | alone | all | this | created | whatever | this | any | and

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
सः तपः अतप्यत । सः तपः तप्त्वा एतम् आनुष्टुभं नारसिंहं मन्त्रराजम् अपश्यत् । तेन एव यत् इदं किञ्च, सर्वम् इदम् असृजत ।
sah tapah atapyata. sah tapah taptva etam anustubham narasimham mantrarajam apasyat. tena eva yad idam kimca, sarvam idam asrjata.
He performed tapas. Having performed tapas, he saw this Narasimha king of mantras set in the anustubh. By that alone he created all this, whatever there is here.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the seeing of the mantraraja
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
सःsahतत्-सर्वनाम, प्रथमाఆయనhe, Prajapati
तपःtapahद्वितीया एकवचनम्తపస్సునుtapas, concentrated heat
अतप्यतatapyataतप्-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुषः, आत्मनेपदम्తపించాడుperformed, burned
तप्त्वाtaptvaतप्-धातोः क्त्वान्तम्తపించిhaving performed tapas
एतम्etamद्वितीया एकवचनम्ఈthis
मन्त्रराजम्mantrarajamषष्ठीतत्पुरुषः, द्वितीयाమంత్రాలకు రాజైన దానినిthe king among mantras
नारसिंहम्narasimhamतद्धितान्तम्, द्वितीयाనారసింహ సంబంధమైనదానినిthe one belonging to Nrsimha
आनुष्टुभम्anustubhamतद्धितान्तम्, द्वितीयाఅనుష్టుప్పులో ఉన్నదానినిset in the anustubh metre
अपश्यत्apasyatदृश्-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुषःచూశాడుsaw
तेनtenaतत्-सर्वनाम, तृतीयाదానితోby that
एवevaअव्ययम्, अवधारणेమాత్రమేalone, precisely
असृजतasrjataसृज्-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुषःసృష్టించాడుcreated
यदिदं किंचyad idam kimcaअव्ययसमुदायःఇక్కడ ఏదైతే ఉందో అదంతాwhatever there is here

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

ప్రజాపతి తపస్సు చేశాడు. ఆ తపస్సు ఫలితంగా అనుష్టుప్ ఛందస్సులో ఉన్న నారసింహ మంత్రరాజాన్ని ఆయన చూశాడు. దానిని కల్పించలేదు, రచించలేదు; చూశాడు. తరువాత ఆ మంత్రంతోనే ఈ జగత్తునంతటినీ సృష్టించాడు. మంత్రం ప్రార్థన కాదు; సృష్టికి పనిముట్టు.

Prajapati performed tapas, and out of that heat he saw the mantra. Not devised it, not composed it, not received it from a higher authority. Saw it, the way the rsis are always said to see, the way one sees a thing that was already standing in the dark before the lamp arrived. And having seen it, he did not worship with it. He made with it.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on sa tapo 'tapyata
स प्रजापतिः । तपः "मनसश्चेन्द्रियाणां च ऐकाग्र्यं परमं तपः" इति स्मरणादतप्यत मनसश्चेन्द्रियाणां चैकाग्र्यमकरोत् ।
स प्रजापतिरेतं प्रकृतं सर्वेनाम्नोपात्तं सतो बन्धुमित्यनेन गूढाभिप्रायेण सूचितं "ज्योतिश्चरणाभिधानात्" [ब्र० सू० १-१-२४] इति न्यायेन मन्त्रराजं प्राकरणिकमन्त्राणां राजानं प्रधानभूतं सामराजं वा ।
नारसिंहं नृसिंहसंबन्धिसामादि । तद्धितात् । नृसिंहगायत्र्यादिशङ्कायां तद्व्यावृत्त्यर्थमानुष्टुभमित्यनुष्टुप्छन्द उपाधिकमृग्विशेषमाह । अपश्यद्दृष्ट्वानित्यभिप्रायः ।
sa prajapatih | tapah "manasas cendriyanam ca aikagryam paramam tapah" iti smaranad atapyata manasas cendriyanam caikagryam akarot |
sa prajapatir etam prakrtam sarvenamnopattam sato bandhum ity anena gudhabhiprayena sucitam "jyotiscaranabhidhanat" [Br.Su. 1-1-24] iti nyayena mantrarajam prakaranika-mantranam rajanam pradhanabhutam samarajam va |
narasimham nrsimha-sambandhi-samadi | taddhitat | nrsimha-gayatryadi-sankayam tad-vyavrttyartham anustubham ity anustup-chanda upadhikam rg-visesam aha | apasyad drstvanity abhiprayah |
He is Prajapati. Tapas: on the authority of the smrti that concentration of mind and senses is the highest austerity, he performed tapas -- that is, he made his mind and senses one-pointed. He, Prajapati, saw this -- the one under discussion, taken up by the word 'all', hinted at by the covert intention of the phrase 'the bond of being', on the maxim of the sutra 'because light is spoken of as a foot' -- the king of mantras, that is, the king and chief of the mantras of this context, or the king of the samans. Narasimha: the saman and the rest that belong to Nrsimha, by the secondary suffix. Since one might suspect the Nrsimha-gayatri and the others, in order to exclude them the word anustubha is used, indicating the particular rk conditioned by the anustubh metre. He saw: the intention is 'having seen'.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

ప్రజాపతి తపస్సు చేశాడు. "మనస్సును, ఇంద్రియాలను ఏకాగ్రం చేయడమే పరమ తపస్సు" అనే స్మృతి ప్రమాణం ప్రకారం ఇక్కడ తపస్సు అంటే ఏకాగ్రతే. ఆయన మంత్రరాజాన్ని చూశాడు -- ఈ ప్రకరణంలోని మంత్రాలన్నిటికీ రాజైనదానిని, లేదా సామాలకు రాజైనదానిని. "నారసింహం" అంటే నృసింహుడికి సంబంధించిన సామం మొదలైనవి; ఇది తద్ధిత ప్రత్యయంతో వచ్చిన రూపం. నృసింహ గాయత్రి మొదలైనవాటి మీద అనుమానం రాకుండా ఉండటానికే "ఆనుష్టుభం" అనే మాట వాడారు; అనుష్టుప్ ఛందస్సు అనే ఉపాధి కలిగిన ఒక ప్రత్యేకమైన ఋక్కు అని అర్థం. "అపశ్యత్" అంటే "చూసి" అనే అభిప్రాయం.

Three things are settled here in a few lines. Tapas is defined as one-pointedness and not as mortification. Mantraraja is given two admissible readings, chief among the mantras of this context or king of the samans, and the commentary declines to choose. And the word anustubham is shown to be doing exclusionary work: without it the Nrsimha-gayatri could be taken for the mantraraja, so the metre is named to fence the referent.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The bhasya is exact about what tapas means here, and it forecloses the ascetic caricature immediately by quoting the maxim that the concentration of mind and senses into a single point is the highest austerity: manasas cendriyanam ca aikagryam paramam tapah. Not fasting, not standing on one leg. The gathering of the whole scattered apparatus of attention into one burning aperture.

On mantraraja the commentary asks why the word king is used and answers with the ordinary logic of kingship. A king is chief among men not merely in rank but in function, being the one through whom the rest operate. So this mantra is chief among mantras because the others draw their operating power from it. The bhasya reinforces the point by citing Badarayana at jyotiscaranabhidhanat, and notes that the mantra is called narasimha by relation to Nrsimha and anustubha by the metre that carries it, because the anustubh alone can carry what has to be carried.

The verb is the whole passage. Apasyat, third person singular aorist of drs. Sruti's standing claim about itself is that it was seen and not made, apauruseya, and the claim is normally asserted about the Veda as a corpus. Here it is asserted about one mantra, in a narrative, with a named seer, at a specified moment.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The sentence is short and its consequence is not. If the mantra was the instrument of creation, then it is not an address directed at the world from outside it. It is the thing the world was extruded through. Reciting it is therefore not petition but re-entry: the practitioner is placing himself back into the aperture the cosmos came out of.

Everything the Purva-tapaniya will claim afterwards -- the ledgers of fruit, the conquest of the seven worlds, the crossing of samsara -- follows from this single aorist. The claims are large because the premise is large. A mantra that made the world can plausibly be said to unmake a man's bondage to it.

· · ·

V. The Cosmos in Four Feet

Having established how the mantra was found, the Upanisad lays the cosmos across its four padas.

छन्दः · Chandas

गद्यम् (gadya). Prose, but prose built on a rigid four-part frame: the same verb janiyat closes each of the four clauses, and the fourth clause breaks the pattern by adding a fifth statement about the knower.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Purva-tapaniya, upanisad 1
ससागरां सपर्वतां सप्तद्वीपां वसुंधरां तत्साम्नः प्रथमं पादं जानीयात् ।
शब्दगन्धस्पर्शरूपगणसेवितमन्तरिक्षं तत्साम्नो द्वितीयं पादं जानीयात् ।
वसुरुद्रादित्यैः सर्वैर्देवैः सेवितं दिवं तत्साम्नस्तृतीयं पादं जानीयात् ।
ब्रह्मस्वरूपं निरञ्जनं परमव्योम्नि कं तत्साम्नश्चतुर्थं पादं जानीयात् । यो जानीते सोऽमृतत्वं च गच्छति ॥
sasagaram saparvatam saptadvipam vasumdharam tat samnah prathamam padam janiyat |
sabda-gandha-sparsa-rupa-gana-sevitam antariksam tat samno dvitiyam padam janiyat |
vasu-rudra-adityaih sarvair devaih sevitam divam tat samnas trtiyam padam janiyat |
brahma-svarupam niranjanam parama-vyomni kam tat samnas caturtham padam janiyat | yo janite so 'mrtatvam ca gacchati ||
Let one know the earth with her oceans, her mountains, her seven islands, as the first quarter of that saman. Let one know the mid-region, attended by the hosts of sound and scent and touch and form, as its second quarter. Let one know the heaven served by the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas, by all the gods, as its third quarter. Let one know that which is Brahman by nature, stainless, the bliss in the supreme sky, as its fourth quarter. He who knows this goes to immortality.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
स-सागराम् । स-पर्वताम् । सप्त-द्वीपाम् । वसुंधराम् । तत् । साम्नः । प्रथमम् । पादम् । जानीयात् ।
शब्द-गन्ध-स्पर्श-रूप-गण-सेवितम् । अन्तरिक्षम् । तत् । साम्नः । द्वितीयम् । पादम् । जानीयात् ।
वसु-रुद्र-आदित्यैः । सर्वैः । देवैः । सेवितम् । दिवम् । तत् । साम्नः । तृतीयम् । पादम् । जानीयात् ।
ब्रह्म-स्वरूपम् । निरञ्जनम् । परम-व्योम्नि । कम् । तत् । साम्नः । चतुर्थम् । पादम् । जानीयात् । यः । जानीते । सः । अमृतत्वम् । च । गच्छति ॥
sa-sagaram | sa-parvatam | sapta-dvipam | vasumdharam | tat | samnah | prathamam | padam | janiyat |
sabda-gandha-sparsa-rupa-gana-sevitam | antariksam | tat | samnah | dvitiyam | padam | janiyat |
vasu-rudra-adityaih | sarvaih | devaih | sevitam | divam | tat | samnah | trtiyam | padam | janiyat |
brahma-svarupam | niranjanam | parama-vyomni | kam | tat | samnah | caturtham | padam | janiyat | yah | janite | sah | amrtatvam | ca | gacchati ||
with-oceans | with-mountains | seven-islanded | earth-bearer | of-that | saman | first | quarter | let-him-know | attended-by-the-hosts-of-sound-scent-touch-form | mid-region | of-that | saman | second | quarter | let-him-know | by-Vasus-Rudras-Adityas | by-all | gods | served | heaven | of-that | saman | third | quarter | let-him-know | Brahman-natured | stainless | in-the-supreme-sky | the-bliss | of-that | saman | fourth | quarter | let-him-know | who | knows | he | immortality | and | goes

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
ससागरां सपर्वतां सप्तद्वीपां वसुंधरां तत्साम्नः प्रथमं पादं जानीयात् । शब्दगन्धस्पर्शरूपगणसेवितम् अन्तरिक्षं द्वितीयं पादं जानीयात् । वसुरुद्रादित्यैः सर्वैः देवैः सेवितं दिवं तृतीयं पादं जानीयात् । परमव्योम्नि यत् ब्रह्मस्वरूपं निरञ्जनं कम्, तत् चतुर्थं पादं जानीयात् । यः एवं जानीते सः अमृतत्वं गच्छति ।
sasagaram saparvatam saptadvipam vasumdharam tat samnah prathamam padam janiyat. sabda-gandha-sparsa-rupa-gana-sevitam antariksam dvitiyam padam janiyat. vasu-rudra-adityaih sarvaih devaih sevitam divam trtiyam padam janiyat. parama-vyomni yat brahma-svarupam niranjanam kam, tat caturtham padam janiyat. yah evam janite sah amrtatvam gacchati.
Let him know the earth with oceans, mountains and seven islands as the first quarter of that saman; the mid-region attended by the hosts of sound, scent, touch and form as the second; the heaven served by the Vasus, Rudras, Adityas and all the gods as the third; and that stainless bliss whose nature is Brahman, in the supreme sky, as the fourth. He who knows thus goes to immortality.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the four quarters of the saman
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
ससागराम्sasagaramबहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीया स्त्रीलिङ्गम्సముద్రాలతో కూడినదిhaving oceans
सपर्वताम्saparvatamबहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीयाపర్వతాలతో కూడినదిhaving mountains
सप्तद्वीपाम्saptadvipamबहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीयाఏడు ద్వీపాలు కలదిhaving the seven islands
वसुंधराम्vasumdharamउपपदसमासः, द्वितीयाభూమినిthe earth, bearer of wealth
साम्नःsamnahसामन्-शब्दः, षष्ठी एकवचनम्సామానికిof the saman
पादम्padamद्वितीया एकवचनम्పాదాన్నిquarter, foot of the metre
जानीयात्janiyatज्ञा-धातुः, विधिलिङ् प्रथमपुरुषःతెలుసుకోవాలిlet him know
शब्दगन्धस्पर्शरूपगणसेवितम्sabda-gandha-sparsa-rupa-gana-sevitamबहुव्रीहिगर्भः तत्पुरुषः, द्वितीयाశబ్ద గంధ స్పర్శ రూప గణాలచే సేవించబడినదిattended by the hosts of sound, scent, touch and form
अन्तरिक्षम्antariksamद्वितीया एकवचनम्అంతరిక్షాన్నిthe mid-region
वसुरुद्रादित्यैःvasu-rudra-adityaihद्वन्द्वः, तृतीया बहुवचनम्వసువులు రుద్రులు ఆదిత్యులచేby the Vasus, Rudras and Adityas
सेवितम्sevitamसेव्-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःసేవించబడినదిserved, attended
दिवम्divamद्यो-शब्दः, द्वितीयाస్వర్గాన్నిheaven
ब्रह्मस्वरूपम्brahma-svarupamबहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीयाబ్రహ్మస్వరూపమైనదిthat whose very nature is Brahman
निरञ्जनम्niranjanamनञ्-बहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीयाనిర్మలమైనది, మలినం లేనిదిstainless, without smear
परमव्योम्निparama-vyomniकर्मधारयः, सप्तमीపరమాకాశంలోin the supreme sky
कम्kamद्वितीया एकवचनम्ఆనందాన్నిbliss
अमृतत्वम्amrtatvamभावे त्वप्रत्ययः, द्वितीयाఅమృతత్వాన్నిthe state of deathlessness
गच्छतिgacchatiगम्-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःపొందుతాడుgoes to, attains

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

సముద్రాలు, పర్వతాలు, ఏడు ద్వీపాలతో కూడిన భూమిని ఆ సామానికి మొదటి పాదంగా తెలుసుకోవాలి. శబ్దం, గంధం, స్పర్శ, రూపం అనే గణాలచే సేవించబడే అంతరిక్షాన్ని రెండో పాదంగా తెలుసుకోవాలి. వసువులు, రుద్రులు, ఆదిత్యులు మొదలైన దేవతలందరూ సేవించే స్వర్గాన్ని మూడో పాదంగా తెలుసుకోవాలి. పరమాకాశంలో ఉన్న, నిర్మలమైన, బ్రహ్మస్వరూపమైన ఆనందాన్ని నాలుగో పాదంగా తెలుసుకోవాలి. ఇలా తెలుసుకున్నవాడు అమృతత్వాన్ని పొందుతాడు.

A metre of four lines is being told that its first line is the earth, its second the atmosphere, its third the heaven, and its fourth the unstained Absolute beyond all three. The mantra is not about the cosmos. The mantra is the cosmos, folded into thirty-two syllables and made portable.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on the four quarters
इति स्मृतेश्चास्य च सामराजत्वात्तदुपासनायां मात्रायां क्रमसूचनपूर्विकामाह -- ससागरां सपर्वतां सप्तद्वीपां वसुंधरां तत्साम्नः प्रथमं पादं जानीयादिति ।
यथाकथंचिदुपासनारूपे प्राप्ते ससागरामिति प्रथमत एव सागरसंकीर्तनेन सागरपूर्विकामुपासनां द्योतयति । अत एव न पृथ्वीविशेषणं सागर इति केचिद्व्याचक्षते ।
ततश्च प्रथमतः सागरं क्षीरोदार्णवं ध्यात्वा तच्छायिन्युपविष्टे वा तस्मिन्पञ्चाङ्गन्यासमृक्सामयोः कृत्वा तस्मिन्नेव सपर्वतामित्याद्युपासनां सह सागरेण वर्तनं यस्या उपासनायास्तां ससागरां जानीयादित्यनुषङ्गः ।
iti smrtes casya ca samarajatvat tad-upasanayam matrayam krama-sucana-purvikam aha -- sasagaram saparvatam saptadvipam vasumdharam tat samnah prathamam padam janiyad iti |
yatha-kathamcid upasana-rupe prapte sasagaram iti prathamata eva sagara-samkirtanena sagara-purvikam upasanam dyotayati | ata eva na prthvi-visesanam sagara iti kecid vyacaksate |
tatas ca prathamatah sagaram ksirodarnavam dhyatva tac-chayiny upaviste va tasmin pancanga-nyasam rk-samayoh krtva tasminn eva saparvatam ity ady-upasanam saha sagarena vartanam yasya upasanayas tam sasagaram janiyad ity anusangah |
By that smrti, and because this is the king of the samans, he states, with an indication of the sequence, the measure of its worship: let one know the earth with her oceans, mountains and seven islands as the first quarter of that saman. When the form of the worship has been established in a general way, by naming the ocean first in the word sasagaram he indicates that the worship is to begin from the ocean. For this very reason some explain that ocean here is not merely an adjective of the earth. Accordingly one first meditates on the ocean as the ocean of milk, and seated in it or in its shadow performs the five-limbed nyasa of the rk and the saman, and there itself carries out the worship beginning with 'with her mountains'; and the construction is that one should know as sasagara that worship whose procedure goes together with the ocean.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

ఈ స్మృతి ప్రమాణం వల్లా, ఇది సామరాజం కావడం వల్లా, దాని ఉపాసనలో క్రమాన్ని ముందుగా సూచిస్తూ చెబుతున్నాడు. ఉపాసనా స్వరూపం సామాన్యంగా ఏర్పడిన తరువాత, "ససాగరాం" అని మొదటే సముద్రాన్ని పేర్కొనడం ద్వారా ఉపాసన సముద్రంతోనే మొదలవుతుందని సూచిస్తున్నాడు. అందుకే "సాగరం" అనేది భూమికి కేవలం విశేషణం కాదని కొందరు వ్యాఖ్యానిస్తారు. కాబట్టి ముందుగా సముద్రాన్ని క్షీరసముద్రంగా ధ్యానించి, దానిలో లేదా దాని ఛాయలో కూర్చుని ఋక్కుకూ సామానికీ పంచాంగ న్యాసం చేసి, అక్కడే "సపర్వతాం" మొదలైన ఉపాసనను చేయాలి. సముద్రంతో కలిసి సాగే ఉపాసన ఏదో దానినే "ససాగరా" అని తెలుసుకోవాలి -- ఇదీ అన్వయం.

The commentary treats a descriptive phrase as a rubric. Sasagaram is not scene-setting; it is the instruction that the meditation starts at the ocean, and the bhasya records that some press this so far as to deny that sagara qualifies the earth at all. It then supplies what the sruti leaves out: the ocean is to be taken as the ksirodarnava, the practitioner is seated in it or in its shadow, and the five-limbed nyasa is performed before the ascent through the quarters begins.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The bhasya works through the arrangement with the patience of a man defending a difficult position. Why is the earth described with oceans, mountains and seven islands rather than simply named? Because the upasana must begin from the widest and grossest object available, so that the mind has something it can actually hold. Why is the ocean placed first? Because the meditator begins from the milk-ocean and settles the earth upon it. Some, the commentary notes, take sasagara differently; it weighs the alternative and does not pretend the question is closed.

On the fourth quarter the bhasya is careful with the word kam. It is the neuter of bliss, the same kam that the Chandogya joins to kham in kam brahma kham brahma, and its presence prevents the fourth pada from being read as a mere negation. Three positives govern it: Brahman by nature, stainless, and bliss. The fourth quarter is not the absence of the first three. It is what they were made of.

Then the objection the passage invites: if the fourth quarter is already Brahman, the first three are decoration. The reply is structural. The one who knows the fourth has not skipped the first three; he has passed through them. Immortality is not the reward for reaching the fourth. It is what the fourth is, once the ladder beneath it has been climbed rather than kicked over.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

This is one of the most audacious constructions in the Upanisadic literature, and its audacity is architectural rather than rhetorical. The Vedic tradition already possessed a scheme in which the Purusa is measured by quarters, three in heaven and one here below. What this passage does is take that scheme and map it onto a metrical unit, so that the vertical structure of the cosmos and the horizontal structure of a verse become the same structure seen from two angles.

The practical consequence is that a man who has memorised thirty-two syllables is carrying a working model of the universe in his mouth, and the ascent through the worlds is available to him as an ascent through the lines of a verse he already knows.

· · ·

VI. Thirty-Two Syllables

The mantra itself is shorter than the argument that surrounds it, and the Upanisad is in no hurry to say it whole.

छन्दः · Chandas

अनुष्टुप् (anustubh). Four padas of eight syllables. Eleven epithets in the accusative and a single finite verb in the first person.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- The Mantraraja
उग्रं वीरं महाविष्णुं ज्वलन्तं सर्वतोमुखम् ।
नृसिंहं भीषणं भद्रं मृत्युमृत्युं नमाम्यहम् ॥
ugram viram mahavisnum jvalantam sarvatomukham |
nrsimham bhisanam bhadram mrtyumrtyum namamy aham ||
The fierce, the heroic, the great Visnu, the blazing, the one whose faces are turned everywhere; Nrsimha, the terrifying, the auspicious, the death of death: him I salute.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
उग्रम् । वीरम् । महा-विष्णुम् । ज्वलन्तम् । सर्वतः-मुखम् ।
नृसिंहम् । भीषणम् । भद्रम् । मृत्यु-मृत्युम् । नमामि । अहम् ॥
ugram | viram | maha-visnum | jvalantam | sarvatah-mukham |
nrsimham | bhisanam | bhadram | mrtyu-mrtyum | namami | aham ||
fierce | heroic | great-Visnu | blazing | everywhere-faced | man-lion | terrifying | auspicious | death-of-death | I-salute | I

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
अहम् उग्रं वीरं महाविष्णुं ज्वलन्तं सर्वतोमुखं भीषणं भद्रं मृत्युमृत्युं नृसिंहं नमामि ।
aham ugram viram mahavisnum jvalantam sarvatomukham bhisanam bhadram mrtyumrtyum nrsimham namami.
I salute Nrsimha, who is fierce, heroic, the great Visnu, blazing, faced in every direction, terrifying, auspicious, the death of death.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the thirty-two syllables of the mantraraja
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
उग्रम्ugramविशेषणम्, द्वितीया एकवचनम्ఉగ్రుడైనవాడినిthe fierce one
वीरम्viramविशेषणम्, द्वितीयाవీరుడినిthe heroic one
महाविष्णुम्mahavisnumकर्मधारयः, द्वितीयाమహావిష్ణువునుthe great Visnu
ज्वलन्तम्jvalantamज्वल्-धातोः शतृप्रत्ययः, द्वितीयाమండుతున్నవాడినిthe blazing one
सर्वतोमुखम्sarvatomukhamबहुव्रीहिः, द्वितीयाఅన్ని వైపులా ముఖాలున్నవాడినిhe whose faces are turned everywhere
नृसिंहम्nrsimhamकर्मधारयः, द्वितीयाనృసింహుడినిthe man-lion
भीषणम्bhisanamविशेषणम्, द्वितीयाభయంకరుడినిthe terrifying one
भद्रम्bhadramविशेषणम्, द्वितीयाమంగళకరుడినిthe auspicious one
मृत्युमृत्युम्mrtyumrtyumषष्ठीतत्पुरुषः, द्वितीयाమృత్యువుకే మృత్యువైనవాడినిthe death of death
नमामिnamamiनम्-धातुः, लट् उत्तमपुरुष एकवचनम्నమస్కరిస్తున్నానుI bow, I salute
अहम्ahamअस्मद्-सर्वनाम, प्रथमाనేనుI

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

ఉగ్రుడు, వీరుడు, మహావిష్ణువు, మండుతున్నవాడు, అన్ని వైపులా ముఖాలున్నవాడు, నృసింహుడు, భయంకరుడు, మంగళకరుడు, మృత్యువుకే మృత్యువు అయినవాడు; ఆయనకు నేను నమస్కరిస్తున్నాను. మంత్రం ఏదీ అడగదు. ఒక భంగిమను చేసి ఆగిపోతుంది.

Eleven names and a verb of prostration. The mantra does not ask for anything. It performs a posture and stops.

श्रुतिसंवादः · The Catechism

The Purva-tapaniya never sets the mantra down as a continuous sloka. It builds it. The first upanisad distributes the eleven words across the four padas of the anustubh by position, ugram as the opening of the first, jvalam of the second, nrsim of the third, mrtyum of the fourth, and so on through the eleventh. Then the second upanisad turns each word into a question put to Prajapati by the gods, and each answer is sealed with a verse from the Veda. The sequence runs through the whole of the second upanisad. The first of the eleven sets the pattern for the rest.

श्रुतिः -- Purva-tapaniya, upanisad 2, on ugram
देवा ह वै प्रजापतिमब्रुवन् कस्मादुच्यत उग्रमिति ।
स होवाच प्रजापतिर्यस्मात्स्वमहिम्ना सर्वाँल्लोकान्सर्वान्देवान्सर्वानात्मनः सर्वाणि भूतान्युद्गृह्णात्यजस्रं सृजति विसृजति विवसयत्युद्ग्राह्यत उद्गृह्यते ।
स्तुहि श्रुतं गर्तसदं युवानं मृगं न भीममुपहत्नुमुग्रम् । तस्मादुच्यत उग्रमिति ।
deva ha vai prajapatim abruvan kasmad ucyata ugram iti |
sa hovaca prajapatir yasmat svamahimna sarval lokan sarvan devan sarvan atmanah sarvani bhutany udgrhnaty ajasram srjati visrjati vivasayaty udgrahyata udgrhyate |
stuhi srutam gartasadam yuvanam mrgam na bhimam upahatnum ugram | tasmad ucyata ugram iti |
The gods said to Prajapati: why is he called Ugra? Prajapati said: because by his own greatness he takes up all the worlds, all the gods, all selves, all beings, unceasingly creates, releases and settles them; he is the raiser and the raised. Praise the renowned one seated in the hollow, the youth, terrible as a wild beast, the slayer, the fierce. Therefore he is called Ugra.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on kasmad ucyata ugram iti
प्रथमपदमुच्यते व्याख्यायत उभयत्रापि मूलनृसिंहव्यूहे द्वात्रिंशन्नृसिंहव्यूहे चोग्रमिति । इतिशब्दः प्रश्नसमाप्तिं द्योतयति ।
स प्रजापतिस्तान्देवान्परमेश्वरोपासनानिष्ठान्विवक्षितार्थप्रष्टॄन्दृष्ट्वोत्तरमुवाच । एवमुत्तरोत्तरप्रश्नोत्तरेष्वपि योज्यम् ।
यस्मात्स्वमहिम्ना स्वतन्त्रशक्त्या मायया तस्या आत्मतन्त्रत्वादेव स्वातन्त्र्यम् । स्वमहिम्नेति च वचनं सर्वशक्तिमत्तृतीयपादाद्यपदानुषङ्गं दर्शयति ।
prathama-padam ucyate vyakhyayata ubhayatrapi mula-nrsimha-vyuhe dvatrimsan-nrsimha-vyuhe cogram iti | iti-sabdah prasna-samaptim dyotayati |
sa prajapatis tan devan paramesvaropasana-nisthan vivaksitartha-prastrn drstvottaram uvaca | evam uttarottara-prasnottaresv api yojyam |
yasmat svamahimna svatantra-saktya mayaya tasya atma-tantratvad eva svatantryam | svamahimneti ca vacanam sarva-saktimat-trtiya-padadya-padanusangam darsayati |
The first word is spoken of, is being expounded, in both arrangements, in the root Nrsimha-vyuha and in the thirty-twofold Nrsimha-vyuha, namely ugram. The word iti marks the close of the question. Prajapati, seeing those gods to be established in the worship of the supreme Lord and to be asking after the intended sense, gave the answer; and the same construction is to be applied in each succeeding question and answer. By his own greatness: by his independent power, by maya, whose independence follows precisely from its resting on the Self alone. And the expression by his own greatness shows the carrying over of the opening word of the third pada, the all-powerful one.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

మొదటి పదాన్ని ఇక్కడ వ్యాఖ్యానిస్తున్నారు -- మూల నృసింహ వ్యూహంలోనూ, ద్వాత్రింశ నృసింహ వ్యూహంలోనూ ఉన్న "ఉగ్రం" అనే పదాన్ని. "ఇతి" అనే శబ్దం ప్రశ్న ముగిసిందని సూచిస్తుంది. ఆ దేవతలు పరమేశ్వరోపాసనలో నిష్ఠ కలవారని, వివక్షితమైన అర్థాన్ని అడుగుతున్నారని చూసి ప్రజాపతి సమాధానం చెప్పాడు. ఇదే క్రమాన్ని తరువాతి ప్రశ్నలు సమాధానాల్లో కూడా అన్వయించుకోవాలి. "స్వమహిమ్నా" అంటే స్వతంత్రమైన శక్తితో, మాయతో; ఆ మాయ ఆత్మను మాత్రమే ఆశ్రయించి ఉండటం వల్లనే దానికి స్వాతంత్ర్యం. "స్వమహిమ్నా" అనే మాట మూడో పాదంలోని మొదటి పదమైన "సర్వశక్తిమత్" అనేదాన్ని ఇక్కడికి అనుషంగంగా తెచ్చుకోవాలని చూపిస్తుంది.

Two things are established in the first sentence and hold for all eleven. The commentary notes that the same word is being expounded in two arrangements at once, the root vyuha and the thirty-twofold vyuha, so the epithet is never merely descriptive; it is a position in a structure. And the answer given to the gods is declared to be the model: evam uttarottara-prasnottaresv api yojyam, apply the same construction to every succeeding question and answer. The catechism is therefore not eleven separate etymologies but one method run eleven times. The gloss on svamahimna is the substantive point: his own greatness is svatantra-sakti, maya, and maya's independence is said to follow from its resting on nothing but the Self.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The sequence is not decorative and the bhasya treats it as an argument in miniature. It opens with ugra, fierce, and closes the list of epithets with bhadra, auspicious. Between them stands bhisana, terrifying, placed immediately before bhadra so that the two adjectives touch. The mantra refuses the consolation of separating them. What terrifies and what blesses are not two beings, and are not even two moods of one being; they are one act seen from the two sides of a boundary. Ferocity is what benevolence looks like when it arrives at a demon.

Mrtyumrtyu is a sasthi-tatpurusa and the compound is doing something a simple epithet could not. Not the one who defeats death, which would leave death standing as an opponent worth naming, but the one who is death's own death, which leaves nothing on the other side of the balance. It is the same logic Hiranyakasipu's boon could not survive, worked in vocabulary: a category cancelled by being made to devour itself.

Sarvatomukha, faces turned in every direction, is the epithet that quietly does the philosophical work. A god with faces everywhere has no back. There is no angle from which he can be approached unseen and, equally, none from which he is absent. The word converts the mantra from an address into a description of the field the addresser is standing in.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The verb closes the argument. Namami aham: first person singular, present indicative, no optative, no benedictive, no request. Every mantra of the ordinary petitionary kind ends in an imperative or a dative of purpose. This one ends in a description of what the speaker is doing while he speaks.

Which is consistent with the cosmology already established. If the mantra is the instrument the world was made through, there is nobody outside it to petition and nothing outside it to ask for. The only available act is the one the verb names.

· · ·

VII. The Gods Came Running

The second upanisad tells the only story the Purva-tapaniya tells, and it is not the story of the pillar.

छन्दः · Chandas

गद्यम् (gadya). Prose in three movements: a narrative aorist, an injunction drawn from it, and a triad of present indicatives that state the result without hedging.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Purva-tapaniya, upanisad 2
... प्रजापतिमुपाधावन् । तेभ्य एतं मन्त्रराजं नारसिंहमनुष्टुभं प्रायच्छत् ।
तेन वै सर्वे मृत्युमजयन् सर्वे पाप्मानमतरन् संसाराच्च अतरन् ।
तस्माद्यो मृत्योः पाप्मभ्यः संसाराच्च बिभीयात् स एवं मन्त्रराजं नारसिंहमनुष्टुभं प्रतिगृह्णीयात् ।
स मृत्युं जयति स पाप्मानं तरति स संसारं तरति ॥
... prajapatim upadhavan | tebhya etam mantrarajam narasimham anustubham prayacchat |
tena vai sarve mrtyum ajayan sarve papmanam ataran samsarac ca ataran |
tasmad yo mrtyoh papmabhyah samsarac ca bibhiyat sa evam mantrarajam narasimham anustubham pratigrhniyat |
sa mrtyum jayati sa papmanam tarati sa samsaram tarati ||
... they ran to Prajapati. To them he gave this king of mantras, the Narasimha in the anustubh. By it they all conquered death, all crossed beyond evil, and crossed beyond samsara. Therefore let him who fears death, evil and samsara receive this king of mantras, the Narasimha in the anustubh. He conquers death; he crosses evil; he crosses samsara.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
प्रजापतिम् । उप-अधावन् । तेभ्यः । एतम् । मन्त्र-राजम् । नारसिंहम् । आनुष्टुभम् । प्रायच्छत् ।
तेन । वै । सर्वे । मृत्युम् । अजयन् । सर्वे । पाप्मानम् । अतरन् । संसारात् । च । अतरन् ।
तस्मात् । यः । मृत्योः । पाप्मभ्यः । संसारात् । च । बिभीयात् । सः । एवम् । प्रति-गृह्णीयात् ।
सः । मृत्युम् । जयति । सः । पाप्मानम् । तरति । सः । संसारम् । तरति ॥
prajapatim | upa-adhavan | tebhyah | etam | mantra-rajam | narasimham | anustubham | prayacchat |
tena | vai | sarve | mrtyum | ajayan | sarve | papmanam | ataran | samsarat | ca | ataran |
tasmat | yah | mrtyoh | papmabhyah | samsarat | ca | bibhiyat | sah | evam | prati-grhniyat |
sah | mrtyum | jayati | sah | papmanam | tarati | sah | samsaram | tarati ||
to-Prajapati | they-ran-up | to-them | this | king-of-mantras | the-Narasimha | in-the-anustubh | he-gave | by-that | indeed | all | death | they-conquered | all | evil | they-crossed | from-samsara | and | they-crossed | therefore | who | of-death | of-evils | from-samsara | and | should-fear | he | thus | let-him-receive | he | death | conquers | he | evil | crosses | he | samsara | crosses

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
देवाः प्रजापतिम् उपाधावन् । सः तेभ्यः एतम् आनुष्टुभं नारसिंहं मन्त्रराजं प्रायच्छत् । तेन वै सर्वे मृत्युम् अजयन्, सर्वे पाप्मानम् अतरन्, संसारात् च अतरन् । तस्मात् यः मृत्योः पाप्मभ्यः संसारात् च बिभीयात्, सः एवम् एतं मन्त्रराजं प्रतिगृह्णीयात् । सः मृत्युं जयति, सः पाप्मानं तरति, सः संसारं तरति ।
devah prajapatim upadhavan. sah tebhyah etam anustubham narasimham mantrarajam prayacchat. tena vai sarve mrtyum ajayan, sarve papmanam ataran, samsarat ca ataran. tasmat yah mrtyoh papmabhyah samsarat ca bibhiyat, sah evam etam mantrarajam pratigrhniyat. sah mrtyum jayati, sah papmanam tarati, sah samsaram tarati.
The gods ran up to Prajapati. He gave them this Narasimha king of mantras set in the anustubh. By it they all conquered death, crossed beyond evil, and crossed beyond samsara. Therefore whoever fears death, evils and samsara should receive this king of mantras in this way. He conquers death, he crosses evil, he crosses samsara.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the giving of the mantra to the gods
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
उपाधावन्upadhavanउप + धाव्-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्పరుగెత్తుకుంటూ వెళ్ళారుthey ran up to
तेभ्यःtebhyahतत्-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी बहुवचनम्వాళ్ళకుto them
प्रायच्छत्prayacchatप्र + दा-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुषःఇచ్చాడుhe gave, he handed over
वैvaiअव्ययम्, अवधारणेనిజంగాindeed, verily
मृत्युम्mrtyumद्वितीया एकवचनम्మృత్యువునుdeath
अजयन्ajayanजि-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्జయించారుthey conquered
पाप्मानम्papmanamपाप्मन्-शब्दः, द्वितीयाపాపాన్నిevil, the principle of sin
अतरन्ataranतॄ-धातुः, लङ् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्దాటారుthey crossed over
संसारात्samsaratपञ्चमी एकवचनम्సంసారం నుండిfrom samsara
बिभीयात्bibhiyatभी-धातुः, विधिलिङ् प्रथमपुरुषःభయపడితేshould he fear
प्रतिगृह्णीयात्pratigrhniyatप्रति + ग्रह्-धातुः, विधिलिङ् प्रथमपुरुषःస్వీకరించాలిlet him receive, let him accept as a gift
जयतिjayatiजि-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःజయిస్తాడుhe conquers
तरतिtaratiतॄ-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःదాటుతాడుhe crosses

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

దేవతలు భయపడి ప్రజాపతి దగ్గరకు పరుగెత్తుకుంటూ వెళ్ళారు. ఆయన వాళ్ళకు అనుష్టుప్ ఛందస్సులోని నారసింహ మంత్రరాజాన్ని ఇచ్చాడు. దానితోనే వాళ్ళందరూ మృత్యువును జయించారు, పాపాన్ని దాటారు, సంసారాన్ని దాటారు. కాబట్టి మృత్యువుకు, పాపాలకు, సంసారానికి భయపడేవాడు ఈ మంత్రరాజాన్ని ఇలాగే స్వీకరించాలి. వాడు మృత్యువును జయిస్తాడు, పాపాన్ని దాటుతాడు, సంసారాన్ని దాటుతాడు.

The immortals of the Veda arrive at their father's door at a run because something is coming for them that their divinity does not cover. Prajapati does not lecture them, does not initiate them into non-duality, does not tell them that fear is unreal because the fearer is unreal. He hands them a mantra.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on the giving of the mantra
ते द्विविधा देवाः प्रजापतिमुपाधावन् । उपपूर्वको धावतिः पूजामाह । समीपमेत्य प्रजापतिमपूजयन्स्तुतिशुश्रूषादक्षिणाभिश्च ।
तेभ्यो देवेभ्यः प्रीतः प्रजापतिरेतं मन्त्रराजमित्याद्यानुष्टुभमित्यन्तं सर्वमुक्तार्थं प्रायच्छत्प्रादात्तेन प्रदानेन वै स प्रजापतिर्मृत्युमजयद्देवा अपि मृत्युमजयन् ।
एतदुक्तं भवति । तेन प्रदानेन प्रजापतिर्मृत्युमजयत्तेन स्वीकारेण देवा मृत्युमजयन्निति ।
te dvividha devah prajapatim upadhavan | upa-purvako dhavatih pujam aha | samipam etya prajapatim apujayan stuti-susrusa-daksinabhis ca |
tebhyo devebhyah pritah prajapatir etam mantrarajam ity ady anustubham ity antam sarvam uktartham prayacchat pradat tena pradanena vai sa prajapatir mrtyum ajayad deva api mrtyum ajayan |
etad uktam bhavati | tena pradanena prajapatir mrtyum ajayat tena svikarena deva mrtyum ajayann iti |
Those gods, of two kinds, ran up to Prajapati. The root dhav preceded by upa denotes worship. Coming near, they worshipped Prajapati with praise, with service and with gifts. Pleased with those gods, Prajapati gave them all that has been stated, from 'this king of mantras' down to 'in the anustubh'. By that giving, Prajapati conquered death; and the gods too conquered death. What is meant is this: by that giving Prajapati conquered death, and by that accepting the gods conquered death.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

ఆ రెండు రకాల దేవతలు ప్రజాపతి దగ్గరకు పరుగెత్తుకుంటూ వెళ్ళారు. "ఉప" ఉపసర్గతో కూడిన "ధావ్" ధాతువు ఇక్కడ పూజ అనే అర్థాన్ని ఇస్తుంది. దగ్గరకు వచ్చి స్తుతి, శుశ్రూష, దక్షిణలతో ప్రజాపతిని పూజించారు. వాళ్ళ మీద ప్రసన్నుడై ప్రజాపతి "ఏతం మన్త్రరాజం" నుండి "ఆనుష్టుభం" వరకు చెప్పినదంతా ఇచ్చాడు. ఆ ఇవ్వడం వల్లనే ప్రజాపతి మృత్యువును జయించాడు; దేవతలు కూడా మృత్యువును జయించారు. అంటే -- ఇవ్వడం వల్ల ప్రజాపతికి, స్వీకరించడం వల్ల దేవతలకు మృత్యుజయం కలిగింది.

The bhasya makes two moves in quick succession. First it refuses to let upadhavan mean merely running: with the preverb upa, the root denotes worship, and the gods are said to have arrived with praise, service and daksina. Fear brought them, but they came as worshippers and not as claimants. Second, it distributes the victory over death across both parties and specifies the instrument for each. Prajapati conquers by the giving, the gods by the accepting. Transmission is not a delivery mechanism attached to the vidya; it is itself the act in which death is defeated, at both ends of the hand.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The bhasya's attention goes to a single verb: pratigrhniyat. Let him receive it. The word is the technical term for accepting a gift, and its presence changes the logic of the passage entirely. The mantra is not something one finds in a text, or reasons one's way to, or reconstructs from first principles. It is something given, and therefore something taken, hand to hand, from one who already holds it. Prajapati did not publish it. He gave it, to petitioners who had come running.

The commentary then raises the objection its own reading invites. If the giving is a dana, then the ordinary rules of gifting should apply, and one might expect a dakshina, a stipulation, a condition; and the bhasya refuses to let the analogy run away. What is transmitted here is not property changing owners. The word dana is admitted only far enough to establish that the mantra passes through a person, and that a mantra which has not passed through a person has not been received at all.

There is a hard doctrine buried in the courtesy. This vidya is not democratic in the sense of being self-serve. It is entirely democratic in the sense of who may come running. The passage sets no qualification except fear: yo mrtyoh papmabhyah samsarac ca bibhiyat, whoever fears death, evil, and the wheel. That is the entrance requirement, and the gods themselves met it by being afraid.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The three results are stated twice, once in the aorist for the gods and once in the present indicative for the man who follows them, and the grammatical shift is the whole point. What happened once to the devas is not a myth about the past. It is a present-tense operation available to anyone who accepts the same gift on the same terms.

The order in which the three fears are named and defeated is itself deliberate: death, then evil, then samsara. Death is the fear that brings a man to the door; evil is what he discovers he must deal with once he is inside; samsara is the structure that produced both. The Upanisad lets the practitioner start with the crudest of the three, because that is the one that actually makes people run.

The immortals of the Veda arrive at their father's door at a run, and he does not tell them that fear is unreal. He hands them a mantra.

· · ·

VIII. The Anatomy of a Sound

The third upanisad turns the mantra inside out and examines its letters, settling the meaning of each seed-sound and defending each assignment. This is the portion most easily dismissed as arbitrary and least safely dismissed. The letter ha is established not by resemblance but by denotation: the bhasya rules that the word akasa expresses it, on the joint authority of the agama corpus and of the Upanisads. Having fixed the referent, it then produces as darsana, as scriptural sighting, one of the most famous verses in the Veda, to show what the seated one in that syllable is.

छन्दः · Chandas

जगती (jagati), the twelve-syllable pada, in the older Mandala manner where the final pada runs over its count. The verse is Rgveda 4.40.5 and stands also at Kathopanisad 5.2, which is why the bhasya can use it without argument: both the Rk and the Upanisadic tradition have already ratified it.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Rgveda 4.40.5, cited in the bhasya
हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत् ।
नृषद्वरसदृतसद्व्योमसदब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतं बृहत् ॥
hamsah sucisad vasur antariksasad dhota vedisad atithir duronasat |
nrsad varasad rtasad vyomasad abja goja rtaja adrija rtam brhat ||
The swan seated in the bright, the Vasu seated in the mid-air, the priest seated at the altar, the guest seated in the house; seated in man, seated in the excellent, seated in truth, seated in the sky; born of water, born of cattle, born of truth, born of the rock: the vast Truth.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
हंसः । शुचि-सत् । वसुः । अन्तरिक्ष-सत् । होता । वेदि-सत् । अतिथिः । दुरोण-सत् ।
नृ-सत् । वर-सत् । ऋत-सत् । व्योम-सत् । अब्-जाः । गो-जाः । ऋत-जाः । अद्रि-जाः । ऋतम् । बृहत् ॥
hamsah | suci-sat | vasuh | antariksa-sat | hota | vedi-sat | atithih | durona-sat |
nr-sat | vara-sat | rta-sat | vyoma-sat | ab-jah | go-jah | rta-jah | adri-jah | rtam | brhat ||
the-swan | seated-in-the-bright | the-Vasu | seated-in-the-mid-air | the-priest | seated-at-the-altar | the-guest | seated-in-the-house | seated-in-man | seated-in-the-excellent | seated-in-truth | seated-in-the-sky | water-born | cattle-born | truth-born | rock-born | the-Truth | the-vast

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
शुचिषत् हंसः, अन्तरिक्षसत् वसुः, वेदिषत् होता, दुरोणसत् अतिथिः; नृषत्, वरसत्, ऋतसत्, व्योमसत्; अब्जाः, गोजाः, ऋतजाः, अद्रिजाः -- तत् बृहत् ऋतम् ।
sucisat hamsah, antariksasat vasuh, vedisat hota, duronasat atithih; nrsat, varasat, rtasat, vyomasat; abjah, gojah, rtajah, adrijah -- tat brhat rtam.
The swan seated in the bright, the Vasu seated in the mid-air, the priest seated at the altar, the guest seated in the house; seated in man, in the excellent, in truth, in the sky; born of water, of cattle, of truth, of the rock -- that is the vast Truth.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the hamsah sucisad verse
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
हंसःhamsahप्रथमा एकवचनम्హంసthe swan, the moving one
शुचिषत्sucisatउपपदसमासः, सद्-धातोः क्विप्శుభ్రమైన చోట కూర్చున్నవాడుseated in the bright, in the pure
वसुःvasuhप्रथमा एकवचनम्వసువుthe Vasu, the dweller
अन्तरिक्षसत्antariksasatउपपदसमासःఅంతరిక్షంలో ఉన్నవాడుseated in the mid-air
होताhotaहु-धातोः तृच्, प्रथमाహోతృడుthe invoking priest
वेदिषत्vedisatउपपदसमासःవేదిక మీద ఉన్నవాడుseated at the altar
अतिथिःatithihप्रथमा एकवचनम्అతిథిthe guest
दुरोणसत्duronasatउपपदसमासःఇంట్లో ఉన్నవాడుseated in the house
नृषत्nrsatउपपदसमासःమనిషిలో ఉన్నవాడుseated in man
वरसत्varasatउपपदसमासःశ్రేష్ఠమైనదానిలో ఉన్నవాడుseated in the excellent
ऋतसत्rtasatउपपदसमासःఋతంలో ఉన్నవాడుseated in truth, in cosmic order
व्योमसत्vyomasatउपपदसमासःఆకాశంలో ఉన్నవాడుseated in the sky
अब्जाःabjahउपपदसमासः, जन्-धातोः डःనీటిలో పుట్టినవాడుborn of water
गोजाःgojahउपपदसमासःగోవుల నుండి పుట్టినవాడుborn of cattle, of rays
ऋतजाःrtajahउपपदसमासःఋతం నుండి పుట్టినవాడుborn of truth
अद्रिजाःadrijahउपपदसमासःపర్వతం నుండి పుట్టినవాడుborn of the rock
ऋतम्rtamप्रथमा एकवचनम्ఋతంTruth, the order of things
बृहत्brhatविशेषणम्, प्रथमाమహత్తరమైనదిvast, great

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

శుభ్రమైన చోట కూర్చున్న హంస, అంతరిక్షంలో ఉన్న వసువు, వేదిక మీద ఉన్న హోతృడు, ఇంట్లో ఉన్న అతిథి; మనిషిలో, శ్రేష్ఠంలో, ఋతంలో, ఆకాశంలో ఉన్నవాడు; నీటి నుండి, గోవుల నుండి, ఋతం నుండి, పర్వతం నుండి పుట్టినవాడు -- అదే మహత్తరమైన ఋతం. ఒక్కొక్క చోట ఒక్కొక్క పేరు; కూర్చున్నవాడు మాత్రం ఒక్కడే.

Twelve seats and four births, and in every one of them the seated one is the same. The verse is a catalogue of locations that turns out to be a catalogue of one occupant.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on the seed-letter
बीजाक्षरनिर्णयं तदाश्रितां सफलां चोपासनामभिधातुं तन्निर्णयमाह । आकाशशब्दो हकारं वक्ति । सर्वागमशास्त्रप्रसिद्धेरागमरूपोपनिषत्प्रसिद्धेश्च ।
यस्मादेवं तस्मादाकाशशब्दवाच्यं हकारं बीजं विद्यात् । बीजनिदानं मूलकारणं तद्बुद्ध्योपासीत तद्वाचकं वा निपातरूपेण ।
स चायं वाच्यवाचकसंबन्धो लोके प्रसिद्ध इति । यथा प्रणवाक्षरं ब्रह्मवाचकत्वाद्ब्रह्मबुद्ध्योपास्यमभूत्तद्वच्छक्तिबीजम् ।
bijaksara-nirnayam tad-asritam saphalam copasanam abhidhatum tan-nirnayam aha | akasa-sabdo hakaram vakti | sarvagama-sastra-prasiddher agama-rupopanisat-prasiddhes ca |
yasmad evam tasmad akasa-sabda-vacyam hakaram bijam vidyat | bija-nidanam mula-karanam tad-buddhyopasita tad-vacakam va nipata-rupena |
sa cayam vacya-vacaka-sambandho loke prasiddha iti | yatha pranavaksaram brahma-vacakatvad brahma-buddhyopasyam abhut tadvac chakti-bijam |
In order to state the settling of the seed-letter, and the fruitful worship that rests on it, he gives that determination. The word akasa expresses the letter ha, because this is established in all the agama-sastras and established in the Upanisads which are themselves of the nature of agama. Since it is so, one should know as the seed the letter ha, which is what the word akasa denotes. One should worship, with that understanding, the origin of the seed, the root cause, or else that which denotes it, in the form of the particle. And this relation of the denoted and the denoter is well known in the world. Just as the syllable of the pranava, because it denotes Brahman, became an object of worship under the idea of Brahman, so likewise the seed of sakti.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

బీజాక్షర నిర్ణయాన్నీ, దాని మీద ఆధారపడిన ఫలవంతమైన ఉపాసననూ చెప్పడానికి ఆ నిర్ణయాన్ని చెబుతున్నాడు. "ఆకాశ" అనే శబ్దం హకారాన్ని సూచిస్తుంది; ఇది ఆగమ శాస్త్రాలన్నిటిలోనూ, ఆగమ స్వరూపమైన ఉపనిషత్తులలోనూ ప్రసిద్ధం. కాబట్టి ఆకాశ శబ్దం చెప్పే హకారాన్నే బీజంగా తెలుసుకోవాలి. బీజానికి మూలకారణమైనదానిని ఆ భావనతో ఉపాసించాలి, లేదా దానిని సూచించే నిపాత రూపాన్ని ఉపాసించాలి. వాచ్యం -- వాచకం అనే ఈ సంబంధం లోకంలో ప్రసిద్ధమే. ప్రణవాక్షరం బ్రహ్మను సూచిస్తుంది కాబట్టి బ్రహ్మ భావనతో ఉపాస్యమైనట్టే, శక్తిబీజం కూడా అలాగే ఉపాస్యమవుతుంది.

The argument is not that ha sounds like something. It is that ha is what the word akasa denotes, on the joint authority of the agama corpus and of the Upanisads, which the bhasya classes as agama in form. From there the reasoning is ordinary semantics: a denoter may be worshipped under the idea of the denoted, and the tradition already does this without controversy in the case of the pranava. The seed-letter is admitted on exactly the same footing as Om, not on a lower one. It is at this point that the hamsah sucisad verse is brought in as the nidarsana, the scriptural sighting which shows that the one seated in every seat is one.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The bhasya unpacks the verse clause by clause and at every clause identifies the seated one as the Supreme Self. Seated in the bright: seated in the purified intellect. Seated in the mid-air: the vital breath, from which the whole atmospheric order hangs. Seated at the altar: the deity of the offering. Seated in the house: dwelling in the body as a guest dwells in a house he does not own. Then seated in man, in the excellent, in truth, in the sky; and then the four births, from water, from cattle, from rta, from the mountain, each read as a mode of worship in which the same one is reached by a different road.

And then the letter ha is placed back into the mantra, having been shown to carry all of that.

This is the answer to the standing charge that mantric syllabary is arbitrary noise, superstition dressed in Sanskrit. The bhasya's position is the exact opposite. A bija is a compressed sentence, and the compression is lossless only for one who has been taught the expansion. The syllable does not mean by convention, the way a word does; it means by containing, the way a seed contains a tree.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

Which explains, retrospectively, why the second upanisad insisted on pratigrhniyat. A dictionary can transmit a convention. Only a teacher can transmit an expansion. The insistence on hand-to-hand transmission is not guild protectionism; it follows from what the tradition thinks a seed-syllable is.

The verse also settles the register of the whole enquiry. The commentary is not asserting that ha means hamsa because it sounds like it. It is asserting that the Veda has already said, at length and in a hymn of unquestioned standing, that the one who moves through all the seats is one; and that the syllable is the handle by which that whole statement is picked up.

· · ·

IX. Where the Sun Does Not Burn

The fifth upanisad is the longest, running through six adhyayas, and it builds toward the passage the bhasya treats as the summit of the Purva-tapaniya.

छन्दः · Chandas

गद्यम् (gadya). Prose built entirely on the relative yatra, repeated seven times in a descending series of negations, and then released into a string of positive epithets that carry no negation at all.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Purva-tapaniya, upanisad 5
तद्वा एतत्परमं धाम मन्त्रराजाध्यायकस्य यत्र सूर्यो न तपति यत्र न वायुर्वाति यत्र न चन्द्रमास्तपति
यत्र न नक्षत्राणि भान्ति यत्र नाग्निर्दहति यत्र न मृत्युः प्रविशति यत्र न दुःखम् ।
सदानन्दं परमानन्दं शाश्वतं शान्तं सदाशिवं ब्रह्मादिवन्दितं योगिध्येयं यत्र गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते योगिनः ॥
tad va etat paramam dhama mantrarajadhyayakasya yatra suryo na tapati yatra na vayur vati yatra na candramas tapati
yatra na naksatrani bhanti yatra nagnir dahati yatra na mrtyuh pravisati yatra na duhkham |
sadanandam paramanandam sasvatam santam sadasivam brahmadivanditam yogidhyeyam yatra gatva na nivartante yoginah ||
That is the supreme abode of the one who studies the king of mantras, where the sun does not burn, where the wind does not blow, where the moon does not shine, where the stars do not glimmer, where fire does not consume, where death does not enter, where there is no sorrow; ever-blissful, supremely blissful, everlasting, at peace, eternally auspicious, saluted by Brahma and the rest, the object of the yogins' meditation, going where the yogins do not return.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
तत् । वै । एतत् । परमम् । धाम । मन्त्रराज-अध्यायकस्य । यत्र । सूर्यः । न । तपति । यत्र । न । वायुः । वाति । यत्र । न । चन्द्रमाः । तपति ।
यत्र । न । नक्षत्राणि । भान्ति । यत्र । न । अग्निः । दहति । यत्र । न । मृत्युः । प्रविशति । यत्र । न । दुःखम् ।
सदा-आनन्दम् । परम-आनन्दम् । शाश्वतम् । शान्तम् । सदा-शिवम् । ब्रह्म-आदि-वन्दितम् । योगि-ध्येयम् । यत्र । गत्वा । न । निवर्तन्ते । योगिनः ॥
tat | vai | etat | paramam | dhama | mantraraja-adhyayakasya | yatra | suryah | na | tapati | yatra | na | vayuh | vati | yatra | na | candramah | tapati |
yatra | na | naksatrani | bhanti | yatra | na | agnih | dahati | yatra | na | mrtyuh | pravisati | yatra | na | duhkham |
sada-anandam | parama-anandam | sasvatam | santam | sada-sivam | brahma-adi-vanditam | yogi-dhyeyam | yatra | gatva | na | nivartante | yoginah ||
that | verily | this | supreme | abode | of-the-student-of-the-mantraraja | where | the-sun | not | burns | where | not | the-wind | blows | where | not | the-moon | shines | where | not | the-stars | glimmer | where | not | fire | consumes | where | not | death | enters | where | no | sorrow | ever-blissful | supremely-blissful | everlasting | at-peace | ever-auspicious | saluted-by-Brahma-and-the-rest | meditated-on-by-yogins | where | having-gone | not | they-return | the-yogins

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
मन्त्रराजाध्यायकस्य तत् वै एतत् परमं धाम, यत्र सूर्यः न तपति, यत्र वायुः न वाति, यत्र चन्द्रमाः न तपति, यत्र नक्षत्राणि न भान्ति, यत्र अग्निः न दहति, यत्र मृत्युः न प्रविशति, यत्र दुःखं न अस्ति; सदानन्दं परमानन्दं शाश्वतं शान्तं सदाशिवं ब्रह्मादिवन्दितं योगिध्येयम्; यत्र गत्वा योगिनः न निवर्तन्ते ।
mantrarajadhyayakasya tat vai etat paramam dhama, yatra suryah na tapati, yatra vayuh na vati, yatra candramah na tapati, yatra naksatrani na bhanti, yatra agnih na dahati, yatra mrtyuh na pravisati, yatra duhkham na asti; sadanandam paramanandam sasvatam santam sadasivam brahmadivanditam yogidhyeyam; yatra gatva yoginah na nivartante.
That indeed is the supreme abode of the student of the king of mantras, where the sun does not burn, the wind does not blow, the moon does not shine, the stars do not glimmer, fire does not consume, death does not enter, and there is no sorrow; ever-blissful, supremely blissful, everlasting, at peace, ever-auspicious, saluted by Brahma and the rest, meditated on by yogins; going where, the yogins do not return.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the supreme abode
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
परमम्paramamविशेषणम्, प्रथमा नपुंसकम्పరమమైనsupreme, highest
धामdhamaधामन्-शब्दः, प्रथमाధామం, నివాసంabode, seat, station
मन्त्रराजाध्यायकस्यmantrarajadhyayakasyaषष्ठीतत्पुरुषः, षष्ठी एकवचनम्మంత్రరాజాన్ని అధ్యయనం చేసేవాడికిof the one who studies the king of mantras
यत्रyatraअव्ययम्ఎక్కడwhere
तपतिtapatiतप्-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःతపింపజేస్తుందిburns, gives heat
वातिvatiवा-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःవీస్తుందిblows
भान्तिbhantiभा-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्ప్రకాశిస్తాయిthey shine
दहतिdahatiदह्-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःకాలుస్తుందిburns, consumes
प्रविशतिpravisatiप्र + विश्-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुषःప్రవేశిస్తుందిenters
दुःखम्duhkhamप्रथमा एकवचनम्దుఃఖంsorrow
सदानन्दम्sadanandamबहुव्रीहिःఎప్పుడూ ఆనందమైనదిever-blissful
परमानन्दम्paramanandamकर्मधारयःపరమానందమైనదిof supreme bliss
शाश्वतम्sasvatamविशेषणम्శాశ్వతమైనదిeverlasting
शान्तम्santamशम्-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःశాంతమైనదిat peace, stilled
सदाशिवम्sadasivamकर्मधारयःఎప్పుడూ శుభమైనదిever-auspicious
ब्रह्मादिवन्दितम्brahmadivanditamतृतीयातत्पुरुषःబ్రహ్మ మొదలైనవారిచే నమస్కరించబడినదిsaluted by Brahma and the rest
योगिध्येयम्yogidhyeyamषष्ठीतत्पुरुषः, ध्यै-धातोः यत्प्रत्ययःయోగులు ధ్యానించదగినదిto be meditated on by yogins
गत्वाgatvaगम्-धातोः क्त्वान्तम्వెళ్ళిhaving gone
निवर्तन्तेnivartanteनि + वृत्-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्తిరిగి రారుthey return

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

మంత్రరాజాన్ని అధ్యయనం చేసేవాడికి చెందిన పరమధామం అది. అక్కడ సూర్యుడు తపింపజేయడు, గాలి వీయదు, చంద్రుడు ప్రకాశించడు, నక్షత్రాలు వెలగవు, అగ్ని కాల్చదు, మృత్యువు ప్రవేశించదు, దుఃఖం లేదు. అది ఎప్పుడూ ఆనందం, పరమానందం, శాశ్వతం, శాంతం, సదాశివం; బ్రహ్మ మొదలైనవారు నమస్కరించేది; యోగులు ధ్యానించేది. అక్కడికి వెళ్ళిన యోగులు తిరిగి రారు.

The passage moves by subtraction, and the order of the subtractions is a cosmology being dismantled from the top.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on the supreme abode
यस्मादेव तस्मात्प्रसिद्धमेतत्परमं धाम स्थानमेतद्विद्यागर्भितमन्त्रराजाध्यायकस्य जापकस्यानुष्ठातुर्वा यत्र क्षीरोदार्णवस्थाने सूर्यो न तपति यत्र वायुर्न वाति ।
तदेतत्स्थानमृचाऽभ्युक्तम् । विष्णोर्यत्परमं पदमिति । यच्छब्देन क्षीरोदार्णवस्थानं परामृश्यते । परमपदप्रत्यभिज्ञानात् ।
सूरय उपासका उपासनाभेदेन तादात्म्यमुपासनया चेतसायुज्यं फलं ततश्च विष्णुरेव परमं पदम् । उभयत्रापि विष्णोरिति षष्ठीनिर्देशः शिलापुत्रकस्य शरीरमितिवद्द्रष्टव्यः ।
yasmad eva tasmat prasiddham etat paramam dhama sthanam etad vidya-garbhita-mantrarajadhyayakasya japakasyanusthatur va yatra ksirodarnava-sthane suryo na tapati yatra vayur na vati |
tad etat sthanam rcabhyuktam | visnor yat paramam padam iti | yac-chabdena ksirodarnava-sthanam paramrsyate | parama-pada-pratyabhijnanat |
suraya upasaka upasana-bhedena tadatmyam upasanaya cetasayujyam phalam tatas ca visnur eva paramam padam | ubhayatrapi visnor iti sasthi-nirdesah silaputrakasya sarnram iti-vad drastavyah |
Precisely because it is so, this supreme abode is well known, this station of the one who studies the mantraraja pregnant with the vidya, or of the one who repeats it, or of the one who performs it: where, in that place which is the ocean of milk, the sun does not burn, where the wind does not blow. That very station has been spoken of by the rk: 'that which is the supreme step of Visnu.' By the word 'that' the station of the ocean of milk is referred back to, since the supreme step is recognised in it. The wise are the worshippers; by the difference of worship, identity; by worship, communion of mind is the fruit; and therefore Visnu himself is the supreme step. In both places the genitive 'of Visnu' is to be understood in the manner of 'the body of the stone-statue'.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

అందుకే ఈ పరమధామం ప్రసిద్ధం -- విద్యతో కూడిన మంత్రరాజాన్ని అధ్యయనం చేసేవాడికి, జపించేవాడికి, అనుష్ఠానం చేసేవాడికి చెందిన స్థానం అది. క్షీరసముద్ర స్థానమైన అక్కడ సూర్యుడు తపింపజేయడు, గాలి వీయదు. ఆ స్థానాన్నే "విష్ణోర్యత్పరమం పదమ్" అనే ఋక్కు చెప్పింది. "యత్" అనే శబ్దంతో క్షీరసముద్ర స్థానాన్నే మళ్ళీ చెబుతున్నారు; ఎందుకంటే పరమపదం అక్కడే గుర్తించబడుతుంది. "సూరులు" అంటే ఉపాసకులు; ఉపాసనా భేదం వల్ల తాదాత్మ్యం, ఉపాసన వల్ల చిత్త సాయుజ్యం ఫలం; కాబట్టి విష్ణువే పరమపదం. రెండు చోట్లా "విష్ణోః" అనే షష్ఠీ నిర్దేశం "శిలాపుత్రకస్య శరీరమ్" అన్నట్టుగా చూడాలి.

The last sentence carries the weight. 'The body of the stone-statue' is the standard grammarians' example of a genitive that does not divide its terms: the statue does not possess a body, it is the body. By invoking it, the bhasya rules that the supreme step of Visnu is not a place Visnu owns and a devotee might reach separately. Visnu and the supreme step are one referent named twice. The identity of the worshipped form with the goal is thereby stated in the technical vocabulary of case-syntax rather than asserted devotionally.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

First the sun, the ruling light of the visible order. Then the wind, the mover of everything that moves. Then the moon and the stars, the whole calendar of time by which sacrifice and season are computed. Then fire, the mouth of the gods, the one element by which anything is ever conveyed anywhere. Then death. Then sorrow. When the list ends, the ordinary instruments of the cosmos have all been retired, and what remains is described only in positives that carry no measurement.

The bhasya connects the abode first to the milk-ocean of the earlier upasana and then to tad visnoh paramam padam, the supreme step of Visnu, and it holds the two frames together without collapsing either. For the one who worships with form, this is the highest stride of Visnu, and the identity of the worshipper's chosen deity with the goal is total. There is no exchange at the summit in which the personal form turns out to have been a training aid. The form arrives intact, and what is subtracted is the universe around it.

Yatra gatva na nivartante. Having gone where, they do not return. The formula is the one the Gita will use and the one the Katha holds out to Naciketas. Here it is attached to a man who has done nothing more exotic than study a mantra of thirty-two syllables every day.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The negations are not chosen at random and they are not merely poetic. Each item struck off the list is an instrument of measurement. Sun and moon and stars measure time; wind measures motion; fire measures the passage of offerings from one world to another; death measures the span of a life; sorrow measures the distance between what is and what was wanted.

Strike out every instrument and what is left cannot be located, timed, or compared. That is why the positives that follow are all unmeasured: ever, supreme, everlasting, stilled. The passage is not describing a place with unusual weather. It is describing what remains when the apparatus that produces places has been withdrawn.

· · ·

X. The Ledger of Fruits

Then comes the passage most easily mistaken for inflation, and the one the bhasya defends hardest. The one who studies this mantra daily is said to conquer Bhur, Bhuvar, Svar, Mahar, Jana, Tapas and Satya, and then all the worlds; and immediately after, a second ledger credits him with the fruit of the agnistoma, the ukthya, the sodasin, the vajapeya, the atiratra, the aptoryama and the asvamedha, with all the kratus the srauta tradition knows.

Seven worlds and seven sacrifices. To a certain temperament this reads as inflation, the kind of promise a text makes when it is competing for adherents. The bhasya reads it as a statement about cost.

The commentary first observes that the seven-world list is stated twice over, and takes the repetition as the marker closing the section rather than as emphasis piled on emphasis. Then it confronts the sacrificial ledger directly, and the objection it raises against itself is the sharp one: if recitation yields the fruit of the asvamedha, the asvamedha becomes pointless, and a sruti that makes another sruti pointless has argued itself into incoherence. The answer is adhikara-bheda, difference of qualification. The great sacrifices depend on an apparatus, on wealth, on ritual assistants, on the body's capacity to sustain a year of observance, on a social order remaining stable long enough for the rite to complete. The mantra depends on none of it. What the passage establishes is not that the sacrifices are worthless but that their fruit has been made reachable by a road requiring no cattle, no gold, no assembly of priests, and no permission.

On that reading the phalasruti stops being a sales pitch and becomes a democratisation. A man with nothing, in a century when everything could be taken, retains access to the whole of the Vedic result through thirty-two syllables no invader can confiscate.

Vidyaranya, three hundred years and one civilisational catastrophe later, would have known exactly what that was worth.

· · ·

XI. The Book Turns

The Purva-tapaniya ends, the Uttara-tapaniya opens, and with the first sentence the concerns have shifted. The mantra recedes. Om advances. Worship and reception and fruit give way to quarters and states and witnesses, and the sentences begin to sound like the Mandukya reciting itself from memory.

The bhasya on the first khanda takes up the letters of Om and maps them onto the ascending order of cosmic persons: a to Virat, u to Hiranyagarbha, m to Isvara. It then runs the same mapping across the four levels of speech -- vaikhari the articulated, madhyama the intermediate, pasyanti the seeing, para the supreme -- and to secure the fourth it reaches for the Veda's most quoted line about the nature of language. The decisive step in that discussion is a refusal: the three persons are not to be called Om-natured merely by courtesy.

छन्दः · Chandas

त्रिष्टुप् (tristubh), four padas of eleven. The verse is Rgveda 1.164.45, from the Asya Vamasya hymn, the single most cited authority in the tradition on the stratification of speech.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Rgveda 1.164.45, cited in the bhasya
चत्वारि वाक्परिमिता पदानि तानि विदुर्ब्राह्मणा ये मनीषिणः ।
गुहा त्रीणि निहिता नेङ्गयन्ति तुरीयं वाचो मनुष्या वदन्ति ॥
catvari vak parimita padani tani vidur brahmana ye manisinah |
guha trini nihita nengayanti turiyam vaco manusya vadanti ||
Speech is measured out in four quarters. Those brahmanas who are wise know them. Three, set down in the cave, do not stir. The fourth of speech is what men speak.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
चत्वारि । वाक् । परिमिता । पदानि । तानि । विदुः । ब्राह्मणाः । ये । मनीषिणः ।
गुहा । त्रीणि । निहिता । न । इङ्गयन्ति । तुरीयम् । वाचः । मनुष्याः । वदन्ति ॥
catvari | vak | parimita | padani | tani | viduh | brahmanah | ye | manisinah |
guha | trini | nihita | na | ingayanti | turiyam | vacah | manusyah | vadanti ||
four | speech | measured-out | quarters | them | they-know | brahmanas | who | wise | in-the-cave | three | set-down | not | they-stir | the-fourth | of-speech | men | they-speak

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
वाक् चत्वारि पदानि परिमिता । ये ब्राह्मणाः मनीषिणः, ते तानि विदुः । त्रीणि गुहा निहिता, न इङ्गयन्ति । मनुष्याः वाचः तुरीयं वदन्ति ।
vak catvari padani parimita. ye brahmanah manisinah, te tani viduh. trini guha nihita, na ingayanti. manusyah vacah turiyam vadanti.
Speech is measured out in four quarters. Those brahmanas who are wise know them. Three are set down in the cave and do not stir. Men speak the fourth of speech.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the four quarters of speech
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
चत्वारिcatvariसंख्यावाचकम्, प्रथमा नपुंसकम्నాలుగుfour
वाक्vakवाच्-शब्दः, प्रथमा एकवचनम्వాక్కుspeech
परिमिताparimitaपरि + मा-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःకొలవబడినదిmeasured out, apportioned
पदानिpadaniप्रथमा बहुवचनम्పాదాలుquarters, steps
विदुःviduhविद्-धातुः, लिट् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्తెలుసుకుంటారుthey know
ब्राह्मणाःbrahmanahप्रथमा बहुवचनम्బ్రాహ్మణులుthe brahmanas
मनीषिणःmanisinahमनीषा + इनिः, प्रथमा बहुवचनम्మనీషులు, వివేకవంతులుthe wise, those of discernment
गुहाguhaतृतीया एकवचनम्, अधिकरणार्थेగుహలోin the cave, in the secret place
त्रीणिtriniसंख्यावाचकम्, प्रथमाమూడుthree
निहिताnihitaनि + धा-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःఉంచబడినవిset down, deposited
इङ्गयन्तिingayantiइङ्ग्-धातुः, णिजन्तम्, लट्కదులుతాయిthey stir, they move
तुरीयम्turiyamद्वितीया एकवचनम्నాలుగోదానినిthe fourth
वदन्तिvadantiवद्-धातुः, लट् प्रथमपुरुष बहुवचनम्పలుకుతారుthey speak

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

వాక్కు నాలుగు పాదాలుగా కొలవబడింది. వివేకవంతులైన బ్రాహ్మణులు ఆ నాలుగింటినీ తెలుసుకుంటారు. మూడు పాదాలు గుహలో ఉంచబడి కదలకుండా ఉంటాయి. మనుషులు పలికేది నాలుగోది మాత్రమే.

Three quarters of all speech lie in the cave and do not move. What comes out of a human mouth is the fourth, the surface, the leavings.

शाङ्करभाष्यम् · Sankara-bhasya

शाङ्करभाष्यम् -- verbatim, on the pranava and the three persons
यद्येवं तर्ह्योंकारैकदेशात्मानावपि विराड्हिरण्यगर्भावुपचारेणोंकारात्मानावित्युक्ताविति चेन्न । श्रुत्यर्थपरित्यागप्रसङ्गात् ।
यद्येवं तर्हि कालत्रयपरिच्छिन्नं तदपरिच्छिन्नं च सर्वमनूद्य पुनः सर्वमेतदोंकार एवेति वक्तव्यं न तु जगदेकदेशमेवानूद्यायमोंकार एवायमप्योंकार एवेति वचनमुपपन्नम् ।
अतो विराड्हिरण्यगर्भाव्याकृतसन्मात्रशरीराणां प्रत्येकं सर्वात्मकप्रणवात्मत्वमेवात्रोच्यते ।
yady evam tarhy omkaraika-desatmanav api viradd-hiranyagarbhav upacarenomkaratmanav ity uktav iti cen na | sruty-artha-parityaga-prasangat |
yady evam tarhi kala-traya-paricchinnam tad-aparicchinnam ca sarvam anudya punah sarvam etad omkara eveti vaktavyam na tu jagad-eka-desam evanudyayam omkara evayam apy omkara eveti vacanam upapannam |
ato viradd-hiranyagarbhavyakrta-san-matra-sarirapam pratyekam sarvatmaka-pranavatmatvam evatrocyate |
If it be said that in that case Virat and Hiranyagarbha, being only portions of Omkara, are called Omkara-natured by courtesy -- no. That would entail abandoning the sense of the sruti. If it were so, then after restating both what is bounded by the three times and what is not so bounded, it would have to be said once that all this is verily Omkara; it would not be proper to restate merely one portion of the world and say 'this is verily Omkara, and this too is verily Omkara'. Therefore what is said here is that Virat, Hiranyagarbha, the Unmanifest and Pure Being, each one of them severally, are the all-constituting Pranava itself.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

"అలాగైతే విరాట్టూ హిరణ్యగర్భుడూ ఓంకారంలో ఒక భాగం మాత్రమే కాబట్టి, ఉపచారంగా మాత్రమే వాళ్ళను ఓంకార స్వరూపులు అన్నారు" అంటే -- కాదు. అలా అంటే శ్రుతి అర్థాన్నే వదిలేసినట్టవుతుంది. అలాగైతే, మూడు కాలాలచే పరిచ్ఛిన్నమైనదానినీ, పరిచ్ఛిన్నం కానిదానినీ చెప్పి, "ఇదంతా ఓంకారమే" అని ఒకసారి చెబితే సరిపోయేది; జగత్తులోని ఒక్కొక్క భాగాన్ని చెప్పి "ఇదీ ఓంకారమే, ఇదీ ఓంకారమే" అని పదే పదే చెప్పడం సరిపోదు. కాబట్టి విరాట్టు, హిరణ్యగర్భుడు, అవ్యాకృతం, సన్మాత్రం -- వీటిలో ఒక్కొక్కటీ సర్వాత్మకమైన ప్రణవ స్వరూపమేనని ఇక్కడ చెబుతున్నారు.

The objection and its refusal are the whole point. Caution wants Virat and Hiranyagarbha to be Om-natured in a weakened sense, upacarat, by courtesy, because each is only a part of what Om covers. The bhasya rejects the weakening on grammatical grounds: if only a portion were meant, the sruti would not have repeated the identification separately for each. Repetition proves that each is being called the whole. Which is why the ascent through the letters is not a climb from lesser to greater realities but a climb through statements each of which is already total.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The bhasya uses the verse to establish that the mantra which was the entire subject of the Purva-tapaniya has itself been operating at the fourth level all along, and that the ascent now being described is an ascent back through the three that do not stir. Vaikhari is the fourth, the audible; madhyama and pasyanti are the two that lie in the cave with the third; and para is the level at which speech and the thing spoken have not yet separated.

The commentary is careful not to let this devalue what came before. The audible quarter is not false. It is the only quarter with a door in it. The three that do not stir are reached by going through the one that does.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

This is the hinge of the entire book. The first half taught a mantra with a form, a name, a metre, a lion. The second half is about to take that mantra apart into a syllable with no lion in it at all, and then take the syllable apart into a silence.

Nothing is being retracted. The staircase is being climbed.

· · ·

XII. Where the Hand Changes

And then the commentary changes hands.

Sankara's bhasya accompanies the Purva-tapaniya entire and follows the Uttara-tapaniya through its first khanda. There it stops. The Uttara-tapaniya then begins again from its first khanda under a different hand, and for the remaining eight the Dipika of Vidyaranya carries the text alone to the end. Two commentaries on one Upanisad, laid end to end, with the seam left visible.

The attribution of the Purva-tapaniya bhasya to Adi Sankara has been questioned in modern text-critical scholarship, on grounds of vocabulary, of the unusual density of upasana and mantra material, and of the absence of the Nrsimha-tapaniya from the list of Upanisads the acarya certainly commented upon. The tradition transmits it under his name and the Anandasrama editors print it so. What can be said from the commentary itself, without adjudicating the hand, is that its method is unmistakably of that school: the objection raised against oneself, the appeal to adhikara-bheda, the refusal to let a phalasruti stand unexamined, the citation of Badarayana at the load-bearing joints. Whoever held the pen had been trained in the same room.

Vidyaranya's closing colophon names him with full formality as the disciple of Sankarananda, himself a paramahamsa parivrajakacarya. The lineage is asserted deliberately. Whatever the fourteenth century made of the authorship question, the Dipika presents itself as the continuation of a single line of transmission, picking up a text where the earlier hand set it down.

· · ·

XIII. The Fourth of the Fourth

The first khanda of the Uttara-tapaniya ends on three words that overturn the settlement the Mandukya had reached.

छन्दः · Chandas

गद्यम् (gadya). Two compounds and a copula understood. The shortest sentence in the book, and the one that carries the most weight.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Uttara-tapaniya, khanda 1
ईश्वरग्रासस्तुरीयतुरीयः ॥ १ ॥
isvara-grasas turiya-turiyah ||1||
The swallowing of Isvara: the fourth of the fourth.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
ईश्वर-ग्रासः । तुरीय-तुरीयः ॥
isvara-grasah | turiya-turiyah ||
the-devouring-of-Isvara | the-fourth-of-the-fourth

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
यः ईश्वरग्रासः, सः तुरीयतुरीयः ।
yah isvara-grasah, sah turiya-turiyah.
That which is the swallowing of Isvara, that is the fourth of the fourth.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for isvaragrasas turiyaturiyah
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
ईश्वरःisvarahप्रथमा एकवचनम्ఈశ్వరుడుthe Lord, the causal person
ग्रासःgrasahग्रस्-धातोः घञ्, प्रथमाమింగడం, గ్రాసంthe swallowing, the mouthful
ईश्वरग्रासःisvara-grasahषष्ठीतत्पुरुषःఈశ్వరుడిని మింగేదిthat which swallows Isvara
तुरीयःturiyahसंख्यापूरणम्, प्रथमाనాలుగోదిthe fourth
तुरीयतुरीयःturiya-turiyahषष्ठीतत्पुरुषःనాలుగోదానికే నాలుగోదిthe fourth of the fourth

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

ఈశ్వరుడిని కూడా మింగేది ఏదో, అదే తురీయానికి తురీయం. మాండూక్యం నాలుగు పాదాలను చెప్పి తురీయంతో ఆగిపోతుంది. ఈ ఉపనిషత్తు ఆ నాలుగింటినీ ఒప్పుకుని, వాటిని దాటి ఇంకొకటి ఉందని చెబుతుంది. కారణపురుషుడైన ఈశ్వరుడు కూడా అక్కడ మిగలడు.

The Mandukya establishes four quarters, and turiya, the fourth, is the end of its road. The Uttara-tapaniya accepts all of it and then names something past it.

विद्यारण्यदीपिका · Vidyaranya-dipika

विद्यारण्यदीपिका -- verbatim, on isvaragrasa
विज्ञेयो नाऽऽत्मेत्याशङ्क्येश्वरस्यापि कारणात्मनः संहारकोऽयं ब्रह्मरूप आत्मा तस्मात्स एव परमेश्वरो ज्ञेय इत्याह -- ईश्वरग्रास इति ।
ईश्वरमपि कारणात्मानं स्वासाधारणवृत्त्यारूढः सन्ग्रसतीतीश्वरग्रासः । यस्मात्तुरीयतुरीय ईश्वरमपि ग्रसति तस्मात्तस्यैवाऽऽत्मशब्दयोग्यता ।
तस्मात्स एवाऽऽत्मा तस्मात्स एव विज्ञेयस्तदनुभवार्थमेव प्रयत्नोऽनुष्ठेय इत्यर्थः ॥ १ ॥
vijneyo natmety asankyesvarasyapi karanatmanah samharako 'yam brahma-rupa atma tasmat sa eva paramesvaro jneya ity aha -- isvara-grasa iti |
isvaram api karanatmanam svasadharana-vrttyarudhah san grasatity isvara-grasah | yasmat turiya-turiya isvaram api grasati tasmat tasyaivatma-sabda-yogyata |
tasmat sa evatma tasmat sa eva vijneyas tad-anubhavartham eva prayatno 'nustheya ity arthah ||1||
Anticipating the doubt that the Self is not the object to be known, he says: this Self, whose form is Brahman, is the destroyer even of Isvara who is the causal self; therefore he alone is the supreme Lord to be known -- hence 'isvaragrasa'. Mounted upon his own uncommon mode of being, he swallows even Isvara the causal self, and is therefore called the swallowing of Isvara. Since the fourth of the fourth swallows even Isvara, the word atman is fit for him alone. Therefore he alone is the Self; therefore he alone is to be known; and effort is to be undertaken solely for the sake of experiencing him. That is the meaning.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

"ఆత్మ తెలుసుకోదగినది కాదు" అనే శంకను ఊహించి, కారణాత్మ అయిన ఈశ్వరుడిని కూడా సంహరించేది బ్రహ్మరూపమైన ఈ ఆత్మేనని, కాబట్టి ఆయనే తెలుసుకోదగిన పరమేశ్వరుడని చెబుతున్నాడు -- "ఈశ్వరగ్రాసః" అని. తనకే ప్రత్యేకమైన వృత్తిలో నిలిచి కారణాత్మ అయిన ఈశ్వరుడిని కూడా మింగుతాడు కాబట్టి "ఈశ్వరగ్రాసుడు". తురీయతురీయుడు ఈశ్వరుడిని కూడా మింగుతాడు కాబట్టి "ఆత్మ" అనే శబ్దం ఆయనకే సరిపోతుంది. కాబట్టి ఆయనే ఆత్మ, ఆయనే తెలుసుకోదగినవాడు; ఆయనను అనుభవించడం కోసమే ప్రయత్నం చేయాలి.

The Dipika settles the word atman by an argument about eligibility. Isvara is legitimately Brahman, being the causal self in whom dissolution occurs; but the term atman belongs properly to whatever is not itself swallowed, and only the fourth of the fourth meets that condition. Grasa is therefore not rhetoric. It is the test by which the referent of the word atman is fixed, and the closing clause turns the whole metaphysics into an instruction: effort is to be undertaken for the sake of experiencing him, and for nothing else.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

The Dipika is careful here. Isvara, being himself the causal self, the one in whom dissolution occurs, is legitimately called Brahman; but the Self is beyond even him, and so the word grasa is used. What is beyond a cause does not defeat that cause or replace it. It consumes it, the way waking consumes a dream without ever having quarrelled with it.

The choice of grasa over any of the available words for transcendence is the whole argument. Atita, gone beyond, would leave Isvara standing behind the one who passed him. Nirasa, rejection, would make the ascent a repudiation. Grasa is a word from the vocabulary of eating: the mouthful, what is taken in and becomes the eater. Isvara is not left behind and not denied. He is metabolised.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The lion has moved. In the Purva-tapaniya he was the object of a mantra: fierce, blazing, faced in all directions, bowed to in the first person singular. Here he is not an object at all. He is the appetite that takes even the highest object.

This is the moment the two halves of the book lock together. The Purva-tapaniya alone would leave Nrsimha a great deity among deities, worshipped with a powerful mantra. The Uttara-tapaniya alone would leave the lion a figure of speech. Together they say what neither says apart: that what a man worships as ugram viram mahavisnum is the same thing that eats Isvara at the end of the fourth state.

· · ·

XIV. The Body as Altar

By the third khanda the Dipika does what no summary of Advaita Vedanta would predict. It stops explaining and starts prescribing.

What it gives is a full nyasa. The mantraraja is broken into its eleven epithets, each set between the seed am and the seed hum and placed one after another on the body of the practitioner: am ugram hum, am viram hum, am mahavisnum hum, am jvalantam hum, am sarvatomukham hum, am nrsimham hum, am bhisanam hum, am bhadram hum, am mrtyumrtyum hum, am namami hum, am aham hum. Around it are arranged the salutations, the offering of a handful of flowers, the invocation of Narayana, and a Nrsimha-gayatri in which the sun-verse of the Rgveda is turned toward the lion.

This is the same author who governed the intellectual life of Vijayanagara and whose name is attached to the most systematic survey of philosophical positions the tradition produced. He is writing hand-placements.

The apparent contradiction dissolves the moment the architecture of the whole text is held in view. The Purva-tapaniya gave a mantra and a form. The Uttara-tapaniya took the form apart until even Isvara was swallowed. And having reached that summit, the Dipika comes back down the stair and puts the mantra on the body, syllable by syllable, because the summit was never a place of arrival for a being who still has a body, a day, a mouth, and a span of years to fill.

The nyasa is not a relapse into ritual after the philosophy has been done. It is the philosophy issued as instruction to someone who has to wake up tomorrow.

· · ·

XV. Woven, and Woven Through

The ninth khanda closes the Upanisad on a verse about weaving.

छन्दः · Chandas

अनुष्टुप् (anustubh), with the final phrase doubled. The repetition of upadrastaram anvajed iti is the standard sruti signal that a text has ended; nothing follows the witness, and the grammar says so by refusing to go on.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Uttara-tapaniya, khanda 9
ओतमोतेन जानीयादनुज्ञातारमन्तरम् ।
अनुज्ञामद्वयं लब्ध्वा उपद्रष्टारमन्वजेदित्युपद्रष्टारमन्वजेदिति ॥ ९ ॥
otam otena janiyad anujnataram antaram |
anujnam advayam labdhva upadrastaram anv ajed ity upadrastaram anv ajed iti ||9||
By the woven let one know the weaving, and the inner one who permits. Having obtained the non-dual permission, let one go after the witness who looks on: let one go after the witness who looks on.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
ओतम् । ओतेन । जानीयात् । अनुज्ञातारम् । अन्तरम् ।
अनुज्ञाम् । अद्वयम् । लब्ध्वा । उपद्रष्टारम् । अनु । अजेत् । इति ॥
otam | otena | janiyat | anujnataram | antaram |
anujnam | advayam | labdhva | upadrastaram | anu | ajet | iti ||
the-woven | by-the-woven | let-him-know | the-permitter | the-inner-one | the-permission | non-dual | having-obtained | the-onlooking-witness | after | let-him-go | thus

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
ओतेन ओतम्, अन्तरम् अनुज्ञातारं च जानीयात् । अद्वयम् अनुज्ञां लब्ध्वा उपद्रष्टारम् अन्वजेत् ।
otena otam, antaram anujnataram ca janiyat. advayam anujnam labdhva upadrastaram anvajet.
By means of the woven let him know the weaving, and the inner one who gives permission. Having obtained the non-dual permission, let him go after the witness who looks on.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for the closing verse of the Uttara-tapaniya
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
ओतम्otamवे-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययः, द्वितीयाనేయబడినదిthe woven, what is spread out
ओतेनotenaतृतीया एकवचनम्నేయబడినదాని ద్వారాby means of the woven
जानीयात्janiyatज्ञा-धातुः, विधिलिङ्తెలుసుకోవాలిlet him know
अनुज्ञातारम्anujnataramअनु + ज्ञा-धातोः तृच्, द्वितीयाఅనుమతినిచ్చేవాడినిthe one who gives permission
अन्तरम्antaramविशेषणम्, द्वितीयाలోపల ఉన్నవాడినిthe inner one
अनुज्ञाम्anujnamद्वितीया एकवचनम्అనుమతినిpermission, sanction
अद्वयम्advayamनञ्तत्पुरुषः, द्वितीयाద్వైతం లేనిదానినిthe non-dual
लब्ध्वाlabdhvaलभ्-धातोः क्त्वान्तम्పొందిhaving obtained
उपद्रष्टारम्upadrastaramउप + दृश्-धातोः तृच्, द्वितीयाదగ్గరుండి చూసేవాడినిthe witness who looks on from near
अन्वजेत्anvajetअनु + अज्-धातुः, विधिलिङ्అనుసరించాలిlet him go after, let him follow

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

నేయబడిన దీని ద్వారానే నేతను తెలుసుకోవాలి; లోపల ఉండి అనుమతినిచ్చేవాడిని తెలుసుకోవాలి. ద్వైతం లేని ఆ అనుమతిని పొంది, దగ్గరుండి చూసే సాక్షిని అనుసరించాలి. "సాక్షిని అనుసరించాలి" అని రెండోసారి చెప్పడం ఉపనిషత్తు ముగిసిందని సూచిస్తుంది.

The image is a cloth on a loom. What is spread out is not to be discarded in order to find the thread; it is known by the thread, and the thread is the Pranava.

विद्यारण्यदीपिका · Vidyaranya-dipika

विद्यारण्यदीपिका -- verbatim, on the closing verse
तुरीयानुशासनखण्डद्वयोक्तेऽर्थे श्लोकमवतारयति -- तदेष इति । ओतमात्मानमोतेन प्रणवेन जानीयादुक्तप्रकारेणानुज्ञातारमात्मानमान्तरम् ।
अनुज्ञामनुज्ञारूपमात्मानमित्यर्थः । तमनुज्ञाप्रणवेन जानीयादविकल्पमद्वयमात्मानमविकल्पप्रणवेन लब्ध्वा गुरुप्रसादतो ज्ञात्वेति तुरीयखण्डार्थ उक्तः ।
अनुशासनखण्डार्थमाह -- उपद्रष्टारमन्वजेदिति । ओतादियोगैः शुद्धान्तःकरणोऽनुशासनखण्डोक्तप्रकारेणानुशिष्ट उपद्रष्टृरूपेणावस्थितो भवेदित्यर्थः ॥ इति नवमः खण्डः ॥ ९ ॥
turiyanusasana-khanda-dvayokte 'rthe slokam avatarayati -- tad esa iti | otam atmanam otena pranavena janiyad ukta-prakarenanujnataram atmanam antaram |
anujnam anujna-rupam atmanam ity arthah | tam anujna-pranavena janiyad avikalpam advayam atmanam avikalpa-pranavena labdhva guru-prasadato jnatveti turiya-khandartha uktah |
anusasana-khandartham aha -- upadrastaram anvajed iti | otadi-yogaih suddhantahkarano 'nusasana-khandokta-prakarenanusista upadrastr-rupenavasthito bhaved ity arthah || iti navamah khandah ||9||
He brings in the verse for the meaning stated in the two sections on the fourth and on the instruction. 'Woven' -- let one know the woven Self by the weaving, that is by the Pranava, in the manner stated; and the inner Self who is the one that permits. 'Permission' means the Self whose form is permission. Let one know him by the Pranava of permission; having obtained by the undifferentiated Pranava the undifferentiated, non-dual Self, that is, having known it through the grace of the guru -- thus the sense of the section on the fourth is stated. Then he states the sense of the section on instruction: 'let one go after the witness who looks on.' One whose inner organ has been purified by the disciplines of the woven and the rest, and who has been instructed in the manner stated in the section on instruction, would come to abide in the form of the onlooking witness. That is the meaning.

भाष्यार्थः · Bhasyarthah

తురీయ ఖండం, అనుశాసన ఖండం -- ఈ రెండింటిలో చెప్పిన అర్థం కోసం శ్లోకాన్ని తీసుకువస్తున్నాడు. "ఓతం" -- నేయబడిన ఆత్మను "ఓతేన" అంటే ప్రణవం ద్వారా, చెప్పిన విధంగా తెలుసుకోవాలి; అలాగే అనుమతినిచ్చే అంతరాత్మను తెలుసుకోవాలి. "అనుజ్ఞా" అంటే అనుజ్ఞా స్వరూపమైన ఆత్మ అని అర్థం. అవికల్పమైన ప్రణవం ద్వారా అవికల్పమైన అద్వయ ఆత్మను పొంది, అంటే గురు ప్రసాదం వల్ల తెలుసుకుని -- ఇది తురీయ ఖండార్థం. తరువాత అనుశాసన ఖండార్థాన్ని చెబుతున్నాడు -- "ఉపద్రష్టారమన్వజేత్" అని. "ఓతం" మొదలైన సాధనల వల్ల అంతఃకరణం శుద్ధమై, అనుశాసన ఖండంలో చెప్పిన విధంగా అనుశిష్టుడైనవాడు ఉపద్రష్ట రూపంలో నిలిచి ఉంటాడు -- ఇదే అర్థం.

One gloss here corrects the obvious English reading. Otena is not 'by the woven fabric' but otena pranavena, by the Pranava which does the weaving. Om is the warp; the Self is what is woven on it; and the instrument by which the woven is known is the thread itself. The Dipika then adds what the verse does not say aloud: the undifferentiated Pranava is obtained guru-prasadatah, through the grace of the teacher. The book that began with a mantra handed to frightened gods ends with the same transaction, stripped of everything except the giving.

भाष्यविवरणम् · Bhasya-vivaranam

Otam otena: the woven, by means of the weaving. The Dipika fixes the instrumental precisely, glossing otena as pranavena: the thread is Om. The Self is what is woven on it, and the instrument by which the woven is known is the thread and not the cloth.

Then anujnatr, the one within who gives permission. The word is chosen instead of the more usual karta or prerayitr with deliberate precision. The inner one does not do the states and does not push them; he permits them. Without his sanction no state arises and no experience is licensed to occur, but the sanction is not an act. It is the standing consent of what is simply present.

Anujnam advayam labdhva: having obtained the non-dual permission. Not having earned it, not having extracted it. Obtained, the way the gods obtained the mantra in the second upanisad of the first half. The book began with a gift received at a run and it ends with a permission received in stillness, and both are labdha rather than made.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

The final instruction of a text that opened with a lion coming out of a pillar is to walk quietly toward something that is only watching. Upadrastr, the one who looks on from close by: not a judge, not an agent, not a rewarder. The witness.

And it is doubled, because sruti doubles what it has finished saying. There is nothing after the witness, and the verse demonstrates the fact by having nowhere to go.

· · ·

XVI. The Signature

The peace-invocations are recited, the Upanisad ends, and then the Dipika signs itself in three verses. The second is the one that carries the argument of the whole volume in a single line.

छन्दः · Chandas

अनुष्टुप् (anustubh). The commentator closes in the metre of the mantraraja, as the bhasya opened in it a hundred and fifty pages earlier.

मूलम् · Mulam

मूलम् -- Vidyaranya, closing verse of the Dipika
सच्चिदानन्दसंपूर्णप्रत्यगेकरसात्मने ।
तेजसे महते भूयान्नमः नृसिंहरूपिणे ॥ २ ॥
saccidananda-sampurna-pratyag-eka-rasatmane |
tejase mahate bhuyan namah nrsimharupine ||2||
May salutation be to that great splendour whose form is Nrsimha, whose self is the inner one of a single savour, full with being, consciousness and bliss.

पदच्छेदः · Padacchedam

पदच्छेदः -- word-split
सत्-चित्-आनन्द-संपूर्ण-प्रत्यक्-एक-रस-आत्मने ।
तेजसे । महते । भूयात् । नमः । नृसिंह-रूपिणे ॥
sat-cit-ananda-sampurna-pratyak-eka-rasa-atmane |
tejase | mahate | bhuyat | namah | nrsimha-rupine ||
to-him-whose-self-is-the-inner-one-of-single-savour-full-with-being-consciousness-and-bliss | to-the-splendour | to-the-great | may-there-be | salutation | to-him-whose-form-is-Nrsimha

अन्वयः · Anvayam

अन्वयः -- prose order
सच्चिदानन्दसंपूर्णप्रत्यगेकरसात्मने, नृसिंहरूपिणे, महते तेजसे नमः भूयात् ।
saccidananda-sampurna-pratyag-eka-rasatmane, nrsimharupine, mahate tejase namah bhuyat.
To that great splendour, whose form is Nrsimha, whose very self is the inner one of a single savour, full with being, consciousness and bliss -- may salutation be.

पदार्थम् · Padartham

Padartha for Vidyaranya's closing salutation
पदम्IASTव्याकरणम्తెలుగుEnglish
सत्satअस्-धातोः शतृ, समासपूर्वपदम्ఉనికిbeing
चित्citसमासपदम्చైతన్యంconsciousness
आनन्दanandaसमासपदम्ఆనందంbliss
संपूर्णsampurnaसम् + पॄ-धातोः क्तप्रत्ययःపూర్ణమైనfull, complete
प्रत्यक्pratyakअव्ययीभावगर्भम्, समासपदम्లోపలికి తిరిగినదిturned inward, the inner
एकरसeka-rasaबहुव्रीहिःఒకే రుచి కలదిof a single savour
आत्मनेatmaneचतुर्थी एकवचनम्ఆత్మకుto the self
तेजसेtejaseतेजस्-शब्दः, चतुर्थीతేజస్సుకుto the splendour
महतेmahateमहत्-शब्दः, चतुर्थीమహత్తరమైనదానికిto the great
भूयात्bhuyatभू-धातुः, आशीर्लिङ् प्रथमपुरुषःఅగుగాకmay there be
नमःnamahअव्ययम्నమస్కారంsalutation
नृसिंहरूपिणेnrsimharupineबहुव्रीहिः, चतुर्थीనృసింహ రూపం కలవాడికిto him whose form is Nrsimha

तात्पर्यम् · Tatparyam

సత్తు, చిత్తు, ఆనందంతో నిండిన, లోపలికి తిరిగిన, ఒకే రుచి కలిగిన ఆత్మ ఎవరిదో; నృసింహ రూపం ఎవరిదో; ఆ మహత్తరమైన తేజస్సుకు నమస్కారం అగుగాక. అరూపమైన ఆత్మను, సింహరూపాన్ని ఒకే వాక్యంలో పక్కపక్కన పెట్టాడు; ఆ వాక్యంలో ఎక్కడా ఇబ్బంది కనిపించదు.

The formless and the lion are placed in apposition in a single sentence, and the sentence does not strain.

व्याख्या · Vyakhya

The first compound is the entire vocabulary of nirguna Vedanta compressed into one word: being, consciousness, bliss, fullness, inwardness, single savour. Every term in it is a term the tradition uses precisely when it wants to exclude form. And the dative that governs it is nrsimharupine: to him whose form is Nrsimha.

There is no transition between the two, no concessive particle, no api, no argument. The author does not feel the need to justify placing them together, because by the end of this volume the justification has been given twice over: once by the bhasya, which showed that upasana is the womb rather than the crutch, and once by the Uttara-tapaniya, which showed that what the worshipper reaches at the top of the ascent is what he was bowing to at the bottom.

In the surrounding verses the same modesty is at work. Vidyaranya calls his own commentary timirapaha, remover of darkness, and in the same breath says he did not earn it: gurvanugraha-labdha, obtained by the grace of the teacher. The third verse bows not to the god but to the teachers, and specifies the currencies of the bow: devotion, mind, speech, act.

विवरणम् · Vivaranam

Then the colophon, naming him disciple of Sankarananda, and the Dipika is finished.

A book that began with a commentator bowing before he argued ends with a commentator bowing after he has finished arguing, and in both cases the bow is to a form. Between those two salutations the entire apparatus of Advaita has been deployed at full strength.

· · ·

XVII. What the Bhasya Proves

The standing caricature of Advaita, repeated by its admirers as often as by its critics, is that it is a philosophy of dismissal: that form is a mistake, that worship is a crutch, that the temple is for those who cannot manage the argument, and that the acarya's real work was to clear the ground of images so that a proposition could stand on it.

The Nrsimha-tapaniya bhasya makes that caricature unsustainable.

Here is a text that is almost entirely mantra and upasana: seed-syllables, metrical cosmology, transmission from teacher to pupil, ledgers of fruit, and eventually hand-placements on the body. It is exactly the material the caricature says this school existed to supersede. And the commentary does not supersede it. It defends it clause by clause, raises the sharpest available objection against every claim, answers each with the tools of Vedanta rather than the tools of apologetics, and declares in its first verse of intent that the whole exposition is pregnant with upasana.

The reason is structural, and both halves of the book are needed to see it. The Purva-tapaniya hands a man a mantra with a face on it, because a man who is afraid of death cannot meditate on the negation of predicates, and the gods themselves, when afraid, did not ask for one. The Uttara-tapaniya then takes that same mantra up through the letters of Om, past Virat and Hiranyagarbha, past Isvara who is swallowed, to the fourth of the fourth where nothing remains to be afraid of. Neither half works alone. A mantra without the ascent is a charm. The ascent without the mantra is a diagram of a staircase handed to someone standing at the bottom of a shaft.

Vidyaranya carried the second half at a moment when Bharata's temples were being pulled down within a week's ride of where he sat. He did not write a defence of images and he did not write their obituary. He wrote a Dipika that dissolves Isvara into the witness in the second khanda and puts the lion's eleven names back onto the practitioner's body in the third. That is not inconsistency. That is a civilisation which had worked out, long before it was tested, that the roof does not despise the ladder.

And so the text that never once tells the story of the pillar has told it after all, in its own idiom. Something was hidden inside a hard, ordinary, unpromising thing. It was addressed with the correct word. And it came out.

· · ·

सन्दर्भाः · References

The edition. Nrsimhapurvatapaniyopanisat, with the bhasya ascribed to Sri Sankaracarya, and Nrsimhottaratapaniyopanisat, with the Dipika of Sri Vidyaranya; edited by Vinayak Ganesh Apte, Anandasrama Sanskrit Series 30, Anandasrama Press, Poona. All Devanagari in the verse and commentary blocks above is transcribed from this edition.

The text and its divisions. The Nrsimhatapaniya belongs to the Atharvaveda. The Purvatapaniya is divided into five upanisads, the fifth running through six adhyayas. The Uttaratapaniya is counted in the colophons as the sixth upanisad and is divided into nine khandas. Sankara's bhasya covers the Purvatapaniya entire and the first khanda of the Uttaratapaniya; Vidyaranya's Dipika covers the Uttaratapaniya in all nine khandas. Vidyaranya's colophon names him disciple of Sri Sankarananda, paramahamsa parivrajakacarya.

Passages cited within the two commentaries.

Verses and sutras quoted by the commentators, with their sources
पाठःSourceस्थानम्Bearing
सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन्ऋग्वेदः, नासदीयसूक्तम्10.129.4On the condition before creation, in the bhasya on Purvatapaniya 1
असद्वा इदमग्र आसीत्तैत्तिरीयोपनिषत्2.7.1Fixing asat as Brahman before name and form
ज्योतिश्चरणाभिधानात्ब्रह्मसूत्रम्1.1.24Establishing the covert reference of the mantraraja
कार्ये बादरेरस्य गत्युपपत्तेःब्रह्मसूत्रम्4.3.7On the going that does not return
मनसश्चेन्द्रियाणां च ऐकाग्र्यं परमं तपःस्मृतिःquoted, unattributed in the editionDefining tapas as one-pointedness
स्तुहि श्रुतं गर्तसदं युवानम्ऋग्वेदः, रुद्रसूक्तम्2.33.11Sealing the epithet ugram, Purvatapaniya 2
प्र तद्विष्णुः स्तवते वीर्यायऋग्वेदः1.154.2Sealing the epithet nrsimham, Purvatapaniya 2
भीषास्माद्वातः पवते भीषोदेति सूर्यःतैत्तिरीयोपनिषत्, आनन्दवल्ली2.8.1Sealing the epithet bhisanam, Purvatapaniya 2
भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाःऋग्वेदः1.89.8The santi of the bhasya, and again sealing bhadram
हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसत्ऋग्वेदः; कठोपनिषत्4.40.5; 5.2Darsana for the seed-letter, Purvatapaniya 3
तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्ऋग्वेदः1.22.20Identifying the paramam dhama, Purvatapaniya 5
चत्वारि वाक्परिमिता पदानिऋग्वेदः, असीयवामीयसूक्तम्1.164.45The four levels of speech, Uttaratapaniya 1
गायत्रमेतदह्नर्भवतिन्यायःmaxim cited in the bhasyaJustifying the naming of the metre
शिलापुत्रकस्य शरीरम्व्याकरणदृष्टान्तःstandard exampleThe non-dividing genitive in tad visnoh paramam padam
माण्डूक्योपनिषत्माण्डूक्योपनिषत्2 to 7The four quarters, taken up at Uttaratapaniya 1 and 2

On the attribution. The ascription of the Purvatapaniya bhasya to Adi Sankara is transmitted by the tradition and printed as such in the Anandasrama edition; it has been questioned in modern text-critical scholarship on grounds of vocabulary and of the density of upasana and mantra material. The question is discussed in the body above and is not settled here.