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The Upanishads, Part 1

By Max Müller

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I, 3, 4

FOURTH KHANDA 1.
1. He begins with: 'That indeed was the oldest in the worlds 2;'--for that (the Brahman) is verily the oldest in the worlds.

2. 'Whence was born the fierce one, endowed with brilliant force;'--for from it was born the fierce one, who is endowed with brilliant force.

3. 'When born he at once destroys the enemies;'--for he at once when born struck down the evil one.

4. 'He after whom all friends rejoice;'--verily all friends are the creatures, and they rejoice after him, saying, 'He has risen, he has risen 3.'

5. 'Growing by strength, the almighty 4;'--for he (the sun) does grow by strength, the almighty.

6. 'He, as enemy, causes fear to the slave;'--for everything is afraid of him.

7. 'Taking the breathing and the not-breathing;'--this means the living and the lifeless.

8. 'Whatever has been offered at feasts came to thee;'--this means everything is in thy power.

9. 'All turn their thought also on thee 5;'--this means all these beings, all minds, all thoughts also turn to thee.

10. 'When these two become three protectors;'--i. e. when these two united beget offspring.

11. He who knows this, gets offspring and cattle.

12. 'Join what is sweeter than sweet (offspring) with the sweet (the parents);'--for the couple (father and mother) is sweet, the offspring is sweet, and he thus joins the offspring with the couple.

13. 'And this (the son, when married) being very sweet, conquered through the sweet;'--i. e. the couple is sweet, the offspring is sweet, and thus through the couple he conquers offspring 1.

14. This is declared by a Rishi 2: 'Because he (Pragâpati) raised his body (the hymn tad id âsa or the Veda in general) in the body (of the sacrificer)' (therefore that Nishkevalya hymn is praised);--i. e. this body, consisting of the Veda, in that corporeal form (of the sacrificer).

15. 'Then let this body indeed be the medicine of that body;'--i. e. this body, consisting of the Veda, of that corporeal form (of the sacrificer).

16. Of this (the first foot of Rv. X, 120, 1) the eight syllables are Gâyatrî, the eleven syllables are Trishtubh, the twelve syllables are Gagatî, the ten syllables are Virâg. The Virâg, consisting of ten syllables, rests in these three metres 3.

17. The word purusha, consisting of three syllables, that indeed goes into the Virâg 4.

18. Verily, these are all metres, these (Gâyatrî, Trishtubh, Gagatî) having the Virâg as the fourth. In this manner this day is complete in all metres to him who knows this.

Footnotes
179:1 He now explains the first hymn of the Nishkevalya, which is called the Râgana.

179:2 Rv. X, 120, 1.

179:3 The sun and the fire.

179:4 Rv. X, 120, 2.

179:5 Rv. X, 120, 3.

180:1 All these are purely fanciful interpretations.

180:2 Not to be found in our Sâkhâ of the Rig-veda.

180:3 These metres are obtained by a purely arbitrary counting of syllables in the hymn tadidâsa, which really consists of Trishtubh verses.

180:4 If we simply count syllables, the first and second feet of the p. 181 first verse consist of ten syllables only, the fourth of nine or ten. In order to bring them to the right number, the word purusha is to be added to what is a Virâg, i.e. to the first, the second, and fourth feet. We thus get:

tad id âsa bhuvaneshu gyeshtham pu
yato gagña ugras tveshanrimno ru
sadyo gagñâno ni rinâti satrûn
anu yam visve madanti ûmâh shah.

Cf. Ait. Âr. V, 1, 6.