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The Upanishads, Part II

By Max Müller

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Brihadâranyaka Upanishad VI-4

FOURTH BRÂHMANA 2.
1. The earth is the essence of all these things, water is the essence of the earth, plants of water, flowers of plants, fruits of flowers, man of fruits, seed of man.

2. And Pragâpati thought, let me make an abode for him, and he created a woman (Satarûpâ).

Tâm 3 srishtvâdha upâsta, tasmât striyam adha upâsîta. Sa etam prâñkam grâvânam âtmana eva samudapârayat, tenainâm abhyasrigat.

3. Tasyâ vedir upastho, lomâni barhis, karmâdhishavane, samiddho 1 madhyatas, tau mushkau. Sa yâvân ha vai vâgapeyena yagamânasya loko bhavati tâvân asya loko bhavati ya evam vidvân adhopahâsam karaty a sa 2 strînam sukritam vri?kte 'tha ya idam avidvân adhopahâsam karaty âsya striyah sukritam vriñgate.

4. Etad dha sma vai tadvidvân Uddâlaka Ârunir âhaitad dha sma vai tadvidvân Nâko Maudgalya âhaitad dha sma vai tadvidvân Kumârahârita âha, bahavo maryâ brâhmanâyanâ 3 nirindriyâ visukrito'smâl lokât prayanti 4 ya idam avidvâmso 'dhopahâsam karantîti. Bahu vâ 5 idam suptasya va gâgrato vâ retah skandati,

5. Tad abhimrised anu vâ mantrayeta yan me 'dya retah prithivîm askântsîd yad oshadhîr apy asarad yad apah, idam aham tad reta âdade punar mâm aitv indriyam punas tegah punar bhagah, punar agnayo 6 dhishnyâ yathâsthânam kalpantâm, ity anâmikâ?gushthâbhyâm âdâyântarena stanau vâ bhruvau vâ nimriñgyât 7.

6. If a man see himself in the water 8, he should recite the following verse: 'May there be in me splendour, strength, glory, wealth, virtue.'

She is the best of women whose garments are pure 1. Therefore let him approach a woman whose garments are pure, and whose fame is pure, and address her.

7. If she do not give in 2, let him, as he likes, bribe her (with presents). And if she then do not give in, let him, as he likes, beat her with a stick or with his hand, and overcome her 3, saying: 'With manly strength and glory I take away thy glory,'--and thus she becomes unglorious 4.

8. If she give in, he says: 'With manly strength and glory I give thee glory,'--and thus they both become glorious.

9. Sa yâm ikkhet kâmayeta meti tasyâm artham nishtâya 5 mukhena mukham sandhâyopastham asyâ abhimrisya gaped a?gâda?gât sambhavasi hridayâd adhi gâyase, sa tvam a?gakashâyo 6 'si digdhaviddhâm 7 iva mâdayemâm amûm mayîti 8.

10. Atha yâm ikkhen na garbham dadhîteti 9 tasyâm artham nishtâya mukhena mukham sandhâyâbhiprânyâpânyâd indriyena te retasâ reta âdada ity aretâ 10 eva bhavati.

11. Atha yâm ikkhed garbham dadhîteti tasyâm artham nishtâya mukhena mukham sandhâyâpânyâbhiprânyâd indriyena te retâsa reta âdadhâmîti garbhiny eva bhavati.

12. Now again, if a man's wife has a lover and the husband hates him, let him (according to rule) 1 place fire by an unbaked jar, spread a layer of arrows in inverse order 2, anoint these three arrow-heads 3 with butter in inverse order, and sacrifice, saying: 'Thou hast sacrificed in my fire, I take away thy up and down breathing, I here 4.'

'Thou hast sacrificed in my fire, I take away thy sons and cattle, I here.'

'Thou hast sacrificed in my fire, I take away thy sacred and thy good works, I here.'

'Thou hast sacrificed in my fire, I take away thy hope and expectation, I here.'

He whom a Brâhmana who knows this curses, departs from this world without strength and without good works. Therefore let no one wish even for sport with the wife of a Srotriya 5 who knows this, for he who knows this, is a dangerous enemy.

13. When the monthly illness seizes his wife, she should for three days not drink from a metal vessel, and wear a fresh dress. Let no Vrishala or Vrishalî (a Sûdra man or woman) touch her. At the end of the three days, when she has bathed, the husband should make her pound rice 1.

14. And if a man wishes that a white son should be born to him, and that he should know one Veda, and live to his full age, then, after having prepared boiled rice with milk and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.

15. And if a man wishes that a reddish 2 son with tawny eyes should be born to him, and that he should know two Vedas, and live to his full age, then, after having prepared boiled rice with coagulated milk and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.

16. And if a man wishes that a dark son should be born to him with red eyes, and that he should know three Vedas, and live to his full age, then, after having prepared boiled rice with water and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.

17. And if a man wishes that a learned daughter should be born to him, and that she should live to her full age, then, after having prepared boiled rice with sesamum and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.

18. And if a man wishes that a learned son should be born to him, famous, a public man, a popular speaker, that he should know all the Vedas, and that he should live to his full age, then, after having prepared boiled rice with meat and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring. The meat should be of a young or of an old bull.

19. And then toward morning, after having, according to the rule of the Sthâlîpâka (pot-boiling), performed the preparation of the Âgya (clarified butter 1), he sacrifices from the Sthâlîpâka bit by bit, saying: 'This is for Agni, Svâhâ! This is for Anumati, Svâhâ! This is for the divine Savitri, the true creator, Svâhâ!' Having sacrificed, he takes out the rest of the rice and eats it, and after having eaten, he gives it to his wife. Then he washes his hands, fills a water-jar, and sprinkles her thrice with it, saying: 'Rise hence, O Visvâvasu 2, seek another blooming girl, a wife with her husband.'

20. Then he embraces her, and says: 'I am Ama (breath), thou art Sâ (speech) 3. Thou art Sâ (speech), I am Ama (breath). I am the Sâman, thou art the Rik 4. I am the sky, thou art the earth. Come, let us strive together, that a male child may be begotten 5.'

21. Athâsyâ ûrû vihâpayati, vigihîthâm dyâvâprithivî iti tasyâm artham nishtâya mukhena mukham sandhâya trir enâm anulomâm 1 anumârshti, Vishnur yonim kalpayatu, Tvashtâ rûpâni pimsatu, âsiñkatu Pragâpatir Dhâtâ garbham dadhatu te. Garbham dhehi Sinîvâli, garbham dhehi prithushtuke, garbham te Asvinau devâv âdhattâm pushkarasragau.

22. Hiranmayî aranî yâbhyâm nirmanthatâm 2 asvinau 3, tam te garbham havâmahe 4 dasame mâsi sûtave. Yathâgnigarbhâ prithivî, yathâ dyaur indrena garbhinî, vâyur disâm yathâ garbha evam garbham dadhâmî te 'sav iti 5.

23. Soshyantîm 6 adbhir abhyukshati. Yathâ vâyuh 7 pushkarinîm samiñgayati sarvatah, evâ te garbha egatu sahâvaitu garâyunâ. Indrasyâyam vragah kritah sârgalah 8 saparisrayah 9, tam indra nirgahi garbhena sâvarâm 10 saheti.

24 1. When the child is born, he prepares the fire, places the child on his lap, and having poured prishadâgya, i.e. dadhi (thick milk) mixed with ghrita (clarified butter) into a metal jug, he sacrifices bit by bit of that prishadâgya, saying: 'May I, as I increase in this my house, nourish a thousand! May fortune never fail in his race, with offspring and cattle, Svâhâ!'

'I offer to thee. in my mind the vital breaths which are in me, Svâhâ!'

'Whatever 2 in my work I have done too much, or whatever I have here done too little, may the wise Agni Svishtakrit make this right and proper for us, Svâhâ!'

25. Then putting his mouth near the child's right ear, he says thrice, Speech, speech 3! After that he pours together thick milk, honey, and clarified butter, and feeds the child with (a ladle of) pure gold 1, saying: 'I give thee Bhûh, I give thee Bhuvah, I give thee Svah 2. Bhûr, Bhuvah, Svah, I give thee all 3.'

26 4. Then he gives him his name, saying: 'Thou art Veda;' but this is his secret name 5.

27. Then he hands the boy to his mother and gives him her breast, saying: 'O Sarasvatî, that breast of thine which is inexhaustible, delightful, abundant, wealthy, generous, by which thou cherishest all blessings, make that to flow here 6.'

28 7. Then he addresses the mother of the boy:

'Thou art Ilâ Maitrâvarunî: thou strong woman hast born a strong boy. Be thou blessed with strong children thou who hast blessed me with a strong child.'

And they say of such a boy: 'Ah, thou art better than thy father; ah, thou art better than thy grandfather. Truly he has reached the highest point in happiness, praise, and Vedic glory who is born as the son of a Brâhmana that knows this.'

Footnotes
215:1 According to the rules laid down in the proper Grihya-sûtras.

215:2 This Brâhmana is inserted here because there is supposed to be some similarity between the preparation of the Srîmantha and the Putramantha, or because a person who has performed the Srîmantha is fit to perform the Putramantha. Thus Sa?kara says: Prânadarsinah srîmantham karma kritavatah putramanthe 'dhikârah. Yadâ putramantham kikîrshati tadâ srîmantham kritvâ ritukâlam patnyâh (brahmakaryena) pratîkshata iti.

215:3 I have given those portions of the text which did not admit of translation into English, in Sanskrit. It was not easy, however, to determine always the text of the Kânva-sâkhâ. Poley's text is not always correct, and Roer seems simply to repeat it. Sa?kara's commentary, which is meant for the Kânva text, becomes very short towards the end of the Upanishad. It is quite sufficient for the purpose of a translation, but by no means always for restoring a correct text. MS. Wilson 369, which has been assigned to the Kânva-sâkhâ, and which our Catalogue attributes to the same school, gives the Mâdhyandina text, and so does MS. Mill 108. I have therefore collated two MSS. of the India Office, which Dr. Rost had the kindness to select for me, MS. 375 and MS. 1973, which I call A. and B.

216:1 Roer reads samidho, but Sa?kara and Dvivedaga?ga clearly presuppose samiddho, which is in A. and B.

216:2 Roer has âsâm sa strînâm, Poley, A. and B. have âsâm strînâm. Sa?kara. (MS. Mill 64) read â sa strînâm, and later on âsya striyah, though both Roer and Poley leave out the â here too (â asyeti khedah).

216:3 Brâhmanâyanâh, the same as brahmabandhavah, i.e. Brâhmans by descent only, not by knowledge.

216:4 Narakam gakkhantîtyarthah. Dvivedaga?ga.

216:5 Bahu vâ svalpam vâ.

216:6 The Mâdhyandina text has agnayo, and Dvivedaga?ga explains it by dhîshnyâ agnayah sarîrasthitâh. Poley and Roer have punar agnir dhishnyâ, and so have A. and B.

216:7 Nirmrigyât, A.; nimriñgyât, B.

216:8 Dvivedaga?ga adds, retoyonâv udake retahsikas tatra svakkhâyâdarsane prâyaskittam âha.

217:1 Trirâtravratam kritvâ katurtha 'hni snâtâm.

217:2 Instead of connecting kâmam with dadyât, Dvivedaga?ga explains it by yathâsakti.

217:3 Atikram, scil. maithunâya.

217:4 Bandhyâ durbhagâ.

217:5 Nishtâya, A. B.; nishthâya, Roer, Poley; the same in § 10.

217:6 Sa tvam a?gânâm kashâyo raso 'si.

217:7 Vishaliptasaraviddhâm mrigîm iva.

217:8 Mâdayeti is the reading of the Mâdhyandina text. Poley, Roer, A. and B. read mâdayemâm amûm mayîti. Ânandagiri has mrigîm ivâmûm madiyâm striyam me mâdaya madvasâm kurv ityarthah. Dvivedaga?ga explains mâdayeti.

217:9 Rûpabhramsayauvanahânibhayât.

217:10 Agarbhinî.

218:1 Âvasathyâgnim eva pragvâlya.

218:2 Paskimâgram dakshinâgram vâ yathâ syât tathâ.

218:3 Tisrah is left out by Roer and Poley, by A. and B.

218:4 I have translated according to the Kânva text, as far as it could be made out. As there are four imprecations, it is but natural that tisrah should be left out in the Kânva text. It is found in the Mâdhyandina text, because there the imprecations are only three in number, viz. the taking away of hope and expectation, of sons and cattle, and of up and down breathing. Instead of asâv iti, which is sufficient, the Mâdhyandina text has asâv iti nâma grihnâti, and both Ânandagiri and Dvivedaga?ga allow the alternative, âtmanah satror vâ nâma grihnâti, though asau can really refer to the speaker only.

218:5 Roer reads dvârena; Poley, A. and B. dârena; the Mâdhyandinas p. 219 gâyâyâ. Sa?kara, according to Roer, interprets dvârena, but it seems that dvârena is used here in the singular, instead of the plural. See Pâraskara Grihya-sûtras I, 11.

219:1 To be used for the ceremony described in § 14 seq.

219:2 Kapilo varnatah pi?galah pi?gâkshah.

220:1 Karum srapayitvâ.

220:2 Name of a Gandharva, as god of love. See Rig-veda X, 85, 22. Dvivedaga?ga explains the verse differently, so that the last words imply, I come together with my own wife.

220:3 Because speech is dependent on breath, as the wife is on the husband. See Khând. Up. I, 6, 1.

220:4 Because the Sâma-veda rests on the Rig-veda.

220:5 This is a verse which is often quoted and explained. It occurs in the Atharva-veda XIV, 71, as 'amo 'ham asmi si tvam, sâmâham asmy rik tvam, dyaur aham prithivî tvam; tâv iha sam bhavâva pragâm â ganayâvahai.'

Here we have the opposition between amah and sâ, while in the Ait. Brâhmana VIII, 27, we have amo 'ham asmi sa tvam, giving amah in opposition to sa. It seems not unlikely that this p. 221 was an old proverbial formula, and that it meant originally no more than 'I am he, and thou art she.' But this meaning was soon forgotten. In the Khând. Up. I, 6, 1, we find sâ explained as earth, ama as fire (Sacred Books of the East, vol. i, p. 13). In the Ait. Brâhmana sâ is explained as Rik, ama as Sâman. I have therefore in our passage also followed the interpretation of the commentary, instead of rendering it, 'I am he, and thou art she; thou art she, and I am he.'

221:1 Anulomam, mûrdhânam ârabhya pâdântam.

221:2 Nirmathitavantau.

221:3 Asvinau devau, Mâdhyandina text.

221:4 Dadhâmahe, Mâdhyandina text. Instead of sûtave, A. has sûyate, B. sûtaye.

221:5 Iti nâma grihnâti, Mâdhyandina text. Sa?kara says, asâv iti tasyâh. Ânandagiri says, asâv iti patyur vâ nirdesah; tasyâ nâma grihnâtîti pûrvena sambandhah. Dvivedaga?ga says, ante bhartâsâv aham iti svâtmano nâma grihnâti, bhâryâyâ vâ.

221:6 See Pâraskara Grihya-sûtra I. 16 seq.

221:7 Vatâh, M.

221:8 Argadayâ nirodhena saha vartamânah sârgadah, Dvivedaga?ga.

221:9 Saparisrayah, parisrayena pariveshtanena garâyunâ sahitah, Dvivedaga?ga.

221:10 Sâvarâm is the reading given by Poley, Roer, A. and B. p. 222 Ânandagiri explains: garbhanihsaranânantaram yâ mâmsapesî nirgakkhati sâvarâ, tâm ka nirgamayety arthah. Dvivedaga?ga (ed. Weber) writes: nirgamyamânamâmsapesî sâ-avarasabdavâkyâ, tam sâvaram ka nirgamaya.

222:1 These as well as the preceding rules refer to matters generally treated in the Grihya-sûtras; see Âsvalâyana, Grihya-sûtras I, 13 seq.; Pâraskara, Grihya-sûtras I, 11 seq.; Sâ?kâkyana, Grihya-sûtras I, 19 seq. It is curious, however, that Âsvalâyana I, 13, 1, refers distinctly to the Upanishad as the place where the pumsavana and similar matters were treated. This shows that the Upanishads were known before the composition of the Grihya-sûtras, and explains perhaps, at least partially, why the Upanishads were considered as rahasya. Âsvalâyana says, 'Conception, begetting of a boy, and guarding the embryo are to be found in the Upanishad. But if a man does not read the Upanishad, let him know that he should feed his wife,' &c. Nârâyana explains that Âsvalâyana here refers to an Upanishad which does not exist in his own Sâkhâ, but he objects to the conclusion that therefore the garbhâdhâna and other ceremonies need not be performed, and adds that some hold it should be performed, as prescribed by Saunaka and others.

222:2 Âsvalâyana, Grihya-sûtra I, 10, 23.

222:3 Trayîlakshanâ vâk tvayi pravisatv iti gapato 'bhiprâyah.

223:1 Cf. Pâraskara Grihya-sûtras I, 16, 4, anâmikayâ suvarnântarhitayâ; Sâ?khâyana, Grihya-sûtras I, 24, prâsayeg gâtarupena.

223:2 Bhûr bhuvah svah are explained by Dvivedaga?ga as the Rig-veda, Yagur-veda, and Sâma-veda. They might also be earth, air, and heaven. See Sâ?khâyana, Grihya-sûtras 1, 24; Bhur rigvedam tvayi dadhâmi, &c.

223:3 The Mâdhyandinas add here another verse, which the father recites while he strokes his boy: 'Be a stone, be an axe, be pure gold. Thou art my Self, called my son; live a hundred harvests.' The same verse occurs in the Âsvalâyana Grihya-sûtras I, 15, 3.

223:4 The two ceremonies, here described, are the âyushya-karman and the medhâganana. They are here treated rather confusedly. Pâraskara (Grihya-sûtras I, 16, 3) distinguishes the medhâganana and the âyushya. He treats the medhâganana first, which consists in feeding the boy with honey and clarified butter, and saying to him bhûs tvayi dadhâmi, &c. The âyushya consists in repeating certain verses in the boy's ear, wishing him a long life, &c. In Âsvalâyana's Grihya-sûtras, I, 15, 1 contains the âyushya, I, 15, 2 the medhâganana. Sâ?khâyana also (I, 24) treats the âyushya first, and the medhâganana afterwards, and the same order prevails in the Mâdhyandina text of the Brihadâranyaka-upanishad.

223:5 In the Mâdhyandina text these acts are differently arranged.

223:6 Rig-veda I, 164, 49.

223:7 These verses are differently explained by various commentators. Ânandagiri explains ilâ as stutyâ, bhogyâ. He derives Maitrâvarunî p. 224 from Maitrâvaruna, i.e. Vasishtha, the son of Mitrâvarunau, and identifies her with Arundhatî. Dvivedaga?ga takes idâ as bhogyâ, or idâpâtrî, or prithivîrûpâ, and admits that she may be called Maitrâvarunî, because born of Mitrâvarunau. Vîre is rightly taken as a vocative by Dvivedaga?ga, while Ânandagiri explains it as a locative, mayi nimittabhûte. One expects agîganah instead of agîganat, which is the reading of A. and B. The reading of the Mâdhyandinas, âgîganathâh, is right grammatically, but it offends against the metre, and is a theoretical rather than a real form. If we read agîganah, we must also read akarah, unless we are prepared to follow the commentator, who supplies bhavatî.