Isavasya OR Isa Upanisad
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chandogya Upanisad
Taittiriya Upanisad
Aitareya Upanisad
Kausitaki Upanisad
Kena Upanisad
Katha Upanisad
Svetasvatara Upanisad
The Mundaka Upanisad
Prasna Upanisad
Mandukya Upanisad
Maitri Upanisad
 
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad

Chapter Three

III.1
1. Janaka of Videha offered a sacrifice, with munificent gifts for the priests. There the Brahmanas of the Kurus and Pancalas were gathered together. It occurred to Janaka of Videha to wonder which of the Brahmanas was most learned. So he penned off a thousand cows, and ten gold pieces were attached to the horns of each.

2. He said to them, 'Blessed Brahmanas, whoever is the truest Brahmana among you, let him drive away these cows.' The Brahmanas dared not.
But Yajnavalkya called to his own student, 'Samasravas, good lad, drive out these cows!' And he drove them out.
The Brahmanas were angry, thinking, 'How can he claim to be the truest Brahmana among us?'
Asvala was Hotr to Janaka of Videha. He asked him, 'Yajnavalkya, are you the truest Brahmana among us?'
He said, 'We pay respect to the truest Brahmana: we just want the cows.'
Then Asvala the Hotr undertook to question him.

3. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'since all this is seized by death, all this is overpowered by death, by what means does the patron of the sacrifice become free from the grip of death?'
'By the Hotr priest, by fire, by speech. Speech is the Hotr of the sacrifice; what speech is, fire is; that is the Hotr. That is freedom; that is utter freedom.'

4. Yajnavalkya,' he said, since all this is seized by days and nights, all this is overpowered by days and nights, by what means does the patron of the sacrifice become free from the grip of days and nights?'
'By the Adhvaryu priest, by the eye, by the sun. The eye is the Adhvaryu of the sacrifice; what the eye is, the sun is; that is the Adhvaryu. That is freedom; that is utter freedom.'

5. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'since all this is seized by bright fortnights and dark fortnights, all this is overpowered by bright fortnights and dark fortnights, by what means does the patron of the sacrifice become free from the grip of bright fortnights and dark fortnights?'
'By the Udgatr priest, by wind, by breath. Breath is the Udgatr of the sacrifice; what breath is, wind is; that is the Udgatr. That is freedom; that is the utter freedom.'

6. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'since the middle-air is, as it were, without a support, by what way does the patron of the sacrifice climb to the heaven-world?'
'By the Brahma priest, by mind, by the moon. Mind is the Brahma of the sacrifice; what mind is, the moon is; that is the Brahma. That is freedom; that is utter freedom.'
That was the passage on utter freedoms: now come the attainments.

7. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'how many kinds of verses will the Hotr employ in the sacrifice today?'
'Three'
'What are the three?'
'The verse of invitation, the verse accompanying the sacrifice, and the verse of blessing as the third.'
'What does one win by them?'
'Whatever has breath.'

8. "Yajnavalkya, he said, 'how many kinds of offerings will the Adhvaryu offer in the sacrifice today?'
'Three.'
'What are the three?'
'Those which blaze up when offered; those which overflow when offered; and those which sink down when offered.'
'What does one win by them?'
'By those which blaze up when offered, one wins the world of the gods, for the world of the gods, as it were, shines; by those which overflow when offered, one wins the world of the ancestors, for the world of ancestors is, as it were, beyond; and by those which sink down when offered, one wins the human world, for the human world is, as it were, below.'

9. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'with how many gods will the Brahma on the southern side protect the sacrifice today?'
'One.'
'What is the one?'
'The mind.'
Indeed, the mind is infinite; the Visvedevas are infinite; by knowing it one wins an infinite world.

10. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'how many praises will the Udgatr chant in the sacrifice today?'
'Three.'
'What are the three?'
'The chant of invitation, the chant accompanying the sacrifice, and the chant of blessing as the third.'
'What are they in relation to oneself?'
'The chant of invitation is the breath, the chant accompanying the sacrifice the lower breath, and the chant of blessing the diffused breath.'
'What does one win by them?'

By the chant of invitation one wins the world of the earth; by the chant accompanying the sacrifice, the world of the middle-air; and by the chant of blessing, the world of the sky.'
Then Asvala the Hotr fell silent.

III. 2
1. Then Jaratkarava Artabhaga questioned him. 'Yajnavalkya,' he said, 'how many graspers are there; how many over-graspers?'
'Eight graspers; eight over-graspers.'
'What are they, the eight graspers, the eight over-graspers?'

2. 'The out?breath (prana) is the grasper. It is grasped by the in-breath (apana) as its over-grasper, for by the in-breath one smells.

3. 'Speech is the grasper. It is grasped by name as its over-grasper, for by speech one utters names.

4. 'The tongue is the grasper. It is grasped by taste as its over-grasper, for by the tongue one discerns tastes.



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