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BṚIHAD-ĀRAṆYAKA UPANISHAD

FIRST ADHYAYA

FIRST BRAHMANA1

The world as a sacrificial horse

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1. Om! Verily, the dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse; the sun, his eye; the wind, his breath; universal fire (Agni Vaiśvānara), his open mouth. The year is the body (atman) of the sacrificial horse; the sky, his back; the atmosphere, his belly; the earth, the under part of his belly; the quarters, his flanks; the intermediate quarters, his ribs; the seasons, his limbs; the months and half-months, his joints; days and nights, his feet; the stars, his bones; the clouds, his flesh. Sand is the food in his stomach; rivers are his entrails. His liver and lungs are the mountains; plants and trees, his hair. The orient is his fore part; the occident, his hind part. When he yawns, then it lightens. When he shakes himself, then it thunders. When he urinates, then it rains. Voice, indeed, is his voice.

2. Verily, the day arose for the horse as the sacrificial vessel which stands before. Its place is the eastern sea.

Verily, the night arose for him as the sacrificial vessel which stands behind. Its place is the western sea. Verily, these two arose on both sides of the horse as the two sacrificial vessels.3

1 This Brāhmaṇa occurs also as Sat. Br. 10. 6. 4.

2 The Aśva-medha, 'Horse-sacrifice,' the most elaborate and important of the animal sacrifices in ancient India (described at length in Sat. Br. 13. 1-5), is interpreted, in this and the following Brāhmaṇa, as of cosmic significance— a miniature reproduction of the world-order. In the liturgy for the Horse-sacrifice (contained in VS. 22-25) there is a similar apportionment of the parts of the animal to the various parts of the world. Compare also a similar elaborate cosmic correlation of the ox at AV. 9. 7.

3 The vessels used to hold the libations at the Aśva-medha. Here they are symbolized cosmically by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

Becoming a steed, he carried the gods; a stallion, the Gandharvas; a courser, the demons; a horse, men.1 The sea, indeed, is his relative. The sea is his place.

SECOND BRAHMAŅA 2

The creation of the world, leading up to the

institution of the horse-sacrifice

1. In the beginning nothing whatsoever was here. This [world] was covered over with death, with hunger—for hunger

is death.

Then he made up his mind (manas): 'Would that I had a self!'3

So he went on (acarat) praising (arcan). From him, while he was praising, water was produced. 'Verily, while I was praising, I had pleasure (ka)!' thought he. This, indeed, is the arka-nature of what pertains to brightness (arkya). Verily, there is pleasure for him who knows thus that arka-nature of what pertains to brightness.

2. The water, verily, was brightness.

That which was the froth of the water became solidified. That became the earth.

On it he [i.e. Death] tortured himself (śram). When he had tortured himself and practised austerity, his heat (tejas) and essence (rasa) turned into fire.

3. He divided himself (ātmānam) threefold: [fire (agni) one third], the sun (aditya) one third, wind (vāyu) one third. He also is Life (prāņa) divided threefold.

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The eastern direction is his head. Yonder one and yonder one are the fore quarters. Likewise the western direction is his tail. Yonder one and yonder one are the hind quarters. South and north are the flanks. The sky is the back. The atmosphere is the belly. This [earth] is the chest. He stands firm in the waters. He who knows this, stands firm wherever

he goes.

1 Different names for, and aspects of, this cosmic carrier.
2 This Brāhmaṇa is found also as a part of Śat. Br. 10. 6. 5.
3 Or 'a body,' ātman-vin.

Explained by Sankara as northeast and southeast respectively.
* Explained by Sankara as northwest and southwest respectively.

4. He desired: 'Would that a second self of me were produced!' He-death, hunger-by mind copulated with speech (vac). That which was the semen, became the year. Previous to that there was no year. He bore him for a time as long as a year. After that long time he brought him forth. When he was born, Death opened his mouth on him. He cried 'bhan!' That, indeed, became speech.

5. He bethought himself: 'Verily, if I shall intend against him, I shall make the less food for myself.' With that speech, with that self he brought forth this whole world, whatsoever exists here: the Hymns (rc) [i.e. the Rig-Veda], the Formulas (yajus) [i.e. the Yajur-Veda], the Chants (saman) [i.e. the Sāma-Veda], meters, sacrifices, men, cattle.

Whatever he brought forth, that he began to eat. Verily, he eats (ad) everything: that is the aditi-nature of Aditi (the Infinite). He who knows thus the aditi-nature of Aditi, becomes an eater of everything here; everything becomes food for him.

6. He desired: 'Let me sacrifice further with a greater sacrifice (yajña)!' He tortured himself. He practised austerity. When he had tortured himself and practised austerity, glory and vigor went forth. The glory and vigor, verily, are the vital breaths. So when the vital breaths departed, his body began to swell. His mind, indeed, was in his body (śarīra).

7. He desired: 'Would that this [body] of mine were fit for sacrifice! Would that by it I had a self (atmanvin)!' Thereupon it became a horse (aśva), because it swelled (aśvat). 'It has become fit for sacrifice (medhya)!' thought he. Therefore the horse-sacrifice is called Aśva-medha. He, verily, knows the Aśva-medha, who knows it thus.

He kept him [i. e. the horse] in mind without confining him.1 After a year he sacrificed him for himself. [Other] animals he delivered over to the divinities. Therefore men sacrifice the victim which is consecrated to Prajapati as though offered unto all the gods.

1 Even as in the regular Aśva-medha the consecrated horse is allowed to range free for a year.

Verily, that [sun] which gives forth heat is the Aśva-medha. The year is its embodiment (ātman).

This [earthly] fire is the arka.1 The worlds are its embodiments. These are two, the arka sacrificial fire and the Aśvamedha sacrifice. Yet again they are one divinity, even Death. He [who knows this] wards off death again, death obtains him not, death becomes his body (ātman), he becomes one of these deities.

THIRD BRAHMAŅA

The superiority of breath among the bodily functions

1. The gods (deva) and the devils (asura) were the twofold offspring of Prajapati. Of these the gods were the younger, the devils the older. They were struggling with each other for these worlds.

The gods said: 'Come, let us overcome the devils at the sacrifice with the Udgitha.'2

2. They said to Speech: 'Sing for us the Udgitha.'

'So be it,' said Speech, and sang for them. Whatever pleasure there is in speech, that it sang for the gods; whatever good one speaks, that for itself.

They [i. e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us.' They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil was the improper thing that one speaks. That was the evil.

3. Then they [i.e. the gods] said to the In-breath (prāṇa): 'Sing for us the Udgitha.'

'So be it,' said the In-breath, and sang for them. Whatever pleasure there is in the in-breath, that it sang for the gods; whatever good one breathes in, that for itself.

They [i.e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us.' They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil was the improper thing that one breathes in. This, truly, was that evil.

4. Then they [i.e. the gods] said to the Eye: 'Sing for us the Udgitha.'

1 That is, the fire in the Horse-sacrifice.

2 The important Loud Chant in the ritual.

'So be it,' said the Eye, and sang for them. Whatever pleasure there is in the eye, that it sang for the gods; whatever good one sees, that for itself.

They [i.e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us.' They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil was the improper thing that one sees. This, truly, was that evil.

5. Then they [i.e. the gods] said to the Ear: 'Sing for us the Udgitha.'

'So be it,' said the Ear, and sang for them. Whatever pleasure there is in the ear, that it sang for the gods; whatever good one hears, that for itself.

They [i.e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us.' They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil was the improper thing that one hears. This, truly, was that evil.

6. Then they [i.e. the gods] said to the Mind: 'Sing for us the Udgitha.'

'So be it,' said the Mind, and sang for them. Whatever pleasure there is in the mind, that it sang for the gods; whatever good one imagines, that for itself.

They [i.e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us.' They rushed upon him and pierced him with evil. That evil was the improper thing that one imagines. This, truly, was that evil.

And thus they let out upon these divinities with evil, they pierced them with evil.

7. Then they [i.e. the gods] said to this Breath in the mouth: 'Sing for us the Udgitha.'

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So be it,' said this Breath, and sang for them.

They [i.e. the devils] knew: 'Verily, by this singer they will overcome us.' They rushed upon him and desired to pierce him with evil. As a clod of earth would be scattered by striking on a stone, even so they were scattered in all directions and perished. Therefore the gods increased, the demons became inferior. He increases with himself, a hateful enemy becomes inferior for him who knows this.

8. Then they said, 'What, pray, has become of him who stuck to us thus?' 'This one here (ayam) is within the mouth

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