Invocation

My speech is established in mind, and my mind is established in speech. May you manifest, may you manifest! May the truth of the Vedas heard by me not leave me. For days and nights, I will reflect on the divine law and the truth. May I become established in the truth, and may the teacher be established in truth. May the truth protect me, and may the truth protect the teacher - may truth protect the teacher! Peace, peace, peace.

Verse 1-1-1

In the beginning there was the self alone, and nothing to see. He thought, "let me release the worlds."

Verse 1-1-2

He sent out the world of clouds, the world of sunlight, the world of mortals, and the world of water. The heavens are the foundation of the clouds, and the atmosphere holds up the heavens. The spacious earth is cast upward by the world of water.

Verse 1-1-3

He thought: "having created the worlds, let me create their protectors". He gathered the human form from the water and gave it a shape.

Verse 1-1-4

He scorched him so the mouth cracked open like an egg. From the mouth came speech, and from that speech came the god of fire. The nostrils parted, giving way to breath, and from that breath came the god of the wind. The two eyes split, producing the sense of sight, and from that sense of sight came the god of the sun. The two ears parted, producing the sense of hearing, and from hearing came the four directions. The skin emerged, producing body hair, and from that hair came herbs and trees. The heart opened, producing the mind, and from the mind came the moon. The navel parted, producing the excretory system, and by the organ of excretion came death. The penis emerged, producing semen, and from that stream came water.

Verse 1-2-1

The deities fell into the great ocean, and the original man was subjected to hunger and thirst. The man asked their creator, "provide an abode for us where we can eat food."

Verse 1-2-2

A cow was fetched for them. They said, "for us, this is certainly not enough". A horse was then fetched for them. They said again, "for us, this is certainly not enough".

Verse 1-2-3

A person was fetched for them. They said "this one is well-made indeed!" A person is certainly created well. It then said, "enter into your respective abodes."

Verse 1-2-4

The deity of fire entered the mouth as the organ of speech. The god of the wind entered the nostrils as the sense of smell. The Sun god entered the eyes as the sense of sight, and the four directions entered the ears as the sense of hearing. The herbs and trees entered the skin as hair, and the Moon entered the heart in the shape of the mind. Death entered the navel in the form of excretory energy, and water entered the penis as semen.

Verse 1-2-5

To Him, hunger and thirst said, "provide for us as well." To them He said, "Go among the gods. I give you a share of their divinity." Therefore when oblation is taken up for any purpose of divinity, hunger and thirst share with that deity.

Verse 1-3-1

He thought, "This, then, are the senses and the deities of the senses. Let Me create food for them.

Verse 1-3-2

He deliberated with regard to the water. From the water, thus brooded over, evolved a form. The form that emerged was verily food.

Verse 1-3-3

This food, that was created, turned back and attempted to run away. He tried to take it up with speech. He did not succeed in taking it up through speech. If He had succeeded in taking it up with the speech, then one would have become contented merely by talking of food.

Verse 1-3-4

He tied to grasp that food with the sense of smell. He did not succeed in grasping it by smelling. If He had succeeded in grasping it by smelling, then everyone should have become contented merely by smelling food.

Verse 1-3-5

He wanted to take up the food with the eye. He did not succeed in taking it up with the eye. If He had taken it up with the eye, then one would have become satisfied by merely seeing food.

Verse 1-3-6

He wanted to take up the food with the ear. He did not succeed in taking it up with the ear. If He had taken it up with the ear, then one would have become satisfied by merely by hearing of food.

Verse 1-3-7

He wanted to take it up with the sense of touch. He did not succeed in taking it up with the sense of touch. If He had taken it up with touch, then one would have become been satisfied merely by touching food.

Verse 1-3-8

He wanted to take it up with the mind. He did not succeed in taking it up with the mind. If He had taken it up with the mind, then one would have become satisfied by merely thinking of food.

Verse 1-3-9

He wanted to take it up with the procreative organ. He did not succeed in taking it up with the procreative organ. If He had taken it up with the procreative organ, then one would have become satisfied by merely ejecting food.

Verse 1-3-10

He wanted to take it up with Apana. He caught it. This is the devourer of food. That vital energy which is well known as dependent of food for its subsistence is this vital energy (called Apana).

Verse 1-3-11

He thought, "How indeed can it be there without Me?" He thought, "Through which of the two ways should I enter?" He thought, "If utterance is done by the organ of speech, smelling by the sense of smell, seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, feeling by the sense of touch, thinking by the mind, the act of drawing in (or pressing down) by Apana, ejecting by the procreative organ, then who (or what) am I?"

Verse 1-3-12

Having split up this very end, He entered through this door. This entrance is known as vidriti (the chief entrance). Hence it is delightful. Of Him there are three abodes - three (states of) dream. This one is an abode, this one is an abode. This one is an abode.

Verse 1-3-13

Being born, He manifested all the beings; for did He speak of (or know) anything else? He realized this very Purusha as Brahman, the most pervasive, thus:- "I have realized this".

Verse 1-3-14

Therefore His name is Idandra. He is verily known as Idandra. Although He is Idandra, they call Him indirectly Indra; for the gods are verily fond of indirect names, the gods are verily fond of indirect names.

Verse 2-1-1

In man indeed is the soul first conceived. That which is the semen is extracted from all the limbs as their vigour. He holds that self of his in his own self. When he sheds it into his wife, then he procreates it. That is its first birth.

Verse 2-1-2

That becomes non-different from the wife, just as much as her own limb is. Therefore (the fetus) does not hurt her. She nourishes this self of his that has entered here (in her womb).

Verse 2-1-3

She, the nourisher, becomes fit to be nourished. The wife bears that embryo (before the birth). He (the father) protects the son at the very start, soon after his birth. That he protects the son at the very beginning, just after birth, thereby he protects his own self for the sake of the continuance of these worlds. For thus is the continuance of these worlds ensured. That is his second birth.

Verse 2-1-4

This self of his (viz. the son) is substituted (by the father) for the performance of virtuous deeds. Then this other self of his (that is the father of the son), having got his duties ended and having advanced in age, departs. As soon as he departs, he takes birth again. That is his (1.e. the son's) third birth.

Verse 2-1-5

A great sage Vamadeva once said that "while still lying in the womb, I came to know all the births of the gods. One hundred iron strongholds confined me, yet I burst through them swiftly like a hawk. In the womb, this is resting."

Verse 2-1-6

One who understands this splits from the body and ascends to the heavenly abode. They obtain all desires in that world, and with immortality they come together and become united.

Verse 3-1-1

What is It that we worship as this Self? Which of the two is the Self? Is It that by which one sees, or that by which one hears, or that by which one smells an odour, or that by which one utters speech, or that by which one tastes sweet or the sour?

Verse 3-1-2

It is this heart (intellect) and this mind that were stated earlier. It is sentience, rulership, secular knowledge, presence of mind, retentiveness, sense-perception, fortitude, thinking, genius, mental suffering, memory, ascertainment resolution, life-activities, hankering, passion and such others. All these verily are the names of Consciousness.

Verse 3-1-3

This One is (the inferior) Brahman; this is Indra, this is Prajapati; this is all these gods; and this is these five elements, viz. earth, air, space, water, fire; and this is all these (big creatures), together with the small ones, that are the procreators of others and referable in pairs - to wit, those that are born of eggs, of wombs, of moisture of the earth, viz. horses, cattle, men, elephants, and all the creatures that there are which move or fly and those which do not move. All these have Consciousness as the giver of their reality; all these are impelled by Consciousness; the universe has Consciousness as its eye and Consciousness is its end. Consciousness is Brahman.

Verse 3-1-4

Through this Self that is Consciousness, he ascended higher up from this world, and getting all desires fulfilled in that heavenly world, he became immortal, he became immortal.