Mudgalapurana 3.47: brahmayajñe vedanirṇayo nāma saptacatvāriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

Salutations to the blessed Gaṇeśa.

Śrī Śuka said:
There they held various discourses, illuminating diverse doctrines,
chiefly by their own intellect, O Prahlāda, with deep respect.

Some proclaimed the Creator, Viṣṇu, the Goddess, Śiva, or the Sun,
while others, devoted to various doctrines, proclaimed Gaṇeśa, the form of Brahman.

Some spoke of food, vital breath, mind, and consciousness,
bliss, the solitary 'I am He', consciousness, while others spoke of the point (bindu).

Some spoke of awareness and the Self, others of Sāṅkhya and karma;
they called the unmanifest form equal, and yet others spoke of Brahman.

Some called it self-cognized, others called it cessation, having the form of peace;
those devoted to the Vedas called it yoga, having the form of the inner Self.

Some spoke of non-truth, some of truth, and others of complete bliss, O Asura;
they engaged in debate over the innate, supreme Brahman.

Section 3, Chapter 47, page 102) No conclusion was reached there among the seekers of doctrines, O lord of the Daityas;
endowed with their own views, the unlearned engaged in dispute.

Then, for the sake of calming the debate, the imperishable Viṣṇu spoke;
prompted by Śaṅkara, the all-knowing one addressed all who had assembled there.

The blessed Viṣṇu said:
The Vedas have the nature of the Guru for all; of this there is no doubt.
Whatever is established by them, O god, all the sages have arrived [to hear].

Let it be established especially by those seeking certainty regarding Brahman;
that very happiness will be universally accepted by everyone.

Their own direct experience has been sung by the Vedas truthfully, O best of sages;
therefore, supreme knowledge arises for all through the Vedas.

Some people, sages, gods, and rākṣasas, through yoga and the like,
perceive that Brahman directly; of this there is no doubt.

Nevertheless, their word is not universally respected like the Vedas.
Where is a knower of yoga seen equal to the Vedas, O Brahmins?

The Vedas are complete yogins; therefore they are considered your teachers.
O fortunate ones, remember them; then all doubt will cease.

Then all the hosts of sages, the yogins, and the leaders of the gods
said, ‘Excellent, excellent!’ to that Viṣṇu, the foremost among the wise.

Then they, headed by Śaṅkara, remembered them for the accomplishment of their purpose;
accompanied by their auxiliary limbs, the Vedas arrived together with the syllable Oṃ.

Seeing them, the gods, along with the hosts of sages and others, suddenly stood up;
having bowed down, they worshipped them with joined hands before them.

Seated upon seats, the principal Vedas accompanied by the syllable Oṃ
spoke to those gods headed by Śiva, their minds overjoyed.

The Vedas said:
Why has this remembrance been made by you, O gods, sages, and people?
Tell us that task; we shall carry it out, of this there is no doubt.

Hearing the words of the Vedas, Śiva spoke these words,
he who is discerning in modesty, for the certainty of those desiring welfare.

Śiva said:
A sacrifice of Brahman has been undertaken by all of us who desire our welfare;
engaged in dispute therein, we do not reach its conclusion.

Therefore, remembrance of you, O Vedas, has been made especially by us.
As our teachers, pronounce a conclusion that destroys all division.

Yogins here can never be equal to you;
by the authority of your word, we too are knowers of yoga.

Hearing the words of Śiva, the Vedas, protectors of the humble,
spoke words there to the gods, the sages, and all the people, O lord of the Asuras.

The Vedas said:
How indeed shall we reach the further shore of the sacrifice of Brahman,
since our bodies consist of syllables? Nevertheless, we shall speak.

We are not the form of Brahman, nor are we knowers of Brahman to any degree, alas!
Only by the power of the path of yoga shall we speak truly.

O gods, hear the particular ascertainment and the conception of Brahman,
by which, free from doubt, you will attain the supreme goal.

Manifold Brahman has been declared by me through the power of yoga;
among the great sayings such as 'Consciousness is Brahman', yoga is supreme.

The locus of the true union with all Brahman consists of yoga;
in yoga, all Brahmans are described as having that very form.

There is no supreme Brahman apart from yoga; it is attained through the peace of yoga.
This Gaṇeśvara alone has been declared by me to be Brahmaṇaspati.

Because he is the protector and preserver of all Brahmans,
worship him with devotion, O best of gods and sages!

Section 3, Chapter 47, page 103) Through him, all people certainly become merged in Brahman.
Having spoken thus, the Ṛgveda fell silent.

Then the Yajurveda himself spoke directly in the entire assembly,
uttering words that bestow Brahman and consist of direct self-realization.

The Yajurveda said:
Through the practice of yoga, Brahman has been described by me in manifold ways,
and through the Great Sayings, O all-knowing ones, for the sake of gradual realization; of this there is no doubt.

Among these, the final Brahman, known as having the nature of yoga, is preeminent;
because of the true union of all Brahmans, it is called yoga.

That very [Brahman] is the Lord of Gaṇas, who was beseeched of old by devotees
for the sake of attaining the highest yoga; on that account He assumed a form.

A gaṇa is called a totality, and totalities consist of Brahman;
He is undeniably their master; worship Him according to the prescribed rules.

In the totality of all kinds of food, which always have one and many forms,
Brahman is to be known as consisting of food; so states the Śruti.

In this manner, O divine sages, the manifold Brahmans
are certainly to be known through inquiry as having the nature of gaṇas.

Therefore, through devotion to Gaṇeśa, everything becomes easy to attain;
the guardian of yoga who bestows the state of Brahman has been proclaimed by me through yoga.

Having spoken thus, the Yajurveda, the best among knowers of yoga, fell silent.
Then the Sāmaveda spoke, providing the ascertainment of Brahman.

The Sāmaveda said:
Through the power of practicing yoga, I am able to describe [it];
listen, O lords of gods and sages, to a brief statement about Brahman.

Manifold Brahmans have been declared by me through the Great Sayings and the like;
this is to be understood through the practice of yoga for the purpose of distinguishing different recipients.

Among them, the Brahman called yoga undeniably bestows peace;
that wherein the union of Brahmans takes place is called yoga.

There is no Brahman higher than yoga, and it is attained through the path of peace;
that very [Brahman], O sages and gods, is Gaṇeśa; of this there is no doubt.

Whatever has been celebrated by me as consisting of mind and speech, O gods,
is to be known by the wise as always originating from the syllable 'ga'.

Whatever is variously described as devoid of mind and speech
is certainly situated in the syllable 'ṇa' through the practice of yoga.

Lord Gaṇeśa, proclaimed as having the form of yoga, is the master of both;
worship Him particularly, who grants the state of becoming Brahman.

He grants whatever people endowed with various dispositions worship Him for.
Having spoken thus, that great yogin, the singer of the Sāman, fell silent.

Then the great yogin Atharvan, the knower of the Brahmayajña, addressed them all;
O Prahlāda, listen to his words.

Atharvan said:
Through statements such as 'I am the Ātman,' Brahman of manifold kinds
was established by me through yoga, as that very [Brahman] endowed with limiting adjuncts.

The supreme Brahman named yoga is attained through that yoga;
devoid of conjunction and disjunction, this yoga stands firmly as Brahman.

Peace is declared to be therein, in yoga, [by] the best among knowers of yoga;
that very Lord of Gaṇas has become the bestower of all peace.

Gaṇeśa alone is Himself the Lord of the worlds and of the Brahmans
consisting of totalities; therefore He is remembered as having the nature of yoga.

By His might, He is the primal form of all, having the nature of yoga;
in the middle, the excellent Lord is manifold, through His own parts, as the world and the good Brahman.

At the end, He Himself remains likewise; therefore He was worshipped in the beginning,
and He is worthy of worship by all, O lords of gods and sages seeking certainty.

That which is the beginning, that becomes the form of the end, as accepted by all; / [

Section 3, Chapter 48, Page 104] in the middle, through the play of māyā, He became possessed of difference and non-difference.

Therefore, worship Him who is known as having the nature of yoga through the practice of yoga;
you will become absorbed in Brahman, having crossed to the further shore of the Brahmayajña.

Having spoken thus, O great-minded one, the great yogin Atharvan, knower of all yoga, fell silent;
then the Oṅkāra spoke these words.

The Oṅkāra said:
I am abundant across the four Vedas; through the practice of yoga,
Brahman has been directly perceived by me; therefore, O gods, I became acknowledged by yogins.

Instructed by me, the Vedas daily practiced
the yoga that bestows Brahman; therefore they are universally accepted as knowers of Brahman.

No Brahman higher than yoga is known; this is universally agreed;
the world is well spoken of as Brahman, and Brahman is eternal through yoga.

That very [Brahman] is indeed determined by yogins always to be the Lord of Gaṇas;
bearing the form of yoga, He plays in states of conjunction and disjunction.

Siddhi is considered to be māyā consisting of delusion, and buddhi to be holding delusion;
the all-pervading Lord Gaṇeśa is their master, playing with the two māyās.

Siddhi is the bestower of Brahman through enjoyment as well as through liberation;
the mind is fivefold, and the intellect is attained through their union.

The supreme Brahman, known only to oneself, is declared in the Vedas;
it is called the form of all conjunction, and therein He Himself is seen.

Therefore He is celebrated as dwelling in Svānanda and joined with māyā;
His vision never occurs in the absence of yoga.

Therefore He is spoken of as devoid of māyā, and He is attained through the union of both;
the syllable 'ga' is conjunction, and the syllable 'ṇa' is said to be disjunction.

By that name He is proclaimed as Gaṇeśa by the expounders of the Veda;
worship Him especially for the sake of becoming Brahman.

O twice-born ones, O gods, you will become absorbed in Brahman; of this there is no doubt.
Having spoken thus, O great-minded one, the Oṅkāra then fell silent.

Om tat sat. Thus ends the forty-seventh chapter, named 'The Ascertainment of the Vedas in the Brahmayajña,' in the story of Mahodara, in the third section of the glorious and final Purāṇa-Upaniṣad, the venerable Maudgala Mahāpurāṇa.