Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad ("Great Forest Teaching") 4.4.22
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad 4.4.22
- Language
- Sanskrit
4.4.22
sa vā eṣa mahānaja ātmā yo'yaṃ vijñānamayaḥ prāṇeṣu ya eṣo'ntarhṛdaya ākāśastasmiñchetesarvasya vaśī sarvasyeśānaḥ sarvasyādhipatiḥ sa na sādhunā karmaṇā bhūyānno evāsādhunā kanīyāneṣa sarveśvara eṣa bhūtādhipatireṣa bhūtapāla eṣa seturvidharaṇa eṣāṃ lokānāmasaṃbhedāya tametaṃ vedānuvacanena brāhmaṇā vividiṣanti yajñena dānena tapasānāśakenaitameva viditvā munirbhavati etameva pravrā-jinolokamicchantaḥ pravrrajanti | etaddha sma va aitatpūrve vidvām̐saḥ prajāṃ na kāmayanti kiṃ prajayā kariṣyāmo yeṣāṃ no'yamātmāyaṃ loka iti te ha sma putraiṣaṇāyāśca vittaiṣaṇāyāśca lokaiṣaṇāyāśca vyutthāyātha bhikṣācaryaṃ caranti yā hyeva putraiṣaṇā sā vittaiṣaṇā yā vittaiṣaṇā sā lokaiṣaṇome hmete eṣaṇe eva bhavataḥ | sa eṣa neti netyātmāgṛhyo na hi gṛhyate'śīryo na hi śīryate'saṅgo na hi sajyate'sito na vyathate na riṣyatyetamu haivaite na tarata ityataḥ pāpamakaravamityataḥ kalyāṇa-makaravamityubhe u haivaiṣa ete tarati nainaṃ kṛtākṛte tapataḥ
'And he is that great unborn Self, who consists of knowledge, is surrounded by the Prânas, the ether within the heart. In it there reposes the ruler of all, the lord of all, the king of all. He does not become greater by good works, nor smaller by evil works. He is the lord of all, the king of all things, the protector of all things. He is a bank and a boundary, so that these worlds may not be confounded. Brâhmanas seek to know him by the study of the Veda, by sacrifice, by gifts, by penance, by fasting, and he who knows him, becomes a Muni. Wishing for that world (for Brahman) only, mendicants leave their homes.
'Knowing this, the people of old did not wish for offspring. What shall we do with offspring, they said, we who have this Self and this world (of Brahman)? And they, having risen above the desire for sons, wealth, and new worlds, wander about as mendicants. For desire for sons is desire for wealth, and desire for wealth is desire for worlds. Both these are indeed desires only. He, the Self, is to be described by No, no! He is incomprehensible, for he cannot be comprehended; he is imperishable, for he cannot perish; he is unattached, for he does not attach himself; unfettered, he does not suffer, he does not fail. Him (who knows), these two do not overcome, whether he says that for some reason he has done evil, or for some reason he has done good--he overcomes both, and neither what he has done, nor what he has omitted to do, burns (affects) him.
Translations (1)
- The Upanishads, Part II (SBE 15) — Friedrich Max Müller 1884, English
Commentaries (7)
- Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣya — Śaṅkara, Sanskrit
- Padapāṭha (sandhi-resolved text, TITUS) — Sanskrit
- Khaṇḍārtha — Rāghavendra Tīrtha 1615, Sanskrit
- Commentary of Upaniṣadbrahmayogin — Upaniṣadbrahmayogin 1700, Sanskrit
- Bṛhadāraṇyakabhāṣya (Madhva) — Madhva, Sanskrit
- Bṛhadāraṇyakaprakāśikā (Raṅgarāmānuja) — Raṅgarāmānuja Muni, Sanskrit
- Mitākṣarā — Nityānanda Āśrama, Sanskrit
Linked texts (17)
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- A History of Indian Medical Literature — G. Jan Meulenbeld, English
- Altindische Grammatik — Jacob Wackernagel & Albert Debrunner, German
- A History of Indian Philosophy — Surendranath Dasgupta, English
- A Vedic Concordance — Maurice Bloomfield, English
- Indian Philosophy — S. Radhakrishnan, English
- The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads — Arthur Berriedale Keith, English
- Early Monastic Buddhism — Nalinaksha Dutt, English
- Studies in the Origins of Buddhism — Govind Chandra Pande, English
- Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) — Radhakumud Mookerji, English
- Gorakhnāth and the Kānphaṭa Yogīs — George Weston Briggs, English
- The Philosophy of the Upanishads — Paul Deussen & A. S. Geden, English
- Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation — Patrick Olivelle, English
- The System of the Vedânta according to Bâdarâyana's Brahma-Sûtras and Çankara's Commentary — Paul Deussen & Charles Johnston, English
- A Constructive Survey of Upanishadic Philosophy — R. D. Ranade, English
- Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and Minor Religious Systems — R. G. Bhandarkar, English
- Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals — F. E. Keay, English