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Samnyasa Upanishads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation c6.s9: Nāradaparivrājaka Upaniṣad

Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation c6.s9

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Nāradaparivrājaka Upaniṣad

c6.s9.1

[*129*] Once upon a time Nārada, a jewel among ascetics, in the course of touring the entire world, cast his gaze on and thus sanctified the incomparable sanctuaries and sacred bathing places. He achieved thereby purity of mind and became calm, composed, free from enmity, and totally indifferent to everything. After meditating deeply on his own self, he beheld the Naimiṣa forest,¹ a sanctuary noted for that distinctive joy resulting from penance, and filled with saintly people. [*130*] He came there bewildering the throngs of men, beasts, demigods, gods, centaurs, and nymphs with songs about the feats of Viṣṇu, songs that were marked by devotion to the Lord, and that caused animate and inanimate beings to prostrate themselves. These songs were set in special musical notes called *sa*, *ri*, *ga*, *ma*, *pa*, *dha*, and *ni*,² which arouse detachment and which cause aversion to the world.

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¹ Naimiṣa is a sacred forest celebrated in myth and legend. The opening verse of the *Mahābhārata* introduces it as a land of great ascetics where the epic was first recited.

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² These are the abbreviations of *Ṣaḍja*, *Ṛṣabha* (pronounced *Riṣabha*), *Gāndhāra*, *Madhyama*, *Pañcama*, *Dhaivata*, and *Niṣādha*, the seven primary notes of the Indian musical scale. It is unclear whether the clause "which cause aversion to the world" qualifies the notes or the songs.

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At that time Śaunaka and the other great omniscient seers, masters in the knowledge and recitation of the Veda, devoted to penance, and endowed with knowledge and detachment, were engaged in performing a sacrificial session that was to last twelve years. Seeing Nārada, the son of Brahmā and a devotee of the Lord, they rose to greet him and paid him homage. After the customary rites of hospitality, they offered him a seat. All of them then sat down and asked: “Blessed Lord, son of Brahmā, please tell us the way to liberation.”

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Thus petitioned, Nārada said to them: *[131]* “After he has been properly initiated, a boy coming from a good family should wear his sacrificial string and learn all the Vedas, beginning with those of his own Vedic branch, from a single teacher whom he loves and who has undergone the forty-four sacraments.³ Then he should live as a Vedic student for twelve years in obedience to this teacher, as a householder for twenty-five years, and in the forest hermit’s order for a further twenty-five years. He should complete them successively according to the rule. He should then study thoroughly the duties of the four types of students, the six types of householders, and the four types of forest hermits,⁴ and carry out all the activities proper to each of them. Then, equipped with the four aids,⁵ *[132]* he ceases to have any yearning in thought, word, or deed for all saṃsāric things and any attachment to mental impressions and desires.⁶

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³ The Sanskrit term *saṃskāra*, here translated as sacrament, refers to rites that prepare a person for a function by imparting new qualities and/or by purification. The term covers a broad range of preparatory and purifying rites, but it is used with special reference to rites associated with an individual’s life cycle, such as the birth rite, the naming ceremony, initiation, and marriage. The number of sacraments listed in primary sources differs widely: cf. HDh, 2:193–197. Forty sacraments are enumerated in GDh 8.14–24; cf. NpU 135.

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⁴ The text does not identify these types. For a classification of the four orders, see above ĀśU 95–103. For other classifications, see BDh 3.1–3; VaiDh 1.1–11.

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⁵ They are: (1) discrimination between the eternal (Brahman) and the non-eternal (all else); (2) detachment from the joys of heaven and earth; (3) acquisition of the six virtues: tranquility, self-control, equanimity, forbearance, concentration, and faith; and (4) desire for liberation.

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⁶ The meaning appears to be that he has no attachment to the mental impressions (NpU 172) and to the traditional objects of desire [*eṣaṇā*], namely, sons, wealth, heavenly worlds, and the like. See BāU 3.5.1 (cited at NpU 167) and Śaṃkara’s commentary on it translated in Olivelle 1986, 82–91. Mental impressions are habits and tendencies of the mind that come from previous experiences one has had either in this life or in previous lifetimes.

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He is calm, composed, free from enmity, and a renouncer. He who, while living thus in the Paramahaṃsa order and meditating without interruption on his own true nature, abandons his body, becomes liberated [JU 71]. That is the secret teaching.”

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Then Śaunaka and all the other seers asked the Venerable Nārada: “Lord, tell us the procedure of renunciation.” Nārada looked at them and said: “It is only proper that we learn all its features from the mouth of the Grandfather himself.”

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Soon after the completion of the sacrificial session, he went with them to the Truth-world [ĀrU 4, n. 3] and duly paid homage to and sang the praise of the Supreme Lord, who was engrossed in the contemplation of Brahman. *[133]* According to custom, Nārada sat down together with them at the behest of the Grandfather and said to him: “You are the Teacher. You are the Father. You know the secret of every science. You know everything. So, please tell me the one secret that I wish to know, for who apart from you is able to reveal the secret that I seek, namely the proper sequence of renunciation. Please reveal it to us.”

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Thus petitioned by Nārada, the Supreme Lord looked at all of them seated around him and for a moment remained rapt in deep contemplation. Concluding that Nārada was seeking to put an end to the misery of saṃsāric existence, the Grandfather looked at him and said: “My son, I shall explain to you clearly the secret taught formerly by Virāṭ-Puruṣa assuming an unsurpassed form, the mysterious form recounted in the mystic text of the Puruṣa hymn.⁷ The sequence of renunciation *[134]* is a deep secret. So listen attentively.

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⁷ Virāṭ is the first creature produced from the sacrifice of the Puruṣa as recounted in the Puruṣa hymn (RV 10.90).

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“At the outset, O Nārada, an uninitiated person who comes from a good family, and who is obedient to his father and mother, should undergo Vedic initiation. Soon thereafter he should leave his father and find a good teacher who belongs to a sound religious tradition; who is a man of faith; who comes from a good family; who is learned, virtuous, and honest; and who loves the scriptures. After paying him homage and rendering him appropriate service, he should inform the teacher of his wish and learn all the Vedas during twelve years of service.

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“Then, with his teacher’s permission, he should marry a girl whom he loves and who befits his family. For twenty-five years he should carry out the duties incumbent on a householder, and, wiping away the stigma of a bad Brahmin, he should beget one son to perpetuate his line.⁸

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⁸ A virtuous Brahmin learns the Vedas, offers sacrifices, and begets offspring. These are referred to as the three debts a Brahmin incurs at birth (TS 6.3.10.5). The two latter obligations imply marriage, because only a married man is qualified to perform a Vedic sacrifice. The statement “he should beget one son” is probably based on the belief that only one son is required by law. Only the first, therefore, is begotten according to the law (*dharmaja*), whereas others are the offspring of lust (*kāmaja*). See MDh 9.107.

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[*135*] “After completing the twenty-five years customarily allotted to the householder’s state, he should live as a forest hermit observing the major restraints [NpU 196, n. 91] for another twenty-five years. As a forest hermit, he bathes three times a day; eats once every fourth mealtime;⁹ stops going to towns and villages that he used to visit formerly; and fulfills the duties incumbent on that order, which permits no hoarding. Taking no interest in objects seen or heard of, and sanctified by the forty sacramentary rites [NpU 131, n. 3], he becomes indifferent toward everything; attains purity of mind; and burns away desire, jealousy, envy, and egotism. Endowed with the four aids [NpU 131, n. 5], such a man is fit to renounce. That is the secret teaching.”

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⁹ Normally there are two meals a day. The fourth mealtime, therefore, is the evening of every other day. A person observing this vow eats once every two days. See MDh 11.110; ĀpDh 1.25.10.

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Thereupon Nārada asked the Grandfather: "Lord, [*136*] how does a man renounce? And who is entitled to renounce?"

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"I shall first explain who is entitled to renounce and then describe the procedure of renunciation. Listen attentively.

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"The blind, eunuchs, outcastes, cripples, the effeminate, the deaf, the childish, the dumb, heretics, discus-bearers, phallus-bearers, Vaikh糧nasas, Haradvijas,¹⁰ mercenary teachers, bald men, and people without a sacred fire: these, even though they are detached, are unfit for renunciation. If they have already renounced, they are not entitled to receive instruction in the Great Sayings.¹¹ An elder renouncer¹² is entitled to become a Paramahaṃsa.

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¹⁰ These terms apparently refer to sects or religious groups common at the time. There is no scholarly consensus regarding their identities. Discus-bearers and Vaikh糧nasas belong to the Vaiṣṇava tradition, whereas phallus-bearers and Haradvijas are Śaivas. For a detailed discussion, see Sprockhoff 1976, 180–185.

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¹¹ The Great Sayings (*mahāvākya*) are Upaniṣadic statements that teach the identity between Brahman and the individual self. The most famous of them are "That art thou" (ChU 6.8.7) and "I am Brahman" (BāU 1.4.10).

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¹² The meaning of the term *pūrvasaṃnyāsī* is unclear. It means an elder renouncer in the only other place that it occurs in these Upaniṣads, YU 314 (cf. Ypra 53.3–8). Schrader interprets it to mean a person who is already a lower class of renouncer, e.g., a Kuṭīcaka. See Sprockhoff 1976, 203, 258.

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"He truly is a renouncer who has lost the fear of others, and whom others have ceased to fear: so the scriptures declare.

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"Eunuchs, cripples, the blind, the childish, criminals, [*137*] outcastes, doorkeepers, Vaikh糧nasas, Haradvijas, people who bear a discus or a phallus, heretics, bald men, people without a sacred fire, people who have renounced two or three times, and mercenary teachers: these men are unfit for orderly renunciation, and may renounce only when they are in mortal danger."¹³ “What do honorable people regard as the time of mortal danger?”

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¹³ "Orderly renunciation" (*kramasaṃnyāsa*) is to renounce following the proper sequence of rites given in the procedure for renunciation: NpU 133–134, 162; Sprockhoff 1976, 205. When a person is mortally sick or is otherwise in imminent danger of death, he is permitted to renounce without regard to qualifications. Cf. JU 69 n. 22.

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“The time when life is about to depart is given the name ‘mortal danger.’¹⁴ No other is a time of mortal danger, which opens the way to liberation.

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¹⁴ The Ypra (20.12) defines: “. . . a mortally afflicted person is one who is considered to be at the point of death either that very moment, due to the threat posed by a thief, tiger and the like, or that very day, due to an illness and the like.”

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“Even when he renounces at a time of mortal danger, a wise man should renounce only according to the rule by reciting the appropriate mantra.¹⁵

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¹⁵ This mantra is the Call (MU 116, n. 15), which constitutes the essential element of the renunciatory ritual: see Introduction, 3.4.

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“Whether it is orderly renunciation or renunciation at a time of mortal danger, there is no difference in the Call [MU 116, n. 15]. There is no mantra divorced from a rite; a rite, likewise, requires a mantra.

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“What is performed without a mantra is not a rite. Let him, therefore, not give up the mantra. [*138*] Performing a rite without a mantra is like offering an oblation in ashes.¹⁶

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¹⁶ The simile is taken from the Vedic sacrificial theology. A sacrifice is efficacious only when it is offered in and consumed by the sacrificial fire, and not when it is thrown in ashes after the fire is extinguished. The mantra referred to here is probably the Call: “I have renounced.”

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“Renunciation at a time of mortal danger, the scriptures say, is performed by abridging the prescribed rites. Therefore, O Sage, reciting the mantra constitutes the procedure of renunciation at a time of mortal danger.

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“If a man who has maintained the Vedic fires becomes detached while he is away in a foreign land,¹⁷ he should renounce only after offering an oblation to Prajāpati in water. [JU 66]

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¹⁷ It appears that this verse and the next deal with the procedure of renunciation when a person is away from home and is therefore without his sacred fires in which sacrifices are normally offered: JU 66.

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“A wise man should renounce either mentally, or by reciting the mantras given in the procedure, or after he has offered the oblation either into water or as laid down in the Veda.¹⁸ Otherwise he shall become an outcaste.

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¹⁸ One renounces mentally by saying mentally the Call: “I have renounced” (MU 116, n. 15). The two other alternatives are (1) to recite orally all the mantras contained in the renunciatory rite and (2) to actually offer the sacrifice that precedes the renunciatory rite. The latter sacrifice, furthermore, may be offered either into water or into the sacred fires, as prescribed in the Veda.

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“Only when indifference toward all things has arisen in their minds, do they seek renunciation. Otherwise a man shall become an outcaste.

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“Let a wise man renounce when he is detached but live at home so long as he is attached. For the vile Brahmin who renounces while he is attached will go to hell.

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“If his tongue, sexual organ, stomach, and hands are all under complete control, *[139]* a Brahmin may renounce while he is still a student and unmarried.

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“Seeing that saṃsāra is truly without substance, people are imbued with intense detachment and, desirous of seeing the true substance, renounce while they are still unmarried.¹⁹

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¹⁹ There is a play on the Sanskrit word *sāra* (“pith” or “substance”). Saṃsāra, if one ignores the nasal, can mean “with substance.” In reality, however, saṃsāra is *niḥsāra* or “without substance.” The true *sāra* or substance behind the phenomenal world is Brahman.

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“Rites are marked by an active life, and knowledge by renunciation. So for the sake of knowledge here, a wise man should renounce.

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“Now, when a man has come to know the highest truth, the eternal Brahman, let him then take a single staff and discard the topknot together with the sacred string.

c6.s9.48

“When man is attached to the Supreme Self, detached from all that is not the Supreme Self, and freed from all desires, he is fit to eat almsfood.

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“If a man remains as well pleased when people assault him as when they honor and worship him, he is then a true almsman.

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“When in a man this conviction is firmly planted: ‘I am the one and imperishable Brahman called Vāsudeva,’ he is then a true almsman.

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“When a man is peaceful, tranquil, pure, truthful, content, sincere, *[140]* artless, and without possessions, he may live in the order aimed at liberation.

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[“When a man is not evilly disposed in thought, word, or deed toward any living being, he is then a true almsman.

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“Having observed steadfastly the tenfold Law and having duly studied the Vedāntas, let a Brahmin renounce when he is freed from his debts [NpU 134, n. 8]. [MDh 6.94]

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“Steadfastness, forbearance, self-control, abstention from stealing, purity, control of the senses, modesty, knowledge, not giving way to anger, and truthfulness: these are the ten points of the Law. [MDh 6.92]

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“When a man neither think about past joys nor dreams about future joys, nor even delights in present joys, he may live in the order aimed at liberation.]^20

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“When a man is always able to keep the inner faculties inside and the outer objects outside, he may live in the order aimed at liberation.

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“If even in life a man feels no pleasure or pain, as does his body after death, *[141]* he may live in the order aimed at liberation.

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“A pair of loincloths, a patched garment, and a single staff are his only possessions; a Paramahaṃsa ascetic is allowed nothing more.

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“If through desire he were to take anything more, he shall descend to the Raurava hell [ĀrU 4, n. 3], and thereafter he shall be reborn in animal wombs.

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“Piecing old but clean scraps of cloth, he should make a patched garment, dye it with ochre, and wear it as an outer cover.

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“Wearing a single garment or none at all, his thoughts fixed on the One, let him always wander without desire and completely alone. During the rains, however, he should stay in one place.

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“An ascetic should abandon his family, sons and wife, all the auxiliary sciences of the Veda,²¹ the sacrifice, and the sacrificial string, and wander about in disguise.

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²¹ The auxiliary sciences (lit. limbs: *vedāṅga*) of the Veda are phonetics, meter, grammar, etymology, astronomy, and ritual.

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“Giving up desire, anger, pride, greed, delusion, and other such faults, an ascetic should become selfless.

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*[142]* “A sage should be free from love and hate; regard a clod, a stone, and gold as the same; stop hurting living beings; and have no desire for anything.

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²⁰ The section within brackets is not found in the NR, and it is given within brackets in the critical edition.

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"When he is free from pride and conceit, when he desists from hurting and slandering others, and when he comes to possess the knowledge of the Self, an ascetic shall attain liberation.

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"When a man is attached to his senses, undoubtedly he incurs guilt. But once he brings them under control, he will attain perfection. [MDh 2.93]

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"Desire is never quenched by enjoying the desired things. It will only grow stronger, like a fire fed with ghee. [MDh 2.94]

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"When a person feels neither elation nor revulsion at what he hears, touches, eats, sees, or smells, he should be regarded as a man who has conquered his senses. [MDh 2.98]

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"Only a man whose speech and mind are always pure and well guarded reaps all the fruits promised in the Vedāntas. [MDh 2.160]

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*[143]* "Let a Brahmin ever shrink from praise as if it were poison. Let him always long for insults as if they were nectar. [MDh 2.162]

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"For those who suffer insults sleep at ease, and at ease they rise from sleep. At ease, likewise, they roam this world. But a man who insults will perish. [MDh 2.163]

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"Let him bear harsh words with patience; let him not insult any man; and let him not show hostility to anyone for the sake of this body. [MDh 6.47]

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"At those who show anger let him not direct his anger in return; let him bless when he is cursed; and let him not utter a false speech scattered at the seven gates.²² [MDh 6.48]

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²² Commentators of the MDh give a variety of explanations of the phrase "seven gates." (1) The gates are the reasons for uttering falsehoods. The seven gates, thus, may refer to the seven pleasant worlds [cf. ĀrU 4, n. 3] for the sake of which a person may lie. (2) The gates are the origins of false speech. One may lie, for example, with reference to what one has seen, heard, or thought. The seven gates would thus be (a) intellect, mind, and the five senses; or (b) ego principle, mind, and the five senses; or (c) two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, and tongue.

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"Rapt in the joy of the inner self, he sits still, free from cares and longing. With himself as his sole companion, let him wander on earth seeking bliss. [MDh 6.49]

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"By restraining his sense organs, by destroying love and hate, *[144]* and by not hurting living beings, a man becomes fit for immortality. [MDh 6.60]

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“Let him abandon this impermanent dwelling place of the elements. It has beams of bones tied with tendons. It is plastered with flesh and blood and thatched with skin. It is foul-smelling, filled with feces and urine, and infested with old age and grief. Covered with dust and harassed by pain, it is the abode of disease. [MDh 6.76–77]

c6.s9.80

“If a man finds joy in the body—a heap of flesh, blood, pus, feces, urine, tendons, marrow, and bones—that fool will find joy even in hell.

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“The belief that ‘I am in my body’ is the path to Kālasūtra. It is the snare of Mahāvīci, and the row of Asipatravana.²³

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²³ These are the names of three of the hells in Hindu mythology. Cf. MDh 4.88–90; HDh 4:162–165. In Kālasūtra people are constantly being cut by a string the way newly thrown pots are cut by the potter’s string. In Mahāvīci people are submerged by waves and continually drown. Asipatana is a forest with rows of trees whose leaves are sharp blades that continually cut the inhabitants.

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“A man should spare no effort to rid himself of that belief, even if it costs him everything. A pious man should never even touch that belief, as he would not an outcaste wench carrying dog’s meat.

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[*145*] “Assigning his good deeds to his friends and his bad deeds to his foes, he attains the eternal Brahman through the practice of meditation. [MDh 6.79]

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“In this manner having abandoned little by little all attachments, and having become freed from all the pairs of opposites [JU 70, n. 25], he abides in Brahman alone. [MDh 6.81]

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“Seeking perfection, let him wander alone at all times without a companion. For he realizes that a solitary man, who neither forsakes nor is forsaken, attains perfection. [MDh 6.42]

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“A begging bowl, the foot of trees,²⁴ a ragged garment, the solitary life, and impartiality toward all: these are the marks of a liberated man. [MDh 6.44]

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²⁴ The foot of a tree is recognized as the ideal dwelling place of a renouncer.

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“After he has renounced he should be tranquil, show kindness toward all beings, carry a triple staff and a water pot, rejoice in solitude, and enter a village only in order to beg food. [YDh 3.58]

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“One constitutes a true mendicant. Two, the scriptures say, form a pair.²⁵ Three are called a village. Anything more make a city. [DSm 7.34]

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²⁵ The Sanskrit term *mithuna* (“pair”) implies sexual intimacy.

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[*146*] “Let him never form a city, or a village, or even a pair. An ascetic who forms these three falls from the Law proper to him. [DSm 7.35]

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“Such people gossip with each other about news of kings, alms-food, and the like. Intimacy undoubtedly gives rise to attachment, backbiting, and jealousy. [DSm 7.36]

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“Living alone and without desires, let him never talk with anyone. When he is addressed, let a recluse always merely respond: ‘Nārāyaṇa!’

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“Living alone, let him contemplate Brahman in thought, word, and deed. Let him never long for death or for life. [Let him await his appointed time, when his life will come to an end.

c6.s9.96

“Let him not yearn for death; let him not yearn for life.]²⁶ Let him await his appointed time, as a servant his command.²⁷ [MDh 6.45]

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²⁶ The section within brackets is missing in the NR, and it is placed within brackets in the critical edition.

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²⁷ The critical edition reads *nirdeśa* (“command”), even though the NR, which normally has better readings and which Schrader usually follows, has the reading *nirveśa* (“wages”). As Bühler remarks in his note to MDh 6.45, the latter appears to be the better reading.

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“A mendicant who is tongueless, a eunuch, lame, blind, deaf, [*147*] and stupid, will be released undoubtedly by these six means.

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“He who does not notice even as he eats that one thing is tasty and another is not, and whose words are kind, measured, and true, is said to be a **tongueless** man.

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“A man who remains the same when he sees a sixteen-year-old lass, as when he sees a newborn girl or a hundred-year-old woman, is a **eunuch.**

c6.s9.102

“A man who travels only to beg his food or to answer nature’s calls, and who even then does not go beyond a league, is indeed totally **lame.**

c6.s9.103

“When an ascetic, as he stands or walks, does not look afar but fixes his gaze on the ground just six feet in front of him, he is said to be **blind.**

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“Even when he hears words that are kind or unkind, that please or hurt, he who remains as if he has not heard them, is said to be **deaf**.

c6.s9.105

“When in the presence of sensual things a mendicant acts as if he is asleep, although he is able and has the full use of his faculties, he is said to be **stupid**.²⁸

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²⁸ The Sanskrit term, like its English counterpart, means a state both of stupor and of stupidity.

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[*148*] “Shows by actors and the like, gambling, friends, food, refreshments, and menstruating women: at these six let him never heedlessly look.

c6.s9.108

“Love, hate, pride, fraud, harm, and deceit directed at others: let an ascetic not consider these six even in his mind.

c6.s9.109

“Couches, white garments, talk of women, passion, sleeping during the day, and vehicles: these are the six causes of a renouncer’s fall.

c6.s9.110

“A man who meditates on the self should carefully avoid long journeys. Let him constantly study the Upaniṣadic teachings, which lead to liberation.

c6.s9.111

“An ascetic should not be addicted to fasts, dwell constantly at sacred bathing places, or make a habit of constantly studying or teaching.

c6.s9.112

“Let him always keep his conduct sinless, honest, and sincere, [*149*] withdrawing his senses completely, as a tortoise withdraws its limbs,

c6.s9.113

“He shall undoubtedly attain liberation whose mind and senses have ceased to act; who is without desires and possessions; who is beyond the pairs of opposites [JU 70, n. 25]; who neither salutes nor utters *svadhā* [KśU 36, n. 14; PhU 51, n. 7]; who is free from the conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’; who has no cares; who covets not; and who loves lonely places.

c6.s9.114

“After he achieves detachment, if a Vedic student or a householder or a forest hermit who is vigilant, who has attained mastery of rites, devotion, and knowledge, and who is independent, wishes to follow the principal mode of life,²⁹ he³⁰ should complete his Vedic studentship and become a householder. From home he should first become a forest hermit and then renounce. Or rather, he may renounce directly from Vedic studentship, or from home, or from the forest. Let him even renounce on the very day that he becomes detached, regardless of whether he has taken the vow or not, whether he has graduated or not, and whether he has kindled the sacred fire or is without a fire.

c6.s9.115

²⁹ The principal mode of life is renunciation.

c6.s9.116

³⁰ The section from here until the end of 150 is taken almost verbatim from the JU 64–66, where explanatory notes are given.

c6.s9.117

[*150*] “Here, some do indeed perform a sacrifice to Prajāpati. Or else, one may not do that but perform just a sacrifice to fire, for fire is the vital breath and thereby he offers to breath. Afterwards, let him perform just the ‘Three-Element’ offering. These are the three elements: goodness, energy, and darkness.

c6.s9.118

“This is your due place of birth
whence born you did shine.
Knowing this, O Fire, mount it,
and make our wealth increase. [*VS* 3.4; TS 1.5.5.2]

c6.s9.119

“Reciting this mantra, let him inhale the fire. Breath is truly the birthplace of fire. He declares the same when he says: ‘Go to breath; go to thy birthplace, *svāhā!*’

c6.s9.120

“Taking some fire out of the east-fire [LSU 15, n. 1], let him inhale it as described before. If he cannot obtain fire, let him offer the oblation in water, for the waters truly are all the gods. He should offer the oblation with the words: ‘I offer to all the gods, *svāhā!*’ He should then take some from it and partake of that water and of the salubrious and salvific oblation mixed with ghee. [*151*] He who has the knowledge of the self wanders about only after he has abandoned his topknot, sacrificial string, father, son, wife, rites, study, and other mantras.³¹ He shall thus learn that the mantra of liberation [namely, OM] is the triple Veda. That is Brahman. That should be worshipped.”

c6.s9.121

³¹ He gives up all mantras other than the mystic syllable OM.

c6.s9.122

“That is truly so.”

c6.s9.123

Then Nārada again asked the Grandfather: "How can a man be a Brahmin when he has no sacrificial string?" The Grandfather said to him:

c6.s9.124

["In³² the heart abide all the gods. The breaths are fixed within the heart. In the heart abide life and light, and, the wise say, the triple string.]^33

c6.s9.125

³² This entire section in verse until the beginning of 153 is taken from BU 84–87, where explanatory notes are given.

c6.s9.126

"Cutting his hair together with the topknot, let a wise man discard his external string. As his string let him wear the supreme and imperishable Brahman.

c6.s9.127

[*152*] " 'String,' they say, is derived from 'stringing.' The string is truly the highest abode. He who knows that string is a wise Brahmin; he has truly fathomed the Veda.

c6.s9.128

"Let a yogin who knows yoga and who sees the truth wear that string on which this whole world is strung like rows of pearls upon a string.

c6.s9.129

"Having entered upon the highest yoga, a wise man should discard the external string. Wise is he who wears this string that has the nature of Brahman. By wearing this string a man never becomes sullied or unclean.

c6.s9.130

"They alone on earth know the string, and they truly wear the sacrificial string who carry the string within themselves, and who wear the sacrificial string of knowledge.

c6.s9.131

"Knowledge is their topknot; in knowledge they are firmly fixed; and knowledge is their sacrificial string. Knowledge alone is supreme for them, and knowledge is said to be their purifier.

c6.s9.132

"The wise man who, like a fire, wears not a separate topknot, and whose topknot consists of knowledge is said to wear a topknot, and not others who just wear their hair long.

c6.s9.133

"This string, however, should be worn only by Brahmins and others who are qualified to perform Vedic rites. For the scriptures declare that it is a subsidiary element of a rite.

c6.s9.134

[*153*] "He possesses the complete Brahmin state, the knowers of Brahman say, whose topknot and sacrificial string consist of knowledge.

c6.s9.135

³³ The section within brackets is missing in the SR, and it is placed within brackets in the critical edition.

c6.s9.136

“Knowing that, if a Brahmin, after he has renounced, is unable to endure bodily discomfort, he should become a wandering ascetic who wears a single garment; who is shaven-headed; and who has no possessions [JU 68]. Or, if he wishes to follow the normal rule, he should become clad as he was at birth; he should renounce his sons, friends, wife, close relatives, and so forth, as well as Vedic recitation, and all rites; he should also forsake this entire universe; and he should discard his loincloth, staff, and garment. Enduring the pairs of opposites [JU 70, n. 25], he is affected neither by cold nor by heat, neither by pleasure nor by pain, neither by sleep nor by honor and dishonor. He is freed from the six waves of existence [PhU 48, n. 4]. He gives up slander, egotism, jealousy, pride, deceit, envy, indignation, desire, hate, pleasure, pain, lust, anger, greed, delusion, and the like, and he regards his body as a corpse. He considers nothing within or without as other than himself. He pays obeisance to no one. He neither pays homage nor utters *svāhā* or *svadhā* [KśU 36, n. 14; PhU 51, n. 7]. He neither blames nor gives praise. Let him live without forethought or planning, [154] satisfied with whatever he receives at random. Let him not accept gold and the like. For him there is neither invitation nor dismissal [PhU 51, n. 8], neither mantras nor non-mantras, neither meditation nor worship, neither the perceptible nor the imperceptible, neither the separate nor the non-separate, neither day nor night [PhU 51]. At all times he lives resolutely without a home in deserted houses, at the foot of trees, in temples, on haystacks, in potter’s sheds, in sheds for fire sacrifices, in the southeastern quarter, on the sandy banks of rivers, in cellars, in glens, by waterfalls, in open fields, or in a forest. Like Śvetaketu, Ṛbhu, Nidāgha, Vṛṣabha, Durvāsas, Saṃvartaka, Dattātreya, and Raivataka, he has no visible emblem; he keeps his conduct concealed; he acts as if he were a fool, a lunatic, or a goblin; and, although he is sane, he behaves like a madman. Triple staff, sling [LSU 21, n. 27], bowl, water pot, [155] waistband, and loincloth: let him abandon all these in water, saying: ‘Earth, *svāhā!*’ Waistband, loincloth, staff, garment, and water pot: let him throw all these in water and thereafter wander clad as he was at birth and seeking the self. He is clad as he was at birth. He is indifferent to the pairs of opposites [JU 70, n. 25]. He has no possessions. He is firmly established in the path of the true Brahman. His mind is pure. At the proper time and merely to sustain his life, he eats food that he receives without asking,³⁴ using his hand or his mouth as a begging bowl [ĀrU 11, n. 14], and remaining the same both when he receives and when he does not. He is selfless. He devotes himself completely to meditating on the pure Brahman. He is grounded in the Supreme Self. He is intent on the uprooting of both pure and impure acts [JU 69–71]. After renouncing, he gives up the three bodies³⁵ in the manner of the wasp and the worm,³⁶ calling to mind the mystic OM with the thought: ‘I am Brahman, who is absolute bliss and pure consciousness.’ Such a man, who abandons his body through renunciation, has done all there is to do. *[156]* That is the secret teaching.”

c6.s9.137

³⁴ Here I have departed from the critical edition, which reads: *vā yācitāhāraṃ āharan* (“he eats food he has begged”). In the light of the earlier statements that a renouncer should live without forethought or planning and that he should be satisfied with whatever he receives at random, the reading clearly should be: *vāyācitāhāraṃ āharan*.

c6.s9.138

³⁵ The three bodies are the gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body. The gross body is the visible body that perishes at death. The subtle body survives death and accompanies the self from one life to another. The causal body is the cosmic illusory power (*māyā*) that creates both the gross and the subtle body. See below NpU 209–213.

c6.s9.139

³⁶ The maxim of wasp and worm exemplifies the ancient Indian belief that one can assume the form of another by focusing one’s mind on it. “On whatever a man focuses his entire mind through love, hate, or fear, he attains its form. A worm [possibly a larva], contemplating the wasp who has brought him to his hive, O King, becomes like a wasp without losing its former shape.” BhP 11.9.22–23. See also below NpU 178 and Sprockhoff 1976, 168, n. 42.

Chapter Four

c6.s9.t1.1

“Forsaking the worlds and the Vedas, the senses and the objects of sense, he who abides in the self alone attains the highest state.

c6.s9.t1.2

“A good ascetic should never disclose his name, lineage, and so forth, his Vedic school, the time and place of his birth, or his learning, rewards,³⁷ age, conduct, vow, and piety.

c6.s9.t1.3

³⁷ The meaning of “rewards” (*phala*) is unclear. It may refer to the heavenly rewards he may have acquired through meritorious deeds. The reading, however, appears to be uncertain. The same verse in Ypra 68.3 reads *bala* (“powers”), and in Ydhs, 103, it reads *kula* (“family”). See also MDh 3.109.

c6.s9.t1.4

“Let him neither converse with any woman, nor call to mind one he has previously seen. Let him avoid talking about women and not even look at a picture of one.

c6.s9.t1.5

“An ascetic’s mind is inevitably perturbed if he behaves with women foolishly in these four ways. When his mind is perturbed he will perish.

c6.s9.t1.6

“Craving, anger, falsehood, deceit, greed, delusion, likes and dislikes, fine arts, the work of interpretation, desire, passion, possessions, [*157*] egotism, selfishness, the practice of medicine, law enforcement, atonement, travel abroad, and the use of mantras, medicines, poisons, and blessings: all these are forbidden to him. Practicing them will cause his downfall.

c6.s9.t1.7

“A sage who is intent on liberation should not say ‘Come!’ ‘Go!’ or ‘Stay!’ or utter words of welcome or respect even to a friend.

c6.s9.t1.8

“A mendicant should neither accept nor oblige others to give him gifts. Let him likewise not press others to do so even in a dream.

c6.s9.t1.9

“An ascetic should forsake grief and joy; he should not be perturbed when he sees or hears of the prosperity or misfortune of his wife, brothers, sons, and the like, or of his relatives.

c6.s9.t1.10

“Non-injury, true speech, non-stealing, chastity, poverty, humility, cheerfulness, serenity, firmness, candor, detachment, service of the teacher, faith, patience, self-control, tranquility, equanimity, fortitude, kindliness, forbearance, compassion, [*158*] modesty, knowledge, wisdom, yogic restraint, a light diet, and steadfastness: these are said to be the duties proper to self-controlled ascetics.

c6.s9.t1.11

“The fourth type of ascetic [ĀśU 99] is a Paramahaṃsa, who is indifferent to the pairs of opposites [JU 70, n. 25], ever abides in goodness, and regards all with equal eyes. He is, indeed, Nārāyaṇa in visible form.

c6.s9.t1.12

"Outside the rains let him spend one night in a village and five nights in a town. During the rainy season, however, let him live in one place for four months [ĀrU 8, n. 11].

c6.s9.t1.13

"A mendicant should not spend two nights in the same village. Doing so will give rise to passion and the like, as a result of which he will go to hell.

c6.s9.t1.14

"In deserted areas on the outskirts of villages let him roam the earth like a worm, homeless and controlled. During the rains let him stay in one place.

c6.s9.t1.15

"Naked or clad in a single garment, rapt in contemplation, with his sight fixed on the One, and free from desire, let him wander on earth without offending the path of good men.

c6.s9.t1.16

[*159*] "Observing the duties proper to him, let a mendicant yogin at all times wander in a pure region, looking always at the ground.³⁸

c6.s9.t1.17

³⁸ A renouncer inspects the ground in front of him to avoid trampling little creatures. Cf. MDh 6.46, 68. Not looking around while he walks is also a sign of concentration and modesty. Cf. Ypra 57.12–13.

c6.s9.t1.18

"Let him not wander about at night, at midday, at dawn and dusk, in deserted or inaccessible regions, or where harm may come to living beings.

c6.s9.t1.19

"A mendicant may spend one night in a village, two in a burg, three in a town, and five in a city. During the rains let him remain in a place that has plenty of pure water.

c6.s9.t1.20

"Regarding all beings as himself, let a mendicant wander about the earth, as if he were blind, hunchbacked, deaf, mad, and dumb [NpU 146–147].

c6.s9.t1.21

"A bath is ordained three time a day for hermits and Bahūdakas, and just once a day for Haṃsas. There is no such rule for Paramahaṃsas.

c6.s9.t1.22

"Silence, yogic posture, meditation, patience, solitude, [*160*] desirelessness, and equanimity: these seven are practiced by single-staffed ascetics [PhU 50].

c6.s9.t1.23

"Bathing and the like are not ordained for men who live in the Paramahaṃsa order. Hence they must perform just the abandonment of all mental activities.

c6.s9.t1.24

“Those who take delight in this collection of skin, flesh, blood, tendons, marrow, fat, and bones, stinking with feces and urine—what difference is there between them and worms?

c6.s9.t1.25

“What has this body—a great pile of phlegm and so forth—in common with qualities such as beauty, fragrance, and loveliness?

c6.s9.t1.26

“If a man finds joy in the body—a heap of flesh, blood, pus, feces, urine, tendons, marrow, and bones—that fool will find joy even in hell. [NpU 144]

c6.s9.t1.27

“Even though a woman’s private parts are not different from a deep and festering ulcer, men generally deceive themselves by imagining them to be different.

c6.s9.t1.28

“I salute those who take delight in a piece of skin split in two scented by the breaking of the wind! What could be more rash?

c6.s9.t1.29

*[161]* “There are neither duties nor emblems [JU 69, n. 24] for a wise man. A sage should be selfless, fearless, tranquil, and indifferent to the pairs of opposites [JU 70, n. 25]. He should accept food without respect to the class of the donor; he should go naked or wear a loincloth; and he should be devoted to meditation. A yogin who is thus intent on meditation is fit to become Brahman.

c6.s9.t1.30

“Even when this emblem [JU 69, n. 24] is present, knowledge alone is the cause: the entire set of emblems is of no use for the release of creatures in this world. [MBh 12.308.48]

c6.s9.t1.31

“When no one knows if he is good or bad, if he is learned or ignorant, or if he is virtuous or vile, he is then a true Brahmin. [VDh 6.44]

c6.s9.t1.32

“Resorting to the practice of disguise, therefore, let a wise man who knows the Law live a life of obscurity, without emblems and devoted to the vow of chastity.

c6.s9.t1.33

“Unrelated to class or order and an enigma to all creatures, let him wander about the earth, as if he were blind, stupid, and dumb [NpU 146–147].

c6.s9.t1.34

*[162]* “Seeing him thus with a serene mind, the gods are filled with envy. The absence of emblems brings release: so the Vedas teach.”

c6.s9.t1.35

Thereupon Nārada said to the Grandfather: "Describe to us the procedure of renunciation." "Yes," said the Grandfather in assent, and declared:

c6.s9.t1.36

"Regardless of whether it is the orderly renunciation [NpU 137, n. 13] or the renunciation of those who are in mortal danger [JU 69, n. 22], he should first perform the expiatory penances³⁹ and then offer the eight *śrāddha*⁴⁰ oblations to prepare himself for entering the fourth order. The eight *śrāddha* oblations should be offered to the gods, to the seers, to the divine beings, to the human beings, to the elements, to the fathers, to the mothers, and to the self, respectively. He should invite a pair of Brahmins to represent each of the following: at the outset the All-gods named Satya and Vasu,⁴¹ then Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara [Śiva] at the oblation to the gods; the divine seers, the royal seers, and the human seers at the oblation to the seers; the Vasus, the Rudras, and the Ādityas at the oblation to the divine beings; Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana, Sanatkumāra, and Sanatsujāta at the oblation to the human beings; [*163*] the five gross elements beginning with earth, eyes, and the other organs, and the four classes of living beings at the oblation to the elements;⁴² the father, the paternal grandfather, and the paternal great-grandfather at the oblation to the fathers; the mother, the paternal grandmother, and the paternal great-grandmother at the oblation to the mothers; the self, the father, and the paternal grandfather, or, leaving out the father if his father is still alive, the self, the paternal grandfather, and the paternal great-grandfather, at the oblation to the self. If he performs them as eight separate rites, he should offer the eight oblations on eight separate days, whereas if he performs them as a single rite, he should offer them all on a single day, in each case using the mantras proper to his own Vedic branch.⁴³ He should honor the Brahmins in the manner ordained for an oblation to deceased ancestors, and duly complete the rites up to the feeding of the Brahmins. Then he should offer the balls of rice and dismiss the Brahmins after gratifying them with sacrificial fees and betel leaves.

c6.s9.t1.37

³⁹ These expiatory penances [*kṛcchra*] are described in detail in Ypra 6.1–19. See also ĀśU 101, n. 9.

c6.s9.t1.38

⁴⁰ *Śrāddhas* are offerings made to departed ancestors. The ceremonies include the feeding of invited Brahmins who represent the ancestors. By extension, *śrāddhas* are offered also to other beings, such as gods and seers. The eight *śrāddhas* offered prior to renunciation include all the classes of beings inhabiting the universe.

c6.s9.t1.39

⁴¹ A *śrāddha* is offered to a group of divine beings known as *viśvedeva* (All-gods) before the eight other *śrāddhas*. Some sources enumerate ten All-gods, two of whom are to be invited to each of the five types of *śrāddhas*. Satya and Vasu are invited to a *śrāddha* performed at an auspicious occasion (*vṛddhi* or *nāndīmukha*) such as renunciation. See Ypra, trans. 7.23n.

c6.s9.t1.40

⁴² Five elements are earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The five organs of perception are eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin, and the five organs of action are larynx, hands, feet, and the organs of excretion and procreation. The four classes of living beings are the viviparous, the oviparous, and those produced by sweat and germination.

c6.s9.t1.41

⁴³ When a series of rites are performed separately, all the ceremonies are performed at each rite. When the series is performed as a single rite, then the ceremonies common to them are performed only once. Only the principal rituals specific to each are performed separately. The Sanskrit technical term for the latter method is *tantreṇa*. A Brahmin belongs to one of the several branches or schools [*śākhā*] attached to the four Vedas. Each branch has special mantras to be used at Vedic rituals. The differences in this rite for several Vedic branches are recorded in Rudradeva’s *Saṃnyāsapaddhati*, 2.1–4.81.

c6.s9.t1.42

[*164*] “Leaving seven hairs so that he may complete the remaining rites. . . .

c6.s9.t1.43

“Leaving aside seven or eight hairs so that he may complete the remaining rites, a Brahmin should get his hair and beard shaved and his nails cut.

c6.s9.t1.44

“Following these texts, he should save seven hairs⁴⁴ and shave himself excluding the armpits and the pubic region. He should then bathe, perform the evening twilight worship [ĀrU 7, n. 7], mutter the *gāyatrī* [ĀrU 6, n. 4] 1,000 times, and offer the sacrifice to Brahman.⁴⁵ Next, he should fetch his sacred fire, conclude the recitation of the text of his own Vedic branch, and in the manner prescribed therein perform the ghee oblation up to the offerings to Agni and Soma. Having completed the ceremonies of that oblation, he should eat barley meal three times with the mantras: ‘OṂ Homage to the Self. . . .’⁴⁶ Then, after he has sipped water, he should guard that fire and, sitting to its north on a black antelope skin, keep awake listening to Purāṇas.

c6.s9.t1.45

⁴⁴ These hairs are saved to serve as a topknot, because later on the rite calls for it to be plucked out: NpU 167. I have been unable to trace the two passages cited here as authorities.

c6.s9.t1.46

⁴⁵ The sacrifice to Brahman may mean either the daily recitation of the Veda, which is one of the five Great Sacrifices, or the oblation to Brahman (LSU 15, n. 5).

c6.s9.t1.47

⁴⁶ The mantras are: “OṂ Homage to the self! OṂ Homage to the inner self! OṂ Homage to the highest self! OṂ Homage to Prajāpati!” See Ypra 21.48.

c6.s9.t1.48

“At the end of the fourth watch⁴⁷ he should bathe, have a porridge offering cooked on that fire, *[165]* and offer sixteen oblations of food while reciting the Puruṣa hymn.⁴⁸ He should then offer the Virajā oblation,⁴⁹ after which he should sip water and present the priests with a garment, a golden vessel, and a cow, along with the sacrificial fee. Having completed all that, he should abandon the Veda and then recite:

c6.s9.t1.49

⁴⁷ A watch is a three-hour period. The end of the fourth watch of the night coincides with daybreak.

c6.s9.t1.50

⁴⁸ This hymn is Ṛg Veda 10.90. An oblation is offered with each of its sixteen verses. The porridge consists of rice or barley boiled with milk or butter.

c6.s9.t1.51

⁴⁹ At this rite fuel sticks, ghee, and boiled rice or barley are offered after reciting each of the nineteen Virajā mantras. For a description of the rite and the mantras see Ypra 14.1–47.

c6.s9.t1.52

“May the Maruts, may Indra,
may Bṛhaspati sprinkle me!
May this Fire sprinkle me with long life,
with wealth, and with strength!
Long may he make me live! [TĀ 2.18.1]

c6.s9.t1.53

“He should deposit the fire in himself with this mantra:

c6.s9.t1.54

“With your sacred body, O Fire,
come here and ascend my self,
bringing me great and manly riches.
Becoming the sacrifice, reach
your birthplace, the sacrifice.
Born from the earth, O Fire,
come here with your own abode. [TB 2.5.8.8]

c6.s9.t1.55

"After contemplating that fire, he should circumambulate, worship, and then abandon it.

c6.s9.t1.56

"Next, he should perform the morning twilight worship [166] and, after reciting the *gāyatrī* 1,000 times, worship the sun. He should then enter the water up to his navel; offer water to the guardian deities of the eight directions; and abandon the *gāyatrī*, making the *sāvitrī* enter the Great Utterances.⁵⁰ He should then recite:

c6.s9.t1.57

⁵⁰ *Sāvitrī* is another name for the *gāyatrī* verse (ĀrU 6, n. 4). Sources give different descriptions of the rite by which this mantra is abandoned by renouncers. According to some, the renouncer merely says three times: "I enter *sāvitrī*." According to others (PpU 280), before its final abandonment the *sāvitrī* is first made to enter the Great Utterances while reciting: "I make the *sāvitrī* enter the Great Utterances." The latter consist of the names of the first three or of all seven pleasant worlds: *bhūḥ*, *bhuvaḥ*, *svar*, *mahas*, *jana*, *tapas*, *satya* [ĀrU 4, n. 3].

c6.s9.t1.58

"I am the shaker of the tree!
My fame is like a mountain peak!
I am supremely pure, like the
excellent nectar in the sun.
I am a treasure shining bright,
immortal, undecaying, and wise!
This is the Vedic recitation of Triśaṅku. [TU 1.10]

"Exalted in the Vedic hymns,
he possesses every form.
Surpassing the Vedic hymns,
he has sprung from the immortal.
May this Indra deliver me with wisdom!
May I, O God, be the immortal's keeper!
May my body be vigorous!
May my tongue be exceedingly sweet!
[*167*] May I hear greatly with my ears!
You are Brahman's sheath, covered with wisdom!
Preserve for me what I have heard. [TU 1.4.1]

"I have turned away from the desire for a wife, from the desire for wealth, and from the desire for worlds. [Cf. BāU 3.5.1]

c6.s9.t1.59

"He should then proclaim either mentally or aloud first in a low pitch, then in a medium pitch, and finally in a high pitch:

c6.s9.t1.60

“OṂ Earth! I have renounced!
OṂ Atmosphere! I have renounced!
OṂ Heaven! I have renounced!
OṂ Earth, Atmosphere, Heaven! I have renounced!

c6.s9.t1.61

“Thereafter, he should drink some water, saying:

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