Upanishads (Müller) — II, 2, 3

The Upanishads, Part 1 (SBE01): Aitareya-Âranyaka: ... | Internet Sacred Text ArchiveSacred Texts Hinduism Index Previous Next Buy this Book at Amazon.com *The Upanishads, Part 1 (SBE01)*, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com ### THIRD KHA*N**D*A. 1. While Vi*s*vâmitra was going to repeat the hymns of this day (the mahâvrata), Indra sat down near him 4. Vi*s*vâmitra (guessing that Indra wanted food) said to him, 'This (the verses of the hymn) is food,' and repeated the thousand B*ri*hatî verses 5 [paragraph continues] By means of this he went to the delightful home of Indra (Svarga). 2. Indra said to him: '*Ri*shi, thou hast come to my delightful home. *Ri*shi, repeat a second hymn 1.' Vi*s*vâmitra (guessing that Indra wanted food) said to him, 'This (the verses of the hymn) is food,' and repeated the thousand B*ri*hatî verses. By means of this he went to the delightful home of Indra (Svarga). 3. Indra said to him: '*Ri*shi, thou hast come to my delightful home. *Ri*shi, repeat a third hymn.' Vi*s*vâmitra (guessing that Indra wanted food) said to him, 'This (the verses of the hymn) is food,' and repeated the thousand B*ri*hatî verses. By means of this he went to the delightful home of Indra (Svarga). 4. Indra said to him: '*Ri*shi, thou hast come to my delightful home. I grant thee a boon.' Vi*s*vâmitra said: 'May I know thee.' Indra said: 'I am Prâ*n*a (breath), O *Ri*shi, thou art Prâ*n*a, all things are Prâ*n*a. For it is Prâ*n*a who shines as the sun, and I here pervade all regions under that form. This food of mine (the hymn) is my friend and my support (dakshi*n*a). This is the food prepared by Visvâmitra. I am verily he who shines (the sun).' ### Footnotes 218:4 Upanishasasâda, instead of upanishasâda. The mistake is probably due to a correction, sa for sha; the commentator, however, considers it as a Vedic license. Skâro 'dhika*s* *kh*ândasa*h*. 218:5 These are meant for the Nishkevalya hymn recited at the noon-libation of the Mahâvrata. That hymn consists of ten parts, corresponding, as we saw, to ten parts of a bird, viz. its body, neck, head, root of wings, right wing, left wing, tail, belly, chest, and thighs. The verses corresponding to these ten parts, beginning with tad id asa bhuvaneshu *g*yesh*th*am, are given in the first Âra*n*yaka, and more fully in the fifth Âra*n*yaka by *S*aunaka. p. 219 Though they consist of many metres, yet, when one counts the syllables, they give a thousand B*ri*hatî verses, each consisting of thirty-six syllables. 219:1 Although the Nishkevalya is but one hymn, consisting of eighty t*ri**k*as, yet as these eighty t*ri**k*as were represented as three kinds of food (see Ait. Âr. II, 1, 2, 2-4), the hymn is represented as three hymns, first as eighty Gâyatrî t*ri**k*as, then as eighty B*ri*hatî t*ri**k*as, lastly as eighty Ush*n*ih t*ri**k*as. Next: II, 2, 4