Chandogya Upanishad (english Translation)

by Swami Lokeswarananda | 165,421 words | ISBN-10: 8185843910 | ISBN-13: 9788185843919

This is the English translation of the Chandogya-upanishad, including a commentary based on Swami Lokeswarananda’s weekly discourses; incorporating extracts from Shankara’s bhasya. The Chandogya Upanishad is a major Hindu philosophical text incorporated in the Sama Veda, and dealing with meditation and Brahman. This edition includes the Sanskrit t...

Verse 3.10.4

स यावदादित्य उत्तरत उदेता दक्षिणतोऽस्तमेता द्विस्तावदूर्ध्वं उदेतार्वागस्तमेता साध्यानामेव तावदाधिपत्यंस्वाराज्यं पर्येता ॥ ३.१०.४ ॥
॥ इति दशमः खण्डः ॥

sa yāvadāditya uttarata udetā dakṣiṇato'stametā dvistāvadūrdhvaṃ udetārvāgastametā sādhyānāmeva tāvadādhipatyaṃsvārājyaṃ paryetā || 3.10.4 ||
|| iti daśamaḥ khaṇḍaḥ ||

4. As long as the sun rises in the north and sets in the south, twice that long will he [who knows this] rise above and set below. That person will also attain sovereighnt and freedom like the Sādhyas [i.e., he can move up and down as he likes].

Word-for-word explanation:

Yāvat, so long as; ādityaḥ, the sun; uttarataḥ udetā, rises in the north; dakṣiṇataḥ astam-etā, [and] sets in the south; saḥ, he [who knows this]; dviḥ-tāvat, twice that long; ūrḍhvaḥ udetā, will rise above; arvāk astam-etā, [and] set down below; eva tāvat, that long; sādhyānām, of the Sādhyas; ādhipatyam, sovereignty; svārājyam, freedom; pari-etā, will attain. Iti daśamaḥ khaṇḍaḥ, here ends the tenth section.

Commentary:

The sun is stationary. It neither rises nor sets. If it appears to rise or set, it is because of how we perceive it. Similarly, the sun may seem to rise in a different direction, depending on where we are when we see it.

The Vasus, Rudras, Ādityas, etc., are minor gods and goddesses. They have not yet attained the status of Brahman, but they are on their way to doing so. However, anyone can attain the status of a minor god or godddess—that is, he can be like a Rudra, for instance. By performing sacrifices mentioned in the scriptures a person can share with those minor gods and goddesses the special worlds reserved for them. Such a person may even enjoy many powers and privileges, but he is still far away from the status of Brahman.

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