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 4.2.3

तमु ह परः प्रत्युवाचाह हारेत्वा शूद्र तवैव सह गोभिरस्त्विति तदु ह पुनरेव जानश्रुतिः पौत्रायणः सहस्रं गवां निष्कमश्वतरीरथं दुहितरं तदादाय प्रतिचक्रमे ॥ ४.२.३ ॥

tamu ha paraḥ pratyuvācāha hāretvā śūdra tavaiva saha gobhirastviti tadu ha punareva jānaśrutiḥ pautrāyaṇaḥ sahasraṃ gavāṃ niṣkamaśvatarīrathaṃ duhitaraṃ tadādāya praticakrame || 4.2.3 ||

3. Raikva said to him, ‘You śūdra, the necklace and chariot along with the cows—let all these be yours.’ Jānaśruti left and then again came back—this time with one thousand cows, a gold necklace, a chariot drawn by mules, and his own daughter.

Word-for-word explanation:

Tam u, to him [Jānaśruti]; ha paraḥ, the other [i.e., Raikva]; pratyuvāca, replied; aha śūdra, O you śūdra; hāra-itvā, the necklace and chariot; saha gobhiḥ, along with the cows; tava eva astu iti, they may be with you; tat u ha jānaśrutiḥ pautrāyaṇaḥ, then Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa; punaḥ eva, again; sahasram gavām, one thousand cows; niṣkam, a gold necklace; aśvatarīratham, a chariot drawn by mules; duhitaram, his own daughter; tat ādāya, taking that with him; praticakrame, he went back.

Commentary:

Jānaśruti was a kṣatriya. Why then did Raikva address him as a śūdra? Because Jānaśruti thought he could tempt Raikva to teach him Brahmavidyā, the knowledge of Brahman, through wealth. He did not understand

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