Second Adhyaya, Thirteenth Khanda (1 mantra)

Mantra 2.13.1.

Let one realise the glory of the five-fold Lord called Vāmadevya Sāman in the act of generation.

1. Pradyumna in the thinking of wife, Vāsudeva in talking with her, Nārāyaṇa, etc., in sleeping, etc. This is the Vāmadevya Sāman refuged in the various acts which bring about union of husband and wife. He who knows this Vāmadevya Sāman, thus refuged in the Lord of Union, never abandons his wife, becomes strong, gets life Eternal, lives all-knowing, great in knowledge and learning, great in fame. His vow is “Let no wife be abandoned.”—129.

Note.—Pradyumna in thinking of the Lord, Vāsudeva in fervent pouring out of the heart to the Lord, Nārāyaṇa in loss of consciousness and reposing in the Lord, Aniruddha in regaining consciousness and working as the instrument of the Beloved, and Saṅkarṣaṇa in rising above time and space. This is the Vāmadevya Sāman refuged in the Union. He who knows this Vāmadevya Sāman, thus refuged in the Lord of Union, remains ever united with the Lord, becomes strong, etc. His motto is “Let no one be despised.”

Note.—This Khaṇḍa is generally left untranslated, as it is supposed to be untranslatable. But it is a pity that the modern scholars never pay any attention to the fact that the Khaṇḍa is sacred to a Ṛṣi called Vāmadeva, one who is described in the Veda as having united himself with God and having retained his consciousness after such union. In the Ṛg Veda we find this Rishi exclaiming in his ecstasy “I am the Sun, I am the Moon.” (Ṛg Veda, IV-26. I. Br. U. I. 4. 10). This is the Ṛṣi of this Khaṇḍa. I, therefore, lay this suggestion before the scholars of Sanskrit, to consider seriously whether the whole Khaṇḍa here may not be a description of the union of the human soul with the Divine Beloved. The word Mithuna, generally translated as ‘husband and wife,’ is expressly used in this Upaniṣad in the first Adhyāya as the name of the primary couple, produced by Brāhmaṇ, namely, spirit and matter, Prāṇa and Rayi, or the Chief Breath and Sarasvatī, It is the union of these two that has produced the whole universe. Madhva has done, no doubt, a great service, by rescuing this Khaṇḍa from the obscenity said to attach to it. In their simplest, plain meaning, the words of this Khaṇḍa describe the union of husband and wife. But if we take the suggestion contained in the name of the Ṛshi, and the fact that he was one of those few God-absorbed, God-intoxicated sages, we cannot but come to the conclusion, that this Khaṇḍa describes, in a poetical language, the coming together of the man and God, The five stages through which this union with God takes place are described in it. The first is the stage of constant thinking of God and reciting his name. The second is the stage of pouring out one’s heart to God, intensely praying to Him to reveal Himself to His devotee. The third is the stage when he feels the presence of God and loses his own consciousness in that Presence. This is the state of trance called ‘reposing in the Beloved.’ The fourth is the stage when he awakens from that trance, and works with Him. He becomes now the agent of the Lord, and the last when he is absorbed, when time and'space vanish. When Kala or time, and pāra or space are gone (gaccati) are gone for ever. This is the last stage. It is in this stage that the great vow given to him becomes literally true. The vow of this mithunī or God-united sago is nakftñcana pariharet, let him not reject anybody or any tiling, to him everything is divine, such a sage would drink ambrosia and poison with equal indifference. For he sees God everywhere and in the bliss of his union cṛes like his master Vāmadeva, I am the Sun, I am the Moon, yea, I am everything.

Madhva’s commentary called the Bhāṣya:

A person who meditates on the Lord Puruṣottama in the five-fold acts of generation, and as having the five-fold form becomes never an abandoner of his wives (if by chance he happens to have more than one wife) and ultimately gets release undoubtedly.

Note.—The phrase mithunī bhavati of the text means one who never abandons any one of his wives, but treats them all impartially, if he by some unforeseen accident marries more than one wife. The old Commentators have misunderstood this Khaṇḍa, and the words “na kāñcana pariharet” have been taken by them to mean that such a person has no binding as regards the law of sexual intercourse. This, however, is not the meaning of those words. They simply mean that among his many wives, he should not abandon or reject any one, but equally deal with them, so far as marital relations are concerned.

The words “mithune protam” means dependent upon or refuged in the Lord dwelling in mithuna. This word when literally analysed means the Lord, as the Commentator shows:—

The Lord is called Mithunam (Mithuna) because He brings together (nayati) two peopled (mitho), the “a” of mithe becomes “u”.