Isopanisad (Madhva commentary)

by Srisa Chandra Vasu | 1909 | 8,868 words | ISBN-13: 9789332869165

This is Mantra 1 of the Isopanisad (Isha Upanishad), the English translation and commentary of Madhva (Madhvacharya) called the Bhasya. The Isopanisad (Or Ishavasyopanishad) deals with topics such as Vidya, Advidya, Karma, Atman and other important concepts found in both the Advaita and Dvaita branches of the Vedanta school of Hindu philsophy.

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of Īśa-upaniṣad mantra 15:

हिरण्मयेन पात्रेण सत्यस्यापिहितं मुखम् ।
तत्त्वं पूषन्नपावृणु सत्यधर्माय दृष्टये ॥ १५ ॥

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasyāpihitaṃ mukham |
tattvaṃ pūṣannapāvṛṇu satyadharmāya dṛṣṭaye || 15 ||

hiraṇmayena—by the golden, brilliant; pātreṇa—disk; Who evaporates the water and saves the world. The solar orb is called the golden disk. satyasya—of the True, of the Indestructible Person, of Brahman, ie, Viṣṇu; apihitam—is covered, concealed, not known to all; Veiled. mukham—face, ie, the whole body; Part taken for the whole. tat—that; tvam—thou; pūṣan—O Full, O Nourisher; apāvriṇu—open, unveil, remove; satya-dharmāya—he who holds (dhārayat), in his heart of hearts, the True, i.e., the devotee of the True; The lover of the Lord Viṣṇu. The upholder of the True. dṛṣṭaye—to see, or I may see, or find.

15. The entrance to the True is covered by a shining disk, that (disk) do thou, O Pūṣan, remove, for me who is devoted to the True, that I may see Thee.

Commentary: The Bhāṣya of Madhva (Madhvācārya):

(English translation of Madhva’s 13th-century commentary called the Īśāvāsyopaniṣadbhāṣya or Īśopaniṣadbhāṣya)

The phrase ‘By the golden disk’ means by ‘the solar orb.’ The phrase ‘Of the true’ denotes ‘of Viṣṇu.’ By this solar photosphere is constantly hidden the body of the Lord. Pūṣan, the Full Lord Viṣṇu, reveals that form Himself to His devotees, called here Satya-dharmas—the Lover of the True.

Note.—The word hiraṇmaya means “like a golden,” i.e., full of light, effulgent. The word pātra means that which drinks (pā) the water and saves (tra) the world. Therefore the whole phrase hiranmayeṇa pātreṇa means “by the solar disk” which is refulgent as gold, and which saves the world by evaporating waters and raining them back. The word satyasya means of him who is full of “sat” or good qualities. He is inside the solar orb and His body is covered by the solar disk. O Pūṣan, remove the veil from Thy face that I may see Thee. I who am a Satya-dharma—who constantly meditate on Thee the Satya.

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