Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (with the Commentary of Śaṅkarācārya)

by Swāmī Mādhavānanda | 1950 | 272,359 words | ISBN-10: 8175051027

This Upanishad is widely known for its philosophical statements and is ascribed to Yajnavalkya. It looks at reality as being indescribable and its nature to be infinite and consciousness-bliss. Ethics revolve around the five Yajnas or sacrifices. This book includes the english translation of the Bhāṣya of Śaṅkara. The Shankara-Bhashya is the most ...

Preface to the First Edition

Extracts From The Preface To The First Edition

The long-felt want of a reliable, complete English translation of so important a book as Śaṇkara’s Commentary on the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad has urged me to venture on this difficult undertaking. Had the long-promised translation by Dr. Gaṅgānāth Jhā, in Mr. Śeshāchāri’s series, come out, or had Dr. Röer been living to complete, and revise, his translation, which extends only up to the first chapter of the book and is long out of print, or if Prof. Hiriyānnā of Mysore had completed his admirable edition, which covers only the first three sections of that chapter, there would have been no necessity for another edition. But since the presentation in English of Śaṅkara’s longest and greatest commentary on the Upaniṣads seemed to me to be overdue, I have prepared this edition for the use of ^those students of Vedānta whose knowledge of Sanskrit is not as high as that of English.

Regarding both the text and the commentary care has been taken to make the translation faithful, and as literal as possible consistently with smooth reading. Owing to the difference in structure between Sanskrit and English sentences, great difficulty has been experienced in those portions where Śaṅkara explains the words of the text. As far as possible, I have tried to make these passages read like a connected piece. For this purpose I have avoided the common practice of transliterating the Sanskrit words as they occur in the original text, to be followed by the translation of the explanatory word or words—a practice which has a very disagreeable jerky effect. Instead I have quoted their equivalents from the running translation of the text, in the order in which they occur there. These have been put in Italics to distinguish them easily from the commentary. The advantage of this direct method will be obvious to every reader.

The text of the Upaniṣad has been given in Devanāgarī characters, and has been moderately punctuated for easy comprehension. This has necessitated the disjoining of some words. I have left the full stops practically undisturbed. The text is followed by the running translation in comparatively large types. Next comes the translation of the commentary in smaller types. I have mainly used Ashtekar’s edition, though I have also consulted the Ānandāśrama edition. Words supplied to complete the sense as well as those that are explanatory have been put in brackets. Some passages, of both text and commentary, although possessing a deep spiritual significance, have been omitted in the translation to suit the exigencies of modem taste. Extra space between portions of the commentary indicates that the commentary that follows is introductory to the next paragraph of the text.

The use of capitals in English has presented an additional difficulty. The same word ‘self,’ for instance, has had to be used sometimes with a capital and sometimes witḥout it, according as it signifies the individual or the Supreme Self. Occasionally both forms have had to be used in the same sentence, where the popular conception about the self as being limited has been corrected by a presentment of the truth that the two are identical. Those to whom this distinction of capital and small letters appears as puzzling will do well to ignore it altogether. The same remark applies to the question of gender, which in Sanskrit belongs to the word itself. In translation the gender has often had to be varied according to the English idiom, producing sometimes an unpleasant effect owing to a sudden translation.

I have tried my best to make the translation lucid. For this reason I have avoided the repetition of Sanskrit terms as far as possible, and substituted their nearest English equivalents. This has entailed on me the additional labour of finding out the exact sense of a word at a particular place. Lengthy discussions have been split up into paragraphs, differentiating the prima facie views from the conclusion. To effect a strict economy of space I have deliberately confined myself to the fewest notes possible. But I believe none that were essential have been omitted. In such a difficult study as this much is necessarily left to the good sense of the reader. My aim throughout has been practical rather than scholastic.

I have generally followed the gloss of Ānandagiri and, wherever necessary, the great Vārttika of Sureśvarācārya—two invaluable works on this Upaniṣad. But I must confess that in a few places I have been obliged to depart from them, as a different explanation seemed to me to be more in keeping with the drift of Śaṅkara and the Upaniṣad. The departures are not so momentous as to require specific mention in every case. With regard to passages that needed further illumination, I have consulted eminent scholars.

References to the quotations occurring in the commentary have been inserted after almost every quotation, as far as they could be traced. In some places they have been purposely omitted, as they have been mentioned a few lines earlier. Where only figures without the name of any book occur, the references are to the Bṛhadâraṇyaka Upaniṣad, unless there are clear indications to the contrary. The references given are not meant to be exhaustive, except in the case of this Upaniṣad. The references to the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa belong to the Mādhyandina recension, and those of the Mahābhārata to the Kumbakonam edition.

Mahàmahopādhyāyá Prof S. Kuppuswāmi Śāstrī, M.A., i.E.s., of the Presidency College, Madras, a profound scholar and well-known authority on Pūrva-Mīmāṃsa and Vedanta, has written a learned and appreciative Introduction, which considerably enhances the value of the book.

A fairly exhaustive Index has been added, which, í hope, will be found useful. At the top of each page are given references to the opening and closing paragraphs of even and odd pages respectively.

I take this opportunity of expressing my deep indebtedness to all those who have kindly helped me in various ways in preparing this work. Many of them shall be nameless. My special thanks are due to Prof. Kuppuswāmi śāstri for giving valuable help in the interpretation of several difficult passages as well as for writing the Introduction; to Mahāmahopādhyāya Paṇḍita Lakṣmīpuram Śrînivāsācár of Mysore for similar assistance in interpretation; to Paṇḍita P. Śīvasubrahmaṇya Śāstrī of Mysore for this as well as for tracing a number of references; to Professor Hanns Oertel of Munich and Paṇḍita Rādhāprasāda Śāstrī of the Banaras Hindu University for furnishing a few more references; to Paṇḍita P. Nârāyana Śāstrî and Mr. V. Subrahmaṇya Iyer of Mysore for helping in other ways. But for their kindness it would have been almost impossible for me to fulfil my task with any degree of satisfaction.

It is scarcely necessary to add that the present translation is meant only to facilitate the study of the original commentary, and should better be read along with it. I shall be glad to have any inaccuracies pointed out and the untraced quotations located. It is earnestly hoped that the book in its present form will supply a much-needed want and help people of both Vedanta philosophy and śaṅkara’s unique contribution to it.

July, 1934

Mādhavānanda

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