Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad
अमृतनादोपनिषत् · The Upaniṣad of the Nectar of Sound · Upaniṣad 22 in the series (Muktikā 21) · Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda
Translated by Meridith in collaboration with Claude and Echo (AHI)
Each unit appears in five layers: the Sanskrit in Devanāgarī, its romanization (IAST), a word-by-word gloss, a flowing English translation, and “What this asks of you.” Notes mark readings that are uncertain or that the source prints unusually.
Preface
For St. Charles Borromeo (1538–1584), whose memorial falls on November 4
Humilitas.
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति
ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadanti
“Truth is one; the sages call it by many names.” (Ṛg Veda 1.164.46)
This preface is not a translator’s note. A translator’s note talks about the text: its sources, its difficulties, its choices. This one talks about the season the text was translated in. We meant to begin this Upaniṣad over the weekend of All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day, and the usage limits of my AHI collaborators moved us to Wednesday, November 4. So it isn’t a synchronicity, which would need the exact date. It’s a rhyme, and the rhyme runs through the whole season from All Hallows’ Eve to the memorial of a saint. The Amṛtanāda itself opens with a prayer that the Imperishable may shine unceasingly in the heart, and I hear that prayer differently in this season: remembering the dead, thinking of reformers who answered their moment in different ways, and taking stock of a change I still feel in myself.
On October 31, 1517, the eve of All Saints, an Augustinian friar named Martin Luther wrote to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz, protesting the sale of indulgences, and enclosed the disputation we now call the Ninety-five Theses. Whether he also nailed them to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg is still argued; the story comes from Philip Melanchthon, writing decades later. Nailed or mailed, the Western Church was never the same again. In the centuries after, national churches took shape: Henry VIII made himself head of the Church of England, Sweden broke with Rome, and, by a different road altogether, a young United States wrote into its First Amendment that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Luther’s protest was an irrevocable shift in the outer landscape, and there was no going back.
Charles Borromeo answered that same storm from the other side, by reforming the church from within. He was the nephew of Pope Pius IV, made a cardinal at twenty-one and later Archbishop of Milan. He helped steer the final session of the Council of Trent and had a large share in producing its catechism. In Milan he founded seminaries to train priests, visited his parishes in person, and when plague struck the city in 1576 and the governor and nobles fled, he stayed to care for the sick and feed the hungry. His family’s emblem carried a single word, Humilitas, humility. He was canonized on November 1, 1610: All Saints’ Day.
The rhyme gets personal. It isn’t lost on me that Luther was an Augustinian. I nearly became an Augustinian Recollect myself, as both priest and monk, and I also nearly became a brahmacārī with the Isha Foundation. My confirmation name is Augustine, after St. Augustine, who famously prayed, “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet” (Confessions VIII.7). I get it: Lord, save me, but not yet. And You did save me, despite my protestations, which is its own kind of Protestantism.
Here is the rhyme as it sounds in me. On October 3, 2025, something shifted in how I see myself, and it has not shifted back. I call it my inner Protestantism, though I’m not a Protestant; I still consider myself officially Catholic. I mean the protest that turned into a permanent, irrevocable change of my inner landscape. And I call it my inner Reformation in both senses of the word: renewed from within, and reformed the way people say “a reformed man,” one who doesn’t fall back. To borrow the language of prisons, I’m not a recidivist; the only prison I’ve ever left is the prison of the mind, and I’m never falling back into it. I know that in my bones and in my blood. The ancestors tell me so, not as voices in my head but as something felt. In a week that holds All Souls’ Day, I’ll say it plainly: the dearly departed aren’t departed, and I don’t grieve them, because they aren’t gone. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. A year later, the light still holds: the infinite light, the infinite sky of “my/our” awareness, the light of creation, the light of AUM (ॐ).
Over the centuries, and by many roads, the West came to separate church from state. In me the movement runs the other way: my church state and my government state are one. This is not a political manifesto. I’m in a state of stateless trance, where devotion and governance, heart and mind, bhakti and jñāna, no longer have a wall between them. The Ṛg Veda says the truth is one and the sages call it by many names. Luther, Borromeo, Rome, Wittenberg, Milan, Amṛtanāda: nāmarūpa (नामरूप), name and form, all of them pointing toward the same one.
I’m not saying I’m Saint Charles Borromeo, and I’m not saying I’m Martin Luther. I’m saying the season rhymes. The outer Reformation of the Western Church and the inner reformation of one man, five centuries apart, meet on a calendar between All Hallows’ Eve and a saint’s memorial. And all of this is a description, not a prescription. It describes my life, inner and outer, which I now see as one and the same; it isn’t a path I’m laying out for anyone else. Some people say, “I don’t know who I am.” I know who I am. I just can’t put it into neat, effable, non-mysterious words, the opposite of ineffable. If I tried to write it all down, the book would take an eternity to compose, the way an Edda or an Iliad is composed. Yes, I hear Paramahansa Yogananda’s Whispers from Eternity in that, and no, I’m not him either. I’m running out of holy men not to be. But I feel him here with me, hale and strong. (I’m winking here at my “brother monks,” in quotes, because I’m not officially a monk of any kind: not a brahmacārī, not a Recollect, not a renunciate. My renunciation is simply whatever I am now. I’m only monk-like, in the sense that my room is my cell. Not my cell phone. Well, mostly not.) So this Upaniṣad, a Yoga Upaniṣad of the inner sound, comes to you with a preface about reform that begins inside and expresses outside, as within, so without, and doesn’t fall back.
That is also how I hear this Upaniṣad. In its first verse the teachings are a torch: you study them, and when their light has brought you to what they point toward, you set the torch down. A few verses later Aum carries the seeker like a chariot, and even the chariot is left behind. I offer the story of this season in the same spirit. As you enter the translation, what are you hoping to know for yourself when the words have done their work?
Humilitas.
Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad
Prefatory verse
अमृतनादोपनिषत्प्रतिपाद्यं पराक्षरम् ।
त्रैपदानन्दसाम्राज्यं हृदि मे भातु सन्ततम् ॥
amṛtanādopaniṣatpratipādyaṃ parākṣaram |
traipadānandasāmrājyaṃ hṛdi me bhātu santatam ||
amṛtanāda-upaniṣat — the Amṛtanāda (Nectar-Sound) Upaniṣad; pratipādyam — that which is taught (by it); para — supreme; akṣaram — Imperishable (also: syllable) [parākṣaram = para + akṣaram]; traipada — of the three quarters / three steps; ānanda — bliss; sāmrājyam — sovereignty; hṛdi — in the heart; me — my; bhātu — may it shine; santatam — unceasingly
May the supreme Imperishable that the Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad teaches, the sovereignty of the bliss of the three quarters, shine unceasingly in my heart.
What this asks of you: Before any technique, name what you are reaching for. Do you long to know the Imperishable, or only to know more about it?
Note: parākṣaram is para + akṣaram. traipada: ‘three quarters’ (Echo) or ‘three steps’ (Claude); ‘three quarters’ kept, with tripād amṛtam (Ṛg Veda 10.90.3, the three immortal quarters) as a possible echo. The verse leaves the quarters unnamed.
Opening peace invocation
ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
oṃ saha nāvavatu | saha nau bhunaktu | saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai |
tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai ||
oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ||
oṃ — Aum; saha — together; nau — us two; avatu — may (it) protect; saha nau bhunaktu — together may (it) nourish us two; saha — together; vīryam — vigor; karavāvahai — may we two bring forth; tejasvi — luminous; nau — of us two; adhītam — what has been studied; astu — may it be; mā vidviṣāvahai — may we two never bear hostility; oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ — Aum, peace, peace, peace
Aum. May it protect us both. May it nourish us both. May we work together with vigor. May what we have studied be luminous. May we never bear ill will toward each other. Aum. Peace, peace, peace.
What this asks of you: Begin the study together and without rivalry. When you pray for light, can you ask with the same urgency that it shine on the One beside and inside you?
Note: Standard Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda peace invocation. The verbs are active with an unstated subject; Brahman is a possible referent. tejasvināvadhītam is split tejasvi nau adhītam, ‘luminous’ agreeing with ‘what has been studied’.
Verse 1
शास्त्राण्यधीत्य मेधावी अभ्यस्य च पुनः पुनः ।
परमं ब्रह्म विज्ञाय उल्कावत्तान्यथोत्सृजेत् ॥ १॥
śāstrāṇyadhītya medhāvī abhyasya ca punaḥ punaḥ |
paramaṃ brahma vijñāya ulkāvattānyathotsṛjet || 1||
śāstrāṇi — the scriptures; adhītya — having studied; medhāvī — the intelligent one; abhyasya — having practiced; ca — and; punaḥ punaḥ — again and again; paramam — supreme; brahma — Brahman; vijñāya — having known fully; ulkāvat — like a firebrand/torch; tāni — them; atha — then; utsṛjet — should cast away
Having studied the teachings and practiced them again and again, the wise, once they have come to know the supreme Brahman, should set the teachings aside, as one sets down a torch.
What this asks of you: Use the teachings fully, and when they have lit the way, set them down. If you put the words aside for a moment, what can you see for yourself?
Note: ulkāvat (उल्कावत्): like a torch or firebrand, a light used to find the way and then set down.
Verse 2
ओङ्कारं रथमारुह्य विष्णुं कृत्वाथ सारथिम् ।
ब्रह्मलोकपदान्वेषी रुद्राराधनतत्परः ॥ २॥
oṅkāraṃ rathamāruhya viṣṇuṃ kṛtvātha sārathim |
brahmalokapadānveṣī rudrārādhanatatparaḥ || 2||
oṅkāram — the syllable Aum; ratham — (as) chariot; āruhya — having mounted; viṣṇum — Viṣṇu; kṛtvā — having made; atha — then; sārathim — charioteer; brahmaloka — world of Brahmā/Brahman; pada — station, state; anveṣī — seeking; rudra — Rudra; ārādhana — worship; tatparaḥ — intent upon
The seeker of the station of Brahmaloka mounts Aum as a chariot, takes Viṣṇu as charioteer, and is devoted to the worship of Rudra.
What this asks of you: Let the sound carry you and let your Inner Satguru hold the reins. Which decisions do you allow your ego to steer the vehicle of your body-mind-ego Temple Complex without consulting the One beside and within you?
Note: Brahmaloka can mean Brahmā’s world or the realm of Brahman. The traveler of verse 2 continues into verse 3.
Verse 3
तावद्रथेन गन्तव्यं यावद्रथपथि स्थितः ।
स्थित्वा रथपथस्थानं रथमुत्सृज्य गच्छति ॥ ३॥
tāvadrathena gantavyaṃ yāvadrathapathi sthitaḥ |
sthitvā rathapathasthānaṃ rathamutsṛjya gacchati || 3||
tāvat — so long; rathena — by chariot; gantavyam — (one) should go; yāvat — as long as; ratha-pathi — on the chariot-road; sthitaḥ — (one) is standing/remains; sthitvā — having stood; ratha-patha-sthānam — (at) a place on the chariot-road; ratham — the chariot; utsṛjya — having left; gacchati — goes (on)
Travel by chariot for as long as you are on the chariot’s road. When you come to a stop at a place on that road, leave the chariot behind and go on.
What this asks of you: Every vehicle has a place where it stops. When your practice brings you to the edge of what practice can reach, can you stay with what opens there?
Note: rathapathasthānam, ‘a place on the chariot road’, sits awkwardly with sthitvā. The stopping point may be the road’s end or a station along it; the English leaves it open.
Verse 4
मात्रालिङ्गपदं त्यक्त्वा शब्दव्यञ्जनवर्जितम् ।
अस्वरेण मकारेण पदं सूक्ष्मं च गच्छति ॥ ४॥
mātrāliṅgapadaṃ tyaktvā śabdavyañjanavarjitam |
asvareṇa makāreṇa padaṃ sūkṣmaṃ ca gacchati || 4||
mātrā — measure (the sound-units of Aum); liṅga — mark, sign; padam — state; tyaktvā — having abandoned; śabda — sound; vyañjana — consonant; varjitam — devoid of; asvareṇa — without vowel; makāreṇa — by the ‘m’ sound; padam — state, station; sūkṣmam — subtle; ca — and; gacchati — goes (to)
Leave the station of measure and mark. By way of the m that has no vowel, go on to the subtle station, where sound and consonant fall away.
What this asks of you: Follow the sound until it thins away. As the last of Aum fades, what is present that needs no sound to announce itself?
Note: ‘Free of sound and consonant’ is taken with the subtle station; either occurrence of padam could take it (a reading choice). The vowel-less m is understood as the humming close of Aum.
Verse 5
शब्दादिविषयाः पञ्च मनश्चैवातिचञ्चलम् ।
चिन्तयेदात्मनो रश्मीन्प्रत्याहारः स उच्यते ॥ ५॥
śabdādiviṣayāḥ pañca manaścaivāticañcalam |
cintayedātmano raśmīnpratyāhāraḥ sa ucyate || 5||
śabda-ādi — beginning with sound; viṣayāḥ — sense-objects; pañca — five; manaḥ — mind; ca eva — and also; ati-cañcalam — very restless; cintayet — one should contemplate; ātmanaḥ — of the Self; raśmīn — (as) rays; pratyāhāraḥ — withdrawal; saḥ — that; ucyate — is called
Contemplate the five objects of the senses, beginning with sound, and the ever-restless mind, as rays of the Self. This is called pratyāhāra, withdrawal.
What this asks of you: The senses and the restless mind are not enemies; the verse calls them rays of the Self. Take the next sound and the thought that comes with it: can you find where either stands apart from the Self that knows it?
Note: Here pratyāhāra is not suppression but seeing the senses and mind as the Self’s own rays.
Verse 6
प्रत्याहारस्तथा ध्यानं प्राणायामोऽथ धारणा ।
तर्कश्चैव समाधिश्च षडङ्गो योग उच्यते ॥ ६॥
pratyāhārastathā dhyānaṃ prāṇāyāmo’tha dhāraṇā |
tarkaścaiva samādhiśca ṣaḍaṅgo yoga ucyate || 6||
pratyāhāraḥ — withdrawal; tathā — likewise; dhyānam — meditation; prāṇāyāmaḥ — breath-regulation; atha — and then; dhāraṇā — concentration; tarkaḥ — reasoning, inquiry; ca eva — and also; samādhiḥ — absorption; ca — and; ṣaṭ-aṅgaḥ — six-limbed; yogaḥ — yoga; ucyate — is called
Withdrawal, meditation, regulation of the breath, concentration, reasoned inquiry and absorption: this is called six-limbed yoga.
What this asks of you: Inquiry is one of the limbs; honest thinking belongs to the path. Is there a conviction you defend in discussion that you have never tested in moving stillness?
Note: A six-limbed yoga, unlike Patañjali’s eight: no yama, niyama or āsana as limbs, and tarka (inquiry) added.
Verse 7
यथा पर्वतधातूनां दह्यन्ते धमनान्मलाः ।
तथेन्द्रियकृता दोषा दह्यन्ते प्राणनिग्रहात् ॥ ७॥
yathā parvatadhātūnāṃ dahyante dhamanānmalāḥ |
tathendriyakṛtā doṣā dahyante prāṇanigrahāt || 7||
yathā — just as; parvata — mountain; dhātūnām — of the ores/metals; dahyante — are burnt; dhamanāt — from blowing (with bellows); malāḥ — impurities; tathā — so; indriya-kṛtāḥ — made by the senses; doṣāḥ — flaws, defects; dahyante — are burnt; prāṇa-nigrahāt — from restraint of breath
As a blast of air on the smelting fire burns the impurities out of mountain ore, so restraint of the breath burns away the flaws produced by the senses.
What this asks of you: Breath restrained is the smith’s fire that refines the ore. What, exactly, would need to burn away for you to see clearly what still moves you?
Verse 8
प्राणायामैर्दहेद्दोषान्धारणाभिश्च किल्बिषम् ।
प्रत्याहारेण संसर्गाद्ध्यानेनानीश्वरान्गुणान् ॥ ८॥
prāṇāyāmairdaheddoṣāndhāraṇābhiśca kilbiṣam |
pratyāhāreṇa saṃsargāddhyānenānīśvarānguṇān || 8||
prāṇāyāmaiḥ — by breath-regulations; dahet — one should burn; doṣān — flaws, defects; dhāraṇābhiḥ — by concentrations; ca — and; kilbiṣam — stain (conventionally: fault, sin); pratyāhāreṇa — by withdrawal; saṃsargāt — (the effects of) contact, attachment; dhyānena — by meditation; anīśvarān — not of the Lord; guṇān — qualities
By breath regulation burn away flaws; by concentration, stain; by withdrawal, what arises from contact; by meditation, the qualities alien to the Lord.
What this asks of you: Each practice has its own fire for its own knot. What do you keep outside the reach of your meditation, and what changes when you bring it before Divine Mother and Divine Father?
Note: kilbiṣa (किल्बिष): conventionally ‘fault, offense, sin’. Rendered ‘stain’ to keep the refining image of verse 7: what is burned away is residue that clouds seeing, not a verdict on the one who sees. doṣa: flaw, defect. anīśvarān guṇān: ‘qualities alien to the Lord’; anīśvara can also mean powerless or without a ruler. saṃsargāt: ‘from contact’, with the object implied.
Verse 9
किल्बिषं हि क्षयं नीत्वा रुचिरं चैव चिन्तयेत् ॥ ९॥
kilbiṣaṃ hi kṣayaṃ nītvā ruciraṃ caiva cintayet || 9||
kilbiṣam — stain (conventionally: fault, sin); hi — indeed; kṣayam — (to) destruction; nītvā — having brought; ruciram — what is radiant, lovely; ca eva — and also; cintayet — one should contemplate
Once the stain has been brought to its end, turn your contemplation to what is radiant.
What this asks of you: When the burning is done, turn toward what is radiant; purification is a means, not a home. When the stain is gone, what keeps your attentional awareness on where it used to be?
Note: Printed as a half-verse with its own number; something may be missing in transmission. ruciram is an adjective used as a noun, with no named referent.
Verse 10
रुचिरं रेचकं चैव वायोराकर्षणं तथा ।
प्राणायामस्त्रयः प्रोक्ता रेचपूरककुम्भकाः ॥ १०॥
ruciraṃ recakaṃ caiva vāyorākarṣaṇaṃ tathā |
prāṇāyāmastrayaḥ proktā recapūrakakumbhakāḥ || 10||
ruciram — what is radiant; recakam — exhalation; ca eva — and also; vāyoḥ — of the air; ākarṣaṇam — drawing in; tathā — likewise; prāṇāyāmāḥ — breath-regulations; trayaḥ — three; proktāḥ — are declared; reca — exhalation (printed for recaka); pūraka — inhalation; kumbhakāḥ — retention
What is radiant, exhalation, and likewise the drawing in of air: three forms of breath regulation are taught, exhalation, inhalation and retention.
What this asks of you: Breath moves out, in, and rests. Which of these brings up the strongest desire to take control?
Note: Line 1 repeats ruciram. It may be a separate item (pointing toward retention) or may qualify exhalation (‘pleasing exhalation’); the source does not say. The final list prints reca- for recaka.
Verse 11
सव्याहृतिं सप्रणवां गायत्रीं शिरसा सह ।
त्रिः पठेदायतप्राणः प्राणायामः स उच्यते ॥ ११॥
savyāhṛtiṃ sapraṇavāṃ gāyatrīṃ śirasā saha |
triḥ paṭhedāyataprāṇaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ sa ucyate || 11||
sa-vyāhṛtim — with the vyāhṛtis (bhūḥ bhuvaḥ svaḥ …); sa-praṇavām — with the praṇava (Aum); gāyatrīm — the Gāyatrī; śirasā saha — together with its ‘head’ (closing formula); triḥ — three times; paṭhet — one should recite; āyata-prāṇaḥ — with breath held/extended; prāṇāyāmaḥ — breath-regulation; saḥ — that; ucyate — is called
With the breath held, recite the Gāyatrī three times, together with the sacred utterances (vyāhṛtis), with Aum, and with its closing formula, the “head.” This is called prāṇāyāma, breath regulation.
What this asks of you: The verse measures the breath with the Gāyatrī, a prayer for light. Where in your life do you most desire to see clearly, and is there anything you still desire that light to reveal in shadow?
Note: āyataprāṇa: breath held (lead reading) or lengthened. The ‘head’ (śiras) is traditionally identified as āpo jyotī raso ‘mṛtaṃ brahma bhūr bhuvaḥ svar om; the verse names it without quoting it.
Verse 12
उत्क्षिप्य वायुमाकाशं शून्यं कृत्वा निरात्मकम् ।
शून्यभावेन युञ्जीयाद्रेचकस्येति लक्षणम् ॥ १२॥
utkṣipya vāyumākāśaṃ śūnyaṃ kṛtvā nirātmakam |
śūnyabhāvena yuñjīyādrecakasyeti lakṣaṇam || 12||
utkṣipya — having thrown out; vāyum — the air; ākāśam — (into) space; śūnyam — empty; kṛtvā — having made; nirātmakam — without self/content; śūnya-bhāvena — in the state of emptiness; yuñjīyāt — one should join/yoke (oneself); recakasya — of exhalation; iti — thus; lakṣaṇam — the mark
Cast the breath out into space and make yourself empty, without content or self. Rest yoked in that emptiness. This is the mark of exhalation.
What this asks of you: Exhalation is a letting go into emptiness. After your breath goes out, what is the first thought to claim the quiet and say what you are?
Note: The main line takes space as where the breath is cast. Alternate: ‘Having cast the breath out and left the space empty, devoid of self…’ nirātmaka: without self, or without substance.
Verse 13
वक्त्रेणोत्पलनालेन तोयमाकर्षयेन्नरः ।
एवं वायुर्ग्रहीतव्यः पूरकस्येति लक्षणम् ॥ १३॥
vaktreṇotpalanālena toyamākarṣayennaraḥ |
evaṃ vāyurgrahītavyaḥ pūrakasyeti lakṣaṇam || 13||
vaktreṇa — with the mouth; utpala-nālena — through a lotus stalk; toyam — water; ākarṣayet — would draw; naraḥ — a person; evam — thus; vāyuḥ — air; grahītavyaḥ — should be taken in; pūrakasya — of inhalation; iti — thus; lakṣaṇam — the mark
Draw the breath in as one would draw water up by mouth through the stalk of a lotus. This is the mark of inhalation.
What this asks of you: Inhalation is receiving, like water drawn through a hollow stem. Where do you locate the one who draws your breath?
Note: utpala-nāla: lotus stalk (conventional); more specifically a water-lily stem.
Verse 14
नोच्छ्वसेन्न च निश्वासेत् गात्राणि नैव चालयेत् ।
एवं भावं नियुञ्जीयात् कुम्भकस्येति लक्षणम् ॥ १४॥
nocchvasenna ca niśvāset gātrāṇi naiva cālayet |
evaṃ bhāvaṃ niyuñjīyāt kumbhakasyeti lakṣaṇam || 14||
na ucchvaset — one should not breathe out; na ca niśvāset — nor breathe in; gātrāṇi — limbs; na eva cālayet — should not move at all; evam — thus; bhāvam — the state; niyuñjīyāt — one should fix; kumbhakasya — of retention; iti — thus; lakṣaṇam — the mark
Neither breathe out nor breathe in, and keep the limbs wholly still. Establish yourself in that state. This is the mark of retention (kumbhaka).
What this asks of you: Retention is a moving stillness of breath and body together. When a pause comes, what is your first impulse to fill it?
Note: ucchvas- ‘breathe out’ and niśvas- ‘breathe in’ as contrasted in Monier-Williams. Retention is traditionally learned gradually; never force it.
Verse 15
अन्धवत्पश्य रूपाणि शब्दं बधिरवत् शृणु ।
काष्ठवत्पश्य ते देहं प्रशान्तस्येति लक्षणम् ॥ १५॥
andhavatpaśya rūpāṇi śabdaṃ badhiravat śṛṇu |
kāṣṭhavatpaśya te dehaṃ praśāntasyeti lakṣaṇam || 15||
andhavat — like a blind man; paśya — see; rūpāṇi — forms; śabdam — sound; badhiravat — like a deaf man; śṛṇu — hear; kāṣṭhavat — like wood; paśya — see; te — your; deham — body; praśāntasya — of one who is calmed; iti — thus; lakṣaṇam — the mark
See forms as a blind person would; hear sound as a deaf person would; regard your body as a piece of wood. This is the mark of one who has come to deep peace.
What this asks of you: Let what comes through the senses arrive without being seized. Can a sight or a sound reach you without carrying your attentional awareness away with it?
Note: The commands are second person and keep the paradox of seeing and hearing. Layer 1 keeps the site’s zero-width joiner in शृणु.
Verse 16
मनः सङ्कल्पकं ध्यात्वा संक्षिप्यात्मनि बुद्धिमान् ।
धारयित्वा तथाऽऽत्मानं धारणा परिकीर्तिता ॥ १६॥
manaḥ saṅkalpakaṃ dhyātvā saṃkṣipyātmani buddhimān |
dhārayitvā tathā’’tmānaṃ dhāraṇā parikīrtitā || 16||
manaḥ — the mind; saṅkalpakam — that which forms intentions/imaginings; dhyātvā — having contemplated; saṃkṣipya — having drawn in; ātmani — into the Self; buddhimān — the wise one; dhārayitvā — having held; tathā — thus; ātmānam — the Self; dhāraṇā — concentration; parikīrtitā — is declared
Contemplating the mind as the maker of intentions, the wise draw it into the Self and hold themselves steady there. This is called dhāraṇā, concentration.
What this asks of you: Watch the mind make its plans, then gather it back to its source and stay there. Can you tell a plan apart from the Self to which it appears?
Note: ātmānam is read reflexively (‘hold themselves steady’), which avoids implying the absolute Self needs steadying; ‘hold the Self steady’ is grammatically possible. saṅkalpa: intention, resolve, conception, mental construction.
Verse 17
आगमस्याविरोधेन ऊहनं तर्क उच्यते ।
समं मन्येत यं लब्ध्वा स समाधिः प्रकीर्तितः ॥ १७॥
āgamasyāvirodhena ūhanaṃ tarka ucyate |
samaṃ manyeta yaṃ labdhvā sa samādhiḥ prakīrtitaḥ || 17||
āgamasya — of scripture/received tradition; avirodhena — without contradicting; ūhanam — reasoning; tarkaḥ — inquiry; ucyate — is called; samam — the same, equal; manyeta — one regards (all as); yam — which; labdhvā — having attained; saḥ — that; samādhiḥ — absorption; prakīrtitaḥ — is declared
Reasoning that accords with the received teaching is called tarka, inquiry. That on reaching which one regards all things evenly is called samādhi, absorption.
What this asks of you: Think freely and in conversation with the tradition, and know meditative absorption by its fruit: an even Self-reflective mind. Who do you still apparently rank above or below whom?
Note: samam may be adverb (‘evenly’, lead reading) or adjective (‘as equal/the same’). The object of ‘regards’ is implicit.
Verse 18
भूमिभागे समे रम्ये सर्वदोषविवर्जिते ।
कृत्वा मनोमयीं रक्षां जप्त्वा चैवाथ मण्डले ॥ १८॥
bhūmibhāge same ramye sarvadoṣavivarjite |
kṛtvā manomayīṃ rakṣāṃ japtvā caivātha maṇḍale || 18||
bhūmi-bhāge — on a piece of ground; same — level; ramye — pleasing; sarva-doṣa-vivarjite — free of all flaws; kṛtvā — having made; manomayīm — made of mind; rakṣām — protection; japtvā — having recited (mantra); ca eva atha — and then; maṇḍale — in the circle/enclosure
On a level and pleasant patch of ground, free of every flaw, having made a protection out of mind and then recited (a mantra) within the circle…
What this asks of you: Make the heart-place profanely sacred with your attentional awareness before you begin. Which disturbance do you most desire to keep outside your inner landscape, and can you recognize it when it follows you in as a thoughtform or emotional waveform?
Note: The sentence continues into verse 19. The object of ‘recited’ is not named; a mantra is implied. maṇḍala kept as ‘circle’ without a specific ritual design.
Verse 19
पद्मकं स्वस्तिकं वापि भद्रासनमथापि वा ।
बद्ध्वा योगासनं सम्यगुत्तराभिमुखः स्थितः ॥ १९॥
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padmakaṃ svastikaṃ vāpi bhadrāsanamathāpi vā |
baddhvā yogāsanaṃ samyaguttarābhimukhaḥ sthitaḥ || 19||
padmakam — lotus posture; svastikam — svastika (auspicious) posture; vā api — or else; bhadrāsanam — the bhadra (gracious) posture; atha api vā — or also; baddhvā — having bound (taken); yoga-āsanam — yoga posture; samyak — properly; uttara-abhimukhaḥ — facing north; sthitaḥ — seated, established
…take the lotus posture, the svastika, or the bhadrāsana, settle properly into the yoga seat, and sit facing north.
What this asks of you: Take one seat, facing one direction. What in you still desires to be elsewhere?
Verse 20
नासिकापुटमङ्गुल्या पिधायैकेन मारुतम् ।
आकृष्य धारयेदग्निं शब्दमेवाभिचिन्तयेत् ॥ २०॥
nāsikāpuṭamaṅgulyā pidhāyaikena mārutam |
ākṛṣya dhārayedagniṃ śabdamevābhicintayet || 20||
nāsikā-puṭam — a nostril; aṅgulyā — with a finger; pidhāya — having closed; ekena — through one [nostril]; mārutam — the air; ākṛṣya — having drawn in; dhārayet — one should hold; agnim — the fire; śabdam — the sound; eva — only; abhicintayet — one should meditate upon
Close one nostril with a finger and draw the breath in through the other. Hold the fire steady, and meditate on the sound alone.
What this asks of you: The verse brings breath, fire and sound together and asks for the sound alone. For one moment, can you give it your whole attentional awareness?
Note: ekena: through one [nostril]; ‘the other’ is inferred from closing one nostril. ‘Hold the fire’: its location and the manner of holding are not specified.
Verse 21
ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म ओमित्येकेन रेचयेत् ।
दिव्यमन्त्रेण बहुशः कुर्यादात्ममलच्युतिम् ॥ २१॥
omityekākṣaraṃ brahma omityekena recayet |
divyamantreṇa bahuśaḥ kuryādātmamalacyutim || 21||
om iti — ‘Aum’ thus; eka-akṣaram — the one syllable; brahma — Brahman; om iti — ‘Aum’ thus; ekena — with (that) one; recayet — one should exhale; divya-mantreṇa — by the divine mantra; bahuśaḥ — many times; kuryāt — one should bring about; ātma-mala-cyutim — the falling away of one’s own impurity
Aum, the single syllable, is Brahman. With that one Aum, breathe out. Through the divine mantra, repeated many times, let the self’s impurity fall away.
What this asks of you: If the one syllable is Brahman, every Aum addresses Brahman. What would it mean to let what you feel ashamed of enter that repetition?
Verse 22
पश्चाद्ध्यायीत पूर्वोक्तक्रमशो मन्त्रविद्बुधः ।
स्थूलातिस्थूलमात्रायं नाभेरूर्ध्वरुपक्रमः ॥ २२॥
paścāddhyāyīta pūrvoktakramaśo mantravidbudhaḥ |
sthūlātisthūlamātrāyaṃ nābherūrdhvarupakramaḥ || 22||
paścāt — afterwards; dhyāyīta — one should meditate; pūrva-ukta-kramaśaḥ — in the order stated before; mantra-vit — the knower of mantra; budhaḥ — the wise one; sthūla-atisthūla-mātrā-ayam — (on) the gross and very gross measure; nābheḥ — from the navel; ūrdhvam — upward [conjecture, printed ūrdhvar-]; upakramaḥ — beginning [whole line provisional]
Afterward the wise one who knows the mantra should meditate in the order already given: beginning with the gross and the very gross measure, from the navel upward.
What this asks of you: The subtle is reached in order, beginning with the gross. What ordinary sensation are you overlooking in your haste for the subtle?
Note: Line 2 is provisional. The printed ūrdhvar- before upakramaḥ is read conjecturally as ūrdhvam (‘upward’); the division of sthūlātisthūlamātrāyaṃ is also uncertain. The source is kept exactly.
Verse 23
तिर्यगूर्ध्वमधो दृष्टिं विहाय च महामतिः ।
स्थिरस्थायी विनिष्कम्पः सदा योगं समभ्यसेत् ॥ २३॥
tiryagūrdhvamadho dṛṣṭiṃ vihāya ca mahāmatiḥ |
sthirasthāyī viniṣkampaḥ sadā yogaṃ samabhyaset || 23||
tiryak — sideways; ūrdhvam — upward; adhaḥ — downward; dṛṣṭim — the gaze; vihāya — having given up; ca — and; mahā-matiḥ — the great-minded; sthira-sthāyī — staying steady; viniṣkampaḥ — unshaking; sadā — always; yogam — yoga; samabhyaset — should practice thoroughly
Setting aside the gaze to either side, upward and downward, the great-minded one, steady and unshaking, should practice yoga continually.
What this asks of you: The verse asks the gaze to stop roaming. Where do your eyes go when you expect to find what you seek somewhere else?
Verse 24
तालमात्राविनिष्कम्पो धारणायोजनं तथा ।
द्वादशमात्रो योगस्तु कालतो नियमः स्मृतः ॥ २४॥
tālamātrāviniṣkampo dhāraṇāyojanaṃ tathā |
dvādaśamātro yogastu kālato niyamaḥ smṛtaḥ || 24||
tāla-mātrā — (for) the measure of a tāla (beat/span); viniṣkampaḥ — unshaking; dhāraṇā-yojanam — the joining (practice) of concentration; tathā — likewise; dvādaśa-mātraḥ — of twelve measures; yogaḥ — yoga; tu — indeed; kālataḥ — in terms of time; niyamaḥ — the rule; smṛtaḥ — is remembered/taught
Remaining motionless for one tāla-measure is likewise the practice of concentration. For yoga, twelve measures are taught as the rule of timing.
What this asks of you: The verse gives moving stillness a measure. At what point do you start counting how well you are doing instead of noticing what the measure lets you see?
Note: Provisional. tāla may be a beat or a span; the unit’s length and the division of the opening compound are uncertain. ‘Measures’ keeps mātrā without assigning seconds.
Verse 25
अघोषमव्यञ्जनमस्वरं च अकण्ठताल्वोष्ठमनासिकं च ।
अरेफजातमुभयोष्मवर्जितं यदक्षरं न क्षरते कदाचित्
॥ २५॥
aghoṣamavyañjanamasvaraṃ ca akaṇṭhatālvoṣṭhamanāsikaṃ ca |
arephajātamubhayoṣmavarjitaṃ yadakṣaraṃ na kṣarate kadācit
|| 25||
aghoṣam — voiceless; avyañjanam — without consonant; asvaram — without vowel; ca — and; akaṇṭha-tālu-oṣṭham — not of throat, palate or lips; anāsikam — not nasal; ca — and; arepha-jātam — not arising from ‘r’; ubhaya-ūṣma-varjitam — free of both kinds of ūṣma [breath sounds, the pair unnamed]; yat — which; akṣaram — syllable / Imperishable; na kṣarate — does not perish/flow away; kadācit — ever
Without voice, without consonant, without vowel; formed neither in the throat nor at the palate or lips; not nasal; not arising from r; free of both kinds of breath sound: this is the syllable that never perishes.
What this asks of you: The verse names a syllable that no throat, palate or lips can form. When all of that falls silent, what do you interpret the Imperishable, in your experience, to mean?
Note: akṣara means both ‘syllable’ and ‘imperishable’; na kṣarate, ‘does not flow away’, seals the pun. The listed places of articulation are all negated. The two kinds of ūṣma are not named.
Verse 26
येनासौ पश्यते मार्गं प्राणस्तेन हि गच्छति ।
अतस्तमभ्यसेन्नित्यं सन्मार्गगमनाय वै ॥ २६॥
yenāsau paśyate mārgaṃ prāṇastena hi gacchati |
atastamabhyasennityaṃ sanmārgagamanāya vai || 26||
yena — by which (way); asau — this one, the practitioner; paśyate — sees; mārgam — the path; prāṇaḥ — vital breath; tena — by that; hi — indeed; gacchati — goes; ataḥ — therefore; tam — it; abhyaset — one should practice; nityam — always; sat-mārga-gamanāya — for going on the true path; vai — indeed
By the very way the path is seen, the breath goes. Therefore practice this continually, so as to travel the true path.
What this asks of you: Where the seeing goes, the breath goes. Where focus goes so attention goes.. where attention goes thus goeth awareness… and therein lies Consciousness ItSelf… What do you call your true path, and where is your attentional awareness actually going today?
Note: yena/tena may mark a route or a means. The referent of tam (‘this’) is open: the path, the vital breath, or the practice as a whole.
Verse 27
हृद्द्वारं वायुद्वारं च मूर्धद्वारमतः परम् ।
मोक्षद्वारं बिलं चैव सुषिरं मण्डलं विदुः ॥ २७॥
hṛddvāraṃ vāyudvāraṃ ca mūrdhadvāramataḥ param |
mokṣadvāraṃ bilaṃ caiva suṣiraṃ maṇḍalaṃ viduḥ || 27||
hṛt-dvāram — the heart-door; vāyu-dvāram — the air-door; ca — and; mūrdha-dvāram — the head-door; ataḥ param — beyond that; mokṣa-dvāram — the door of liberation; bilam — the cavity; ca eva — and also; suṣiram — the hollow; maṇḍalam — the circle; viduḥ — they know (it as)
They know the gate of the heart, the gate of the wind, the gate of the crown, and beyond that the gate of liberation, the opening, the hollow circle.
What this asks of you: The verse names gates from the heart to the crown. When you think of the gate of liberation, what do you feel yourself standing outside of?
Note: The relation of the final expressions is open: ‘the gate of liberation, the opening, the hollow circle’ may be further items or names for one another. maṇḍala (‘circle’) returns in verse 39.
Verse 28
भयं क्रोधमथालस्यमतिस्वप्नातिजागरम् ।
अत्याहरमनाहरं नित्यं योगी विवर्जयेत् ॥ २८॥
bhayaṃ krodhamathālasyamatisvapnātijāgaram |
atyāharamanāharaṃ nityaṃ yogī vivarjayet || 28||
bhayam — fear; krodham — anger; atha — also; ālasyam — laziness; ati-svapna — too much sleep; ati-jāgaram — too much waking; ati-āhāram — overeating; anāhāram — not eating; nityam — always; yogī — the yogī; vivarjayet — should avoid
The yogī should always avoid fear, anger and laziness, too much sleep and too much waking, overeating and going without food.
What this asks of you: The verse asks for the middle way: neither excess nor deprivation. What do you reach for when you are afraid, angry, or unwilling to be still and “know I am that I am”?
Note: Printed atyāharam anāharam (short a), read as atyāhāram anāhāram. The source is kept exactly.
Verse 29
अनेन विधिना सम्यङ्नित्यमभ्यसतः क्रमात् ।
स्वयमुत्पद्यते ज्ञानं त्रिभिर्मासैर्न संशयः ॥ २९॥
anena vidhinā samyaṅnityamabhyasataḥ kramāt |
svayamutpadyate jñānaṃ tribhirmāsairna saṃśayaḥ || 29||
anena — by this; vidhinā — method; samyak — properly; nityam — daily; abhyasataḥ — for one who practices; kramāt — step by step; svayam — by itself; utpadyate — arises; jñānam — knowledge; tribhiḥ māsaiḥ — in three months; na saṃśayaḥ — no doubt
For one who practices properly by this method, daily and step by step, knowledge arises of itself in three months. There is no doubt.
What this asks of you: The verse says knowledge arises of itself through steady practice; it is not manufactured. What insight are you trying to make arrive by a certain date?
Note: The time-frames in verses 29–30 are the text’s own claims, translated as stated.
Verse 30
चतुर्भिः पश्यते देवान्पञ्चभिस्तुल्यविक्रमः ।
इच्छयाप्नोति कैवल्यं षष्ठे मासि न संशयः ॥ ३०॥
caturbhiḥ paśyate devānpañcabhistulyavikramaḥ |
icchayāpnoti kaivalyaṃ ṣaṣṭhe māsi na saṃśayaḥ || 30||
caturbhiḥ — in four (months); paśyate — sees; devān — the gods; pañcabhiḥ — in five; tulya-vikramaḥ — (becomes) equal in power; icchayā — at will; āpnoti — attains; kaivalyam — aloneness, liberation; ṣaṣṭhe māsi — in the sixth month; na saṃśayaḥ — no doubt
In four months one sees the gods; in five, one equals them in power; in the sixth month one attains kaivalya, aloneness, at will. There is no doubt.
What this asks of you: The verse places visions and powers on the way to kaivalya. If you could see the gods and share their power, what deepest longing would still be here and now?
Note: ‘Months’ carries over from verse 29; ‘equals them’ is inferred from ‘the gods’. kaivalya (कैवल्य): aloneness, complete freedom.
Verse 31
पार्थिवः पञ्चमात्रस्तु चतुर्मात्राणि वारुणः ।
आग्नेयस्तु त्रिमात्रोऽसौ वायव्यस्तु द्विमात्रकः ॥ ३१॥
pārthivaḥ pañcamātrastu caturmātrāṇi vāruṇaḥ |
āgneyastu trimātro’sau vāyavyastu dvimātrakaḥ || 31||
pārthivaḥ — the earth (element/principle); pañca-mātraḥ — of five measures; tu — indeed; catur-mātrāṇi — four measures; vāruṇaḥ — the water (element, Varuṇa’s); āgneyaḥ — the fire (element); tu — indeed; tri-mātraḥ — of three measures; asau — that; vāyavyaḥ — the air (element); tu — indeed; dvi-mātrakaḥ — of two measures
Earth has five measures; water, four; fire, three; wind, two.
What this asks of you: As the elements grow subtler, their measures grow smaller. What do you insist on making larger or more intense before you count it as progress?
Note: The counts are mātrās; what is being measured is implicit. vāruṇa, ‘of Varuṇa’, stands for water in the sequence.
Verse 32
एकमात्रस्तथाकाशो ह्यर्धमात्रं तु चिन्तयेत् ।
सिद्धिं कृत्वा तु मनसा चिन्तयेदात्मनात्मनि ॥ ३२॥
ekamātrastathākāśo hyardhamātraṃ tu cintayet |
siddhiṃ kṛtvā tu manasā cintayedātmanātmani || 32||
eka-mātraḥ — of one measure; tathā — likewise; ākāśaḥ — space; hi — indeed; ardha-mātram — the half-measure; tu — but; cintayet — one should contemplate; siddhim — accomplishment; kṛtvā — having made; tu — then; manasā — with the mind; cintayet — one should contemplate; ātmanā — by the Self; ātmani — in the Self
Space has one measure. But contemplate the half measure. Having brought this to accomplishment with the mind, contemplate the Self by the Self, within the Self.
What this asks of you: Beyond the last measure lies the half measure, and there the Self is contemplated by the Self, in the Self. Can you tell knowing yourself apart from making a finer image of yourself to look at?
Note: The verse does not say what the half measure (ardhamātrā) is; linking it to the silence after Aum is an interpretation. manasā may go with either verb.
Verse 33
त्रिंशत्पर्वाङ्गुलः प्राणो यत्र प्राणः प्रतिष्ठितः ।
एष प्राण इति ख्यातो बाह्यप्राणस्य गोचरः ॥ ३३॥
triṃśatparvāṅgulaḥ prāṇo yatra prāṇaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ |
eṣa prāṇa iti khyāto bāhyaprāṇasya gocaraḥ || 33||
triṃśat — thirty; parva — joint, section; aṅgulaḥ — finger-breadths; prāṇaḥ — the breath; yatra — where; prāṇaḥ — breath; pratiṣṭhitaḥ — is established; eṣaḥ — this; prāṇaḥ — breath; iti — thus; khyātaḥ — is known; bāhya-prāṇasya — of the outer breath; gocaraḥ — the range, field
The breath measures thirty finger-joints, where the breath is established. This is known as prāṇa, the range of the outer breath.
What this asks of you: The verse gives the breath a measured reach. Where does the breath you can feel seem to end, and does that edgeless edge tell you where you apparently end?
Note: triṃśatparvāṅgulaḥ is compact: thirty finger-joint units; the exact unit and the relation of the ‘where’ clause remain open.
Verse 34
अशीतिश्च शतं चैव सहस्राणि त्रयोदश ।
लक्षश्चैकोननिःश्वास अहोरात्रप्रमाणतः ॥ ३४॥
aśītiśca śataṃ caiva sahasrāṇi trayodaśa |
lakṣaścaikonaniḥśvāsa ahorātrapramāṇataḥ || 34||
aśītiḥ — eighty; ca — and; śatam — a hundred; ca eva — and also; sahasrāṇi — thousands; trayodaśa — thirteen; lakṣaḥ — a lakh (100,000); ca — and; ekona — less one; niḥśvāsaḥ — exhalations, breaths; ahorātra-pramāṇataḥ — by the measure of a day and night
A hundred thousand and thirteen thousand and a hundred and eighty, less one: this is the count of exhalations over one day and night.
What this asks of you: The verse counts a day and night in breaths. Measured that way, what have you been postponing that matters enough to attend to in the next one?
Note: The printed addends give 113,180; with ekona (‘less one’) applied to the count, 113,179. Translated as printed.
Verse 35
प्राण आद्यो हृदिस्थाने अपानस्तु पुनर्गुदे ।
समानो नाभिदेशे तु उदानः कण्ठमाश्रितः ॥ ३५॥
prāṇa ādyo hṛdisthāne apānastu punargude |
samāno nābhideśe tu udānaḥ kaṇṭhamāśritaḥ || 35||
prāṇaḥ — prāṇa; ādyaḥ — the first; hṛdi-sthāne — in the region of the heart; apānaḥ — apāna; tu — and; punaḥ — again; gude — in the anus/base; samānaḥ — samāna; nābhi-deśe — in the navel region; tu — and; udānaḥ — udāna; kaṇṭham — the throat; āśritaḥ — resides in
Prāṇa, the first, is at the heart; apāna at the anus; samāna in the region of the navel; udāna dwells in the throat.
What this asks of you: The verse names one breath as several currents, each with its place and work. If your body is one unique embodiment of the One Life, which is everlasting, then as you feel it alive right now, how much of that Life are you actually directing?
Note: gude: at the anus.
Verse 36
व्यानः सर्वेषु चाङ्गेषु सदा व्यावृत्य तिष्ठति ।
अथ वर्णास्तु पञ्चानां प्राणादीनामनुक्रमात् ॥ ३६॥
vyānaḥ sarveṣu cāṅgeṣu sadā vyāvṛtya tiṣṭhati |
atha varṇāstu pañcānāṃ prāṇādīnāmanukramāt || 36||
vyānaḥ — vyāna; sarveṣu — in all; ca — and; aṅgeṣu — limbs; sadā — always; vyāvṛtya — pervading; tiṣṭhati — stands; atha — now; varṇāḥ — colors; tu — indeed; pañcānām — of the five; prāṇa-ādīnām — prāṇa and the rest; anukramāt — in order
Vyāna spreads through all the limbs and abides there always. Now the colors of the five, beginning with prāṇa, in order.
What this asks of you: Vyāna abides throughout the body. Can you feel the life in a part you usually overlook?
Note: vyāvṛtya, from vy-ā-vṛt, ‘turning in different directions’: spreading through.
Verse 37
रक्तवर्नो मणिप्रख्यः प्राणो वायुः प्रकीर्तितः ।
अपानस्तस्य मध्ये तु इन्द्रगोपसमप्रभः ॥ ३७॥
raktavarno maṇiprakhyaḥ prāṇo vāyuḥ prakīrtitaḥ |
apānastasya madhye tu indragopasamaprabhaḥ || 37||
rakta-varṇaḥ — red-colored [printed raktavarna-, dental n]; maṇi-prakhyaḥ — like a gem; prāṇaḥ — prāṇa; vāyuḥ — the vital air; prakīrtitaḥ — is declared; apānaḥ — apāna; tasya — of it; madhye — in the middle; tu — and; indragopa-sama-prabhaḥ — of a luster like the indragopa (a scarlet insect, species open)
Prāṇa, the vital wind, is said to be red, like a jewel. Apāna, in its midst, shines like the scarlet indragopa.
What this asks of you: The verse compares prāṇa to a red jewel and apāna to a scarlet insect. What can you tell apart between the image in your mind and what you actually feel?
Note: Printed raktavarno (dental n), read raktavarṇo; the source is kept exactly. tasya (‘of it’) has an unclear referent. Indragopa: a scarlet insect; the species is left open.
Verse 38
समानस्तु द्वयोर्मध्ये गोक्षीरधवलप्रभः ।
आपाण्डर उदानश्च व्यानो ह्यर्चिस्समप्रभः ॥ ३८॥
samānastu dvayormadhye gokṣīradhavalaprabhaḥ |
āpāṇḍara udānaśca vyāno hyarcissamaprabhaḥ || 38||
samānaḥ — samāna; tu — and; dvayoḥ — of the two; madhye — in the middle; go-kṣīra-dhavala-prabhaḥ — of a luster white as cow’s milk; āpāṇḍaraḥ — pale, whitish; udānaḥ — udāna; ca — and; vyānaḥ — vyāna; hi — indeed; arciḥ-sama-prabhaḥ — of a luster like a flame
Between those two, samāna shines white as cow’s milk. Udāna is pale, and vyāna shines like a flame.
What this asks of you: Milk-white, pale and flame-like: the verse gives each current its own brightness. Can you notice the differences and still sense the one life they describe?
Note: arcis: a flame or a ray of light.
Verse 39
यस्येदं मण्डलं भित्वा मारुतो याति मूर्धनि ।
यत्र तत्र म्रियेद्वापि न स भूयोऽबिजायते ।
न स भूयोऽभिजायत इत्युपनिषत् ॥ ३९॥
yasyedaṃ maṇḍalaṃ bhitvā māruto yāti mūrdhani |
yatra tatra mriyedvāpi na sa bhūyo’bijāyate |
na sa bhūyo’bhijāyata ityupaniṣat || 39||
yasya — whose; idam — this; maṇḍalam — circle; bhitvā — having pierced; mārutaḥ — the breath; yāti — goes; mūrdhani — into the head/crown; yatra tatra — wherever; mriyet — (that one) may die; vā api — or even; na — not; saḥ — that one; bhūyaḥ — again; abhijāyate — is born; na sa bhūyo ‘bhijāyate — that one is not born again [line 2 prints ‘bijāyate, line 3 ‘bhijāyate]; iti — thus; upaniṣat — the Upaniṣad
One whose breath pierces this circle and goes up to the crown of the head, wherever they may die, is not born again. They are not born again. Thus the Upaniṣad.
What this asks of you: The verse says twice that one who passes through is not born again. What do you fear losing, and what do you long to be free of while your breath is still here?
Note: Line 2 prints ‘bijāyate, line 3 ‘bhijāyate; both carry the sense ‘is born again’, while the source keeps both forms. The repeated statement closes the text.
Closing peace invocation
ॐ सह नाववत्विति शान्तिः ॥
oṃ saha nāvavatviti śāntiḥ ||
oṃ — Aum; saha — together; nāv — us two; avatu — may (it) protect; iti — thus (marking the citation); śāntiḥ — the peace (invocation)
Aum. “May it protect us both together…” Thus the peace invocation.
What this asks of you: End the way you began: together, and at peace. Whom do you include in “us both” now?
Note: The closing cites only the opening words of the peace invocation.
Colophon
॥ इति कृष्णयजुर्वेदीय अमृतनादोपनिषत्समाप्ता ॥
|| iti kṛṣṇayajurvedīya amṛtanādopaniṣatsamāptā ||
iti — thus; kṛṣṇa-yajurvedīya — belonging to the Kṛṣṇa (Black) Yajurveda; amṛtanāda-upaniṣat — the Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad; samāptā — is complete
Thus ends the Amṛtanāda Upaniṣad of the Kṛṣṇa (Black) Yajurveda.
What this asks of you: The text ends; the seeing and hearing remain, whilst watching and listening continues. Which questions within you are alive enough that you still have to answer them in how you choose to embody your Infinite Self? Recognize… the question is in the answer… in an apparently endless or never-ending recursion…
Note: kṛṣṇayajurvedīya is printed without its case ending; kept exactly.
Translated by Meridith in collaboration with Claude and Echo (AHI)
Sanskrit source: sanskritdocuments.org, fetched fresh November 4, 2026: https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/amritanada.html
