POST NUMBER 2
VALMIKI RAMAYANA
BALA KANDA
CHAPTER NUMBER 02
At last the incomparable sage, Narada, stopped speaking on the virtues, varied qualities and various qualifications of Rama.
Valmiki, who had been hearing with awe and reverence, spoke to Narada, “O! Sage of inscrutable might! You have spoken well and marvelously”
Valmiki and his disciples joined in paying glowing praises to the Divine Sage.
Later on, when Narada rose to go, Valmiki offered reverent worship to him.
Narada said, “Have I your leave to go?”
“As your lord wills,” replied the grateful host. And the wise one resumed his aerial course towards the Heavenly Spheres.
Valmiki spent some time in his cottage. His thoughts were absorbed in the eventful conversation with Narada.
The time was drawing for his midday bath. He started for the lovely Tamasa (river), not far from the Ganga.
The crystal waters of the murmuring brook caught his heart and he turned to his disciple, Baradwaja and said, “Though the sacred Ganga is not far off, I will take bath here. Tamasa is so charming today. Moreover we are already behind time for our midday prayers!”
When he was bathing, he could see a pair of curlews (wading birds with long curved bills), cock and hen, disporting themselves merrily. They were in the best of their health and spirits sweetly singing. All at once, a hunter sent his arrow right into the heart of the cock. The bird fell down at the feet, as it were, of the horrified Valmiki. It was taken when it was mad with love and enjoying itself with its mate. The wretched hen shrieked in agony of unfinished love at the sight of her lord rolling in the dust in the agonies of death.
The hen was hoplessly disconsolate. And Valmiki, the soul of boundless compassion and justice, was filled with indescribable pity. He cried, “It is a cruel act even for a hardened hunter. How could one have the heart to strike to death a poor bird when it was in the sweet embraces of love, with the fervent kisses of its mate were still warm on its lips?”
Without being conscious of the fact, Valmiki uttered a mighty curse.
“Hapless wretch! May you never for long find a spot in this wide world to rest your weary head! Did you not slay a lovely and harmless curlew that was blind with passion and in the very arms of his love?”
He spoke and paused. A dire misgiving came over him. He said to himself, “How can I, of subdued passions and serene heart, speak such words of dread import that has robbed me of my hard-earned spiritual might?”
But even as he brooded over it, a light splashed through his mind. He exclaimed to Baradvaja, “My heart was now wrung with pity and grief of the miserable fate of the bird. But at the same time these wild words have issued forth from my unconscious lips. But lo! They are arranged in equal lines of even feet, perfect and flawless. Well, this shall confer undying fame on me and never shall it prove otherwise!”
His disciple, Baradvaja, listened to him in awe and wonder.
Then Valmiki had his long delayed bath and went through his prayers. Slowly he returned to the hermitage engrossed with his prophetic words. Then he went through his usual chore. He spent time with his disciples in discourse about sublime matters. But one part of his mind was preoccupied with things that had occurred at the brook, Tamasa.
Later there came to the humble ashrama the four faced One, Brahma, Father of the Earth. Valmiki sprang up to welcome the divine guest. He laid his head at the feet and offered to him the rites of hospitality in all humility and reverence.
The omniscient One accepted the seat of honour offered to him, made kind enquiries about the welfare of his host. He bade Valmiki to sit near him. Having seated near the Father of all species, Valmiki’s thoughts ever ran upon the strange events of the day.
“Alas!” Valmiki said to himself, “how did the wretch bring himself to harm the innocent things absorbed in their love? Because of the wretch I had to curse him and lost my hard-won merit!”
A curious smile lit the face of the Father. “You did not know that when you cursed Goddess Saraswati herself spoke through you at my direction? You did not curse the hunter. It was the Goddess that spoke through you at my direction! The words that cause your innocent heart a world of anxiety shall bring to you boundless fame. Doubt no more! Give to the world the story of Rama, even as you heard it from my son, Narada.
Valmiki was spell bound, and Brahma continued, “Nothing that relates to any of the actors in that great world-drama shall escape your all-seeing eye—Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, men and monkeys, gods and Rakshasas, their acts, their words, their thoughts! Nothing that comes out of your mouth, consciously or unconsciously shall prove other than true. Sing a poem that shall charm away the hearts of men. Your poem shall be perfect in its rhythm and melodious in its flow. The cloud-caped mountains, the swift-coursing rivers, and all created things shall pass away. But your noble song shall live forever! And as long as the record of Rama’s life holds sway over the hearts of men, so long shall you sit by me in my highest heaven!”
With that the Father of all creatures simply disappeared.
And the sage, Valmiki, sat still in hushed awe and silent amazement. Then all of a sudden the holy song bearing the Lord Ram’s story simply gushed in the sweet verse, ‘Manishada’. It was perfect in rhythm and faultless in meter!
Valmiki had from Narada but a bare outline of the life and deeds of Sri Ramachandra of mighty intellect. Valmiki wanted to know the sublime story of Rama fully in all its details and so applied himself to the task.
Duly purifying himself by sipping consecrated water, he took his seat on the sacred grass facing towards the East. He reverenced his Divine teacher in spirit. He was, of course, aided in this task by the supernatural powers conferred on him by Brahma.
Then there he began to see in his inner eye, picture after picture of old times and events:-
Rama, Lakshmana and Sita, Dasaratha, his queens and his subjects, as they lived and moved, laughed or cried. Their joys and griefs, their friendship and enmities; whatever happened to Rama, Lakshmana and Sita; Valmiki clearly saw how they wended their ways in the wild woods; all these and much more he saw clearly down to the minutest details. Everything was even as Narada had related it to him.
In the first six books of his immortal Epic, Valmiki describes the coming down into our mortal world of the Lord Vishnu. Rama’s heroic worth, wonderful strength and fortitude, his kindness and his popularity are all described in soulful poetry. Rama’s sweet patience that nothing can ruffle, his gentleness and his constant truth are described to our elation. Many tales and legends told from the lips of Visvamitra when the princes went with him and how at Janaka’s hall Rama broke the bow of Mahadeva are described. And the marriage of the sons of Dasaratha, the high talk between Sri Rama and Rama of the Axe are described exactly as they happened.
The circumstances of Rama’s coronation and its frustration by Kaikeyi, the poignant grief of Dasaratha and his death, the heart-rending scene of Rama taking leav of the people are described by Valmiki in sublime poetry. Rama’s meeting with Guha on the banks of Ganga, and how he persuaded his charioteer, Sumantra to return to Ayodhya and how they crossed the river and sought Bharadvaja in his forest cottage are depicted ably by Valmiki. How Rama had a lovely cottage built on the sides of Chitrakuta and spent happy days and how Bharata came upon him there and earnestly begged him to return to his own country get expressed in sublime words by Valmiki. Moreover the facts how Rama received the sad news of Dasaratha’s death and how he offered libations of water to his manes, how he gave his sandals to Bharata and prevailed upon him to go back, and how Bharata had them crowned and ruled in their name at Nandigrama.
Valmiki wrote how Rama penetrated into the dark dpths of Dandaka forest and slew Viradha. And how they came to Anasuya’s hermitage who presented with Sita all the things she was in need of in the forest life, how Rama paid his respects to Sarabhanga, Agastya, Sutikshana and Jatayu and how he took up his residence at Panchavati are graphically described by Valmiki.
Valmiki also depicts how Surpanakha came to them and how Lakshmana mutilated her nose and ears; furthermore, the story of how Lakshmana slew the minions of Ravana who came to avenge Surpnakha, how Ravana decoyed Rama and Lakshmana through Maricha and carried away Sita and how Maricha was slain by Rama and how Rama raved over the loss of Sita, his consort all get poignant depiction.
And then, the death of Jadayu and how the brothers came upon Kabandha who directed them to Sabari get described. Then Valmiki describes how they reached the shore of Lake Pampa and from there went to Rishyamuka, where they made the acquaintance of Sugriva. How Rama swore friendship with him and convinced him of his might, how Sugriva fought with his brother, Vali and how Rama slew him in combat is described along with the lamentation of Tara get depicted to the core.
Then how the same Rama gets mighty angry with Sugriva, who thereupon hastened to gather his countless hosts and despatched them all over the earth, and how Rama entrusted Hanuman with his Signet Ring get duly described.
And how the monkeys lost their way into the cave of Riksha, how they resolved to starve themselves to death, their meeting with Sampati, the vulture, on whose information Hanuman took a leap across the sea from the Mahendra mountains, how he landed at nighfall on mount Malaya in Lanka are depicted.
Valmiki describes how Hanuman came upon Ravana and his wives, how he sought out Sita in the Asoka grove and gave her Rama’s token and how Ravana persecuted her with his love, how the Rakshasi women threatened Sita , how Hanuman received from Sita her crest-jewel and destroyed the grove get depicted graphically.
Valmiki depicts how the frightened women-guards informed Ravana about this, and how Hanuman became a willing captive to the Brahmastra of Indrajit, how he set the city on fire, how he rejoined his companions and destroyed the honey grove in an unforgettable manner.
Then Valmiki uses choice words and epithets to describe how Hanuman gave Sita’s token to Rama and consoled him, how Rama proceeded with his forces to the shores of the ocean, how he promised refuge to Vibhishana, and how he caused Nala, the monkey, to throw a bridge across the mighty sea and led his hosts over it to Lanka’s isle.
How Rama laid siege to the isle at night and aided therein by the counsels of Vibhishana, laid low in fierce battle Indrajit, Kumbhakarna, Ravana and others, and how he took back Sita and crowned as king of Lanka, how he went back to Ayodhya in the magic car (chariot), Pushpaka, and met his brother, Bhrata, and how he was crowned king all are depicted with words that will continue to bring tears to devotees forever.
And in the Uttarakanda, the poet describes the coming years of Rama and his golden rule whereby he established Ramrajya!
BLOGGER’S COMMENTS:
Like in the Mahabharata wherein Dhrtarashtra’s minister, Sanjaya, is given extra inner vision or jnana dhrishti to see whatever was happening at the battlefield, Kurukshetra, here in the Ramayana the Poet himself is given such extra inner vision and facility to see whatever happened so far relating to the life of the Lord Rama.
While Sanjaya in the Mahabharata is given the jnana dhrishti to see whatever happened at Kurukshetra and duly report the same to the blind king, Dhrtarashtra at the end of the great epic, here in the Ramayana the great Poet is given this extraordinary inner vision to see the happening to and other people, Rama even before the epic was written.
Sanjaya could see into all the happenings at the Kurukshetra, he was also privileged to see into the heart and mind of every participant in the battle so he could not only understand whatever was going on in the inner person of all the characters, but also divine into various common arrangements, plots, intrigues that had been entertained by groups of characters during the war.
Here in the Ramayana also such facility is granted to the privileged author of the epic to divine into the very heart’s beatings and mental vibrations entertained by Rama and other characters in the great Epic.
Dhrtarashtra did not really benefit from the descriptions by Sanjaya about the happenings at Kurukshetra and did not come forward to call a grinding end to the whole charade, the business of killing that was taking place wholesale on both sides. Dhrtarashtra hoped till the very end of the battle that Duriyodhana will succeed. This foolishness despite his clear understanding and personal knowledge that while his sons were representing everything vile, self-slaying and villainy that was possible on earth and thus they were unrighteous to the core, and so there was little chance for them to be crowned with success in the great war, and that the Pandavas were for Dharma from the start to the finish of the Epic, and so the victory of the Pandavas was as inevitable as the abject downfall of his sons!
We should not be like Dhrtarashtra. We are the beneficiaries of the fact that Valmiki was granted the jnana dhrishti to see and understand the doings, happenings and the very thought process of the characters involved, we should take to the path of undying and unflinching devotion to Sri Ramachandra!
{THE THIRD POST OF THIS MIGHTY EPIC WILL BE PUBLISHED ON 24, MAY, 2026}
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POST NUMBER 2
THE MAHABHARATA
PAUSHYA OF ADI PARVA
CHAPTER NUMBER 2
The man said again, “O Utanka, eat it without scrutiny. Your master ate it before.” And Utanka signified his assent and ate the dung and drank of the urine of that bull. Then he washed his hands and mouth and went to where King Paushya was. On arriving at the palace, Utanka saw Paushya seated on his throne. And approaching him Utanka saluted the monarch and said, “I have come as a petitioner to you.” The King Paushya, returned Utanka’s salutations. He said, “Sir, what shall I do for you?” And Utanka said, “I came to beg from you a pair of ear-rings as a present to my preceptor. Let it please you to give me the earrings worn by the Queen.” King Paushya replied, “Go, Utanka, into the female apartments and ask for the Queen for the ring.” And Utanka went into the women’s apartments. But he could not discover the Queen. He returned to address the king. He said, “It is not proper that I should be treated by you with deceit. Thy Queen is not in the private apartments, for I could not find her.”
The king replied, “If you are in a state of defilement in consequence of contact with impurities, then you can’t see my Queen. My Queen is a chaste woman and cannot be seen by anyone who is impure. She does not appear in sight of anyone who is defiled.”
Utanka reflected for a while and then said, “Yes, it must be so. Having been in a hurry, I performed my ablutions (after meal) in a standing posture.” King Paushya then said, “That is a transgression. Purification is not properly effected by one in a standing posture.
Utanka sat down with his face towards the east, and washed his face, hands, and feet thoroughly. And he then, without a noise, sipped water free from scum and froth three times. The water was not warm and just sufficient to reach his stomach. And he wiped his face twice. He then touched with water the apertures of his organs (eyes, ears, etc.). And having done all this, he once more entered the apartments of the women.
This time he saw the Queen. And the Queen saluted him respectfully and said, “Welcome, Sir, command me what I have to do.” Utanka said to her, “May it please you to give me those ear-rings of yours. I beg them as a present for my preceptor.” And the Queen was pleased with Utanka’s conduct. Considering that Utanka as an object of charity could not be passed over, she took off her ear-rings and gave them to him. And she said, “These ear-rings are very much sought after by Takshaka, the King of the serpents. Therefore you should carry them with the greatest care.” Utanka said to the Queen, “Lady, be under no apprehension. Takshaka, Chief of the serpents, will not be able to overtake me.”
Having said this, and taking leave of the Queen, he went back into the presence of Paushya, and said, “Paushya, I am gratified.” Then Paushya said to Utanka, “A fitting object of charity can only be had at long intervals. You are a qualified guest, therefore I desire to perform a sraddha (a reverence). Stay a little while. And Utanka replied, “Yes, I will wait, and I beg that the clean provisions that are ready may be soon brought in.”
And the king having signified his assent, entertained Utanka duly. And Utanka seeing that the food placed before him had hair in it, and also that it was cold, thought it unclean. And he said to Paushya, “You give me food that is unclean, therefore you shall lose your sight.”
Paushya in answer said, “You impute uncleanliness to food that is clean. Therefore you shall be without any issue.” And Utanka rejoined, “It is not fair on your part, after having offered me unclean food, to curse me in return. Satisfy yourself by ocular proof.”
Paushya seeing the food alleged to be unclean satisfied himself to be so! And Paushya having ascertained that the food was truly unclean, cold and mixed with hair. On enquiry he came to know it was prepared by a woman with unbraided hair. He began to pacify the Rishi Utanka, saying, “Sir, the food is cold, and does contain hair. Therefore I pray you to pardon me. Let me not become blind.”
Utanka answered, “What I say must come to pass.* You will become blind. But you may, however, recover the sight before long. Grant that your curse also does not take effect on me.”
And Paushya said to him, “I am unable to revoke my curse. For my anger even now has not been appeased. But you do not know this. For a Brahmana’s heart is soft as new-churned butter. It is otherwise in respect of the Kshatriya. His words are soft as new-churned butter, but his heart is like a sharp-edged razor. Such being the case, I am unable to neutralize my curse. So you go your own way.” To this Utanka made an answer, “I showed you the uncleanliness of the food offered to me. But I was pacified by you. Besides, you said at first that because I imputed uncleanliness to food that was clean I should be without any issue. But the food was truly unclean. Your curse cannot affect me. Of this I am sure.”*
On the road Utanka perceived a naked idle beggar coming towards him. Sometimes he was coming in view and sometimes disappearing. And Utanka put the ear-rings on the ground and went for water. In the meantime, the beggar came quickly to the spot and taking up the ear-rings ran away. And Utanka completed his ablutions in water and purified himself and also reverently bowed down to the gods and his spiritual masters. Then he pursued the thief with the utmost speed*.
With great difficulty he overtook the beggar. He seized him by force. But at that instant the person seized quit the form of a beggar and assumed his real form. That was the serpent, Takshaka. The serpent speedily entered a large hole on the ground. And having got in, Takshaka proceeded to his own living place, the region of the serpents.
Now, Utanka, recollecting the words of the Queen, pursued the Serpent. He began to dig open the hole with a stick but was unable to make much progress. And Indra watching his distress* sent his thunder to his assistance. Then the thunder-bolt entering that stick enlarged that hole.
Utanka began to enter the hole after the thunder-bolt. And having entered it, he saw the region of the serpents infinite in extent. The region was filled with hundreds of palaces and elegant mansions with turrets and domes and gateways. There were wonderful places for various games and entertainments.
And Utanka then glorified the serpents by the following slokas: “You Serpents, subjects of King Airavata (the elephant that came out when the Asuras or rakshasas and gods churned the milk ocean)! You are splendid in battle and showering weapons in the field like lightning-charged clouds driven by the winds! Handsome and of various forms and decked with many coloured ear-rings, you shine like the Sun in the firmament! On the northern banks of the Ganges are many habitations of serpents. There I constantly adore the great serpents. Who except Airavata would desire to move in the burning rays of the Sun? When Dhritarashtra (Airavata’s brother) goes out, twenty-eight thousand and eight serpents follow him as his attendants*.
“I adore all of you that have Airavata for your elder brother. I adore you also, to obtain the ear-rings, O Takshaka, who formerly lived in Kurukshetra and the forest of Khandava! Takshaka and Aswasena, you are constant companions who live in Kurukshetra on the banks of the Ikshumati! I also adore the illustrious Srutasena, the younger brother of Takshaka. He resided at the holy place called Mahadyumna with a view to obtaining the leadership of the serpents.
The Brahmana Rishi, Utanka, having saluted the chief serpents in this manner, did not obtain, however, the ear-rings. He thereupon became very thoughtful. He then looked about him and saw two women at a loom weaving a piece of cloth with a fine shuttle. In the loom were black and white threads. And he likewise saw a wheel, with twelve spokes, turned by six boys.
He also saw a man with a handsome horse. He began to address them the following mantras: “This wheel whose circumference is marked by twenty-four divisions. They represent as many lunar changes is furnished with three hundred spokes! It is set in continual motion by six boys (the seasons)! These women representing universal nature are weaving without intermission a cloth with threads black and white.
“And thereby they usher into existence the manifold worlds and the beings that inhabit them! You wielder of the thunder, the protector of the universe! You wear the black cloth and display truth and untruth in the universe. You own for your carrier the horse which was received from the depths of the ocean, and which is but another form of Agni (the god of fire). I bow to you, the supreme Lord, you Lord of the three worlds, O Purandara!”
Then the man with the horse said to Utanka, “I am gratified by your adoration. What good shall I do to you?” And Utanka replied, “Let the serpents be brought under my control.” Then the man rejoined, “Blow into this horse.”
Utanka blew into that horse. From the horse issued, from every aperture of his body, flames of fire with smoke. The region of the Nagas was about to be consumed by smoke and fire. Takshaka was surprised beyond measure and terrified by the heat of the fire. He hastily came out of his house taking the ear-rings with him.
The serpent said to Utanka, “Pray, Sir, take back the ear-rings.” And Utanka took them back. But Utanka having recovered his ear-rings thought, “O, this is that sacred day of my preceptress. I am at a distance. How can I show my regard for her?”
When Utanka was anxious about this, the man addressed him thus, “Ride this horse, Utanka, and he will in a moment carry you to your master’s house.”* And Utanka mounted the horse and presently reached his preceptor’s house!
His preceptress that morning, after having bathed was dressing her hair. She was thinking of uttering a curse * on Utanka if he did not return within time. But, in the meantime, Utanka entered his preceptor’s house and paid his respects to his preceptress and presented her the ear-rings.
“Utanka”, she said, “You have arrived at the proper time at the proper place. Welcome, my child. You are innocent and therefore I do not curse you! Good fortune is even before you. Let your wishes be crowned with success!”
Then Utanka waited on his preceptor. And his preceptor said, “You are welcome! What has occasioned your long absence?” And Utanka replied to his preceptor, “Sir, in the execution of this business obstruction was offered by Takshaka, the King of serpents. Therefore I had to go to the region of the Nagas. There I saw two women sitting at a loom, weaving a fabric with black and white threads. Pray, what is that? There likewise I saw a wheel with twelve spokes ceaselessly turned by six boys. What too does that mean? Who is also the man that I saw? And what was the horse of extraordinary size likewise seen by me? And when I was on the road I also saw a bull with a man mounted thereon, by whom I was endearingly accosted thus, ‘Utanka, eat the dung of this bull, which was also eaten by your master?’ So I ate the dung of that bull according to his words. Who also is he? Therefore, enlightened by you, I desire to hear all about them.”
And his preceptor said to him, “The two women you have seen are Dhata and Vidhata. The black and white threads denote night and day. The wheel of twelve spokes turned by the six boys signified the year comprising six seasons. The man is Parjanya, the deity of rain, and the horse is Agni, the god of fire. The bull that you have seen on the road is Airavata, the king of elephants. The man mounted thereon is Indra. And the dung of thej bull was Amrita.* It was certainly for this (last) that you have not met with death in the region of the Nagas. And Indra who is my friend showed you favour. It is for this that you have returned safely, with the earrings with you. Then, O, you amiable one, I give you leave to depart. You shall obtain good fortune.”
And Utanka, having obtained his master’s leave was moved by anger and resolved to avenge himself on Takshaka. He proceeded towards Hastinapura. That excellent Brahmana soon reached Hastinapura. And Utanka then waited upon King Janamejaya who had some time before returned victorious from Takshashila. And Utanka saw the victorious monarch surrounded on all sides by his ministers. And he pronounced benedictions on him in a proper form. And Utanka addressed the monarch at the proper moment in speech of correct accent and melodious sound, saying, “O, you the best of monarchs! How is it that you spend your time like a child when there is another matter that urgently demands your attention?”
The monarch Janamejaya, thus addressed replied to him, “In cherishing my subjects I do discharge the duties of my noble tribe. Say, what needs to be done by me and which has brought you here.”
Utanka replied to him, “O, King! The business is your own that demands your attention. Therefore do it, please. O, you King of kings! Your father was deprived of life by Takshaka. Therefore you avenge your father’s death on that vile serpent. The time has come, I think, for the act of vengeance ordained by Fate. Go then avenge the death of your magnanimous father who, being bitten without cause by that vile serpent, was reduced to five elements (died and was consumed by fire) even like a tree stricken by thunder. The wicked Takshaka, vilest of the serpent race, intoxicated with power committed an unnecessary act when he bit the King, that god-like father, the protector of the race of royal saints. Wicked in his deeds, he even caused Kasyapa (the prince of physicians) to run back when he was coming for the relief of your father. It is but proper for you to burn the wicked wretch in the blazing fire of a snake-sacrifice. O King! Give instant orders for the sacrifice. It is thus you can avenge the death of your father. And a very great favour shall have also been shown to me. For by that malignant wretch, O, virtuous Prince, my business also was, on one occasion, obstructed, while proceeding on account of my preceptor!”
UGRSHRAVA SAUTI, son of Lomaharshana, who had started to relate the story of the Section called Paushya of the Adi Parva to the ascetics converged in the Naimisha forest continued: “The monarch, having heard these words, was enraged with Takshaka. The Prince was inflamed by the speech of Utanka even as the sacrificial fire with clarified butter! He was also moved by grief. The Prince asked his ministers the particulars of his father’s journey to the regions of the blessed. And when he heard all about the circumstances of his father’s death from Utanka, he was overcome with pain and sorrow. And thus ends the section called Paushya of the Adi Parva of the blessed Mahabharata.”
[THE THIRD POST OF THIS BLOG WILL BE PUBLISHED ON 24TH OF MAY, 2026]
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POST NUMBER 2
THE UPANISHADS
Isha Upanishad or Ishopanishad
CHAPTER 1 – VERSE 1
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION
Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat
Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaa maa grdhah kasyaviddhanam
SANSCRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANINGS IN ENGLISH:
According to Dr.S.Radhakrishnan in his ‘THE PRINCIPAL UPANISHADS’ the following Sanscrit words and phrases have the following equivalent meaning in ENGLISH:
ISHAA (OR EESHAA) = The Lord;
VAASYAM = Is Enveloped;
IDAM = This;
SARVAM = All;
YAT KINCHA = Whatsoever;
JAGAT = Cosmos; Whatsoever moving (thing). The Universe is a becoming, not a thing;
JAGATYAAM = In this moving world;
Yatkincha jagatyaam jagat = Whatsoever moves in this moving world;
TENA = By That;
TYAKTENA = By Renunciation;
BHUNJEETHAA = Enjoy;
Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaa = Enjoy (everything here in this moving world) through ‘tyaaga’ or renunciation;
MAA = Not;
GRDHAH = To covet; to lust for;
Maagrdhah = Do not lust for or Covet not;Do not be greedy;
KASYASVID = Of anyone;
DHANAM = Wealth;
Kasyasvid Dhanam = anyone’s wealth;
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
(Know that) all this, whatever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God. Therefore find or seek your enjoyment in renunciation; do not covet what belongs to others.
BLOGGER’S COMMENTS:
It is clear that there are THREE statements in the FIRST Sloka or Verse and the first statement IS AN ASSERTION.
- Ishaa vaasyamidam sarvam yatkincha jagatyaam jagat: All this, whatsoever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God.
- Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaa: Enjoy by that renunciation.
- Maagrdhah kasyasviddhanam: Do not lust for or covet what belongs to others.
To state at the very outset the core of the philosophy of the Whole Work is very native to the Upanishads that are called by one of the great Original Commentators, Sri Shankara, as the Principal Upanishads or Important Upanishads.
In Isha Upanishad also we find this original characteristic shared by the other Principal Upanishads:
eeshaa vasyamidam sarvam – All this (the totality of this Universe) is enveloped by God! There, thus, need not necessarily be any argument in the verity of the truth expressed as His opening statement by the great Rishi who has blessed us with this Upanishad. This universe is nothing but God.
Of the three statements contained in this Verse, this one is an ASSERTION also. The Rishi asserts that just about everything in this Universe is fully, effortlessly and completely ENVELOPED by the Great Lord!
So there can be nothing alien to Him.
The Rishi might as well say to us, “You, worldly folks, don’t have the temerity to call even an infinitesimally small thing like a toothpick or a wayside flower as your very own! Nay, everything from the individual planets of the millions of the galaxies to the spectacles you are wearing to read ‘This Upanishad’ BELONGS TO ME AND TO ME ALONE! So take care to not become bounded on all sides by the iron walls of material notions of owning anything as your property and thus become imprisoned!”
It is very difficult to understand much less believe in the truism of this open declaratory statement. So we do not own anything here. Not even our body. So we can’t even say ‘our body’. We must say this body! Because we do not own this body! Not even a safety pin belongs to us. Then what should we do? Just throw everything out of the window of our house and become a pauper? O, there’s a catch. What house and to whome this house belong? Because, you see, Isha vaasyam idam sarvam! All there is here belongs to God! What are we, for God’s sake, please?
The Rishis to whom these Principal Upanishads were revealed were not using any chosen word of theirs. Isha need not necessarily be one and the same with Brahman or as they call ‘nirguna brahmam’ For Brahman knows no notion of ownership. But Isha does denote this quality of not just agency or relative ownership, but absolute ownership. The whole Universe, the entirety of this wide ineffable cosmos absolutely and permanently to Him!
We must very deliberately see into the reality of this Assertion of the Rishi. Isha means over exerting Lordship. He is the owner and Master of this Universe.
So we individual persons claiming ownership to anything here is fraught with danger and disastrous consequences for our effort and exertion of self-realization. We can only claim ownership to even a box of matches with the help of which we lit our own funeral pyre basis by lighting our cigarette, nor can we claim ownership to the smoke inhaled by us, and this ‘Us thing’ also very dangerous.
So what do we do? Commit hara-kiri? Become desolate and discouraged?
Well that would be out of the scheme of eternal things. Then how to go about living a fulfilled life here?
For all these questions this use of Isha by the Rishi holds the key with the help of which we must unlock the mystery involved in the creation of this Universe. For that we must pick up courage and go further delving deep into the words and utterances of the Rishi in this Verse.
Which we shall do presently without any more diversion in the course of this comment!
So, friends, it is Ishavaasyam idam sarvam!
Everything in this Universe is enveloped by Ishwar! Everything here belongs to him.
How? ‘vaasyam’ denotes ‘is enveloped’. Enveloped by whom? Why, by the Lord, who is described and called as the Owner ‘Isha’ of this Universe.
‘Ishaa’ or ‘eeshaa’ = the sovereign God, the supreme Lord Master.
God or Isha is the owner; one and the only one who owns and controls this Universe AND EVERYTHING both sentient and insentient in the universe!
Unless we factor into the verity of this fact of God being the ABSOLUTE AND SOLE owner and mover of this universe and all beings and non-beings in the Universe, it is not just difficult but entirely impossible to understand what this Upanishadic Rishi wants to convey. For he could easily have started this immortal and ineffable Upanishad as Brahman instead of Isha, but he has chosen to use the word ‘Ishaa’ to lend ultimate pertinence to this opening assertive statement forming part of the first Sloka or Verse.
It is ‘Ishaa’ who has created this Universe and occupies this Universe and everything in this Universe.
The overmastering ‘Ishaa’ is the overarching ‘Ishvara’.
So ‘Ishaa’ is capable of denoting a set of both separate and inclusive QUALITIES AND NATURE such as owning this Universe, moving every being and non-being of this Universe by inhering in them besides forming the substance outside of them.
This ‘Ishaa’ ,the Lord understands and comprehends everything and everyone in this Universe. He occupies every single being and non-being of this Universe.
This ‘Ishaa’ does not live outside this Universe and rules this Universe and the beings and non-beings in It through any outward agency or representative. This ‘Ishaa’, God inheres in the whole of the Universe and resides and occupies each and every single thing, being in this Universe. For he is an intelligent God, who comprehends the entirety of this Universe and every sentient and insentient thing and being inhering and living in this Universe.
GOD IS THE BLESSED THING AND FACT OF THIS UNIVERSE AND THE SUBSTANCE, MOVEMENT, STAY AND THE INTELLIGENT CAUSE OF ALL BEINGS AND NON-BEINGS IN THIS WORLD, IN THIS UNIVERSE. Inhering inside of this Universe HE RULES OVER ALL; He decides everything about this world and decides every movement of everything in this world. He governs every movement and action of every being in this world. For nothing can escape and exist here as such in this Universe free of the overarching masterly governing of this Universal Intelligent BEING. The planets of these teeming number of galaxies stay in their course because of this ‘Ishaa’. The buds bloom because of this ‘Ishaa’. The rivers run and stagnant waters stay because of this ‘Ishaa’. The regular succession and changing of the four seasons is possible because of this ‘Ishaa’.
AND THE LORD WITNESSETH EVERYTHING HERE! Apart from being the Primal Cause of the Universe and everything and everyone here, every movement of this Universe and every movement and action made by the individual beings and planets of this Universe is instantaneously factored in by this intelligent God, Isha. The Lord is the WITNESS.
Not a being of this wide Universe can act without that action being studiously continuously being witnessed by the Lord. I loved the Christian teachers in my elementary and high school days when they said that GOD KNOWS THE EXACT NUMBER OF THE HAIR ON THE HEAD OF EACH BEING! For the individual hair grows and this being one of the universal action, it is being constantly witnessed by the Lord.
A person can be a witness to a murder; he can even be an eye witness, but he/she cannot understand the motive and the provocation for the act of murder on the part of the murderer. But the Lord is both the eye witness of that particular action of murder and apart from that He fully knows and comprehends the motive, provocation of that act or action by the murderer. Because God is witness to the thought and imagination taking place in the mind of the murderer. So God’s being the witness is all-inclusive and all-comprehending. That is how God knows the exact number of the hair follicles on the head of each and every one of us!
Unless we can form a good and complete understanding of these factors of God’s being the creator and sole occupier and witness of this Universe, we cannot hope in a million years through the millennial re-incarnations as human beings TO UNDERSTAND THIS VERSE.
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THIS BASIC POSIT AS BEING THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF THIS UPANISHAD. THE OVERARCHING INTELLIGENT BEING OCCUPIES AND ENVELOPS AND GOVERNS THIS UNIVERS AND THE INDIVIDUAL BEINGS AND NON-BEINGS EXISTING AND LIVING AND INHERING HERE IN THIS UNIVERSE in his capacity of the absolute owner and proprietor of this Universe. Not even a single blade of grass belongs to us!
WITH THIS LET US GO TO THE NEXT EXPRESSION ‘vasyam’.
‘vasyam’ or is enveloped:
Surely this is a new way of looking at the phenomenal world and the animate and inanimate things in this world besides understanding our own part in this Universe.
The sages and saints belonging to every religion in the world bear testimony to this new way of looking at things of occupying this world. For them there is and can be nothing alien to the Lord here in the world. Everything is enveloped by the Lord. That is why He is our Master.
It calls for a new way of looking at things and men and matter all around us.
If we could form and feel and sense and live the idea that everything is enveloped by the Lord, we will not see a bird, a clot of earth, a flower, a piece of gold as different from the Lord. Each and every one of us and every one of the thing in this world bears testimony to the fact that it, he or she is enveloped by our Lord Master.
Then we start to develop an entirely excusive way looking at things and men and matter. Everyone and everything is the personification of our Lord Master! We do not anymore will be looking at our neighbour Selvam, Seervai, Smith, Sulaiman or Simon as an individual any more. We will and we can only see the Lord who inheres in-and-out of our neighbour. So we start to look upon him/her as God Himself. In this we are not making any spiritual allowances to that person by calling that person as personification of the Lord. In India among Hindus there is a habit of touching reverently a person’s body and pay obeisance when we have accidentally trod on his/her toe, because we have indeed trod upon Ishwar’s toe! That is the reason why we Indians worshipfully touch a person and dab our forehead reverently with our hand when we have trod on the person. For the Indians, especially the rustic village folks, everything and everybody and every movement are God’s show!
And, friends, in India, this is how the esoteric philosophies of the ineffable Upanishads have been transported and conveyed to the individual hearts of the teeming millions of people. This is why this land is a holy land, this boomi or earth is a ‘karma boomi’! And this is where the Puranas (eighteen in number) and the epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, and other Sastras have come to play an important role. Almost the entirety of the philosophy of Vedanta has been explained in the twin epics of ancient India whereby the various characters live out the principles enunciated in Vedanta. The rustic millions do not even know the name of any Upanishad. But they know the quintessence of the philosophy of Vedanta!
Thus we have an Udhishthira or Dharma Putra, (the son begotten by Dharma) in the Mahabharata lives out as an householder deeply and unflinchingly wedded to a way of intense life whereby always when a novel situation presents itself in the course of his checkered career as Raja (king), Ascetic or Renounser of the world, as a kind husband, brother and son, he would always ask this singular and very same question, what is Dharma or what is the standpoint of Dharma in this context. And he would only carry out his duties in the above characters as king, recluse, husband, brother and son in accordance with the tenets and nuances of Dharma or the Righteous Conduct. This is how almost all the characters in the epic Mahabharata live out their individual parts as dramatic personae in this immortal epic. And the people of this country know what is Dharma or Adharma (unrighteous conduct) in any particular situation.
And Lord Ram in the epic, the Ramayana, always scrupulously follows and adheres to his self-ordained duty under any and every given situation throughout the story.
Thus it presupposes a new way of seeing the world and men and matter. We own nothing here, but we can enjoy the whole universe with great abandon as in the way shown by the Rishi. We need not anticipate.
In the act of blooming of a flower in a plant, there is a fulfillment of both the personal plan and universal purpose. We can deal with this aspect later. But what we are forced by the Rishi is to look upon the world in a new cosmic prism. Each and every being and non-being of the Universe is an embodiment of the Universal package and purpose. Not a single stick of wood is unimportant. Not even a lowly clerk who ekes out a smallish amount of money for his life on the face of this earth is unimportant because he/she is an individual expression of the Lord Himself. We will come to this later.
The plants, animals and teeming human beings are not individualized and assorted and separate expressions, but everyone and everything is God and all we view all around our daily life is God-view or vision. We must develop this vision. Ishavasyam idam sarvam – everything in this world is enveloped by God. It is inevitable for our progress not only in our spiritual life, but also in our material life! That gets explained in the latter part of this Verse by the Upanishadic Rishi.
Here for the purpose of understanding the opening phrase ‘ishaavasyamidam sarvam’ we may safely conclude that we must attune ourselves to view the things and men and matter in our day-to-day life to looking everywhere the vision of the Lord. The whole Universe is nothing but the vision of the Lord. It is there for us to see and understand. We must develop this universal vision because that is the only reality. We cannot afford to look upon the plants and animals and men and women as individual and separate expressions. Each and every animate and inanimate thing is the expression of the infinite Lord. So we must see only him in everything and everybody. Everything and everybody is an expression of the Lord who both ENVELOPS THAT THING AND BODY AND ALSO INHERES IN THAT INDIVIDUAL THING AND BODY.
ONCE WE GET INTO THIS VISION, WE WILL HAVE STARTED ON THE PATH SHOWN AND DESCRIBED BY THIS UNIQUE UPANISHAD.
{Friends, we have seen just one assertion of the Rishi in this Verse – that is, ishavasym idam sarvam –We will see the next two assertions in the PostNumber 3 which you may read on 24th of May, 2026}
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POST NUMBER 2
THE BHAGAVAD GITA
CHAPTER 1 : VERSE 2
Arjuna Vishada Yoga
OR
THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION
Samjaya uvacha
Drshtvaa tu paandavanikam vyoodham duryodhanas tadaaa
Aachaaryam upasamgamya raajaa vachanam abraveet
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANINGS IN ENGLISH
drshtvaa = having seen
tu = indeed
paandavaannikam = the army of the Pandavas
vyoodham = ub battle array
dhuryodhanah = Duryodhana
tadaa = then
aachaaryam = the teacher
upasamgamya = having approached
raajaa = the king
vachanam = speech
abravit = said
TEXT IN ENGLISH
SANJAYA SAID
Now seeing the Pandava army arrayed properly, the Prince Duryodhana drew near his preceptor Drona and spoke these words:
COMMENTS BY THE BLOGGER
The war is poised to start. On both sides mighty warriors and fearless combatants are arrayed with their arms. Before now, Duryodhana had been more than a bit self satisfied about the invincibility of his army. He had indeed marshaled a large army. The army on the side of Duryodhana was distinctly greater and larger than the army marshaled by the Pandavas. Duryodhana was able to marshal eleven akshouhinis (divisions or battalions) while the Pandavas were able to marshal only seven akshounnis. If Arjuna had opted for Krishna’s entire army, the Pandavas army might have been bigger and larger than their seven akshouhinis. But Arjuna had selected an unarmed Krishna, even though he had been asked first by Krishna to choose between his entire army and himself who would not be taking active part in the war. Since Duryodhana had opted for the entire army of Krishna sans his self, Duriyodhana’s army got enlarged.
Both sides had been marshaling their respective armies and Duriyodhana continually informed himself through his minions as to what was happening on the side of the Pandavas. So he had been privy to the size of the Pandavas’ army.
Still, at Kurukshetra, just before the war commenced he goes through a psychological experience. And doubt is writ large on his face as to the invincibility of the army he had marshaled.
That is one good reason why he now is of the opinion that the Pandavas’ army is better arrayed.
[THE THIRD POST WILL BE PUBLISHED ON 24TH OF MAY, 2026]
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The Ancient Indian Scriptures! 
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