The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

by Swami Krishnananda

Chapter III

Ninth Brahmana: Many Gods and One Brahman

But, there was one man who would not listen to this advice. He had to do something, and he puts a very intricate question. He was the last man to query. There were eight people who put questions. Now the eighth man comes and he dies actually, in the very audience, due to an incident that took place on account of too much meaningless querying. He was called Śākalya.

1. atha hainam vidagdhaḥ śākalyaḥ papraccha: katy devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. sa haitayaiva nividā pratipede, yāvanto vaiśvadevasya nividy ucyante; trayaś ca trī ca śatā, trayaś ca trī ca sahasreti. aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. trayaś triṁśad iti. aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. ṣaḍ iti. aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. traya iti. aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. drāv iti. aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. adhyardha iti. aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti. eka iti, aum iti, hovāca katame te trayaś ca trī ca sahasreti.

Atha hainam vidagdhaḥ śākalyaḥ papraccha: This gentleman gets up and asks certain questions. They are very very long queries, and very long answers also are given. "How many gods are there?" This is what Vidagdha Śākalya wanted to know. The question put to Yājñavalkya by Śākalya means this much—katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya, iti.Sa haitayaiva nividā pratipede, yāvanto vaiśvadevasya nividy ucyante. When the question "How many gods are there?" was put, Yājñavalkya contemplated the list of gods given in a passage, or a Mantra of the Veda called the Nivid, which has reference to a group of gods called Viśvedevas. And in accordance with the statement made in that Mantra, called the Nivid in the Veda, Yājñavalkya says: Trayaś ca trī ca śatā:  "Three hundred and three." The answer was given. Then he says: Trayaś ca trī ca sahasreti: "Three thousand and three." "All right! Let me see," was the retort of Śākalya. Katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya: "Is this the answer that you give me to my question, how many gods are there? Three thousand and three; three hundred and three! Have you no other answer to this question?" Then Yājñavalkya gives another answer. Trayaś triṁśad iti: "There are thirty-three gods." Aum iti. hovāca: "All right!" Again he asks, not being satisfied with this answer. "Tell me again properly; how many gods are there?"—katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya. Ṣaḍ iti:  "Six are there." "All right!" He was not satisfied; he again asks a question. Hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya: "How many gods are there. Tell me again. Think properly." Traya iti: "Only three gods are there." Aum iti. hovāca, katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya: Not being satisfied, he asks again: "How many gods are there? Tell again.Drāv iti: "Two gods are there." Again he asks a question, not being satisfied. "Tell again; how many gods are there?" Katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya. "One and a half gods"—adhyardha iti. Then he was very much upset. "What is this you say, one and a half gods. Tell again properly; how many gods are there?"—Katy eva devāḥ, yājñavalkya. Eka iti: "One god is there," he said finally. So, a series was recounted by Yājñavalkya in a very humorous manner, all of which has some meaning which will be mentioned in the following passages. Katame te trayaś ca trī ca sahasreti: "All these numbers that you have mentioned—three thousand and three, three hundred and three—what are these gods? Give the names of these gods, the deities." Then Yājñavalkya said:

2. sa hovāca, mahimāna evaiṣām ete, trayas trimśat tv eva devā iti. katame te trayas triṁśad iti. aṣṭau vasavaḥ ekādaśa rudrāḥ, dvādaśādityāḥ, te ekatriṁśat indraś caiva prajāpatiś ca trayastriṁśāv iti.

Sa hovāca, mahimāna evaiṣām ete, trayas trimśat tv eva devā iti: "All these three thousand and all that I mentioned—they are not really gods. They are only manifestations of the thirty-three. The thirty-three are the principal manifestations, and others are only their glories, radiances, manifestations, magnificences or forces, energies, powers." "But what are these thirty-three?" – katame te trayas triṁśad iti. "The thirty-three gods are eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Ādityas—they make thirty-one (ekatriṁśat)—then Indra and Prajāpati—these make thirty-three gods."

Now, these are called gods in a very special sense, and there is a meaning behind their being designated as gods. The term 'god' means a power that causally works inside a form. That which regulates from inside any particular individual, groups of individuals, etc. is the god of that individual or the god of that group of individuals. In a broad sense we may say, the cause of anything is the deity of that thing. Now again we have to bring to our mind the meaning of the word 'cause'. The deity does not operate as an external cause. The sun as the cause of the eye is not the sun that is ninety-three million miles away, disconnected from the eye in space. That principle which controls the eye or any other organ has something to do internally also with the structure of the organ. Likewise is the case with every other function. The god of any particular phenomenon is the invisible presence. So it will be mentioned here in the following passages that every visible object has a presiding deity inside. Even the hands cannot be lifted unless there is a force inside; the eyes cannot wink unless there is a force inside the eyes, likewise with every other function or limb of the individual. What are these Vasus, Rudras and ādityas? They have to be explained. They are not far away from us. They are immanent within us.

3. katame vasava iti. agniś ca pṛthivī ca vāyuś cāntarikṣaṁ cādityaś ca dyauś ca candramāś ca nakṣatrāṇi ca, ete vasavaḥ, eteṣu hīdam sarvaṁ hitam iti, tasmād vasava iti.

Katamevasava iti: "What are these Vasus which are eight in number?" "Fire is one deity; earth is one deity; air is another; the atmosphere is one deity; the sun is one deity; the heaven is one deity; moon is one deity; the stars are one deity. These constitute eight groups"—agniś ca pṛthivī ca vāyuś cāntarikṣaṁ cādityaś ca dyauś ca candramāś ca nakṣatrāṇi ca. Ete vasavaḥ: "Why do you call them Vasus?" What is the meaning of the word Vasu? Vasu is that in which something resides. In Sanskrit, Vasu means, to abide. That which is an abode of something; that in which something abides; that which is the repository or the support of something is the Vasu of that thing. Now, these things mentioned here, eight in number, are really the substances, in a subtle form, out of which everything is made, including our own selves. All bodies are constituted of the vibrations of which, ultimately, these principles consist. Agnī, Prthivi, Vāyu, Āntariksa, etc. are not solid bodies, though names are given here which are applicable to physical bodies. Even the earth is not a solid body. It is a vibration. It is something difficult to understand for a casual observer. There is no such thing, ultimately, as a 'solid' body. Everything is a conglomeration of forces. Force concretises itself. The increased density of a particular force is the reason why we give it a particular name in a particular context, as it becomes visible. Even these distinctions between earth, fire, air, etc. are tentative distinctions. One is convertible into the other. So we see that there is an internal connection among the gods. We know that solids can become liquids, and liquids can become gases, and anything can be converted into anything by certain processes to which they are subjected. The solidity of the earth; the fierceness of fire, the fine character of air; the glowing nature of the sun, etc., can be attributed to the increased density of the manifestation of the force of which they are all constituted. Distance does not matter here. Even if the sun is so many millions of miles away, it can regulate us, control us. Distance is completely overruled by the existence of invisible powers, cosmic energies that can reach over great distances as immense light does. So, all bodies are constituted of these Vasus. Our physical body, our subtle body and the physical bodies and the subtle bodies of everyone and everything everywhere—all these are made out of the energies of certain forces which go to make up these elements—the fire, the earth, etc. What is there in our body except these things? If you dissect the body of any individual and constituents, you will find that these constituents of the bodies of individuals are nothing but the constituents of these eight principles mentioned. They are, therefore, called Vasus because everything abides in them. Eteṣu hīdam sarvaṁ hitam iti, tasmād vasava iti: "Everything is deposited as it were in these constituent principles. Therefore, they are called Vasus."

4. katame rudrā iti. daśeme puruṣe prāṇāḥ ātmaikādaśaḥ; te yadāsmāt śarīrān martyād utkrāmanti, atha rodayanti, tad yad rodayanti, tasmād rudrā iti.

Katame rudrā iti: "Who are the Rudras?" The Rudras are inside us. They are not in Mount Kailaśa, as theology would tell you. They are inside us, operating in a particular manner. The powers which constitute the Rudras are the ten senses and the mind. They are eleven in number. "The ten senses and the mind make eleven. These are the Rudras." They make you do whatever they like. They are the controllers of your system. You cannot do anything independent of the senses and the requisites of the mind. What can the body do? What can the individual as a whole do, except in the direction pointed out by the senses and the mind?—katame rudrā iti. daśeme puruṣe prāṇāḥ ātmaikādaśaḥ.

Te yadāsmāt śarīrān martyād utkrāmanti, atha rodayanti, tad yad rodayanti, tasmād rudrā iti: Rudu is to cry, in Sanskrit. "When the senses and the mind leave the body, they make one cry in anguish." One is in a state of grief, and weeps in sorrow due to pain of severance of the senses and the mind from the physical abode. The individual concerned also cries (when they are leaving) and the other people connected with that individual also cry at the time of the departure of what we call the soul in the individual, which is nothing but this total function of the senses and the mind. Inasmuch as these eleven, the senses and the mind, subject the individual to their dictates and make you yield to their demands and clamours, and make you cry in agony if you violate their laws, they are called Rudras.

5. katama ādityā iti. dvādaśa vai māsāḥ saṁvatsarasya, eta ādityaḥ, ete hīdaṁ sarvam ādadānā yanti; te yad idaṁ sarvam ādadānā yanti, tasmād ādityā iti.

Katama āditya iti: "What are the twelve Ādityas, the suns?" They are not twelve suns. "They are twelve forces of the sun," twelve functions of the sun, twelve ways in which the sun's energy works. Dvādaśa vai māsāḥ saṁvatsarasya, eta ādityaḥ, ete hīdaṁ sarvam ādadānā yanti: Āditya is a Sanskrit word meaning the sun. The forces of the sun, the movements of the sun, the phases of the sun, take away the lives of people. Ādadānā means, they take you, withdraw you, absorb you. Every day is a passing of life. The movement of the sun is not merely a beautiful phenomenon that we can gaze on with wonder every morning. Every rise of the sun is an indication that so much life has gone. Every bell that rings tells you that your death is nearing. And so, these twelve months of the year may be regarded as the twelve functions of the sun. They are twelve functions in the sense that they are responsible for the twelve ways in which the sun influences the individuals on earth and the entire atmosphere around it. The movement of the planets, and other stellar bodies in connection with the location of the sun, becomes responsible for what we call the twelve months in the passage of time. And inasmuch as there is such movement which is twelve in number, there is a twelvefold influence of the sun on things around, and these twelve influences of the sun are called twelve Ādityas, by way of symbology. And they are called Ādityas because they withdraw the lives of things. They cause transiency in things. They are the cause of the perishability of bodies—ādadānā yanti; te yad idaṁ sarvam ādadānā yanti, tasmād ādityā iti: Time, actually is meant here, which "takes away the vitality of people."

6. katama indraḥ, katamaḥ prajāpatir iti, stanayitnur evendraḥ, yajñaḥ prajāpatir iti. katamaḥ stanayitnur iti. aśanir iti. katamo yajña iti, paśava iti.

Who is Indra? The power that overpowers everybody, that is Indra. The energy that is with you by which you assert yourself and feel a confidence in yourself is Indra. Even if you are a weakling, you feel a confidence sometimes. That confidence comes due to a hidden potentiality in you, a power in you which is beyond your present conceivable capacity. Katama indraḥ, katamaḥ prajāpatir iti. "Who is Indra? Who is Prajāpati?" (other gods who are mentioned in the list) Stanayitnur evendraḥ: "The rain cloud can be called Indra. Yajñaḥ prajāpatir iti: Sacrifice can be called Prajāpati." Katamaḥ stanayitnur iti: "What do you mean by rain cloud?" "By rain cloud I do not actually mean the cloud, but the lightning which is the embodiment of energy." Indra, therefore, is the designate of force which overwhelms other forces. It is Indra because it rules. It rules in the sense that nothing can stand in its presence. So, in short, Indra represents here a deity designating a force present in every individual, yourself and myself included, a force that can give you the confidence of there being nothing impossible for you. That hidden hope and energy which is present even in the smallest creature is God Himself, revealing Himself in some minute form. A ruler in everybody and the energy that is hiddenly present in every individual is what the term Indra conveys in this context.

Yajñaḥ prajāpatir iti: Prajāpati is the Supreme Being Himself. He is identified with Yajña, or sacrifice. Here, sacrifice does not mean merely oblations in a sacred fire, but a compulsion exerted upon every individual body by this Prajāpati, or the Universal Virāt, or Hiraṇyagarbha, by which it becomes obligatory on the part of every individual to accede to the Law of this Being. Sacrifice is a form of self-surrender. What is sacrifice? It is an offering of what you have and what you are in some measure in the direction of something which you regard as the goal. Now, here the goal is Prajāpati. He is called Yajña, and he is identified with paśava iti. The individual is called the victim of the sacrifice because of the compulsion exerted upon it by the goal of the sacrifice. We are all victims of the sacrifice in the sense that we are obliged, compelled, forced to yield to a law which is transcendent to our own selves. It is not true that we are entirely free, though it looks as if we are like that. Our freedom is conditioned by the necessity of that law which operates within us as the Antāryamin, and which calls for a sacrifice on our part, not in the sense of offering ghee, etc. in fire, but the surrender of our own value to the Eternal Value. Therefore, in that sense, Prajāpati, Yajña—Supreme Sacrifice, includes within Himself everything that is the victim of the sacrifice, which means to say, every individual is included in the universal.

7. katame ṣaḍ iti. agniś ca pṛthivī ca vāyuś cāntarikṣaṁ cādityaś ca dyauś ca, ete ṣat; ete hīdaṁ sarvaṃ ṣad iti.

Katameṣad iti: "How many gods are there? You said six gods." "The six are the same as already mentioned, minus two. Agnis ca prithivi ca vayus cantariksam cadityas ca dyaus ca, ete sat: ete hidam sarvam sad iti: The fire principle, the earth principle, the atmospheric principle, the sun and the moon, the sun and the heavens—these are the six. So they are not new things. I have already mentioned eight. Two I have excluded. By excluding two, I tell you, six gods are there."

8. katame te trayo devā iti. ima eva trayo lokāḥ, eṣu hīme sarve devā iti. katamau tau dvau devāv iti, annaṁ caiva prāṇaś ceti. katamo'dhyardha iti, yo yam pavata iti.

Now—katame te trayo devā iti: "What are the three gods? The three worlds themselves are the three gods." We do not have gods outside the universe. They are inside the universe. In traditional theology, sometimes we are told that gods are outside. They are in paradise; they are in heaven. It is not true. They are not outside. The word 'outside' is inapplicable to the connection of gods to the bodies over which they preside. I have already mentioned, they are like causes with effects. They are immanently hidden in the bodies, which they preside over, which they control, and which are the effects thereof. So, the universe includes every effect—your body, my body and every body. All the fourteen realms of beings, called the Lokas, are what we call the worlds. They are constituted of three levels—the higher, the middle and the lower. These three worlds are the entire creation. These three levels may be regarded as the gods in the sense that the threefold conceivable division of the Eternal Reality in respect of these three worlds is the threefold god. Inasmuch as the gods are inseparable from the worlds, the worlds themselves are called gods, just as your body is pointed out by some other person, saying, "this is the person". This is not the person! The person is something transcendent to your body, and yet you identify the personality of yours, or the person in you, with the body that is appearing outside. Likewise, the worlds are identified with the gods which preside over them. So, in a way, the three worlds are the three gods. No other god, or gods, exist. Katame te trayo devā iti. ima eva trayo lokāḥ, eṣu hīme sarve devā iti: "All the gods are inside the three worlds." They are not outside. Even the heavens are inside these three worlds only.

Katamau tau dvau devāv iti: Now finally he says: "There are two gods." "Who are the two gods?" Annaṁ caiva prāṇaś ceti: "Energy and matter—these are the two gods." The whole universe consists of matter and energy. There is nothing else. Outwardly it is matter, inwardly it is energy. And these may be called the ultimate gods in one sense, matter and energy, called here Anna and Prāṇa. "Be satisfied Śākalya," says Yājñavalkya.

Continued