Nirvana Upanishad: Verse 8
अथ निर्वाणोपनिषदं व्याख्यास्यामः । परमहंसः सोऽहम् । परिव्राजकाः पश्चिमलिङ्गाः । मन्मथः क्षेत्रपालः । गगनसिद्धान्तः अमृतकल्लोलनदी । अक्षयं निरञ्जनम् । निःसंशय ऋषिः । निर्वाणो देवता । निष्कुलप्रवृत्तिः । निष्केवलज्ञानम् ॥१–११॥
अथ । निर्वाण-उपनिषदम् । व्याख्यास्यामः । परमहंसः । सः । अहम् । परिव्राजकाः । पश्चिम-लिङ्गाः । मन्मथः । क्षेत्र-पालः । गगन-सिद्धान्तः । अमृत-कल्लोल-नदी । अक्षयम् । निरञ्जनम् । निःसंशयः । ऋषिः । निर्वाणः । देवता । निष्कुल-प्रवृत्तिः । निष्केवल-ज्ञानम् ॥
atha nirvāṇopaniṣadaṃ vyākhyāsyāmaḥ | paramahaṃsaḥ so’ham | parivrājakāḥ paścimaliṅgāḥ | manmathaḥ kṣetrapālaḥ | gaganasiddhāntaḥ amṛtakallolanadī | akṣayaṃ nirañjanam | niḥsaṃśaya ṛṣiḥ | nirvāṇo devatā | niṣkulapravṛttiḥ | niṣkevalajñānam ||1–11||
এতিয়া আমি নিৰ্বাণ উপনিষদৰ ব্যাখ্যা কৰিম। “মই পৰমহংস।” পৰিব্ৰাজক সন্ন্যাসীসকল ‘পশ্চিমলিঙ্গ’ চিহ্ন। মন্মথ ক্ষেত্ৰপাল। সিদ্ধান্ত ‘গগন’ সদৃশ; নদী অমৃতৰ কল্লোলিত তৰংগময় নদী। ই অক্ষয়, নিৰঞ্জন। নিঃসংশয় ঋষি। নিৰ্বাণ দেৱতা। প্ৰবৃত্তি ‘নিষ্কুল’—কুলবন্ধনবিহীন। জ্ঞান ‘নিষ্কেৱল’—অদ্বৈত/অবিশিষ্ট জ্ঞান।
Now we shall expound the Nirvāṇa Upaniṣad. “I am the Paramahaṃsa.” The wandering renunciants are the ‘western marks.’ Manmatha is the guardian of the sacred precinct. The doctrine is the ‘sky’; the river is the nectar‑river with surging waves. (It is) the imperishable, the stainless. Niḥsaṃśaya is the seer. Nirvāṇa is the deity. The activity is ‘without lineage.’ The knowledge is ‘non‑exclusive’/‘non‑dual.’
- so’ham = saḥ + aham (visarga sandhi: ḥ + a → o’)
- nirvāṇopaniṣadam = nirvāṇa + upaniṣadam (a+u → o)
- niḥsaṃśaya = nis + saṃśaya (visarga before s)
- Compounds analyzed as written (e.g., amṛta-kallola-nadī; niṣkevala-jñānam)
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Atman-Brahman identity expressed as so’ham; renunciant path to Nirvāṇa
- The mahavakyas
- Explicitly supports identity-type mahāvākya reading (so’ham ≈ aham brahmāsmi) and the non-difference implied in tat tvam asi.
- Veda
- Atharva
- Chandas
- Prose
Yoga and practice
Ajapa-japa of ‘so’ham’; contemplation of desire as an object to be witnessed and transcended; ākāśa-like open monitoring; cultivation of niḥsaṃśaya (doubt-free) clarity via śravaṇa–manana–nididhyāsana.
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