Paingala Upanishad 3: Verse 3

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

तस्मिन् मरुशुक्तिकास्थाणुस्फटिकादौ जलरौप्यपुरुषरेखादिवल्लोहितशुक्लकृष्णगुणमयी गुणसाम्यानिर्वाच्या मूलप्रकृतिरासीत् । तत्प्रतिबिम्बितं यत्तत्साक्षिचैतन्यमासीत् ॥३॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

तस्मिन् । मरु-शुक्तिका-स्थाणु-स्फटिक-आदौ । जल-रौप्य-पुरुष-रेखा-आदि-वत् । लोहित-शुक्ल-कृष्ण-गुण-मयी । गुण-साम्य-अनिर्वाच्या । मूल-प्रकृतिः । आसीत् । तत्-प्रतिबिम्बितम् । यत् । तत् । साक्षि-चैतन्यम् । आसीत् ।

Sanskrit recitationPaingala Upanishad 3

IAST Transliteration

tasmin maru-śuktikā-sthāṇu-sphaṭikādau jala-raupya-puruṣa-rekhādival lohita-śukla-kṛṣṇa-guṇamayī guṇa-sāmya-anirvāc yā mūla-prakṛtir āsīt | tat-pratibimbitaṃ yat tat sākṣi-caitanyam āsīt ||3||

Translation

সেই ব্রহ্মে—যেমন মরীচিকা, শুক্তি, স্তম্ভ, স্ফটিক প্রভৃতিতে জল, রৌপ্য, মানব-আকৃতি, রেখা ইত্যাদির ভ্রমপ্রতীতি হয়—তেমনই লাল, শ্বেত ও কৃষ্ণ গুণময়, গুণসম্যতার কারণে অনির্বচনীয় মূল-প্রকৃতি ছিল। তাতে যা প্রতিবিম্বিত হয়েছিল, সেটিই সাক্ষী-চৈতন্য।

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Academic Translation

In that (Brahman), as in a mirage, a mother-of-pearl, a post, a crystal, and so on—like water, silver, a human figure, a line, and the like—there was the root Nature (mūla-prakṛti), consisting of the qualities red, white, and black, indescribable due to the equilibrium of the guṇas. That which is reflected in it was the witnessing consciousness (sākṣī-caitanya).

Verse Context

• Māyā/mūla-prakṛti; guṇas (sattva-rajas-tamas); anirvacanīyatva; sākṣī-caitanya; pratibimba-vāda
• Mahavakya: Indirect: clarifies the mechanism of apparent individuality/world (māyā + reflection) that must be negated for realizing mahāvākya identity (e.g., ‘tat tvam asi’, ‘aham brahmāsmi’).
• Yajur
• Śukla (Vājasaneyin) Shakha
• Chandas: Prose