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||
Nun wollen wir die Nirvāṇa-Upaniṣad auslegen. «Ich bin der Paramahaṃsa.» Die umherziehenden Entsagenden sind die «westlichen Kennzeichen». Manmatha ist der Hüter des Bezirks. Die Lehre ist der «Himmel»; der Fluss ist der Nektarstrom mit aufwallenden Wellen. Es ist unvergänglich und rein. Niḥsaṃśaya ist der Seher. Nirvāṇa ist die Gottheit. Das Wirken ist «ohne Linie». Das Wissen ist «nicht ausschließend / nicht-dual».
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
- Rig Veda
- 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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