Prashna Upanishad: Verse 2.1
अथ हैनं भार्गवो वैदर्भिः पप्रच्छ । भगवन् कत्येव देवाः प्रज्ञां दिधारयन्ते कतर एतत् प्रकाशयन्ते कः पुनरेषां वरिष्ठ इति ॥१॥
अथ । ह । एनम् । भार्गवः । वैदर्भिः । पप्रच्छ । भगवन् । कति । एव । देवाः । प्रज्ञाम् । दिधारयन्ते । कतरे । एतत् । प्रकाशयन्ते । कः । पुनर् । एषाम् । वरिष्ठः । इति ॥
atha hainam bhārgavo vaidarbhiḥ papraccha ｜ bhagavan katyeva devāḥ prajñāṃ didhārayante kataraitat prakāśayante kaḥ punareṣāṃ variṣṭha iti ॥
Da fragte ihn Bhargava Vaidarbhi: 'Bhagavan, wie viele Gottheiten stützen das Geschöpf? Welche von ihnen offenbaren dies? Und wer unter ihnen ist der überragendste?'
Then Bhargava Vaidarbhi asked him: 'Bhagavan, how many deities uphold the creature? Which ones manifest this? And who among them is the foremost?'
- hainam → ha+enam
- bhārgavaḥ → bhārgavaḥ (visarga before v)
- katyeva → kati+eva
- kataraitat → kataraḥ+etat (visarga→r before e)
- punareṣām → punar+eṣām (r+e→re)
- variṣṭhaḥ → variṣṭhaḥ (visarga before i)
- didhārayante → causative of dhi+dhr̥
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Prajna (consciousness/creature) upheld by devatas — the hierarchy of divine powers sustaining life
- The mahavakyas
- Sets up the teaching on Prana as the supreme deity, which relates to 'Ayam Atma Brahma' — Prana being the most direct manifestation of Atman in the embodied state
- Veda
- Atharva Veda
- Shakha
- Pippalada Shakha
- Chandas
- Prose (Vedic prose — Aranyak style)
Yoga and practice
This question initiates the inquiry into the subtle anatomy of the body — the devatas correspond to pranas, indriyas (senses), and antahkarana (mind). Yoga practitioners must understand which force is supreme (Prana) to focus meditation on the breath as the gateway to all higher realization. Pranayama becomes the central practice implied by this question.
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