Niralamba Upanishad: Verse 5
ब्रह्मैव स्वशक्तिं प्रकृत्यभिधेयामाश्रित्य लोकान् सृष्ट्वा प्रविश्यान्तर्यामित्वेन ब्रह्मादीनां बुद्धीन्द्रियनियन्तृत्वाद् ईश्वरः॥ जीव इति च ब्रह्मविष्ण्वीशानेन्द्रादीनां नामरूपद्वारा स्थूलोऽहमिति मिथ्याध्यासवशाज् जीवः। सोऽहमेकोऽपि देहारम्भकभेदवशाद् बहुजीवः॥५॥
ब्रह्म । एव । स्व-शक्तिम् । प्रकृतिअभिधेयाम् । आश्रित्य । लोकान् । सृष्ट्वा । प्रविश्य । अन्तर्यामित्वेन । ब्रह्म-आदीनाम् । बुद्धि-इन्द्रिय-नियन्तृत्वात् । ईश्वरः ॥ जीवः । इति । च । ब्रह्म-विष्णु-ईशान-इन्द्र-आदीनाम् । नाम-रूप-द्वारा । स्थूलः । अहम् । इति । मिथ्या-अध्यास-वशात् । जीवः । सः । अहम् । एकः । अपि । देह-आरम्भक-भेद-वशात् । बहु-जीवः ॥५॥
brahmaiva svaśaktiṃ prakṛty-abhidheyām āśritya lokān sṛṣṭvā praviśyāntaryāmitvena brahmādīnāṃ buddhīndriya-niyantṛtvād īśvaraḥ॥ jīva iti ca brahma-viṣṇv-īśānendrādīnāṃ nāmarūpa-dvārā sthūlo 'ham iti mithyādhyāsa-vaśāj jīvaḥ। so 'ham eko 'pi dehārambhaka-bheda-vaśād bahujīvaḥ॥5॥
ब्रह्मन ने अपनी शक्ति प्रकृति का इस्तेमाल किया, दुनिया बनाई, और फिर अंदर घुस गया। अंदर से सबको चलाने के लिए उसे ईश्वर कहते हैं, ब्रह्मा और बाकी सबके दिमाग और इंद्रियां यही चलाता है। जीव तब बनता है जब गलत फैमी आती है। ब्रह्मा, विष्णु, शिव, इंद्र जैसे नाम और रूप देख के इंसान सोचता है कि मैं यह बदन हूँ। पर मैं तो एक ही हूँ, अलग-अलग बदन की वजह से लगता है कि बहुत सारे जीव हैं।
Brahman alone, resorting to Its own power called Prakṛti, having created the worlds and entered (them), is Īśvara by virtue of being the inner ruler and the controller of the intellect and senses of Brahmā and the others. And ‘jīva’ is (so called) due to false superimposition—through name and form such as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Īśāna, Indra, and the rest—(thinking) ‘I am the gross (body).’ Though the ‘I’ is one, it becomes many jīvas owing to differences in the bodies and their constituent beginnings.
- brahmaiva → brahma + eva (a+e→ai)
- prakṛty-abhidheyām → prakṛti + abhidheyām (i+a→yā)
- sṛṣṭvā praviśya: sequential absolutives
- praviśyāntaryāmitvena → praviśya + antaryāmitvena (a+a→ā)
- buddhīndriya- → buddhi + indriya (i+i→ī)
- niyantṛtvād → niyantṛtvāt + (d-ādeśa before vowel in external sandhi; here written -tvād) + īśvaraḥ
- sthūlo’ham → sthūlaḥ + aham (visarga→o before vowel)
- mithyādhyāsa- → mithyā + adhyāsa (ā+a→ā; written with dhy due to orthography)
- vaśāj → vaśāt (t→j before voiced consonant; here before jīvaḥ)
- so’ham → saḥ + aham (visarga→o)
- eko’pi → ekaḥ + api (visarga→o)
- dehārambhaka- → deha + ārambhaka (a+ā→ā)
- bahujīvaḥ: bahu + jīva (karmadhāraya)
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Īśvara (antaryāmin) and jīva as adhyāsa; ekātman appearing as many
- The mahavakyas
- Clarifies the gap between ‘tat tvam asi’ (identity of Self and Brahman) and empirical plurality: jīva-hood is due to nāma-rūpa and adhyāsa; supports ‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’ by negating body-identification.
- Veda
- Atharva
- Chandas
- Prose
Yoga and practice
Antaryāmin-bhāvanā (meditation on the inner ruler) to refine devotion and surrender; viveka practice to detect ‘sthūlo’ham’ identification; inquiry into the ‘I’ (aham-vṛtti) to dissolve adhyāsa and recognize one Self.
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