Isha Upanishad | Isopanisad

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Īśā Upaniṣad

.. ईशोपनिषत् ..
.. īśopaniṣat ..

Īśa Upanishad derives its title from the opening words “Īśa- Vāsya, “God-covered.”

The use of Īśa (Lord)—a more personal name of the Supreme Being than Brahman, Ātman or Self, the names usually found in the Upanishads - constitutes one of its peculiarities.

It forms the closing chapter of the Yajur-Veda, known as Śuklā (White). The Īśa-Vāsya Upanishad is that which gives Brahma-Vidyā or knowledge of the All-pervading Deity.

Verse ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Invocation

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते .
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ..

auṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate .
pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ..

pūrṇam – full; adas – that, the above; pūrṇam – full; idam – this, (the manifest); pūrṇāt – from the full; pūrṇam – full; udacyate – proceeds; pūrṇasya – from the full; pūrṇam – full; ādāya – subtracting; pūrṇam – full; eva – even; avaśiṣyate – remains behind;

OM! That (the Invisible-Absolute) is whole;
whole is this (the visible phenomenal);
from the Invisible Whole comes forth the visible whole.
Though the visible whole has come out from that Invisible Whole,
yet the Whole remains unaltered.

ॐ शांतिः शांतिः शांतिः ..

auṁ śāṁtiḥ śāṁtiḥ śāṁtiḥ ..

Om! Peace! Peace! Peace!

.. अथ ईशोपनिषत् ..
.. atha īśopaniṣat ..

1.

ॐ ईशा वास्यमिदँ सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् .
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् .. १..

auṁ īśā vāsyamidaɱ sarvaṁ yatkiñca jagatyāṁ jagat .
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasyasviddhanam .. 1..

īśā – by the Lord, of the Lord; vāsyam – worthy of being dwelt in, entered; idaɱ - this; sarvam - all; yat-kiñca – whatsoever; jagatyāṁ - in the Prakṛti; jagat – moves, becomes modified or undergoes change; tena – by that (Lord); tyaktena – renounced, allotted, given, i.e. whatever comes providentially; bhuñjīthā – enjoy thou; mā – do not; gṛdhaḥ - beg, covet; kasya – from any; svit – even, verily; dhanam – wealth;

All this, whatsoever exists in the universe,
should be covered by the Lord.
Having renounced (the unreal), enjoy (the Real).
Do not covet the wealth of any man.

2.

कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छतँ समाः .
एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतोऽस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे .. २..

kurvanneveha karmāṇi jijīviṣecchataɱ samāḥ .
evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto'sti na karma lipyate nare .. 2..

kurvan – doing (without desire of fruit); eva – even; iha – here (while born as a human being); karmāṇi – doings, works, etc.; jijīviṣet – let him desire to live; śataṁ - a hundred, the full period; samāḥ - years; evaṁ - thus, doing works; tvayi – for thee; na – not; karma – sin, karma; lipyate – binds, stains; nare – in the man;

If one should desire to live in this world a hundred years,
one should live performing Karma (righteous deeds).
Thus thou mayest live; there is no other way.
By doing this, Karma (the fruits of thy actions) will not defile thee.

3.

असुर्या नाम ते लोका अन्धेन तमसाऽऽवृताः .
ताँस्ते प्रेत्याभिगच्छन्ति ये के चात्महनो जनाः .. ३..

asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasā''vṛtāḥ .
tāɱste pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātmahano janāḥ .. 3..

asuryā – full of great sorrow, belonging to the asurās, miserable, terrible, fit only for āsuric natures; nāma – named, certainly; te – those; lokā – worlds, births; andhena – by blinding, deep; tamasā – by darkness; āvṛtāḥ - covered, pervaded; tān – them (refers to worlds); te – they, (refers to worlds); pretya – dying; abhigacchanti – go down to, constantly revisit; ye – who; ke – those; ca – and; ātma-hanaḥ - self killing (worshipping Lord wrongly or not worshipping at all); janāḥ - men, creatures subject to birth and death;

After leaving their bodies,
they who have killed the Self
go to the worlds of the Asuras,
covered with blinding ignorance.

4.

अनेजदेकं मनसो जवीयो नैनद्देवा आप्नुवन्पूर्वमर्षत् .
तद्धावतोऽन्यानत्येति तिष्ठत्तस्मिन्नपो मातरिश्वा दधाति .. ४..

anejadekaṁ manaso javīyo nainaddevā āpnuvanpūrvamarṣat .
taddhāvato'nyānatyeti tiṣṭhattasminnapo mātariśvā dadhāti .. 4..

anejat – untrembling, i.e. fearless, unagitated; ekaṁ - one, supreme; manasa - than mind; javīya - swifter; na – not; enat – it (the supreme Brahman); deva - the shining ones (like Brahma and other devas); āpnuvan – obtain, fully comprehend; pūrvam – from before (the beginning of time), beginningless, eternal; arṣat – knowing (He knows all from before); tat – that (Brahman); dhāvata - running; anyān – these others; atyeti – goes beyond, surpasses; tiṣṭhat – staying at one place, resting, sitting; tasmin – in that (Ātman or Hari); āpaḥ - lit. that which protects from all sides (karmas); Mātariśva – the principal Vāyu, or spirit, the mover in space; dadhāti – offers as pūjā, supports, allots for, establishes;

That One, though motionless, is swifter than the mind.
The senses can never overtake It, for It ever goes before.
Though immovable, It travels faster than those who run.
By It the all-pervading air sustains all living beings.

5.

तदेजति तन्नैजति तद्दूरे तद्वन्तिके .
तदन्तरस्य सर्वस्य तदु सर्वस्यास्य बाह्यतः .. ५..

tadejati tannaijati taddūre tadvantike .
tadantarasya sarvasya tadu sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ .. 5..

tat – from him; ejati – tremble in awe, moves; tat – He, Himself; na – not; ejati – trembles, fears, moves ; tat – He; dūre – far off; tadu – so, also; antike – near; tat – he; antar – within; asya – of this; sarvasya – of all; tat u sarvasya – that very of all; asya – of this; bāhyataḥ - outside;

It moves and It moves not.
It is far and also It is near.
It is within and also It is without all this.

6.

यस्तु सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मन्येवानुपश्यति .
सर्वभूतेषु चात्मानं ततो न विजुगुप्सते .. ६..

yastu sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmanyevānupaśyati .
sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate .. 6..

yaḥ - who; tu – but, and; sarvāṇi – all; bhūtāṇi – beings, creatures; ātmani – in the Supreme Self; eva – only, even; anupaśyati – beholds, sees, experiences, knows without a doubt; sarvabhūteṣu – in all beings; ca – and; ātmānaṁ - God who rules by being their innermost self; tata - therefore; na – not; vijugupsate – wishes to guard and save himself;

He who sees all beings in the Self
and the Self in all beings,
he never turns away from It (the Self).

7.

यस्मिन्सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद्विजानतः .
तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः .. ७..

yasminsarvāṇi bhūtānyātmaivābhūdvijānataḥ .
tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvamanupaśyataḥ .. 7..

yasmin – in whom, i.e., in the Supreme Self; sarvāṇi – all; bhūtāni – beings; ātmā – the Supreme self; eva – even, indeed; abhūt – was, existed or exists inside those beings also; vijānataḥ - who understands (by differentiating the Jīva from Īśvaraḥ), understanding; tatra – in those beings; ka - what; mohaḥ - delusion; kaḥ - what; śoka - grief; ekatvam – unity, oneness; anupaśyataḥ - experiencing, seeing, realising;

He who perceives all beings as the Self’
for him how can there be delusion or grief,
when he sees this oneness (everywhere)?

8.

स पर्यगाच्छुक्रमकायमव्रण-
मस्नाविरँ शुद्धमपापविद्धम् .
कविर्मनीषी परिभूः स्वयम्भू-
र्याथातथ्यतोऽर्थान् व्यदधाच्छाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः .. ८..

sa paryagācchukramakāyamavraṇa
masnāviraɱ śuddhamapāpaviddham .
kavirmanīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhū
ryāthātathyato'rthān vyadadhācchāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ ..

saḥ - he; paryagāt – attained; śukram – free from sorrow; akāyam – incorporeal, without a body; avraṇam – eternal and full; asnāviram – sinews less, without muscles, without a dense body; śuddham – purifier; apāpaviddham – untouched by evil, untouched by karma effects, good or bad; kavi - the seer, the knower or seer of all, the wise, the omniscient; manīṣī - the ruler of Mind or the controller of Minds & Intelligence, like Brahma, etc. paribhūḥ - omnipresent, all-existent, all-controller, over-essence, etc.; svayambhū – self-existent, self-reliant; yāthātathyata - in its full & proper sense, really & truly, not as an illusion; arthān – things; vyadadhāt – disposed, ordained; śāśvatībhyaḥ - through eternal or recurring; samābhyaḥ - years, ages;

He (the Self) is all-encircling, resplendent, bodiless,
spotless, without sinews, pure, untouched by sin,
all-seeing, all-knowing, transcendent, self-existent;
He has disposed all things duly for eternal years.

9.

अन्धं तमः प्रविशन्ति येऽविद्यामुपासते .
ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ विद्यायाँ रताः .. ९..

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti ye'vidyāmupāsate .
tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyāɱ ratāḥ .. 9..

andhaṁ - blinding; tama - darkness; praviśanti – enter; ye – who; avidyām – wrong, misconception; upāsate – worship; tata - than that; bhūya - greater; iva – undoubtedly; te – they; tama - darkness; ye – who; u – but; vidyāyām - knowledge, ratāḥ - devoted, delight in;

They enter into blind darkness
who worship Avidya (ignorance and delusion);
they fall, as it were, into greater darkness
who worship Vidyā (knowledge).

10.

अन्यदेवाहुर्विद्ययाऽन्यदाहुरविद्यया .
इति शुश्रुम धीराणां ये नस्तद्विचचक्षिरे .. १०..

anyadevāhurvidyayā'nyadāhuravidyayā .
iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ ye nastadvicacakṣire .. 10..

anyat – different, one thing; eva – even, truly, verily, indeed; āhuḥ - they say, declare; vidyayā – from vidyā, from knowledge devoid of practice; iti – thus; śuśrumaḥ - we have heard; dhīrāṇāṁ - from the wise, of the steadfast sages; ye – who; naḥ - us; tat – that; vicacakṣire – explained, taught;

By Vidyā one end is attained; by Avidya, another.
Thus we have heard from the wise men who taught this.

11.

विद्यां चाविद्यां च यस्तद्वेदोभयँ सह .
अविद्यया मृत्युं तीर्त्वा विद्ययाऽमृतमश्नुते .. ११..

vidyāṁ cāvidyāṁ ca yastadvedobhayaɱ saha .
avidyayā mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā vidyayā'mṛtamaśnute .. 11..

vidyāṁ - vidyā, knowledge, wisdom; ca – and; avidyāṁ - non-knowledge, false knowledge; ca – and; ya - who; tat – that; veda – knows; ubhayam – both; saha – at the same time, together; avidyayā – through non-knowledge; mṛtyuṁ - death, mental impurity; tīrtvā – having overcome, crossed over; vidyayā – through knowledge; amṛtam – immortality; aśnute – enjoys, obtains, reaches;

He who knows at the same time both Vidyā and Avidya,
crosses over death by Avidya and attains immortality through Vidyā.

12.

अन्धं तमः प्रविशन्ति येऽसम्भूतिमुपासते .
ततो भूय इव ते तमो य उ सम्भूत्याँ रताः .. १२..

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti ye'sambhūtimupāsate .
tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u sambhūtyāɱ ratāḥ .. 12..

andhaṁ tamaḥ - blinding darkness; praviśanti – they enter; ye – who; asambhūtim – destruction; upāsate – worship; tata - than, that; bhūyaḥ - greater; iva – surely; te – they; tama - darkness; ye – who; u – but; sambhūtyām – merely as Creator and not Destroyer; ratāḥ - devoted;

They fall into blind darkness who worship the Unmanifested
and they fall into greater darkness who worship the manifested.

13.

अन्यदेवाहुः सम्भवादन्यदाहुरसम्भवात् .
इति शुश्रुम धीराणां ये नस्तद्विचचक्षिरे .. १३..

anyadevāhuḥ sambhavādanyadāhurasambhavāt .
iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ ye nastadvicacakṣire .. 13..

anyate – one thing, different; eva – even, indeed; āhuḥ - they say; sambhavāt – creator; anyate – one thing, different; āhuḥ - they say; asambhavāt – destroyer; iti – thus; śuśruma – we have heard; dhīrāṇāṁ - of the wise, of the sages; ye – who; na – to us; tat – that; vicacakṣire – explained, taught;

By the worship of the Unmanifested one end is attained;
by the worship of the manifested, another.
Thus we have heard from the wise men who taught us this.

14.

सम्भूतिं च विनाशं च यस्तद्वेदोभयँ सह .
विनाशेन मृत्युं तीर्त्वा सम्भूत्याऽमृतमश्नुते .. १४..

sambhūtiṁ ca vināśaṁ ca yastadvedobhayaɱ saha .
vināśena mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā sambhūtyā'mṛtamaśnute .. 14..

sambhūtiṁ - knowing Him as Creator; ca – and; vināśaṁ - as Destroyer also; ca – and; ya - who; tat – that; veda – knows; ubhayam – both; saha – together; vināśena – by destruction; mṛtyuṁ - death; tīrtvā – having overcome; sambhūtyā – by the knowledge of Creator; amṛtam – immortality; aśnute – enjoys, obtains;

He who knows at the same time both
the Unmanifested (the cause of manifestation)
and the destructible or manifested,
he crosses over death through knowledge of the destructible
and attains immortality through knowledge of the First Cause (Unmanifested).

15.

हिरण्मयेन पात्रेण सत्यस्यापिहितं मुखम् .
तत्त्वं पूषन्नपावृणु सत्यधर्माय दृष्टये .. १५..

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham .
tattvaṁ pūṣannapāvṛṇu satyadharmāya dṛṣṭaye .. 15..

hiraṇmayena - by the golden; pātreṇa – disk, who evaporates the water and saves the world; the Solar Orb is called the Golden Disk; satyasya – of the True; apihitaṁ - is covered, concealed, veiled; mukham – face; tat – that; tvam – thou; pūṣan – O Full, O Nourisher; apāvṛṇu – open, unveil, remove; satya-dharmāya – the upholder of the True Duty; dṛṣṭaye – to see, to find;

The face of Truth is hidden by a golden disk. O Pūshan (Effulgent Being)!
Uncover (Thy face) that I, the worshipper of Truth, may behold Thee.

16.

पूषन्नेकर्षे यम सूर्य प्राजापत्य
व्यूह रश्मीन् समूह तेजः .
यत्ते रूपं कल्याणतमं तत्ते पश्यामि
योऽसावसौ पुरुषः सोऽहमस्मि .. १६..

pūṣannekarṣe yama sūrya prājāpatya
vyūha raśmīn samūha tejaḥ .
yatte rūpaṁ kalyāṇatamaṁ tatte paśyāmi
yo'sāvasau puruṣaḥ so'hamasmi .. 16..

pūṣan – O Pūṣan, O Nourisher; ekarṣe – eka-ṛṣe – the One (Principal, Supreme) Wisdom; yama – Punisher or Judge of all; sūrya – sun; Prājāpatya – Prajāpati, progenitor; vyūha – expand, spread; raśmīn – the rays; samūha – gather, in-draw, collect; tejaḥ - effulgence; yat – what; te – thy; rūpaṁ - form; kalyāṇatamaṁ - most auspicious; tat – that; te – (through) thy (grace); paśyāmi – I see, I (may, wish) to see; yaḥ —who; asau — in life; asau – that; puruṣaḥ — Personality; saḥ — he; aham — I; asmi — am.

O Pūshan! O Sun, sole traveller of the heavens, controller of all, son of Prajāpati,
withdraw Thy rays and gather up Thy burning effulgence.
Now through Thy Grace I behold Thy blessed and glorious form.
The Purusha (Effulgent Being) who dwells within Thee, I am He.

17.

वायुरनिलममृतमथेदं भस्मांतँ शरीरम् .
ॐ क्रतो स्मर कृतँ स्मर क्रतो स्मर कृतँ स्मर .. १७..

vāyuranilamamṛtamathedaṁ bhasmāṁtaɱ śarīram .
auṁ krato smara kṛtaɱ smara krato smara kṛtaɱ smara .. 17..

vāyuḥ - wind, prāṇa; anilam – abiding; amṛtam – immortal; atha – now then; idam – this; bhasmāṁtam - turned to ashes; śarīram – body; auṁ - Om, O Lord; krato – O enjoyer of all sacrifices; smara – remember; kṛtam – duty; smara – remember; krato – O enjoyer of all sacrifices; smara – remember; kṛtam – duty; smara – remember;

May my life-breath go to the all-pervading and immortal Prāṇa,
and let this body be burned to ashes.
Om! O Lord, remember my deeds!
O Lord, remember, remember my deeds! Remember!

18.

अग्ने नय सुपथा राये अस्मान्
विश्वानि देव वयुनानि विद्वान् .
युयोध्यस्मज्जुहुराणमेनो
भूयिष्ठां ते नमउक्तिं विधेम .. १८..

agne naya supathā rāye asmān
viśvāni deva vayunāni vidvān .
yuyodhyasmajjuhurāṇameno
bhūyiṣṭhāṁ te nama̮uktiṁ vidhema .. 18..

agne – O Agni, fire; naya – lead, direct; supathā – by the good path; rāye – to the wealth; asmān – us; viśvāni – all; deva – O God; vayunāni – efforts; vidvān - the knower; yuyodhi – remove, separate; asmat – from us; juhurāṇam – degrading, contacting; ena - vices, sins; bhūyiṣṭhāṁ - in full, completely; te - unto You; namaḥ-uktiṁ - words of obeisance; vidhema – we do;

O Agni (Bright Being)! Lead us to blessedness by the good path.
O Lord! Thou knowest all our deeds, remove all evil and delusion from us.
To Thee we offer our prostrations and supplications again and again.

.. इति ईशोपनिषत् ..

.. iti īśopaniṣat ..

…It was Īśopaniṣad...

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते .
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ..

auṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇātpūrṇamudacyate .
pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate ..

pūrṇam – full; adas – that, the above; pūrṇam – full; idam – this, (the manifest); pūrṇāt – from the full; pūrṇam – full; udacyate – proceeds; pūrṇasya – from the full; pūrṇam – full; ādāya – subtracting; pūrṇam – full; eva – even; avaśiṣyate – remains behind;

OM! That (the Invisible-Absolute) is whole;
whole is this (the visible phenomenal);
from the Invisible Whole comes forth the visible whole.
Though the visible whole has come out from that Invisible Whole,
yet the Whole remains unaltered.

ॐ शांतिः शांतिः शांतिः ..

auṁ śāṁtiḥ śāṁtiḥ śāṁtiḥ ..

Om! Peace! Peace! Peace!