Question 1
Original Sanskrit
1 ॐ सुकेशा च भारद्वाजः शैब्यश्च सत्यकामः सौर्यायणीच गार्ग्यः कौसल्यश्चाश्वलायनो भार्गवो वैदर्भिः कबन्धीकात्यायनस्ते हैते ब्रह्मपरा ब्रह्मनिष्ठाः परंब्रह्मान्वेषमाणा एष ह वै तत्सर्वं वक्ष्यतीति ते हसमित्पाणयो भगवन्तं पिप्पलादमुपसन्नाः
2 तन् ह स ऋषिरुवच भूय एव तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धयासंवत्सरं संवत्स्यथयथाकामं प्रश्नान् पृच्छत यदि विज्ञास्यामः सर्वं ह वोवक्ष्याम इति
3 अथ कबन्धी कत्यायन उपेत्य पप्रच्छ ।भगवन् कुते ह वा इमाः प्रजाः प्रजायन्त इति
4 तस्मै स होवाच प्रजाकामो वै प्रजापतिः स तपोऽतप्यतस तपस्तप्त्वा स मिथुनमुत्पादयते ।रयिं च प्रणंचेत्येतौ मे बहुधा प्रजाः करिष्यत इति
5 आदित्यो ह वै प्राणो रयिरेव चन्द्रमा रयिर्वा एतत्सर्वं यन्मूर्तं चामूर्तं च तस्मान्मूर्तिरेव रयिः
6 अथादित्य उदयन्यत्प्राचीं दिशं प्रविशति तेन प्राच्यान्प्राणान् रश्मिषु सन्निधत्ते ।यद्दक्षिणां यत् प्रतीचींयदुदीचींयदधो यदूर्ध्वं यदन्तरा दिशो यत् सर्वं प्रकाशयतितेन सर्वान् प्राणान् रश्मिषु सन्निधत्ते
7 स एष वैश्वानरो विश्वरुपः प्राणोऽग्निरुदयते ।तदेतदृचाऽभ्युक्तम्
8 विश्वरूपं हरिणं जातवेदसंपरायणं ज्योतिरेकं तपन्तम् ।सहस्ररश्मिः शतधा वर्तमानःप्राणः प्रजानामुदयत्येष सूर्यः
9 संवत्सरो वै प्रजापतिस्तस्यायने दक्षिणं चोत्तरं च ।तद्ये ह वै तदिष्टापूर्ते कृतमित्युपासते ते चान्द्रमसमेवलोकमभिजयन्ते ।त एव पुनरावर्तन्ते तस्मादेत ऋषयःप्रजाकामा दक्षिणं प्रतिपद्यन्ते ।एष ह वै रयिर्यःपितृयाणः
10 अथोत्तरेण तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धयाविद्ययाऽऽत्मानमन्विष्यादित्यमभिजयन्ते ।एतद्वैप्राणानामायतनमेतदमृतमभयमेतत् परायणमेतस्मान्नपुनरावर्तन्त इत्येष निरोधस्तदेष श्लोकः
11 पञ्चपादं पितरं द्वादशाकृतिंदिव आहुः परे अर्धे पुरीषिणम् ।अथेमे अन्य उ परे विचक्षणंसप्तचक्रे षडर आहुरर्पितमिति
12 मासो वै प्रजापतिस्तस्य कृष्णपक्ष एव रयिःशुक्लः प्रणस्तस्मादेत ऋषयः शुक्ल इष्टं कुर्वन्तीतरइतरस्मिन्
13 अहोरात्रो वै प्रजापतिस्तस्याहरेव प्राणो रात्रिरेव रयिःप्राणं वा एते प्रस्कन्दन्ति ये दिवा रत्या संयुज्यन्तेब्रह्मचर्यमेव तद्यद्रात्रौ रत्या संयुज्यन्ते
14 अन्नं वै प्रजापतिस्ततो ह वै तद्रेतस्तस्मादिमाः प्रजाःप्रजायन्त इति
15 तद्ये ह वै तत् प्रजापतिव्रतं चरन्ति ते मिथुनमुत्पादयन्ते ।तेषामेवैष ब्रह्मलोको येषां तपो ब्रह्मचर्यं येषु सत्यंप्रतिष्टितम्
16 तेषामसौ विरजो ब्रह्मलोको न येषु जिह्ममनृतं नमाया चेति
इति प्रश्नोपनिषदि प्रथमः प्रश्नः ॥
Musean translation
Machine-assisted translation directly from Sanskrit.
1 Om. Sukesha Bharadvaja, Satyakama Shaibya, Gargya Sauryayani, Kaushalya Ashvalayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi, and Kabandhin Katyayana were devoted to Brahman, grounded in Brahman, and seeking the highest Brahman. Thinking, “He will surely tell us all of this,” they approached the venerable Pippalada with sacrificial wood in their hands.
2 The seer said to them, “Remain here another year in austerity, chastity, and faith. Then ask whatever questions you desire. If we know the answers, we will tell you everything.”
3 Then Kabandhin Katyayana approached and asked, “Venerable sir, from what are these creatures born?”
4 He told him, “Prajapati desired offspring and practiced austerity. Having practiced austerity, he brought forth a pair: matter and life-breath. He thought, ‘These two will produce manifold offspring for me.’
5 “The sun is life-breath; the moon is matter. All this, both what has form and what has no form, is matter. Therefore form itself is matter.
6 “As the rising sun enters the eastern quarter, it gathers the eastern life-breaths into its rays. As it lights the south, the west, the north, what is below and above, the quarters between, and everything, it gathers all life-breaths into its rays.
7 “This is the fire common to all, taking every form, the life-breath that rises. This is declared in a verse:
8 “Taking every form, golden, knowing all that is born,the ultimate refuge, the one light that gives heat,with a thousand rays, abiding in a hundred ways,this sun rises, the life-breath of creatures.
9 “The year is Prajapati. Its two courses are the southern and the northern. Those who revere sacrifices and works of public benefit as their accomplishment win only the world of the moon. They return again. Therefore seers who desire offspring take the southern course. This path of the ancestors is matter.
10 “But those who seek the Self through austerity, chastity, faith, and knowledge win the sun by the northern course. This is the abode of life-breaths, the immortal, the fearless, the ultimate refuge. From it they do not return. It bars the way back. Of this there is a verse:
11 “They call him the father with five feet and twelve forms,rich in water, in the far half of heaven.But others call him the discerning one,set upon seven wheels and six spokes.
12 “The month is Prajapati. Its dark fortnight is matter; its bright fortnight is life-breath. Therefore these seers perform sacrifice in the bright fortnight; the others do so in the other.
13 “Day and night are Prajapati. Day is life-breath; night is matter. Those who unite in sexual pleasure by day spill away their life-breath. Union in sexual pleasure by night is itself observance of chastity.
14 “Food is Prajapati. From it comes seed, and from that these creatures are born.
15 “Those who keep this observance of Prajapati bring forth a pair. The world of Brahman belongs to those in whom austerity and chastity abide, in whom truth is firmly established.
16 “That stainless world of Brahman belongs to those in whom there is no crookedness, no falsehood, and no deceit.”
Thus ends the first question in the Prashna Upanishad.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted translation from Sanskrit.
1 Om. Sukesha Bharadvaja, Satyakama Shaibya, Gargya Sauryayani, Kaushalya Ashvalayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi, and Kabandhin Katyayana were devoted to Brahman and firmly grounded in Brahman. They were looking for the highest Brahman. Thinking, "He will explain all of this to us," they went to the respected Pippalada, carrying firewood in their hands.
2 The sage told them, "Live here for one more year with discipline, celibacy, and faith. Then ask whatever questions you want. If we know the answers, we will tell you everything."
3 Then Kabandhin Katyayana came forward and asked, "Sir, where do all these living beings come from?"
4 He told him, "Prajapati wanted offspring. He practiced intense discipline. After doing so, he brought forth a pair: matter and life-breath. He thought, 'These two will produce many kinds of offspring for me.'
5 "The sun is life-breath, and the moon is matter. Everything here, with form or without form, is matter. So bodily form is matter.
6 "When the sun rises and enters the east, it gathers the life-breaths in the east into its rays. As it lights up the south, the west, the north, what is below, what is above, the directions in between, and everything, it gathers all life-breaths into its rays.
7 "This is Vaishvanara, the fire that belongs to everyone and takes every form. It rises as life-breath. A Rig Veda verse says this about it:
8 "'Taking every form, golden, knowing all that is born,the final refuge, the one shining light that gives heat—with a thousand rays, appearing in a hundred ways,this sun rises, the life-breath of living beings.'
9 "The year is Prajapati. It has two courses, the southern and the northern. Those who regard sacrifices and public good works as the deed to be done win only the world of the moon. They return again. That is why sages who want offspring take the southern path. This path of the ancestors is matter.
10 "But those who look for the Self through discipline, celibacy, faith, and knowledge reach the sun by the northern path. This is the home of life-breaths. This is immortal and free from fear. This is the final refuge. From here they do not return. Here their return is stopped. There is this verse about it:
11 "'They call him the father with five feet and twelve forms,full of water, in the farther half of heaven.Others, though, call him the farseeing one,set on seven wheels and six spokes.'
12 "The month is Prajapati. Its dark half is matter; its bright half is life-breath. That is why these sages offer sacrifices in the bright half. Others do so in the other half.
13 "Day and night are Prajapati. Day is life-breath, and night is matter. Those who have sex during the day waste their life-breath. Having sex at night is itself celibacy.
14 "Food is Prajapati. From it comes semen. From that these living beings are born.
15 "Those who follow this rule of Prajapati produce a pair of offspring. This world of Brahman belongs only to those who practice discipline and celibacy and in whom truth is firmly established.
16 "That stainless world of Brahman belongs to those who have no crookedness, no falsehood, and no deceit."
Here ends the first question of the Prashna Upanishad.
About this section
Question 1 is part of Prashna Upanishad by Unknown. This page sets the Sanskrit original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 2 of 8 in the work, which is kept in the Hindu tradition.
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