Question 2
Original Sanskrit
1 अथ हैनं भार्गवो वैदर्भिः पप्रच्छ ।भगवन् कत्येवदेवाः प्रचां दिधारयन्ते कतर एतत् प्रकशयन्ते कःपुनरेषां वरिष्ठ इति
2 तस्मै स होवाचाकाशो ह वा एष देवो वायुरग्निरापःपृथिवी वाङ्मनश्चक्षुः श्रोत्रं च ।ते प्रकाश्याभिवदन्तिवयमेतद्बाणमवष्टभ्य विधारयामः
3 तान् वरिष्ठः प्राण उवाच ।मा मोहमापद्यथ अहमेवैतत्पञ्चधाऽऽत्मानं प्रविभज्यैतद्बाणमवष्टभ्यविधारयामीतितेऽश्रद्दधाना बभूवुः
4 सोऽभिमानादूर्ध्वमुत्क्रामत इव तस्मिन्नुत्क्रामत्यथेतरे सर्वएवोत्क्रामन्ते तस्मि/श्च प्रतिष्ठमाने सर्व एव प्रतिष्ठन्ते ।तद्यथा मक्षिका मधुकरराजानमुत्क्रामन्तं सर्व एवोत्क्रमन्तेतस्मि/ष्च प्रत्ष्ठमाने सर्व एव प्रतिष्टन्त एवम्वाङ्मनष्चक्षुःश्रोत्रं च ते प्रीताः प्राणं स्तुन्वन्ति
5 एषोऽग्निस्तपत्येष सूर्यएष पर्जन्यो मघवानेष वायुःएष पृथिवी रयिर्देवःसदसच्चामृतं च यत्
6 अरा इव रथनाभौ प्राणे सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम् ।ऋचो यजूँषि सामानि यज्ञः क्षत्रं ब्रह्म च
7 प्रजापतिश्चरसि गर्भे त्वमेव प्रतिजायसे ।तुभ्यं प्राण प्रजास्त्विमा बलिं हरन्तियः प्रणैः प्रतितिष्ठसि
8 देवानामसि वह्नितमः पितृणां प्रथमा स्वधा ।ऋषीणां चरितं सत्यमथर्वाङ्गिरसामसि
9 इन्द्रस्त्वं प्राण तेजसा रुद्रोऽसि परिरक्षिता ।त्वमन्तरिक्षे चरसि सूर्यस्त्वं ज्योतिषां पतिः
10 यदा त्वमभिवर्षस्यथेमाः प्राण ते प्रजाः ।आनन्दरूपास्तिष्ठन्ति कामायान्नं भविष्यतीति
11 व्रात्यस्त्वं प्राणैकर्षरत्ता विश्वस्य सत्पतिः ।वयमाद्यस्य दातारः पिता त्वं मातरिश्व नः
12 या ते तनूर्वाचि प्रतिष्ठिता या श्रोत्रे या च चक्षुषि ।या च मनसि सन्तता शिवां तां कुरू मोत्क्रमीः
13 प्राणस्येदं वशे सर्वं त्रिदिवे यत् प्रतिष्ठितम् ।मातेव पुत्रान् रक्षस्व श्रीश्च प्रज्ञां च विधेहि न इति
इति प्रश्नोपनिषदि द्वितीयः प्रश्नः ॥
Musean translation
Machine-assisted translation directly from Sanskrit.
1 Then Bhargava Vaidarbhi asked him, “Venerable sir, how many gods sustain a creature? Which of them make it manifest, and which is greatest among them?”
2 He told him, “Space is such a god, as are wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, sight, and hearing. Revealing themselves, they declare, ‘We support this body and hold it together.’
3 “Life-breath, the greatest among them, said, ‘Do not be deluded. I alone divide myself fivefold, support this body, and hold it together.’ They did not believe him.
4 “In his pride he seemed to rise and leave. When he rose, all the others rose; when he settled, all of them settled. Just as bees all fly up when their king flies up and all settle when he settles, so did speech, mind, sight, and hearing. Delighted, they praised life-breath:
5 “He burns as fire; he is the sun,he is Parjanya, he is bountiful Indra, he is wind;he is earth, matter, the god,what is and what is not, and what is immortal.
6 “As spokes in a chariot's hub, all things rest in life-breath:the Rig verses, the Yajus formulas, the Saman chants, sacrifice, royal power, and sacred knowledge.
7 “As Prajapati you move in the womb; you yourself are born anew.To you, life-breath, these creatures bring their tribute,to you who abide with the life-breaths.
8 “You bear offerings best to the gods, the first ancestral offering to the fathers;you are the true practice of the seers, the Atharvans and Angirases.
9 “In splendor you are Indra, life-breath; you are Rudra, the protector.You move through the middle sky; as the sun you are lord of lights.
10 “When you pour down rain, life-breath, these creatures of yoursstand filled with joy: ‘There will be food to our desire!’
11 “You are uninitiated, life-breath, the lone seer, the eater, the good lord of all.We are givers of what you eat; you are our father, Matarishvan.
12 “That form of yours established in speech, in hearing, and in sight,that which extends through the mind—make it gracious; do not depart.
13 “All this is under life-breath's sway, all that is established in the third heaven.Guard us as a mother guards her children; bestow prosperity and wisdom upon us.”
Thus ends the second question in the Prashna Upanishad.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted translation from Sanskrit.
1 Then Bhargava Vaidarbhi asked him, "Sir, how many divine powers support a living being? Which ones make it function? And which of them is the greatest?"
2 He told him, "These divine powers are space, wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, sight, and hearing. They show themselves and declare, 'We hold this body together and support it.'
3 "Life-breath, the greatest of them, told them, 'Do not be mistaken. I alone divide myself into five parts, hold this body together, and support it.' They did not believe him.
4 "Out of pride, he acted as though he were rising to leave. When he rose, all the others rose too. When he settled back, all of them settled back. All the bees rise when their king rises to leave, and all settle when he settles. In just this way, speech, mind, sight, and hearing followed life-breath. Pleased with him, they praised him:
5 "'He burns as fire; he is the sun.He is Parjanya, the rain god; he is bountiful Indra; he is wind.He is earth and matter, the divine power,what exists, what does not exist, and what is immortal.
6 "'Everything rests on life-breath, like spokes in the hub of a chariot wheel:Rig Veda verses, Yajur Veda formulas, Sama Veda songs, sacrifice, ruling power, and sacred knowledge.
7 "'As Prajapati, you move in the womb; you yourself are born again.Life-breath, these creatures bring offerings to you,who are established in the life-breaths.
8 "'You carry offerings to the gods better than anyone; you are the first food offered to the ancestors.You are the truth lived by the sages, the Atharvans and Angirases.
9 "'Life-breath, in your power you are Indra; you are Rudra, the protector.You travel through the sky. You are the sun, the lord of lights.
10 "'When you pour down rain, life-breath, these creatures of yoursare filled with joy, thinking, “There will be as much food as we want.”
11 "'Life-breath, you are uninitiated, the lone seer, the eater, the true lord of everything.We give you food to eat. Matarishvan, you are our father.
12 "'That body of yours established in speech, in hearing, and in sight,and extending through the mind—make it kind. Do not leave us.
13 "'Everything here is under life-breath's control, including all that is established in the third heaven.Protect us as a mother protects her children. Give us prosperity and understanding.'"
Here ends the second question of the Prashna Upanishad.
About this section
Question 2 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 3 of 8 in the work, which is kept in the Hindu tradition.
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