Question 5
Original Sanskrit
1 अथ हैनं शैब्यः सत्यकामः पप्रच्छ ।स यो ह वै तद्भगवन्मनुष्येषु प्रायणान्तमोङ्कारमभिध्यायीत ।कतमं वाव स तेन लोकं जयतीति ।तस्मै स होवाच
2 एतद्वै सत्यकाम परं चापरं च ब्रह्म यदोङ्कारः ।तस्माद्विद्वानेतेनैवायतनेनैकतरमन्वेति
3 स यध्येकमात्रमभिध्यायीत स तेनैव संवेदितस्तूर्णमेव जगत्याभिसंपध्यते ।तमृचो मनुष्यलोकमुपनयन्ते स तत्र तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धया संपन्नो महिमानमनुभवति
4 अथ यदि द्विमात्रेण मनसि संपद्यते सोऽन्तरिक्षं यजुर्भिरुन्नीयते सोमलोकम् ।स सोमलोके विभुतिमनुभूय पुनरावर्तते
5 यः पुनरेतं त्रिमात्रेणोमित्येतेनैवाक्षरेण परं पुरुषमभिध्यायीत स तेजसि सूर्ये संपन्नः ।यथा पादोदरस्त्वचा विनिर्मुच्यत एवं ह वै स पाप्मना विनिर्मुक्तः स सामभिरुन्नीयते ब्रह्मलोकं स एतस्माज्जीवघनात् परात्परं पुरुशयं पुरुषमीक्षते ।तदेतौ श्लोकौ भवतः
6 तिस्रो मात्रा मृत्युमत्यः प्रयुक्ताअन्योन्यसक्ताः अनविप्रयुक्ताः ।क्रियासु बाह्याभ्यन्तरमध्यमासुसम्यक् प्रयुक्तासु न कम्पते ज्ञः
7 ऋग्भिरेतं यजुर्भिरन्तरिक्षंसामभिर्यत् तत् कवयो वेदयन्ते ।तमोङ्कारेणैवायतनेनान्वेति विद्वान्यत्तच्छान्तमजरममृतमभयं परं चेति
इति प्रश्नोपनिषदि पञ्चमः प्रश्नः ॥
Musean translation
Machine-assisted translation directly from Sanskrit.
1 Then Satyakama Shaibya asked him, “Venerable sir, if a person meditates on Om until the end of life, what world does he win by it?” He told him:
2 “Satyakama, this Om is both the higher and the lower Brahman. Therefore, knowing this, one reaches either through this support alone.
3 “If he meditates on one measure, enlightened by that alone he swiftly attains the earthly world. The Rig verses lead him to the human world. There, endowed with austerity, chastity, and faith, he experiences greatness.
4 “But if he attains it in his mind with two measures, the Yajus formulas raise him to the middle sky, to the world of the moon. Having experienced its splendor in the moon's world, he returns again.
5 “But one who meditates on the highest Person through this very syllable Om with its three measures becomes one with the sun's radiance. As a snake casts off its skin, so he is freed from evil. The Saman chants raise him to the world of Brahma. Beyond this aggregate of living beings, he beholds the Person who dwells in the city, higher than the high. Of this there are two verses:
6 “The three measures are subject to death; employedin union with one another, not separately,rightly applied in outward, inward, and intermediate acts,they leave the knower unshaken.
7 “Through the Rig verses, this world; through the Yajus, the middle sky;through the Saman chants, what the seers make known.The knower reaches it through Om alone as his support:that which is peaceful, ageless, immortal, fearless, and supreme.”
Thus ends the fifth question in the Prashna Upanishad.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted translation from Sanskrit.
1 Then Satyakama Shaibya asked him, "Sir, if someone meditates on Om until the end of life, which world do they win by doing that?" He told him:
2 "Satyakama, Om is both the higher and the lower Brahman. So a person who knows this reaches one or the other by this very support.
3 "If someone meditates on just one measure, that alone awakens them, and they quickly come to the earth. The Rig Veda verses lead them to the human world. There, with discipline, celibacy, and faith, they experience greatness.
4 "If someone brings two measures into the mind in meditation, the Yajur Veda formulas lift them to the middle region, the world of the moon. After experiencing the wealth and power of the moon's world, they return again.
5 "But if someone meditates on the highest Person with this very syllable Om in its three measures, they reach the sun's light. As a snake sheds its skin, they are freed from evil. The Sama Veda songs lift them to the world of Brahma. They see the Person who lives in the city of the body, higher than this high mass of living beings. There are these two verses about it:
6 "'The three measures, when used, are subject to death.When they are linked to one another, not kept apart,and used properly in outer, inner, and middle activities,the person who knows does not waver.
7 "'Through Rig Veda verses, this world; through Yajur Veda formulas, the middle region;through Sama Veda songs, the world the sages know.With Om alone as their support, the person who knows reacheswhat is peaceful, ageless, immortal, fearless, and highest.'"
Here ends the fifth question of the Prashna Upanishad.
About this section
Question 5 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 6 of 8 in the work, which is kept in the Hindu tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the Hindu tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.