Chandogya Upanishad: The Chanters' Teaching:

Book IV Part I


IV.l

1. OM. Janasruti the great-grandson PautrSyana, son's son's son (of Janasruta) was full of faith, very generous, having much food cooked. He had lodging-houses built everywhere, with the idea that everywhere folk would be eating his food.

2. One night, some geese Hamsa flew over. One goose said to another, 'Hey, hey there, Clearsight, Clearsight! The light of Janasruti the great-grandson is spread out like day. Do not get caught in it, or you will bum up!'

3. The other replied, 'So! Who is this that you speak about as though he were Raikva the Yoke-man?'Sayugvat, possessing a sayuj or yoked pair of animals. Olivelle seeks to link this title with the doctrine of savory, the one who draws together, as all scores at dice are drawn together in the krta throw.

'What is he like, this Raikva the Yoke-man?'Or, 'how is this Raikva 'the gatherer'-Olivelle

4. 'Just as the lower throws of the dice go into the winning krta throw,'Throw', 'of the dice' is added for clarity, here and below whatever good deed people do goes to him. I say the same about anyone who knows what he knows.'

5. Janasruti the great-grandson overheard that. As soon he got up, he said to his chamberlain,Ksattr. One of his functions is to sing the king's praises. He has paid Jana some compliment, to which Jana replies by quoting the words of the geese, in the hope that his chamberlain will be able to clear up the mystery. 'So! You speak about me as though I were Raikva the Yoke-man!' 'Who is this Raikva the Yoke-man?'

6. '"Just as the lower throws of the dice go into the winning krta throw, whatever good deed people do goes to him. I say the same about anyone who knows what he knows."'

7. The chamberlain searched for him and returned, saying, 'I have not found him'

Janasruti said to him, 'Oh! Search for him where you would look for a Brahmana!'Olivelle emends to abrahmana, non-Brahmana. However I feel that this loses the impact of the next sentence. The text (rather pointedly, perhaps) does not tell us how long it took for the chamberlain to find Raikva

8. He came upon him under a cart, scratching a rash. He said to him, 'Blessed one, are you Raikva the Yoke-man?'

He called back, 'I am. So what?'Are, with its final syllable marked extra long to show that Raikva is shouting, seems to suggest indifference or contempt. Raikva is evidently a man of few social graces :cp. CU IV. 2.3.6, where he addresses the well-meaning king as 'Rudra'

The chamberlain returned, saying, I have found him.'

IV.2

1. Then Janasruti the great-grandson went to him, taking six hundred cows, a golden jewel, and a chariot drawn by she-mules, and said to him:

2. 'Raikva, here are six hundred cows; here is a golden jewel; and here is a chariot drawn by she-mules. Blessed one, teach me about the deity, the one that you worship.'Upas

3. The other replied, 'Sudra, you can keep the necklace and the wagon, and the cows too!'

So Janasruti the great-grandson went to him again, taking a thousand cows, a golden jewel, a chariot drawn by she-mules, and his daughter.

4. He said to him: 'Raikva, here are a thousand cows; here is a golden jewel; here is a chariot drawn by she-mules; here is a wife; and here is the village in which you live.

Blessed one, teach me now.'

5. Raikva turned up her face to him and said, 'Sudra, you have brought all these, but with this face alone you would have made me talk!'

There are villages in Mahavrsa called the Raikvaparnas, where he lived at the king's behest.I have taken asmai, for him, as meaning 'for the king', though some  take it as 'for Raikva': 'where the king lived with Raikva [as his student]'. The place-name probably means 'Raikva's Parna (= palssa, i.e. Butea Frondosa) Trees.' He taught him:

IV.3

1. 'Air is the drawer-together.Samvarga, that which consumes or absorbs When fire goes out, it enters air. When the sun sets, it enters air. When the moon sets, it enters air.

2. 'When water dries up, it enters air. Air draws all these together. So much regarding deities.

3. 'Regarding oneself: the breath is the drawer-together. When one sleeps, speech enters the breath; the eye enters the breath; the ear enters the breath; the mind enters the breath. The breath draws all these together.

4. 'These two are the drawers-together: air among the gods, the breath among the breaths.

5. 'A brahmacarin once begged alms of Kaunaka Kapeya and Abhipratarin Kaksaseni as they were being served with food, but they did not give him any.

6. 'He said, "One god, Ka,Ka, 'Who?', as the name of a god has its origins in RV.X.121, which has the refrain, 'Who is the god whom we should worship with the oblation?' The answer given in that hymn is Frajapati, who is identified with Hiranyagarbha, the Golden Embryo. As a result, Ka becomes a synonym for Prajapati the protector of the world, has swallowed up four of great self. Kapeya, Abhipratarin, mortals do not see him, for he dwells in many forms-the one to whom this food has not been given."

7. '"Then Saunaka Kapeya, in reply, went over to him, saying:

'Self of the gods, begetter of creatures,

With golden tusks, devourer, no fool is he! They say his might is great.

Uneaten, he eats what is not food.

'"Brahmacarin, it is he that we are not worshipping.- Give him alms!"

8. 'And they gave him some.

'There are five in the one group and five in the other group, ten in all. That is the krta throw.Referring to the groups of deities and of bodily functions mentioned in verses 2-3. The krta throw is worth ten, and the metre Viraj ('Queen') has ten syllables per pada Therefore the ten in all the directions-the krta-are food. It is also Viraj, the eater of food-she who sees all this. All that is seen is his, and he becomes an eater of food-the one who knows this: the one who knows this.'

IV.4

1. Satyakama Jabala asked his mother Jabala: 'Mother, I want to live the life of a brahmacarin. What lineageGotra. Satyakama addresses his mother as bhavatr do I belong to?'

2. She said to him, 'Darling, I do not know what lineage you belong to. I got you in my youth, when I travelled about a great deal as a servant, so I do not know what lineage you belong to. But I am called Jabala and you are called Satyakama. You can say you are Satyakama Jabala.'Jabala wants the boy to give the impression that he is the son of a man called Jabala, by forming a patronymic rather than a metronymic from her name. Satyakama means 'loving truth'

3. He went to Haridrumata Gautama and said: 'Blessed one, I will live the life of a brahmacarin with you. Blessed one, I would come to you as my teacher.'Last three words are added for clarity

4. He said, 'Good lad, what lineage do you belong to?'

He said, 'Sir, I do not know what lineage I belong to. I asked my mother, and she answered me, "I got you in my youth, when I travelled about a great deal as a servant, so I do not know what lineage you belong to. But I am called Jabala and you are called Satyakama. You can say you are Satyakama Jabala." Sir, I am Satyakama Jabala.' 5. Haridrumata said to him, 'No-one who was not a Brahmana could have explained it so. Good lad, bring firewood: I shall initiate you. You have not departed from the truth.' After he had initiated him, he separated out four hundred of his thin and feeble cows and said, 'Good lad, follow these!'

As he drove them off, Satyakama said, 'I will not come back without a thousand.' He lived away for a number of years. When they had become a thousand-

IV.5

1. The bull calledIn this and the parallel passages, the last syllable of 'Satyakama' is marked extra long to show that the speaker is calling to him. The four symbolic beings who teach Satyakama come from RV 3.62.10,
with agni (fire) for tejas (brightness). The verse is quoted in full at Maitri VI.34. According to Sankara, they represent four gods: apart from Agni himself, they are Vayu (the bull), Surya (the goose) and Prana (the cormorant) him: 'Satyakama!'

'Blessed one?' he replied.

'Good lad, we have reached a thousand. Drive us to the teacher's house-

2. 'And I must tell you about a foot of brahman.' 'Tell me, blessed one.'

He told him, 'The eastern direction is a fraction; the western direction is a fraction; the southern direction is a fraction; the northern direction is a fraction.Kala, specifically a sixteenth This, good lad, is a foot of brahman, in four fractions, called "Shining".Or 'Visible' (prakasavat)

3. 'The one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Shining" becomes shining in this world and wins shining worlds-the one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Shining".

IV.6

1. 'Fire will tell you about a foot.'

The next morning he drove the cows onward. At the place they reached in the evening he lit a fire, penned up the cows, brought firewood, and sat down behind the fire, facing east.

2. Fire called him: 'Satyakama!' 'Blessed one?' he replied.

3. 'Good lad, I must tell you about a foot of brahman.'

'Tell me, blessed one.'

He told him, 'Earth is a fraction; middle-air is a fraction; sky is a fraction; ocean is a fraction. This, good lad, is a foot of brahman, in four fractions, called "Unending". 3. 'The one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Unending" becomes unending in this world and wins unending worlds-the one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Unending".

IV.7

1. 'A goose will tell you about a foot.' The next morning he drove the cows onward. At the place they reached in the evening he lit a fire, penned up the cows, brought firewood, and sat down behind the fire, facing east.

2. A goose alighted and called him: 'Satyakama!' 'Blessed one?' he replied.

3. 'Good lad, I must tell you about a foot of brahman.'

'Tell me, blessed one.'

He told him, 'Fire is a fraction; the sun is a fraction; the moon is a fraction; lightning is a fraction. This, good lad, is a foot of brahman, in four fractions, called "Radiant".

4. 'The one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Radiant" becomes radiant in this world and wins radiant worlds-the one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Radiant".

IV.8

1. 'A cormorantMadgu. Previous translators of this passage have called it 'water-bird' and 'diver-bird', but references to it elsewhere  are all consistent with its being a cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). According to a commentator on Manu quoted by the S. Petersburg Dictionary, the madgu is so called because it dives
(ni-majj-) and eats fish! will tell you about a foot.'

The next morning he drove the cows onward. At the place they reached in the evening he lit a fire, penned up the cows, brought firewood, and sat down behind the fire, facing east.

2. A cormorant alighted and called him: 'Satyakama!' 'Blessed one?' he replied.

3. 'Good lad, I must tell you about a foot of brahman.'

'Tell me, blessed one.'

He told him, 'Breath is a fraction; the eye is a fraction; the ear is a fraction; the mind is a fraction. This, good lad, is a foot of brahman, in four fractions, called "Abiding".'Possessing an abode' {Syatanawt)

4. 'The one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Abiding" becomes abiding in this world and wins abiding worlds-the one who, knowing this, contemplates a foot of brahman, in four fractions, as "Abiding"'.

IV.9

1. He reached the teacher's house. The teacher called him: 'Satyakama!'

2. 'Blessed one?' he replied.

'Good lad, you shine like a knower of brahman. Who taught you?'

He replied, 'Ones who were other than human. But, blessed one, you tell me, please.

3. 'For I have heard from those like yourself, blessed one, that knowledge learned from one's teacher has the best results.'Sadhistham pratpati: 'attains the besf, assuming that prapati is equivalent to prapnoti; or 'causes [one] to attain the best, if it is an irregular form of prapayati.

He taught it to him. In it, nothing was different. Nothing was different.




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