Sarga 2¶

Utpatti Prakaraṇa · Ākāśaja, the one born of space (56 verses)

Sarga 2 at a glance

Vasiṣṭha tells the story of Ākāśaja, the brāhmaṇa born of space.

Ākāśaja lives so long that Death resolves to kill him, but his house burns like the fire at the end of an age and even with a hundred hands Death cannot seize him (3.2.1–3.2.9).
Yama explains that Death can kill only through a person's own deeds. Death searches the whole world and finds none (3.2.10–3.2.16).
Ākāśaja has no deeds: born of space alone, he has no causes, no body, no doership and no tendencies; his breathing is action only to observers. Only one who believes "I am made of earth" can be seized (3.2.17–3.2.33).
Answering Death, Yama says Ākāśaja was never born and never ceases; he is pure consciousness, which by chance senses "I am a body" (3.2.34–3.2.44).
Śrī Rāma recognises Ākāśaja as Brahmā. Vasiṣṭha confirms it: Brahmā is mind alone, a figure of imagination in the sky of consciousness, with no body (3.2.45–3.2.56).

Verse 3.2.1¶

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
इदमाकाशजाख्यानं श्रृणु श्रवणभूषणम् ।
उत्पत्त्याख्यं प्रकरणं येन राघव बुध्यसे ॥ ३.२.१ ॥

राघव (O Rāghava), श्रवण-भूषणम् (an ornament for the ears) इदम् आकाशज-आख्यानं शृणु (hear this tale of Ākāśaja), येन (by which) उत्पत्ति-आख्यं प्रकरणं बुध्यसे (you will understand the book called Origination).

Translation: Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: "Rāghava, hear this tale of Ākāśaja, a jewel for the ears, through which you will grasp the book on origination."

Pointers for Reflection:

The first story of Book 3. The summary of Sarga 1 now becomes narrative. आकाशज means "born of space": a being with no cause outside consciousness itself.
Stories as teaching. At 2.18 Vasiṣṭha explained why illustrations are needed; this book is built of them.

Verse 3.2.2¶

अस्ति ह्याकाशजो नाम द्विजः परमधार्मिकः ।
ध्यानैकनिष्ठः सततं प्रजानां च हिते रतः ॥ ३.२.२ ॥

हि (indeed) आकाशजः नाम द्विजः अस्ति (there is a brāhmaṇa named Ākāśaja), परम-धार्मिकः (supremely righteous), सततं ध्यान-एक-निष्ठः (ever devoted to meditation alone), प्रजानां हिते च रतः (and delighting in the welfare of beings).

Translation: "There is a brāhmaṇa named Ākāśaja, supremely righteous, always absorbed in meditation alone, and devoted to the good of all creatures."

Pointers for Reflection:

Meditation and welfare together. Absorption in the Self and care for beings are not opposed. The Gītā: लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः … सर्वभूतहिते रताः — the sages whose stains are gone attain the peace of Brahman … delighting in the good of all beings (5.25).

Verse 3.2.3¶

स चिरं जीवति यदा तदा मृत्युरचिन्तयत् ।
सर्वाण्येव क्रमेणाह भूतान्यद्मि किलाक्षयः ॥ ३.२.३ ॥

यदा सः चिरं जीवति (when he lived on for a long time) तदा मृत्युः अचिन्तयत् (then Death thought): "अहं किल अक्षयः (I am indeed imperishable); सर्वाणि एव भूतानि क्रमेण अद्मि (I devour all beings in turn)."

Translation: "As he went on living for a very long time, Death thought: 'I am unfailing; one by one I eat up every creature.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Death personified. मृत्यु appears as a servant of Yama, proud of a power that has never failed. The Kaṭha: यस्य ब्रह्म च क्षत्रं च उभे भवत ओदनः । मृत्युर्यस्योपसेचनम् — for whom priest and warrior are both rice, and Death the sauce (1.2.25): even Death is food for the Self.

Verse 3.2.4¶

एनमाकाशजं विप्रं न कस्माद्भक्षयाम्यहम् ।
अत्र मे कुण्ठिता शक्तिः खड्गधारा इवोपले ॥ ३.२.४ ॥

"अहम् एनम् आकाशजं विप्रं कस्मात् न भक्षयामि (why do I not eat this brāhmaṇa Ākāśaja)? अत्र (here) मे शक्तिः (my power) उपले खड्ग-धारा इव (like a sword's edge on stone) कुण्ठिता (is blunted)."

Translation: "'What keeps me from swallowing this brāhmaṇa Ākāśaja? On him my strength turns dull, as a blade does when it strikes stone.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

What Death cannot cut. The Gītā: नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः — weapons do not cut it, fire does not burn it (2.23).
Reading note. The online text prints खङ्गधारा; corrected here to खड्गधारा ("sword-edge").

Verse 3.2.5¶

इति संचिन्त्य तं हन्तुमगच्छत्तत्पुरं तदा ।
त्यजन्त्युद्यममुद्युक्ता न स्वकर्माणि केचन ॥ ३.२.५ ॥

इति संचिन्त्य (thinking thus) तदा (then) तं हन्तुं (to kill him) तत् पुरम् अगच्छत् (he went to that city); उद्युक्ताः केचन (no one who is diligent) स्व-कर्माणि उद्यमं न त्यजन्ति (gives up effort in his own work).

Translation: "Thinking this, he set out for that city to kill him. Those who are diligent never give up striving at their own work."

Pointers for Reflection:

Even Death does his duty. The aside echoes the praise of effort in Book 2 (Sargas 4–8). Death is a model of स्वधर्म, however grim.

Verse 3.2.6¶

ततस्तत्सदनं यावन्मृत्युः प्रविशति स्वयम् ।
तावदेनं दहत्यग्निः कल्पान्तज्वलनोपमः ॥ ३.२.६ ॥

ततः (then) यावत् मृत्युः स्वयं तत् सदनं प्रविशति (as soon as Death himself entered that house), तावत् (at once) कल्प-अन्त-ज्वलन-उपमः अग्निः (a fire like the blaze at the end of an age) एनं दहति (burns him).

Translation: "The moment Death himself entered that house, a fire like the blaze at the end of the world began to burn him."

Pointers for Reflection:

The fire of knowledge. The Gītā: ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा — the fire of knowledge burns all actions to ash (4.37). The knower's house is guarded by that fire.

Verse 3.2.7¶

अग्निज्वालामहामालां विदार्यान्तर्गतो ह्यसौ ।
द्विजं दृष्ट्वा समादातुं हस्तेनैच्छत्प्रयत्नतः ॥ ३.२.७ ॥

असौ (he) हि अग्नि-ज्वाला-महा-मालां विदार्य (tearing through the great wreath of flames) अन्तः-गतः (went inside), द्विजं दृष्ट्वा (and seeing the brāhmaṇa) प्रयत्नतः (with effort) हस्तेन समादातुम् ऐच्छत् (tried to seize him with his hand).

Translation: "Breaking through that great wreath of flames, he went in, saw the brāhmaṇa, and strained to seize him with his hand."

Pointers for Reflection:

Persistence. Death does not give up at the first obstacle; it is his nature to try.

Verse 3.2.8¶

नचाशकत्पुरो दृष्टमपि हस्तशतैर्द्विजम् ।
बलवानप्यवष्टब्धुं संकल्पपुरुषं यथा ॥ ३.२.८ ॥

बलवान् अपि (though mighty) पुरः दृष्टम् अपि द्विजम् (the brāhmaṇa, though seen right before him) हस्त-शतैः (even with a hundred hands) अवष्टब्धुं न च अशकत् (he could not grasp), यथा संकल्प-पुरुषम् (as [no one can grasp] a man made of imagination).

Translation: "Mighty as he was, he could not lay hold of the brāhmaṇa standing in plain sight, not even with a hundred hands — as no one can grab a figure that exists only in imagination."

Pointers for Reflection:

Seen but not graspable. A person in a dream or in one's imagining is clearly visible, yet nothing physical is there to seize. The image is reversed here: the knower is real, and it is Death's grasping that has nothing to hold.

Verse 3.2.9¶

अथागत्य यमं मृत्युरपृच्छत्संशयच्छिदम् ।
किमित्यहं न शक्नोमि भोक्तुमाकाशजं विभो ॥ ३.२.९ ॥

अथ (then) मृत्युः (Death) संशय-छिदं यमम् आगत्य (going to Yama, the cutter of doubts) अपृच्छत् (asked): "विभो (O lord), अहम् आकाशजं भोक्तुं किम् इति न शक्नोमि (why can I not eat Ākāśaja)?"

Translation: "Then Death went to Yama, who cuts through doubts, and asked: 'Lord, why am I unable to eat Ākāśaja?'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Yama as teacher. As in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, where Yama teaches Naciketas the secret of death, here too Yama is the one who knows.

Verse 3.2.10¶

यम उवाच ।
मृत्यो न किंचिच्छक्तस्त्वमेको मारयितुं बलात् ।
मारणीयस्य कर्माणि तत्कर्तृणीति नेतरत् ॥ ३.२.१० ॥

यमः उवाच (Yama said): मृत्यो (O Death), त्वम् एकः (you alone) बलात् (by force) किंचित् मारयितुं न शक्तः (cannot kill anything). मारणीयस्य कर्माणि (the deeds of the one to be killed) तत्-कर्तृणि (are what bring it about) इति (this is so), न इतरत् (nothing else).

Translation: Yama said: "Death, you cannot kill anything by your own force alone. It is the deeds of the one who is to die that bring about his death — nothing else."

Pointers for Reflection:

Karma is the real agent. Death is only an instrument. The Gītā's Lord says the same of the warriors at Kurukṣetra: मयैवैते निहताः पूर्वमेव निमित्तमात्रं भव सव्यसाचिन् — they are already slain by Me; be only the instrument, Arjuna (11.33).
Jaina parallel. For the Jainas, the length of a life is fixed by āyuṣ-karma; death comes when that karma is exhausted, not by an outside power.

Verse 3.2.11¶

तस्मादेतस्य विप्रस्य मारणीयस्य यत्नतः ।
कर्माण्यन्विष्य तेषां त्वं साहाय्येनैनमत्स्यसि ॥ ३.२.११ ॥

तस्मात् (therefore) त्वम् (you) मारणीयस्य एतस्य विप्रस्य (of this brāhmaṇa who is to be killed) कर्माणि यत्नतः अन्विष्य (searching carefully for his deeds) तेषां साहाय्येन (with their help) एनम् अत्स्यसि (will eat him).

Translation: "So search carefully for the deeds of this brāhmaṇa you mean to kill; with their help you will eat him."

Pointers for Reflection:

No karma, no handle. Yama's advice already contains its answer, which the story will reveal.

Verse 3.2.12¶

ततः स मृत्युर्बभ्राम तत्कर्मान्वेषणादृतः ।
मण्डलानि दिगन्तांश्च सरांसि सरितो दिशः ॥ ३.२.१२ ॥

ततः (then) सः मृत्युः (that Death) तत्-कर्म-अन्वेषण-आदृतः (intent on searching for his deeds) मण्डलानि दिक्-अन्तान् च सरांसि सरितः दिशः (regions, the ends of the directions, lakes, rivers and quarters) बभ्राम (roamed).

Translation: "Then Death, bent on finding his deeds, roamed through every region, to the ends of the directions, over lakes and rivers and all the quarters."

Pointers for Reflection:

The search begins. Verses 12–14 list everywhere Death looks.

Verse 3.2.13¶

वनजङ्गलजालानि शैलानब्धितटानि च ।
द्वीपान्तराण्यरण्यानि नगराणि पुराणि च ॥ ३.२.१३ ॥

वन-जङ्गल-जालानि (the tangled woods and wild lands) शैलान् (mountains) अब्धि-तटानि च (and sea-shores), द्वीप-अन्तराणि (other continents) अरण्यानि (forests) नगराणि पुराणि च (cities and towns) [बभ्राम] (he searched).

Translation: "Tangled woods and wastelands, mountains and sea-coasts, far-off islands, forests, cities and towns —"

Pointers for Reflection:

The whole outer world is searched. But the deeds he seeks are not in any place.

Verse 3.2.14¶

ग्रामाण्यखिलराष्ट्राणि देशान्तर्गहनानि च ।
एवं भूमण्डलं भ्रान्त्वा न कुतश्चित्स कानिचित् ॥ ३.२.१४ ॥

ग्रामाणि (villages) अखिल-राष्ट्राणि (all kingdoms) देश-अन्तः-गहनानि च (and the hidden depths of the lands) — एवं भूमण्डलं भ्रान्त्वा (having roamed the earth thus) सः कुतश्चित् कानिचित् न [लब्धवान्] (he found none anywhere).

Translation: "— villages, every kingdom, the hidden corners of every land. He roamed the whole earth this way, and found none anywhere."

Pointers for Reflection:

Searching outside for what is not there. Compare the Buddha's words on the end of the world: it is not reached by travelling, but found "in this fathom-long body, with its perceptions and mind" (Saṃyutta Nikāya 2.26, Rohitassa Sutta).

Verse 3.2.15¶

तान्याकाशजकर्माणि लब्धवान्मृत्युरुद्यतः ।
वन्ध्यापुत्रमिव प्राज्ञः संकल्पाद्रिमिवापरः ॥ ३.२.१५ ॥

उद्यतः मृत्युः (Death, though striving) तानि आकाशज-कर्माणि (those deeds of Ākāśaja) लब्धवान् [न] (did not find) — प्राज्ञः वन्ध्या-पुत्रम् इव (as a wise man [does not find] a barren woman's son), अपरः संकल्प-अद्रिम् इव (as another [does not find] a mountain imagined by someone else).

Translation: "For all his striving, Death could no more find Ākāśaja's deeds than a sensible man can find a barren woman's son, or one person find the mountain another has only imagined."

Pointers for Reflection:

Two images of the non-existent. The barren woman's son (वन्ध्यापुत्र) is the classic example of what cannot exist; another's imagined mountain is real only to its imaginer. Both recur throughout Book 3.

Verse 3.2.16¶

समपृच्छदथागत्य यमं सर्वार्थकोविदम् ।
परायणं हि प्रभवः संदेहेष्वनुजीविनाम् ॥ ३.२.१६ ॥

अथ (then) आगत्य (returning) सर्व-अर्थ-कोविदं यमं सम् अपृच्छत् (he questioned Yama, who knows all matters); हि (for) अनुजीविनां संदेहेषु (in the doubts of dependants) प्रभवः परायणम् (masters are the refuge).

Translation: "Then he came back and questioned Yama, who knows all things — for when servants are in doubt, their masters are their refuge."

Pointers for Reflection:

Going to the one who knows. The Gītā: तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया — learn it by humble approach, by questioning and by service (4.34).

Verse 3.2.17¶

मृत्युरुवाच ।
आकाशजस्य कर्माणि क्व स्थितानि वद प्रभो ।
धर्मराजोऽथ संचिन्त्य सुचिरं प्रोक्तवानिदम् ॥ ३.२.१७ ॥

मृत्युः उवाच (Death said): "प्रभो (lord), आकाशजस्य कर्माणि क्व स्थितानि (where are Ākāśaja's deeds)? वद (tell me)." अथ (then) धर्मराजः (the King of Dharma) सुचिरं संचिन्त्य (after reflecting a long while) इदं प्रोक्तवान् (said this).

Translation: Death said: "Lord, where are Ākāśaja's deeds to be found? Tell me." The King of Dharma thought for a long time and then said:

Pointers for Reflection:

Yama reflects. Even the lord of the dead needs to look carefully; the case is unusual.

Verse 3.2.18¶

धर्मराज उवाच ।
आकाशजस्य कर्माणि मृत्यो सन्ति न कानिचित् ।
एष आकाशजो विप्रो जातः खादेव केवलात् ॥ ३.२.१८ ॥

धर्मराजः उवाच (the King of Dharma said): मृत्यो (O Death), आकाशजस्य कानिचित् कर्माणि न सन्ति (Ākāśaja has no deeds at all). एषः आकाशजः विप्रः (this brāhmaṇa Ākāśaja) केवलात् खात् एव जातः (was born of pure space alone).

Translation: The King of Dharma said: "Death, there are no deeds to find: Ākāśaja never did any. Space alone gave birth to him — nothing besides."

Pointers for Reflection:

Born of space. ख, "space" — here the space of consciousness (चिदाकाश). What has no cause but consciousness carries no karma.

Verse 3.2.19¶

आकाशादेव यो जातः स व्योमैवामलं भवेत् ।
सहकारीणि नो सन्ति न कर्माण्यस्य कानिचित् ॥ ३.२.१९ ॥

यः आकाशात् एव जातः (one who is born of space alone) सः व्योम इव अमलं भवेत् (would be spotless as space). अस्य (for him) सहकारीणि न सन्ति (there are no contributing causes), न [च] कानिचित् कर्माणि (and no deeds at all).

Translation: "One born of space alone is as stainless as space. He has no contributing causes and no deeds of any kind."

Pointers for Reflection:

Stainless as space. The Gītā: यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते । सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते — as all-pervading space, being subtle, is not tainted, so the Self present everywhere in the body is not tainted (13.32).

Verse 3.2.20¶

संबन्धः प्राक्तनेनास्य न मनागपि कर्मणा ।
अस्ति वन्ध्यासुतस्येव तथाऽजाताकृतेरिव ॥ ३.२.२० ॥

अस्य (for him) प्राक्तनेन कर्मणा (with past action) मनाक् अपि (even slightly) संबन्धः न अस्ति (there is no connection), वन्ध्या-सुतस्य इव (as for a barren woman's son), तथा अजात-आकृतेः इव (or for a form that was never born).

Translation: "He has not the slightest link with past karma, any more than a barren woman's son has, or a form that was never born."

Pointers for Reflection:

प्राक्तन — the past deeds discussed at length in Book 2 (Sargas 5–9). Here is one in whom no prāktana exists at all.

Verse 3.2.21¶

कारणानामभावेन तस्मादाकाशमेव सः ।
नैतस्य पूर्वकर्मास्ति नभसीव महाद्रुमः ॥ ३.२.२१ ॥

तस्मात् (therefore) कारणानाम् अभावेन (because causes are absent) सः आकाशम् एव (he is space itself); एतस्य पूर्व-कर्म न अस्ति (he has no past karma), नभसि महा-द्रुमः इव (as there is no great tree in the sky).

Translation: "Causeless, he is nothing other than space. Karma from before cannot belong to him, as no great tree can stand rooted in the sky."

Pointers for Reflection:

A tree in the sky. Nothing can take root where there is no soil. Karma needs a ground — the sense of being a separate doer — to grow.

Verse 3.2.22¶

नैतदस्यावशं चित्तमभावात्पूर्वकर्मणाम् ।
अद्य तावदनेनाद्यं न किंचित्कर्म संचितम् ॥ ३.२.२२ ॥

पूर्व-कर्मणाम् अभावात् (since past deeds are absent) एतस्य चित्तम् (his mind) अवशं न (is not helpless [under them]); अद्य तावत् (and now) अनेन (by him) आद्यं किंचित् कर्म (any first action) न संचितम् (has not been accumulated).

Translation: "Since he has no past deeds, his mind is not driven by them; and even now he has not begun to store up any karma."

Pointers for Reflection:

Free in the present too. Not only past karma (sañcita) but new karma (āgāmin) does not accrue. The Gītā: यस्य नाहंकृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते । हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते — one who has no sense of 'I did it', whose understanding is untainted, even if he slays these worlds, neither slays nor is bound (18.17).

Verse 3.2.23¶

एवमाकाशकोशात्मा विशदाकाशरूपिणि ।
स्वकारणे स्थितो नित्यः कारणानि न कानिचित् ॥ ३.२.२३ ॥

एवम् (thus) आकाश-कोश-आत्मा (he whose self is a treasury of space) नित्यः (eternal) विशद-आकाश-रूपिणि (in its clear, space-like) स्व-कारणे स्थितः (own cause abides); कारणानि कानिचित् न (there are no [other] causes).

Translation: "So he, whose very self is a store of space, abides for ever in his own cause, which is clear like space. He has no other causes at all."

Pointers for Reflection:

His own cause. The effect remains in its cause, as a wave in water. Compare the gold and the bracelet of 3.1.17.

Verse 3.2.24¶

प्राक्तनानि न सन्त्यस्य कर्माण्यद्य करोति नो ।
किंचिदप्येवमेषोऽत्र विज्ञानाकाशमात्रकः ॥ ३.२.२४ ॥

अस्य प्राक्तनानि कर्माणि न सन्ति (he has no past deeds), अद्य किंचित् अपि न उ करोति (nor does he do anything now); एवम् (so) एषः अत्र (he here) विज्ञान-आकाश-मात्रकः (is only the space of consciousness).

Translation: "He has no past deeds, and he does nothing now. Here he is the space of consciousness and nothing more."

Pointers for Reflection:

Doing nothing while acting. The next verse explains how one who breathes and moves can be said to do nothing. The Gītā: कर्मण्यकर्म यः पश्येदकर्मणि च कर्म यः । स बुद्धिमान्मनुष्येषु — who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is wise among men (4.18).

Verse 3.2.25¶

प्राणस्पन्दोऽस्य यत्कर्म लक्ष्यते चास्मदादिभिः ।
दृश्यतेऽस्माभिरेव तन्न त्वस्यास्त्यत्र कर्मधीः ॥ ३.२.२५ ॥

अस्य (his) यत् प्राण-स्पन्दः कर्म (the movement of breath which is [seen as] action) अस्मत्-आदिभिः लक्ष्यते च (is noticed by us and others), तत् अस्माभिः एव दृश्यते (that is seen only by us); अस्य तु अत्र (but in him) कर्म-धीः न अस्ति (there is no idea of action).

Translation: "The movement of his breath, which we and others take to be action, is action only as we see it. In him there is no thought of doing."

Pointers for Reflection:

Action is in the eye of the observer. Karma binds through the notion "I am acting" (कर्मधी). The Gītā: नैव किंचित्करोमीति युक्तो मन्येत तत्त्ववित् । पश्यञ्शृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन् — the knower of truth, steadfast, thinks 'I do nothing at all' — while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling (5.8).

Verse 3.2.26¶

संस्थिता भावयन्तीव चिद्रूपैव परात्पदात् ।
भिन्नमाकारमात्मीयं चित्स्तम्भे शालभञ्जिका ॥ ३.२.२६ ॥

चित्-स्तम्भे शालभञ्जिका (a carved figure on the pillar of consciousness) [इव] — चित्-रूपा एव संस्थिता (remaining only consciousness) परात् पदात् भिन्नम् आत्मीयम् आकारं भावयन्ती इव (as if imagining its own form as separate from the supreme state).

Translation: "Like a figure carved on a pillar, it remains nothing but consciousness, while seeming to imagine a form of its own, apart from the supreme state."

Pointers for Reflection:

शालभञ्जिका — the graceful female figures carved on temple pillars. The figure is nothing but the pillar, though it looks like a separate being. So the individual on the pillar of consciousness.

Verse 3.2.27¶

तथैव परमार्थात्सखात्मभूतः स्थितो द्विजः ।
यथा द्रवत्वं पयसि शून्यत्वं च यथाम्बरे ॥ ३.२.२७ ॥

तथा एव (just so) सः खात्म-भूतः द्विजः (that brāhmaṇa, who has become space itself) परमार्थात् (in truth) स्थितः (abides), यथा पयसि द्रवत्वम् (as liquidity in water) यथा अम्बरे च शून्यत्वम् (and emptiness in the sky).

Translation: "In the same way that brāhmaṇa, having become one with space, abides in the supreme truth, as fluidity abides in water and emptiness in the sky."

Pointers for Reflection:

Inseparable qualities. Fluidity is not added to water; emptiness is not added to space. So the knower and Brahman.
Splitting the words. परमार्थात्सखात्मभूतः is read as परमार्थात् स खात्मभूतः, "he, become one with space, [abides] in the supreme truth".

Verse 3.2.28¶

स्पन्दत्वं च यथा वायोस्तथैष परमे पदे ।
कर्माण्यद्यतनान्यस्य संचितानि न सन्ति हि ॥ ३.२.२८ ॥

यथा च वायोः स्पन्दत्वम् (and as motion [belongs to] the wind), तथा एषः परमे पदे [स्थितः] (so he [abides] in the supreme state). अस्य (for him) अद्यतनानि संचितानि [च] कर्माणि न सन्ति हि (there are no present or stored-up deeds).

Translation: "As motion belongs to the wind, so he belongs to the supreme state. He has neither present deeds nor stored-up ones."

Pointers for Reflection:

स्पन्द — the wind and its movement, a key pair for the text's teaching that the world is the movement of consciousness (compare 3.1.48).

Verse 3.2.29¶

न पूर्वाण्येष तेनेह न संसारवशं गतः ।
सहकारिकारणानामभावे यः प्रजायते ॥ ३.२.२९ ॥

एषः (he) तेन (therefore) इह न पूर्वाणि [कर्माणि बिभर्ति] (has no past deeds here) न संसार-वशं गतः (nor has fallen under the sway of saṃsāra). यः (one who) सहकारि-कारणानाम् अभावे प्रजायते (is born where there are no contributing causes) —

Translation: "So he has no past deeds here, and has not come under the power of saṃsāra. One who is born where there are no contributing causes —"

Pointers for Reflection:

The argument continues into the next verse.

Verse 3.2.30¶

नासौ स्वकारणाद्भिन्नो भवतीत्यनुभूयते ।
कारणानामभावेन तस्मादेष स्वयंभवः ॥ ३.२.३० ॥

— असौ (he) स्व-कारणात् भिन्नः न भवति (is not different from his own cause) इति अनुभूयते (this is what experience shows); तस्मात् (therefore) कारणानाम् अभावेन (because other causes are absent) एषः स्वयं-भवः (he is self-existent).

Translation: "— is not different from his own cause; this is what one finds. So, there being no other causes, he is self-born."

Pointers for Reflection:

स्वयंभू — "self-born", the classic epithet of Brahmā. The hint prepares Rāma's question at v. 45.

Verse 3.2.31¶

कर्ता न पूर्वं नाप्यद्य कथमाक्रम्यते वद ।
यदैष कल्पनां बुद्ध्या मृतिनाम्नीं करिष्यति ॥ ३.२.३१ ॥

वद (tell [me]): पूर्वं न कर्ता (one who was not a doer before) न अपि अद्य (nor is one now) कथम् आक्रम्यते (how can he be seized)? यदा (when) एषः (he) बुद्ध्या (in his understanding) मृति-नाम्नीं कल्पनां करिष्यति (forms the idea called 'death') [तदा आक्रम्यते] (then [only] can he be seized).

Translation: "Tell me, how can one be seized who was never a doer before and is none now? Only when he forms in his mind the idea called 'death' [could Death take hold of him]."

Pointers for Reflection:

Death is an idea. Death takes hold only of one who believes in it. The Kaṭha: न जायते म्रियते वा विपश्चित् — the wise one is not born, nor does he die (1.2.18).

Verse 3.2.32¶

पृथ्व्यादिमानयमहमिति यस्य च निश्चयः ।
स पार्थिवो भवत्याशु ग्रहीतुं स च शक्यते ॥ ३.२.३२ ॥

यस्य च (and whoever) "अयम् अहं पृथ्वी-आदिमान्" इति निश्चयः (has the firm conviction, 'I am this one, made of earth and the rest') सः आशु पार्थिवः भवति (quickly becomes earthly) सः च ग्रहीतुं शक्यते (and he can be seized).

Translation: "One who is convinced 'I am this, made of earth and the other elements' quickly becomes earthy, and can be caught."

Pointers for Reflection:

We become what we believe. The Gītā: यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः — a person is what his faith is (17.3). The Bṛhadāraṇyaka: यथाकारी यथाचारी तथा भवति — as one acts, as one behaves, so one becomes (4.4.5).

Verse 3.2.33¶

पृथ्व्यादिकलनाभावादेष विप्रो न रूपवान् ।
दृढरज्ज्वेव गगनं ग्रहीतुं नैव युज्यते ॥ ३.२.३३ ॥

पृथ्वी-आदि-कलना-अभावात् (since he has no notion of earth and the rest) एषः विप्रः न रूपवान् (this brāhmaṇa has no form); दृढ-रज्ज्वा गगनम् इव (as the sky [cannot be held] with a strong rope) ग्रहीतुं न एव युज्यते (he cannot be grasped).

Translation: "Having no notion of earth and the other elements, this brāhmaṇa has no form, and can no more be caught than the sky can be tied up with a strong rope."

Pointers for Reflection:

Tying up the sky. The Śvetāśvatara: यदा चर्मवदाकाशं वेष्टयिष्यन्ति मानवाः । तदा देवमविज्ञाय दुःखस्यान्तो भविष्यति — only when men can roll up the sky like a hide will there be an end of sorrow without knowing God (6.20).

Verse 3.2.34¶

मृत्युरुवाच ।
भगवञ्जायते शून्यात्कथं नाम वदेति मे ।
पृथ्व्यादयः कथं सन्ति न सन्ति वद वा कथम् ॥ ३.२.३४ ॥

मृत्युः उवाच (Death said): भगवन् (O lord), शून्यात् कथं नाम जायते (how can anyone be born from emptiness)? इति मे वद (tell me this). पृथ्वी-आदयः कथं सन्ति (how do earth and the rest exist), वा कथं न सन्ति (or how do they not exist)? वद (tell me).

Translation: Death said: "Lord, explain to me: from mere emptiness, how is a birth possible? And in what way are earth and the elements there — or not there?"

Pointers for Reflection:

Death's honest questions are the reader's too. How can anything arise from nothing?

Verse 3.2.35¶

यम उवाच ।
न कदाचन जातोऽसौ न च नास्ति कदाचन ।
द्विजः केवलविज्ञानभामात्रं तत्तथा स्थितः ॥ ३.२.३५ ॥

यमः उवाच (Yama said): असौ द्विजः (this brāhmaṇa) न कदाचन जातः (was never born) न च कदाचन न अस्ति (nor does he ever not exist); तत् (he) केवल-विज्ञान-भा-मात्रं (only the light of pure consciousness) तथा स्थितः (abides so).

Translation: Yama said: "This brāhmaṇa was never born, nor is there ever a time when he is not. He is only the light of pure consciousness, abiding as he is."

Pointers for Reflection:

The Gītā echoed. न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः — it is never born, nor does it die; having been, it will not cease to be (2.20).

Verse 3.2.36¶

महाप्रलयसंपत्तौ न किंचिदवशिष्यते ।
ब्रह्मास्ते शान्तमजरमनन्तात्मैव केवलम् ॥ ३.२.३६ ॥

महा-प्रलय-संपत्तौ (when the great dissolution comes) किंचित् न अवशिष्यते (nothing remains); शान्तम् अजरम् अनन्त-आत्मा केवलं ब्रह्म एव आस्ते (only Brahman remains, peaceful, unageing, infinite).

Translation: "When the great dissolution comes, nothing remains; there is only Brahman — peaceful, unageing, infinite."

Pointers for Reflection:

The summary of 3.1.10–11 repeated by Yama, now as the ground of the story.

Verse 3.2.37¶

शून्यं नित्योदितं सूक्ष्मं निरुपाधि परं स्थितम् ।
तदा तदनु येनास्य निकटेऽद्रिनिभं महः ॥ ३.२.३७ ॥

[तत्] शून्यं (empty) नित्य-उदितं (ever-risen) सूक्ष्मं (subtle) निरुपाधि (free of limiting adjuncts) परं स्थितम् (abides as the supreme). तदा तदनु (then, after that) येन (by which) अस्य निकटे (near it) अद्रि-निभं महः [भाति] (a splendour like a mountain [appears]).

Translation: "It is empty, ever-shining, subtle, free of every limiting adjunct; it abides as the supreme. Then, after that, near it there appears a splendour vast as a mountain —"

Pointers for Reflection:

Empty yet ever-shining. शून्य here does not mean nothingness but freedom from all objects — a term shared with Buddhist thought, where śūnyatā is emptiness of separate self-nature.
Reading note. The second line is obscure; it is taken with the next verse, which tells how consciousness comes to sense a body.

Verse 3.2.38¶

संविन्मात्रस्वभावत्वाद्देहोऽहमिति चेतति ।
काकतालीयवद्भ्रान्तमाकारं तेन पश्यति ॥ ३.२.३८ ॥

संवित्-मात्र-स्वभावत्वात् (because its nature is pure awareness) "अहं देहः" इति चेतति (it becomes aware, 'I am a body'); तेन (thereby) काकतालीयवत् (by sheer chance, like the crow and the palm-fruit) भ्रान्तम् आकारं पश्यति (it sees a deluded form).

Translation: "Because its nature is pure awareness, it becomes aware, 'I am a body'; and so, by pure chance — like the crow and the falling palm-fruit — it sees an illusory form."

Pointers for Reflection:

काकतालीय — the crow alights on a palm tree just as a fruit falls: the two seem connected, but it is mere coincidence. The first sense of a body arises without any cause, as Sarga 3.3 will explain.

Verse 3.2.39¶

स एष ब्राह्मणस्तस्मिन्सर्गादावम्बरोदरे ।
निर्विकल्पश्चिदाकाशरूपमास्थाय संस्थितः ॥ ३.२.३९ ॥

सः एषः ब्राह्मणः (this brāhmaṇa) तस्मिन् सर्ग-आदौ (at the beginning of creation) अम्बर-उदरे (in the womb of space) निर्विकल्पः (free from mental forms) चित्-आकाश-रूपम् आस्थाय (taking the form of the space of consciousness) संस्थितः (abides).

Translation: "This brāhmaṇa, at the beginning of creation, abides in the depths of space, free from mental forms, in the form of the space of consciousness."

Pointers for Reflection:

At the beginning of creation. The hint is now plain: Ākāśaja is the first being, Brahmā the creator (v. 45).

Verse 3.2.40¶

नास्य देहो न कर्माणि न कर्तृत्वं न वासना ।
एष शुद्धचिदाकाशो विज्ञानघन आततः ॥ ३.२.४० ॥

अस्य (he has) न देहः (no body) न कर्माणि (no deeds) न कर्तृत्वं (no doership) न वासना (no tendencies); एषः (he is) शुद्ध-चित्-आकाशः (pure space of consciousness) विज्ञान-घनः (a mass of awareness) आततः (all-pervading).

Translation: "He has no body, no deeds, no sense of doing, no latent tendencies. He is the pure space of consciousness, a solid mass of awareness, pervading all."

Pointers for Reflection:

विज्ञानघन — the Bṛhadāraṇyaka's term: विज्ञानघन एवैतेभ्यो भूतेभ्यः समुत्थाय — as a mass of consciousness, rising out of these elements (2.4.12).
No vāsanā. The four negations sum up what binds everyone else: body, karma, doership, and the tendencies studied in Book 2.

Verse 3.2.41¶

प्राक्तनं वासनाजालं किंचिदस्य न विद्यते ।
केवलं व्योमरूपस्य भारूपस्येव तेजसः ॥ ३.२.४१ ॥

अस्य (in him) प्राक्तनं वासना-जालं किंचित् न विद्यते (there is no net of past tendencies at all); [सः] केवलं व्योम-रूपस्य (only of the nature of space), भा-रूपस्य तेजसः इव (like light whose nature is brightness).

Translation: "There is in him no net of past tendencies at all. He is of the nature of space alone, like light whose very nature is shining."

Pointers for Reflection:

Light shines by itself. It needs no cause to shine; so pure consciousness.

Verse 3.2.42¶

वेदनामात्रसंशान्तावीदृशोऽपि न दृश्यते ।
तस्माद्यथा चिदाकाशस्तथा तत्प्रतिपत्तयः ॥ ३.२.४२ ॥

वेदना-मात्र-संशान्तौ (when even awareness of objects is wholly stilled) ईदृशः अपि न दृश्यते (even such a one is not seen [as an object]); तस्मात् (therefore) यथा चित्-आकाशः (as the space of consciousness is) तथा तत्-प्रतिपत्तयः (so are its manifestations).

Translation: "When all sensing of objects is stilled, even such a being is not seen as anything. So, as the space of consciousness is, so are its appearances."

Pointers for Reflection:

The appearance is like its source. Since consciousness is space-like, what appears from it is space-like too — nothing solid.

Verse 3.2.43¶

कुतः किलात्र पृथ्व्यादेः कीदृशः संभवः कथम् ।
एतदाक्रमणे मृत्यो तस्मान्मा यत्नवान्भव ॥ ३.२.४३ ॥

मृत्यो (O Death), अत्र (here) पृथ्वी-आदेः संभवः (the arising of earth and the rest) कुतः (from where), कीदृशः (of what kind), कथं किल (how indeed)? तस्मात् (therefore) एतत्-आक्रमणे (in attacking him) मा यत्नवान् भव (do not strive).

Translation: "Death, where in him could earth and the other elements arise — of what kind, and how? So do not strive to seize him."

Pointers for Reflection:

Yama's verdict. Where there is no body, there is nothing for Death to take.

Verse 3.2.44¶

ग्रहीतुं युज्यते व्योम न कदाचन केनचित् ।
श्रुत्वैतद्विस्मितो मृत्युर्जगाम निजमन्दिरम् ॥ ३.२.४४ ॥

व्योम (space) केनचित् कदाचन ग्रहीतुं न युज्यते (can never be seized by anyone). एतत् श्रुत्वा (hearing this) विस्मितः मृत्युः (Death, astonished) निज-मन्दिरं जगाम (went to his own dwelling).

Translation: "No one can ever seize space." Hearing this, Death, astonished, went back to his own abode.

Pointers for Reflection:

Death defeated. The story ends as the Kaṭha begins: Death himself must admit what lies beyond his reach.

Verse 3.2.45¶

श्रीराम उवाच ।
ब्रह्मैष कथितो देवस्त्वया मे प्रपितामहः ।
स्वयंभूरज एकात्मा विज्ञानात्मेति मे मतिः ॥ ३.२.४५ ॥

श्रीरामः उवाच (Śrī Rāma said): त्वया (by you) मे प्रपितामहः एषः ब्रह्मा देवः कथितः (this god Brahmā, my great-grandfather, has been described) — स्वयंभूः अजः एक-आत्मा विज्ञान-आत्मा (self-born, unborn, one Self, consciousness itself): इति मे मतिः (so I understand).

Translation: Śrī Rāma said: "So the one you have described is the god Brahmā, my great-forefather — self-born, unborn, the one Self, consciousness itself. That is what I understand."

Pointers for Reflection:

Rāma sees through the story. Ākāśaja is Brahmā, the first being. Rāma calls him प्रपितामह because the solar dynasty traces its line back to Brahmā.

Verse 3.2.46¶

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
एवमेतन्मया राम ब्रह्मैष कथितस्तव ।
विवादमकरोन्मृत्युर्यमेनैतत्कृते पुरा ॥ ३.२.४६ ॥

श्रीवसिष्ठः उवाच (Śrī Vasiṣṭha said): राम (O Rāma), एवम् एतत् (it is so); मया तव एषः ब्रह्मा कथितः (I have described Brahmā to you). पुरा (long ago) एतत्-कृते (over this) मृत्युः यमेन [सह] विवादम् अकरोत् (Death argued with Yama).

Translation: Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: "It is so, Rāma. It is Brahmā I have described to you. Long ago Death argued with Yama over this very matter."

Pointers for Reflection:

Teaching through a riddle. Vasiṣṭha let Rāma recognise the truth for himself rather than stating it.

Verse 3.2.47¶

मन्वन्तरे सर्वभक्षो यदा मृत्युर्हरन्प्रजाः ।
बलमेत्यब्जजाक्रान्तावारम्भमकरोत्स्वयम् ॥ ३.२.४७ ॥

यदा (when) मन्वन्तरे (in a Manu's age) सर्व-भक्षः मृत्युः (Death, the devourer of all) प्रजाः हरन् (carrying off creatures) बलम् एत्य (grew strong), [तदा] अब्जज-आक्रान्तौ (in attacking the lotus-born [Brahmā]) स्वयम् आरम्भम् अकरोत् (he himself made a start).

Translation: "Once, in the age of a Manu, Death, devourer of all, grew strong from carrying off creatures, and took it upon himself to attack Brahmā, the lotus-born."

Pointers for Reflection:

अब्जज — "born of the lotus", Brahmā, who sits on the lotus springing from Viṣṇu's navel.

Verse 3.2.48¶

तदैव धर्मराजेन यमेनाश्वनुशासितः ।
यदेव क्रियते नित्यं रतिस्तत्रैव जायते ॥ ३.२.४८ ॥

तदा एव (right then) धर्मराजेन यमेन (by Yama, the King of Dharma) आशु अनुशासितः (he was swiftly instructed). यत् एव नित्यं क्रियते (whatever is done constantly) तत्र एव रतिः जायते (a liking for that very thing arises).

Translation: "At once he was set right by Yama, the King of Dharma. For whatever one does constantly, one comes to take pleasure in it."

Pointers for Reflection:

Habit becomes appetite. Death's pride came from long habit of killing. Every repeated act deepens its vāsanā — the river of tendencies of Sarga 2.9. Śāntideva: न किंचिदस्ति तद्वस्तु यदभ्यासस्य दुष्करम् — there is nothing that is hard to grow used to through practice (Bodhicaryāvatāra 6.14). The same law works for good or ill.

Verse 3.2.49¶

ब्रह्मा किल पराकाशवपुराक्रम्यते कथम् ।
मनोमात्रं च संकल्पः पृथ्व्यादिरहिताकृतिः ॥ ३.२.४९ ॥

किल (indeed) पर-आकाश-वपुः ब्रह्मा (Brahmā, whose body is the supreme space) कथम् आक्रम्यते (how can he be attacked)? [सः] मनः-मात्रं (he is mind alone) च संकल्पः (and imagination) पृथ्वी-आदि-रहित-आकृतिः (a form without earth and the rest).

Translation: "Brahmā's body is the highest space: how could anyone assail it? He is only mind, an imagining, a shape in which no earth or element is found."

Pointers for Reflection:

Brahmā is mind. The creator is the cosmic mind, the first संकल्प. This is the hinge of Book 3: the world is the creator's imagining.

Verse 3.2.50¶

यश्चिद्व्योमचमत्कारः किलाकारानुभूतिमान् ।
स चिद्व्योमैव नो तस्य कारणत्वं न कार्यता ॥ ३.२.५० ॥

यः (that which is) चित्-व्योम-चमत्कारः (a wonder of the sky of consciousness) किल आकार-अनुभूतिमान् (seeming to experience a form), सः चित्-व्योम एव (is only the sky of consciousness); तस्य (for it) कारणत्वं न उ (there is no being a cause) न कार्यता (and no being an effect).

Translation: "What is a marvel of the sky of consciousness, seeming to have the experience of a form, is nothing but that sky of consciousness. It is neither a cause nor an effect."

Pointers for Reflection:

Beyond cause and effect. Gauḍapāda: न कश्चिज्जायते जीवः सम्भवोऽस्य न विद्यते — no jīva is ever born; there is no origin for it (Māṇḍūkya Kārikā 3.48). The doctrine of no-origination (अजातवाद) underlies this book.

Verse 3.2.51¶

आकाशस्फुरदाकारः संकल्पपुरुषो यथा ।
पृथ्व्यादिरहितो भाति स्वयंभूर्भासते तथा ॥ ३.२.५१ ॥

यथा (as) संकल्प-पुरुषः (a figure in one's imagination) आकाश-स्फुरत्-आकारः (whose form flashes in space) पृथ्वी-आदि-रहितः भाति (shines without earth and the rest), तथा स्वयंभूः भासते (so the Self-born shines).

Translation: "As a figure in one's imagination flashes into form in empty space, without earth or any element, so the Self-born shines."

Pointers for Reflection:

The imagined figure — the image of v. 8, now applied to Brahmā himself.

Verse 3.2.52¶

निर्मले व्योम्नि मुक्तालीसंकल्पस्वप्नयोः पुरम् ।
अपृथ्व्यादि यथा भाति स्वयंभूर्भासते तथा ॥ ३.२.५२ ॥

यथा (as) निर्मले व्योम्नि (in the clear sky) मुक्ता-आली (a string of pearls [seen by dim eyes]) [तथा] संकल्प-स्वप्नयोः पुरम् (and a city in imagination or dream) अपृथ्वी-आदि भाति (shine without earth and the rest), तथा स्वयंभूः भासते (so the Self-born shines).

Translation: "As strings of pearls seem to hang in the clear sky, and as a city appears in imagination or in a dream, made of no earth or element, so the Self-born shines."

Pointers for Reflection:

Pearls in the sky — the specks that float before tired eyes. They seem to be out there, but are in the seeing.

Verse 3.2.53¶

न दृश्यमस्ति न द्रष्टा परमात्मनि केवले ।
स्वयंचित्ता तथाप्येष स्वयंभूरिति भासते ॥ ३.२.५३ ॥

केवले परमात्मनि (in the pure supreme Self) न दृश्यम् अस्ति (there is no seen) न द्रष्टा (nor seer); तथा अपि (yet) एषः स्वयं-चित्ता (by its own consciousness) स्वयंभूः इति भासते (shines as the Self-born).

Translation: "In the pure supreme Self there is neither seen nor seer. Yet, by its own awareness, it shines as the Self-born."

Pointers for Reflection:

Neither seer nor seen. The pair of 3.1.22 dissolves in the Supreme. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka: यत्र त्वस्य सर्वमात्मैवाभूत्तत्केन कं पश्येत् — where all has become the Self, by what and whom should one see? (2.4.14).

Verse 3.2.54¶

संकल्पमात्रमेवैतन्मनो ब्रह्मेति कथ्यते ।
संकल्पाकाशपुरुषो नास्य पृथ्व्यादि विद्यते ॥ ३.२.५४ ॥

एतत् मनः (this mind) संकल्प-मात्रम् एव (is only imagining) ब्रह्मा इति कथ्यते (and is called Brahmā); [सः] संकल्प-आकाश-पुरुषः (a person made of imagination in space); अस्य (for him) पृथ्वी-आदि न विद्यते (there is no earth or other element).

Translation: "This mind, which is imagining and nothing more, is what is called Brahmā — a person of imagination in empty space, with no earth or other element."

Pointers for Reflection:

Mind = Brahmā. The equation will be developed in Sarga 3.3.

Verse 3.2.55¶

यथा चित्रकृदन्तःस्था निर्देहा भाति पुत्रिका ।
तथैव भासते ब्रह्मा चिदाकाशाच्छरञ्जनम् ॥ ३.२.५५ ॥

यथा (as) चित्रकृत्-अन्तःस्था (within the painter['s mind]) निर्देहा पुत्रिका भाति (a bodiless figure appears), तथा एव (so) ब्रह्मा (Brahmā) चित्-आकाश-अच्छ-रञ्जनम् (as a colouring on the clear space of consciousness) भासते (shines).

Translation: "As a figure appears, bodiless, in a painter's mind before it is painted, so Brahmā shines as colour on the clear space of consciousness."

Pointers for Reflection:

The painter's figure. Before it reaches the canvas, the picture exists only in the painter's mind. Brahmā is such a picture in the space of consciousness.
Splitting the words. चिदाकाशाच्छरञ्जनम् is read as चिदाकाश-अच्छ-रञ्जनम्, "a colouring on the clear (अच्छ) space of consciousness".

Verse 3.2.56¶

चिद्व्योमकेवलमनन्तमनादिमध्यं ब्रह्मेति भाति निजचित्तवशात्स्वयंभूः ।
आकारवानिव पुमानिव वस्तुतस्तु वन्ध्यातनूज इव तस्य तु नास्ति देहः ॥ ३.२.५६ ॥

केवलम् अनन्तम् अनादि-मध्यं चित्-व्योम (the sky of consciousness alone, infinite, without beginning or middle) निज-चित्त-वशात् (through the power of its own mind) स्वयंभूः ब्रह्मा इति भाति (shines as the Self-born, Brahmā). आकारवान् इव (as if having a form) पुमान् इव (as if a person) — वस्तुतः तु (but in truth) वन्ध्या-तनूजः इव (like a barren woman's son) तस्य तु देहः न अस्ति (he has no body).

Translation: "The sky of consciousness alone — infinite, without beginning or middle — shines through its own mind as the Self-born Brahmā, as though it had a form, as though it were a person. But in truth it has no body, any more than a barren woman's son has."

Pointers for Reflection:

The closing verse, in the longer vasantatilakā metre, sums up the story. The creator himself has no body; how much less the creation.
For Śrī Rāma — and for Arjuna — this changes what "birth" and "death" mean. The Gītā: अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् — though unborn, imperishable, and Lord of beings (4.6).