The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

by Swami Krishnananda

Chapter III

First Brahmana: Sacrificial Worship and Its Rewards

The central portion of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣhad is what we are now entering into. The context of the discussion in these two chapters is the court of King Janaka who was a great knower of the Self. We are told that there were about sixty-four Janakas. Janaka is not the name of a person. It is a designation, say, the title like Collector, which is not the name of a man but the name of an office that he holds. According to the Bhāgavata and other Purāṇas we are told that all these sixty-four were famous knowers of the Self. They were Ātmā-jñānis. One Janaka, out of these sixty-four, was the father of Sīta of the Rāmāyana.

Now, we are going to discuss the conversation between the first Janaka, and the Master, Yājñavalkya. It occurred to the mind of King Janaka that he should know who was the most learned in his country. There were many learned people and sages, but 'who was the foremost'? He wanted to be initiated by the best among them. But how to find out the best? There were hundreds and thousands in the country. So, he thought of a plan. He arranged a huge sacrifice in his palace, and all great people, sages, saints and learned men were invited to participate in that great sacrifice, where he gave charities in plenty. This sacrifice was called Bahu-Dakṣiṇa, as much was given in philanthropy, charity and gift. It was an occasion of great rejoicing for all people. Many people, thousands in number, came from all countries. The intention of the Emperor was that in this group of people who come in thousands to the sacrifice, the greatest of them also may be present. Now he thought, "I should find out some means of discovering the presence of the greatest of men in the court." After much thought, he announced in the open court of the palace, before all the thousands that had assembled there for the sacrifice, "Here are one thousand cows, great and beautiful to look at, milk-giving and very rich in their appearance, to the horns of each of which I will tie ten gold coins." Ten gold coins were tied to the horns of each cow and there were one thousand cows. He made the announcement; "The best among you may take all these cows. It is up to you to find out who is the best among you. Anyone who is best among you may stand up and take these thousand cows with so much of gold coins tied to their horns." Now, who can say 'I am the best'. It was a very delicate matter.

1. janako ha vaideho bahu-dakṣiṇena yajñeneje. tatra ha kurupāñcālānām brāhmaṇā abhisametā babhūvuḥ. tasya ha janakasya vaidehasya vijijñāsā babhūva: kaḥ svid eṣām brāhmaṇānām anūcānatama iti. sa ha gavāṁ sahasram avarurodha. daśa daśa pādā ekaikasyāḥ śṛṅgayor ābaddhā babhūvuḥ.

Janako ha vaidehobahu-dakṣiṇena yajñeneje: By means of a great sacrifice known as Bahu-daksina where much is given in gift, King Janaka performed a great Yajña. Tatra ha kurupāñcālānām brāhmaṇā abhisametā babhūvuḥ: In that sacrifice, many great men came from the Kuru and Pāñchāla countries. Tasya ha janakasya vaidehasya vijijñāsā babhūva: Janaka thought in his mind, he had a desire to know something. What was that desire? Kaḥ svid eṣām brāhmaṇānām anūcānatama iti: Who is the best knower of the Truth among these people in this assembly was what Janaka wanted to know. Sa ha gavam sahasram avarurodha: One thousand cows he brought in front. Daśa daśa pādāekaikasyāḥ śṛṅgayor ābaddhā babhūvuḥ: Ten gold coins were tied to the horns of every cow.

2. tān hovāca: brāhmaṇā bhagavantaḥ, yo vo brahmiṣṭhaḥ, sa etā gā udajatām iti. te ha brāhmaṇā na dadhṛṣuḥ. atha ha yājñavalkyaḥ svam eva brahmacāriṇam uvāca: etāḥ, saumya, udaja, sāmaśravā iti. tā hodācakāra, te ha brāhmaṇāś cukrudhuḥ: kathaṁ nu no brahmiṣṭho bruvīteti. atha ha janakasya vaidehasya hotāśvalo babhūva: sa hainam papraccha, tvaṁ nu khalu naḥ, yājñavalkya, brahmiṣṭho'sīti. sa hovāca: namo vayaṁ brahmiṣṭhāya kurmaḥ; gokāmā eva vayaṁ sma iti. taṁ ha tata eva praṣṭuṁ dadhre hotāśvalaḥ.

Tān hovāca: He speaks now. Brāhmaṇā bhagavantaḥ: "Great men, learned people. Yo vo brahmiṣṭhaḥ, sa etā gā udajatām iti: Who is the greatest knower of Truth among you?" Te ha brāhmaṇā na dadhṛṣuḥ: None of them was bold enough to say: "I am the best of the knowers of Truth." Everybody kept quiet. Atha ha yājñavalkyaḥ svam eva brahmacāriṇam uvāca: etāḥ, saumya, udaja, sāmaśravā iti. Yājñavalkya, the great Master, was in that assembly. He told his disciple, a Brahmāchāri (celibate), known as Sāmaśravas: "Take these cows to my house." Very strange it was! Everybody was surprised. How was this man talking like this? He simply called the Brahmāchāri and said "take them to my house". Sāmaśravas was the name of the Brahmāchāri. "You take them," he said. Tā hodācakāra, te ha brāhmaṇāś cukrudhuḥ: Everybody was in a huff and raged in anger. All the Brahmins seated there were mumbling among themselves. Who is this man? How does he claim that he is the greatest? How does he think that he is the most learned amongst us? He has insulted us in public by taking these cows like this. How unceremoniously he drives the cows shamelessly away. Kathaṁ nu no brahmiṣṭho bruvīteti. atha ha janakasya vaidehasya hotāśvalo babhūva: Janaka's chief priest of the Ṛg vedic type, one known as Aśvala, decided to solve this problem. "How is it possible for this man to regard himself, in the presence of people like us, as the best knower of Truth," he thought. Sa hainam papraccha: He decided to put questions and see what answers would come from Yājñavalkya and how he could answer such difficult questions which could not easily be answered. Tvaṁ nu khalu naḥ, yājñavalkya, brahmiṣṭho'sīti:  Aśvala, the chief priest of King Janaka stood up and told Yājñavalkya: "Yājñavalkya! You regard yourself as the best knower of Truth among us? Is it not so? Well, then answer my question." Sa hovāca: Yājñavalkya says, Namo vayaṁ brahmiṣṭhāya kurmaḥ: "I prostrate myself before the greatest knower of Truth, but I am desirous of the cows. I have taken the cows because I wanted the cows, that is all!—gokāmā eva vayaṁ sma iti. And as far as the knower of Truth especially is concerned, I prostrate myself before him." Taṁ ha tata eva praṣṭuṁ dadhre hotāśvalaḥ: Then immediately there was a volley of questions from Aśvala to Yājñavalkya.

3. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca. yad idaṁ sarvaṁ mṛtyunāptam, sarvaṁ mṛtyunābhipannam, kena yajamāno mṛtyor āptim atimucyata iti: hotrā ṛtvijā, agninā, vācā: vāg vai yājñasya hotā, tad yeyaṁ vāk. so'yam agniḥ, sa hotā, sā muktiḥ, sātimuktiḥ.

"Yājñavalkya! Now answer my questions. Yad idaṁ sarvaṁ mṛtyunāptam, sarvaṁ mṛtyunābhipannam, kena yajamāno mṛtyor āptim atimucyata iti: You know Yājñavalkya, that everything is subject to death. Everyone is capable of being destroyed by death, one day or the other. Not one among us can escape death. The sacrifice also will die. The one who causes the sacrifice to be performed will die. The materials used in a sacrifice are perishable. Therefore, the results that accrue from the sacrifice will also be subject to destruction. How can one escape death under these circumstances? How is it possible for the Yajamāna—the one who conducts a sacrifice—to free himself from this death that envelops everything and swallows everything? No one can escape death. Is there a way of escaping it? Now answer this question."

Yājñavalkya gives the answer: Hotrā ṛtvijā, agninā, vācā: vāg vai yājñasya hotā, tad yeyaṁ vāk. so'yam so' yam agniḥ, sa hotā, sā muktiḥ, sātimuktiḥ: "This answer is very difficult. It is not possible to escape death as long as the sacrificer considers himself as an individual. As long as he thinks that he is a human being; as long as he knows that he has verily enough to perform or conduct a sacrifice; that he has many priests whom he can employ in the sacrifice; that he can go to the other world and enjoy the pleasures of heaven—if these are the ideas in the mind of the conductor of a sacrifice, naturally he cannot escape death. But, there is a way of escaping death by knowing the cause of death. If you know the cause of death, you can escape death. Why do people die? Because they are inharmonious with Truth, that is all. There is nothing more secret about it. It is the law of Truth that compels you to undergo certain disciplines for the purpose of putting yourself in harmony with its nature. And this process of discipline that is imposed upon you is called birth and death. It is a tremendous discipline that is compelled upon us by the law of Truth. We are irreconcilable; we cannot agree with anyone; we always disagree; we are independent; we each have a personality of our own; we assert ourself in everything. As long as this assertion of individuality is there and the Truth behind this individuality is not known, one cannot escape death. But, if you know the principles that govern the very existence and function of the individual, then you can, by a harmony with that Truth, escape death. What is this harmony that we are speaking of?

"There should be, simultaneously, together with the sacrifice, a meditation. A meditation should be there, coupled with the performance of the sacrifice. It is not enough if you merely offer oblations into the sacred fire. It is not enough if you give material objects in charity. It is already known that these are not the ways of escaping death. All things shall be swallowed by death. You must also have a simultaneous meditation performed together with the performance of the sacrifice, so that the sacrifice becomes an external symbol of an internal contemplation that is necessarily to be associated with the sacrifice. If the meditation is not there, the sacrifice is as good as nothing. What is the meditation?

"The chants by means of the Veda, which are effected through speech by the priest called Hotā who is the presiding authority of the Ṛg Vedic Mantras, have to be identified with the deity of speech. This identification can be done only in meditation. It cannot be done by any kind of action. Speech is controlled, superintended over and presided over by a deity that is the Fire Principle. If the Fire Principle which is the Agnī Tattva-Vaiśvānara, can be identified with him, then he, the Hotā, the priest, absolves himself from Mṛityu or death.

"There are four priests in a sacrifice. They are Hotā, Adhvaryu, Udgātr and Brahma. Hotā is the name of the priest who chants the Ṛg Vedic Mantras in a sacrifice. Adhvaryu is the one who performs the sacrifice, and he is connected with the Yajur Veda Mantras which are recited in the sacrifice. Udgātr is one who speaks the Sāma Veda Mantras in the very same sacrifice. And Brahma—the word Brahma does not mean the Absolute here—is the name of the priest who is the superintending authority over the Atharva Veda Mantras, whose function is to see that no mistake is committed by the other priests in the performance of the sacrifice, unwittingly. Now, none of these priests can escape death, and therefore the conductor of the sacrifice, the Yajamana, also cannot escape death—unless they perform a meditation inside. All these four priests should meditate, then only they can free themselves from death and also free the Yajamanā, the performer of the sacrifice, from death.

"The first meditation is the identification of all the hymns of the Ṛg Vedic Mantras with the principle of Agnī, together with the identification of one's own self as one with Agnī—Hotrā ṛtvijā, agninā, vācā: vāg vai yājñasya hotā. Ultimately, it is not a human being that performs a sacrifice. That is what Yājñavalkya tells us. It is not a priest that conducts a sacrifice. It is not a person; it is the principle of speech which is responsible for the recitation of the Mantra that gives meaning to the Yajña or the sacrifice. And therefore, you may say that this sacred speech called the Ṛg Veda is really the performance—yājñasya hotā, tad yeyaṁ vāk. so'yam so' yam agniḥ: This speech, which is sacred, and is this Veda, is conducted also by the horse-principle, the Universal Being, Vaiśvānara. Sahotā: He is the real conductor of the sacrifice. If you do not know Him, you will die. Sa muktiḥ, sātimuktiḥ: This knowledge is liberation. This is called Mokṣha. This is freedom from the trammels of death."

Aśvala, the priest, does not leave Yājñavalkya at that. "You have answered one question. I have seven more questions. Answer all of them if you want to take the cows like this, otherwise you bring the cows back."

4. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca. yad idaṁ sarvam ahorātrābhyām āptam, sarvam ahorātrābhyām abhipannam, kena yajamāno'horātrayor āptim atimucyata iti. adhvaryuṇā ṛtvijā, cakṣuṣā ādityena, cakṣur vai yājñasya adhvaryuḥ, tad yad idaṁ cakṣuḥ, so'sāv ādityaḥ; so'dhvaryuḥ, sa muktiḥ, sātimuktiḥ.

"You have answered one question; I ask you another question. Yad idaṁ sarvam ahorātrābhyām āptam:  Everything is conditioned by the revolution of days and nights. Time appears as day and night. Sarvam ahoratrabhyam abhipannam: No one can escape this limitation imposed upon one by the movement of time in the form of day and night. Kena yajamāno'horātrayor āptim atimucyata iti:  How can the conductor of the sacrifice free himself from this condition imposed upon him by the movement of time in the form of day and night? What is the way?"

Then, Yājñavalkya gives the reply. "This can be done by the Adhvaryu, the other priest. Adhvaryuṇā ṛtvijā, cakṣuṣā ādityena: Just as the Hotṛ or the priest of the Ṛg Veda can free himself from death by identifying himself with the Mantras of the Ṛg Veda as again identified with the principle of Fire, the Adhvaryu or the second priest can overcome this limitation imposed upon him and others by finding the process of days and nights. How? By another kind of meditation which has to be performed. What is that meditation? He has to identify himself with the ultimate principle of perception which is the Sun—Sūrya; and it is the Sun—Sūrya who is the divine principle superintending over the eye. Then comes the great connection between the actual visible performance of the Yajña by means of the Yajur Veda Mantras and the eye that sees the performance. This eye cannot function unless the Sun functions. This performance, the visible sacrifice, the Yajña in front of you is nothing but an operation through the eye, and it is nothing if it is not properly superintended or presided over by the Sun. If the Sun principle withdraws itself from the eye, there is no perception, no Yajña, no sacrifice. So, let the Adhvaryu identify himself with the eye, not the physical eye but the very element of perception, and that again is to be identified with the Sūrya-Tattva—the ultimate presiding deity over the eyes—Cakṣur vai yājñasya. After all, what is sacrifice? It is a process of visualisation, and this visualisation itself is to be regarded as a sacrifice. All perceptions are Yajñas that you perform through the senses, in the mystical Yajña. Cakṣur vai yājñasya adhvaryuḥ, tad yad idaṁ cakṣuḥ, so'sāv ādityaḥ: This is the Adhvaryu, ultimately. The performer of the sacrifice is Adhvaryu and he is the Cakṣu or the seeing principle, which in turn is ultimately the Sun. So, the Sun is the performer of the sacrifice. Then you become one with him. The moment you become one with him, you are freed from death. And the time factor in the process of days and nights will not work there. In the sun, there is no day or night. This is how freedom from the operation of days and nights and the time element is achieved. This is freedom from the trammels of death."

"Well; it is so. Then I ask you a third question."

5. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, yad idaṁ sarvaṁ pūrva-pakṣa-apara-pakṣābhyām  āptam, sarvam pūrvapakṣa-aparapakṣābhyām abhipannam. kena yajamānaḥ pūrvapakṣa-aparapakṣayor āptim atimucyata iti: udgātrā ṛtvijā, vāyunā, prāṇena, prāṇo vai yajñasya udgātā, tad yo'yam prāṇaḥ. sa vāyuḥ, sa udgātā, sa muktiḥ sātimuktiḥ.

Yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, yad idaṁ sarvaṁ pūrva-pakṣa-apara-pakṣābhyām  āptam: "There is a difference of the bright fortnight and the dark fortnight in the lunar month, and everything is involved in the movement of the moon causing the distinction between the bright half and the dark half of the month. How can one free oneself from this involvement? Answer this question. Can we be free from the connection with the moon?" "Yes, you can. You can free yourself with the meditation that you have to conduct together with the sacrifice." "And who is to conduct this meditation?" Kena yajamānaḥ pūrvapakṣa-aparapakṣayor āptim atimucyata iti: "Udgatṛ, the Sāma Vedic priest should conduct the meditation. The Sāma is, in a very esoteric way, connected with Soma, the divine element that is invoked, as connected with the moon. And when you conduct the meditation in the context of this sacrifice, for the purpose of overcoming the limitations imposed by the movement of the moon, the Udgatṛ should practise a kind of retention of breath. Vāyunā, prāṇena, prāṇo vai yajñasya udgātā, tad yo'yam prāṇaḥ. sa vāyuḥ, sa udgātā, sa muktiḥ sātimuktiḥ. The breath, the vital force, with the operation of which the chant of the Sāma is made possible, should be regarded as the real chanter of the Sāma. It is not a person or a priest that chants the Sāma; it is the breath that chants. And if the breath is not to be there, there will be no chant also. So, if the Udgatṛ, or the reciter of the Sāma Veda, can identify himself with the principle of breath and vital energy inside, and that vital energy be identified with the Cosmic Vital Force, Sūtra-Ātman which is called Vāyu here, in other words, if the meditation on Hiraṇyagarbha be conducted simultaneously with the sacrifice, then the Udgatṛ can be freed from Mṛityu. This would be also the simultaneous freedom from death of the Yajamana or the conductor of the sacrifice."

It is not possible to absolve the performance of sacrifice from the limitations caused by death unless all the four priests are freed from death. So the fourth one, Brahma also is to be freed. So, Aśvala puts a fourth question.

6. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, yad idam antarikṣam anārambaṇam iva kenākrameṇa yajamānaḥ svargaṁ lokam ākramata iti: brahmaṇā ṛtvijā, manasā, caṇdreṇa; mano vai yajñasya brahmā, tad yad idam manaḥ, so'sau candraḥ, sa brahmā, sa muktiḥ, sātimuktiḥ ity atimokṣāḥ, atha sampadaḥ.

"How can the last one, Brahma, be free from death? He has another difficulty. What is that?" Yad idam antarikṣam anārambaṇam iva kenākrameṇa yajamānaḥ svargaṁ lokam ākramata iti: "How can the performer of the sacrifice go to heaven when there is no ladder from the earth to the heaven? There is an unsupported sky or space between the earth and the heaven. How can you jump through the skies to the heaven? What is the means by which the soul of the Yajamāna, or the performer of the sacrifice, goes to Svarga?" Brahmaṇā ṛtvijā, manasā, caṇdreṇa: "It is done by a meditation conducted by the fourth priest called Brahma." "And what is the meditation he should conduct?" "His work is merely to observe through the mind. He does not chant anything. It is the mind of the Brahma, or the fourth priest, that works in the sacrifice. This mind is presided over by the moon. So, he should identify himself merely with the psychological principle of the mind, and the mind with its presiding deity." "Then what happens?" "Then he would cease to be an individual. He becomes the mind only, and the mind becomes its deity, so that the deity or the divine principle which is the ultimate factor involved in the performance of the sacrifice, alone becomes the recipient of the fruits of the Yajña. The individual should not imagine that he is the recipient of the fruits. Mano vai yajñasya brahmā: It is the mind that performs the sacrifice as the Brahma or the fourth priest. Tad yad idam manaḥ, so'sau candraḥ:  Whatever is the mind, that is the moon. They are interconnected." Sa brahmā, sa muktiḥ, sātimuktiḥ ity atimokṣāḥ, atha sampadaḥ: So, Yājñavalkya tells Asvala; "I have answered four of your questions, by which I have told you how it is possible for these important conductors of the sacrifice to free themselves from death, which otherwise would be impossible. If a sacrifice is merely a performance without a meditation, death cannot be escaped. But if the meditation is done simultaneously with the performance of the sacrifice by which the performers get identified with the deities at once, there would be a final harmonious adjustment of all the four conductors, in a unity of purpose which will culminate in the realisation of the one Divinity, which is the aim of the sacrifice, and then, there will be no death."

So, these are four questions which Aśvala puts to Yājñavalkya and the answers which Yājñavalkya gives to the four questions. But there are further questions. The man does not leave Yājñavalkya so easily. So he says, "I will ask you some more questions," and we shall now see what they are.

Four more questions are asked. In all he puts eight questions. Four have been answered; four more remain.

7. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katibhir ayam adya ṛgbhir hotāsmin yajñe kariṣyatīti: tisṛbhir iti: katamās tās tisra iti. puro'nuvākyā ca yājyā ca śasyaiva tṛtīyā. kiṁ tābhir jayatīti: yat kiṁ cedam prāṇabhṛd iti.

"In this sacrifice, how many Ṛg verses are used, and what types of verses are used? Can you tell me?" Yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katibhir ayam adya ṛgbhir hotāsmin yajñe kariṣyatīti: "The Hotr, the Ṛg Vedic priest, performs the sacrifice by the recitation of a set of Ṛg Vedic Mantras." "What are those Mantras? Can you tell?" Tisṛbhir iti: "Three types are there," says Yājñavalkya. "These are used by the Hotr, the Ṛg Vedic priest." Katamas tas tisra iti: "Which are those three?" again Aśvala asks. Puro'nuvākyā ca yājyā ca śasyaiva tṛtīyā:  "The introductory verses which precede the principal chant, the Mantras that are connected directly with the offering of the oblations called Yājyā, and the Mantras which are having their concern with the extollation of the consequences or results of the sacrifice, the glorification of the deity of the sacrifice called Śasya—these are the verses that he chants." Kiṁ tābhir jayatīti: "What is the purpose of this chant? What does he gain by it." "Do you know what he will gain by the recitation of these Mantras which are of a very comprehensive nature?" Yat kiṁ cedam prāṇabhṛd iti: "He can gain control over everything," says Yājñavalkya. "These Mantras are forces which he releases by a method of recitation, and these forces are directed to all those objects which can be regarded as living or non-living. So it is an all-powerful chant which can exercise a control over all beings. So, what does he gain? Everything—yat kiṁ cedam prāṇabhṛd iti."

8. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katy ayam adyādhvaryur asmin yajña āhutīr hoṣyatīti: tisra iti: katamās tās tisra iti: yā hutā ujjvalanti, yā hutā atinedante, yā hutā adhiśerate: kiṁ tābhir jayatīti: yā hutā ujjvalanti deva-lokam eva tābhir jayati, dīpyata iva hi deva-lokaḥ; yā hutā atinedante, pitṛ-lokam eva tābhir jayati, atīva hi pitṛ-lokaḥ; yā hutā adhiśerate, manuṣya-lokam eva tābhir jayati, adha iva hi manuṣya-lokaḥ.

"Well Yājñavalkya! I put you another question. What are those Mantras which the Adhvaryu, the Yajurvedic priest uses in this sacrifice, and what is the connection between these Yajurvedic Mantras that he chants and the results that he expects from the performance of the sacrifice?" Yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katy ayam adyādhvaryur asmin yajña āhutīr hoṣyatīti:  "How many oblations are offered in this sacrifice? Tell me." Tisra iti: "Three are offered." Katamās tās tisra iti:  "What are those three?" Yā hutā ujjvalanti: "There are certain Yajurvedic Mantras which, when they are recited at the time of the offering of the oblations, cause the flames to flare up vertically in the direction of the sky or the heaven. That is one set of Mantras which he chants. The moment you pour āhuti, by recitation of those Mantras the fire will flare up vertically. Yā hutā adhiśerate: There are other Mantras in the Yajur Veda which, when they are chanted at the time of the oblations, will cause the flames to make a roaring noise and they rush upwards as if a lion is opening his mouth. They are the second type of Mantras. Yā hutā adhiśerate: There is a third set of Yajurvedic Mantras, which when they are chanted at the time of the offering of the oblations, will make the flames go down and bury themselves in the Yajña Kunda." Kiṁ tābhir jayatīti: "What is the purpose of these chants? What does he gain out of these recitations and stirring of the flames in this manner?" Yā hutā adhiśerate, manuṣya-lokam eva tābhir jayati: "When he recites Mantras which are capable of flaring up the flames vertically, they will produce a force which will take him to the celestial region. This is what he gains. Dīpyata iva hi deva-lokaḥ: The celestial region shines like the flames that go upto the sky, deva-lokaḥ; Yā hutā adhiśerate, manuṣya-lokam eva: When he chants Mantras which will make the flames roar with gusto, they will produce a strength and a force and potential by which he will gain the Pitṛ Loka, or the world of the ancestors. Yā hutā adhiśerate, manuṣya-lokam: When he chants Mantras which will make the flames go down and bury themselves in the pit, they will produce another kind of vibration which will make him a good human being in the next birth – adha iva hi manuṣya-lokaḥ. So, there are three types of Mantras which will produce three kinds of effects. This is the result that follows from these recitations of the Yajurveda."

9. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katibhir ayam adya brahmā yajñam dakṣiṇato devatābhir gopāyatīti: ekayeti: katamā saiketi: mana eveti, anantaṁ vai manaḥ anantā viśve-devāḥ, anantam eva sa tena lokaṁ jayati.

Yājñavalkya,iti hovāca: "Yājñavalkya, I put you another question," he said. Katibhir ayam adya brahmā yajñam dakṣiṇato devatābhir gopāyatīti:  "Which is the deity, by the power of which Brahma, the Atharva Vedic priest protects this sacrifice? Tell me which deity it is? How many gods are there whom he resorts to for the protection of this Yajña that is being performed here?" Yājñavalkya says, ekayeti. "Only one God is there. He resorts to one God." Katamā saiketi: "Which is that one God?" "The mind of the Brahma, the priest, itself is the God. He conducts his mind in such a manner in respect of the purpose of the sacrifice that it becomes a force by itself. There is no other god there except his own mind. Mana eveti, anantaṁ vai manaḥ anantā viśve-devāḥ: The mind can assume infinite forms through the functions that it performs. So the mind is identical with what is known as a group of celestials called the Viśve-devāḥs. The Viśve-devāḥs are the protectors of the sacrifice. The mind itself stands for Viśve-devāḥs here. All the gods are comprehended in the mind, and as a matter of fact, every god is nothing but one function of the mind. So, his mind is all the gods." "What does he gain by resorting to this psychic god which he has generated in his mind?" Anantam eva sa tena lokaṁ jayati: "Infinite is the result that follows. There is nothing which the mind cannot gain if it properly conducts itself in contemplation. So Brahma, the Atharva Vedic priest, raises himself to the status of an all-comprehensive force, the Viśve-devāḥs, by the very concentration that he practises."

10. yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katy ayam adyodgātāsmin yajñe śtotriyāḥ stoṣyatīti: tisra iti: katamās tās tisra iti: puro'nuvākyā ca yājyā ca śasyaiva tṛtīyā: katamās tā yā adhyātmam iti: prāṇa eva puro'nuvākyā, apāno yājyā, vyānaḥ śasyā: kiṁ tābhir jayatīti: pṛthivī-lokam eva puro'nuvākyayā jayati, antarikṣa-lokam yājyayā, dyu-lokaṁ śasyayā. tato ha hotāśvala upararāma.

"Yājñavalkya, I ask you another question. Answer that—Yājñavalkya, iti hovāca, katy ayam adyodgātāsmin yajñe śtotriyāḥ stoṣyatīti: What are the set of Mantras which the Udgatri, the Sāma Vedic priest chants here?" Tisra iti: "There are three chants." Katamās tā yā adhyātmam iti: "What are those?" Puro' nuvākyā ca yājyā ca śasyaiva tṛtīyā: "The same are the Mantras as they are mentioned in connection with the Ṛg Veda—the introductory, the oblationary and the laudatory." Katamās tās tisra iti: "Which (Mantras) are the inner ones among these?" "The Prāṇa within is identifiable in this context with the introductory verses, the Apāna is identifiable with the oblational chants, and Vyāna is identifiable with the laudatory verses. Prāṇa eva puro'nuvākyā, apāno yājyā, vyānaḥ śasyā:  The Puronuvākkya is Prāṇa; the Yajyā, or the middle one, is the Apāna; whereas the last one, the Śasya or laudatory Mantras, the praise that he offers to the gods through the third type of recitation, is identifiable with Vyāna. So, Prāṇa, Apāna, Vyāna are the real sources of these Sāma Vedic chants. He must meditate in a manner by which the vital breath within becomes the deity of the Sāmaveda." Kiṁ tābhir jayatīti: "What is the purpose of this meditation and what does he gain by these three chants through the Sāma Veda?" Pṛthivī-lokam eva puro'nuvākyayā jayati: "The whole earth can be governed by him, by the force generated by the introductory chant. Antarikṣa-lokam yājyayā: The atmospheric world can be controlled by him by the recitation of the middle one, the oblational chant. Dyu-lokaṁ śasyayā: The heavenly world can be gained and controlled by him by the recitation of the third chant, namely, the laudatory one." Aśvala felt that every question was answered and that he could not put any further questions to this man. He kept quiet and occupied his seat—tato ha hotāśvala upararāma. The chief priest Aśvala who put all these questions, the principal priest of the sacrifice performed by Janaka in his court, was defeated in the argument, because to every question which was so difficult to answer, Yājñavalkya gave an immediate answer on the very spot, without any hesitation whatsoever. Aśvala kept quiet. But though Aśvala, the priest, kept quiet, there were some others who wanted to put further questions to Yājñavalkya.