Upanishads Subāla 9.1

Subāla UpaniṣadSubāla 9.1

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Upanishads · Subāla 9.1

॥

Devanāgarī

अथ हैनं रैक्वः पप्रच्छ भगवन्कस्मिन्सर्वेऽस्तं गच्छन्तीति । तस्मै स होवाच चक्षुरेवाप्येति यच्चक्षुरेवास्तमेति द्रष्टव्यमेवप्येति यो द्रष्टव्यमेवास्तमेत्यादित्यमेवाप्येति य आदित्यमेवास्तमेति विराजमेवाप्येति यो विराजमेवास्तमेति प्राणमेवाप्येति यः प्राणमेवास्तमेति विज्ञानमेवाप्येति यो विज्ञानमेवास्तमेत्यानन्दमेवाप्येति य आनन्दमेवास्तमेति तुरीयमेवाप्येति यस्तुरीयमेवास्तमेति तदमृतमभयमशोकमनन्तनिर्बीजमेवाप्येतीति होवाच

Transliteration (IAST)

atha hainaṃ raikvaḥ papraccha bhagavankasminsarve'staṃ gacchantīti | tasmai sa hovāca cakṣurevāpyeti yaccakṣurevāstameti draṣṭavyamevapyeti yo draṣṭavyamevāstametyādityamevāpyeti ya ādityamevāstameti virājamevāpyeti yo virājamevāstameti prāṇamevāpyeti yaḥ prāṇamevāstameti vijñānamevāpyeti yo vijñānamevāstametyānandamevāpyeti ya ānandamevāstameti turīyamevāpyeti yasturīyamevāstameti tadamṛtamabhayamaśokamanantanirbījamevāpyetīti hovāca

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

अथ ह एनम् रैक्वः पप्रच्छatha ha enam raikvaḥ papracchaand now Raikva asked him; here Raikva questioned him

भगवन् कस्मिन् सर्वेbhagavan kasmin sarve“master, in what does everything”; “lord, in what does all”

अस्तम् गच्छन्ति इतिastam gacchanti iti“set?”; “go down?”

तस्मै सः ह उवाचtasmai saḥ ha uvācato him he said; to that one he answered

चक्षुः एव अप्येतिcakṣuḥ eva apyetiinto the eye it enters; to the eye it withdraws

यः चक्षुः एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ cakṣuḥ eva astam etithat which sets in the eye; what goes down in the eye

द्रष्टव्यम् एव अप्येतिdraṣṭavyam eva apyetiinto the seen it enters; to the visible it withdraws

यः द्रष्टव्यम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ draṣṭavyam eva astam etithat which sets in the seen; what goes down in the visible

आदित्यम् एव अप्येतिādityam eva apyetiinto the sun it enters; to the sun it withdraws

यः आदित्यम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ ādityam eva astam etithat which sets in the sun; what goes down in the sun

विराजम् एव अप्येतिvirājam eva apyetiinto Virajā it enters; to Virajā it withdraws

यः विराजम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ virājam eva astam etithat which sets in Virajā; what goes down in Virajā

प्राणम् एव अप्येतिprāṇam eva apyetiinto the breath it enters; to prāṇa it withdraws

यः प्राणम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ prāṇam eva astam etithat which sets in the breath; what goes down in prāṇa

विज्ञानम् एव अप्येतिvijñānam eva apyetiinto knowledge it enters; to cognition it withdraws

यः विज्ञानम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ vijñānam eva astam etithat which sets in knowledge; what goes down in cognition

आनन्दम् एव अप्येतिānandam eva apyetiinto bliss it enters; to joy it withdraws

यः आनन्दम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ ānandam eva astam etithat which sets in bliss; what goes down in joy

तुरीयम् एव अप्येतिturīyam eva apyetiinto the fourth it enters; to turīya it withdraws

यः तुरीयम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ turīyam eva astam etithat which sets in the fourth; what goes down in turīya

तत् अमृतम् अभयम्tat amṛtam abhayamthat immortal, fearless; it, deathless and unafraid

अशोकम् अनन्तम्aśokam anantamsorrowless, endless; without grief and without limit

निर्बीजम् एव अप्येतिnirbījam eva apyetiinto the seedless it enters; to the seedless it withdraws

इति ह उवाचiti ha uvācaso he said; so he spoke

Translation

And now Raikva asked him: “Master, in what does everything set?” And he answered him: into the eye enters that which sets in the eye; into the seen enters that which sets in the seen; into the sun enters that which sets in the sun; into Virajā enters that which sets in Virajā; into the breath enters that which sets in the breath; into knowledge enters that which sets in knowledge; into bliss enters that which sets in bliss; into the fourth enters that which sets in the fourth; and into that immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless — into it it enters. So he said.

Commentary

The ninth khaṇḍa is the mirror of the fifth, and the question with which it begins deserves to be heard.

The asker is Raikva — the very sage “with the cart” whom we met in the chain of transmission. His question: kasmin sarve astaṁ gacchanti — “in what does everything set?” The verb is taken from the setting of the sun: not “perishes” and not “is destroyed”, but precisely sets, as a luminary goes behind the rim.

In the fifth khaṇḍa each triad unfolded outward: the eye — the seen — the sun. Here the same row is folded inward, and new links are added to it: the nāḍī named Virajā, the breath, knowledge, bliss and “the fourth”.

The ladder is built so that each step proves the setting-place of the one before. The eye sets into the seen, the seen into the sun, the sun into the channel, the channel into the breath, the breath into knowledge, knowledge into bliss, bliss into turīya.

Turīya, “the fourth”, is the limit known from the Māṇḍūkya: what is beyond waking, dreaming sleep and deep sleep. Here it is not the last.

Last is named nirbīja — “the seedless”. The word is rare and very exact. A seed is that from which something will sprout again; the seedless is that from which nothing more will sprout. Every state, even the highest, carries in itself the grain of return; here is named that in which there is no grain.

And beside it four definitions: immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless. The very ones with which every mantra of the fifth khaṇḍa ended. What there one was bidden to revere — into that everything here sets.

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8041a0370b12 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:12:03 AM UTC

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