Upanishads Subāla 9.12

Subāla UpaniṣadSubāla 9.12

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Upanishads · Subāla 9.12

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Devanāgarī

बुद्धिमेवाप्येति यो बुद्धिमेवास्तमेति बोद्धव्यमेवाप्येति यो बोद्धव्यमेवास्तमेति ब्रह्माणमेवाप्येति यो ब्रह्माणमेवास्तमेति सूर्यामेवास्तमेति यः सूर्यामेवास्तमेति कृष्णमेवाप्येति यः कृष्णमेवास्तमेति विज्ञानमेवाप्येति तदमृतमभयमशोकमनन्तनिर्बीजमेवाप्येतीति होवाच

Transliteration (IAST)

buddhimevāpyeti yo buddhimevāstameti boddhavyamevāpyeti yo boddhavyamevāstameti brahmāṇamevāpyeti yo brahmāṇamevāstameti sūryāmevāstameti yaḥ sūryāmevāstameti kṛṣṇamevāpyeti yaḥ kṛṣṇamevāstameti vijñānamevāpyeti tadamṛtamabhayamaśokamanantanirbījamevāpyetīti hovāca

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

बुद्धिम् एव अप्येतिbuddhim eva apyetiinto reason it enters; to reason it withdraws

यः बुद्धिम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ buddhim eva astam etithat which sets in reason; what goes down in reason

बोद्धव्यम् एव अप्येतिboddhavyam eva apyetiinto the understood it enters; to the understandable it withdraws

यः बोद्धव्यम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ boddhavyam eva astam etithat which sets in the understood; what goes down in the understandable

ब्रह्माणम् एव अप्येतिbrahmāṇam eva apyetiinto Brahmā it enters; to Brahmā it withdraws

यः ब्रह्माणम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ brahmāṇam eva astam etithat which sets in Brahmā; what goes down in Brahmā

सूर्याम् एव अप्येतिsūryām eva apyetiinto Sūryā it enters; to Sūryā it withdraws

यः सूर्याम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ sūryām eva astam etithat which sets in Sūryā; what goes down in Sūryā

कृष्णम् एव अप्येतिkṛṣṇam eva apyetiinto kṛṣṇa it enters; to the kṛṣṇa breath it withdraws

यः कृष्णम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ kṛṣṇam eva astam etithat which sets in kṛṣṇa; what goes down in the kṛṣṇa breath

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

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

Into reason enters that which sets in reason; into the understood enters that which sets in the understood; into Brahmā enters that which sets in Brahmā; into Sūryā enters that which sets in Sūryā; into kṛṣṇa enters that which sets in kṛṣṇa; into knowledge it enters; and into that immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless — into it it enters. So he said.

Commentary

The twelfth step: reason, the understood, Brahmā, the channel Sūryā, the breath kṛṣṇa.

The names here are luminaries and colours: sūryā, “solar”, and kṛṣṇa, “dark”. In the list of channels of the sixth khaṇḍa Sūryā stood thirteenth; kṛṣṇa belongs to the row of breaths whose names in this khaṇḍa run by colours and animals — śyena, kṛṣṇa, śveta, nāga.

Worth noting too is that in this row Brahmā “sets”. The creator of the universe is named one of the steps that set into knowledge. The book is consistent: in the first khaṇḍa he was born and took fright at death; here he sets, as everything sets.

This is the measure the Subāla keeps from beginning to end. The gods are given a high place, and not one of them is called false; but not one is called last either. Last is named the seedless — and in the sixth and seventh khaṇḍas it is given a name.

Version

d9f8aa6d0c99 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:12:03 AM UTC

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