Upanishads Subāla 9.13

Subāla UpaniṣadSubāla 9.13

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Upanishads · Subāla 9.13

॥

Devanāgarī

अहङ्कारमेवाप्येति योऽहङ्कारमेवास्तमेत्यहङ्कर्तव्यमेवाप्येति योऽहङ्कर्तव्यमेवास्तमेति रुद्रमेवाप्येति यो रुद्रमेवास्तमेत्यसुरामेवाप्येति योऽसुरामेवास्तमेति श्वेतमेवाप्येति यः श्वेतमेवास्तमेति विज्ञानमेवाप्येति तदमृतमभयमशोकमनन्तनिर्बीजमेवाप्येतीति होवाच

Transliteration (IAST)

ahaṅkāramevāpyeti yo'haṅkāramevāstametyahaṅkartavyamevāpyeti yo'haṅkartavyamevāstameti rudramevāpyeti yo rudramevāstametyasurāmevāpyeti yo'surāmevāstameti śvetamevāpyeti yaḥ śvetamevāstameti vijñānamevāpyeti tadamṛtamabhayamaśokamanantanirbījamevāpyetīti hovāca

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

अहङ्कारम् एव अप्येतिahaṅkāram eva apyetiinto selfhood it enters; to selfhood it withdraws

यः अहङ्कारम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ ahaṅkāram eva astam etithat which sets in selfhood; what goes down in selfhood

अहङ्कर्तव्यम् एव अप्येतिahaṅkartavyam eva apyetiinto the appropriated it enters; to the appropriable it withdraws

यः अहङ्कर्तव्यम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ ahaṅkartavyam eva astam etithat which sets in the appropriated; what goes down in the appropriable

रुद्रम् एव अप्येतिrudram eva apyetiinto Rudra it enters; to Rudra it withdraws

यः रुद्रम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ rudram eva astam etithat which sets in Rudra; what goes down in Rudra

असुराम् एव अप्येतिasurām eva apyetiinto Asurā it enters; to Asurā it withdraws

यः असुराम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ asurām eva astam etithat which sets in Asurā; what goes down in Asurā

श्वेतम् एव अप्येतिśvetam eva apyetiinto śveta it enters; to the śveta breath it withdraws

यः श्वेतम् एव अस्तम् एतिyaḥ śvetam eva astam etithat which sets in śveta; what goes down in the śveta 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 selfhood enters that which sets in selfhood; into the appropriated enters that which sets in the appropriated; into Rudra enters that which sets in Rudra; into Asurā enters that which sets in Asurā; into śveta enters that which sets in śveta; into knowledge it enters; and into that immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless — into it it enters. So he said.

Commentary

The thirteenth step: selfhood, the appropriated, Rudra, the channel Asurā, the breath śveta.

The names chosen are dark ones: asurā — “demonic”, śveta — “white”. The first is set beside selfhood and Rudra, and this is intelligible: ahaṅkāra, “the making of I”, is constantly linked in the śāstras with what is called asuric — with pretension, rivalry, separation.

But something else matters more, and here it is worth pausing. Of the whole list, selfhood is the only thing whose setting is, for a man, liberation. The eye, the ear, speech, the hands — their setting is simply an end; the setting of selfhood is that for whose sake the Upaniṣads are written.

The book, however, does not single it out even here. Selfhood is listed on a par with the rest, in the same turn and with the same conclusion. In this is its evenness: nowhere does it denounce or exhort; it simply shows the order in which everything sets.

One step remains — consciousness; and on it the row begun in the first mantra will be closed in full.

Version

fafc3bae4890 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:12:03 AM UTC

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