Mahā Nārāyaṇa Upanishad | Section 59-65

devakṛtasyainaso'vayajanamasi svāhā |
manuṣyakṛtasyainaso'vayajanamasi svāhā |
pitṛkṛtasyaiso'vayajanamasi svāhā |
ātmakṛtasyainaso|vayājanamasi svāhā |
anyakṛtasyainaso'vayajanamasi svāhā |
asmatkṛtasyainaso'vayajanamasi svāhā |
yaddivā ca naktaṁ cainaścakṛma tasyāvayajanamasi svāhā |
yatsvapantaśca jāgrataścainaścakṛma tasyāvayajanamasi svāhā |
yatsuṣuptaśca jāgrataścainaścakṛma tasyāvayajanamasi svāhā |
yadvidvāɱsaścāvidvāɱsaścainaścakṛma tasyāvayajanamasi svāhā |
enasa enaso'vayajanamasi svāhā || 1||

1 O Agni, thou art the remover of the offences we have committed against gods. Hail! Thou art the remover of the offences we have committed against men. Hail!

Thou art the remover of the offences we have committed against departed ancestors. Hail! Thou art the remover of the offences we have committed to ourselves. Hail!

Thou art the remover of the offences committed by others connected with us. Hail! Thou art the remover of the offences committed by our relatives Hail!

Thou art the remover of the offences committed during day and night. Hail! Thou art the remover of the offences committed in the state of dream and waking Hail!

Thou art the remover of the offences we have committed in the state of deep sleep and waking. Hail! Thou art the remover of the offences committed consciously and unconsciously Hail!

Thou art the remover of the offences committed by contact with those who are sinners Hail!

Commentary:

Like the formulas given in Sections 3, 4, 5 and 47 these eleven formulas ending with Svāhā are also employed for offering oblations into the consecrated fire meditating upon the Supreme Being in order to remove by means of sacrifice all the sins including those enumerated here.

Broadly speaking a human being is liable to offend others and himself in various relations—whether he be conscious of it or not, or whether he is engaged in usual waking activities, or dreaming or sleeping.

Flaws in the acts of worship done towards gods and departed ancestors constitute sin against them. One may sin against oneself by voluntarily indulging in unworthy thoughts and deeds.

Each person is not only responsible for his own sins of omission and commission, but also for the sins of other persons who, belonging to him, or with whom he has relationship through blood, or over whose actions he can have legitimate control. He may further offend his own neighbours by harsh words and anti-social deeds. Even the company of a sinner is a source of sin.

All these are enumerated here to kindle a person’s moral consciousness and to goad him towards purity and perfection. Waking state has been mentioned twice by including it in two formulas with a view to indicate that in the waking condition there is possibility of committing more sins and so one should be specially on one’s guard about it.

The formulas 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 and 11 are from the Vājasaneyī Saṁhitā VIII 13.

yadvo devāścakṛma jihvayāṁ guru
manaso vā prāyati devaheḍanam |
arāvā yo no abhi ducchunāyate
tasmin tadeno vasavo nidhetana svāhā || 1||

1. O Gods, O Vāsus, that serious god- offending sin which we have committed by our tongues, by our understanding, and by our actions, place that in those who come near and act in an evil way towards us! Hail!

Commentary:

This is mantra originating in Rigveda X 37 12.

Often devotees forget that the various gods are but aspects or attributes of the one God and try to compare their relative greatness. In this respect the tongue sins against gods. So Vāyu, the moving god, is entreated to take away the sin thus committed.

kāmo'kārṣīnnamo namaḥ |
kāmo'kārśītkāmaḥ karoti nāhaṁ karomi kāmaḥ kartā nāhaṁ
 kartā kāmaḥ kārayitā nāhaṁ kārayitā eṣa te kāma kāmāya svāhā || 1||

1. Salutations to the gods! Desire performed the act. Desire did the act. Desire is doing the act, not I. Desire is the agent, not I. Desire causes the doer to act, not I. O Desire, fascinating in form, let this oblation be offered to thee Hail!

Commentary:

Desire is personified as a deity in the Vedas. The Nāsadīya Sūkta announces that Kāma or God's Will in the form of desire to create the world existed at a time when this universe did not come into being.

 The Manu smriti II 4 points out that whatever activity is found in a creature, all that is the movement of desire.

In the Bhagavad Gītā chapter XIII it is pointed out that icchā (desire), pleasure, pain and the rest are the attributes of the kṣetra (psycho-physical being) and that the Kṣetrajña (Spirit or Self) is eternally pure, simple and divine.

The traditional codes declare that the five universal elements, the resident deities and one’s own heart witness the thoughts and actions of a man even though they are concealed from his neighbour.

A worshipper is represented here as offering repeated salutations to the gods who witness the inside of all men and arraign them to the bar of divine justice.

He pleads not guilty and deposes that he, the Self in man, did not do any act, is not doing anything, is not an agent, or an abettor, desire, charming to all in appearance, is the agent that did acts and is doing them.

Finally in order to propitiate the deity of Desire, so that the worshipper may be left in his pure nature, as a resent of the withdrawal of all harmful desires, an oblation is offered into the consecrated fire.

The efficiency of a religion depends upon the total and undistracted service which a Society constituted for its ministry is capable of rendering.

Priests and monks are therefore left free to serve the community without entering the arena of economic competition. They subsist on voluntary subscriptions and serve God and man by gaining and disseminating knowledge.

The hereditary priesthood and the monastic orders were therefore permitted to receive gifts. The Vedas contain descriptions of Dātā (giver of gifts) and Pratigrahītā (acceptor of gifts).

A person of outstanding moral and spiritual merits alone can accept free gifts without damage to his spiritual vitality. Even such, according to Manu IV 186, must not covet, for covetousness destroys spiritual brilliance.

Pratigraha is, therefore, a sin and its baneful effect on a person's moral conscience is mitigated only by disclaiming all self-interest.

In Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa II 2 5 it is stated that Kāma (God's prompting) is at the base of all cosmic activities. It is responsible for the giving and acceptance of gifts. The Pure Self is not affected by that. God it is that gives and God it is who receives. The passage is significant.

It is concluded that a person who accepts Dakṣiṇā with this attitude, a true knower, is not hurt by the act of acceptance of gifts.

manyurakārṣīnnamo namaḥ |
manyurakārṣīnmanyuḥ karoti nāhaṁ karomi manyuḥ kartā nāhaṁ
kartā manyuḥ kārayitā nāhaṁ kārayitā eṣa te manyo manyave svāhā || 1||

1. Salutations to the gods! Anger performed the act. Anger did the act. Anger is doing the act, not I. Anger is the agent; not I. Anger causes the doer to act, not I. O Anger, let this oblation be offered to thee. Hail!

Commentary:

In many contexts in the Vedas the term Manyu is appropriately rendered by modern scholars as the longing fervour. According to Sāyana, Manyu is rage towards the enemy, internal or external.

In Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa II 4 1 Manyu is eulogised as Bhaga and Varuṇa and also supplicated not to damage Tapas by intrusion. Since the term occurs here in connection with Kāma, it is translated as anger personified, for obstructed desire is the source of anger.

All those cravings, instincts, propensities, inclinations, desires and needs that express themselves continually in the thoughts and behaviour of men are referred to by the word Kāma,

and so obstruction of Kāma in any form evokes responses in the shape of rage or anger which supply the motive force for a wider area of thought and activity covered by human behaviour.

Thus anger or dveṣa is another trait of the physical and psychological equipment of man from which his true Self stands aloof. Penitent man weeps for his sins and ascribes to desire and anger the sins that are committed by him. See also Bhagavad Gītā II 62-68 and III 37-43 for further elucidation of this matter.

tilāñjuhomi sarasān sapiṣṭān gandhāra mama citte ramantu svāhā || 1||
gāvo hiraṇyaṁ dhanamannapānaɱ sarveṣāɱ śriyai svāhā|| 2||
śriyaṁ ca lakṣmīṁ ca puṣṭiṁ ca kīrtiṁ cānṛṇyatām
| brāhmaṇyaṁ bahuputratām |
śraddhāmedhe prajāḥ saṁdadātu svāhā || 3||

1. O Supreme Being, I offer oblations of tasty Tila (Sesame) seeds mixed with some flour, into the consecrated fire, may my mind delight in the attributes of the Supreme! Hail!

2. O God, through Thy grace, may I obtain cattle, gold, wealth, food and drink, and all desired objects and beauty and prosperity, for that this oblation be offered to Thee. Hail!

3. May God grant me royal prosperity, the bliss of freedom, health, noble repute, capacity to pay off the debts to gods, departed souls and sages, the qualities of an ideal brāhmaṇa, many sons, faith, intelligence and grandsons! May this oblation be offered for that! Hail!

Commentary:

This sequel of this Upaniṣad, according to tradition, deals with the principal and auxiliary ceremonies connected with the last order of Vedic life known as Sannyāsa.

A candidate competent for Sannyāsa has to perform various subsidiary rites before he is rendered fit to perform the final act. These preliminary acts are meant for effacing all the past sins.

By the performance of appropriate rituals beginning with Bhūta- saṁskāra and ending in Ājya-saṁskāra laid down in the Grihya- sūtras one’s religious fitness is enhanced.

This section contains three formulas for offering three oblations in the fire, the substance for the offering is Sesame seeds.

The last two formulas contain a prayer for other items such as, wealth consisting of cattle, food and drink, and other coveted objects, as also faith, purity and other mental virtues.

A person who has enjoyed the possessions of this world and performed the religious duties that can be discharged only with the help of worldly possessions is made fit for Sannyāsa through dispassion for the fruits of this world and the next. This is implied by the oblations described here in connection with the Sannyāsa rites.

tilāḥ kṛṣṇāstilāḥ śvetāstilāḥ saumyā vaśānugāḥ |
tilāḥ punantu me pāpaṁ yatkiñcid duritaṁ mayi svāhā || 1||

1. O Lord, through Thy grace, may these black Sesame seeds, white Sesame seeds, healthful Sesame seeds and own Sesame seeds cleanse whatever sin there is connected with me or whatever wrong there is in me! For that I offer oblations! Hail!

Commentary:

The substance of offering into the consecrated fire here again is quantities of Sesame seeds which are sometimes black and sometimes white.

They are called Saumya (healthful) because good variety of these seeds do not cause any illness.

They are called vaśānugāḥ (owned by one at pleasure) because they are acquired by purchase giving the price in cash from one's own lawful earnings and not got by arbitrary seizure or theft.

Through the grace of the Supreme, even lifeless grains can purify a man.

corasyānnaṁ navaśrāddhaṁ brahmahā gurutalpagaḥ |
gosteyaɱ surāpānaṁ bhrūṇahatyā tilā śāntiɱ śamayantu svāhā || 2||

2. May the Sesame seeds offered remove my sins, such as partaking of the food supplied by theft, dining at a place where food is served in connection with the funeral rites of a single recently departed soul, slaying of a brāhmaṇa, outraging the preceptor’s honour, cattle-lifting, drink and slaying a hero or a foetus May I have peace. Hail!

Commentary:

The aim of the worshipper here is to remove all the sins connected with him by a propitiatory act.

Since these are formulas made use of by different worshippers at different places and times, it is impossible to suppose that each one confesses that he has committed all the sins names of which are catalogued here. They are mentioned to indicate that what is aimed at is complete taintlessness—elimination and expiation of the sins mentioned here in whomsoever they may exist.

Each man is responsible not only for his own flaws and defects but also for those of the whole community of which he is an individual. In fact, no individual can reach a moral level in all respects far higher than that of the group to which he belongs.

śrīśca lakṣmīśca puṣṭīśca kīrtiṁ cānṛṇyatām |
brahmaṇyaṁ bahuputratām |
śraddhāmedhe prajñā tu jātavedaḥ saṁdadātu svāhā || 3||

3. May God grant me royal prosperity, the bliss of freedom, health, noble repute, capacity to pay off the debts to gods, departed souls and sages, the qualities of an ideal brāhmaṇa, many sons, faith, intelligence and grandsons! May this oblation be offered for that! Hail O Jātavedas (the all-knowing Supreme invoked in fire).

Commentary:

For translation etc. of this passage see Section 63 formula 3 which contains the same passage with little alteration. Prajā in that passage is here replaced by prajñā tu.

The resemblance being so close and the sense and the purpose of the passage being the same it is not separately dealt with here. The prayer here is addressed to Jātavedas, the all- knowing Supreme invoked in fire.

prāṇāpānavyānodānasamānā me śudhyantāṁ
jyotirahaṁ virajā vipāpmā bhūyāsaɱ svāhā || 1||

1. By this oblation may my in-breath, out- breath, diffused breath, up-breath and middle breath become purified! I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions, in me! For this end may this oblation be appropriately offered into the consecrated fire! Hail!

vāṅmanaścakṣuḥśrotrajihvāghrāṇaretobuddhyākūtiḥsaṅkalpā
me śudhyantāṁ jyotirahaṁ virajā vipāpmā bhūyāsaɱ svāhā || 2||

2. By this oblation may my speech, mind, sight, hearing, taste, smell, seed, intellect, intention and aim become purified! I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions, in me! For this end may this oblation be appropriately offered into the consecrated fire! Hail!

tvakcarmamāṁsarudhiramedomajjāsnāyavo'sthīni me śudhyantāṁ
jyotirahaṁ virajā vipāpmā bhuyāsaɱ svāhā || 3||

3. By this oblation may my seven bodily ingredients—outer and inner skin, flesh, blood, fat, marrow, sinew and bone—become purified! I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions, in me! For this end may this oblation be offered into the consecrated fire! Hail!

śiraḥpāṇipādapārśvapṛṣṭhorūdharajaṅghāśiśnopasthapāyavo
me śudhyantāṁ jyotirahaṁ virajā vipāpmā bhūyāsaɱ svāhā || 4||

4. By this oblation may the limbs and the parts of my body, comprised by the head, hands, feel, sides, back, thighs, belly, shanks, the generative organ, the middle part of the body (or the male and female generative organs) and the anus become purified! I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions, in me! For this end may this oblation be offered into the consecrated fire! Hail!

uttiṣṭha puruṣa harita piṅgala lohitākṣi dehi dehi
dadāpayitā me śudhyantāṁ
jyotirahaṁ virajā vipāpmā bhūyāsaɱ svāhā || 5||

5. O thou Divine Person, who is dark-blue and brown and who is red in eyes make haste to favour me! Grant me more and more purity! Be a grantor of knowledge and purity to me through the medium of my preceptor! May my thoughts become purified! I pray that I become the Supreme Light bereft of all obstructing sins and their cause, the passions, in me! For this end may this oblation be offered into the consecrated fire Hail!

Commentary:

The five formulas given above are employed for recitation at the time of offering oblations of clarified butter into the properly consecrated fire by a person who is about to embrace the vows of Sannyāsa.

They are believed to have the efficacy of bringing about spiritual purity, or the regeneration of the internal and the external man. They are used in connection with some other rites also meant to signalise a person’s initiation into a new way of life.

The concluding part of all these mantras form a uniform pattern expressing the longing on the part of the aspirant to become divine— by freeing himself from all blemishes of body and mind.

The last formula of the Section is an address to the Supreme Being by the devotee to grant him purity and knowledge both directly and through the preceptor.

Personal description about the colour of the body and the eyes of the Puruṣa may be compared with such descriptions given in other parts of the Veda.