Section 4.16 (sixteenth khaṇḍa) (five texts)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

The next section is introduced now, for the following reasons.—(1) What follows has some sort of indirect connection with the Esoteric Teaching (of Meditation, which forms the subject-matter of the context);—(2) both subjects form the subject-matter of the Āraṇyaka Section of Veda;—and (3) when something wrong has happened during the performance of a sacrifice, the Vyāhṛtis have got to be prescribed as the means of expiating that wrong; and the Brahman-priest who knows all this has to take a vow of silence; and all this, therefore, is connected with the Teaching of Meditation (as without the knowledge of what follows in the following section, people would not obtain the full reward of these acts).—

Upaniṣad text:

Verily, that which blows is the Sacrifice; for he, moving along, purifies all this. And because, moving along, he purifies all things, therefore he is the ‘Sacrifice’. Thereof Mind and Speech are the paths.—(1)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

Verily That etc.that—Air—which blows is the Sacrifice.—The two particles ‘ha’ and ‘vā’ are meant to indicate the well-known character of what is stated here.—As a matter of fact, it is well recognised in Śruti texts that ‘the Sacrifice rests on Air’; as is clear from such texts as—‘Svāhā vātedhāḥ’. (Taitti. Saṃhitā, 1. 1. 13.3.), ‘ayam vai yajño etc.’ (the present text), and so forth. It is Air as consisting in motion that inheres in all Activity; as declared in the Text that ‘Air itself is the initiation of the Sacrifice, Air is the substratum’.—It is he—the Air—which moving along,—blowing—purifies—renders clean,—all this,—the entire universe.—Thereof,—i.e. of the Sacrifice thus qualified,—Speech,—as engaged in the uttering of Mantras;—and Mind—engaged in apprehending the real nature of things,—these two, Speech and Mind,—are the Paths,—ways—that through which the Sacrificer, on being initiated, proceeds. Says another Vedic Text—‘The sacrifice consists in the gradual sequence of Mind and Speech as functioning through the mobility of the Prāṇa and Apāna Breaths.’ Thus it is through Mind and Speech that Sacrifice proceeds: hence these two are spoken of as ‘Paths’ of the Sacrifice.—(1)

Upaniṣad text:

One of these, the Brahman embellishes by means of Mind; by means of Speech, the Hotṛ, the Adhvaryu and the Udgātṛ embellish the other.—If, when the Morning Recitation has commenced, and before the Paridhānīya verse has been reached, the Brahman speaks out,—(2) then he embellishes only one of the two paths, and the other becomes defective. Just as a single-legged man going along, or a single-wheeled chariot rolling along, comes to grief,—so does this Sacrifice come to grief; and when the Sacrifice comes to grief, the Sacrificer comes to grief; and he, having sacrificed thus, becomes the worst sinner.—(3)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

Of the two Paths,—one path, the Brahman-Priest embellishes by means of Mind,—as equipped with discriminative-wisdom.—By means of the Path of Speech, the Hotṛ-Priest, the Adhvaryu-Priest and the Udgātṛ-Priest,—all these Three,—embellish the other path, of Speech; that is, they embellish Speech by means of Speech itself. Such being the case, it becomes necessary to embellish both speech and mind at the sacrifice. Now at the time that the recitation of the Morning Hymn is begun,—and before the Paridhānīya Verse is reached,—in between these two,—if the Brahman-Priest speaks out,—that is, breaks the vow of silence,—then, he embellishes only one of the two Paths,—and the other Path,—i.e. Mind—remaining unembellished by the Brahman-Priest,—becomes defective, perishes, becomes riddled with holes;—and the Sacrificer— being unable to proceed on the single path of Speech,—comes to grief. In what manner?—Just as a single-legged man, going along, on the road,—comes to grief;—or as the chariot rolling along on a single wheel, comes to grief;—in the same way the Sacrificer’s sacrifice comes to grief, through the incompetent Brahman-Priest.—And when the Sacrifice comes to grief, the sacrificer comes to grief;—as the life of the sacrificer rests in the sacrifice,—it is only right that the destruction of the sacrifice should be followed by the destruction of the sacrificer; and he, on having performed such a defective sacrifice, becomes the worst sinner,—greater sinner than ever.—(2-3)

TEXT:—But, when the morning recitation has commenced,—if the Brahman does not speak out before the Paridhānīyā verse is reached,—then they embellish both the paths; and neither one becomes defective;—(4)

And just as a two-legged man moving along, and the two-wheeled chariot rolling along, remain steady,—so does his Sacrifice become steady; when the Sacrifice becomes steady, the Sacrificer becomes steady; and having performed this sacrifice, he becomes superior.—(5)

Commentary (Śaṅkara Bhāṣya):

But, if the Brahman-Priest is learned, and hence, having taken the vow of silence, does not give vent to speech—but remains silent throughout—and does not speak out, before the Paridhānīyā verse is reached,—then alone do all the Priests embellish both the paths,—and neither one of the two becomes defective.

Question: “Like what?”—

Answer:—The illustration is the obverse of the former one.—In this same way the sacrificer’s sacrifice—proceeding upon its two paths.—becomes steady,—that is, continues steadily in its own form, without defecting on any point.—When the Sacrifice becomes steady, the Sacrificer becomes steady; and the sacrificer, having performed the sacrifice with the help of the Brahman-Priest well-versed in the practice of silence, becomes superior, i.e. very great.—(4-5)

End of Section (16) of Discourse IV