PRASHNA UPANISHAD -63 : Rishi Pippala.

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#6 Questions, 67 Mantras: “Questions from Disciples Answered.”

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SUKESHAA’S QUESTION: 
Query No 6: The Source of Power

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Tuesday 24, September  2024, 06:30.
Mantram - 6.4:  How the 16 Kalas Were Created 
Post-63.

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Mantram - 6.4:  How the 16 Kalas Were Created 

1 

Sah i) praanam asrijata; = He created Prana; (the sum-total of all Pranas) 

2 

Praanaat ii) shraddhaam; = From Prana, came Faith; (the intrinsic trust in Brahman) 

3-7 

iii) kham, iv) vaayuh, v) jyotih, = From that came the five great elements; (that give  

vi) aapah, vii) prithivee; =   material support to this body; note their order) 

8 

viii) indriyam; =  From them came the 10 senses; (the 5 organs of perception, and the 5 organs of action.)   

9 

ix) manah; = From them came the Mind; (to control them)

10 

x) annam; = From that came food; (to sustain all life) 

11 

annaad, xi) veeryam; = From food came the vigour; (vitality or power) 

12 

xii) tapah; = From that came austerity; (self-control or the laws)  

13 

xiii) mantraah; = From that came the Mantras; (i.e. all the four Vedas 

or scriptural texts) 

14 

xiv) karma; = From that came Karma; (all the rites & rituals) 

15 

xv) lokaah; = From that came the Worlds; (the rewards of those rites) 

16 

lokeshu cha, xvi) naama cha. =  And for all the things in them, He gave Names.  

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The chain of creation is given in this mantram. All the above sixteen Kalas were created 

in that order, in conformity with their respective seeds. The primary seed producing the 

whole chain is Ignorance and its train of misconceptions. Thereafter, each Kala produced 

becomes the cause or the seed for the subsequent Kala. 

The above describes the process of Superimposition or Evolution, the expansion of 

creation. When Knowledge comes into a person, the above process gets reversed. Now we 

have the process of De-superimposition or Involution. Then from Name upwards to Prana, 

the distinctions are removed one by one, i.e. convergence or mergence takes place back 

into the Supreme Purusha whence all the creation came from. As the latter process 

progresses, one by one the Kalas to govern them become redundant and fall away. 

The Kalas may be thought of as the Laws set up to regulate the drama of life created 

by Ignorance. When true Knowledge comes into one’s life it eventually liberates one from 

this vicious cycle set up in Ignorance. In that process, the same 16 Kalas assist the person to 

come out of the realm of creation and into that of the Supreme Purusha. 

It is the 16 Kalas of Brahman by whose presence He comes to stay in the world, and 

by whose absence He has to depart (refer to mantram 6.3). 

Thus, the Supreme Purusha and His 16 Kalas may be thought of as the Sun and its 

numerous rays. 

For this reason, the Sun is the most common simile used to represent the 

Supreme. 

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The Sixteen Kalas:

 1. Prana, representing the Total Mind or Hiranyagarbha, one step after Ishwara. This 

represents the Life-force without which nothing can exist in the world. 

2. Shraddha, this is the faith all creators have in the success of their efforts. Without 

this faith no one will attempt to achieve anything. 

3 – 7. The Five Elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. 

8. The Senses: The organs of knowledge and the organs of action. 

9. Mind, the Antahkarana or thought processing system controlling every being.

10. Food – that which sustains the gross body or the “Food-sheath”. 

11. Veerya, or strength, mental and physical, by which one acts effectively. 

12. Tapas, or austerity, by which one is able to work in the face of all hardships to 

bring Thought to its fruition. 

13. Mantra, the ‘password’ to gain entry into the higher realms, effectively this 

stands for perseverance in one’s effort, the ability to not quit. 

14. Karma, the performance of actions, after careful intelligent planning.

15. The World, the manifested world provides the field and the means to fulfil the 

actions undertaken. 

16. The Naming of all the different items in creation. That, too, is a Kala.

 

So the stage is set, with all these 16 Kalas taking part in the whole drama ready to 

get into action on the world stage…and in the process ensuring that the Supreme Purusha 

stays on here, enjoying His own Cosmic Performance! 

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Next

Mantram - 6.5: Transcending the 16 Kalas 

Contonued

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