KATHOUPANISHAD - 80. Swami Advayananda.

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Saturday 15, March 2025, 12:00.
KATHA UPANISHAD  
Part 2 – Total 49 Mantras 
Chapters 2.1, 2.2 & 2.3 
Chapter 2.2: (15 Mantras) 
THE SEARCH FOR BRAHMAN 
Mantram -2.2.2: Brahman – Everywhere, in Everything
Post - 80.

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Mantram -2.2.2: Brahman – Everywhere, in Everything:

1 

Hamsah shuchishad, =  As the Sun He dwells in the heavens;  

vasuh antariksha sad, = as Air He dwells in the sky; 

2 

hotaa vedi-shat, atithih =  as Fire He dwells in the sacrificial altar (or on earth);  

durona-sat; =  as a guest He dwells in a house; 

3 

nri-shat, vara-sat, = He dwells in man, He dwells in the Gods,   

rita-sat, vyoma-sat, =  He dwells in the sacrifices, and He dwells in the sky; 

4 

abjaa, gojaa, ritajaa, = He is all that iHe is born in the water, on the earth, from the sacrifice,   

adrijaa, ritam, brihat. = and on the mountains; He is all that is true and great. 

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The Upasana of feeling that one rests in one’s body, is intended only to teach us that we are not the body, but only live in it. That being so, it would be a mistake if we think that the Self is limited to just our body. This verse immediately presents the broader picture of the Self to prevent this error creeping in. The Self is present everywhere and in everyone.

Link : The Bhashya introduces the fuller vision of the same Self. The meditator is reminded that the Self is the same in all beings. Not only that, but the Self has no limits – it 

has absolutely no boundaries. The whole Universe is its full dwelling place, not just ‘my’ body. To this end, certain specific forms in which the Self dwells are given: 

The Boundaries of the “City”:

 1-2

 The City represented only one body; this is now being extended to all three manifested worlds. The three regions or worlds mentioned in these two Padas are the complete “resting place” of the Self. They form the first three of the seven higher worlds. The other four are not mentioned because they are not manifested. 

i) Shuchishad: This stands for Svah Lokaor “the heavens”. The Sun is the main dweller of the heavenly region. 

ii) Antariksha-sad – This stands for Bhuvah Loka or “the interspatial region” between heaven and Earth. It is usually translated as space in which dwells Air.  

iii) Vedi-shat – This stands for Bhu Lokaor “Earth”. It is usually represented by the 

fire element, from which the water and earth elements arise.  

iv) Durona-sat: Within Earth, this could be taken to mean the “homes”, i.e. the “bodies”, or, in the context of this Chapter, the Citiesin which the Lord comes to dwell as an Atithi, “a guest”. By this, it is being said that the same Self rests in all bodies.

Durona could also be taken to mean the special “kalasha or jar” in which the Soma juice is kept during the Soma sacrifice. If Fire in the Vedi-shat above is taken to mean the sacrificial fires, then this translation blends with it. The Soma juice is crushed from the soma creeper and isconsidered to be a guest at a sacrifice, and kept in these special jars. Soma is to a sacrifice what Prana or Life is to the human body. 

The Residents & Residences in the “City”:

3

 The Presence of the Lord the City is seen in different degrees among its residents: 

v) Nrisat – among men, He dwells as an ordinary city resident.  

vi) Varasat – among the adorable ones, He dwells as befitting the Deities or representatives of God’s powers, in more palatial quarters. 

vii) Ritasat – among the worshippersof God, He dwells in their temples. 

viii) Vyomasat – among the liberated sages, He has more space for Himself; He 

dwells in the sky , that is, in their uncluttered minds! The clearness and limitlessness of the sky represents an awakened sage. 

4

 Besides these categories, He also has many other places to dwell: 

ix) Abjah – in beings born of water, that is, all aquatic creatures like the fishes. 

x) Gojah – in beings born of earth, i.e. the numerous animals, insects and reptiles. 

xi) Ritajah – in beings born of sacrifices, i.e. as a result of performing sacrifices. 

xii) Adrijah – He even dwells in the rivers and lakes born of mountains. 

In short, the Lord is free to dwell in everything – after all, it is His City. He is the Ritam or the “unchanging existence principle” in everything that exists. He is also Brihat or that which is “great, noble and lustrous” in everything, i.e. that which makes a thing great. 

The word could also be taken to mean the Lord Himself, who is the great Lord of the City. The central meaning of this verse is that the entire world has only one Self as its basis, which pervades everything in creation. There is no plurality called “Selves”.  

In an extended meaning given in the Bhashya, it is clarified that even if all the above words are taken as adjectives for the Sun (Aditya), as they can grammatically, they still refer to the Self because the Sun is taken as a simile for the Self in many Upanishads. 

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Next

Mantram - 2.2.3: Brahman – Director of Pranas & Deities

Continued

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