[Advaita-l] 'Prana' as Brahman

[V Subrahmanian]

On Sat, Feb 18, 2023 at 4:45 PM Kaushik Chevendra <
chevendrakaushik at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> In the Kenopanishad 1.5 bhashyam Shankara has said:
>>
>> तत्तस्मादन्य उपास्यो विष्णुरीश्वर इन्द्रः प्राणो वा ब्रह्म भवितुमर्हति, न
>> त्वात्मा ; लोकप्रत्ययविरोधात्
>>
>> Atma being a samsari, indeed is someone who is fit to perform karma or
>> upasana and wishes to attain to the state of gods or heaven. Therefore the
>> upaasya is different such as Vishnu, Ishwara, Indra or Prana could be
>> Brahman but not the Atma who is only upasaka, since holding the upasaka
>> and
>> upasya as non-different contradicts what practice prevails in the world.
>
>
> Here it's "vishnorisvara" which is Vishnu who is isvara. Not Vishnu and
> isvara. Because if you are interpreting "vishnoranantha" in the mundaka
> upanishad bhasya as Vishnu who is called anantha then why is the
> "vishnorisvara" being split here?
>

It is Vishnu, Ishwara, Indra and Prana, four entities.  विष्णुरीश्वर
इन्द्रः प्राणो  Those with Sanskrit sandhi knowledge will clearly see this:
VishNuH, IshwaraH, IndraH, PrANa. There is upasaka upasya bhaava with
regard to these four entities. That is what is being stated here.  On the
other hand, in Mundaka it is  एष देवो विष्णुरनन्तः it is only one entity
for whom the adjective anantaH is given. And he is called prathama shariri
who has the three lokas as his body. There is no context of many entities
here. In the Kena bhashya, there is. Hence the two cases are different.

>
> There is a stuti by all the sense and action organs addressed to Prana,
>> whom  they all accept as their 'leader':
>>
>> इन्द्रस्त्वं प्राण तेजसा रुद्रोऽसि परिरक्षिता ।
>> त्वमन्तरिक्षे चरसि सूर्यस्त्वं ज्योतिषां पतिः ॥ ९ ॥
>>  किञ्च, इन्द्रः परमेश्वरः त्वं हे प्राण, तेजसा वीर्येण रुद्रोऽसि संहरन्
>> जगत् । स्थितौ च परि समन्तात् रक्षिता पालयिता ; परिरक्षिता त्वमेव जगतः
>> सौम्येन रूपेण । त्वम् अन्तरिक्षे अजस्रं चरसि उदयास्तमयाभ्यां सूर्यः त्वमेव
>> च सर्वेषां ज्योतिषां पतिः ॥
>>
>> You are Parameshwara (not Shiva here), O Prana, by your veerya you destroy
>> the creation as Rudra, in sustaining, you are (Vishnu as clarified by
>> Anandagiri in the gloss) in soumya, benign, form.  (the malign form is
>> Rudra, as stated in the mantra itself. The benign form, is not named,
>> though, but supplied owing to its obvious nature: Vishnu). You are Surya,
>> etc.
>> Further the stuti goes on to give all the Ishwara lakshanas (lingas) that
>> we can easily grasp from the mantras and the Bhashyas:
>>
>
> The word Vishnu is not mentioned here actually. The tika to it gives the
> name Vishnu.
>

The tika gives it because of the context: As I had explained: 'with veerya
you (Prana) are Rudra. Shankara gives the meaning: samhartaa, the
destroyer.  The mantra then says: parirakshitaa: sustainer. Shankara says:
in opposition to veerya of the mantra, adds sowmyena, benign, paalayitaa.
Now everyone knows that the paalana, sustaining function is that of Vishnu.
So, seeing the commentary, the gloss says it is Vishnu, etc.


> But in either case here "prana" is identified with isvara and the supreme
> being. Just as we see such superimposition in surya worship we find that
> here as well.
>


Yes, that is fine. But Shankara says here that he is  Prathamaja, the
epithet in synonym, he uses for Vishnu in Mundaka: prathamashariri.

 व्रात्यस्त्वं प्राणैकर्षिरत्ता विश्वस्य सत्पतिः ।

वयमाद्यस्य दातारः पिता त्वं मातरिश्व नः ॥ ११ ॥
किञ्च, *प्रथमजत्वा*दन्यस्य संस्कर्तुरभावादसंस्कृतो व्रात्यः त्वम् , स्वभावत
एव शुद्ध इत्यभिप्रायः । Says Shankara: Since you, Prana, are prathamaja,
you have nobody else to give you samskara, you are pure by nature.

>
>> regards
>
> subbu