[Advaita-l] Maitrayani Upanishad - Hiranyagarbha is verily the Trimurtis and all devata abheda

[V Subrahmanian]

BY
Dr GODABARISHA MISHRA M.A. (Sanskrit), M.A. (Philosophy) Acharya (Advaita
Vedanta), Ph.D.
Lecturer in Sanskrit, Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in
Philosophy
UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
1992


The Maitrayani Upanisad belongs to the Maitrayan ya-sakha of the Krsna
Yajurveda. It is, however, assigned by some to the Samaveda. It consists of
seven chapters entitled prapathakas. The first prapathaka describes the
discourse between King Bṛhadratha and Sakayanya. The true nature of
individual soul is explained in the second and the third prapathakas. The
means of attaining oneness with Brahman is dealt with in the fourth
prapathaka. In the fifth prapathaka, Brahman is described as the material
and the efficient cause of the world and it is identified with various
Gods. The three-fold form of God as Brahma, Viṣņu and Śiva finds full
explanation here. The sixth and the seventh prapathakas deal with the
nature of Brahman, the meditation upon pranava and the identify of the
individual soul with Brahman.

There is a commentary to this Upanishad by Ramatirtha. (in the upanishadaam
samucchayaH pdf)

The text of the Maitrayani Upanishad is available here:

https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/maitri.html

In the Anubhuti prakasha of Swami Vidyaranya, there are many Upanishads
taken up for elucidation in many chapters.  The Maitrayani Upanishad is one
among them.  There we find these verses by Vidyaranya:


हिरण्यगर्भो वेदेषु समष्टिव्यष्टिरूपधृक् ।
श्रूयते यः स सूत्रात्मा प्रजापतिरिहोदितः ॥ १४१ ॥


He who has been referred to as Hiranyagarbha in the Upanisads having
collective and individual forms is the süträtmä. In this Upanisadic text he
is designated as Prajapati (141)
See somŝo'yam... prajapatiḥ... MaU, 5.2.



तस्य श्रेष्ठास्त्रयो देहाः सृष्टयन्तस्थितिहेतवः ।
ब्रह्मा रुद्रो विष्णुरिति गुणत्रयसमुद्गताः ॥ १४२ ॥

For Prajapati there are three supreme bodies responsible for the creation,
destruction and sustentation. They arise from the three gunas and are
designated as Brahmā, Vispu and Rudra (142)

The above verse of the Anubhuti prakasha and the two verses below are based
on this part of the Maitrayani Upanishad:

प्रजापतिस्तस्य प्रोक्ता अग्र्यास्तनवो ब्रह्मा रुद्रो विष्णुरित्यथ यो ह खलु
वावास्य राजसोंऽशोऽसौ स योऽयं ब्रह्माथ यो ह खलु वावास्य तामसोंऽशोऽसौ स योऽयं
रुद्रोऽथ यो ह खलु वावास्य सात्विकोंऽशोऽसौ स एवं विष्णुः स वा एष
एकस्त्रिधाभूतोऽष्टधैकादशधा
द्वादशधापरिमितधा चोद्भूत उद्भूतत्वाद्भूतेषु चरति प्रतिष्ठा
सर्वभूतानामधिपतिर्बभूवेत्यसावात्मान्तर्बहिश्चान्तर्बहिश्च ॥ ५॥ चतुर्थः
प्रपाठकः ॥

'यो यः सृजति लोकेऽस्मिन् ब्रह्मा तत्राभिमन्यते ।
नाशाभिमानी रुद्रोऽयं विष्णुः स्थित्यभिमानवान् ॥ १४३ ॥

Brahma has the sense of identity in regard to the creation of an object;
Rudra with reference to the destruction of an object and Vişņu with regard
to the sustenance of an object. (143)

प्रजापतिस्त्रिधा भूत्वा भूयोऽपि बहुधाभवत् ।
वसुरुद्रादित्यभेदै गिरिनद्यादिभेदतः ॥ १४४ ॥

Prajapati having become three-fold again became manifold as Vasus, Rudras
and Adityas and also as mountains, rivers, etc. (144)

See sa va eşa... aparimita va udbhataḥ, MaU, 5.2.

आत्मन्यध्यारोप एवं प्रोक्तो मायाविनिर्मितः ।
अत्माधिष्ठानरूपेण प्रविष्टः सर्ववस्तुषु ॥ १४५ ॥

Thus superimposition upon the self of the objects projected by māyā has
been set forth. The self pervades every object as its substratum. (145)

That it is One that has become all the devata-s including the Trimurtis -
is well stated in the Aitareya Upanishad too:

‘एष ब्रह्मैष इन्द्र एष प्रजापतिरेते सर्वे देवाः’ (ऐ. उ. ३ । १ । ३)  (This
Brahman alone is Brahmaa, Indra, Prajapati and all the Devata-s)

Shankara has cited this mantras for the above concept alone:

One can read in this extremely valuable article all the details where the
Shankara Brahmasutra bhashya, Manu Smriti, the Anandagiri Teeka,
Bhagavatam, Sridhara Swamin commentary, the Vishnu Puranam and the Vishnu
Sahasra Nama Bhashya citations of Shankara here, all for the above
Maitrayani Upanishad concept of Hiranyagarbha is the Trimurtis and all
other Devatas:

https://adbhutam.wordpress.com/2018/03/10/the-status-of-hiranyagarbha-as-per-shankara-and-others/

Om Tat Sat