Upanishads

Upanishads are the theological texts of Hinduism which contain the most basic philosophy on which the Hindu thought is based. Along with the Bhagvat Geeta, they form the core of the Hindu understanding of the universe. They impart a  philosophical and spiritual angle to the various Vedic rituals and hence these texts have multilevel interpretations. A scholar can go deep and deep but still he will find the same verses will have infinite meanings that reflect upon the keen sense of metaphysical understanding that our ancestors had.
The most heard quotes from Hindu philosophy are none but Upanishadic verses right from Aham Brahmasmi, Tatvamasi to Satyameva Jayate.

Each of the 4 Vedas i.e Rigveda, Yajuveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda are divided into 4 parts i.e

• Samhita - The texts that contains verses and hymns to be recited
• Brahmana - Meanings of certain words and verses
• Aranyaka - To be recited in the forests. They are similar to Brahmanas
• Upanishad - They explain the deep philosophical meaning of Vedic verses and rituals

Thus Upanishads themselves are a part of Vedas. There exist more than 200 Upanishads ranging from few pages to fat books. The list of 108 various Upanishads occur in the Muktikopanishad where the names of almost all of the major Upanishads occur. 

The most famous Upanishads of Hindu thought are Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Aitareya, Isha, Prashna, Mundok, Kena, Shwetashwatara, etc. 

Another logical conclusion is that every Veda has it's own Upanishad which propounds the contents of that particular Veda. Here is a small classification of Upanishads according to the Vedas they belong to - 

VEDA		RECENSION	UPANISHAD
RIGVEDA	-	SHAKALYA	AITAREYA
YAJURVEDA	SHUKLA	VAJASANEYI	BRIHADARANYAKA & ISHA
	KRISHNA	TAITTIRIYA	KATHA & SHWETASHWATARA
SAMAVEDA	-	KAUTHUMA	KENA & CHANDOGYA
ATHARVAVEDA	-	PIPPALADA & SHAUNAKA	PRASHNA, MUNDOK & MANDUKYA

There are infinite sites and honourable Swamis who deal with the philosophical aspect of the Upanishads. This post is mainly meant to deal with the historical and geographical aspect of the Upanishads. 

HISTORY

The Vedic culture mainly comprised of rituals which were basically established to please Gods, live longer or to get priceless gifts from Gods. The Yagyas that were conducted mainly dealt with rituals which included fire, horse, oblations,etc. Now these Yagyas cannot be conducted silently. Thus verses were composed by different families of rishis for their particular Yagyas which were to be recited. This gave rise to a large number of Yagyas for different purposes. All of this is mechanical and ritualistic worship. 

Human mind is always in the pursuit of knowing the deep secrets of the universe and what lies in the infinite space around us. Just as science and rituals are the food for your brain, philosophy and spirituality is the food for your mind. The rishis came to know that a level of perfection and ultimate pleasure can be attained through meditation and becoming one with the Supreme.With time, the rishis started focusing on some basic questions of our existence. Their inborn curiosity led them to find as to who is controlling all that is around us. Consequently, the deep meanings of Vedic verses and the various rituals was taken into account. To quote an example, the Upanishads discuss the deep meaning of why a horse is tied to a pole and faces east during a Ashwamedha Yagya. The consequent result was a concept called "Brahman" or the supreme being. This Brahman is what is driving everything around us.  It is the chemical X that is present in every bit of the universe that makes it function what it is destined to. 

Without going much into philosophy, let's focus on the consequences of this. With a new style of thinking taking shape, the same rituals began to be viewed with completely different angle. The knowledge began to be divided into two types-  Gyankanda and Karmakanda literally meaning philosophy and rituals way of understanding things. Consequently, knowledgeable people started conducting debates about the in depth understanding of the Brahman.  Kings began conducting such debates. Handsome awards were given to the winner. The conversations of such people were recorded and further compiled into scriptures which came to be known as Upanishads. It should be noted that philosophy has existed from the start of civilization but it came out in full force when Upanishads were compiled as texts dealing only with philosophy. These scriptures were compiled, assigned a meter and faithfully transmitted orally. Having such a precious doctrine in them ,these scriptures were declared as Shrutis i.e scriptures to be heard and transmitted where not even a word is to be changed.

The brahmins belonging to that particular branch of Vedas were taught that particular Upanishad. But with time, all these scriptures were made open to all and they got a common name "Vedanta" literally meaning the end point of Vedas. 

Authorship of the Upanishads is a bit complicated issue since very few names are mentioned. But from what information we get, majority of the authors were Brahmins and Kshatriyas. The Varna system being flexible then, even a Shudra was made a Brahmin based on his knowledge. There are many instances where the kings themselves outwitted the Brahmins showing that knowledge was not the sole premise of Brahmins. Kings like Janaka Videha, Ajatshatru Kashiraj, Ashwapati Kekaya,etc won debates with Brahmins who had come to teach them. Shudras like Satyakama Jabala won many debates. Another interesting feature is that we find mention of two women namely Gargi Vachaknavi and Maitrayee who also used to participate in the debates. This shows the high social ranking of women in those times. 

GEOGRAPHY

Now coming to the main point- geography of Upanishads. 

If we look at the names of different places mentioned and the kings belonging to different kingdoms, the geography can be broadly classified into Kuru- Panchala region and Kashi-Videha region. In the Kuru-Panchal region, we have kings like Jaivahan Panchal and rishis like Uddalaka. Uddalaka is said to have roamed in the Kuru region to gather Brahmins for a debate. The epicentre for philosophy was of course, the Kashi-Videha region with it's most powerful theologist, Yajnavalkya. He was the one who had defeated almost all people from different parts of Bharat. He was the chief theologist in Videha's king Janaka's court. Because of him, Videha had emerged as an important center for philosophy. 

In addition, in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, we have a reference of Indradyuma Bhallaveya having learnt from king Ashwapati Kekaya, the father of Ram's step mother Kaikeyi. Regions like Gandhara are also mentioned.

 

Upanishads were composed. Majority of the Upanishads were composed during, just before and just after the era of Rama and king Janaka of Videha. As I have said earlier, king Janaka used to host debates in his kingdom where Yajnavalkya was his chief theologian. Most of the names, thus, appearing with Yajnavalkya become his contemporary. We would see how this is the case as we begin placing the Upanishads. 

All the placing of rishis and sages is done with respect to king Janaka who was one generation before Shri Rama. 

Kaushitaki Upanishad 

The composer of this Upanishad is Kahod Kaushitaki. He was the contemporary of king Janaka and Yajnavalkya. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad  ( 3.5) has a conversation between Yajnavalkya and Kahod Kaushitaki. Plus, Mahabharata ( 3.132 and 133) mention the story where Janaka had organized a debate in his Videha kingdom where Kahod's son Ashtavakra and Ashtavakra's mama Shvetaketu had gone there to debate with Bandi, the son of Varuna. It also gives the information of Shvetaketu's family as Aruni --> Uddalak --> Shvetaketu . 

This would be clear by the following - 

 

This places the Kaushitaki Upanishad one generation prior to Shri Rama.

Aitareya Upanishad 

This Upanishad is composed by Mahidasa Aitareya, who belonged to a lower caste but was elevated to the post of a Brahmin. He has also composed Aitareya Brahmana, Aitareya Arnyaka,etc. But late additions have also been made to his Brahmana and Aranyaka. We take the help of Sankhyayana Grihya Sutra ( 4.10 and 6.1). It gives the list of teachers of that scripture. This list starts from Kahod Kaushitaki --> Suyajna Sankhyayana --> Mahidasa Aitareya. Apart from these, Ashvalayana Grihya Sutra ( 3.4) inserts Paingya in between Kahod and Suyajna.  See the following

 

 

 

 

 

 

This places Aitareya Upanishad 4 generations before Shri Rama. 

Katha Upanishad 

This Upanishad is a conversation between young Nachiketa and Yama. Nachiketa is said to be the son of Auddalak i.e grandson of Uddalak in Katha Upanishad (1.1.11). Elsewhere, his father is said to be Vajashravas. That could be his personal name. But the placing is clear. 

 

 

Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishad These are very easy to place since majority of the people they talk are having a conversation with Yajnvalkya in the court of king Janaka of Videha. If you place the different kings and rishis listed in the these two Upanishads, we conclude that some of them were before Yajnavalkya, some contemporary who had conversation with him and others are later than him. This shows that the conversations were recorded and later on compiled into an Upanishad.
Another way of placing these two Upanishads is by the reference of Indradyumna Bhallaveya. He had a debate with Yajnavalkya. Indradyumna claims in Chandogya Upanishad (5.11) and Shatpatha Brahmana (10.6.1.1) that he was counselled by Ashwapati Kekaya which Ramayana mentions to be the father of Kaikeyi, Rama's step mother. So these two Upanishads can indeed be placed in the Ramayanic era.
Since we have placed these Upanishads, we can make a list of names whom are either contemporary or 1-2 generations before/after these Upanishads. All the names appear in Brihadaranyaka (BU) and Chandogya (CU) and Shatapatha Brahmana (SB) -

• Pravahana Jaivali Panchal - BU (6.2)
• Ajatshatru Kashi - king of Kashi and his son Bhadrasena Aajatshatru - SB (5.5.5.14)
• Uddanka Saulbhayana - BU ( 4.1.3)
• Budhila Ashvatarashvi - CU (5.16)
• Patanjala Kpya - BU (3.7.1)
• Barku Varshna BU (4.1.4)
• Bhujyu Lahyayani BU (3.3)
• Gardabhivipeeta Bharadvaja BU (4.1.5)
• Gargi Vachaknavi BU (3.6)
• Jaratkarava Artabhaga BU (3.2)
• Jitvan Shaileeni BU (4.1.1)
• Ushasta Chakrayana CU (1.10.1)
• Vidagha Shakalya SB (11.6.3.3), BU (3.9)
• Chaikitayana Dalbhya and his son Brahmadatta Chaikitaneya - CU (1.8)
• Gargya Balaki - BU (2.1) has a discussion with Ajatshatru Kashi

Besides, these Upanishads also mention Kahod Kaushitaki, Ashtavakra, etc who also were contemporaries of Yajnavalkya. 

As we have seen, Mahidasa Aitareya was 4 generations before Shri Rama. Chandogya being contemporary to Shri Rama, it mentions that Mahidasa Aitareya lived for 116 years - CU (3.16.7). It also mentions the story of Satyakama Jabala who existed some generations after Yajnavalkya thus confirming my proposition that these two Upanishads are compilation of dialogues which were compiled later.

Brihad Jabala Upanishad 

As the name suggests, the composer is Satyakama Jabala. He was a Shudra who was taught by his teacher Haridrumata Gautama. His story appears in Chandogya  (4.4.3).  Now, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (6.3.7) also gives a list of teachers from Uddalaka till Satyakama Jabala. Chandogya (4.10) adds another name of Upakoshala Kamlayana as the pupil of Satyakama Jabala. Following will demonstrate it -

 

 

 

This places the Brihad Jabala Upanishad at 3 generations after Shri Rama. This is also coroborated by a reference to a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and king Janaka that is quoted in Brihad Jabala (7). 

Prashnopanishad 

This is a relatively late Upanishad. The placing becomes clear by one reference to king Hiranyanabha of Ayodhya where the rishis had gone to interact with him. PU (6.1)

The rishis who were present were Sauryayani Gargya, Shaivya Satyakama.,Sukesha Bharadvaja, Kaushalya  Ashvalayana, Kabandhi Katyayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi. 

King Hiranyanabha was 18 generations after Shri Rama. 

Ishopanishad

This Upanishad cannot be properly 'placed' but it is definately before the times of Yajnavalkya.

As a matter of fact, sage Vaishampayana was the mama and teacher of Yajnnavalkya. Vaishampayana had taught the Yajurveda to Yajnavalkya. At that time, there was only one Yajurveda. Yajnavalkya due to his arrogance was asked to give back all his knowledge. So he gave it back. After worshiping the Sun God, he refined the Yajurveda and made it accurate. The original version taught by Vaishampayana came to known as Krishna Yajurveda and the version of Yajnavalkya came to be known as Shukla Yajurveda. 

Ishopanishad is a part of Yajurveda. Since it is present in both the Yajurvedas, we can be sure that it existed before Yajnavalkya and Vaishampayana. 

From Ashutosh Kulkarni

HOLY VEDA SCRIPTURES

O God. Thou pervade and appear before absolutely truthful learned persons and also before men of thoughtful nature. Thou manifest the glory, so that the whole world may attain happiness. Thou shine to show the path of salvation. Therefore Thou art worthy of communion by all.
Rig Ved 1:50:5









This [Prana] and that [Sun] are the same. This is warm and that is warm. This [Prana] they call, "Svara" [स्वर] (what goes out), and that [sun] they call, "Pratyasvara" [प्रत्यास्वर] (what returns). Therefore one should meditate on Udgitha [OM] as this [Prana] and that [sun].
----------The Chandogya Upanishad: 1: 3: 2
When the vital breath [prana] "goes out" at the time of death, it never returns to the corpse, but the sun, after having set, "returns" the next day.

Now is described the meditation on the Udgitha with reference to the deities:
One should meditate on the Udgitha [OM] [ॐ] as the sun who gives warmth. When the sun rises he sings [the Udgitha] [OMKAR] for the benefit of all creatures. When he rises he destroys darkness and fear. He who knows this becomes the destroyer of darkness and fear.
----------The Chandogya Upanishad: 1: 3: 1
When the sun rises he sings the Udgitha [OM] so that the creatures may obtain food, just as the... udgatri priest sings for the food of the sacrificer. If the sun did not rise, the grain would never ripen.
He who knows that the sun is endowned with the properties stated in the text becomes the destroyer of all fears in the form of birth and death, and also of their cause, namely, darkness in the form of ignorance.

This syllable OM is used to give assent, for wherever one assents to something, one says OM (yes).Now, what is assent is gratification. He who knows this and meditates on the syllable OM, the Udgitha, indeed, obtains all his desires.
----------The Chandogya Upanishad: 1: 1: 8
"By the means of this [syllable] [OM] [ॐ] the threefold knowledge proceeds [the Samaveda, the Rigveda and the Yajurveda]. When the [adhvaryu] priest gives an order [in a sacrifice], he says OM. When the [hotri] priest recites [the hymn], he says OM. When the [udgatri] priest [sings] the Saman, he says OM. All this is done for the glory of the Imperishable Atman [Brahman] by the greatness of That syllable [ॐ] and by Its essence."
----------The Chandogya Upanishad: 1: 1: 9
तेनेयं त्रयी विद्या वर्तत ओमित्याश्रावत्योमिति शॅ सत्योमित्यु़ढ्गायत्येतस्यैवाक्षरस्यापचित्यै महिम्ना रसेन ॥ १:

"I [God] am OM"-----Shri Krishna [the Gita: 7: 8, 9: 17, 10: 25]
"OM is verily Brahman"-----The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: 5: 1: 1
"He who meditates on OM with the intention-'I shall attain Brahman' does verily attain Brahman [Liberation] [मोक्ष]"-----The Taittiriya Upanishad: 1: 8: 1
...

NOTE: The eight position in the verse is in relation to the series of 7 essences in verse 2 [previous post]. It means the Ultimate i.e. the Supreme position. In the end of all the essences the Ultimate and the Supreme One we reach in the end is OM i.e. Brahman.
स एष रसानाँ रसतमः परमः परार्ध्योsष्टमो यदुद्गीथः।----------छान्दोग्य उपनिषद्:१: १: ३ १: ९ ॥

The essence of all these beings is earth; the essence of earth is water; the essence of water is plants; the essence of plants is a person; the essence of a person is speech; the essence of speech is the Rigveda; the essence of the Rigveda is the Samaveda; the essence of the Samaveda is the UDGITHA [which is OM {AUM} (ॐ)]
----------The Chandogya Upanishad: 1: 1: 2
एषां भूताना पृथिवी रसः पृथिव्या आपो रसः। अपामोषध यो रस ओषधीनां पुरुषो रसः पुरुषस्य वाग्रसो वाच ऋग्रस ऋचः साम रसः ...साम्न उद्गीथो रसः॥

The word, "रस" in the text is explained in different ways-----as essence, origin, support, end cause, and effect. Rasa (रस) originally means the sap of trees. That sap may be conceived either as the essence extracted from the tree, or as what gives vigour and life to a tree. In the former case, it might be transferred to the conception of effect, in the latter to that of cause.
In our sentence it has sometimes the one, sometimes the other meaning.
Earth is the support of all beings; water pervades the earth; plants arise from water; man lives by plants; speech is the best part of man; the Rik (Rigveda) is the best part of speech; the Saman (Samaveda) is the best extract from the Rik and the UDGITHA i.e. OM ॐ is the crown of even the Saman (Samaveda), the highest of all.
The syllable OM, called the UDGITHA, should be meditated upon; for people sing the Udgitha, beginning with OM.
----------The Chandogya Upanishad: 1: 1: 1
The syllable Om is uttered at the beginning and the end of a hymn. The same Om is a symbol and the dearest name of the Supreme Self. The text describes its symbolic nature.
UDGITHA is a hymn of the Samaveda. A part of the ritualistic worship laid down in the Samaveda, this hymn is sung at the time of a sacrifice. Om, again, is a part of the Udgitha hymn.


In the beginning all this manifested universe was non-existent. From it was born what exists. That [i.e. Brahman described as non-existent] created Itself by Itself; therefore it is called 'Self-Made' [Sukritam] [सुकृतम्]
That which is Self-made is flavour [rasa (रस) or essence]; for truly, on obtaining the flavour one becomes blissful.
----------The Taittiriya Upanishad: 2: 7

 

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THE PANCHAGNI VIDYA : KNOWLEDGE OF FIVE FIRES -Chhandogya Upanishad

THE PANCHAGNI VIDYA : KNOWLEDGE OF FIVE FIRES

======== From Chhandogya Upanishad ============

THE PANCHAGNI VIDYA :

(Part-1)

======== From Chhandogya Upanishad ============


( With Commentary Of Swami Krishnananda)


Philosophical Background :

The Five Fires, called the 'Panchagni's, mentioned here, are not actually fires in the physical sense. They are meditational techniques.The Fire, here, is symbolic of a sacrifice which one performs through contemplation. Here by ‘fire’ the Upanishad means the various processes of manifestation, or, we may say, evolution.There are various stages of manifestation. Here, a specific type of manifestation is under consideration for the purpose of meditation.

How the birth of an individual takes place ? how a child is born, is the actual question on hand.

We think that the child is born from the womb of the mother. We know only that much, but this is the least type of knowledge that one can have about the birth of a child.The child is not pushed out of the womb of the mother, as if by magic. It is a tremendous process that takes place throughout the cosmos. The whole universe is involved with action even if a single baby is to be born somewhere. So what produces a child is not the father or the mother. It is the whole cosmos that produces the child.There is also no such thing as 'my' child and 'your' child. If this secret is known, no one will say such things. It is neither yours nor anybody's. It belongs to that from where it has come i.e. cell of the universe. It has not come from the seminal essence of the father or the mother, as it is believed. The cosmos is reflected in every body. That is why we say " Yatha Pinde Tatha Brahmande" - the macrocosm is in the microcosm. Here is the philosophical background of the vidya, called Panchagni-Vidya.



Chhandogya Upanishad :

"The Yonder World, O Gautama, is indeed the Fire. Here, the Sun is the fuel; the Light-rays are the smoke; the Day is the flame; the Moon is the coals; the Stars are the sparks." (5.4.1)

"In this Fire, the deities offer faith. From this oblation arises King Soma." (5.4.2)


PURPORT :

The Upanishad tells us that the universe finds the cause of the lowest event in this lofty realm, in an invisible region, which is called the "Yonder World". By "Yonder World" we mean the celestial region, regions which are super-physical, beyond even the astral realm, which are the causes of what we observe in the atmospheric region.

The world, which is called the celestial realm, is itself the sacred fire into which oblations are offered.The fuel, which ignites the fire and causes the flames to rise up in this sacrifice, is the sun. As smoke rises from the fire in a sacrifice, we contemplate the rising or the emanation of the rays from the sun, symbolically. As the flames shine, so is the shining of the daytime due to the fire of the sun in the sacrifice. We may compare the embers, remaining after the flames subside in a sacrifice, to the moon who is something like the subsidence of the flames of the light of the sun, or we may even say, the comparison is made because moonlight arises generally when the sun's flames subside. Compare the stars to the sparks which are ejected from the flames of the fire, because they are scattered, as it were, in the sky. Now, this is a sacrificial mode of contemplation on the higher regions of the cosmos.



"Parjanya is, indeed, the Fire, O Gautama. Of that, the Wind is the fuel, the Cloud is the smoke, the Lightning is the flame, the Thunderbolt is the embers, and the rumblings of Thunder are the sparks." (5.5.1)

"Into this Fire, the gods offer the oblation of King Soma. Out of that oblation, arises rain." (5.5.2)


PURPORT :

The next stage of the descent is a realm which is symbolically represented here as the world of Parjanya, or the deity of rain. The rain-deity represents the region below, grosser than the higher regions or the heavens, or the "Yonder World" mentioned earlier. That gets stirred into activity, further on. That, again, is to be contemplated upon as a sacrifice.

The principle of rainfall, we may call it the rain-deity, Parjanya, is the fire in the sacrifice. The fire is stirred into action by 'vayu', the wind that blows. We consider the wind as the fuel which ignites the fire of this sacrifice. When there is such a stimulation taking place in the atmosphere, clouds are formed. As smoke rises from the fire of a sacrifice, as an effect of the flaming force of the fire, the clouds, 'abhram', forming themselves into a thick layer are the effect of this internal activity of the atmosphere by the action of the wind etc. in a particular direction. The clouds are the smoke of this sacrifice. The brilliance of the flames in this sacrifice is the flashing forth of the lightning, 'vidyut', through the clouds.The clap of the thunders may be compared to the embers remaining after the subsidence of the flames in a sacrifice. The rumblings of the clouds after a heavy rain, the slowed or mellowed down sounds we hear later on in various directions, are the sparks, as it were, of this fire.

In this fire, the contemplative sacrifice of rainfall, deities offer the oblation of their action. The bhuta-sukshma, as they are called, or the subtle elementary potencies, are the Soma-raja, or King Soma, mentioned here.The subtle potencies which our actions produced get mixed up with the 'tanmatras' - shabda (sound), sparsa (touch), rupa (colour), rasa (taste), gandha (smell). And then it is that we get involved in the higher realms; we get vitally connected with our actions for reasons obvious, and our actions are related to the consequences they produce - 'apurva'. The 'apurva' gets mixed up with the elemental subtle forces called tanmatras, and so we are involved in the tanmatras in this manner.There is a cycle, as it were, a wheel rotating in the form of give-and-take between the deities in the heaven and the human beings here. We give something and we are given back something. Nature gives us what we give to it in the form of our own deeds in this world. The rainfall, which is the cause of the production of food in this world, is one of the important links in the cyclic chain of give-and-take, or coordination and cooperation between the individuals and the whole of Nature.



"The Earth is, indeed, the Fire, O Gautama. Of that, the Year is the fuel, the Sky is the smoke, the Night is the flame, the Quarters are the embers, the Intermediary Quarters are the sparks." (5.6.1)

"Into this Fire, the gods offer the oblation of rain. Out of that oblation, arises food." (5.6.2)



PURPORT :

Rain falls on this earth.We contemplate the whole earth as the fire in another stage of the Cosmic Sacrifice. The earth is a sacrificial fire. The productive capacity of the earth depends upon another factor, viz., the cyclic changes produced by the process of time. The year is the time factor involved in the capacity of the earth to produce foodstuff. And because it is the inciting factor in the production of foodstuff in the world, it is called 'samit', or fuel, for it is what causes the blazing of the fire of the sacrifice. Just as smoke rises up from the fire, we contemplate the whole sky as if it is a dome that is rising from the earth. When we look up, it appears as if the sky is rising dome-like above the earth, and we may contemplate as if it is a smoke rising from the fire of the earth. Even as the fire is the cause of the rising of the flame,the earth is the cause of night and day phenomena which is the flame of the fire in the sacrifice since its rotation causes day-night. The quarters are the embers, because they are calm and quiet, undisturbed as it were, by the movements that take place in the world. So, it is the subsidence of activity, like the embers after the flame subsides. Like sparks from the fire, which move in different directions, we have the intermediary quarters of the heavens which are in different directions, as if they are sparks in the sacrifice. The intermediary quarters are of lesser importance and, therefore, they are called the sparks. 

THE PANCHAGNI VIDYA :

(Part-2)

======== From Chhandogya Upanishad ============ 

"Man, O Gautama, is the fire, speech is the fuel, 'prana' is the smoke, the tongue is the flame, the eyes are the embers and the ears are the sparks." ( 5.7.1)

"In this fire the deities offer oblation of food. Out of that offering, the vital seed (semen) is produced." (5.7.2)

PURPORT :

At this fourth stage of sacrifice, the fourth sacrifice is of man himself, who is involved in this entire activity. Man is the fire and his tounge acts as the flame of fire through which it accepts the oblation i.e. takes the food. Man consumes the food of the world and energises himself and produces virility.

"Woman, O Gautama, is the fire, her sexual organ is the fuel, what invites is the smoke, the vulva is the flame, what is done inside is the embers, the orgasms are the sparks." (5.8.1)

"In this fire the gods offer semen as libation. Out of that offering the foetus is formed." (5.8.2)

PURPORT :

The fifth oblation is woman whose union with man brings about the birth of a child.This oblation is the immediate cause of the rise of the effect in the form of the baby that lies in the womb of the mother. Here, the womb of the mother need not necessarily mean the human mother, though the description is human, to serve as a sample of the illustration. Any cause which gives birth to an effect is the mother that produces the child.

"Thus in the fifth libation water comes to be called man. The foetus enclosed in the membrane, having lain inside for ten or nine months, or more or less, is born." (5.9.1)

"Having been born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he is dead, they carry him to the fire of the funeral pyre whence he came, whence he arose." (5.9.2)

PURPORT :

The Celestial Region, the Atmosphere, the Earth, Man and Woman - these are the five stages of the Fire which becomes the object of meditation known as the Panchagni-Vidya. By the interconnection, combination and harmonious adjustment of the structure of these five levels of manifestation, birth takes place.The first oblation is the universal vibration in the celestial heaven; that is the first sacrifice, and that is the first oblation. The second oblation is in the second sacrifice which is the reverberation of the vibrations in the celestial region felt in the lower regions of the atmosphere, as the fall of the rain. The grosser manifestations which are the events that take place in this world are the third oblation. The fourth and fifth oblations are Man and Woman respectively as discussed above.These are the Five Fires.

When the span of life is finished, there is what we call the death of the body, the extrication of the prana from the individual embodiment. And these Fires take the individual to the destination to which it is bound after death. Again, these Fires are there in action; they are never absent at any time. The Five Fires are nothing but the five degrees of the manifestation of universal law. In the same way as one was pushed into manifestation into this particular life, one is put out of existence here, and then taken through the same process of manifestation into other realms. The process is the same, because the Five Fires work everywhere in all the realms of being.Wherever you are, in whatever realm, in any form of birth whatsoever, these laws operate, and they catch hold of you, and condition you to certain limited forms of life.

These Fires are not to be regarded as individual events. This is the purpose of the vidya in the Upanishad. The Fires so-called are diviner manifestations of a cosmic character, and there is nothing local, physical, earthly or binding in any of these sacrifices. They are all processes of a vaster Nature in which the individual is integrally involved.

So these are the oblations symbolically offered in the sacrifice of meditation which is called the Panchagni-Vidya.This is a secret which the Kshatriyas knew and the Brahmanas did not know. King Pravahana Jaivali was reluctant to part with this knowledge because it was a guarded secret for him and for his community. And now he exposed this knowledge to the Brahmana known as Gautama who came to him as a student, and having explained in detail these mystical doctrines of meditation - the Panchagni-Vidya - he concluded by saying that the food oblation offered in the Fire of Man, which gets converted into the seed, is what rises up as the child by birth. This was one of the questions the king put to the boy who approached him in the court.