Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 15.djvu/237

177 IV ADHYAYA, 4 BRAHMAtfA, II. I 77

which once entered his heart are undone, then does the mortal become immortal, then he obtains Brah- man."

' And as the slough of a snake lies on an ant-hill, dead and cast away, thus lies this body ; but that dis- embodied immortal spirit (pr£#a, life) is Brahman only, is only light/

kanaka Vaideha said: 'Sir, I give you a thousand/

8 1 . ' On this there are these verses :

'The small, old path stretching far away 2 has been found by me. On it sages who know Brahman move on to the Svarga-loka (heaven), and thence higher on, as entirely free 3.

9. ' On that path they say that there is white, or blue, or yellow, or green, or red 4 ; that path was found by Brahman, and on it goes whoever knows Brahman, and who has done good, and obtained splendour.

10. 'All who worship what is not knowledge (avidyi) enter into blind darkness : those who delight in knowledge, enter, as it were, into greater darkness 5.

11. 'There are 6 indeed those unblessed worlds,

1 This may be independent matter, or may be placed again into the mouth of Ya^wavalkya.

2 Instead of vitata^, which perhaps seemed to be in contradiction with a*m, there is a Mddhyandina reading vitara, probably intended originally to mean leading across. The other adjective maS- spnsh/a I cannot explain. *Sahkara explains it by m&m spr/sh/a^, mayd labdha^.

3 That this is the true meaning, is indicated by the various readings of the Mddhyandinas, tena dhird apiyanti brahmavida utkramya svargaw lokam ito vimukta^. The road is not to lead to Svarga only, but beyond.

4 See the colours of the veins as given before, IV, 3, 20.

6 See Va^. Up. 9. Sankara in our place explains avidyd by works, and vidyst by the Veda, excepting the Upanishads. 6 See Va#. Up. 3 ; KaMa Up. I, 3.

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