Sita Upnishad

Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier

Om! Dev! With ears let us hear what is good;
Adorable ones! With eyes let us see what is good.
With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
et us en!oy the li"e allotted by the Dev.
#ay $ndr, o" wide renown, grant us well%being;
#ay &ushan, and all%Dev, grant us well%being.
#ay Tar'sya, o" unhampered movement, grant us well%being.
#ay (rihaspati grant us well%being.
Om! &ea)e! &ea)e! &ea)e!
*. The Dev, indeed, said to &ra!apati+ who is ,ita - What is .er "orm - Then
&ra!apati replied+ ,he is ,ita+
/. (eing the 0rst )ause ,ita is 'nown as &ra'riti; o" &ranav, too, ,he is )ause
and so is named &ra'riti. 1 (e"ore 1&ra2, 3 4reation 1Kriti2 5&ra'riti2
6. #aya in very essen)e,
$s ,ita, o" three letters "ormed. 1A%7%#2
4alled 8ishnu, the world%seed,
And #aya, too, is the letter i.
9. The letter :sa; denotes truth immortal; 1i.e. satya<sa)h2
A)hievement 1i.e. su))ess2; ,hiv with his )onsort.
Ta denotes the =ueen o" ,pee)h 1i.e. tal'<tar'2
7nited with (rahman, the Deliverer.
>. The Goddess who is the great $llusion, whose "orm is unmani"est, and who is
denoted by ?i@ be)omes mani"est, beauteous as the moon, "aultless o" limb,
de)'ed with ornamental garlands, pearls and other adornments.
A. At 0rst, at the time o" 8edi) studies, ,he is essentially the )lear 8edi)
spee)h. ,e)ondly, on earth, at the tip o" the plough ,he springs up, who, as
the bliss o" (rahman%realiBation, is ever present. Thirdly, as denoted by ?i@ ,he
be)omes unmani"est. ,o is ,he ,ita. Thus they eCplain in the teCt o" the
,hauna'.
D. (y ,hriram@s 1light o" total liberation2 presen)e enabled
The universe ,he sustains;
All embodied beings
,he brings "orth, sustains and withdraws.
E. ,ita must be 'nown;
,he is the 0rst )ause;
As Om is ,he that )ause,
De)lare the (rahman%'nowers.
F. Gow, there"ore, inHuiry into (rahman.
*I. ,he here is all the 8ed; all the Dev; all the worlds; all renown; all virtue; all
ground, eJe)t and )ause; the great (eauty o" the ord o" Dev. ,he has a "orm
whi)h is diJerent and yet the same. ,he is the essen)e o" the intelligent and
the inert. ,he is all, "rom (rahma to sto)'s and stones. ,he is embodied,
owing to distin)tions o" attributes and a)tivities. ,he assumes the "orms o"
Dev, sages, men and Gandharv; o" demons, 0ends, spirits, ghosts, goblins,
et).; and o" the elements, sense%organs, mind and the vital breaths.
**. That divine (eing is three"old through .er power, namely the power o"
desire, the power o" a)tion, and the power o" 'nowledge.
*/. The power o" desire is three"old+ ,ri, (humi and Gila. Auspi)iousness is the
"orm 1o" ,ri2; the power 1o" holiness2 is the "orm 1o" (humi2; the sun, the moon,
and the 0re are the "orms 1o" Gila2.
*6. As the moon 1,he2 is the mistress o" the herbs; ,he is the tree o" plenty,
Kowers, "ruits, )reepers and bowers; the mistress o" medi)inal plants and
physi)ians; ,he is the divine draught o" immortality, yielding the "ruit o"
massive splendour. ,he satis0es the Dev with Amrit 1ambrosia2 and the
animals with Ghas 1grass2 on whi)h, respe)tively, the Dev and the animals
live.
*9. ,he illumines all worlds, day and night, in the garb o" the sun, et). As
determinations o" time, su)h as the smallest moment, hour, day with its eight
divisions, day o" the wee', and night, as also the "ortnight, month, season, siC
months, and year and as the pres)riber o" the term o" human li"e as a hundred
years, ,he mani"ests hersel" and is 'nown as Delay and ,peed. Thus wheel%
li'e, ,he revolves as the wheel o" Time, the wheel o" 7niverse, et).;
)omprising 1all dimensions o" time2 "rom the moment up to 0"ty years o"
(rahma@s li"e. All the luminous temporal divisions are the spe)i0)
determinations o" this very Time, the )ontainer o" all.
*>. As 0re is the "ood and drin' o" living beings, their hunger and thirst. As
regards the Dev, ,he has the "orm o" sa)ri0)e. As regards the herbs in the
"orest, ,he is the )oolness and the warmth. (oth inside and outside the "uel
,he dwells, eternal and Keeting.
*A. The Goddess ,ri assumes a three"old "orm in )on"ormity with the ord@s
will "or the prote)tion o" the world. That ,he is styled ,ri and a'shmi is
'nown.
*D. The Goddess (hu is the Larth )omprising the seven islands and the seas;
the )ontainer and the )ontents o" the "ourteen worlds su)h as (hu, et).; and
her essen)e is &ranav.
*E. Gila is "estooned with lightnings. To nourish all herbs and living beings, ,he
assumes all "orms.
*F. At the root o" all the worlds, ,he assumes the "orm o" Water, being 'nown
as ?)onsisting o" "rogs@ and supporting the worlds.
/I. The real "orm o" the power o" a)tion 1is as "ollows2+ Mrom .ari@s mouth
1pro)eeds2 sound; "rom this sound ?the drop@; then)e, the syllable Om; "rom
this syllable, distin)tively pro)eeds the mount Nama, the abode o" the
8ai'hanasa. On that mount Kourish mani"old bran)hes representing a)tion and
'nowledge.
/*. The primal s)ien)e o" the three 8ed, reveals all sense; They are the ?three@,
)omprising Ni), Oa!ur and ,aman.
//. (ased on a "a)t, "our"old, they are )alled the Nig, Oa!us, ,aman, Atharv.
/6. The ?three@ are so "amed as they )on)ern the "our priests, "orm teCts o"
triple sense, ling, and mu)h else. The Atharv is, in essen)e, Ni), Oa!us and
,aman, too.
/9. Oet separated it is, being in the main, o" magi) sense.
The Nig%8ed does Kourish in bran)hes twenty%one.
/>. The Oa!us is well 'nown in nine and hundred various s)hools. ,aman has a
thousand bran)hes; The Atharvan but "orty.
/A. The 8ai'hanasa philosophy is )on)erned with intuition ;With 8ai'hanasa it
is that ,ages ever engage themselves.
/D. Nituals, Grammar, &honeti)s, Ltymology, Astronomy and #etre are the siC
limbs.
/E. The minor limbs are 8edant and #imamsa, the treatise on Gyay and &uran
upheld by the 'nowers o" the aw; so also o" meditation 1upasana2 the
)hapters;
/F. Lthi)s, o" the 8edi) lore all bran)hes, Tradition, aw upheld by Nishi great;
.istory and legend P these the 7pang.
6I. The 0ve minor 8ed are Ar)hite)ture and Ar)hery, #usi), #edi)ine and
Divine Thought 1Daivi'2.
6*. The Dis)ipline, the Neeti 1Nites2, the Gloss, the ore, 4onHuest supreme o"
breath P these twenty%one are renowned as sel"%evident.
6/. The word o" 8ishnu at 0rst sprang "orth Mrom 8ai'hanasa as the three 8ed.
66. As o" old "rom sage 8ai'hanasa the ?three@ sprang "orth P
.ear all "rom me.
The eternal (rahmi) "orm is power to a)t.
69. The mani"est power is but the memory o" the ord; its essen)e is
mani"estation and evolution, restri)tion and promotion, subsiden)e and
upKaring. $t is the )ause o" the patent and the latent, possessing all "eet,
limbs, "a)es, )olours. $t is at on)e diJerent and non%diJerent 1"rom the ord2;
the un"ailing )onsort o" the ord, perpetually dependent on .im. ,he be)omes
patent and latent, and is )alled the mani"est power be)ause ,he is )ompetent
to bring about, through the 1mere2 )losing and opening 1o" .er eye2 )reation,
sustentation and retra)tion, suppression and promotion.
6>. The power o" desire is three"old. At the time o" retra)tion, "or the sa'e o"
rest, when ,he rests on the right side o" the ord@s )hest, in the shape o"
,rivatsa, ,he is the power o" Oog.
6A. The "orm o" the &ower o" en!oyment is en!oyment. Asso)iated with the Tree
o" &lenty, the wish%granting 4ow, the wish%"ul0lling Gem, and the nine
Treasures su)h as the 1pre)ious2 4on)h and otus, ,he is impelled by the
devotion o" the worshipper, whether sought or unsought 1to yield en!oyments2
as a result o" rites, )ompulsory or optional, li'e the Agnihotr; or as a result o"
1the eight ?limbs@ o" Oog pra)ti)e, namely2 restraint, dis)ipline, posture, )ontrol
o" breath, withdrawal, attention, meditation and )ontemplation; or as a result
o" worship o" the ord@s image in pinna)led temples; or as a result o"
)eremonial baths, et).; or o" the worship o" manes, et).; or as a result o" giving
"ood, drin', et)., "or pleasing the ord. 1All this2 is done 1through the &ower o"
en!oyment2.
6D. Gow the &ower o" heroism, "our%armed, 1is des)ribed2. ,he indi)ates by her
gestures "earlessness and 1the granting o"2 boons; ,he bears the lotus;
)rowned and bede)'ed, ,he is surrounded by all the Dev; is bathed, at the
"oot o" the Tree o" &lenty, by "our elephants, in ambrosial waters "rom !ewelled
pots. All divinities, (rahma and others, render obeisan)e to .er. ,he is vested
with the eight mira)ulous powers su)h as be)oming atomi) in proportion; ,he
is lauded by the wish%granting )ow who is be"ore .er; she is eCtolled by the
8ed, the ,hastr, et). 4elestial nymphs li'e Qaya wait upon .er. The luminaries P
the sun and the moon P shed splendour on .er. Tumburu, Garad and others
sing o" .er glory.
The "ull moon and new moon days hold an umbrella over .er; two delight"ul
beings hold the whis's. ,vaha and ,vadha "an .er. (hrigu and other
supernatural beings adore .er. The Goddess a'shmi is seated on a divine
ion%Throne in the lotus posture, eJe)tuating all )auses and eJe)ts. The
steady 1image o"2 the ord@s idea o" diJerentiation, ,he beauti0es. With
tranHuil eyes, adored by all the Dev, ,he is 'nown as the (eauty o" .eroism.
This is the ,e)ret.
Om! Dev! With ears let us hear what is good;
Adorable ones ! With eyes let us see what is good.
With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
et us en!oy the li"e allotted by the Dev.
#ay $ndr, o" wide renown, grant us well%being;
#ay &ushan, and all%Dev, grant us well%being.
#ay Tar'sya, o" unhampered movement, grant us well%being.
#ay (rihaspati grant us well%being.
Om! &ea)e! &ea)e! &ea)e!
.ere ends the ,ita 7pnishad, in)luded in the Atharv%8ed.