gaṇeśatāpinyupaniṣat

Now the Ganesha Purva Tapini Upanishad.

Ganesha, lord of the pramathas, without qualities and with them, present everywhere, whose place the yogis reach: I worship that son of Gauri.

Om. Salutation to the giver of boons, who takes obstacles away. Now we shall explain the Upanishad of Brahman. He is Brahma among the gods and Savitr among the poets. He is the seer among the learned, the buffalo among beasts, the Maker among the Vasus and the wish-cow among those who bring things forth. Salutation to Brahman, son of Atharvan, the bountiful. He is the Maker, first of the gods, who shaped mind with mind as a craftsman shapes wood. Salutation to you, Brahman, son of Brahman, the eldest, son of Atharvan, the bowman.

Om. Prajapati made the creatures. Once made, they said: how are we to become eaters of food? He divided himself three ways, as earth, air and heaven. He did tapas. He became Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; he became Prajapati, Indra and Agni. Silent, turning over in his mind how these beings might find food, he saw himself by himself. He saw the god who wears an elephant's form, moon-coloured and four-armed. From him these beings are born, by him they go on, and into him they go. That is the imperishable, the highest Brahman. From it are born breath, mind and all the senses; space, wind, water, light, and the earth that holds everything up. The Person is this whole world: tapas, Brahman, the highest deathless.

He praised him: Salutation to Brahman, to the brahmins, to the Vedas and to the seers. Salutation to the streams and the great streams, to Savitr and to the one who sets all moving. Salutation to the one to be enjoyed, the highest, the one with matted hair, the wheel and the bearer of the wheel. Salutation to food and the lord of food, to Shiva and Sadashiva, to the fourth. Lord of earth, air and heaven, lord of wealth, lord of horses, lord of cattle, lord of the Rig, Yajus, Saman and Atharvangiras: salutation to the son of Brahman.

He said: I am the one who gives boons. Prajapati said: how may these become eaters of food? He answered that the son of Brahman, of great fame, had done tapas in the field of the siddhas, and that he knew and could tell everything. Go and ask Bhrigu's son, who is doing tapas in the forest of the siddhas, he said. They went, and he asked what they wanted. They said: how are we to become eaters of food? Silent, turning it over in his mind, he saw this king of mantras in the Anushtubh metre. Whatever there is, it made all of it. So they call everything that is Anushtubh. By Anushtubh these beings are born; born, they live by it, and into it they go back. So it is said: Anushtubh comes first and Anushtubh comes last. Speech is Anushtubh; by speech men go out and by speech they rise. Of all metres Anushtubh is the highest, and everything is Anushtubh. Whoever sees this king of mantras truly sees. He finds enjoyment in this world and release from it, and all knowledge comes to him. This is the verse that points to it: one god who brings good things, joined with fortune, blessed on every side, the god of maya, deep in strength, breaker of the enemies of the sacred, facing the south: that god I praise. And: Indra, gather for us the rich and shining prize with your right hand, great-handed one. So he praised a thousand times.

Then they saw the great god, joined with fortune and wild with must. Sanaka and the other great yogis who know the Veda were worshipping him. Brahma and the lords of the gods swarmed round him like rows of bees, and his ears were moving: the great god, Shiva himself, wearing the form of an elephant. He said: I am the giver of boons. Bhrigu's son chose in silence, in his mind, and the god said: so be it. Of this there is a verse. Praised and pleased, the son of the god of gods spoke to Bhrigu's son. Bhargava, he said, know me as Vakratunda, master of those who have none, Shiva made of the three strands. Then the six limbs of the mantra appeared. He said: repeat the Anushtubh king of mantras, six-footed, with its six syllables. Whoever repeats it grows prosperous, and so you will become eaters of food. This is the verse that points to it. Ganapati of the hosts, we call on you, king of the gods, poet of poets, whose form is beyond all wisdom. Eldest king, the bull, the one banner: hear us, and sit with your help, for ever.

They said: how are we to know the Anushtubh king of mantras? He told them this six-footed Anushtubh king of mantras. It becomes a Saman: the Rig is Gayatri, the Yajus is Ushnih, and the Saman is Anushtubh. It becomes the sun: the Rig is the Vasus, the Yajus the Rudras, the Saman the Adityas. It becomes six-footed, for the Saman has six feet. The earth with its seas, its seven islands and its mountains, let him know as the first foot of that Saman: the giver of the growth of wealth. By it he becomes lord of the seven islands and master of the earth. The air between, where yakshas, gandharvas and apsaras move, let him know as the second foot: the giver of treasure. By it he becomes lord of the quarters like the god of wealth, and master of the air. Heaven, served by the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas and all the gods, let him know as the third foot: the one held to be the giver of food. By it he gains lordship of the gods and of heaven. The world of Brahma, served by the hosts of the four Vedas, let him know as the fourth foot: the slayer of rakshasas. By it he gains lordship of the gods and of Brahma. The world of Vishnu, served by the four forms beginning with Vasudeva, let him know as the fifth foot: the deep in strength. By it he gains lordship of all the gods and of Vishnu's world. Brahman itself, stainless, in the highest heaven, let him know as the sixth foot. Whoever knows it as vakratundaya hum reaches the deathless and becomes lord of the world of truth.

The Rig, Yajus, Saman and Atharva are its four feet. Rayasposhasya data is the first foot, and the Rig is the first foot. Nidhidata annado matah is the second, and the Yajus is the second. Rakshohano vo balagahana is the third, and the Saman is the third. Vakratundaya hum is the fourth, and the Atharva is the fourth.

Here ends the first Upanishad of the Ganesha Purva Tapini Upanishads.

The second Upanishad.

Prajapati said: Agni, the Vedas, all this, every being, the Virat, the Svarat and the Samrat, let him know as the first foot of that Saman. The sun made of the four Vedas, the golden person inside the sun, let him know as the second foot. Soma, lord of the stars, who brings the plants to life, let him know as the third foot. Brahma, let him know as the fourth. Hari, let him know as the fifth. Shiva, who is the highest Brahman, let him know as the last foot. Whoever knows it reaches the deathless and becomes the highest Brahman itself. So this Anushtubh Saman is not to be taught just anywhere. If a man wants to give it, let him give it to a son who is willing to serve, or else to a pupil.

It has six limbs: Om to the heart, namah; to the head, svaha; to the crown-lock, vashat; to the armour, hum; to the three eyes, vaushat; to the weapon, phat. The first piece of the mantra goes with the first limb, the second with the second, and so on to the sixth. On either side of every syllable come Maya and Lakshmi. This is the Maya of Vinayaka: she makes all this, she keeps all this, she takes all this back. So let a man know this Maya as the power. He conquers death, crosses over wrongdoing and enjoys great fortune. Reciting it, he becomes perfect in the six acts and reaches the deathless. Those who speak of Brahman ask whether the sound should be short, long or drawn out. If short, he crosses over every wrong and reaches the deathless. If long, he gains great fortune and the deathless. If drawn out, he gains knowledge and the deathless. This is the verse the seer spoke to point to it. He guards her, the one who is fortune, Lakshmi, the cow; and the sixth, whom they call Indrasena, that knowledge whose form is the womb of Brahman. In her I take refuge here, for long life. Then the meditation. He lies on the ocean of milk and stands under the wishing tree, the giver of boons, whose form is the sky, with fierce staff-like arms, in the form of Vakratunda. The wish-cow stands below at his side; he is the lord, the son of Shiva and Uma. The sky is his golden cloth; he is red and four-armed, with matted hair, kindly and at peace, giving safety to those who love him. His feet are arched, his ankles hidden, his calves full, his knees hidden, his thighs heavy and his hips high. His navel is deep and his throat lined like a conch, with long lips and a long nose. Siddhi and Buddhi hold him close on either side, and his lotus face is gracious. Such is the joining.

Now the metre and the deity. The metre is Anushtubh, an Anushtubh of thirty-two syllables. By Anushtubh all this was made, and by Anushtubh all this is gathered back in. The deity is the highest self, joined with Shiva and Uma, the giver of boons. They asked: how is he joined with Shiva and Uma? Bhrigu's son said: he is made of nature and person, the giver of wealth; nature is Maya, and the person is Shiva. So this deity is the self of the whole world. This is the verse that points to it. Indra, called by many, I praise him with his powers of maya; by maya Sharva held up the world. By maya the unborn sleeps in the cave; the world was laid down, and Vishnu alone was born. This is the maya of the gods, which is made of the swan. Space is the last resting place of all these beings. All of them are born out of space, live once born, and go back into space. So let a man know Shiva as the seed of space. This is the verse that points to it. The swan that sits in the light, the bright one in the air between, the priest at the altar, the guest in the house. He is in men, in the best, in the order of things, in the sky. Born of water, born of the cows, born of order, born of the mountain: order itself, the great.

Now the seat. In the middle is the point; around it the triangle; then the six-cornered figure; the eight petals; the twelve spokes; and the sixteen-cornered rim. In the middle let a man worship the god whose self is the seed syllable. On his left and right are Siddhi and Buddhi. In front is the wish-cow, and in the six corners the six Vinayakas beginning with Sumukha. On the eight petals are the eight Vinayakas beginning with Vakratunda. On the twelve spokes are Batuka, Vamana, Mahadashaka and Mahodara, Subhadra, Mali, Vara, Rama, Uma, Shiva, Skanda and Nandi. Outside these are the eight powers beginning with Anima, and on the sixteen spokes the guardians of the directions with their weapons.

Now the spreading out. Whoever, with this mantra, on the fourth day of both fortnights, offers a hundred thousand cakes into the fire becomes at once a giver of wealth. Offering cooked rice into the fire for three months with an undivided mind, and flattened rice for as long again, he becomes like Vaishravana himself. He drives away with vibhitaka wood and kills with the wood of poison trees; the wise man offers lotuses to win people over, and modaks when he wants wealth. Knowing this, a man has done what is to be done.

Here ends the second Upanishad of the Ganesha Purva Tapini Upanishads.

The third Upanishad.

Then Bhrigu's son said: the tantra must now be understood. Let a man know the void at the root; the void is the highest Brahman. There let him set the Saman with Tara and Maya. It has three lines, for the worlds are three and the Vedas are three. The Rig is the earth, and that is Maya. The Yajus is the air between, and that is Shiva. The Saman is heaven, and that is Hiranyagarbha. The figure has six corners, for the worlds are six and the seasons are six; there let him set, in order, Tara, Maya, Rama, Mara, Vishvesha and Dharani. It has eight petals, and the Gayatri line has eight syllables; there let him set the Brahma Gayatri. It has twelve petals, and the Adityas are twelve, and they are the vowels; knowing the vowels, a man reaches the world of the sun. It has sixteen petals, and the Person has sixteen parts. The Person is the letters, he is set over the worlds, and the Person is Anushtubh.

Bhrigu's son said: whoever knows this Anushtubh king of mantras, with its limbs, its spreading out, its Maya, its seat and its tantra, grows prosperous and reaches the deathless. He reaches the deathless.

Here ends the third Upanishad of the Ganesha Purva Tapini Upanishads.