[Advaita-l] nAsadIya sUkta in the taittirIya brAhmaNa - part 2

[Venkatraghavan S]

अथ द्वितीयामृचामाह -
Now, in the second rca, the following is said -
न मृत्युरमृतं तर्हि न | रात्रिया अह्न आसीत्प्रकेत:
आनीदवातं स्वधया तदेकम् | तस्माद्धान्यं न पर: किञ्च नाऽऽस इति | *

sAyaNa bhAShya:

*तर्हि* तस्मिन्महाप्रलयकाले प्राणिनां *मृत्युर्ना*ऽऽसीत्तेषामेवाभावात् |
Then, at the time of the great dissolution, there was no death, because
there were no living beings.
अत एवा*मृतं* जीवनमपि नाऽऽसीत् | Therefore, there was no amritam, or life
either.
रात्रिया: प्रकेतश्चिह्नम् चन्द्रनक्षत्रादि, अह्न: प्रकेत: सूर्यस्तदुभयमपि
नाऽऽसीत् | The moon and stars are the symbols of the night, and the sun is
the illuminator of the day. Neither was present.
किन्तु *तत्स*र्वोपनिषत्प्रसिद्ध*मेक*म्ब्रह्म वस्तु *स्वधया*
स्वस्मिन्नाश्रितया सर्वजगत्कारणरूपया मायया सहितमा*नीच्चे*ष्टितवत् | But,
that One Brahman, the entity well known through all the upaniShads was
present, "svadhayA", that is, it was holding mAya, the cause for the entire
universe, within itself, and existed there as though breathing
नात्र चलनं चेष्टा किन्तु सद्भावमात्रमित्यभिप्रे*त्यावातमि*ति विशेष्यते | No
actual action is implied here, on the contrary, to indicate that the
purport of the mantra is to only convey the existence (of Brahman), the
mantra qualifies the "AnIt" (breathing) with avAtam ("without air").
वायुरहितं निश्चलमित्यर्थ: | The absence of air here indicates that (Brahman
is) unchanging.
*तस्मादे*कस्माद्ब्रह्मणोऽन्यत्किञ्च किमपि *परमु*त्कृष्टं *नाऽऽस*
नैवाऽऽसीत् | Therefore, apart from the one Brahman, there is nothing else
that can be considered its superior.
जगतो निषिद्धात्वान्निकृष्टं पूर्वमेव निराकृतम् | Because the world has
already been negated, there is nothing inferior to Brahman either.
तस्मादुत्कृष्टं निकृष्टं च किमपि ब्रह्मव्यतिरिक्तं नाऽऽसीत् | Therefore,
apart from Brahman, there is no entity superior or inferior to it.

* For those interested, this portion of the nAsadIya mantra is also
discussed by shankara bhagavatpAda in the bhAShya to BS 2.4.8.