[Advaita-l] 'Prana' as Brahman

[V Subrahmanian]

In the Kenopanishad 1.5 bhashyam Shankara has said:

तत्तस्मादन्य उपास्यो विष्णुरीश्वर इन्द्रः प्राणो वा ब्रह्म भवितुमर्हति, न
त्वात्मा ; लोकप्रत्ययविरोधात्

Atma being a samsari, indeed is someone who is fit to perform karma or
upasana and wishes to attain to the state of gods or heaven. Therefore the
upaasya is different such as Vishnu, Ishwara, Indra or Prana could be
Brahman but not the Atma who is only upasaka, since holding the upasaka and
upasya as non-different contradicts what practice prevails in the world.

About Vishnu and Shiva being Brahman, JagatkaaraNam, we have quite many
evidences. But about Prana (and Indra) not many are seen.  Here is an
instance, in the Prashnopanishat, where we have Prana being portrayed as
Brahman.

There is a stuti by all the sense and action organs addressed to Prana,
whom  they all accept as their 'leader':

इन्द्रस्त्वं प्राण तेजसा रुद्रोऽसि परिरक्षिता ।
त्वमन्तरिक्षे चरसि सूर्यस्त्वं ज्योतिषां पतिः ॥ ९ ॥
 किञ्च, इन्द्रः परमेश्वरः त्वं हे प्राण, तेजसा वीर्येण रुद्रोऽसि संहरन्
जगत् । स्थितौ च परि समन्तात् रक्षिता पालयिता ; परिरक्षिता त्वमेव जगतः
सौम्येन रूपेण । त्वम् अन्तरिक्षे अजस्रं चरसि उदयास्तमयाभ्यां सूर्यः त्वमेव
च सर्वेषां ज्योतिषां पतिः ॥

You are Parameshwara (not Shiva here), O Prana, by your veerya you destroy
the creation as Rudra, in sustaining, you are (Vishnu as clarified by
Anandagiri in the gloss) in soumya, benign, form.  (the malign form is
Rudra, as stated in the mantra itself. The benign form, is not named,
though, but supplied owing to its obvious nature: Vishnu). You are Surya,
etc.
Further the stuti goes on to give all the Ishwara lakshanas (lingas) that
we can easily grasp from the mantras and the Bhashyas:

व्रात्यस्त्वं प्राणैकर्षिरत्ता विश्वस्य सत्पतिः ।
वयमाद्यस्य दातारः पिता त्वं मातरिश्व नः ॥ ११ ॥
किञ्च, *प्रथमजत्वादन्यस्य* संस्कर्तुरभावादसंस्कृतो व्रात्यः त्वम् , स्वभावत
एव शुद्ध इत्यभिप्रायः । हे प्राण, एकर्षिः त्वम् आथर्वणानां प्रसिद्ध
एकर्षिनामा अग्निः सन् अत्ता सर्वहविषाम् । त्वमेव विश्वस्य सर्वस्य सतो
विद्यमानस्य पतिः सत्पतिः ; साधुर्वा पतिः सत्पतिः । वयं पुनः आद्यस्य तव
अदनीयस्य हविषो दातारः । त्वं पिता मातरिश्व हे मातरिश्वन् , नः अस्माकम्
अथवा, मातरिश्वनः वायोः पिता त्वम् । अतश्च सर्वस्यैव जगतः पितृत्वं सिद्धम् ॥
Shankara calls this Prana, Prathamaja, the term used in the Brihadaranyaka
bhashya on Prajapati who attained that status through sadhana.
Shankara identifies prathaja with prajapati, hiranyagarbha,
prathamashariri...
या प्रथमजस्य हिरण्यगर्भस्य बुद्धिः, BSB 1.4.1
 मृत्युश्च अशनायालक्षणो बुद्ध्यात्मा समष्टिः प्रथमजः वायुः सूत्रं सत्यं
हिरण्यगर्भः  Brihadaranyaka bhashya
प्रथमजं प्रथमजातम् , सर्वस्मात्संसारिण एतदेवाग्रे जातं ब्रह्म अतः प्रथमजम्
ibid
There are many such instances.
So, this Prana of the Prashnopanishad is a very obvious candidate that can
be an instance of being 'Brahman' (saguna) that Shankara mentions in the
Kena Bhashya 1.5 along with Vishnu, Shiva and Indra.
In this context we can recall Shankara holding Vishnu to be this prathama
shariri in the Mundakopanishad 2.1.4:
यस्य च पद्भ्यां जाता पृथिवी, एष देवो विष्णुरनन्तः प्रथमशरीरी
त्रैलोक्यदेहोपाधिः सर्वेषां भूतानामन्तरात्मा ।
From the 'from whose feet Prithvi, earth, was born' we can identify this
with 'padbhyaam bhUmiH' of the Purusha suktam. The prathama shariri,
Hiranyagarbha, epithet Shankara gives for Vishnu here is noteworthy.
Hiranyagarbha is the one from whom all devatas emerge.
So, there seems to be a pattern across the Bhashya:
The saguna brahman is prathamaja, mahat, prathama shariri, Vishnu,
Hiranyagarbha, Prana, Rudra, etc. as borne out by the Prashnopanishat and
many other references.  If one digs deeper many may surface. The context of
the Kena bhashya is the diff between the upasaka and the upasya: clearly
saguna brahman. The mantra there 1.5 comes to teach that the 'Brahman' of
the Upanishad is NOT something that is different from the upasaka: tadeva
brahma tvam viddhi, nedam yadidam upaasate.
This brings to the fore the crucial difference in Advaita between the
upasya brahman and the jneya brahman, the former is the one stated
elaborately above and the latter is the one taught in the Kena:1.5 by
distinguishing it from the Vishnu, Ishwara, Prana and Indra. The term
prajapati, prathamaja, hiranyagarbha, etc. are there all over the bhashya
in the saguna brahman contexts.
One may search for the candidature of Indra.
Now (again) the question: If prathamaja, prathamashariri, is a post
attained by jnana karma samucchaya sadhana as established in the
Brihadaranyaka bhashya that we discussed recently, are all the deities
Vishnu, Rudra, Brahma (creator) who are also mentioned above in various
bhashyas, non-different or synonymous with the Prathamaja?
Om Tat Sat