Śvetāśvatara-Upanisad (Annotated Translation)

Śvetāśvatara Upanisad is a more recent classical Upanisad, belonging to the line of Krsna Yajur-Veda. Nevertheless, the text has always been regarded as one of high authority, being commented upon even by important authors, such as Śankara. Śvetāśvatara Upanisad is famous for its brief but clear approach of the ultimate reality (Brahman), being one of the outstanding texts of this kind. Brahman is depicted under all its major aspects, generally found in the Upanisad as fundamental reality, the Self of all individual beings, the primordial being (Purusa), the realm of liberation, the ultimate subject, the principle of the world-cycle (brahmacakra). Several verses also discuss on the Universe, generally on the basis of some Sāmkhya categories. The whole text is imbued with a strong theistic feeling, much more visible than in case of most other Upanisads. Of a special interest are verses III.1-III.6, which identify the ultimate reality with the Vedic god Rudra, a violent and frightening deity. In order to “tame” him, the text calls him “siva” (“kind”, “benefic”) and, along time, the god Rudra would be known by the name “Śiva”. The text includes several other archaic elements, inherited from the Vedic tradition, such as verses II.1-II.7, where the ancient cult of the Sun is reinterpreted as a metaphor for the realization of Brahman. Much attention have received the Sāmkhya influences scattered in various parts of the text. There are some verses which make use of Sāmkhya categorical divisions or which speak in Sāmkhya terms, such as Īsvara, Pradhāna, Prakrti. Some classical ideas of Sāmkhya, such as the theory of the three “qualities” (guna) of manifestation and maybe even its dualism could be, at last, traced in Śvetāśvatara Upanisad.