ध्यायीत स तेजसि सूर्ये सम्पन्नः । यथा पादोदरस्त्वचा विनिर्मुच्यत
एवं ह वै स पाप्मना विनिर्मुक्तः स सामभिरुन्नीयते ब्रह्मलोकं
स एतस्माज्जीवघनात् परात्परं पुरिशयं पुरुषमीक्षते । तदेतौ
श्लोकौ भवतः ॥ ५.५॥
dhyāyīta sa tejasi sūrye sampannaḥ . yathā pādodarastvacā vinirmucyata
evaṃ ha vai sa pāpmanā vinirmuktaḥ sa sāmabhirunnīyate brahmalokaṃ
sa etasmājjīvaghanāt parātparaṃ puriśayaṃ puruṣamīkṣate . tadetau
ślokau bhavataḥ .. 5.5..
5 Again, he who meditates on the Highest Person through this syllable AUM consisting of three letters, becomes united with the effulgent Sun. As a snake is freed from its skin, even so he is freed from sin.
Translation by Max Mueller
5. Again, he who meditates with this syllable AUM of three Mâtrâs, on the Highest Person, he comes to light and to the sun. And as a snake is freed from its skin, so is he freed from evil. He is led up by the Sâman-verses to the Brahma-world; and from him, full of life (Hiranyagarbha, the lord of the Satya-loka), he learns to see the all-pervading, the Highest Person. And there are these two Slokas:
Prashnopanishad Invocation
Prashna I – Spiritual paths of the Moon and Sun
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
Verse 9
Verse 10
Verse 11
Verse 12
Verse 13
Verse 14
Verse 15
Verse 16
Prashna II – Discussion of Devas
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
Verse 9
Verse 10
Verse 11
Verse 12
Verse 13
Prashna III – Origin and Nature of Prana
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
Verse 9
Verse 10
Verse 11
Verse 12
Prashna IV – Mental States and Bliss
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
Verse 9
Verse 10
Verse 11
Prashna V – Meditation on OM
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Prashna VI – The Purusha of 16 Kalas
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
Closing Prayer – Closing
Sri Shankara’s Commentary (Bhashya) translated by S. Sitarama Sastri
But he who meditates upon the supreme Purusha within the sun, by this pratîka, i.e., substitute, i.e., by the syllable ‘Om’ with the knowledge that it is of three mâtras, by such meditation becomes united with the sun. According to the context, the syllable ‘Om’ must be taken to be a help, being a Pratîka or substitute, from the declaration of its identity with the Brahman, higher and lower, according to the sruti. Otherwise, the accusative case of ‘Om’ used in many places, will be objectionable. Though by the use of the third case, the syllable ‘Om’ may be understood as a kârana, i.e., instrument, still agreeably to the context, it must be read as if in the accusative case, the meaning then being, ‘let one meditate upon the syllable of three mâtras as the supreme Purusha.’ According to the maxim ‘you may abandon one for the benefit of a whole family’ the instrumental case should be here given up for the accusative case used in previous passages. By such meditation, he becomes united with the bright sun. Then, even if he dies while meditating, he does not return from the solar world as from the lunar, but is for ever united with the sun. Just as the snake puts off its skin and becomes new again, its skin having been peeled off, so—as in this illustration—this man being freed from the impurity of sin, analogous to the skin, is conducted up, by the sâmans representing the third mâtra, to the world of Brahma, i.e., Hiranyagarbha called Satya. He, Hiranyagarbha is the âtman of all the jîvas travelling in samsâra; for, he is the internal âtman of all living beings in the subtle form; and in him the subtle âtman are all the jîvas strung together. So he is jîvaghana (dense with lives). The knower of the syllable ‘Om’ of the three mâtras sees the Purusha called Paramâtman beyond this Hiranyagarbha and sees him by meditation as lodged in all bodies. The following two verses make the drift stated clear.
Prashna Upanishad – 5 – Prashna-5-5-yaḥ punaretaṃ – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Prashna-5-5