तद्भगवन्मनुष्येषु प्रायणान्तमोङ्कारमभिध्यायीत । कतमं वाव
स तेन लोकं जयतीति । तस्मै स होवाच ॥ ५.१॥
tadbhagavanmanuṣyeṣu prāyaṇāntamoṅkāramabhidhyāyīta . katamaṃ vāva
sa tena lokaṃ jayatīti . tasmai sa hovāca .. 5.1..
1 Then Satyakama, the son of Sibi, asked Pippalada; Sir, if among men someone should here meditate on the syllable AUM until death, which world, verily, would he win thereby?
Translation by Max Mueller
1. Then Saivya Satyakâma asked him:–Sir, if some one among men should meditate here until death on the syllable Om, what would he obtain by it?
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
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Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
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Verse 11
Verse 12
Verse 13
Prashna III – Origin and Nature of Prana
Verse 1
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Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Verse 8
Verse 9
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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
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Verse 4
Verse 5
Verse 6
Verse 7
Prashna VI – The Purusha of 16 Kalas
Verse 1
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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
Satyakâma, son of Sibi, questioned him. Now the Prasna is begun for the purpose of enjoining the worship of the syllable ‘Om,’ as a means to the attainment of the Para (higher) and Apara (lower) Brahman, Oh Bhagavan. Who among mortals, like a wonder, until death meditates upon the syllable ‘Om,’ (the word meditation is the continuous contemplation as Âtman of the letter ‘Om’ regarded as Brahman by courtesy, by one whose senses are turned away from external objects and whose mind is composed, the course of such meditation not being vitiated by other or dissimilar states of consciousness and being ready like the flame of a lamp in an airless place). Who thus maintains a vow for life and combines in him truth, abstinence from sexual pleasures, abstinence from cruelty, absence of acceptance, renunciation, sanyâsam, cleanliness, cheerfulness, absence of fraud and many other kinds of forbearance and religious observance. What world, for there are many worlds to be won by worship and karma, does he attain by thus meditating on ‘Om.’ To him who had thus questioned, he, Pippalâda replied.
Prashna Upanishad – 1 – Prashna-5-1-atha hainaṃ – In Sanskrit with English Transliteration, Meaning and Commentary by Adi Shankaracharya (Sankara Bhashya) – Prashna-5-1