Upanishads
Kshurika Upanishad
Krishnayajurveda
group of Upanishads – yoga
Preface
AXE
1
OM! May the (Mighty) protect us both!
May He guide us both! May we both be filled with strength!
May there be no limit to that strength!
May we not be hostile!
OM! Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
- I will tell you about the axe – dharana for achieving yoga,
having mastered which, the devotee of the yoga of reincarnation wins.
- And (this) is the essence and goal of the Vedas – so established by the word of the Self-existent
2.
Having settled down in a quiet place, there in asana
3 located,
- pulling in (the senses) like a turtle limbs,
locking the mind in the heart, gradually,
by means of pranava for 12 matras
4,
- closing all the doors of the body, let the exalted heart
fill the entire being: chest, face, thigh, neck.
- Let him collect in this (being) Pranas moving inside the nostrils,
Directing Pranas inward, let him then remove gradually.
- Having established a constant rhythm (of breathing)
with the thumb (and others), he practices the threefold
concentration
5 on the two ankles, as well as the shins.
- Also threefold – on the two knees, thighs, anus, penis
and in the navel area, there (where) the seat of Vayu
6.
- For here is Sushumna-nadi, surrounded by many nadis
7:
small, pale red, yellow, black,
copper-red and bright red.
- Let him be devoted to the smallest, subtle, white nadi:
here let him rise along the pranas, like a spider along a thread.
- There, manifested as a blood-red lotus,
the abode of the great Purusha,
in the Vedantas he is called a small white lotus
8.
- Piercing it, it reaches the throat.
9
Let this nadi diligently fill.
Let the mind become a sharp razor,
and tame – the restless mind.
- The upper part of the foot, in the middle of which is the form and name
10,
should be separated by the one who is in yoga
with the always sharpened point of the mind
(like) vajra of Indra – so it is said.
11
- (Also) known is the marma on the shin
12,
by means of the power of contemplation let him cut it off.
- And in the middle of the thigh there should be a marma
13,
freeing from breathing;
by means of four repetitions let him cut off (it)
fearless and undaunted.
- Then the yogi inside the throat together nadis collects.
the most important among a hundred of these nadi, chosen, according to legend –
- sushumna, for it is the pure embodiment of Brahman,
to (it), the highest, adjoining –
ida – (which) is on the left, and pingala – on the right,
- between them is the best place.
He who is knowledgeable in this – knows the Veda.
Of the 72 thousand countercurrents (the main one) is taitila
14.
- Others are cut off
by means of the yoga of unblemished contemplation –
(like) a fiery shining blade of a knife.
- Let the wise cut off a hundred nadis with (its) help
in this birth.
Like gathered jasmine flowers, taitila is fragrant.
- So let him nadis perceive
pleasant and unpleasant states.
(Those who have attained the highest) state,
it is said, they will avoid new births.
- Let him who is in a quiet place
gradually conquer the (restless) consciousness with the ardor (of asceticism),
knowing the essence of yoga, unbound, carefree.
- Like a swan breaking the nets,
soars into space without hindrance,
so the living soul, having broken the nets,
forever Samsara
15 overcomes.
- Like a dying lamp,
having burned (the oil) in the end, disappears,
so all things having burned, the yogi will disappear.
- With the sharpest blade (dharana),
sharpened by pranayama on the stone of dispassion,
having cut off (the body), the one who knows yoga is truly not destroyed.
- The essence of the immortal
16 he possesses,
when he gets rid of desire,
having cut off all the six (vices),
having got rid (of them),
he, truly, does not is destroyed.
Such is the Upanishad.
OM! May the Mighty One protect us both!
May He guide us both! May we both be filled with strength!
May there be no limit to that strength!
May we not be hostile!
OM! Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Thus ends the Kshurika Upanishad of the AtharvaVedas.
1 The name of the Upanishad – Kshurika (Sanskrit – knife, dagger, razor) comes from the root ksa – "to cut, kill, destroy". The constant mention of the axe is probably due to the consonance of the words dhara – blade – and dharana – contemplation.
2 Self-existing ( svayambhu) – an epithet of Brahman-Prajapati, the creator and ruler of all that exists.
3 Asana – "motionless and comfortable pose".
4 Pranava – the syllable Om. Matra – a unit of time equal to the time of calm breathing or breathing during sleep. Also – the time required to slowly make a circle with your fingers on your knee and then snap your fingers.
5 Triple concentration is a combination of dharana, dhyana and samadhi.
6 Vayu (Sanskrit – wind) – a synonym for the Ayurvedic term Vata (air).
7 Sushumna-nadi is the central energy channel of a person. It is through it that the power (shakti) must rise up. The navel area (nabhi) is traditionally considered to be the place where "all 72,000 nadis come together".
8 Anahata Chakra.
9 Vishuddha Chakra.
10 Probably – talhridaya marma.
11 The first written mention of marmas in the Rig Veda is connected precisely with the story where Indra destroyed the demon Virtra by attacking his marma with its vajra.
12 Indravasti marma.
13 Urvi marma.
14 Synonym of Sushumna-nadi, literally – "rhinoceros".
15 Samsara – the cycle of birth and death.
16 Amrita tattva.
Preface
The Kshurika Upanishad is an exceptional text, despite its brevity. It is considered to belong to the Atharvaveda, included in the canon of the Vedas last because of its not quite "Brahmanical" character. The 25 shlokas contain many interesting facts. First of all, there is no personalized Deity. Further, the main goal of the yogi is called liberation from the "cycle of rebirths" and "extinction" (nirvana). And of course, the use in the practice of concentration on certain areas of the body – "marmas". It seems that it was this traditional practice called "marmasthanani" that formed the basis of the yoganidra techniques of the Sivananda – Satyananda school. It is believed that the consequence of mentally cutting off "vital points" is the concentration of the Shakti force, previously scattered in the body, and its rise along the Sushumna. In conclusion, it can be said that this Upanishad is not a philosophical treatise, but rather a clear description of a meditative technique.
