14.043
Brahmā said.
Among men, the royal Kṣatriya is the middlemost in quality; the elephant is foremost among mounts, and the lion among those dwelling in the forest. (14-43-1)
Among all animals, the sheep; among hole-dwellers, the rat; among cows, the bull; and among women, the man—these are foremost. (14-43-2)
The banyan, the Jambu, the sacred fig, the silk-cotton tree, the Indian rosewood, the Meṣaśṛṅga tree, and the Kīcaka bamboos—these are the kings among trees in this world; here, there is no doubt. (14-43-3)
Himalaya, Pāriyātra, Sahya, Vindhya, Trikūṭa, Śveta, Nīla, Bhāsa, and Kāṣṭhavat mountains. (14-43-4)
Śubha-skandha, Mahendra, and likewise Malyavan mountain—these mountain kings and also the Maruts (lords of the hosts) (14-43-5)
The sun is the lord of the planets, the moon is the lord of the stars, Yama is the lord of the ancestors, and the ocean is the lord of the rivers. (14-43-6)
Varuṇa is the king of waters, Mitra is said to be of beings. The Sun is the lord of hot things, and the Moon is said (to be the lord) of luminous things. (14-43-7)
Agni is ever the lord of beings; Bṛhaspati is the lord of the Brāhmaṇas; Soma is the lord of herbs; Viṣṇu is the best among the powerful. (14-43-8)
Tvaṣṭṛ is the supreme ruler of forms, Śiva is the lord of animals, sacrifice is the chief among ritual offerings, and the sages are foremost among the Vedas; likewise. (14-43-9)
Among the quarters, the northern is eminent; among Brāhmaṇas, Soma is the illustrious king; Kubera is the ruler of all Yakṣas; among the gods, Purandara (Indra). This is the creation commencing with the elements, and Prajāpati is the progenitor of all beings. (14-43-10)
Among all beings, I am the great one composed of Brahman; there is no being higher than me or even Viṣṇu. (14-43-11)
We know Viṣṇu, the king of kings of all beings, who is great, pervading, consisting of Brahman, the supreme Lord, the lord of creatures. (14-43-12)
He is indeed the lord of all: of men, kinnaras, yakṣas, gandharvas, serpents, rākṣasas, devas, dānavas, and nāgas. (14-43-13)
She, who is known among all women of the followers of the divine gods as the beautiful-eyed, is the great goddess, the consort of Maheshvara, and is called 'Parvati'. (14-43-14)
Umā the goddess should be regarded as the most excellent and auspicious among women; among the wives of Kāma, Vasumatī; and among women, likewise, the Apsarases. (14-43-15)
Desiring righteousness, kings and brāhmaṇas are characterized by righteousness. Therefore, the king strives here to protect the twice-born. (14-43-16)
Indeed, in the realm of those kings in whose land the virtuous perish, they, deprived of all their own virtues, after death go to a downward path. (14-43-17)
But in the domain of those kings who protect the virtuous, such great-souled ones rejoice in this world, and after death they truly attain eternity—know this, O best of twice-born. (14-43-18)
Hereafter, I shall declare the definite characteristic of dharma. Dharma is defined by non-violence; violence, on the other hand, is the mark of adharma. (14-43-19)
The gods have light as their attribute; humans have action as their attribute; ether is characterized by sound; but wind is characterized by touch. (14-43-20)
The distinguishing mark of the luminous elements is form; the waters are characterized by taste. The earth, among all beings, has fragrance as its defining feature. (14-43-21)
Speech, formed by vowels and consonants, is characterized by truth. The mark of the mind is thought; thus it is said, intelligence arises from association. (14-43-22)
One thinks of objects with the mind and determines them with the intellect; indeed, intellect is recognized by its resolve—there is no doubt about this. (14-43-23)
Meditation is the hallmark of the great, unmanifest is the distinguishing feature of the virtuous, yoga is marked by action, and knowledge is characteristic of renunciation. (14-43-24)
Therefore, the wise should undertake renunciation here with knowledge at the forefront. The renunciant who is endowed with knowledge attains the supreme state — having gone beyond, being free from dualities, he reaches that which transcends darkness, death, and old age. (14-43-25)
What has been spoken to you by me, duly endowed with the characteristic of dharma, I shall now further explain—the correct acceptance of the guṇas. (14-43-26)
The scent belonging to earth is indeed perceived here by the nose; and the air present within the nose likewise is assigned for the perception of scent. (14-43-27)
The essence of the element water is always perceived by the tongue; and likewise, Soma situated on the tongue is established as the faculty of tasting. (14-43-28)
The quality of light and visible form is perceived by the eye, and that is grasped. Both the sun, which abides in the eye, and sight itself, are prescribed for knowledge of form. (14-43-29)
The touch associated with air is perceived by the skin, and air, which resides in the skin, is considered the basis of the sense of touch. (14-43-30)
The quality of ether is sound, which is perceived by the ear. All directions associated with hearing are defined through the knowledge of sound. (14-43-31)
But the quality of thought belonging to the mind is grasped by wisdom. The substratum of consciousness, residing in the heart, is established in the knowledge of the mind. (14-43-32)
By intellect through decisive resolution and meditation, as well as the great principle, thus, having ascertained, one constantly grasps the unmanifest; there is no doubt here. (14-43-33)
The knower of the field, who is eternal and of a nature free from qualities, does not possess any distinguishing characteristics; therefore, the knower of the field is characterized solely by knowledge. (14-43-34)
I always perceive the unmanifest, the field as declared, and the origin and dissolution of the qualities—I see, know, and hear them all as merged. (14-43-35)
The person who knows that is therefore called the knower of the field. The knower of the field perceives the activity of the guṇas in its entirety. (14-43-36)
That which is being created, unconscious, and has beginning, middle, and end, is again and again created; the qualities do not know the self.
No one truly knows the truth; only the knower of the field perceives it — that which is beyond the guṇas, beyond the great principle.
Therefore, having given up qualities and the principle here, the knower of truth, whose faults have been exhausted and who has cast off the qualities, then enters the knower of the field. (14-43-39)
He is free from duality, without need of worship, devoid of ritual oblations, truly; immovable and without a fixed abode; he is the knower of the field, the supreme, the all-pervading. (14-43-40)
