Aitareya Upanishad ii

{To Read Author's General Note click here }

For Part I, click here

In part I it was said that the universe with all its constituents is the creation of Brahman.

This part deals with creation in more detail. All of it is not intelligible. I have had to take liberties with the translation. What follows is free translation not literal.

1. He created the Gods first. They were subject to pangs of hunger and thirst. They begged of Him to grant them an abode where they can eat food.
2. He brought a cow for them. They felt it was not adequate for them. Then He brought a horse. They felt the same with the animal.
3. Then He brought a man. They felt man was well formed. Man is indeed an image of Brahman himself. He ordered them “Enter into your respective abodes.”

The ‘abodes’ are the organs of the humans. The organs are considered powered by the Gods.

4. Agni or Fire powered the speech organ. Vayu powered the organ of smell. Sun entered into the eye. Space entered into ears. Hairs simulated the plants. Moon became the mind. Death was the inhalation. Water became the semen.
5. Then He provided for hunger and thirst a share in the sacrificial offerings.

Each sense organ is depicted as the seat of one of the divine beings. The ‘gods’ seem to be abstractions in evolution. They are the origin of life but do not seem to be ‘living’ systems. I have used ‘living’ in the sense of ability to procreate.

To sum up: Gods (the controllers of organs or perhaps molecular systems) were created first. The Gods entered different limbs of humans and powered them. Skb.