Kena Upanishad Bhashyam

अनन्तगुणपूर्णत्वादगम्याय सुरैरपि ।

सर्वेष्टदात्रे देवानां नमो नारायणाय ते ।।

Kenopanishad is one among the ten principal Upanishads. It is also know by the name Talavakara Upanishad. It belongs to the Kauthuma Shakha of Samaveda. It is a very small Upanishad arranged in three parts. The central theme of this Upanishad is extolling the Supremacy of Lord Sri Vishnu. This is done beautifully by way of narrating a story. Sri Madhwacharya has written a concise commentary on the Kenopanishad bringing out its central theme and removing any misconceptions regarding the meanings of difficult verses.

Central Theme

Sri Madhwacharya presents the central theme of the Upanishad to be establishing Lord Sri Hari as

» Complete in terms of Infinite Auspicious Attributes of the Lord

» Beyond the comprehension of even the Celestials

» The fulfiller of all wishes of the celestials

» Most dear to Him

The Background of Kenopanishad

At the outset, if one looks at the Upanishad text, the context in which the conversation occurs is not very clear. Sri Madhwacharya, in his Bhashya makes the context very clear. This Upanishad is a conversation between Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma. This conversation is said to have happened at the Residence of Lord Brahma situated on the highest peak of Mount Meru known as Vaijayanta.

The Query of Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva puts forth a few questions to Lord Brahma in order to get a deeper understanding about the Supreme Lord. The mind and all other sense organs come into contact with the objects outside and give rise to cognition. As the Mind and other Sensory Organs are Matter and thus inanimate, what is that Life Force that is causing those sense organs to work. Who is the controller of the chief life force “Mukhya Prana”.

Lord Brahma’s Reply

Hearing Lord Shiva’s question, Lord Brahma began to reply by closing his eyes and meditating upon Lord Sri Narayana. O Shiva, you should know Lord Sri Vishnu as the controller of the Mind, Sense Organs and also the Prana. It is not easy to know Him. He cannot be perceived by the eye and other sense organs including the Mind. I also do not know much to tell everything about Him. It is different from all that is perceived. It is also not that which is not perceived - thus say those learned who have taught us. The one who is not known by the senses but who knows everything about the senses is the Brahman.

If you think that you understand Brahman then you know not. As you know only a little, it is for you to begin a quest to understand Him present in you and in the Devas. People think that I have known the Brahman but in my opinion I have not known Him. But it is not that I do not know anything about Him. I do know a little about the Supreme Brahman. One who thinks he knows everything is the one who does not know. One who thinks he does not know is the one who has known.

By knowledge one rises above death. This should not be procrastinated. There is eternal joy afterwards which is further enhanced by continued noble deeds. This is the truth. One who fails to understand this from learned people who are accessible, miserably falls down.

The soul can never be one with God. The noble distinguish God from ordinary souls and worship Him as the Master of all. Lord Brahma narrates an anecdote to establish the Supremacy of Lord Sri Vishnu over other deities.

Once, the Gods were victorious over the demons. The Supreme Brahman manifested His power in the Gods and made them victorious. But all of them boasted upon the victory as their own. They exclaimed “This victory is due to us”. To teach them a lesson, the Supreme Brahman appeared in the form of a Yaksha. The Gods failed to know the Yaksha. They sent Agni to know about Him. Agni approached the Yak- sha. Yaksha asked “Who are you?”. Agni replied I am that fire which can burn off everything. Yaksha gave him a blade of grass and asked him to burn that off. Agni tried with all his strength. But he could not destroy the blade of grass. Having thus insulted he returned.

The Gods sent the Pravaha Vayu, he boasted about his strength to blow away everything by his strength. Again the Yaksha presented the blade of grass and asked him to blow that away. The Pravaha Vayu failed miserably. He too returned insulted.

The Gods sent Indra to know about Yaksha. At once the Yaksha disappeared and in His place appeared Goddess Uma. Lord Indra asked “Who is that Yaksha?”.

Why Yaksha disappeared?

Sri Madhwacharya gives the reason as to why the Yaksha disappeared without questioning Indra. It is because, Indra being highly qualified would not boast about himself and would ask questions to Yaksha. But, Indra is not qualified enough to have direct instructions from the Lord Sri Vishnu, Lord Brahma or Lord Shiva. Goddess Uma is his preceptor. Hence Goddess Uma was sent to enlighten Indra about the Supreme Brahman. She instructed Indra that it was due to the power of Supreme Brahman that the Gods were victorious. Lord Brahma, Lord Vayu, Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Bharati always understand correctly about the Supreme Brahman. After them Lord Garuda, Lord Sesha, Lord Rudra and their spouses Goddess Sauparni, Goddess Varuni and Goddess Uma know the Supreme Brahman. Hence they were not full of pride. Indra knew about Brahman with the help of Goddess Uma. Hence he is superior to other Gods.

Salient Features

We can summarize the salient features of Kenopanishad Bhashya as follows:-

» 1. It sets forth the background and context in which this Upanishad was taught.

» 2. It introduces the Rishi and Devata of the Upanishad

» 3. It clears certain misconceptions that can arise in understanding the Upanishadic Verses.

» 4. It highlights the point that knowledge is to be received from a suitable guru according to one’s qualification.

» 5. It brings forth clear gradation between various deities.

यश्चिदानन्दसच्छक्तिसम्पूर्णो भगवान् परः।

नमोस्तु विष्णवे तस्मै प्रेष्ठाय प्रेयसां च मे ।।