Kalisantarana Upanishad

TEXT 1

hari aum dvaparante narada brahmanam jagam

katham bhagavan gam paryatankalim santareyamiti

hari—Lord Hari; aum—the transcendental sound vibration;

dvaparante—at the end of Dvapara-yuga; narada—Narada Muni;

brahmanam—Lord Brahma; jagam—went; katham—to ask by

what means; bhagavan—incarnation of Krishna (here as Gunavatar);

gamparyatan—traveling all over the earth; kali—Kali-yuga;

santareyam—how shall I be able to swim across nicely; iti—by what

 

TRANSLATION

Hari Aum! At the end of Dvapara-yuga, after traveling all over the

earth, Narada Muni went to Lord Brahma and asked him, “Oh, Lord!

How will I be able to swim across this ocean known as Kali-yuga?”

 

TEXT 2

sahauvaca brahma sadhu prustosmi sarva sruti

rahasyam gopyam tacchruna yena kali samsaram tarisyasi

sa—he; ha—indeed; uvaca—spoke; brahma—Lord Brahma; sadhu—

devotee who speaks; prusta—asked; asmi—I am; sarva—(for the

benefit of) all; sruti—Vedic scriptures (that which is heard); rahasyam

am—the essential secret; gopyam—worth concealing; tat—that;

chruna—listen; yena—by which; kali—Kali-yuga; samsaram—the

world at that stage; tarisyasi—swim across

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma said, “Your words will benefit all mankind. Listen to

the essential secret of the Vedic scriptures, which is concealed (like a

treasure). By uncovering this knowledge, one can swim across material

existence during Kali-yuga.”

 

TEXT 3

bhagavata adi purusasya narayanasya namoucharana

matrena nirdhuta kalir bhavati

bhagavata—the Supreme Personality; adi—the original; purusasya—the

proprietor of all; narayan—Lord Narayana; asya—of; nama—name;

ucharana—chanting; matre—only; ena—by; nirdhuta—washed off

(cleaned); kalir—sins (of persons) in Kali-yuga; bharvati—becomes

TRANSLATION

“Simply by chanting the name of the Supreme Personality of God

head, Lord Narayana, the sole proprietor of all, one’s sins can be

eradicated in Kali-yuga.”

 

TEXT 4

naradah punah papraccha tannama kimiti

narad—Narada Muni; punah—again; papraccha—asked; ta—that;

nama—name; kim—which; it—that

TRANSLATION

Narada Muni again asked, “Which of the Lord’s names should

we chant?”

 

TEXT 5

sahauvaca hiranyagarbhah

hare rama hare rama

rama rama hare hare hare krishna hare krishna

krishna krishna hare hare

sah—he; uvaca—spoke; hiranyagarbha—Lord Brahma; hare—the vocative

case of Hara, or the pleasure potency of Lord Krishna; rama—the

Supreme Lord, giver of all pleasure; krishna—the Supreme Personality

of Godhead in His original form

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma replied: “Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare

Hare/ Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare.”[1]

 

TEXT 6

iti sodasakam namnam kali kalmasa nasanam

natah parataropayah sarva vedesu drusyate

iti—in this way; sodasam—sixteen; kam—collections of words;

namnam—of names; kali—Kali-yuga; kalmasa—sins; nasanam—destroyer;

na—no; athah—than; paratara—other; upayah—remedy;

sarva—in all; vedesu—Vedic scriptures; drusyate—is seen

TRANSLATION

“In this way, the collection of sixteen names is the only destroyer of

sins in Kali-yuga. No other remedy can be found in any part of the

Vedic literature.”

 

TEXT 7

iti sodasa kalavrtasya jivasyavarana vinasanam

tatah prakasate parambrahma megha paye ravi rasmi mandali veti

iti—in this way; sodasya—sixteen; kalavrtasya—having sixteen

parts; jivasya—the soul; avarana—covering; vinasanam—destroyed;

tatah—then; prakasate—shines; parambrahma—Supreme Personality

of Godhead; megha—cloud; apaye—on being removed; ravi—Sun

god; rasmi—rays; mandali—collection; eva—like

TRANSLATION

In this way, the Maha-mantra of sixteen names destroys the covering

of the jivatma (the soul), which is composed of sixteen constituents.

It is only then that Lord Krishna shines before the jiva, like the rays

of the sun when a cloud is removed.

PURPORT

 

TEXT 8

punar naradah papraccha bhagavan kosya vidhi riti

punar—again; naradah—Narada Muni; papraccha—asked; bhagavan—

Oh Lord; kaha—what; asya—its; vidhi—procedure; asti—is;

it—like that

TRANSLATION

Narada again asked, “Oh Lord! Is there a proper procedure for this

chanting?”

TEXT 9

tam ho vaca nasya vidhiriti sarvada sucira suchirva

pathan brahmanah salokatam samipatam sarupatam syujyatameti

tam—to him; ha—indeed; uvaca—spoke; na—no; asya—its; vidhi—

procedure; riti—way; sarvada—always; sucir—pure; asuchi—impure;

va—or; pathan—chanting; brahmanah—seeker of truth; salokatam—

staying with Lord Krishna; samipatam—associating with the Lord;

sarupatam—being like the Lord in form; sayujyatam—merging in the

Lord; ati—attains

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma immediately replied: “There is no set procedure for

chanting this Maha-mantra. A seeker of truth can chant whether

pure or impure—liberation still awaits him. Such liberation can take

various forms: as in living on the same planet as the Lord, becoming

one of His personal associates, appearing in a form that is like His,

or merging with Him.”

 

TEXT 10

yadasya sodasikasya sardha trikotirjapati tada brahmahatyam

tarati vira hatyam svarnasteyat putobhavati

pitrudeva manusyanama pakarat puto bhavati

yada—when; asya—as this; sodasikasya—collection of sixteen names;

sardha–trikotir—three and a half crore times (35 million times);

japati—chant; tada—then; brahmahatyam—killing a brahmin; virahatyam—

killing a warrior; svarnasteyat—stealing of gold; puto—

free from; bhavati—becomes; pitrudeva—ancestors; manusyanam—

of human beings; apakarat—harmful deeds; puto—free from;

bhavati—becomes

TRANSLATION

When one chants this Maha-mantra of sixteen names three-and-a

half crore times (35 million times), he absolves himself from the killing

of a Brahmin, assassination of a warrior, stealing gold, or committing

harmful deeds to forefathers or other human beings.

 

Those who chant 16 rounds will reach this number in the average human lifespan of 55-and-a-half years.

 

TEXT 11

sarva dharma parityaga papat sadyah sucitamapnuyat

sadyo mucyate sadyo mucyate ityupanisat

sarva—all; dharma—religious duties; parityaga—neglecting; papat—

from the sins; sadyah—immediately; sucitam—purity; apnuyat—

certainly attain; sadyo—immediately; mucyate—becomes free from;

ityupanisat—this Upanishad

TRANSLATION

By chanting the Maha-mantra, one immediately becomes purified,

attaining release from sins caused by neglecting other religious

duties. This is the teaching of the Upanishad.