Mundaka 2.2.3 Trans & Comms

धनुः – bow; गृहीत्वा – having taken; औपनिषदं – furnished by Upaniṣads; महास्त्रम् – the great weapon; शरं – arrow; हि – indeed; उपासानिशितं – sharpened by japa; सन्धयीत – must be fixed; आयम्य – having drawn; तद्भावगतेन – fixed on Brahman; चेतसा – with mind; लक्ष्यं – the mark, goal (Brahman); तत् – that; एव – alone; अक्षरं – immortal Brahman; सोम्य – O! friend; विद्धि – penetrate (learn)

Having taken the great weapon – the bow – furnished by the Upaniṣads and fixed in it the arrow rendered pointed by constant meditation; and having drawn it with the mind fixed on the Brahman, O good looking youth! Penetrate that mark – the immortal Brahman.

In these two inimitable mantras we have one of the many examples in Hindu philosophy where poetry and thought are wedded together. Literary art, nowhere in the world, has so far outshone as it is here; for here, we have an example of exquisite rhythm, choicest words, pregnant suggestions, endless significances and the most striking picture, all brought to work in the sevā (service) of the philosophy at its best. In these two mantras we have the entire sādhanā according to Vedānta explained to exhaustion. No wonder then, we observe this stanza at the lips of every Master, at the tip of the pen of every writer and, in the throat of every speaker!!

The method of penetrating the Truth centre in us with our mind, is the theme of these two mantras for which no better metaphor could have been employed than that of bow and arrow. The bow here is the chanting of ‘Om’ with a knowledge of the significance of ‘Om’. The arrow is the life centre in the individual. The awareness in us, propelled by the motive force generated in voiceless ecstasy, during the thoughtless meditation, ‘flies’ to touch total Awareness, the Brahman, the all-pervading Reality.

~Chinmayananda

dhanurgṛhītvaupaniṣadaṁ mahāstraṁ śaraṁ hyupāsāniśitaṁ sandhayīta. āyamya tadbhāvagatena cetasā lakṣyaṁ tadevākṣaraṁ somya viddhi. (2.2.3)

dhanuḥ – bow; gṛhītvā – taking; aupaniṣadam – that which obtains in the upaniṣads; mahāstram – the great weapon; śaram – arrow; hi – indeed; upāsā-niśitam – sharpened by meditation; sandhayīta – fix; āyamya – pulling the string of the bow; tadbhāvagatena – committed to the meaning of Om; cetasā – with the mind; lakṣyam – the target; tad – that; eva – only; akṣaram – Brahman; somya – O pleasing one; viddhi – strike O pleasing one! 

May you take the great bow of Om that is revealed in the upaniṣads and fix the arrow of mind that is sharpened by meditation. Then may you strike the target of Brahman with a mind that is committed to the meaning of Om by pulling the string of the bow.

~Dayananda

Take the Upanishad as the bow, the great weapon, and place upon it the arrow sharpened by meditation. Then, having drawn it back with a mind directed to the thought of Brahman, strike that mark, 0 my good friend-that which is the Imperishable. 

By contemplating the meaning of Orn and repeating the sound, the aspirant realizes his self to be the reflection of Brahman. The meditation on the atman as such is denoted by the placing of the arrow upon the bow. The realization that the reB.ected consciousness is identical with Pure Consciousness is described as striking the mark. Beginners are advised to meditate on Brahman through the symbol Om.

~Nikhilananda