English
अथर्ववेद - काण्ड 11/ सूक्त 3/ मन्त्र 31
सूक्त - अथर्वा
देवता - बार्हस्पत्यौदनः
छन्दः - अल्पशः पङ्क्तिरुत याजुषी
सूक्तम् - ओदन सूक्त
ओ॑द॒न ए॒वौद॒नं प्राशी॑त् ॥
स्वर सहित पद पाठओ॒द॒न: । ए॒व । ओ॒द॒नम् । प्र । आ॒शी॒त् ॥३.३१॥
स्वर रहित मन्त्र
ओदन एवौदनं प्राशीत् ॥
स्वर रहित पद पाठओदन: । एव । ओदनम् । प्र । आशीत् ॥३.३१॥
अथर्ववेद - काण्ड » 11; सूक्त » 3; मन्त्र » 31
Subject - Odana
Meaning -
In fact Odana itself has eaten Odana. (The question of the eater and the eaten remains as long as the duality of the two, subject and object, remains. In the state of communion and union, the duality goes away. Brahma which, in the state of duality, was the Odana, or food of the Yogi for the spirit, now, in the state of union, has taken up the meditative soul as its own self or child (Yogasutras, 1, 3 and 41; and Gita, 4, 24 and 9, 16. The two are one, indistinguishable, the duality is gone.) Paryaya 2 In this part, from mantra 32 to 49, the symbolic correspondence between Brahmaudana, spiritual food, and physical food for the body is obvious, and yet subtle because it points out how physical food too should be taken in the wide perspective of nature and the lord of nature, the Supreme Brahma. The correspondence follows from mantra 31 which says that Odana itself eats Odana, i.e., the subject and the object are in communion, not separate. Therefore the communion should be essential and spontaneous, not out of greed, desperation, aversion or necessity. If the human receives the food, physical or divine, out of compulsion, the human is not fully human, there is something wanting. Completion, perfection and fulfilment of the human is only in the union with divine.