By intuition of the same kind the rishi Vamadeva reached the knowledge expressed in the words, ‘I was Manu and Surya;’ in accordance with the passage, ’Whatever deva was awakened (so as to know Brahman) he indeed became that’ (B/ri/.  Up.  I, 4, 10).  The assertion made above (in the purvapaksha of the preceding Sutra) that Indra after saying, ’Know me only,’ glorifies himself by enumerating the slaying of Tvash/tri/’s son and other deeds of strength, we refute as follows.  The death of Tvash/tri/’s son and similar deeds are referred to, not to the end of glorifying Indra as the object of knowledge—­in which case the sense of the passage would be, ’Because I accomplished such and such deeds, therefore know me’—­but to the end of glorifying the cognition of the highest Self.  For this reason the text, after having referred to the slaying of Tvash/tri/’s son and the like, goes on in the clause next following to exalt knowledge, ’And not one hair of me is harmed there.  He who knows me thus by no deed of his is his life harmed.’—­(But how does this passage convey praise of knowledge?)—­Because, we reply, its meaning is as follows:  ’Although I do such cruel deeds, yet not even a hair of mine is harmed because I am one with Brahman; therefore the life of any other person also who knows me thus is not harmed by any deed of his.’  And the object of the knowledge (praised by Indra) is nothing else but Brahman which is set forth in a subsequent passage, ’I am pra/n/a, the intelligent Self.’  Therefore the entire chapter refers to Brahman.

31.  If it be said (that Brahman is) not (meant), on account of characteristic marks of the individual soul and the chief vital air (being mentioned); we say no, on account of the threefoldness of devout meditation (which would result from your interpretation); on account of (the meaning advocated by us) being accepted (elsewhere); and on account of (characteristic marks of Brahman) being connected (with the passage under discussion).

Although we admit, the purvapakshin resumes, that the chapter about the pra/n/a does not furnish any instruction regarding some outward deity, since it contains a multitude of references to the interior Self; still we deny that it is concerned with Brahman.—­For what reason?—­Because it mentions characteristic marks of the individual soul on the one hand, and of the chief vital air on the other hand.  The passage, ’Let no man try to find out what speech is, let him know the speaker,’ mentions a characteristic mark of the individual soul, and must therefore be held to point out as the object of knowledge the individual soul which rules and employs the different organs of action such as speech and so on.  On the other hand, we have the passage, ’But pra/n/a alone, the intelligent Self, having laid hold of this body makes it rise up,’ which points to the chief vital air; for the chief attribute of the vital air is that it sustains the body.  Similarly, we read