THIS UPANISHAD IS one of the earliest available, generally dated to the eighth or seventh century BCE, and also the longest. It is a very complex text and most scholars use Sri Shankara’s commentary to get a better understanding of it. His commentary was further explained by the Advaita scholars Anandagiri, Sureshvara and Vidyaranya. There are other commentaries, including that of Madhva from the standpoint of Dvaita.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is attached to the Shukla Yajur Veda and forms part of the Shatapatha Brahmana. The text has six adhyayas (chapters). These chapters form part of the seventeenth section of the Kanva recension of the Shatapatha, and the fourteenth of the Madhyandina recension.
Sri Shankaracharya’s commentary follows the Kanva text, where the six chapters are chapters three to eight of Section 17.
Each adhyaya has further subdivisions which are called Brahmanas, and each Brahmana has paragraphs known as kandikas.
The chapters are also divided into three kandas or sections of two chapters each, based on the commentary (varttika) of Sureshvara: the first two form the Madhu Kanda, chapters three and four consist of the Yajnavalkya Kanda or Muni Kanda, which describes the teachings of the rishi Yajnavalkya; and chapters five and six are classified as the Khila Kanda with additional or supplementary topics. In addition, the first kanda is also classified as upadesha (teaching) containing the basic principles of Advaita. The second kanda puts forward logical explanations (upapatti)regarding the teaching or upadesha. The third deals with types of meditation (upasana). Vidyaranya too agrees with this classification.
Despite this attempt to see it as a unified whole, the Brihadaranyaka has many seemingly disparate themes and topics. Paul Deussen1 feels the three kandas were originally independent texts. This would account for the repetition of Yajnavalkya’s conversation with his wives and for the several lists of teachers.
An account of the text and its main themes follows. (The numbers in brackets refer to the adhyaya, Brahmana and verses.)
Adhyaya 1 has six Brahmanas, each with a varying number of kandikas.
The first, known as the Ashva Brahmana, begins with the symbolism of the ashvamedha, or the horse sacrifice. The first verse begins by stating: ‘Dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse, its eye is Surya (the sun), its prana (breath) is the air (vata)’ (translated from the Sanskrit). Every part of it is compared with some aspect of the world. Succeeding verses indicate that even in the absence of a real horse, the sacrificial horse should be meditated upon as Prajapati, leading to identification with that deity (1.1.1–2).
The second Brahmana with seven kandikas continues with the symbolism of the horse sacrifice but begins with passages on creation. It states: ‘In the beginning there was nothing here; because the world was covered by death, by hunger, as hunger is death’ (1.2.1). First, he (Prajapati) created the mind, then the body, then the whole world. He wanted his body to be offered to him in sacrifice and therefore became a horse (ashva). That is why one offers the sacrifice to Prajapati.
The third Brahmana, with twenty-eight kandikas, mentions the devas and asuras, both decendants of Prajapati, and how the devas used the Udgitha (sacred chant) to defeat the asuras. (There is a similar passage in the Chhandogya Upanishad.) The kandikas here refer to the jyotishtoma soma sacrifice, though it is not specifically mentioned, the role of the udgatr priest in it, and the benefits of this.
Following this, there are passages on creation (1.4). It says that in the beginning there was only the atman. Because he was the first, he is called Purusha (the person). This section also introduces Brahman, and states that through the knowledge of Brahman one can attain identity with the universe. The creation of the four castes and their associated deities is described. Pita (the father signifying the god Brahma) created seven kinds of food through meditation and rituals (1.5). Following this are references to the Vedas, the body, mind and Prajapati. Next, the text states that this (the universe) consists of name, form and action. Vaga (speech or sound) is the common feature of all names, form in general is the source of all forms, and general action the source of all activities (1.6).
Adhyaya 2 also has six Brahmanas. The sixth Brahmana is the Vamsha Brahmana, providing a line of teachers for the first two chapters.
The first Brahmana in this adhyaya begins with Gargya Balaki, who approaches Ajatashatru, king of Kashi, and says that he will tell him about Brahman. The conversation that follows is almost the same as in the Kaushitaki Upanishad and concludes with Ajatashatru teaching Balaki (2.1).
The second Brahmana discusses the body and the prana within it, comparing it to a calf (2.2). The seven decay-preventing gods that represent different aspects of the eye are referred to. These are Rudra, Parjanya, Aditya, Agni, Indra, Prithivi and Dyaus. Those that know this are never short of food (that is, they serve the prana or vital force as food). The next verse (2.2.3) states there is a mantra which says there is a bowl; it has its opening below and it bulges above. In it there is knowledge revealed, and seven rishis sit by its side, and speech is the eighth. This refers to the head, and the seven are the organs in it. The following verse (2.2.4) continues with this theme, identifying the eyes, ears, nostrils and tongue with the rishis Gotama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Kashyapa and Atri.
By comparing physical organs with gods and rishis, this Brahmana makes them something sacred.
The third Brahmana (2.3) describes Brahman, which has two forms, gross and subtle, mortal and immortal, limited and unlimited, seen and unseen. Succeeding verses explain this further.
The fourth Brahmana has the story of Yajnavalkya and his two wives (2.4). Yajnavalkya tells his wife Maitreyi that he is going to renounce the world and therefore he would like to make a final settlement with her and his other wife, Katyayani. But Maitreyi asks whether if the whole world and its wealth belonged to her, she would be immortal? If not, what would she do with it? Yajnavalkya responds that she has always been dear to him and now she has said what is dear to his heart. He explains that the wife, as well as other things, are not loved for themselves, but because of the Self that is in them. He concludes (2.4.5) by telling Maitreyi that the Self should be realized by hearing about it, reflecting on it, and meditating on it. The next verse (2.4.6) again refers to Brahman. It says that brahmanas, kshatriyas, worlds and gods reject those who think Brahman is different from the atman, while verses 7 to 9 use a musical analogy, saying that notes can be grasped only by the general effect, not by one particular note. This indirectly refers to Brahman, as only by knowing Brahman can the rest be known. After this (2.4.10), Yajnavalkya’s explanation to Maitreyi continues. He says that just as different types of smoke come from a fire so from limitless reality (‘mahat bhutasya’) come the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva-Angirasa, Itihasa, Puranam, Vidya, Upanishads, shlokas, sutras, elucidations and explanations. They are like the breaths or emanations of Brahman. Then (2.4.11–12) Yajnavalkya provides further explanations of Brahman and how everything is part of it, just as all sorts of water merge in the sea, as all sounds merge in the ear, all thoughts in the mind, and as salt in water pervades all of it, in the same way everything is pervaded by Brahman.
But Maitreyi is confused by his statement that after attaining That (Brahman), individual consciousness would not exist (2.4.13). Yajnavalkya explains that when everything is Brahman, there can be no duality.
The fifth Brahmana (2.5) begins with the statement that the earth is madhu (honey) to all beings and has further explanations of Brahman, which is the means of becoming all. This is the same madhu that Dadhyach, well-versed in the Atharva, conveyed to the Ashvins through the horse’s head (2.5.16–19). This story is narrated in the Shatapatha Brahmana, and madhu here refers to knowledge. It then explains the Brahman that is everywhere, without beginning or end.
The sixth Brahmana (2.6) has a line of teachers: Pautimashya, it says, received the knowledge from Gaupavana, who received it from another Pautimashya, who received it from another Gaupavana. The line is thus traced through this Gaupavana–Kaushika–Kaundinya–Shandilya–another Kaushika–another Gautama.
Then Gautama received it from Agniveshya who received it from Shandilya and Anabhimlata, Anabhimlata from Gautama, continuing through Saitava and Prachinayogya–Parasharya–Bharadvaja–another Bharadvaja and Gautama–Gautama from another Bharadvaja–this Bharadvaja from another Parasharya–this Parasharya from Baijavapayana–who learnt it from Kaushikayani–Ghritakaushika–Parasharyayana–Parasharya–Jatukarnya–Asurayana and Yaska–Asurayana from Traivani–Aupajandhani–Asuri–Bharadvaja–Atreya–Manti–Gautama–another Gautama–Vatsya–Shandilya–Kaishorya Kapya–Kumaraharita–Galava–Vidarbhikaundinya–Vatsanapat Babhrava–Pathin Saubhara–Ayasya Angirasa–Abhuti Tvashtra–Vishvarupa Tvashtra–Ashvins–Dadhyach Atharvana–Atharvan Daiva–Mrityu Pradhvamsana–Pradhvamsana–Ekarshi–Viprachitti–Vyashti–Sanaru–Sanatana–Sanaga–Parameshthi–Brahman, the eternal.
The knowledge in this is thus very ancient, proceeding from Brahman through a long line of teachers, including both rishis and gods.
Adhyayas 3 and 4 are those associated with Yajnavalkya.
Adhyaya 3 has nine Brahmanas. The first is Ashvala Brahmana, followed by the Artabhaga Brahmana and the Bhujyu Brahmana as the third. The fourth is the Ushasta Brahmana, the fifth Kahola Brahmana, the sixth Gargi Brahmana, the seventh Antaryami Brahmana, the eighth again the Gargi Brahmana, and the ninth Shakalya Brahmana. Each Brahmana is named after a person who questions Yajnavalkya.
Janaka, king of Videha, organized a sacrifice in which many gifts were distributed, and which was attended by brahmanas of Kuru Panchala. Janaka wanted to know who was the most learned among them, and offered a thousand cows, each with ten padas of gold on their horns, to the one who could prove this. He said, let the greatest Vedic scholar drive these cows home. Yajnavalkya told his own student (brahmachari) Samashravas to drive the cows home, and he did so. Others were angry, and Ashvala, Janaka’s hotr priest, asked Yajnavalkya, ‘Are you the greatest Vedic scholar?’
‘I bow to the greatest, I want the cows,’ said Yajnavalkya (3.1.1–2).
Ashvala then asked him a series of questions, mainly related to the sacrifice, to which he replied (3.1.3–10).
Then Artabhaga of the line of Jaratkaru questioned him on the same theme (3.2.1–13); he was followed by Bhujyu, grandson of Lahya (3.3), Ushasta, the son of Chakra (3.4.1–2), Kahola, the son of Kushitaka I (3.5.1–2), and Gargi, the daughter of Vachakanu (3.6.1).
After this, Uddalaka, son of Aruna, questioned him and asked him to describe the antaryamin, the inner controller (3.7.1–23). Uddalaka said, ‘In Madra we lived in the house of Patanchala Kapya, studying sacrificial scriptures. His wife was possessed by a gandharva. When asked who he was, he said he was Kabandha.’ The gandharva asked Patanchala Kapya several questions, including if he knew the antaryamin. Yajnavalkya explained it, ending with the words, ‘He is your own self, and immortal. Everything but him is perishable.’
Once again, Gargi, daughter of Vachkanu, questioned him (3.8). She began by saying, ‘As a person in Kashi, or the king of Videha, could string his unstrung bow and take two bamboo-tipped arrows painful to his enemies, and approach them closely, in this way I will ask you two questions.’ Her first question was: ‘What pervades that above heaven and below the earth, as well as between, and which was, is, and will be?’
Yajnavalkya replied that it is the unmanifested akasha (space). Gargi again posed the same question, adding at the end: ‘What pervades the unmanifested akasha?’ Yajnavalkya said the knowers of Brahman call it the imperishable and then provided a further description of it. It is neither coarse nor fine, neither short nor long, neither red nor oily, not shadow or darkness, not air or akasha. It is unattached. It has neither taste nor smell, eyes or ears, tongue or mind. It is non-effulgent, without vital breath or mouth. It is without measure, exterior or interior. It does not eat, and no one eats it (3.8.8). He continued with his explanations, and finally Gargi said, ‘None of you will defeat him in arguments about Brahman.’
In the ninth Brahmana (3.9), Vidaghda, son of Shakala (Shakalya), asked him about how many gods there were. At first Yajnavalkya says there were as many as those mentioned in the Nivid (group of mantras) of the Vishvedevas, that is, 303 and 3003. Then, with further questions, he reduced them from thirty-three to six, to three, to two, to one and a half and finally to one. When Shakalya asks which were those 303 and 3003, Yajnavalkya says there were actually only thirty-three, the eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas, Indra and Prajapati. He then explains who these are and what they represent. The six are Agni, Prithivi, Vayu, Antariksha, Aditya and Dyaus, and the thirty-three gods are included in these. The three gods are the three lokas or worlds; the two are annam (food) and prana; the one and a half is that which blows (pavate), the air. Even though this is one, it is said to be one and a half, because by it everything lives. The one is Prana, that is, Brahman. He also describes other deities including those of different directions and the prana and other types of breath, and compares a person with a tree. This section ends by affirming that Brahman is the ultimate goal.
Adhyaya 4 has six Brahmanas.
In the first Brahmana, King Janaka of Videha is seated to give audience when Yajnavalkya arrived. Janaka asked why he had come—did he want cattle or answers to some questions? Both, replied Yajnavalkya. Janaka then asks what others have told him on Brahman and hears the views of Jitvan, son of Shilina; Udanka, son of Shulba; Barka, son of Vrishna; Gardabhivipita, descendant of Bharadvaja; Satyakama, son of Jabala; Vidagdha, son of Shakala; and further clarifies what they said. Then King Janaka offers him a thousand cows and an elephant-like bull, but Yajnavalkya tells him that his father believed one should not accept anything from a pupil before instruction was complete.
In the second Brahmana, Janaka asks Yajnavalkya to teach him. Yajnavalkya begins his reply with a description of some of Janaka’s qualities. He had controlled his mind through the knowledge of secret names (of Brahman), and he was honoured and wealthy. He had studied the Vedas and had been instructed in the Upanishads. But, asks Yajnavalkya, does he know where he will go when released from the body? When Janaka says he does not know, Yajnavalkya begins an explanation with a description of the inner body and the nadis called hita that carry the essence of food and of prana. Then he describes the atman that cannot be described, except as ‘Not this, not this’. It cannot be seen, never decays, is unattached, unfettered, never suffers and never perishes. Knowing this, Yajnavalkya says that now Janaka has attained the fearless (abhayam, indicating Brahman). In return, Janaka says that his empire and he himself are at his service.
The third is the Jyotir Brahmana. Sureshvara’s commentary on this extends to 1975 verses, indicating its importance.
It begins with Yajnavalkya again visiting Janaka, but making a resolve to say nothing. In the past, though, Yajnavalkya and Janaka had discussed the agnihotra and Yajnavalkya had offered him a boon. Janaka chose the right to ask any question. Now Janaka asks, ‘What serves as light for a man?’ Yajnavalkya says it is the sun, but then there are succeeding questions. When the sun sets, the moon provides light; when there is no moon, fire provides light; if no fire, sound provides light, in the sense that if one hears a sound, one can reach there. If there is no sound, the Self provides light.
Janaka then asks, what is the atma or Self? It is that reflected in the intellect (vijnanamaya), says Yajnavalkya, in the prana or vital breath, and as a self-effulgent light within the heart. Simulating the intellect, it roams between the two worlds and transcends this waking world, which represents forms of death (ignorance and its effects). When a person is born, he gets a body which is associated with evils, and when he dies he discards those. There are two states for the person: in this world and in the next. The dream state is between these two, and in this intermediate state one can survey both worlds. When he dreams, he takes away a little of this world, makes the body unconscious and creates a dream body through his own light. In this state a person has self-illumination (4.3.7–9). (In later texts the Turiya state is higher than the dream body.) In the dream state there are no real chariots, animals or roads, but the Self creates them. There are no joys, delights or raptures, but it creates them. There are no pools, tanks or rivers, but it creates them, for it is the karta, the doer (4.3.10). Regarding this are the following shlokas: The Purusha who shines, who travels alone, makes the body unconscious but is itself awake, and wanders wherever he likes (4.3.11). Succeeding verses have more on the dream world and on the world of sleep.
The nadis called hita are described fine as a hair, divided into 1000 parts, and filled with white, blue, red, brown and green fluids, representing the subtle body (4.3.20).
After this is a description of deep sleep, where the person does not hear or see, yet there is something that hears and sees, that is the witness, the one without a second, that is the world of Brahman (4.3.32).
The fourth is the Shariraka Brahmana, which describes how the Self or individual atma departs at death, spends some time in the other world and then enters a new body. It has passages on the self and on Brahman.
The fifth Brahmana has a similar theme, and repeats the story of Yajnavalkya and his two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani, with minor variations. At Maitreyi’s request, he instructs her in Brahman.
The sixth Brahmana once again has a line of teachers, almost the same as that given earlier. In three long verses, the teachers are traced from Pautimashya to Brahma, the self-created, the ultimate source of the teaching. Pautimashya received the knowledge from Gaupavana, who received it from another Pautimashya, who received it from another Gaupavana. The line is thus traced through this Gaupavana–Kaushika–Kaundinya–Shandilya–another Kaushika–another Gautama.
Then Gautama received it from Agniveshya who received it from Gargya, Gargya from another Gargya, the other Gargya from Gautama, continuing through Saitava–Parasharyayana–Gargyayana–Uddalakayana–Jabalayana–Madhyandinayana–Shaukarayana–Kaushikayani–Ghritakaushika–Parasharyayana–Jatukarnya–Asurayana and Yaska–Traivani–Aupajandhani–Asuri–Bharadvaja–Atreya–Manti–Gautama–another Gautama–Vatsya–Shandilya–Kaishorya Kapya–Kumaraharita–Galava–Vidarbhikaundinya–Vatsnapat Babhrava–Pathin Saubhara–Ayasya–Angirasya–Abhuti Tvashtra–Vishvarupa Tvashtra–the Ashvins–Dadhyach Atharvana–Atharvan Daiva–Mrityu Pradhvamsana–Pradhvamsana–Ekarshi–Viprachitti–Vyashti–Sanaru–Sanatana–Sanaga–Parameshthin–Brahman, the self-created.
Adhyayas five and six, together known as the Khila Kanda or supplementary section, contains some additional information. They can be considered portions to be meditated upon.
Adhyaya 5 has fifteen Brahmanas.
The first Brahmana has only one verse, beginning with the mantra ‘Purnamadah Purnamidam’, etc. After this it states that Om is Brahman. It is ancient, it is ether containing vayu (air), says the son of Kauravyayani. The seekers of Brahman know that Om is the means of knowledge (veda) to attain Brahman. (Or, according to an alternative interpretation, that Om represents all the Vedas.)
The second Brahmana with three verses says that Prajapati had three kinds of offspring: devas, people (manushya) and asuras. They lived with their father Prajapati as brahmacharis (students). When their term of study was over, the devas asked him for some instruction. He said, ‘da’ and then asked if they had understood. Yes, they said, you told us to control yourselves (damyata). He affirmed they had understood him correctly. Similarly, when the people and then the asuras asked him, he again said ‘da’, which the people correctly understood as ‘datta’, give, and the asuras as ‘dayadhvam’, be compassionate.
That same thing is repeated today by the heavenly voice in the form of thunder, ‘da, da, da’, which means control yourselves, give and have compassion, and these three should be practised. (T.S. Eliot used this in his poem ‘The Wasteland’.)
Each Brahmana has different themes, though most provide an explanation of Brahman. Words related to Brahman are broken up into syllables and each syllable explained. Meditating on their statements would lead to an understanding of them. In succeeding Brahmanas, Prajapati is said to be in the heart (hridayam), and the same as Satya Brahman (the true Brahman). The syllables ‘bhur’, ‘bhuvar’, ‘svar’ and others are also connected with various aspects of being.
The sixth Brahmana describes the Manomaya Purusha, radiant by nature, seen within the heart. He is the lord of all and rules the universe, while the seventh Brahmana says that lightning is Brahman because it disperses the clouds.
The fourteenth Brahmana explains the importance of the Gayatri Mantra at length in eight verses. In the eighth, Janaka, king of Videha, says to Budila, the son of Ashvatarashva, ‘How is it that you, who called yourself a knower of the Gayatri, have come to be an elephant and are carrying me?’ He replies that it is because he does not know its mouth. Janaka says that fire is its mouth. It can burn any amount of fuel and in the same way any amount of sins are consumed and purified by the Gayatri.
The fifteenth Brahmana is also found in the Isha Upanishad, stating that the face of truth (satya) is covered with a golden vessel.
Adhyaya 6 has five Brahmanas.
The first describes the qualities of the different organs of the body. Then they go to Prajapati asking which one of them was the best (vasishtha) (6.1.7). He says it is that one by whose departure the body would suffer most. Each one departs in turn, and the body stays alive, but when prana is about to depart, like a great Saindhava horse pulls out its tether, they call him back, saying, ‘We shall not be able to live without you.’ (A Saindhava horse is a horse in the region of the river Sindhu [Indus].)
In the second Brahmana, Shvetaketu, grandson of Aruna, comes to the assembly of the Panchalas and meets King Pravahana, son of Jivala. He and his father are then instructed by the king. (The same passage is in the Chhandogya Upanishad 5.3.10.)
The third Brahmana describes various rituals to accomplish certain desires, such as greatness or becoming a king or ruler. The last part of this (6.3.7–12) again has a list of teachers.
Uddalaka, son of Aruna, after imparting the rules for the ritual to his pupil Vajasaneya Yajnavalkya, says, ‘Even if one sprinkles it on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth.’ Each says the same after imparting it to their student.
Vajasaneya Yajnavalkya teaches this to Madhuka, son of Paingi, who imparts it to Chula, son of Bhagavitta, who teaches Janaki, son of Ayasthuna, who teaches Satyakama, son of Jabala, who imparts it to his pupils, and says one should not impart this to anybody except one’s son or disciple.
The passage on teachers is followed by a description of four things that should be made out of fig wood (audumbara): the ladle, bowl, fuel and two churning sticks. Ten kinds of cultivated grain are mentioned: rice, barley, sesamum, beans, millet, panic seed, wheat, lentils, pulses and khala-kulah, which could be chickpea, and Dolichos uniflorus. These provide an idea of agriculture at the time.
The fourth Brahmana includes the creation of women by Prajapati and the act of procreation. Several details on the right way to do this are provided. Uddalaka Aruni, Naka, son of Mudgala and Kumararahita, says that many men, who are brahmanas only in name, have union without this knowledge, and depart from the world without merit. Most of the passages are for the birth of a son, but there is one for the birth of a daughter ‘who will be a scholar and have a long life’ (6.4.17). More rituals are prescribed after the son is born. There is also a passage on how to win over a woman (the wife). He should first talk to her, offer her desired objects and if she still does not yield to him, should strike her with a stick or with the hand (6.4.7), and another on how to curse the lover of his wife, who would then have no remaining merit (6.4.12).
Section 5 has a line of teachers in four verses. These are teachers of the whole Upanishad who are named after their mothers.
They are: The son of Pautimashi, who received the teaching from the son of Katyayani, who in turn received it from the son of Gautami, and further from the son of Bharadvaji, from the son of Parashari, from the son of Aupasvasti, from the son of (another) Parashari, from the son of Katyayani, from the son of Kaushiki, from the son of Alambi, from the son of Vaiyaghrapadi, from the son of Kanvi, from the son of Kapi, from the son of Atreyi, from the son of Gautami, from the son of Bharadvaji, from the son of Vatsi, from the son of (another) Parashari, from the son of Varkaruni, from the son of another Varkaruni, from the son of Artabhagi, from the son of Shaungi, from the son of Sankriti, from the son of Alambayani, from the son of Alambi, from the son of Jayanti, from the son of Madukayani, from the son of Manduki, from the son of Shandili, from the son of Rathitari, from the son of Bhaluki, from the two sons of Kraunchiki, from the son of Vaidabhriti, from the son of Karshakeyi, from the son of Prachinayogi, from the son of Sanjivi, from Asurivasin the son of Prashni, from Asurayanga, from Asuri, from Yajnavalkya, from Aruna, from Upaveshi, from Kushri, from Vajashravas, from Jihvavat the son of Badhyoga, from Asita the son of Varshagana, from Harita Kashyapa, from Kashyapa the son of Nidhruva, from Vach, from Ambhini, from Aditya. These Shukla Yajuses received from Aditya (the sun) are explained by Yajnavalkya Vajasaneya.
The fourth verse suggests that there are two lines of teachers which are the same up to Sanjivi from Prajapati and diverge after that. Thus, the fourth verse states that the son of Sanjivi received it from Mandukayani, he from Kautsa, he from Mahitthi, he from Vamakakshayana, he from Shandilya, he from Vatsya, he from Kushri, he from Yajnavachas the son of Rajastamba, he from Tura the son of Kavasha, he from Prajapati, he from Brahman.
This Upanishad is also one of the earliest, dating to before 600 BCE, possibly to the eighth century BCE. It is attached to the Sama Veda, consisting of eight out of the ten chapters of the Chhandogya Brahmana. It is an important Upanishad and forms the basis for the Brahma Sutra. There are many statements in this text on the nature of Brahman and its identity with the atman, which Shankaracharya focused on in his commentary.
The text can be divided into two parts on the basis of its subject matter. The first five sections or prapathakas can be said to form the first part, dealing with upasana, that is, meditation and worship, while the second with prapathakas six to eight explain philosophy, though Part I also has passages on Brahman and the inner light. Worship and the meditation associated with it are a preliminary phase for those who are not ready to follow the path of knowledge (jnana) that leads to Brahman. Shankaracharya says that upasana that is based on the scriptures provides a support for the mind. The philosopher Sadananda supports this view, stating that upasana is an activity of the mind that focuses on Saguna Brahman, Brahman with qualities. Vidyaranya explains it as worship prescribed by a teacher. It can include meditation on a symbol, a deity or a concept. Through it the mind attains an attitude of devotion and becomes calm and purified, ready to focus on Brahman.
The main topic in this Upanishad is the sacred chant. Among other topics, it also describes devayana, the pranas, Brahman, the inner light and the states of consciousness. It looks at the true nature of sacrifice, of the individual and of the world. Symbolically, the whole of a person’s life is a sacrifice, divided into three parts. In addition, there are different types of sacrifices: ascetic practices and abstaining from pleasures are considered sacrifices without priests in which non-violence, uprightness and truth are the gifts given. Even eating, drinking, laughing and talking can be considered a sacrifice.
Prapathaka 1 has thirteen sections. It begins with an explanation of Om, which is the Udgitha, and why it should be meditated upon. The first verse says: ‘Om, which is the Udgitha, should be meditated upon, as the Udgitha is sung, beginning with Om.’ The Udgitha is a Sama Veda verse, a sacred chant. To understand it, one should know something of the sacrificial ritual, which developed into a highly formalized structure with sixteen priests, four representing each of the four Vedas. The main Sama Veda priest was the udgatr, and it was he who sang the Sama verse beginning with ‘Om’, known as the Udgitha. Om is explained in detail in the next few verses. It is used not only by the udgatr but also by the adhvaryu and hotr priests in their rituals. (The latter were the main priests of the Yajur and Rig Vedas.) A story of the devas and asuras, both the offspring of Prajapati, follows. The devas, it is said, meditated on the Udgitha (Om) as the Prana, as a means to overcome the asuras, but the asuras pierced it with evil. Succeeding verses continue with this theme, until finally the asuras were destroyed (1.2). Among those who meditated on the Udgitha were Angiras, Brihaspati and Ayasya. Baka Dalbhya knew it and became the udgatr of those in the Naimisha forest. (Baka Dalbhya is known in the Mahabharata and other texts.)
The Prana is then praised (1.3), while the next section (1.4) focuses on the Udgitha, Om and chhandas (metre). The gods, afraid of death, began to practise the threefold knowledge (the rituals of the three Vedas), and covered themselves with metrical verses. Because they covered (chhand) themselves with verses, the hymns are called chhandas (1.4.3). Further sections also explain and comment on the udgitha. Sections 6 and 7 equate the Rig and Sama Vedas with various aspects, including the body, speech, and light. In Section 9 the Udgitha is identified with akasha (space). Section 11 mentions types of priests and the divinities of the sacrifices, while Section 12 is interpreted as a satirical comment on outer sacrifices. It begins with stating that next would be the udgitha of the dogs. Baka Dalbhya or Glava Maitreya (who seem to be the same person) go to study the Vedas. A white dog appears and around it come other dogs. The other dogs ask the white one to obtain food for them by singing. Baka Dalbhya keeps watch and the dogs sing, just like the priests! (In Madhva’s commentary, the god Vayu takes the form of a dog.) Finally, Section 13 comments on certain sacred syllables, such as ‘hau’ and ‘hum’.
Several people are mentioned in this chapter, which help to place it in a historical context. Some of them are already referred to. In addition, there is Kaushitaki (of olden times) (1.5.2), who asked his son to meditate on the sun, the prana and the udgitha. In 1.8–9, three people well-versed in the udgitha are referred to: Shilaka, the son of Shalavat, Chaikitayana of the line of Dalbhya, and Pravahana, the son of Jivala, and their discussion on the saman and the udgitha is provided.
Atidhanvan, the son of Shunaka, is also mentioned, who taught the udgitha to Udarashandilya. In 1.10, there is a reference to a time when the crops of the Kurus were destroyed by thunderstorms. At this time, Ushasti, the son of Chakra, lived with his child wife in a poor condition, in the village of a man who owned an elephant. After eating the beans provided by him, he replaced the Sama priests at a sacrifice because of his superior knowledge.
Prapathaka 2 with twenty-four sections deals with different topics, particularly meditation on various chants and sacred syllables under different circumstances. For instance, those who use chants and meditate on water of the clouds or oceans will not die in water; those who use them with animals become rich in animals, that is, goats, sheep, cows and horses (2.6). The Revati chant also centres around animals (2.18). Other chants mentioned along with their benefits include the Gayatra, Rathantara, Vamadevya (for sexual intercourse), the Brihat, Vairupya, Vairaja, Shakvari, Yajnayajniya and Rajana. Different methods of chanting are prescribed, along with the basic ethics for living a virtuous life, which include tapas or religious practices, and brahmacharya, along with the study of sacred wisdom. The last section (24) refers to chants to different deities such as the Adityas and Vishvedevas and the results achieved.
Prapathaka 3 with nineteen sections looks at different aspects of the four Vedas and the secret teachings (Upanishads). It refers to Atharvangirasa as the author of the Itihasa Purana (the Atharva Veda), and mentions Brahman, as well as several gods including the Vasus, with Agni at their head; the Rudras, with Indra at the head; the Adityas, with Varuna at their head; the Maruts, with Soma at their head; the Sadhyas, with Brahma at their head. The context is the description of various nectars of the sun. For those who know this Brahma Upanishad, the sun neither rises nor sets, the day is forever. This doctrine was narrated by Brahma to Prajapati, who revealed it to Manu, who told it to his offspring. It was revealed to Uddalaka Aruni by his father. A father may reveal the doctrine of Brahman to his eldest son or to a worthy disciple, not to anyone else.
The Gayatri is also mentioned as that which contains everything (3.12.1–2). Brahman can be known through the Gayatri. Brahman is described as the akasha (space) within the heart that is omnipresent and unchanging (3.12.7–9) and five aspects of it are five pranas. The light which shines above heaven and above everything is also that which is within a person. The universe comes from Brahman and merges in it. The atman within the Self is described: ‘This is my Atman, within the heart, smaller than a grain of rice, a barley seed, a mustard seed, a grain of millet, or even the kernel of a grain of millet. This is my Atman within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the middle regions and the highest spheres, greater than all the worlds’ (3.14.3).
The text goes on to describe the three stages in the life of a person, of twenty-eight-plus-forty-eight-plus-forty-eight years, and the mantras he should recite if anything ails him during this time. Mahidasa knew this and thus lived for 116 years. In another passage (3.17.5), the life of a man is compared to a Soma sacrifice. The following verse states that this truth was taught by Ghora Angirasa to Krishna, son of Devaki. Ghora explains that when death approaches, a person should take refuge in three thoughts, that he is indestructible (akshata), unchanging (aprachyuta) and consisting of the subtle prana.
Following this, there are further descriptions of Brahman and its supreme light.
Prapathaka 4 with seventeen sections narrates several stories. It begins with the story of King Janashruti, the great-grandson of Janashruta, who is known for his generosity. When he is praised by a bird flying overhead (Shankara explains them as rishis or devas that had taken the form of birds), another bird refers to Raikva with the cart. (Raikva with the cart is known from other texts as an enlightened but eccentric person who lived under his cart.) Janashruti overhears this and goes to meet Raikva. He takes a gift of 600 cows, a necklace and a chariot with mules and asks Raikva to teach him. ‘O Shudra!’ Raikva responds. ‘Keep your gift’. (Of course the king is not a Shudra, the implication is that the gift is unworthy.) However, while again calling him a Shudra, he accepts the third gift of 1000 cows, a necklace, a chariot with mules, his daughter as his wife, and a village. The text says that these are the villages named Raikvaparna, in the country of Mahavrisha, where Raikva lived. Raikva explains certain truths to him and mentions Shaunaka of the line of Kapi and Abhipratarin, son of Kakshena, in his stories. Among the stories in this section is the well-known story of Satyakama Jabala, who does not know who his father is but is accepted as a student by Gautama, son of Haridrumata, because of his honesty. Satyakama is asked about his family by Gautama and replies that he does not know. He had asked his mother, says Satyakama, and she had told him she was a maidservant who worked in many houses and he was born from one of them. The rest of the story, though, is not as well-known. He is then given 400 cows to take care of by Gautama; he stays with them (in the forest) until they reach 1000. Later, he is instructed on Brahman by various beings, including one of his bulls, the god Agni, a hamsa (swan) and a madgu (diver bird). By the time he reaches Gautama, he already shone with the light of Brahman, but Gautama too instructs him and Satyakama becomes a teacher himself.
Another story is about Upakoshala, the son of Kamala, who lives as a brahmachari with Satyakama Jabala. After twelve years of study, the other students go home but Satyakama does not allow Upakoshala to leave. Satyakama’s wife urges him to teach the boy but instead Satyakama leaves on a journey and the young man begins to fast out of sorrow. Seeing this, as he had sincerely tended the fires, the various agnis including the garhaptya (household fire), the anvaharya (southern fire) and the ahavaniya (eastern fire) teach him part of the knowledge of Brahman. When Satyakama returns, he gives him further instruction on Brahman. The one who knows Brahman travels on devayana, the path of the gods, after death, and never returns.
Prapathaka 5 has twenty-four sections. In the first two, Prajapati explains how prana or the vital breath is the greatest of the organs of the body. Satyakama Jabala also explains this to Goshruti, the son of Vyaghrapada.
The third section states that Shvetaketu Aruneya (the grandson of Aruna) reaches the assembly of the Panchalas. There, the king Pravahana, son of Jivala, asks if his father has instructed him. Shvetaketu replies that he has but then does not have answers to the questions asked by the king. His father too does not have the answers and goes to the king to study. The king asks Gautama (Shvetaketu’s father, also known as Uddalaka Aruni) to stay with him to study. He says that this knowledge had not reached any brahmana before him. His teachings continue into Section 10. Among them, Pravahana explains the symbolism of sacrifice. Those who know this, he says, and practise austerities in the forest travel on devayana, the path of the gods. Finally, he reaches lightning, and a person who is not a human being comes and leads him to Brahman. Other paths too are described but those whose conduct has been evil may be born as a dog, a pig or a chandala (5.10.7).
In Section 11, Prachinashala, the son of Upamanyu, Satyayajna, the son of Pulusha, Indradyumna, the grandson of Bhallavi, Jana, the son of Sharkaraksha, and Budila, the son of Ashvatarashva, great householders and great scholars, come together to find out what Brahman is. They go to Uddalaka Aruni (son of Aruna), who feels he would not be able to explain to them, and goes with them to King Ashvapati of Kekaya, who, he says, knows the Vaishvanara self. (Among the four states of consciousness, this is the waking self.)
When they arrive, they stay there the night and the next day the king says: ‘In my kingdom, there is no thief, no miser, no wine-drinker, no man without a sacrificial fire, no ignorant person, no adulterer, no adultress.’ He then explains the Vaishvanara self to them, which is identical with the universal Self. He mentions various parts of the universal Self as they are represented in the world and the sacrifice to the universal Self within one’s own Self. Offerings should be made to the breaths, including the prana, vyana, apana, samana and udana (the five main pranas).
Prapathaka 6 has sixteen sections, in which there are further discussions on Brahman. There is another story about Uddalaka Aruni, who sends his son Shvetaketu to study. Shvetaketu goes to his teacher’s house at the age of twelve and returns at the age of twenty-four, thinking he knows everything. Then his father asks him if he knows that by which one hears what cannot be heard, sees what cannot be seen and knows what cannot be known.
Shvetaketu then realizes that he is ignorant of this and asks for instruction in it. Uddalaka explains through a series of examples, beginning by saying that just as through one clod of clay the nature of clay is known, in the same way all truth can be known. He explains the nature of the world and provides several explanations of Brahman and of the universal nature of life.
In two of the most famous passages, Uddalaka explains to his son Shvetaketu how Brahman pervades everything. In one, he asks Shvetaketu to break the seed of a banyan tree and tell him what he sees. Shvetaketu responds that he sees nothing and Uddalaka says: ‘What you cannot see is the essence, and in that essence is the mighty banyan tree. In that essence is the Self of all that is.’
The second is where he asks Shvetaketu to put some salt in water and leave it overnight. In the morning he asks Shvetaketu to bring him the salt, but obviously he cannot as the salt has dissolved. Then Uddalaka asks Shvetaketu to taste the water from the top and all sides and Shvetaketu understands that the salt is still there. In the same way, Uddalaka explains that Sat (Being or Truth) is there throughout the body.
Another example is given of a man blindfolded and taken from the land of Gandhara to a place where there is no one. He wonders where and how to go but then someone comes along who loosens his blindfold and tells him the way to Gandhara. That person is like the teacher who will instruct him in true knowledge.
Prapathaka 7 has twenty-six sections. It begins with the rishi Narada, who approaches Sanat Kumara (one of the mindborn sons of the god Brahma) and asks him to teach him. Sanat Kumara asked Narada to first tell him what he already knows. Narada says he knows the four Vedas, the Puranas (this here implies the epics), Itihasa, the Veda of Vedas (grammar), the rituals to propitiate the pitris, ‘the science of portents, the science of time, logic, ethics, etymology, Brahma-vidya, the science of elemental spirits, the science of weapons, astronomy, the science of serpents, and the fine arts’. But he says all that he knows are only words. He does not know the Self and is full of sorrow, and has heard that the knowledge of the Self releases one from sorrow.
Narada’s response provides an idea of the type of education imparted to a student at that time.
Sanat Kumara says that all Narada knows are names. Meditating on a name such as Brahman will take him as far as that name reaches. In response to further questions, Sanat Kumara says that meditating on speech as Brahman is higher than meditating on a name and higher than that is meditating on mind as Brahman. Even greater is to meditate on will as Brahman, and beyond that on chitta (consciousness). Dhyana or meditation is greater than chitta, and greater than that is meditating on understanding as Brahman. Next, he speaks of meditating on the following as Brahman, each greater than the former: strength, food, water, fire, akasha, memory, hope, prana. He who knows the prana is an ativadi. One must understand the Truth, and for this reflection and faith are required. One should become single-minded through the performance of one’s duties. Finally, one attains bliss (ananda), which is the same as the infinite. When one sees, hears and understands nothing but the Infinite, then one has realized it (7.24.1).
Sanat Kumara concludes that people describe possessions such as cows, horses, elephants, gold, slaves, wives, fields and houses as greatness, but the Infinite Self has nothing to do with this. It is everywhere and self-supporting. Everything comes from it, and one who knows this has no death, disease or sorrow.
Thus, Sanat Kumara, who taught Narada, is called Skanda.
Prapathaka 8 has fifteen sections. It directly describes Brahman that is in the lotus within the akasha of the heart. Here there is no old age or death, and all desires are contained within. It goes on to say that whatever he desires from this space comes true. The true Self resides in the heart. Further, it says that Brahman is attained by brahmachari or continence.
Further, in the same section, Prajapati instructs Indra on the real Self.
Thus, in many different ways, the Chhandogya discusses the nature of the Self, which lives within the heart and yet contains all the worlds.
The Aitareya Upanishad, another early Upanishad, can be dated to between the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, according to Patrick Olivelle and other scholars. It is attached to the Rig Veda and the Aitareya Brahmana and forms part of the Aitareya Aranyaka,consisting of Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of this text. The Upanishad has to be seen in the context of what preceded it in the Aranyaka, which suggests rituals through which Prana can be attained. Prana refers to both breath and the life force, and here Prana is identified with Saguna Brahman, Brahman that has qualities. But as the succeeding Upanishad shows, this cannot be the ultimate goal. Shankara and Madhva are among the commentators on this Upanishad.
The traditional author is Aitareya Mahidasa.
Each of the three sections of the Upanishad deals with important topics. Even though the text is an early one, the concept of Brahman as the source of all, and its identity with the atman, had already developed.
The text deals with Brahman, atman, creation and rebirth. It also describes the four worlds and mentions the rishi Vamadeva.
Brahman is perceived as pervading everything, only after the atman has created the worlds and the different parts of a person, which are finally integrated.
The Aitareya Upanishad that follows the chapters on ritual shows that only Nirguna Brahman, the unqualified Brahman, can be the goal. The atman is the only reality, existing before and after creation. Creation spontaneously emerges in the world through the power of maya. The Aitareya records first the creation of the worlds, then the Purusha or Virat, representing physical forms, then the devas or deities, next, the elements, followed by individual parts of the body, and then food to sustain them, and describes how these parts cannot exist without the atman, which finally enters them and gives them life. The purpose of the text is to show how with true knowledge the world of duality can be transcended.
The first chapter has three sections. Section 1 describes how everything in the world is created by the atman. It begins with the words ‘atma va idam eka evagra asit’, meaning ‘in the beginning only the atman or soul existed’. The atma then thought, let me create the worlds, and a description of creation follows. The worlds were: Ambah, that is, clouds filled with water; Marichi, the world of rays of light, Mara, the world of mortals, and Ap, the world of water. Ambah is above heaven, which is its support. Marichi is in the antariksha, the middle region. Mara is the earth, and the world of Ap, below the earth. Once the worlds were created, the Atma created world guardians; that is, he made a person, Purusha (representing the cosmic person, Virat), gave him a shape and separated the various parts. In Section 2, the deities were then assigned to the different parts and hunger and thirst was assigned to them, and in Section 3 food was created for them. Each part tried to grasp food but it could only be grasped through the apana (a form of prana, or the breath). Then the atman thought, how could all these exist without me? He entered the person through the end (where the parting of the hair ends), the entrance known as vidriti, and then perceived the person as Brahman, pervading everything. The perceiver is known as Idandra, who indirectly is called Indra.
The second chapter contains the theory of the three births of a man. The first birth is when the embryo is formed in a woman; the second is when the baby is born; the third is when the person dies and is reborn. This chapter mentions the rishi Vamadeva, who knew the births of all the gods while still in the womb.
The third chapter has only four verses. It begins with questions on who the Self or the atma is, through which everything is known, by whom one sees, hears and tastes. It goes on to say it is the heart, mind, wisdom, sorrow, memory, purpose and various other attributes, and all these are just names of consciousness (prajnanam). The third verse goes on to say that it is Brahma, Prajapati, Indra, all the gods, the elements, everything that is born, horses, cows, people, elephants, everything that breathes, that moves or flies or even does not move. All this is prajnanam, and prajnanam is Brahman. The fourth verse concludes that He (referring to Vamadeva) has become one with Prajnanam (consciousness or intelligence).
The Kaushitaki, an early Upanishad which can be dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE, is also known as the Kaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad. Ian Whicher dates it to the eighth century BCE and Patrick Olivelle to between the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. Commentaries include those of Shankarananda in his Dipika. It is referred to in Shankara’s Brahma Sutra commentary.
This Upanishad is attached to the Rig Veda and forms part of the Kaushitaki Aranyaka (also known as the Shankhayana) which is part of the Kaushitaki Brahmana.
The text has four chapters or sections. It deals with the path to the other world, prana or life breath, the worship of the sun and the new moon, and the identity of the god Indra with prana, as well as with rebirth and liberation through knowledge. In Chapter 4, Ajatashatru, king of Kashi, explains the nature of Brahman to Gargya Balaki, who was famed for his learning in the scriptures. Brahman exists as the Self in various phenomena and knowledge of the true Self leads to ultimate unity.
Apart from Ajatashatru, among the other teachers mentioned are Kaushitaki himself, Chitra Gangayani, Paingya, Shushka Bhringara and Pratardana.
The world of Brahma and other heavenly worlds are described. Brahman is beyond these worlds, but what exactly is it? The text also refers to the Vedas, sacrificial rituals, the worship of the sun, Pratardana, son of Divodasa, and Indra and his exploits.
Section 1 with seven verses begins with Chitra Gangayani (elsewhere Gargayani) who wants to perform a sacrifice. He chooses Aruni to perform it for him, but Aruni sends his son Shvetaketu. When Shvetaketu reaches there, Chitra begins by asking him a question. ‘Is there a hidden place in the world in which you would place me? Or is there another way, and will you place me in that world?’ Shvetaketu does not know what he is talking about, and returns to ask Aruni. Aruni does not know either, and suggests they both study with Chitra. They then go to Chitra and ask him to teach them (1.1). Chitra then explains the doctrine of rebirth through the two paths, pitriyana and devayana (1.2). Through devayana or the path of the gods, the person reaches the worlds of various gods, first that of Agni, then of Vayu, then of Varuna, then of Aditya, then of Indra, then of Prajapati and finally of Brahma. The world of Brahma is elaborately described, and includes the lake Ara, the moments yeshtika (those moments when desires are subdued) and the river Vijara (the ageless), the tree Ilya, the city Salajya, the residence Aparajita, the hall Vibhu, the throne Vichakshana and the seat Amitaujas. There are two doorkeepers, Indra and Prajapati, and two mothers, Manasi and Chakshushi, who are called the weavers of the worlds. Brahma himself welcomes the person reaching here, and says that as he has reached this timeless river, he will never grow old. As the person crosses through the different aspects of this Brahma world, each of which represent certain attributes, he is freed from opposites and reaches Brahman (1.4, etc.).
Section 2 (fifteen verses) begins by stating that Kaushitaki used to say that Prana is Brahma. Paingya, too, used to say the same thing. It goes on to describe how to attain the highest treasure or even one’s beloved. It describes the inner agnihotra (fire sacrifice) of self-restraint, according to Pratardana, and explains that the uktha (recitation) is Brahman. This is what Shushka Bhringara used to say. Therefore, one should meditate on it as the Rik, Yajus and Saman (that is, types of verses and prose passages) as shri (beauty), yashas (glory) and tejas (splendour). It then refers to the sacrificial ritual and says the adhvaryu priest ‘prepares this self which is related to the sacrifice and which consists of works’.2 The one who knows the self of three-fold knowledge becomes the self of Indra.
One should worship the sun every day for the removal of sins, as Kaushitaki used to, and the new moon for prosperity. The full moon should be worshipped with the prayer beginning: ‘You are King Soma, the wise . . .’ The chapter also refers to how Brahman shines when the fire blazes, when the sun is seen and at other times, including when one speaks, hears and sees.
Section 3 has links with the Rig Veda. It begins with Pratardana, the son of Divodasa, visiting Indra. The god Indra asks him to choose a boon but Pratardana asked Indra to choose for him. After first refusing, Indra said that the most beneficial boon was that Pradardana should know him, Indra. He, Indra, had killed the three-headed son of Tvashtr and delivered the Arunmukhas, the ascetics, to the wolves. He had killed the Prahladas in the sky, the Paulomas in the atmosphere and the Kalakanjas on the earth, yet not a hair of his was injured. Hence, the one who knows Indra can never be injured.
Next, Indra explains that he is the prana and the wisdom self (prajna-atma). So whoever worships him as life and immortality reaches his full life-span in this world and is indestructible in the heavenly world.
Divodasa is referred to in the Rig Veda, while Indra is the most important god in that text. Indra’s exploits mentioned here are also referred to in that text.
Section 4, however, leaves behind the Rig Veda and instead contains explanations of Brahman as explained by Ajatashatru. It begins with an account of Gargya Balaki, who was learned in the scriptures. He had lived among the Ushinaras, Matsyas and Kashi-Videhas. He comes to Ajatashatru, king of Kashi, and says that he will teach him about Brahman. Ajatashatru says he will give him 1000 cows. Hearing something like this, people start calling for Janaka. (King Janaka was known for his wisdom.)
Balaki successively speaks of meditating on the person in the sun, the moon, thunder, air (vayu), space (akasha), fire (agni), water, the mirror, shadow, the echo, sound, a dream, the body, the right eye and the left eye, but Ajatashatru rejects all these as not leading to the true Self. Ajatashatru then asks who it is through which all that Balaki mentions can be known.
Balaki then approaches Ajatashatru as a teacher. Ajatashatru says that it is contrary to nature that a kshatriya should have a brahmana as a pupil, but begins his lesson by taking him to the sleeping King Soma, whom he wakes up by poking him with a stick. Where was this person while he was asleep? In the channels within the body called hita, extending from the heart, which have a thin essence coloured white, red, yellow or black; there one remains even when a person is in dreamless sleep. Ajatashatru then explains the essential unity of the Self. When Indra understood the unity of the true self, he remained unconquered.
The Taittiriya, another early Upanishad, belongs to the Taittiriya school of the Yajur Veda and is attached to the Taittiriya Samhita, that is, the Krishna or Black Yajur Veda. It consists of parts 7–9 of the Taittiriya Aranayaka, and this Aranyaka is part of the Taittiriya Brahmana. Stephen Phillips dates it chronologically after the Brihadaranyaka, Chhandogya and Isha, probably around the sixth century BCE. Winternitz, Paul Deussen, Olivelle and others generally date the Isha later. Among the important commentaries on this ancient text is that of Shankara, who divided it into three sections known as vallis. Sayana has also commented on this text and names the first section the Samhita Upanishad as it also refers to Samhita (combination). However, Shankara’s commentary has more value.
Taittiriya comes from the word ‘tittiri’, a partridge, also the name of a Vedic rishi.3
Of the three sections, the first is the Shiksha Valli, the second Brahmananda Valli and the third Bhrigu Valli. The first section has a series of prayers and explains various mystic syllables. It ends with instructions to students who have completed their studies to speak the truth, follow the path of virtue and look upon their mothers, fathers, teachers and guests as god. The second section explains the nature of Brahman, who is the source of all. One who knows the bliss of Brahman is free of all fear. In the third section, Bhrigu, the son of Varuna, approaches his father and asks him to teach him the nature of Brahman. In a series of lessons, Varuna explains how everything is Brahman. This Upanishad also contains a description of the pancha-kosha, or five bodies of a person.
The beginning invocation asks for blessings from the Vedic deities Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman, Indra, Brihaspati and Vishnu. It praises the god Brahma and the god Vayu, which it identifies with the visible Brahman. In continuity it says, ‘I will speak of Brahman, of ritam, and of satyam.’ Finally, it asks for protection and ends like all other invocations, with ‘Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shantih’.
Shiksha Valli: The Shiksha Valli has twelve anuvakas or topics. Though shiksha is later translated as imparting learning or teaching, in Vedic times shiksha had the specific meaning of phonetics or pronunciation. The second verse or anuvaka states that this section will explain shiksha or pronunciation in the context of sound, pitch, quantity, force, modulation and combination (Samhita). It then explains Samhita or combination in five categories: the worlds, heavenly lights, knowledge, progeny and the human body. Thus, this Upanishad has some diverse topics. Meditating on these five would lead to union with them, including with the light of Brahman (1.3.6). This section also has some beautiful prayers and is closely connected with the Vedic Samhitas.
The text states that Om is the best of the Vedic hymns and assumes all forms (1.4.1). The composer also prays that Indra may provide him with wisdom and that he may attain immortality.
Worldly desires, however, are intermixed with the immortal quest, thus, 1.4.3 starts with the lines:
‘May I become famous among men, Svaha!
‘May I become richer than the rich, Svaha!’
The next topic is the four mystical utterances, that is, bhu, bhuvah, suvah and mahah. These are vyahritis, that is, words used in rituals.
The fourth vyahriti, which is mahah, the text says, became known to the son of Mahachamanasa.
Maha represents Om, Brahman, the Self and the sun or the moon. Bhu is the earth, fire and the prana (breath). Bhuvah is the mid-region, the air and apana (a type of prana). Suvah is the world beyond, the sun and the vyana (a type of prana).
The next topic is the contemplation of Brahman.
An important verse here describes the space (akasha) within the heart, where the immortal, luminous Purusha dwells. This verse also describes the Sushumna, the secret channel in the spine, which moves upwards to the top of the head. However, it says the Sushumna is the path to realize Indra, but finally the soul, passing through the Sushumna, goes through fire, represented by bhu; air, represented by bhuvah; the sun, represented by suvah; and then rests in Brahman, represented by mahah. Becoming Brahman, he attains everything (1.6.1).
Next, categories of five are discussed (1.7.1): five parts of the universe, five deities of nature, five elements, five pranas, five sense organs, etc.
Following this, Om is identified with Brahman. Thus, ‘when a Vedic teacher desires to attain Brahman’, he says Om (1.8.1).
This section concludes with the basic ethics that should be practised on this path, which include the learning and teaching of the Vedas, being devoted to the truth, following the right path and performing social duties. It mentions certain teachers and their views. For instance, Satyavachas of the line of Rathitara says truth alone should be practised, Taponitya, the son of Purushisti, says only austerity (tapas) is required, while Naka, son of Mudgalya, says only the learning and teaching of the Veda is important.
The tenth section refers to Trishanku after he attains the knowledge of Brahman. He then describes himself as an indestructible shining treasure, pure and immortal (1.10.1). The eleventh section provides instructions to the departing student, while the twelfth concludes with an invocation.
Brahmananda Valli: Brahman is certainly the focus of this Upanishad. The second valli begins with the invocation ‘sah nau avatu’ and states that the one who knows Brahman attains the Supreme. Brahman is reality, knowledge and infinity, hidden in the cave of the heart and in the highest akasha (2.1.3). It also discusses food and explains the five bodies of man and compares the manomaya kosha with the four Vedic Samhitas (2.3.2). Within is the vijnana kosha and further within the ananda kosha.
Brahman (2.7.1) is described as the self-created and as satya (the true), who was one, but became many (2.6.1).
Next, the bliss of Brahman is explained. It is hundreds of times more than anything that can be experienced. The one who knows it loses all fear (2.9.1).
Bhrigu Valli: In the third valli, Bhrigu, son of Varuna, asks his father about Brahman. After practising austerities (tapas) he understands that Brahman is bliss (ananda). Further verses are practical, stating that the knower should not abandon food (3.8.1) and should provide food and lodging to anyone who requires it (3.10.1). Next, various meditations on Brahman are prescribed.
The Kena Upanishad belongs to the Sama Veda and forms the ninth chapter of the Talavakra Brahmana, and therefore is also known as the Talavakra Upanishad. The first eight chapters of the Talavakra Brahmana include rituals and meditation to purify the Self. These chapters provide the basic training for the individual to understand Brahman, revealed in the Upanishad forming the ninth chapter. The Upanishad is in both verse and prose, and possibly the prose sections are earlier. The text probably belongs to around the fifth century BCE. Based on relative dating, Philips feels it is later than the Brihadaranyaka, Chhandogya, Isha, Taittiriya and Aitareya, which can be dated before the sixth century BCE. Others, however, place the Isha at a later date. The Kena has an extensive commentary of Shankara. It gets its name from the first word of the text, that is, ‘Kena’ (by whom).
This Upanishad describes the nature of Brahman, superior to all the devas or gods, who can be personalized as Ishvara. It explains that Brahman is the source of all life and knowledge. The Upanishad has four khandas or sections. Khanda 1 has nine verses. The first verse puts forward the questions that sets the tone of the Upanishad. It asks, ‘By whom [kena] is the mind directed to go towards its objects? By whom does the prana [vital breath], which precedes everything, perform its functions? By whom is the speech that people speak directed? Which deva directs the eyes and ears?’
This Upanishad thus seeks to understand a hidden mystery about the power behind our actions. The commentary explains that these questions are put forward by a sadhak, an aspirant for the truth, who has purified his consciousness through action (karma) and worship (upasana), and sees that there is something behind all this that he does not know. Shankara says that the guru will reveal the answer to the one who is fit to receive and understand it. The second verse explains how He (Brahman) is the power who directs these functions, and those who renounce the world can understand it. Further verses explain that That Reality (Brahman) is different from both the known and the unknown. It cannot be revealed by speech, understood by the mind, seen, heard or smelt, yet it is that by which all these actions take place. Section 2, with five verses, continues with the same theme. It explains that those who think they know Brahman do not really know it; they only know its form as conditioned by people or by gods. But the one who says ‘I know, yet I do not know’ is on the verge of discovering Brahman as he has recognized that the ‘I’ cannot know. The third verse has the paradoxical statement ‘It is known to whom it is unknown’, but Shankara explains this. It can be known only to the one who has no trace of individuality left, who has no sense of duality. At the same time, the fourth verse explains that Brahman is known by the one who understands it as the source of every action. When Brahman pervades consciousness, only That is seen and nothing else. Shankara also refutes the different interpretations of these verses. The fifth verse states that when the atman is realized (its identity as Brahman), then it attains immortality.
As Brahman is difficult to understand, the third section, which has twelve verses, explains it through a story.
It refers to a victory of the devas in the past. They think they have won but actually it is Brahman who has won the victory for them. To reveal himself to them, Brahman then appears in the form of a yaksha (divine spirit), but they do not know who he is. They ask first Agni and then Vayu to find out, but they cannot. When asked about their power, Agni says he can burn the whole world, and Vayu that he can blow off everything on the earth. But neither can burn or blow a single straw presented by the yaksha. Next, Indra is asked to find out who the yaksha is, but when he goes towards it, it vanishes, and Uma, daughter of the Himalayas, appears in its place. Here, Brahman is personified and acts, taking the form of a yaksha and then of Uma.
The fourth section with nine verses begins by Uma telling Indra that Brahman is the yaksha, the great spirit. The gods too do not know Brahman. Since Indra is the first to know Brahman, he is greater than all the other gods. Agni and Vayu are greater than the rest as they are the next to know Brahman. The fourth verse in this section explains that those who cannot experience the formless Brahman can meditate on some aspect of it, while the fifth suggests inner meditation to understand Brahman. The mind, which goes in all directions, is compared with Brahman, which is everywhere. The sixth verse provides Brahman with a mystical name and says that the individual mind communicates with Brahman, who is called Tadvana, adored by all. In the seventh and eighth verses, the teacher affirms he has conveyed the secret knowledge concerning Brahman. He adds that austerities, self-restraint and sacrificial rites are its feet, the Vedas its limbs, truth its abode.
One who knows this Upanishad is established in the highest heaven, says the Upanishad in conclusion.