प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म
prajñānaṃ brahma
Consciousness is Brahman.
Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.3 · Rig Veda
Loading content…
The jnana-kanda of the Veda — the knowledge portion. Adi Shankaracharya commented on these ten as the prasthana-trayi root. Total: 1507 mantras across 10 principal Upanishads. The Muktika Upanishad lists 108 Upanishads in total — these ten are the most important.
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म
prajñānaṃ brahma
Consciousness is Brahman.
Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.3 · Rig Veda
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि
ahaṃ brahmāsmi
I am Brahman.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 · Shukla Yajur Veda
तत्त्वमसि
tat tvam asi
That thou art.
Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 · Sama Veda
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म
ayam ātmā brahma
This Self is Brahman.
Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 · Atharva Veda
The Lord pervades all; renunciation through enjoyment.
The shortest principal Upanishad. Opens with the famous "Isha vasyam idam sarvam" — the entire universe is enveloped by the Lord. Teaches simultaneous engagement (karma) + renunciation (tyaga). Reconciles action and knowledge in a single 18-mantra arc.
ईशावास्यमिदꣳ सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्। तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम्॥
īśāvāsyam-idaṃ sarvaṃ yat kiñca jagatyāṃ jagat | tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam ||
All this — whatsoever moves in this moving world — is to be enveloped by the Lord. Renouncing this, enjoy. Do not covet anyone's wealth.
तदेजति तन्नैजति तद्दूरे तद्वन्तिके। तदन्तरस्य सर्वस्य तदु सर्वस्यास्य बाह्यतः॥
tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad vad antike | tad antarasya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ ||
That moves, that moves not. That is far, that is near. That is within all this, and that is also outside all this.
By whom (kena) is the mind moved? The unknowable Brahman.
Opens with the question kena — "by whom?". Identifies Brahman as the unmoved mover behind every cognition — that which is the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear. Includes the famous Yaksha-katha — Indra fails to recognise Brahman even when Brahman tests him in disguise.
यद्वाचाऽनभ्युदितं येन वागभ्युद्यते। तदेव ब्रह्म त्वं विद्धि नेदं यदिदमुपासते॥
yad vācā'nabhyuditaṃ yena vāg abhyudyate | tad eva brahma tvaṃ viddhi nedaṃ yad idam upāsate ||
That which is not uttered by speech but by which speech itself is uttered — know That alone to be Brahman, and not this that people here worship.
यस्यामतं तस्य मतं मतं यस्य न वेद सः। अविज्ञातं विजानतां विज्ञातमविजानताम्॥
yasyāmataṃ tasya mataṃ mataṃ yasya na veda saḥ | avijñātaṃ vijānatāṃ vijñātam avijānatām ||
He by whom It is not known, knows It; he by whom It is known, knows It not. It is unknown to those who know; it is known to those who do not know.
Nachiketa's three boons; Yama teaches Atma-vidya.
Nachiketa, sent by his father to Yama, asks three boons. The third — what happens after death? — Yama tries to deflect. Nachiketa refuses every bribe. Yama then teaches the Atma-vidya. Source of the famous "uttiṣṭha jāgrata prāpya varānnibodhata" — Arise, awake, having attained the boon-givers, realise the goal.
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत। क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति॥
uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata | kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṃ pathas tat kavayo vadanti ||
Arise! Awake! Approach the great ones (gurus) and learn. Sharp as a razor's edge is the path — the wise call it hard to tread.
अणोरणीयान्महतो महीयानात्मास्य जन्तोर्निहितो गुहायाम्। तमक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको धातुप्रसादान्महिमानमात्मनः॥
aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān ātmā'sya jantor nihito guhāyām | tam akratuḥ paśyati vītaśoko dhātu-prasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ ||
Smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest — the Self is hidden in the cave of the heart of every being. He who is desireless and free of sorrow beholds, by the grace of the creator, the glory of the Self.
Six questions to Pippalada; the science of prana.
Six rishis approach Pippalada with six fundamental questions about creation, sustenance, and dissolution. Pippalada's answers crystallise the Vedic teaching on prana, on the syllable Om, on the sixteen kalas of the Purusha. The six prashnas constitute six full chapters.
आत्मन एष प्राणो जायते। यथैषा पुरुषे छायैतस्मिन्नेतदाततं मनोकृतेनायात्ययस्मिञ्छरीरे॥
ātmana eṣa prāṇo jāyate | yathaiṣā puruṣe chāyaitasminnetadātataṃ manokṛtenāyātyasmin śarīre ||
From the Self alone is this prana born. As the shadow of a person is cast upon that person, so this prana is spread out by the working of the mind in this body.
Para-vidya + apara-vidya; the two birds.
Distinguishes apara-vidya (lower knowledge — Vedas, vyakarana, jyotisha, the four added Vedangas) from para-vidya (higher knowledge — direct realisation of the Akshara Brahman). Famous "Satyam-eva jayate" mahavakya lives in 3.1.6. The two birds on the same tree (3.1.1) — one eats the fruit, the other watches.
द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते। तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्वत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति॥
dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṃ vṛkṣaṃ pariṣasvajāte | tayoranyaḥ pippalaṃ svādvattyanaśnan anyo abhicākaśīti ||
Two birds, inseparable companions, perch on the same tree. One eats the sweet fruit; the other, not eating, watches.
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः। येनाक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत्सत्यस्य परमं निधानम्॥
satyam eva jayate nānṛtaṃ satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ | yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā yatra tat satyasya paramaṃ nidhānam ||
Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. By truth is laid out the path leading to the gods — that path by which the sages tread, their desires fulfilled, where lies the highest treasure of Truth.
The four states + the syllable Om.
The most condensed Upanishad. 12 mantras cover the four states (jagrat-svapna-sushupti-turiya) corresponding to the four mātrās of Om (a-u-m-silence). The mahavakya "ayam ātmā brahma" is here. Gaudapada's Karika (~200 verses) expanded these 12 mantras into the foundation Advaita text.
सर्वं ह्येतद्ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात्।
sarvaṃ hyetad brahma ayam ātmā brahma so'yam ātmā catuṣpāt |
All this is verily Brahman. This Self is Brahman. This Self has four parts (i.e. four states).
ओमित्येतदक्षरमिदꣳ सर्वं तस्योपव्याख्यानं भूतं भवद्भविष्यदिति सर्वमोङ्कार एव।
om ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam oṅkāra eva |
Om — this syllable is all this. Its full explanation: whatever was, is, and shall be is all simply Om.
Creation; the Self as the only doer.
Found in the Rig Veda's Aitareya Aranyaka. Three short chapters describe creation (Atma alone existed; he created the worlds), the formation of the embryo, and the first mahavakya — "Prajnanam Brahma" (consciousness is Brahman). The seer Aitareya Mahidasa is credited.
आत्मा वा इदमेक एवाग्र आसीन्नान्यत्किञ्चन मिषत्। स ईक्षत लोकान्नु सृजा इति॥
ātmā vā idam eka evāgra āsīn nānyat kiñcana miṣat | sa īkṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti ||
In the beginning the Atman alone existed — no other thing whatsoever was. He desired: "let me create the worlds".
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म।
prajñānaṃ brahma
Consciousness is Brahman. — The Rig-Veda mahavakya.
Five koshas; "satyaṃ vada · dharmaṃ cara".
Three vallis (chapters) — Shiksha-valli (pronunciation + the disciple's farewell speech "satyam vada"), Brahmananda-valli (the five sheaths — annamaya through anandamaya), and Bhrigu-valli (Bhrigu's tapasya under his father Varuna, discovering Brahman as annam → prana → manas → vijnana → ananda).
सत्यं वद। धर्मं चर। स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः। आचार्याय प्रियं धनमाहृत्य प्रजातन्तुं मा व्यवच्छेत्सीः।
satyaṃ vada | dharmaṃ cara | svādhyāyān mā pramadaḥ | ācāryāya priyaṃ dhanam āhṛtya prajātantuṃ mā vyavacchetsīḥ |
Speak the truth. Practise dharma. Do not neglect your study. Having brought your teacher his fitting present, do not cut off the thread of your descendants.
रसो वै सः। रसꣳ ह्येवायं लब्ध्वाऽऽनन्दी भवति।
raso vai saḥ | rasaṃ hy evāyaṃ labdhvā''nandī bhavati |
He, verily, is rasa (essence, sweetness). Having attained this rasa, one becomes blissful.
"Tat tvam asi" — Uddalaka to Shvetaketu.
Largest Upanishad after Brihadaranyaka. Eight prapathakas. Sixth prapathaka contains Uddalaka Aruni's teaching to his son Shvetaketu — the famous nine-fold repetition of the mahavakya "tat tvam asi". Also the Sandilya-vidya (3.14), the Bhuma-vidya (7.23), and the Dahara-vidya (8.1).
स य एषोऽणिमैतदात्म्यमिदꣳ सर्वं तत्सत्यꣳ स आत्मा तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो।
sa ya eṣo'ṇimaitad-ātmyam idaṃ sarvaṃ tat satyaṃ sa ātmā tat tvam asi śvetaketo |
That which is the subtle essence — in It all that exists has its self. That is the Truth. That is the Self. That thou art, Shvetaketu.
सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म तज्जलानिति शान्त उपासीत।
sarvaṃ khalv idaṃ brahma tajjalān iti śānta upāsīta |
All this verily is Brahman. From Him it arises, in Him it dissolves, in Him it abides. With peace, let one worship Him.
"Aham brahmasmi"; Yajnavalkya-Maitreyi dialogue.
The largest Upanishad. Six adhyayas, 47 brahmanas. Famous for: the Yajnavalkya-Janaka dialogues, the Yajnavalkya-Maitreyi dialogue (the husband departs for sannyasa; his wife asks not for wealth but for what makes him truly immortal), the Madhu-vidya, and the great prayer "asato ma sad gamaya" (lead me from the unreal to the real).
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्माऽमृतं गमय।
asato mā sad gamaya | tamaso mā jyotir gamaya | mṛtyor mā'mṛtaṃ gamaya |
From the unreal lead me to the real. From darkness lead me to light. From death lead me to immortality.
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि।
ahaṃ brahmāsmi
I am Brahman. — The Shukla Yajur Veda mahavakya.
न वा अरे पत्युः कामाय पतिः प्रियो भवत्यात्मनस्तु कामाय पतिः प्रियो भवति।
na vā are patyuḥ kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavaty ātmanas tu kāmāya patiḥ priyo bhavati |
Not for the husband's sake, my dear, is the husband loved; rather for the sake of the Self the husband is loved. (Yajnavalkya to Maitreyi)