These two Upanishads together are bigger than the rest of the ‘eight principal Upanishads’ put together. Brihadaranyaka belongs to the Sukla Yajur Veda and is one of the biggest and important Upanishads. Chandogya Upanishad belongs to the Sama Veda and is one of the oldest Upanishads. Precepts like ‘sathyam vada’ (tell the truth) and ‘dharmam chara’ (follow the dharma) appear only in this Upanishad. Sankara, the Advaidic philosopher-saint who has written Bashyas on all Principal Upanishads has referenced over 100 times the Taittiriya Upanishad. In that sense, here is ‘another’ example of the fusion of the ‘Jnana’ and ‘Karma’ parts, in that ‘karmaanushthana’ is achieved by the chanting of Taittiriya.
Atharva veda chapter 21 verse 6 how to#
Manduka means frog, probably so named because this Upanishad, the Mandukya Upanishad, like jumping of the frogs, shows us how to jump from the first stage, transcend the three stages (Jagrat - waking, Swapna - dream and Sushupti – deep sleep) and go directly to the fourth stage or Turiya.More than any other Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad has been widely studied and is used in most of the rituals as well. Prashna Upanishad deals with six disciples posing six questions to seer Pippalada that they hope will help them realize the Supreme.
Mandukya Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda.
Passages from this Upanishad are used in the Bhavad Gita. This Upanishad describes a dialogue between God of Death (Lord Yama) and Nachiketas, a brahmachari boy who finds himself in the predicament of being sent to the Lord of Death (by the command of his father) but who, nonetheless, utilizes the opportunity afforded to him to find out what happens to the soul after death. Katha Upanishad is part of Krishna Yajur Veda. Kena closes with Brahman as the Delight and exhorts the reader to worship and seek after That as the Delight. In Kena Upanishad, Ambika herself imparts the divine wisdom to Indra, the king of the Devas. The oneness of all existences is its dominating note. The Isa is concerned with the whole problem of the world and life and works and human destiny in their relation to the supreme truth of Brahman. However, Isa & Kena approach this differently. The Isavasya and Kena Upanishads are concerned wth the same problem, the winning of the State of Immortality, the relations of the divine, all-ruling Brahman to the world and to the human-consciousness, the means of passing out of our mundane existence to the ultimate. Isavasya Upanishad because it is also known as ‘Mantropanishad’ and appears at the end of the Samhita portion of ‘Shukla-Yajur-Veda’ Kena Upanishad is part of Talavakaara Brahmana of the Jaimini Saakha of Sama Veda. To this list, sometimes, few more are added, like, Svetashvatara, Kaivalya and Jabala Upanishads as meriting same or similar status accorded to the ten. The Dasopanishads (the ten Upanishads), as already discussed in Chapter 2, are: Isavasya, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya,Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka. Unable to stop with this brief write-up provided herein, it is hoped, many readers would be propelled to study the works of great scholars on Upanishads and thus would partake of the additional enjoyment of the beauty of this Upanishadic literature. It is hoped that the reader will enjoy the beauty of the passages in these Upanishads. The ‘Ten Upanishads’ are discussed in this chapter, many of them along with the Devanagiri scripts. However, each Upanishad proceeds in its own manner and from its own direction in explaining about Brahman (sort of attempting to reach the fortress through different gates). TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 4: STUDY OF SOME OF THE UPANISHADS Isavasya Upanishad Kena Upanishad Katha Upanishad Prashna Upanishad Mundaka Upanishad Maandukya Upanishad Taittiriya Upanishad Aitareya Upanishad Chandogya Upanishad Brihadaranyaka Upanishad SummaryĬHAPTER 4 STUDY OF SOME OF THE UPANISHADS The ‘principal Upanishads’ and also some of the minor Upanishads discuss the great body of knowledge known as ‘Brahmavidya’ or ‘knowledge of Brahman’.