Talk:Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad

By Swami Harshananda

Introduction

Out of the three basic scriptures of the religion, the Upaniṣad called the prasthānatraya ranks first. In the group of ten Upaniṣads, the Bṛhadāranyaka and the Chāndogya occupy a unique place. These Upaniṣads not only delineate the fundamental principles of Vedānta but also describe a number of upāsanās or meditations. These are technically known as Vidyās.

The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad, as its very name suggests, is a large work (bṛhad = large, big) and forms an integral part of the well-known Śatapatha Brāhmana. Śatapatha Brāhmana belongs to the Śukla Yajurveda. It has two recensions:

1. The Kānva - It has 17 kāṇḍas or sections. The six adhyāyas or chapters of the Bṛhadāranyaka form chapters 3 to 8 of the 17th kāṇḍa in the Kānva recension.
2. The Mādhyandina - It has only 14 sections. The chapters 4 to 9 of the 14th kāṇḍa forms the Mādhyandina recension.

There are two ways into which this Upaniṣad can be divided. These are as follows:

1. The adhyāyas are divided into khaṇḍas or brāhmaṇas which are subdivided into kaṇḍikās (similar to mantras). There are 435 kaṇḍikās distributed among the 47 brāhmaṇas of the 6 adhyāyas of this Upaniṣad.
2. This Upaniṣad can also be divided into the first two adhyāyas which forms the Madhukānda, the middle two adhyāyas which form the Munikānda or the Yājñavalkyakānda and the last two adhyāyas which form the Khilakānda. These kāṇḍas deal with upadeśa (the teaching), upapatti (the argument) and upāsanā (the meditations and rites) respectively.

The Munikānda consists of almost half the total number of kaṇḍikās. It is the most important part of this Upaniṣad. The great thinker and sage Yājñavalkya, who is the principal person that appears here, has expounded brilliantly the philosophy of Ātman/Brahman. He has also described the several subtle aspects of related teachings. A chapter-wise summary of the work may now be attempted.

First Chapter

This chapter consists of six sections under the names of different brāhmaṇas.

Aśva Brāhmaṇa

Aśva-brāhmaṇa describes a special process of meditation wherein the various aspects of Prajāpati, the Creator are advised to be superimposed on the different limbs of the horse chosen for the Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice). These aspects of the creator are:

1. Kāla - Time
2. Loka - The various worlds
3. Devatā - The various deities

This meditation can transform the horse into Prajāpati himself in a spiritual sense. The ritual of the Aśvamedha can lead the performer to Brahmaloka or the world of Brahmā also known as Hiraṇyagarbha. Though only kings are competent to perform this sacrifice even others can attain the same result by imagining themselves to be the horse and superposing the various items on themselves as described.

Agni Brāhmaṇa

Agni-brāhmaṇa deals with the manifestation of agni or fire from Prajāpati and the method of contemplation on it just like Prajāpati himself. This leads to the fruit of mṛtyunjaya or conquest of death.

Udgitha Brāhmaṇa

Udgītha is the second and the most important part of a sāman sung by the priest ugdātṛ in a Soma sacrifice. In this chapter the importance of prāṇa and the vital force has been brought out by an allegorical story. The devas or gods wanted to conquer the asuras or demons by performing the Jyotiṣṭoma sacrifice. They employed sense-organs like speech, eyes, nose and mind to sing the udgītha for them. However the asuras succeeded in contaminating them through selfishness thereby defeating the purpose of the devas. When these asuras rushed towards the prāṇa, the chief vital force, they were destroyed. Prāṇa is not only the real power behind the sense-organs but also the essence of the Vedas and a replica of the cosmic Prāṇa. By meditating on it, one can attain the world of Prajāpati. The speciality of this upāsanā or meditation is that it does not involve any rites or rituals.

Purusavidha Brāhmaṇa

Before creation, the entire universe was within the body of Puruṣa (Prajāpati or Virāj). It was undifferentiated from him. He desired for a mate. Out of this desire, he projected an another entity out of himself. This entity split itself into two, the male part called as Manu and the female part called as Satarapā. All the living beings were created due to their union. These beings include everything on this world from a human form to a minute ant. He however remained totally unaffected. He then realized that the created universe of beings was also himself. Later, he created the gods like Agni. The Puruṣa is the Supreme Self which is the reason of the whole creation. Whole world exists in it like a sword in its sheath or fire in the wood. It is he who is being manifested through all the activities of the body-mind complex. However the different activities like speaking are only the nomenclatures born out of the various types of functioning. He is the inmost self in us who is unaffected by the sense of actions or their fruits, which have been superimposed on him by avidyā or ignorance of his real nature. The sage Vāmadeva and many others like him realized that they were in the ultimate analysis, the Supreme Self. Then comes a classification of the gods. It is as follows:

1. Agni is brāhmaṇa.
2. Indra, Varuṇa, Soma, Yama and īśāna are kṣattriyas.
3. Vasus, Rudras and Ādityas are vaiśyas.
4. Puṣan is a śudra.

The human beings were born out of these four classes of gods. The Puruṣa or the Supreme Being also created dharma or righteousness (the Cosmic Law) to regulate them all. However, it is declared that an ajñāni or an ignorant person becomes an object of enjoyment for all. These ignorant ones are advised to discharge their debts to the gods and the others, through the pañcayajñas or the five daily sacrifices. The Upaniṣad also says that it is desire that binds a person and it is meditation on the Ātman or the Self alone that can deliver him. One who fails in this has to suffer much.

Saptānna Brāhmaṇa

Saptānna brāhmaṇa is the god of seven foods. The first anna or food is the usual physical food upon which all the living beings sustain themselves. Human beings have to consume food so that they can perform the prescribed religious rites which can give them the unseen results later on. If they do not perform these rites, they will be eating only sin. The second and the third annas are the huta and the prahuta sacrificial oblations and gifts given during the sacrifices. They are sometimes identified with the two sacrifices Darśa and Purṇamāsa meant for the gods. Milk is the fourth anna, specially meant for the animals. The last three annas or foods, were kept by Prajāpati for himself. They are:

1. Vāk - Speech
2. Manas - Mind
3. Prāṇa - Vital force

Since they help him to create the worlds and sustain them, they are called ‘anna’. These three are then identified with the three worlds, the three Vedas, the three beings (gods, manes and human beings) and so on. In fact they comprise the whole world. One who meditates upon them as limited, attains the finite world while the one who meditates upon them as unlimited, obtains the infinite world. The Prajāpati or the Hiraṇyagarbha is himself the time. The Upaniṣad describes how the various organs like vāk or speech, competed against one another but were overcome by fatigue. However, prāṇa or the vital force was not affected by it. Hence the organs identified with it became immortal. Among the gods like Agni (fire), Āditya (Sun) and Candra (Moon), only Vāyu (air), the cosmic counterpart of prāṇa, could sustain itself in its work. If a person can meditate on the organs like speech (exists in all living beings) and the elements like fire (exist in this world) as identified with his own Self, he attains identity with Hiraṇyagarbha. He can also live in his world.

Ukṭha Brāhmana

Ukṭha Brāhmana declares that the whole universe is nothing but the forms like:

1. Nāma - Name
2. Rupa - Form
3. Karma - Action

Like the three mutually supporting sticks, these three also support one another and help in manifesting each other. Since this universe is only an upādhi or limiting adjunct to Paramātman (the Supreme Self), anyone who is interested in it will not be inclined to meditate on him.

Second Chapter

This chapter comprises of six brāhmaṇas. It is more directly concerned with ātma-tattva or the knowledge of the Ātman. The well-known discourse by the great sage Yājñavalkya to his wife Maitreyī incidentally appears in the fourth chapter also. Though this section is shorter, it forms the core of this chapter.

Ajātaśatru Brāhmaṇa

This chapter starts with the legend of Bālāki. Bālāki was a very proud king of Kāśi. He was a descendent of Garga and Ajātaśatru. Bālāki proposed to teach Ajātaśatru about the Brahman. However, he just had the elementary knowledge concerned with the conditioned Brahman. He taught him about the topics like:

1. The Being residing in the sun
2. The Being residing in the moon
3. The Being residing in the lightning
4. The Being residing in the ether
5. The Being residing in the air

But Ajātaśatru had more knowledge compared to him. So he also taught him about the unconditioned Brahman. He taught him the topics:

1. In deep sleep all the sense organs like speech are absorbed in their sources. The individual Self is merged in the Supreme Self, the unconditioned Brahman.
2. It then resembles a child or a great king or a worthy brāhmaṇa who has reached the acme of bliss.
3. All the beings, the worlds and the gods emerge out of the Ātman, the Supreme Being, just as sparks spring from fire.

Śiśu Brāhmaṇas

His teachings mainly describes prāṇa or the vital force. Seven deities like Rudra and Āditya praises the prāṇa. He further describes prāṇa as:

1. A calf whose body is its abode
2. The head is its special place
3. The vigor generated by food and drink is its post
4. The food is its tether.

Murtāmurta Brāhmaṇa

This section is devoted to the description of the two forms of Brahman. By superimposing these two forms, the Supreme Brahman is made conceivable. The words ‘neti, neti’ (‘not this, not this’) deny all the limitations to Brahman and reveal its essential nature.

1. One form is gross, mortal, limited and perceptible.
2. The other form is subtle, immortal, unlimited and imperceptible.

Maitreyī Brāhmaṇas

This section denotes the story of Yājñavalkya and his two wives, Maitreyī and Kātyāyanī. It emphasizes on the importance of sanyāsa or monastic life to attain the Self. The sage Yājñavalkya intends to embrace the monastic life and hence wanted to divide his wealth between his two wives. Maitreyī learns that the wealth and the Vedic rites performed with the help of wealth cannot give her immortality. She rejects the offer of wealth and opts for ātmajñāna or the knowledge of the Self. Yājñavalkya teaches her that husband, wife, children, wealth, various worlds or the gods are dear to us only because of the Ātman or the Self in them and not by themselves. In order to realize this Ātman it has to be:

1. Heard of from a qualified teacher - Śravaṇa
2. Reflected upon - Manana
3. Meditated upon - Nidi-dhyāsana

As it is not possible to grasp the special sources of either a drum, conch or lute without the grasping of sound in general, it is impossible to perceive anything in this world different from Brahman. Brahman is the basic reality. Yājñavalkya further asserts that the Vedas have emerged out of it. It exists in everything as homogeneous consciousness just as the salt exists everywhere in the water in which it has been dissolved. Perception of duality in this world is only apparent and has been caused by avidyā or ignorance of the Reality.

Malchu Brāhmaṇas

Malchu Brāhmaṇas sums up the import of the first two chapters. There is an elaborate account of the Ātman or the Self which is the ruler and king of all beings. Just as the spokes are fixed in the nave and the rim of a chariot wheel, all the beings, the gods and the worlds are fixed in the Supreme Self. The Sage Dadhyañ Ātharvaṇa taught this knowledge of the Self to the two Aśvins, the twin gods, through a temporary equine head. It ends with the essential teaching of all the Vedānta texts. The Self, though one, is perceived as manifold through māyā, his inscrutable power.

Vamśa Brāhmaṇa

Vamśa brāhmana gives the line of teachers beginning with Hiraṇyagarbha.

Third Chapter

A great king named Janaka Vaideha had just completed a big sacrifice called Bahudakṣiṇa. A large number of brāhmaṇas from the countries of Kuru and Pañcāla had come to participate in it. The King proposed to give a huge gift to the Brahmiṣtha (the most learned in Brahman or the Vedas) among them. He wanted to gift that Brahmiṣtha a thousand cows and on the horn of each cow he would tie ten gold coins. None of the assembled brāhmaṇas dared to accept the challenge except for Yājñavalkya. He even ordered his disciple Sāmaśrava to drive the cattle home! The assembly fell into a rage and started questioning him. All the sections of this chapter is the questions asked by different brāhmaṇas to sage Yājñavalkya. There are nine brāhmaṇas in this chapter.

Aśvala Brāhmaṇas

Aśvala was the first to pose eight questions to him. He was easily satisfied by the replies of the Yājñavalkya.

Artabhāga Brāhmaṇas

An another Vedic scholar, Ārtabhāga, asked six questions to sage Yājñavalkya. He answered them all to the satisfaction of the questioner. The last of these questions deals with the problem of the destination of the soul of a dead person. Yājñavalkya takes Ārtabhāga to a secluded place and the two finally conclude that it is karma that decides the future life of the soul of a dead person. Good karma leads to noble births and bad karma to ignoble ones.

Bhujyu Brāhmaṇas

To the questions of Bhujya brāhmaṇa, he replies that even the best of karmas or rites can also result in transmigration. Even if the karmas are accompanied by upāsanā or meditation, it cannot give mokṣa or freedom.

Usasta Brāhmaṇas

Uṣasta questions Yājñavalkya to tell him about Brahman which is sākṣāt (immediate) and aparokṣāt (direct). Yājñavalkya replies that it is the Ātman that works in the body through the five prāṇas or vital-airs. It is knowledgeable and hence cannot be seen or known like an external object.

Kahola Brāhmaṇas

In this section Yājñavalkya answers to the queries of Kahola brāhmaṇa. A further description of the Ātman is given here. It is described to be beyond:

1. Hunger
2. Thirst
3. Sorrow
4. Delusion
5. Old age
6. Death

The wise ones realize this Ātman and give up their desire for progeny, wealth and meritorious worlds. A realized soul is irrespective of his conduct. His brahmajñāna or knowledge of Brahman never ceases.

Gārgi Brāhmaṇas

This section consists of the questions posed by Gārgi, the daughter of Vacaknu and the answers given by Yājñavalkya. The questions were regarding the subtlety of the pañcabhutas or the five elements and the worlds right up to the Brahmaloka, the abode of Brahman. When she asks, ‘By what is the Brahmaloka pervaded?’ Yājñavalkya warns her not to proceed further since the nature of Brahman can be known only through the scriptures and the preceptor and never through logic or inference.

Antaryāmi Brāhmaṇas

This section deals with questions asked by the sage Uddālaka Āruṇi and answers given by the sage Yājñavalkya. He asked two questions to the sage:

1. The first question was about the ‘antaratama-sutra’ or the inmost thread that passes through all the worlds and all the beings holding them together.
2. The second question was about the Antaryāmin, the Being that dwells in all and controls them all.

Yājñavalkya replies that Vāyu is that sutra or thread. It is the Ātman that indwells all the worlds and all the beings. He resides in them and controls them even if they don't know him. He is the sākṣin or the eternal witness, the śrotṛ or the listener, the mantṛ or the thinker and the jñātṛ or the person having all the knowledge. However, he is not the object of cognition for any of the senses. He is the immortal Ātman. Everything else is perishable.

Akṣara Brāhmaṇas

This section again has the questions asked by Gārgī to the sage. She puts two questions to Yājñavalkya.

1. The first question is: ‘What pervades that sutra which is above the heaven and below the earth as well as between them, and which was, is and will be?’ Yājñavalkya replies that it is ākāśa, the unmanifested ether.
2. The second question is that what pervades this ākāśa? He answers that it is Akṣara, the indestructible.

Yājñavalkya describes Akṣara through several words revealing its unique qualities. It can be described only by such negative attributes since it can never be apprehended either by the senses or by the mind. It is:

1. Asthula - Not gross
2. Anaṇu - Not fine
3. Ahrasva - Not short
4. Adīrgha - Not long
5. Atamah - Not darkness
6. Anākāśam - Not ether
7. Acakṣuṣkam - Without eyes
8. Aprāṇam - Without the vital force
9. Amanah - Without mind

Yājñavalkya further avers that, verily under the command of this Akṣara (the Absolute) only the sun, the moon and all the heavenly bodies are held in their positions and perform their allotted duties. Rivers, mountains, quarters, directions and even time itself has to keep to their duties. It is by the rule of this very Absolute that the lives of the human beings and the gods in heaven are being regulated. He concludes by saying that the performance of any rite or ritual without knowing this Akṣara is a waste and that the condition of one who leaves this world without realizing this Akṣara will be miserable. But the one who leaves this world after knowing this Akṣara will know about Brahman.

Śākalya Brāhmaṇas

This section conveys the immediacy and directness of the Brahman by a reference to the different enumerations of the gods who are ruled by it. In reply to Sākalya’s question about the number of gods, Yājñavalkya says that though there are ten or hundreds or thousands of gods; they are all the manifestations of one God only. This god is Hiraṇyagarbha who is the cosmic aspect of prāṇa or the vital force.

This God is one and at the same time many also. Hence, when the upāsaka (the worshiper) gets identified with Hiraṇyagarbha, he becomes all, the Self of all. Finally Yājñavalkya asks the assembled brāhmaṇas whether they know the root from which a dead person is reborn. The phenomenon is just like a tree that is cut off but springs up again from the original roots. They were ignorant of it. The Upaniṣad declares this root to be Brahman, the consciousness and the bliss. Brahman is the ultimate resort of all the human beings whether they perform the rituals or know the Brahman or not.

Fourth Chapter

This chapter comprises of six brāhmaṇas.

Sadācārya Brāhmaṇa

Yājñavalkya poses some questions to the king Janaka Vaideha. The king states the characteristics of a Brahman as he had learnt from six of his teachers. He posits different presiding deities to different sense organs as Brahman. Yājñavalkya rules them out as only partial manifestations of Brahman. They are:

1. Agni -Speech
2. Vāyu - Vital Air
3. Āditya - Eyes
4. Digdevatā - Ears
5. Candra - Mind
6. Prajāpati - Intellect

Kurca Brāhmaṇa

Yājñavalkya describes the avasthātraya or the three states of consciousness which the embodied ātman experiences. The three states of consciousness are designated as

1. Jāgrat (waking state) - Viśva or Vaiśvānara
2. Svapna (dream state) - Taijasa
3. Suṣupti (deep-sleep state) - Prājña

Though the terms used in this section are different, the interpretation given by the commentators leads us to this conclusion.

Jyotir Brāhmaṇa

This section is fairly voluminous one comprising of 38 kaṇḍikas. The avasthātraya or the three states of consciousness, mentioned in the previous brāhmaṇa, is discussed in detail through yukti or logic and reasoning. For an ordinary human being endowed with the body and the senses, what is it that acts as a jyoti or light? This is the question that Janaka repeatedly asks Yājñavalkya. Yājñavalkya lists them one by one as:

1. The sun
2. The moon
3. Fire
4. Speech
5. The Self or ātman

When questioned to the sage whether this ātman is associated with the body and the senses or not, Yājñavalkya says that just as a large fish swims alternately to both the banks of a river, ātman simulates the intellect and moves between the dream world and the waking world. Since the intellect is transparent and next to the ātman, it easily reflects the consciousness of the latter. Just as a crystal glows in the light of a lamp, the intellect also, though bereft of consciousness, appears to shine by the light or consciousness of the ātman. It is self-luminous. It is just like the luminaries the sun and the moon which are able to shine only by the light of the ātman.

Then follows the conception of dream according to the Vedānta. In the dream state, the Self puts aside the gross body of the waking state and creates a dream-body comprising the impressions of the waking state. Dreams are not new experiences of the waking state. Sometimes they may reflect the experiences of past lives also. The objects of the dream state are then and there created by the mind. Though the Self is dreaming, he has no direct connection with the physical body. Hence it is not advisable to suddenly wake up a sleeping person as it may endanger his life or senses. In dream, the Self merely witnesses the results of good and bad actions but does not actually experience them or do anything.

The ātman or the Self then enters the samprasāda or the suṣupti state, the state of deep-sleep. In this state he enjoys supreme peace and bliss. He merges himself in the Supreme Self. This is the nearest approximation to the state of Brahman. However, avidyā or ignorance does persist even in that state, though in an un-manifested form. Then follows a description of the sufferings of an aged or diseased body in order to rouse the spirit of renunciation in us. When the Self leaves the present body it takes up another self which is the reflection of it's own past work. This passing of the Self is analogous to the return of man from the dream to the waking state.

Sāriraka Brāhmaṇa

This section gives a detailed description of the transmigration of the jīva or the Self. At the time of death it withdraws from the sense-organs and comes to the heart. It then exits through one of the parts of the body. The potential results of upāsanā follows the jīva in its onward journey. They are:

1. Meditation
2. Karma (good and bad deeds)
3. Vāsanās (past impressions)

Jīva creates for itself a new body like a goldsmith who prepares ornaments out of gold. Once the results of past deeds are exhausted, it returns to this world for new work. It should be noted that only a person with desires and cravings transmigrates. A person who has no cravings do not transmigrate. The latter is merged in Brahman, after casting off his body like a snake who casts off its slough.

The person knowing Brahman alone become immortal. There is no duality or multiplicity in Brahman. One who sees it otherwise transmigrates from death to death. The seeker of Brahman should not reflect on many words which only causes an exhaustion to the vocal cords. He should abjure all the vain talk. Other teachings given in this section are:

1. In reality, the ātman is unaffected by good or bad deeds.
2. Knowledge of this ātman alone can make a being a ‘muni’ or a sage.
3. Seekers of liberation desire only the ātman and not the worlds of men, manes or gods. Hence they renounce their hearth and home and become monks.
4. The ātman cannot be defined in positive terms. At best it can be described negatively as ‘neti’ (‘not this’).
5. A person knowing the ātman is never beset with the thoughts of rewards or punishments for his past actions.
6. Person knowing ātman is ever controlled, serene and free from desires. He sees the ātman in himself. He understand everything else as his own Self. He is free from all doubts and evils, ever blessed and absolutely fearless.

Maitreyi Brāhmaṇa

This section is for all the practical purposes a repetition of 2.4.

Vamśa Brāhmaṇa

This section traces the genealogy of the ācāryas or the teachers. Hiraṇyagarbha is the primeval teacher just like the Madhukānda.

Fifth Chapter

This chapter begins with the Khilakānda, the ‘supplementary book’. It introduces some auxiliary meditations which do not conflict with the rites but lead to worldly well-being and also krama-mukti or gradual liberation.

First Brāhmaṇa

This section starts with the well-known śāntimantra (peace-chant) ‘purṇamadah.’ The infinite universe has come out of the infinite Brahman. Even after realizing its identity with Brahman, it is left alone because the universe is sopādhika or conditioned Brahman. It has no real existence. The latter half deals with praṇavopāsana or meditation on Brahman with the Praṇava or Omkāra.

Prājāpatya Brāhmaṇa

It prescribes the cultivation of the three qualities as a part of upāsanā or meditation by the means of an interesting parable. They are:

1. Dama - Self-control
2. Dāna - Giving gifts
3. Dayā - Showing compassion

Hṛdaya Brāhmaṇa

This section eulogizes the heart, the seat of the intellect.

Fourth and Fifth Brāhmaṇa

These section enjoins meditation on the hṛdaya-brahman as Satya (the Truth) and its eulogy. Meditations on the different parts of the body are also described. The akṣipuruṣa (the ocular being) or the jīva and the ādityapuruṣa or the solar being are the aspects of Satya-brahman. During death, the solar being withdraws his rays and hence the dying man sees the sun as an orb without its rays.

Mano Brāhmaṇa

This section describes about the meditations on vidyut (lightning) and vāk (speech or the Vedas) as Brahman.

Ninth Brāhmaṇa

The ninth brāhmaṇa recommends meditation on agni or fire as Vaiśvānara or Virāj.

Gati Brāhmaṇa

This section describes the goals of the above meditations, which resides in Brahmaloka throughout the life-time of Hiraṇyagarbha.

Tapo Brāhmaṇa

This section advises us to look upon illness or being carried for the funeral after death, as a tapas or penance, since it can destroy our sins.

Twelfth Brāhmaṇa

This section enjoins anna (food) and prāṇa (vital force). It denotes that both should be meditated upon as Brahman.

Thirteenth Brāhmaṇa

This section recommends meditations on the prāṇa as uktha (a recitation connected with Soma- yāga), yajus, sāman and kṣattra (the healer).

Gāyatrī Brāhmaṇa

This section describes meditation on Brahman as possessing the Gāyatrī and the upādhi or limiting adjunct. The four pādas or quarters of the Gāyatrī are identified respectively with the three worlds, the three Vedas, the three prāṇas or vital-airs and āditya or the sun. This will result in various divine fruits.

Fifteenth Brāhmaṇa

This section contains a prayer to Āditya or the Sun and Agni or the fire by a dying man who has combined meditation with the rites (jñāna-karma-samuccaya) for the removal of the obstacles to his journey on the uttarāyaṇa or the northern path, after death.

Sixth Chapter

There are six brāhmaṇas in this chapter.

Prānasamvāda Brāhmaṇa

This section demonstrates through an allegory that the prāṇa or the vital force, is the eldest and the best of all the organs. Once, a dispute arose among the sense-organs like the eye and the speech, as to which of them was the greatest. They approached Prajāpati for the adjudication. He stated that the greatest among them was that organ by whose departure the body would be rendered more impure. The departure of vāk (speech), cakṣus (the eyes), śrotra (the ears), retas (organ of generation) and manas (the mind), one by one, did not make the body more impure. It continued to live. But, when prāṇa (also called mukhyaprāṇa) tried to depart, all the other organs were also pulled out of their places of residence. Hence it was decided that the prāṇa or the vital force was the best.

Karmavipāka Brāhmaṇa

This section teaches the Pañcāgni-vidyā or the Doctrine of the Five Fires. Śvetaketu, the proud son of the sage Gautama Āruṇi, goes to the court of the king Pravāhaṇa Jaivali to exhibit his learning. However, when the king puts him five questions, he is unable to answer any of them. Crest-fallen, he returns to his father and objects him of not having taught this subject. Since Gautama too did not know this science, he chooses to go to the king to learn it from him. The king teaches him Pañcāgnividyā or the Doctrine of the Five Fires. The five fires are:

1. Dyuloka - Heaven
2. Parjanya - Rain
3. This loka or world
4. Puruṣa - Man
5. Yaṣā - Woman

Householders who know this meditation on the Five Fires and the hermits who meditate with faith on the Hiraṇyagarbha, go to Brahmaloka by the Uttarāyaṇa, the northern path (also called Devayāna and Arcirādimārga). It will not return to this world again. Those who practice sacrifices and penances and give gifts will travel along the path of smoke (called Dhumādimārga or the Dakṣiṇāyana or Pitṛyāna) to the Pitṛloka, the world of manes.

After exhausting the results of their good deeds there, they would return to this world. They rotate like a Persian Wheel in the circle of transmigration, till they attain the Devayāna or immediate liberation. The rest, the ignorant ones, are born as moths, insects and so on.

Srimantha Brāhmaṇa

It describes the rite of Srīmantha (the paste for prosperity) as a means to attaining greatness and thereby, wealth, which is needed to perform the Vedic rituals. There is also the eulogy of this rite and the line of teachers.

Fifth Brāhmaṇa

It describes the Putramantha rite, by which a house-holder can get a worthy son or a worthy daughter. Only the performer of the Srīmantha rite is eligible to conduct this rite.

Vamśa-brāhmana

It describes the long line of teachers from Hiraṇyagarbha up to Pautimāṣīputra.

Conclusion

The Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad occupies a pre-eminent place among the Upaniṣads not only for its size but also for its teachings. Almost all the aspects of the teachings of Vedānta-4-Brahman/Ātman find a place in it. They are:

1. Creation
2. Nature of the individual soul and its destiny
3. Theory of karma
4. Analysis of the three states of consciousness
5. Various modes of Upaniṣadic meditations
6. Characteristics of a liberated being

The Upaniṣad also throws some interesting light on the contemporary society. There were great sages and men of learning devoted to their respective fields of knowledge who would also meet occasionally, either for disputation or for exchange of ideas. Noble kings like Janaka, Pravahaṇa Jaivali and Ajataśatru themselves were eminent men of learning. They provided opportunities for such sages to gather in their courts and also rewarded them generously. Women, earnestly interested in Vedic learning, austerity or even self-knowledge had easy access to it, as shown by the instances of Maitreyī (a housewife) and Gārgī (a brahmavādinī, student of Vedic learning).

The fact that Gārgī was also one among the sages that had assembled in the court of the king Janaka and had dared to question Yājñavalkya, speaks volumes about the high status of women during the Vedic period. The myth that the ancient people always craved for sons and looked down upon daughters has been exploded in the mantra 6.4.17 wherein the desire of the parents for a learned daughter (paṇḍitā duhitā) has been clearly stated.

The Upaniṣad also places frankly before us the examples of men of conceit born out of their scholarship or high birth (eg., Dṛpta Bālāki and Svetaketu) on the one hand and persons of great humility and culture who were never averse to learning from the others even though they may be inferior in the social hierarchy of those days (eg., Gautama) on the other. References of the powerful horses of Sindhu country, the chariots, kings and their big retinue, cows, gold coins and various kinds of spiritual sciences and rituals bespeak of a high degree of civilization and culture.

One can safely say that the Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad represents a landmark in the development of early philosophical literature of the country.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore