brihadaranyaka upanishad (excerpts)

Book 1

1. The Cosmic Horse

1. Verily, the dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse; the sun is its eye; the wind its breath; the open mouth is the Fire common to all men; the year is the body of the sacrificial horse. The sky is its back; the atmosphere its belly; the earth its hoof; the quarters its sides; the intermediate quarters its ribs; the seasons its limbs; the months and half-months its joints; days and nights its feet; the stars its bones; the clouds its flesh. The food in its stomach is the sand; the rivers are its blood-vessels; the liver and lungs are the mountains; the herbs and trees are its hair. The rising sun is its forepart; the setting sun its hindpart.

2. The horse, when it yawns, lightens; when it shakes itself, it thunders; when it urinated, it rained; and its voice is speech.

2. The Origin of the Universe

1. In the beginning, there was nothing here whatsoever. This universe was covered only by Death—by Hunger, for Hunger is indeed Death. He, the Self, thought: “Let me have a mind,” and He created the mind. He moved about, worshiping. From Him, as He worshiped, water was produced.

2. Water is the radiance of worship. The froth of the water solidified and became the earth. On that earth, He rested. From Him, thus rested and heated, his essence came forth as Fire.

3. He divided Himself into three: Fire, the Sun, and the Air. He is also the Prana (breath) divided into three. The eastern direction is His head; the northeast and southeast are His arms; the western direction is His hindpart; the northwest and southwest are His thighs; the southern and northern directions are His sides; the sky is His back; the atmosphere His belly; and the earth His chest.

4. He desired that a second self might be born of him. By means of mind, Hunger, that is Death, joined with Speech in sexual union. The seed became the year. Before that there was no year. He carried it for so much time. After so much time, a year, he sent it out. He opened his jaws to eat his offspring. It made the noise ‘Bhāṅ!’ That became speech.

4. The Creation of Duality

1. In the beginning, this universe was the Self (Atman) alone, in the shape of a person. He looked around and saw nothing but Himself. He first said, “I am” (Aham Asmi). Therefore, the name “I” came to be.

2. He was afraid. Therefore, people are still afraid when they are alone. But He thought: “Since there is nothing else but myself, what am I afraid of?” Thereupon His fear departed, for fear comes only from a second entity.

3. He was not happy. Therefore, a person is not happy when alone. He desired a second. He became as large as a man and a woman in close embrace. He caused that Self to fall into two parts. From that, a husband and a wife were born. Therefore, Yajnavalkya said: “This body is like half of a split pea.” Thus, the void is filled by the woman. He united with her, and from that, human beings were born.

4. Verily, in the beginning, this universe was Brahman. It knew only itself as: “I am Brahman” (Aham Brahmasmi). Thereby it became all. Whosoever among the gods realized this, he also became that. It is the same with the seers and the same with men. Even now, whoever knows “I am Brahman” becomes this all. Even the gods cannot prevent him from becoming this, for he becomes their very Self.

Book 2

1. Gargya and Ajatashatru

1. There lived a man of the Garga family named Dripta-balaki, who was a learned talker. He said to Ajatashatru, the King of Kashi: “I will tell you about Brahman.” Ajatashatru said: “For such an offer, I give you a thousand cows.”

2. Gargya said: “The person who is in the sun, that is the Brahman I meditate upon.” Ajatashatru replied: “No, do not speak of him. I meditate on him as the Great, the white-robed, the radiant King Soma.”

[Through verses 3–13, Gargya offers various meditations on the moon, lightning, ether, wind, fire, water, a mirror, the sound of walking, the directions, and the shadow. Each time, Ajatashatru corrects his limited view, explaining that these are merely partial manifestations.]

14. Gargya became silent. Ajatashatru asked: “Is that all?” Gargya replied: “That is all.” Ajatashatru said: “By knowing only this much, one does not know Brahman.” Gargya said: “Let me come to you as a student.”

15. Ajatashatru took him by the hand and rose. They came to a man who was sleeping. They called him by names, but he did not get up. When the King pushed him with his hand, he woke up.

16. Ajatashatru asked: “When this person was asleep, where was the conscious self? From where did it return?” Gargya did not know.

17. Ajatashatru explained: “When a person sleeps, the conscious self draws in the functions of the senses through its own consciousness and rests in the space within the heart. When the self takes back the senses, the person is said to be asleep.”

4. Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi

1. “Maitreyi,” said Yajnavalkya, “I am about to leave this state of a householder. Let me make a final settlement between you and my other wife, Katyayani.”

2. Maitreyi asked: “My Lord, if this whole earth filled with wealth were mine, would I become immortal through it?” “No,” replied Yajnavalkya, “your life would be like that of the wealthy. There is no hope of immortality through wealth.”

3. Maitreyi said: “What should I do with that which does not make me immortal? Tell me, my Lord, what you know of the way to immortality.”

4. Yajnavalkya replied: “You have always been dear to me, and now you speak what is dear. Come, sit down, and I will explain it to you.”

5. He said: “Verily, it is not for the sake of the husband that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self (Atman) that the husband is dear. It is not for the sake of the wife that the wife is dear, but for the sake of the Self that the wife is dear. It is not for the sake of the children that the children are dear, but for the sake of the Self that the children are dear.

“It is not for the sake of wealth, the gods, the worlds, or all beings that they are dear; it is for the sake of the Self that they are dear. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realized—it should be heard of, reflected on, and meditated upon. By the realization of the Self, all this is known.”

10. “As clouds of smoke arise from a fire laid with damp fuel, even so, from this Great Being has been breathed forth the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharvaveda, History, Ancient Lore, Sciences, Upanishads, Verses, Aphorisms, Explanations, and Commentaries. All these are His breath.”

11. “As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves and cannot be taken out again, though wherever we taste the water it is salty, even so, my dear, this Great Being—infinite, shoreless, and consisting of nothing but consciousness—arises out of these elements and vanishes again into them. When that consciousness is gone, there is no more individual name.”

12. “For where there is duality, as it were, there one sees another, one smells another, one hears another. But when all has become the Self, by what and whom should one see? By what and whom should one hear? By what should one know the Knower? That is the Truth.”

Book 3: The Debate at the Court of King Janaka

1. Yajnavalkya and Ashvala (The Hotri Priest)

1. Janaka, King of Videha, performed a sacrifice at which many presents were distributed. Brahmins from the Kuru and Panchala countries gathered there. Janaka desired to know which of these Brahmins was the most learned. He penned a thousand cows, and ten pieces of gold were fastened to the horns of each.
2. He said to them: “O venerable Brahmins, let him who is the best among you drive away these cows.” No one dared. Then Yajnavalkya said to his pupil: “Samashravas, drive them home, my boy.” The Brahmins were furious. “How can he declare himself the best among us?” they asked.

3. Ashvala asked: “Yajnavalkya, since everything here is overtaken by death, by what means does the sacrificer free himself from the reach of death?”

4. Yajnavalkya replied: “Through the Hotri priest, who is Fire and Speech. Verily, speech is the Hotri of the sacrifice. That which is speech is fire; that fire is the Hotri. This is freedom; this is the complete liberation.”

4. The Inner Self (Yajnavalkya and Ushasta)

1. Ushasta Chakrayana asked: “Tell me of the Brahman that is visible and not indirect—the Self that is within all.”

2. Yajnavalkya replied: “This is your Self, which is within all.” Ushasta asked: “Which one is within all?” Yajnavalkya said: “That which breathes through the Prana is your Self, which is within all. That which breathes through the Apana is your Self, which is within all… You cannot see the seer of seeing; you cannot hear the hearer of hearing; you cannot think of the thinker of thinking; you cannot know the knower of knowing. This is your Self, which is within all. Everything else is but sorrow.”

6. The Warp and Woof (Yajnavalkya and Gargi)

1. Gargi, the daughter of Vachaknu, asked: “Yajnavalkya, since all this is woven, warp and woof, on water, on what is water woven?” “On air, Gargi.” “On what is air woven?” “On the worlds of the atmosphere, Gargi.” “On what are the worlds of the atmosphere woven?” “On the worlds of the Gandharvas, Gargi.”

[The questioning continues through the worlds of the sun, the moon, the stars, the gods, and Indra.]

“On what are the worlds of Prajapati woven?” “On the worlds of Brahman, Gargi.” “On what, then, are the worlds of Brahman woven?” Yajnavalkya said: “Gargi, do not ask too much, lest your head should fall off. You are asking too much about a deity about whom one should not ask too much. Do not ask too much, Gargi.” Thereupon Gargi became silent.

7. The Inner Controller (Antaryamin)

1. Uddalaka Aruni asked: “Yajnavalkya, do you know that Inner Controller who pulls the threads of this world and the next world and all beings?”

2. Yajnavalkya said: “He who dwells in the earth, and within the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is, and who pulls the strings of the earth from within—He is your Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.”

[Yajnavalkya repeats this formula for water, fire, sky, air, heaven, sun, directions, moon, stars, space, darkness, and light.]

23. “He is the unseen Seer, the unheard Hearer, the unthought Thinker, the unknown Knower. There is no other seer but He, no other hearer but He, no other thinker but He, no other knower but He. He is your Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal. Everything else is but sorrow.”

8. The Imperishable (Akshara)

8. Gargi spoke again: “What is that, O Yajnavalkya, which the Brahmins call the Imperishable (Akshara)?”

9. He said: “O Gargi, it is neither coarse nor fine, neither short nor long, neither glowing red like fire nor fluid like water. It has no shadow, no darkness, no air, no space, no attachment, no taste, no smell, no eyes, no ears, no speech, no mind, no light, no breath, no mouth, no measure, no “within” and no “without.” It consumes nothing, and nothing consumes it.”

10. “Verily, O Gargi, at the command of this Imperishable, the sun and the moon stand apart. At the command of this Imperishable, the earth and the sky stand apart. At the command of this Imperishable, minutes, hours, days, nights, fortnights, months, seasons, and years stand apart.”

Book 4

1. The Six Pillars of Brahman

1. Janaka, King of Videha, sat on his throne. Yajnavalkya approached him. Janaka said: “Yajnavalkya, for what purpose have you come? Is it for cattle or for subtle discussions?” Yajnavalkya replied: “For both, Your Majesty.”

2. Yajnavalkya asked: “Let us hear what others have taught you.” Janaka said: “Jitvan Shailini told me that Speech is Brahman.” Yajnavalkya replied: “As one who has a mother, a father, and a teacher should say, so has Shailini said. For what can a person have without speech? But did he tell you its support and its abode?” Janaka said: “He did not tell me.” Yajnavalkya said: “Its abode is speech itself; its support is space. One should meditate on it as Intelligence (Prajna).”

3. Janaka said: “Udaṅka Saulbayana told me that Breath (Prana) is Brahman.” Yajnavalkya replied: “Its abode is breath; its support is space. One should meditate on it as Dear (Priya). For for the sake of breath, O King, one performs sacrifices for those who are not worthy of sacrifice.”

4. Janaka said: “Barku Varshna told me that Sight is Brahman.” Yajnavalkya replied: “Its abode is the eye; its support is space. One should meditate on it as Truth (Satya). For when a man is asked, ‘Have you seen?’ and he says, ‘I have seen,’ that is the truth.”

5. Janaka said: “Gardabhivipiti Bharadvaja told me that Hearing is Brahman.” Yajnavalkya replied: “Its abode is the ear; its support is space. One should meditate on it as Infinite (Ananta). For the directions are infinite, and through hearing we perceive them.”

6. Janaka said: “Satyakama Jabala told me that the Mind is Brahman.” Yajnavalkya replied: “Its abode is the mind; its support is space. One should meditate on it as Bliss (Ananda). For through the mind, O King, a man desires a woman, and from her a son is born who is a source of bliss.”

7. Janaka said: “Vidagdha Shakalya told me that the Heart is Brahman.” Yajnavalkya replied: “Its abode is the heart; its support is space. One should meditate on it as Stability (Sthiti). For the heart is the abode of all beings; the heart is the support of all beings.”

2. The Path of the Soul

1. Janaka descended from his throne and said: “I bow to you, Yajnavalkya. Please instruct me further.”

2. Yajnavalkya said: “As a man bound for a long journey provides himself with a chariot or a boat, so have you equipped your mind with these Upanishads. But do you know where you will go when you depart from this body?” Janaka said: “I do not know, venerable Sir.”

3. Yajnavalkya said: “That person who is in the right eye is called Indha (the Kindler). Though He is Indha, people call Him Indra cryptically, for the gods love what is mysterious.”

4. “The person in the left eye is His wife, Viraj. The space within the heart is their place of union. Their food is the red lump in the heart. Their covering is the net-like structure within the heart. The path they move upon is the channel that goes upward from the heart.”

3. The Light of Man

9. Yajnavalkya came to Janaka, King of Videha, thinking, “I will not speak.” But when they had talked together formerly at a sacrifice, Yajnavalkya had granted him a boon, and Janaka had chosen the right to ask him any question he wished.

10. Janaka said: “Yajnavalkya, what is the light of man?” Yajnavalkya replied: “The sun, O King; for having the sun alone for his light, man sits, moves about, does his work, and returns.”

11. “When the sun has set, Yajnavalkya, what is then the light of man?” “The moon, O King.”

12. “When the sun has set and the moon has set, what is then the light of man?” “Fire, O King.”

13. “When the sun has set, the moon has set, and the fire is gone out, what is then the light of man?” “Speech, O King. For by the light of speech he sits, moves about, does his work, and returns. Therefore, when one cannot see even one’s own hand, yet when a voice is raised, one goes towards it.”

14. “When the sun has set, the moon has set, the fire is gone out, and speech is hushed, what is then the light of man?” “The Self (Atman), O King. For having the Self alone for his light, he sits, moves about, does his work, and returns.”

15. “Who is that Self?” “He who is within the heart, surrounded by the senses, the person of light, the consisting of knowledge. He, remaining the same, wanders through the two worlds, as if thinking, as if moving. In sleep, he transcends this world and the forms of death.”

16. “There are two states for this person: the state of being in this world and the state of being in the next world. There is a third, an intermediate state—the state of sleep (Dream). When he is in that intermediate state, he sees both states, this world and the other world.”

17. “In the dream state, there are no chariots, no horses, no roads; but he creates chariots, horses, and roads. There are no blessings, no happiness, no joys; but he creates blessings, happiness, and joys. There are no tanks, no lakes, no rivers; but he creates tanks, lakes, and rivers. For he is the Creator.”

18. “As a man, when embraced by a beloved wife, knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, so this person, when embraced by the conscious Self (Prajnana-Atman), knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within. This indeed is his true form, in which his desires are fulfilled, in which the Self is his only desire, in which he is without desire and free from sorrow.”

19. “This is the supreme goal; this is the supreme success; this is the highest world; this is the highest bliss. All other creatures live on only a small fraction of this bliss.”

4. The Departure and Rebirth

5. “As a person acts, so he becomes. He who does good becomes good; he who does evil becomes evil. He becomes holy through holy deeds and wicked through wicked deeds. Thus they say: ‘A man is made of his desires.’ As is his desire, so is his will; as is his will, so is his deed; and as is his deed, so is his reward.”

6. “But as for the man who does not desire, who is free from desire, whose desire is satisfied, or whose desire is the Self only—his breaths do not depart. Being Brahman, he goes to Brahman.”

7. “When all the desires that dwell in the heart are cast away, then the mortal becomes immortal, and even here he attains Brahman.”

   5. The Divine Virtues and the Infinite

1. That is infinite, and this is infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. Taking the infinite from the infinite, it remains as the infinite alone. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

2. The threefold offspring of Prajapati—gods, men, and demons—dwelt with their father as students. The gods said: “Please instruct us.” He uttered the syllable “Da.” He asked: “Did you understand?” They replied: “Yes, you told us Damyata (Control yourselves).” “Yes,” He said, “you have understood.”

3. The men said: “Please instruct us.” He uttered the same syllable “Da.” He asked: “Did you understand?” They replied: “Yes, you told us Datta (Give).” “Yes,” He said, “you have understood.”

4. The demons said: “Please instruct us.” He uttered the same syllable “Da.” He asked: “Did you understand?” They replied: “Yes, you told us Dayadhvam (Be compassionate).” “Yes,” He said, “you have understood.”

5. The heavenly voice of thunder repeats this even today: Da, Da, Da—Control, Give, Compassion. One should practice these three: self-control, charity, and compassion.

6. The Heart as Brahman

1. This heart is indeed Prajapati; it is Brahman; it is all. It is three-syllabled: Hri-da-yam. “Hri” is the first syllable; his own people and others bring offerings to him who knows this. “Da” is the second; his own and others give to him who knows this. “Yam” is the third; he who knows this goes to the heavenly world.

Book 6: The Path of the Departed

1. The Rivalry of the Senses

1. He who knows the oldest and the greatest becomes the oldest and the greatest. Breath (Prana) is indeed the oldest and the greatest.

2. The senses—speech, eye, ear, mind, and seed—once argued over who was the best. They went to Brahman and asked: “Who is the best among us?” Brahman replied: “He after whose departure the body looks worst, he is the best.”

3. Speech departed. Having stayed away for a year, it returned and asked: “How have you lived without me?” They replied: “As the dumb, not speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, and thinking with the mind.” Then speech entered the body.

[The eye, ear, and mind depart in turn, but the body survives.]

13. Then the Breath was about to depart. As a great horse might pull up the pegs to which his feet are tied, even so did the Breath tear up the other senses. They cried out: “Sir, do not depart! We cannot live without you. You are the best among us.”

2. The Five Fires (Pancha-Agni-Vidya)

1. Shvetaketu Aruneya went to the assembly of the Panchalas. There he met King Pravahana Jaivali. The King asked: “Do you know how people, when they depart from here, go in different directions?” “No, Sir,” he replied.

2. “Do you know how they return to this world? Do you know why the other world is never filled up?” “No, Sir.”

3. The King instructed him: “That world, O Gautama, is the first Fire. The Sun is its fuel, the rays its smoke, the day its light. In that fire, the gods offer faith. From that offering, King Soma (the moon) arises.”

[The King continues describing the second fire as the sky, the third as the earth, the fourth as man, and the fifth as woman.]

13. “In the fifth fire, the gods offer the seed. From that offering, the human being arises. Thus, in the fifth oblation, the water becomes the human voice.”

14. “Those who know this and those who in the forest meditate with faith and truth, they go to the light, from light to day, from day to the waxing moon… to the world of Brahman. They do not return.”

15. “But those who conquer the worlds through sacrifice, charity, and austerity, they pass into the smoke, from smoke to night… to the world of the fathers… and from there they return again to this world to become food, and are born again in the fire of man and woman.”

5. The Lineage of Sages

1. Now follows the lineage. We received this from Pautimashya, Pautimashya from Gaupavana…

2. …this great knowledge was received from the Sun. The White Yajur Veda was proclaimed by Yajnavalkya Vajasaneya.

Compiled from various translations  by Mahendra Myshkin