Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 17 Oct 2011 08:43 and updated at 19 Oct 2011 13:33

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the largest and the oldest Upanishad. (The Upanishads are the philosophical text of Hinduism.) It is one of the ten main Upanishads. It is part of the Shatapatha Brahmana, and forms the 14th (last) book of this Brahmana text. Satapatha Brahmana is part of the non-Samhita part of Sukla Yajur Veda.

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Content

The main contributor to this Upanishad is sage Yajnavalkya who is also the founder of Sukla Yajur Veda tradition. Brihadaranyaka means great forest or wilderness. It includes three parts, namely, Madhu Kanda, Muni Kanda (or Yajnavalkya Kanda) and Khila Kanda. The Madhu Kanda explains the teachings of the basic identity of the individual or Atman. Yajnavalkya Kanda includes the conversations between the sage Yajnavalkya and one of his wives, Maitreyi. Various methods of meditation and some secret rites are dealt in the Khila Kanda. It contains the famous doctrine of "neti neti" ("neither this, nor that"). It also contains the famous verse starting with "Asato Maa Sat Gamaya" (Lead us from Unreal to Real).

Structure

The three parts of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is arranged into six chapters and each of the chapter is divided into many Khandas or sub-sections.

Naalanda

The source of Ancient Knowledge

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Structure

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