{"schema_version":1,"access":"public","rights":"Public-domain or compatibly licensed source editions; provenance is retained per record.","work":{"slug":"mundaka-upanishad","title":"Mundaka Upanishad","author":"Unknown","tradition":"hindu","language":"sa","genre":"Upanishad","period":"c. 1st millennium BCE","source_url":"https://sa.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D&oldid=415828","original":{"text":"### Mundaka 1, Khanda 1\n\nॐ भद्रं कर्णेभिः श्रुणुयाम देवा भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभिर्यजत्राः ।\nस्थिरैरङ्गैस्तुष्टुवाँसस्तनूभिर्व्यशेम देवहितं यदायुः ।\nस्वस्ति न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः ।\nस्वस्ति नस्तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः स्वस्ति नो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु ।\n\n॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥\n\n॥ ॐ ब्रह्मणे नमः ॥\n\n1.1.1. ॐ ब्रह्मा देवानां प्रथमः संबभूव विश्वस्य कर्ता\nभुवनस्य गोप्ता ।\nस ब्रह्मविद्यां सर्वविद्याप्रतिष्ठामथर्वाय\nज्येष्ठपुत्राय प्राह ॥\n\n1.1.2. अथर्वणे यां प्रवदेत ब्रह्माऽथर्वा तं\nपुरोवाचाङ्गिरे ब्रह्मविद्याम् ।\nस भारद्वाजाय सत्यवाहाय प्राह\nभारद्वाजोऽङ्गिरसे परावराम् ॥\n\n1.1.3. शौनको ह वै महाशालोऽङ्गिरसं विधिवदुपसन्नः पप्रच्छ ।\nकस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवतीति ॥\n\n1.1.4. तस्मै स होवाच ।\nद्वे विद्ये वेदितव्ये इति ह स्म\nयद्ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति परा चैवापरा च ॥\n\n1.1.5. तत्रापरा ऋग्वेदो यजुर्वेदः सामवेदोऽथर्ववेदः\nशिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दो ज्योतिषमिति ।\nअथ परा यया तदक्षरमधिगम्यते ॥\n\n1.1.6. यत्तदद्रेश्यमग्राह्यमगोत्रमवर्ण-\nमचक्षुःश्रोत्रं तदपाणिपादम् ।\nनित्यं विभुं सर्वगतं सुसूक्ष्मं\nतदव्ययं यद्भूतयोनिं परिपश्यन्ति धीराः ॥\n\n1.1.7. यथोर्णनाभिः सृजते गृह्णते च\nयथा पृथिव्यामोषधयः संभवन्ति ।\nयथा सतः पुरुषात् केशलोमानि\nतथाऽक्षरात् संभवतीह विश्वम् ॥\n\n1.1.8. तपसा चीयते ब्रह्म ततोऽन्नमभिजायते ।\nअन्नात् प्राणो मनः सत्यं लोकाः कर्मसु चामृतम् ॥\n\n1.1.9. यः सर्वज्ञः सर्वविद्यस्य ज्ञानमयं तापः ।\nतस्मादेतद्ब्रह्म नाम रूपमन्नं च जायाते ॥\n\n॥ इति मुण्डकोपनिषदि प्रथममुण्डके प्रथमः खण्डः ॥\n\n### Mundaka 1, Khanda 2\n\n1.2.1. तदेतत् सत्यं मन्त्रेषु कर्माणि कवयो\nयान्यपश्यंस्तानि त्रेतायां बहुधा संततानि ।\nतान्याचरथ नियतं सत्यकामा एष वः\nपन्थाः सुकृतस्य लोके ॥\n\n1.2.2. यदा लेलायते ह्यर्चिः समिद्धे हव्यवाहने ।\nतदाऽऽज्यभागावन्तरेणाऽऽहुतीः प्रतिपादयेत् ॥\n\n1.2.3. यस्याग्निहोत्रमदर्शमपौर्णमास-\nमचातुर्मास्यमनाग्रयणमतिथिवर्जितं च ।\nअहुतमवैश्वदेवमविधिना हुत-\nमासप्तमांस्तस्य लोकान् हिनस्ति ॥\n\n1.2.4. काली कराली च मनोजवा च\nसुलोहिता या च सुधूम्रवर्णा ।\nस्फुलिङ्गिनी विश्वरुची च देवी\nलेलायमाना इति सप्त जिह्वाः ॥\n\n1.2.5. एतेषु यश्चरते भ्राजमानेषु यथाकालं\nचाहुतयो ह्याददायन् ।\nतं नयन्त्येताः सूर्यस्य रश्मयो यत्र\nदेवानां पतिरेकोऽधिवासः ॥\n\n1.2.6. एह्येहीति तमाहुतयः सुवर्चसः\nसूर्यस्य रश्मिभिर्यजमानं वहन्ति ।\nप्रियां वाचमभिवदन्त्योऽर्चयन्त्य\nएष वः पुण्यः सुकृतो ब्रह्मलोकः ॥\n\n1.2.7. प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूपा\nअष्टादशोक्तमवरं येषु कर्म ।\nएतच्छ्रेयो येऽभिनन्दन्ति मूढा\nजरामृत्युं ते पुनरेवापि यन्ति ॥\n\n1.2.8. अविद्यायामन्तरे वर्तमानाः\nस्वयं धीराः पण्डितं मन्यमानाः ।\nजङ्घन्यमानाः परियन्ति मूढा\nअन्धेनैव नीयमाना यथान्धाः ॥\n\n1.2.9. अविद्यायां बहुधा वर्तमाना वयं\nकृतार्था इत्यभिमन्यन्ति बालाः ।\nयत् कर्मिणो न प्रवेदयन्ति रागात्\nतेनातुराः क्षीणलोकाश्च्यवन्ते ॥\n\n1.2.10. इष्टापूर्तं मन्यमाना वरिष्ठं\nनान्यच्छ्रेयो वेदयन्ते प्रमूढाः ।\nनाकस्य पृष्ठे ते सुकृतेऽनुभूत्वेमं\nलोकं हीनतरं वा विशन्ति ॥\n\n1.2.11. तपःश्रद्धे ये ह्युपवसन्त्यरण्ये\nशान्ता विद्वांसो भैक्ष्यचर्यां चरन्तः ।\nसूर्यद्वारेण ते विरजाः प्रयान्ति\nयत्रामृतः स पुरुषो ह्यव्ययात्मा ॥\n\n1.2.12. परीक्ष्य लोकान् कर्मचितान् ब्राह्मणो\nनिर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन ।\nतद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत्\nसमित्पाणिः श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् ॥\n\n1.2.13. तस्मै स विद्वानुपसन्नाय सम्यक्\nप्रशान्तचित्ताय शमान्विताय ।\nयेनाक्षरं पुरुषं वेद सत्यं प्रोवाच\nतां तत्वतो ब्रह्मविद्याम् ॥\n\n॥ इति मुण्डकोपनिषदि प्रथममुण्डके द्वितीयः खण्डः ॥\n\n### Mundaka 2, Khanda 1\n\n2.1.1. तदेतत् सत्यं\nयथा सुदीप्तात् पावकाद्विस्फुलिङ्गाः\nसहस्रशः प्रभवन्ते सरूपाः ।\nतथाऽक्षराद्विविधाः सोम्य भावाः\nप्रजायन्ते तत्र चैवापि यन्ति ॥\n\n2.1.2. दिव्यो ह्यमूर्तः पुरुषः स बाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः ।\nअप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्रो ह्यक्षरात् परतः परः ॥\n\n2.1.3. एतस्माज्जायते प्रणो मनः सर्वेन्द्रियाणि च ।\nखं वायुर्ज्योतिरापः पृथिवी विश्वस्य धारिणी ॥\n\n2.1.4. अग्नीर्मूर्धा चक्षुषी चन्द्रसूर्यौ\nदिशः श्रोत्रे वाग् विवृताश्च वेदाः ।\nवायुः प्रणो हृदयं विश्वमस्य पद्भ्यां\nपृथिवी ह्येष सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा ॥\n\n2.1.5. तस्मादग्निः समिधो यस्य सूर्यः\nसोमात् पर्जन्य ओषधयः पृथिव्याम् ।\nपुमान् रेतः सिञ्चति योषितायां\nबह्वीः प्रजाः पुरुषात् संप्रसूताः ॥\n\n2.1.6. तस्मादृचः साम यजूंषि दीक्षा\nयज्ञाश्च सर्वे क्रतवो दक्षिणाश्च ।\nसंवत्सरश्च यजमानश्च लोकाः\nसोमो यत्र पवते यत्र सूर्यः ॥\n\n2.1.7. तस्माच्च देवा बहुधा संप्रसूताः\nसाध्या मनुष्याः पशवो वयांसि ।\nप्राणापानौ व्रीहियवौ तपश्च\nश्रद्ध सत्यं ब्रह्मचर्यं विधिश्च ॥\n\n2.1.8. सप्त प्राणाः प्रभवन्ति तस्मात्\nसप्तार्चिषः समिधः सप्त होमाः ।\nसप्त इमे लोका येषु चरन्ति प्राणा\nगुहाशया निहिताः सप्त सप्त ॥\n\n2.1.9. अतः समुद्रा गिरयश्च सर्वेऽस्मात्\nस्यन्दन्ते सिन्धवः सर्वरूपाः ।\nअतश्च सर्वा ओषधयो रसश्च\nयेनैष भूतैस्तिष्ठते ह्यन्तरात्मा ॥\n\n2.1.10. पुरुष एवेदं विश्वं कर्म तपो ब्रह्म परामृतम् ।\nएतद्यो वेद निहितं गुहायां\nसोऽविद्याग्रन्थिं विकिरतीह सोम्य ॥\n\n॥ इति मुण्डकोपनिषदि द्वितीयमुण्डके प्रथमः खण्डः ॥\n\n### Mundaka 2, Khanda 2\n\n2.2.1. आविः संनिहितं गुहाचरं नाम\nमहत्पदमत्रैतत् समर्पितम् ।\nएजत्प्राणन्निमिषच्च यदेतज्जानथ\nसदसद्वरेण्यं परं विज्ञानाद्यद्वरिष्ठं प्रजानाम् ॥\n\n2.2.2. यदर्चिमद्यदणुभ्योऽणु च\nयस्मिँल्लोका निहिता लोकिनश्च ।\nतदेतदक्षरं ब्रह्म स प्राणस्तदु वाङ्मनः\nतदेतत्सत्यं तदमृतं तद्वेद्धव्यं सोम्य विद्धि ॥\n\n2.2.3. धनुर्गृहीत्वौपनिषदं महास्त्रं\nशरं ह्युपासा निशितं सन्धयीत ।\nआयम्य तद्भावगतेन चेतसा\nलक्ष्यं तदेवाक्षरं सोम्य विद्धि ॥\n\n2.2.4. प्रणवो धनुः शारो ह्यात्मा ब्रह्म तल्लक्ष्यमुच्यते ।\nअप्रमत्तेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत् तन्मयो भवेत् ॥\n\n2.2.5. यस्मिन् द्यौः पृथिवी चान्तरिक्षमोतं\nमनः सह प्राणैश्च सर्वैः ।\nतमेवैकं जानथ आत्मानमन्या वाचो\nविमुञ्चथामृतस्यैष सेतुः ॥\n\n2.2.6. अरा इव रथनाभौ संहता यत्र नाड्यः ।\nस एषोऽन्तश्चरते बहुधा जायमानः ।\nओमित्येवं ध्यायथ आत्मानं स्वस्ति वः\nपाराय तमसः परस्तात् ॥\n\n2.2.7. यः सर्वज्ञः सर्वविद् यस्यैष महिमा भुवि ।\nदिव्ये ब्रह्मपुरे ह्येष व्योम्न्यात्मा प्रतिष्ठितः ॥\n\nमनोमयः प्राणशरीरनेता\nप्रतिष्ठितोऽन्ने हृदयं सन्निधाय ।\nतद् विज्ञानेन परिपश्यन्ति धीरा\nआनन्दरूपममृतं यद् विभाति ॥\n\n2.2.8. भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिश्छिद्यन्ते सर्वसंशयाः ।\nक्षीयन्ते चास्य कर्माणि तस्मिन् दृष्टे परावरे ॥\n\n2.2.9. हिरण्मये परे कोशे विरजं ब्रह्म निष्कलम् ।\nतच्छुभ्रं ज्योतिषं ज्योतिस्तद् यदात्मविदो विदुः ॥\n\n2.2.10. न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं\nनेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।\nतमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं\nतस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥\n\n2.2.11. ब्रह्मैवेदममृतं पुरस्ताद् ब्रह्म पश्चाद् ब्रह्म दक्षिणतश्चोत्तरेण ।\nअधश्चोर्ध्वं च प्रसृतं ब्रह्मैवेदं विश्वमिदं वरिष्ठम् ॥\n\n॥ इति मुण्डकोपनिषदि द्वितीयमुण्डके द्वितीयः खण्डः ॥\n\n### Mundaka 3, Khanda 1\n\n3.1.1. द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते ।\nतयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्वत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति ॥\n\n3.1.2. समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽ\nनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः ।\nजुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमीशमस्य\nमहिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥\n\n3.1.3. यदा पश्यः पश्यते रुक्मवर्णं\nकर्तारमीशं पुरुषं ब्रह्मयोनिम् ।\nतदा विद्वान् पुण्यपापे विधूय\nनिरञ्जनः परमं साम्यमुपैति ॥\n\n3.1.4. प्रणो ह्येष यः सर्वभूतैर्विभाति\nविजानन् विद्वान् भवते नातिवादी ।\nआत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिः क्रियावा-\nनेष ब्रह्मविदां वरिष्ठः ॥\n\n3.1.5. सत्येन लभ्यस्तपसा ह्येष आत्मा\nसम्यग्ज्ञानेन ब्रह्मचर्येण नित्यम् ।\nअन्तःशरीरे ज्योतिर्मयो हि शुभ्रो\nयं पश्यन्ति यतयः क्षीणदोषाः ॥\n\n3.1.6. सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं\nसत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः ।\nयेनाऽऽक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा\nयत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम् ॥\n\n3.1.7. बृहच्च तद् दिव्यमचिन्त्यरूपं\nसूक्ष्माच्च तत् सूक्ष्मतरं विभाति ।\nदूरात् सुदूरे तदिहान्तिके च\nपश्यन्त्विहैव निहितं गुहायाम् ॥\n\n3.1.8. न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा\nनान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मण वा ।\nज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्व-\nस्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं\nध्यायमानः ॥\n\n3.1.9. एषोऽणुरात्मा चेतसा वेदितव्यो\nयस्मिन् प्राणः पञ्चधा संविवेश ।\nप्राणैश्चित्तं सर्वमोतं प्रजानां\nयस्मिन् विशुद्धे विभवत्येष आत्मा ॥\n\n3.1.10. यं यं लोकं मनसा संविभाति\nविशुद्धसत्त्वः कामयते यांश्च कामान् ।\nतं तं लोकं जयते तांश्च कामां-\nस्तस्मादात्मज्ञं ह्यर्चयेत् भूतिकामः ॥\n\n॥ इति मुण्डकोपनिषदि तृतीयमुण्डके प्रथमः खण्डः ॥\n\n### Mundaka 3, Khanda 2\n\n3.2.1. स वेदैतत् परमं ब्रह्म धाम\nयत्र विश्वं निहितं भाति शुभ्रम् ।\nउपासते पुरुषं ये ह्यकामास्ते\nशुक्रमेतदतिवर्तन्ति धीराः ॥\n\n3.2.2. कामान् यः कामयते मन्यमानः\nस कामभिर्जायते तत्र तत्र ।\nपर्याप्तकामस्य कृतात्मनस्तु\nइहैव सर्वे प्रविलीयन्ति कामाः ॥\n\n3.2.3. नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो\nन मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन ।\nयमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्य-\nस्तस्यैष आत्मा विवृणुते तनूं स्वाम् ॥\n\n3.2.4. नायमात्मा बलहीनेन लभ्यो\nन च प्रमादात् तपसो वाप्यलिङ्गात् ।\nएतैरुपायैर्यतते यस्तु विद्वां-\nस्तस्यैष आत्मा विशते ब्रह्मधाम ॥\n\n3.2.5. संप्राप्यैनमृषयो ज्ञानतृप्ताः\nकृतात्मानो वीतरागाः प्रशान्ताः\nते सर्वगं सर्वतः प्राप्य धीरा\nयुक्तात्मानः सर्वमेवाविशन्ति ॥\n\n3.2.6. वेदान्तविज्ञानसुनिश्चितार्थाः\nसंन्यासयोगाद् यतयः शुद्धसत्त्वाः ।\nते ब्रह्मलोकेषु परान्तकाले\nपरामृताः परिमुच्यन्ति सर्वे ॥\n\n3.2.7. गताः कलाः पञ्चदश प्रतिष्ठा\nदेवाश्च सर्वे प्रतिदेवतासु ।\nकर्माणि विज्ञानमयश्च आत्मा\nपरेऽव्यये सर्वे एकीभवन्ति ॥\n\n3.2.8. यथा नद्यः स्यन्दमानाः समुद्रेऽ\nस्तं गच्छन्ति नामरूपे विहाय ।\nतथा विद्वान् नामरूपाद्विमुक्तः\nपरात्परं पुरुषमुपैति दिव्यम् ॥\n\n3.2.9. स यो ह वै तत् परमं ब्रह्म वेद\nब्रह्मैव भवति नास्याब्रह्मवित्कुले भवति ।\nतरति शोकं तरति पाप्मानं गुहाग्रन्थिभ्यो\nविमुक्तोऽमृतो भवति ॥\n\n3.2.10. तदेतदृचाऽभ्युक्तम् ।\nक्रियावन्तः श्रोत्रिया ब्रह्मनिष्ठाः\nस्वयं जुह्वत एकर्षिं श्रद्धयन्तः ।\nतेषामेवैतां ब्रह्मविद्यां वदेत\nशिरोव्रतं विधिवद् यैस्तु चीर्णम् ॥\n\n3.2.11. तदेतत् सत्यमृषिरङ्गिराः\nपुरोवाच नैतदचीर्णव्रतोऽधीते ।\nनमः परमऋषिभ्यो नमः परमऋषिभ्यः ॥\n\n॥ इति मुण्डकोपनिषदि तृतीयमुण्डके द्वितीयः खण्डः ॥\n\n॥ इत्यथर्ववेदीय मुण्डकोपनिषत्समाप्ता ॥\n\nॐ भद्रं कर्णेभिः ॥\nशान्तिः ॥\n\n॥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/mundaka-upanishad/original.txt"},"translations":[{"id":"trn_mundaka_upanishad_mouseia","translator":"Mouseia","kind":"curated","note":"Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Sanskrit, covering all three mundakas, six khandas and 64 verses, with the opening peace invocation, colophons and abbreviated closing invocation. Source-language review by GPT-6.1 Sol.","text":"### Mundaka 1, Khanda 1\n\nOm. Gods, may our ears hear what is good; worshipful ones, may our eyes see what is good.\nWith steadfast limbs and bodies singing praise, may we live out the life the gods allot.\nMay Indra, renowned of old, grant us well-being; may Pushan, who knows all, grant us well-being.\nMay Tarkshya, whose wheel is unharmed, grant us well-being; may Brihaspati grant us well-being.\n\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\n\nOm. Homage to Brahman.\n\n1.1.1. Om. Brahma arose first among the gods, maker of the universe,\nguardian of the world.\nTo Atharvan he imparted knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge,\nto his eldest son.\n\n1.1.2. The knowledge of Brahman that Brahma declared to Atharvan,\nAtharvan long ago declared to Angir.\nAngir imparted it to Satyavaha Bharadvaja,\nand Bharadvaja to Angiras: knowledge of the higher and the lower.\n\n1.1.3. Shaunaka, a great householder, duly approached Angiras and asked,\n“Revered one, what must be known for all this to become known?”\n\n1.1.4. He answered him:\n“Two kinds of knowledge must be known, as those\nwho know Brahman have always said: the higher and the lower.\n\n1.1.5. The lower is the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda,\nphonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, meter and astronomy.\nThe higher is that by which the imperishable is attained:\n\n1.1.6. What cannot be seen or grasped, without lineage, without color,\nwithout eyes or ears, without hands or feet;\neternal, all-pervading, present everywhere, most subtle,\nunchanging—the source of beings that the wise behold.\n\n1.1.7. As a spider sends out its thread and draws it in,\nas plants spring from the earth,\nas hair on head and body grows from a living person,\nso from the imperishable this universe comes into being.\n\n1.1.8. Through ardor Brahman swells; from it food is born.\nFrom food come life-breath, mind, truth, the worlds, and the enduring fruit of deeds.\n\n1.1.9. From the one who knows all and understands everything, whose ardor is knowledge,\nare born this Brahman, name, form and food.”\n\nThus ends the first khanda of the first mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 1, Khanda 2\n\n1.2.1. This is the truth: the rites the seers discerned\nin the sacred verses spread in many forms among the three Vedas.\nPractice them faithfully, you who desire truth: this is your\npath to the world of good deeds.\n\n1.2.2. When the flame dances in the kindled fire that bears the offering,\nplace the offerings between the two portions of clarified butter.\n\n1.2.3. If someone's fire offering lacks the new-moon and full-moon rites,\nthe four-month observances, the first-fruits offering and hospitality;\nif offerings go unmade, if the rite for all the gods is omitted, or the offering\nis made against the rule, it destroys that person's worlds through the seventh.\n\n1.2.4. Kali, Karali and Manojava,\nSulohita and the smoke-colored Sudhumravarna,\nSphulingini and the divine Vishvaruchi:\nthese are the seven dancing tongues.\n\n1.2.5. Whoever makes offerings among these blazing tongues at the proper time—\nthe offerings, taken up,\nlead that person as the sun's rays to the place\nwhere the one lord of the gods dwells.\n\n1.2.6. “Come, come!” the radiant offerings call,\nbearing the sacrificer on the sun's rays.\nThey honor him with loving words:\n“This is your holy world of Brahma, won by good deeds.”\n\n1.2.7. Frail indeed are these rafts in the form of sacrifice,\nwith their eighteen supports, on which the lower work is said to rest.\nFools who delight in this as the highest good\nreturn again to old age and death.\n\n1.2.8. Living in the midst of ignorance,\nthinking themselves wise and learned,\nfools wander about, battered and bewildered,\nlike the blind led by the blind.\n\n1.2.9. Dwelling in ignorance in many forms, the childish\nimagine, “We have achieved our aim.”\nBecause those devoted to rites do not understand, bound by attachment,\nthey fall in misery when their worlds are exhausted.\n\n1.2.10. The deluded, judging sacrifice and public benefaction supreme,\nknow no other, higher good.\nAfter enjoying their good deeds on heaven's height, they enter this\nworld again, or one still lower.\n\n1.2.11. But those who dwell in the forest in ardor and faith,\npeaceful and wise, living on alms,\npass, free of stain, through the sun's gate\nto the immortal Person, whose Self does not decay.\n\n1.2.12. Having examined the worlds built by deeds, a Brahmin\nshould turn away: what is unmade cannot be won by what is made.\nTo understand that, let him approach a teacher,\nfuel in hand, learned in scripture and firmly rooted in Brahman.\n\n1.2.13. To the pupil who had approached rightly,\nwhose mind was peaceful and who possessed calm,\nthe wise teacher faithfully imparted that knowledge of Brahman\nby which one knows the imperishable Person, the truth.\n\nThus ends the second khanda of the first mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 2, Khanda 1\n\n2.1.1. This is the truth:\nas sparks from a blazing fire\nspring forth by the thousands, each like the fire,\nso, dear one, from the imperishable come beings of many kinds,\nand into it they return.\n\n2.1.2. Luminous and formless is the Person, within and without, unborn,\nwithout breath or mind, pure, beyond the imperishable, beyond the highest.\n\n2.1.3. From him are born life-breath, mind and all the senses,\nspace, wind, light, water and earth, the bearer of all.\n\n2.1.4. Fire is his head, the moon and sun his eyes,\nthe directions his ears, the revealed Vedas his voice.\nWind is his breath, the universe his heart; from his feet\ncomes earth. He is the inner Self of every being.\n\n2.1.5. From him comes the fire whose fuel is the sun;\nfrom the moon comes rain, and plants upon the earth.\nThe man pours seed into the woman:\nfrom the Person countless creatures are born.\n\n2.1.6. From him come the verses, chants and sacrificial formulas, initiation,\nsacrifices, all rites and offerings to the priests;\nthe year, the sacrificer, and the worlds\nwhere Soma flows and where the sun is.\n\n2.1.7. From him the gods are born in many forms,\nthe Sadhyas, human beings, beasts and birds;\nthe in-breath and out-breath, rice and barley, and ardor,\nfaith, truth, celibacy and the sacred rule.\n\n2.1.8. From him arise the seven life-breaths,\nthe seven flames, the seven fuels, the seven offerings,\nand these seven worlds where the life-breaths move,\nresting in the cave, set there seven by seven.\n\n2.1.9. From him come the oceans and all the mountains;\nfrom him flow rivers in their many forms;\nfrom him all plants and their sap,\nby which the inner Self abides among the elements.\n\n2.1.10. The Person alone is all this: action, ardor, Brahman, the highest immortal.\nWhoever knows him hidden in the cave\nunties the knot of ignorance here, dear one.\n\nThus ends the first khanda of the second mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 2, Khanda 2\n\n2.2.1. Manifest, close at hand, moving in the cave:\nthis is the great abode where all is held—\nwhatever moves, breathes and blinks. Know this,\nbeing and nonbeing, worthy of desire, beyond understanding, highest for creatures.\n\n2.2.2. What shines, what is subtler than the subtle,\nin which the worlds and their inhabitants are set,\nis this imperishable Brahman: life-breath, speech and mind.\nIt is truth, it is immortal, it is the mark to pierce. Pierce it, dear one.\n\n2.2.3. Take up the bow, the Upanishad's great weapon,\nand set upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation.\nDraw it with a mind absorbed in that being,\nand pierce the imperishable as your mark, dear one.\n\n2.2.4. Om is the bow, the Self the arrow, Brahman the mark, as it is said.\nPierce it without distraction; become one with it, like an arrow in its mark.\n\n2.2.5. In whom heaven, earth and the space between are woven,\nalong with mind and all the life-breaths—\nknow that one alone as the Self; let go\nof other words. This is the bridge to immortality.\n\n2.2.6. Where the channels meet like spokes in a chariot's hub,\nthere he moves within, appearing in many forms.\nMeditate on the Self as Om. May you cross in safety\nto the farther shore beyond darkness.\n\n2.2.7. The one who knows all and understands everything, whose glory is here on earth—\nthis Self is established in the space within Brahman's radiant city.\n\nFormed of mind, leader of life-breath and body,\nhe rests in food, dwelling close to the heart.\nThrough understanding, the wise behold him:\nthe immortal that shines, whose form is joy.\n\n2.2.8. The heart's knot breaks, all doubts are cut away,\nand one's deeds are exhausted when that which is high and low is seen.\n\n2.2.9. In the highest golden sheath is Brahman, stainless, without parts.\nIt is pure, the light of lights, known to those who know the Self.\n\n2.2.10. There the sun does not shine, nor the moon and stars;\nthese lightning flashes do not shine there—much less this fire.\nAll shines after that one shining light;\nby its radiance all this is lit.\n\n2.2.11. Brahman, immortal, is before us, Brahman behind, Brahman to the south and north,\nbelow and above, spread everywhere. Brahman alone is all this universe, the highest.\n\nThus ends the second khanda of the second mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 3, Khanda 1\n\n3.1.1. Two fair-winged birds, inseparable companions, cling to the same tree.\nOne eats its sweet fig; the other, not eating, watches.\n\n3.1.2. On that same tree a person sinks,\ngrieving in helplessness, bewildered.\nBut on seeing the other, the beloved Lord,\nand his greatness, that person is freed from grief.\n\n3.1.3. When the seer sees the golden-colored\nmaker, the Lord, the Person, the source of Brahman,\nthen, knowing, shaking off good and evil,\nstainless, the seer attains the highest equality.\n\n3.1.4. He is the life-breath that shines through every being.\nThe wise one who knows this does not boast.\nDelighting in the Self, rejoicing in the Self, active in deeds—\nthis is the foremost of those who know Brahman.\n\n3.1.5. Through truth, through ardor, this Self is attained,\nthrough right knowledge and constant celibacy.\nWithin the body, radiant and pure,\nhe is seen by those who strive, their faults worn away.\n\n3.1.6. Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood.\nBy truth the path of the gods is laid out,\nalong which the seers, their desires fulfilled, advance\nto the highest dwelling place of truth.\n\n3.1.7. Vast, luminous, beyond thought in form,\nit shines, subtler than the subtle.\nFarther than the far, yet close at hand here—\nsee it here, hidden in the cave.\n\n3.1.8. Not by the eye is it grasped, nor by speech,\nnor by other powers, by ardor or by deeds.\nThrough the clarity of knowledge, one's being purified,\none beholds that partless one\nin meditation.\n\n3.1.9. This subtle Self must be known through the mind,\ninto which life-breath has entered in five forms.\nThe minds of creatures are wholly woven with life-breaths;\nwhen the mind is purified, this Self shines forth.\n\n3.1.10. Whatever world a person of purified being envisions,\nwhatever desires that person desires,\nthat world and those desires are won.\nTherefore let one who seeks prosperity honor the knower of the Self.\n\nThus ends the first khanda of the third mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 3, Khanda 2\n\n3.2.1. That knower knows the highest Brahman, the abode\nin which the universe is set and shines in purity.\nThe wise who worship the Person without desire\npass beyond this seed of birth.\n\n3.2.2. Whoever broods upon desires and longs for them\nis born through those desires, here and there.\nBut for one whose desires are fulfilled, whose Self is made whole,\nall desires dissolve here itself.\n\n3.2.3. This Self is not attained through exposition,\nthrough intellect or through much learning.\nIt is attained by the one this Self chooses;\nto that one the Self reveals its own form.\n\n3.2.4. This Self is not attained by one who lacks strength,\nby carelessness, or by austerity without its proper mark.\nBut the wise one who strives through these means—\nthat one's Self enters Brahman's abode.\n\n3.2.5. Having attained him, the seers are satisfied with knowledge,\ntheir selves made whole, free of attachment and at peace.\nReaching the all-pervading from every side, those steadfast ones,\ntheir selves united, enter into all.\n\n3.2.6. Certain of the meaning through knowledge of the Vedanta,\nthe ascetics, purified through the discipline of renunciation,\nin the worlds of Brahman, at the final end,\nall are freed completely, having attained the highest immortality.\n\n3.2.7. The fifteen parts return to their foundations,\nand all the powers to their corresponding deities.\nDeeds and the Self formed of understanding:\nall become one in the supreme, imperishable.\n\n3.2.8. As flowing rivers in the ocean\ndisappear, giving up their names and forms,\nso the knower, released from name and form,\nreaches the luminous Person beyond the highest.\n\n3.2.9. Whoever knows that highest Brahman\nbecomes Brahman itself; in that one's family no one is ignorant of Brahman.\nSuch a one crosses beyond grief and evil; freed\nfrom the knots within the cave, such a one becomes immortal.\n\n3.2.10. This is declared in a sacred verse:\n“Those who practice the rites, learned in scripture and rooted in Brahman,\nwho faithfully offer to Ekarshi themselves—\nto them alone should one impart this knowledge of Brahman,\nto those who have duly fulfilled the vow of the head.”\n\n3.2.11. This is the truth the seer Angiras\ndeclared long ago. No one who has not fulfilled the vow studies this.\nHomage to the highest seers. Homage to the highest seers.\n\nThus ends the second khanda of the third mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\nThus ends the Mundaka Upanishad of the Atharvaveda.\n\nOm. May our ears hear what is good.\nPeace.\n\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/mundaka-upanishad/translations/trn_mundaka_upanishad_mouseia.txt"},{"id":"trn_mundaka_upanishad_plain","translator":"Mouseia","kind":"plain","note":"Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the Sanskrit, covering all three mundakas, six khandas and 64 verses, with the opening peace invocation, colophons and abbreviated closing invocation. Source-language review by GPT-6.1 Sol.","text":"### Mundaka 1, Khanda 1\n\nOm. Gods, may we hear what is good with our ears; gods worthy of worship, may we see what is good with our eyes.\nPraising you with steady limbs and bodies, may we live out the lifespan the gods have allotted us.\nMay Indra, whose fame is great, bring us well-being; may Pushan, who knows everything, bring us well-being.\nMay Tarkshya, whose wheel-rim is unharmed, bring us well-being; may Brihaspati bring us well-being.\n\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.\n\nOm. Homage to Brahman.\n\n1.1.1. Om. Brahma came into being first among the gods, the maker of the universe,\nthe guardian of the world.\nHe taught the knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge, to Atharvan,\nhis eldest son.\n\n1.1.2. The knowledge of Brahman that Brahma taught Atharvan—\nAtharvan long ago taught it to Angir.\nHe taught it to Satyavaha Bharadvaja,\nand Bharadvaja taught Angiras this knowledge of the higher and the lower.\n\n1.1.3. Shaunaka, a man with a great household, approached Angiras in the proper way and asked,\n“Revered sir, what is it that, once known, makes all this known?”\n\n1.1.4. He said to him,\n“There are two kinds of knowledge to be learned. This is what\nthose who know Brahman say: the higher and the lower.\n\n1.1.5. The lower is the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, the Atharva Veda,\npronunciation, ritual procedure, grammar, word origins, meter, and the study of the stars.\nThe higher is the knowledge by which the imperishable is understood.\n\n1.1.6. It cannot be seen or grasped; it has no family or color,\nno eyes or ears, no hands or feet.\nIt is eternal, all-pervading, present everywhere, extremely subtle,\nundecaying: the wise see it as the source of all beings.\n\n1.1.7. As a spider sends out its web and draws it back,\nas plants grow on the earth,\nas hair grows on a living person's head and body,\nso the universe here comes from the imperishable.\n\n1.1.8. Brahman grows through inner heat; from it food comes into being.\nFrom food come life-breath, mind, what is real, the worlds, and the undying result of actions.\n\n1.1.9. From the one who knows everything, who knows each thing, whose inner heat consists of knowledge,\ncome this Brahman, name, form, and food.”\n\nHere ends the first khanda of the first mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 1, Khanda 2\n\n1.2.1. “This is the truth: the rites that the seers\nsaw in the sacred verses have spread in many forms in the threefold ritual.\nPractice them regularly, you who want the truth. This is your\npath to the world of good deeds.\n\n1.2.2. When the flame flickers in the well-kindled fire that carries offerings,\nplace the offerings between the two portions of clarified butter.\n\n1.2.3. If someone's fire offering lacks the new-moon and full-moon rites,\nthe four-monthly rites, the first-harvest rite, or hospitality to guests,\nif it has no offerings, lacks the rite for all the gods, or is offered against the rules,\nit destroys that person's worlds, up to the seventh.\n\n1.2.4. Kali, the black one, Karali, the terrifying one, Manojava, swift as thought,\nSulohita, deep red, and Sudhumravarna, the color of thick smoke,\nSphulingini, scattering sparks, and the goddess Vishvaruchi, shining everywhere—\nthese are the seven flickering tongues.\n\n1.2.5. Whoever acts at the proper time among these shining flames,\nbringing the offerings—\nthese offerings, the sun's rays, lead that person to where\nthe one lord of the gods lives.\n\n1.2.6. Calling, ‘Come, come,’ the brightly shining offerings\ncarry the sacrificer on the sun's rays.\nThey honor the sacrificer with welcoming words:\n‘This is your holy world of Brahma, won by good deeds.’\n\n1.2.7. But these eighteen supports in the form of sacrifice are unstable boats;\nthe action described as resting on them is of the lower kind.\nThe fools who welcome this as the highest good\nreturn once again to old age and death.\n\n1.2.8. Living in the middle of ignorance,\nthinking themselves wise and learned,\nthe fools wander about, battered,\nlike blind people led by someone blind.\n\n1.2.9. Living in ignorance in many ways, these childish people\nproudly think, ‘We have achieved our goal.’\nBecause attachment keeps those devoted to rites from understanding,\nthey suffer and fall when their worlds are used up.\n\n1.2.10. Thinking sacrifices and public works are best,\nthese deluded people know no other, greater good.\nAfter enjoying the height of heaven, earned by good deeds, they enter this\nworld or a lower one.\n\n1.2.11. But those who practice austerity and faith in the forest,\npeaceful, knowledgeable, living by begging,\ngo free from stain through the sun's door\nto where that immortal Person is, whose Self does not decay.\n\n1.2.12. After examining the worlds built up by action, a Brahmin\nshould become disenchanted: action cannot produce what is unmade.\nTo understand that, one should go to a teacher,\ncarrying firewood in hand, a teacher learned in scripture and grounded in Brahman.\n\n1.2.13. To the student who has approached properly, the learned teacher—\nto one whose mind is peaceful and who has self-control—\nexplained the knowledge by which one knows the imperishable, the real Person:\nthe knowledge of Brahman as it truly is.”\n\nHere ends the second khanda of the first mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 2, Khanda 1\n\n2.1.1. This is the truth:\nas sparks from a brightly blazing fire\ncome out by the thousand, sharing its nature,\nso, dear friend, beings of many kinds\ncome from the imperishable and return to it.\n\n2.1.2. The Person is radiant and without form, both outside and inside, unborn,\nwithout life-breath or mind, pure, beyond even the higher imperishable.\n\n2.1.3. From this Person come life-breath, mind, and all the senses,\nspace, air, fire, water, and earth, which supports everything.\n\n2.1.4. Fire is his head; the moon and sun are his eyes;\nthe directions are his ears; the revealed Vedas are his speech.\nAir is his life-breath; the universe is his heart; from his feet\ncomes the earth. He is the inner Self of all beings.\n\n2.1.5. From him comes the fire whose fuel is the sun;\nfrom Soma comes rain; plants grow on the earth.\nA man pours seed into a woman.\nMany offspring have come from the Person.\n\n2.1.6. From him come the Rig verses, the Sama chants, the Yajur formulas, initiation,\nall sacrifices and rituals, the gifts to the priests,\nthe year, the sacrificer, and the worlds\nwhere Soma is purified and where the sun is.\n\n2.1.7. From him have come the gods in their many kinds,\nthe Sadhyas, humans, animals, birds,\nthe inward and outward breaths, rice and barley, austerity,\nfaith, truth, celibacy, and the rules of conduct.\n\n2.1.8. From him come the seven life-breaths,\nseven flames, seven kinds of fuel, seven offerings,\nand these seven worlds in which the life-breaths move,\nresting in the cave, set there in groups of seven.\n\n2.1.9. From him come the seas and all the mountains; from him\nflow rivers of every kind.\nFrom him come all plants and their sap,\nby which this inner Self lives among the elements.\n\n2.1.10. The Person alone is this whole universe: action, austerity, Brahman, the highest immortal.\nWhoever knows this, hidden in the cave,\nbreaks apart the knot of ignorance here, dear friend.\n\nHere ends the first khanda of the second mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 2, Khanda 2\n\n2.2.1. It is manifest and close, known as what moves in the cave,\nthe great resting place. In it is set all this—\nwhatever moves, breathes, and blinks. Know it:\nwhat is and what is not, worth choosing, beyond understanding, the highest for all creatures.\n\n2.2.2. It shines; it is smaller than the small;\nin it the worlds and their inhabitants are set.\nIt is imperishable Brahman; it is life-breath, speech, and mind.\nIt is truth; it is immortal; it is to be pierced. Pierce it, dear friend.\n\n2.2.3. Take the bow, the great weapon of the Upanishads,\nand set on it an arrow sharpened by meditation.\nDraw it with a mind absorbed in that reality,\nand pierce that very imperishable as your target, dear friend.\n\n2.2.4. Om is the bow, the Self is the arrow, and Brahman is said to be the target.\nPierce it without distraction; become one with it, like the arrow.\n\n2.2.5. In it are woven heaven, earth, and the space between,\ntogether with the mind and all the life-breaths.\nKnow that one alone as the Self; let go of other talk.\nThis is the bridge to immortality.\n\n2.2.6. Where the channels meet like spokes at a chariot's hub,\nthis Self moves within, coming into being in many forms.\nMeditate on the Self as Om. May you fare well\nin crossing beyond the darkness.\n\n2.2.7. The one who knows everything, who knows each thing, whose greatness is here on earth—\nthis Self is established in the space within the radiant city of Brahman.\n\nMade of mind, guiding life-breath and body,\nit rests in food, making its home in the heart.\nThrough understanding, the wise see it fully:\nwhat shines as bliss itself, immortal.\n\n2.2.8. The heart's knot breaks, all doubts are cut away,\nand one's actions are exhausted when that which is both higher and lower is seen.\n\n2.2.9. In the highest golden covering is Brahman, without stain or parts.\nIt is pure, the light of lights; it is what those who know the Self know.\n\n2.2.10. The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and stars;\nthese flashes of lightning do not shine there, much less this fire.\nEverything shines by following its light alone;\nby its light all this shines.\n\n2.2.11. Immortal Brahman alone is here in front; Brahman is behind, to the south and to the north.\nIt extends below and above. This whole universe is Brahman alone, the highest.\n\nHere ends the second khanda of the second mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 3, Khanda 1\n\n3.1.1. Two birds with beautiful wings, companions joined together, cling to the same tree.\nOne eats the sweet pipal fruit; the other, not eating, watches.\n\n3.1.2. In that same tree a person is sunk,\ngrieving helplessly, confused.\nWhen he sees the other, the beloved Lord, and his\ngreatness, he is free of grief.\n\n3.1.3. When the one who sees beholds the golden-colored one,\nthe maker, the Lord, the Person, the source of Brahman,\nthen, knowing, he shakes off good and evil,\nand, without stain, reaches the highest equality.\n\n3.1.4. This is the life-breath that shines through all beings.\nUnderstanding this, the knowledgeable person does not make boastful claims.\nPlaying in the Self, delighting in the Self, active—\nthis person is the foremost of those who know Brahman.\n\n3.1.5. This Self is reached through truth and austerity,\nthrough right knowledge and celibacy, practiced continually.\nWithin the body it is pure and full of light;\nthose who strive, whose faults have dwindled away, see it.\n\n3.1.6. Truth alone wins, not falsehood.\nThrough truth the path leading to the gods is laid out.\nAlong it travel the seers whose desires are fulfilled,\nto where truth's highest treasure is kept.\n\n3.1.7. It is vast and radiant; its form cannot be conceived.\nIt shines, subtler than the subtle.\nIt is much farther than the far, and also close at hand here.\nLet them see it right here, hidden in the cave.\n\n3.1.8. It is not grasped by the eye or by speech,\nby the other divine powers, by austerity, or by action.\nBut through the clarity of knowledge, one whose inner being is pure\nthen sees it, without parts,\nwhile meditating.\n\n3.1.9. This subtle Self must be known through the mind,\ninto which life-breath has entered in five forms.\nThe mind of every creature is woven through with the life-breaths;\nwhen it is purified, this Self shines forth.\n\n3.1.10. Whatever world someone with a pure inner being\npictures in the mind, and whatever desires that person has,\nthat person wins that world and those desired things.\nSo anyone who wants prosperity should honor one who knows the Self.\n\nHere ends the first khanda of the third mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\n### Mundaka 3, Khanda 2\n\n3.2.1. That person knows the highest Brahman, the home\nwhere the whole universe is set; it shines pure.\nThose who worship the Person without desire—\nthose wise ones pass beyond this seed of birth.\n\n3.2.2. Whoever longs for desired things, thinking about them,\nis born here and there through those desires.\nBut for one whose desires are fulfilled, whose Self is perfected,\nall desires dissolve right here.\n\n3.2.3. This Self cannot be reached by teaching,\nby intelligence, or by hearing a great deal.\nIt can be reached only by the one this Self chooses;\nto that person this Self reveals its own form.\n\n3.2.4. This Self cannot be reached by one who lacks strength,\nthrough carelessness, or through austerity without its mark.\nBut the knowledgeable person who strives with these means—\nthat person's Self enters the home of Brahman.\n\n3.2.5. Having reached it, the seers are satisfied with knowledge,\ntheir Selves perfected, free from attachment, at peace.\nReaching the all-pervading one from every side, those wise ones,\ntheir Selves united, enter everything.\n\n3.2.6. Through understanding Vedanta, firmly certain of its meaning,\nthose who strive have purified their inner being through the discipline of renunciation.\nIn the worlds of Brahman, at the final end,\nthey all reach the highest immortality and are completely freed.\n\n3.2.7. The fifteen parts return to their foundations,\nand all the divine powers to their respective gods.\nActions and the Self made of understanding—\nall become one in the highest, the undecaying.\n\n3.2.8. As flowing rivers disappear into the sea,\nleaving name and form behind,\nso the one who knows, freed from name and form,\nreaches the radiant Person, beyond the highest.\n\n3.2.9. Whoever knows that highest Brahman\nbecomes Brahman itself. No one in that person's family is without knowledge of Brahman.\nThat person crosses beyond grief and evil; freed from the knots in the cave,\nthat person becomes immortal.\n\n3.2.10. This is declared in a sacred verse:\n“Those who carry out the rites, are learned in scripture, are grounded in Brahman,\nand with faith offer to Ekarshi themselves—\nonly to them should one teach this knowledge of Brahman,\nto those who have properly carried out the head vow.”\n\n3.2.11. This is the truth that the seer Angiras\ntaught long ago. No one who has not carried out the vow studies it.\nHomage to the highest seers! Homage to the highest seers!\n\nHere ends the second khanda of the third mundaka in the Mundaka Upanishad.\n\nHere ends the Mundaka Upanishad belonging to the Atharva Veda.\n\nOm. May we hear what is good.\nPeace.\n\nOm. Peace, peace, peace.","download_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/mundaka-upanishad/translations/trn_mundaka_upanishad_plain.txt"}],"retex_markdown_url":"https://mouseia.org/api/works/mundaka-upanishad/retex.md"}}