Chapter 3
Original Sanskrit
कोऽयमात्मेति वयमुपास्महे कतरः स आत्मा । येन वा पश्यति येन वा शृणोति येन वा गन्धानाजिघ्रति येन वा वाचं व्याकरोति येन वा स्वादु चास्वादु च विजानाति ॥ १ ॥
यदेतद्धृदयं मनश्चैतत् । सञ्ज्ञानमाज्ञानं विज्ञानं प्रज्ञानं मेधा दृष्टिधृर्तिमतिर्मनीषा जूतिः स्मृतिः सङ्कल्पः क्रतुरसुः कामो वश इति । सर्वाण्येवैतानि प्रज्ञानस्य नामधेयानि भवन्ति ॥ २ ॥
एष ब्रह्मैष इन्द्र एष प्रजापतिरेते सर्वे देवा इमानि च पञ्चमहाभूतानि पृथिवी वायुराकाश आपो ज्योतींषीत्येतानीमानि च क्षुद्रमिश्राणीव । बीजानीतराणि चेतराणि चाण्डजानि च जारुजानि च स्वेदजानि चोद्भिज्जानि चाश्वा गावः पुरुषा हस्तिनो यत्किञ्चेदं प्राणि जङ्गमं च पतत्रि च यच्च स्थावरं सर्वं तत्प्रज्ञानेत्रं प्रज्ञाने प्रतिष्ठितं प्रज्ञानेत्रो लोकः प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठा प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म ॥ ३ ॥
स एतेन प्राज्ञेनाऽऽत्मनाऽस्माल्लोकादुत्क्रम्यामुष्मिन्स्वर्गे लोके सर्वान् कामानाप्त्वाऽमृतः समभवत् समभवत् ॥ ४ ॥
॥ इति ऎतरेयोपनिषत् समाप्ता ॥
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Sanskrit, covering all three chapters, the opening invocation and closing colophon.
1 Who is this whom we worship as the Self? Which is that Self? Is it that by which one sees, by which one hears, by which one smells scents, by which one articulates speech, by which one discerns what is sweet and what is not sweet?
2 It is this heart and mind: recognition, command, discernment, awareness, intelligence, vision, steadfastness, thought, reflection, impulse, memory, resolve, purpose, life, desire, mastery. All these are names of awareness.
3 This is Brahma; this is Indra; this is Prajapati. This is all these gods and these five great elements—earth, wind, space, waters, and lights—and these seemingly small and mixed creatures, these seeds of one kind and another: those born from eggs, those born from wombs, those born from moisture, and those that sprout; horses, cattle, human beings, elephants, whatever here is alive, walking or flying, and whatever is rooted in place. All of it is guided by awareness, established in awareness. The world is guided by awareness; awareness is its foundation. Awareness is Brahman.
4 Through this conscious Self, he rose from this world, attained all desires in that heavenly world, and became immortal; he became immortal.
Thus ends the Aitareya Upanishad.
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation, made independently and directly from the Sanskrit, covering all three chapters, the opening invocation and closing colophon.
1 Who is this Self that we worship? Which one is the Self? Is it what lets us see, hear, smell things, put speech into words, and tell sweet tastes from tastes that are not sweet?
2 It is this heart and mind: awareness, authority, understanding, consciousness, intelligence, seeing, persistence, thinking, reasoning, drive, memory, deciding, intention, life, wanting, and control. All of these are names for consciousness.
3 This is Brahma. This is Indra. This is Prajapati. It is all these gods. It is the five great elements: earth, air, space, water, and light. It is what seem to be these small, mixed forms of life and the different kinds of seeds: things born from eggs, from wombs, from moisture, and things that sprout. It is horses, cows, people, elephants, and anything here that is alive, whether it walks, flies, or stays in one place. Everything is led by consciousness and rests on consciousness. Consciousness leads the world. Consciousness is its support. Consciousness is Brahman.
4 Through this Self that knows, he rose out of this world. In that heavenly world he fulfilled every desire and became immortal. He became immortal.
The Aitareya Upanishad ends here.
About this section
Chapter 3 is part of Aitareya Upanishad by Unknown. This page sets the Sanskrit original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 6 of 6 in the work, which is kept in the Hindu tradition.
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