One Mundaka of Selected Translations

1.1

1. Brahma, the Maker of the universe and the Preserver of the world, was the first among the devas. He told His eldest son Atharva about the Knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge. -N

2. In the beginning, Atharvā taught to Aṅgir that very same brahma-vidyā given by Brahmaji to him. Aṅgir taught it to Satyavaha who was born in the family of Bharadvāja. Satyavaha handed down this knowledge, that passes from the higher to the lower, to Aṅgiras. -D

3. Saunaka, the great householder, approached Angiras in the proper manner and said: Revered sir, what is that by the knowing of which all this becomes known? ~N

4. To him he said: Two kinds of knowledge must be known-that is what the knowers of Brahman tell us. They are the Higher Knowledge and the lower knowledge. ~N

5. Among the two, the aparā-vidyā is Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaveda, phonetics, know-how of rituals, grammar, etymology of Vedic words, science of metres, astronomy and astrology. And parā-vidyā is the one by which that imperishable Brahman is known. ~D

6. That which is invisible, ungraspable, unoriginated and attributeless, that which has neither eyes not ears nor hands nor legs – that is Eternal, full of manifestations, all-pervading, subtlest of the subtle – that imperishable Being is what the wise perceive as the source of all creation. ~C

7. As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread, as plants grow on the earth, as hair grows on the head and the body of a living man -so does everything in the universe arise from the Imperishable. ~N

Translators

C: Chinmayananda

D: Dayananda

N: Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.7 Trans & Comms

yathorṇanābhiḥ sṛjate gṛhṇate ca yathā pṛthivyām oṣadhayaḥ sambhavanti. yathāsataḥ puruṣāt keśalomāni tathākṣarāt sambhavatīha viśvam. (1.1.7) 

yathā – just as; ūrṇanābhiḥ – the spider; sṛjate – creates; ca – and; gṛhṇate – withdraws; yathā – just as; pṛthivyām – from the earth; oṣadhayaḥ – plants and trees; sambhavanti – come into being; yathā – just as; sataḥ puruṣāt – from a living person; keśalomāni – hair on the head and body (grow); tathā – in the same manner; akṣarāt – from the Brahman which is akṣara; iha – here; viśvam – the creation; sambhavati – comes into being

Just as a spider creates and withdraws its web, just as the plants and trees come into being from the earth, just as hair on the head and body grow from a living person, in the same manner, here, the creation (world) comes into being from the imperishable Brahman.

The example of a spider is given here because in creating the thread, the spider is both the maker and the material.

Similarly, Īśvara as the creator does not need help from somebody. Just as a spider creates the thread and withdraws it, Brahman is able to project the jagat and also withdraw it. In fact, Brahman is manifest as jagat. It can take back the jagat into itself, which is why at all levels it is Brahman.

Brahman does not stand separate from the jagat like the spider from the web. Brahman is non-separate from the jagat, like the earth is not separate from the trees and plants that have come out of it.

~Dayananda

As the spider projects and withdraws (unto itself) the web, as the herbs and plants sprout out from the earth, as hairs grow on the head and body of a man, so from the Imperishable comes out the universe here.

Thus, on the whole, the three pictures distinctly give us three sets of ideas which we must comprehend fully in order to grasp the entire process of creation. They are – 

Out of Him the world has come without the intervention of any other cause other than Himself and in the end the projected world is absorbed back again into the Divine, as spider creates the web.

The Supreme has neither the effort nor the purpose with which the earth produces or nourishes the herbs and plants. Creation is an effortless, purposeless, projection – a divine līlā. 

The Supreme is not a dead inert matter like the earth, but is a conscious living, vital personality – a positive entity – an all-pervading Essence, absolute Existence- Knowledge-Bliss (Sat-Cit-Ᾱnanda).

~Chinmayananda

As the spider sends forth and draws in its thread, as plants grow on the earth, as hair grows on the head and the body of a living man -so does everything in the universe arise from the Imperishable.

The creation is not the becoming or transformation of Brahman. Brahman, through Its own inscrutable power, appears as the universe of name and form without Itself undergoing any change whatsoever. This is called maya.

~Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.6 Trans & Comms

 yattadadreśyam agrāhyam agotram avarṇam acakṣuḥ-śrotraṁ tadapāṇipādam. nityaṁ vibhuṁ sarvagataṁ susūkṣmam tadavyayaṁ yadbhūtayoniṁ paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ. (1.1.6) 

tat – that; yat – which; adreśyam – is not the object of sense perception; agrāhyam – not an object of organs of action; agotram – unborn; avarṇam – without any attributes; acakṣuśśrotram – not eyes or ears (not a sense organ); tad – that; apāṇipādam – which has no hands or legs (not an organ of action); nityam – eternal; vibhum – which becomes many; sarvagatam – all-pervasive; susūkṣmam – the most subtle; tat – that; avyayam – free from decline and disappearance; yat – which; bhūtayonim – cause of all beings; dhīrāḥ – those who are qualified; paripaśyanti – see very clearly

Brahman is that which is not the object of sense perception or organs of action, which is unborn, which does not have any attributes, which does not have eyes and ears nor hands and legs, which is eternal, which becomes many (manifold creation), which is all-pervasive, the most subtle, that which is free from decline and disappearance, which is the cause of all beings and which the qualified people see very clearly.

~Dayananda

That which is invisible, ungraspable, unoriginated and attributeless, that which has neither eyes not ears nor hands nor legs – that is Eternal, full of manifestations, all-pervading, subtlest of the subtle – that imperishable Being is what the wise perceive as the source of all creation.

Sanskrit has reached its fulfilment in this stanza! There is no śāstra in our Hindu literature wherein this mantra has not been more than once referred to and quoted. Śaṅkara’s pen cannot move down sometimes even a page without scribbling at least a part of this mantra. No paṇḍita can open his mouth without expressing the ideas contained in this! In short, this mantra is the summary of the Highest said in all the bibles of the world.

~Chinmayananda

By means of the Higher Knowledge the wise behold everywhere Brahman, which otherwise cannot be seen or seized, which has no root or attributes, no eyes or ears, no hands or feet; which is eternal and omnipresent, all-pervading and extremely subtle; which is imperishable and the source of all beings.

The wise pursue the Higher Knowledge to realize Brahman, the Imperishable Absolute. The first half of the verse describes Brahman by the negation of attributes. The second half indicates Brahman by certain positive epithets. Brahman is the attributeless and unchanging Reality in all objects, but is unrelated to them.

~Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.5 Trans & Comms

tatrāparā ṛgvedo yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo‘tharvavedaḥ śikṣā kalpo vyākaraṇaṁ niruktaṁ chando jyotiṣamiti. atha parā yayā tadakṣaram adhigamyate. (1.1.5) 

tatra – among the two; aparā – aparā; iti – is; ṛgvedaḥ – Ṛgveda; yajurvedaḥ – Yajurveda; sāmavedaḥ – Sāmaveda; atharvavedaḥ – Atharvaveda; śikṣā – phonetics; kalpaḥ – know-how of the rituals; vyākaraṇam – grammar; niruktam – etymology of Vedic words; chandaḥ – prosody; jyotiṣam – astronomy; atha – and; parā – parā; yayā – by which; tad – that; akṣaram – akṣaraṁ brahma; adhigamyate – is known

Among the two, the aparā-vidyā is Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaveda, phonetics, know-how of rituals, grammar, etymology of Vedic words, science of metres, astronomy and astrology. And parā-vidyā is the one by which that imperishable Brahman is known.

To get parā-vidyā you have to acquire two types of qualifications. First is cognitive skill or the capacity to think properly, because the whole problem is due to aviveka, absence of ability to distinctly understand the real and the unreal. Therefore, the cognitive skill has to be honed. The second is, your life experiences should make you a complete person, in the sense of emotional maturity. Parā-vidyā is meant for a complete person, a compassionate person. The compassionate person alone is a mature person. Compassion towards yourself and the world implies maturity. Since aparā-vidyā gives viveka and maturity, it is presented first.

~Dayananda

There, the ‘lower knowledge’ is constituted of (the four Vedas) the Ṛg, the Sāma, the Yajur and the Atharva, and the (six Vedāṅgas) Śikṣā (phonetics), Kalpa (code of rituals), Vyākaraṇa (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Chandas (metrics) and Jyotiṣa (astrology). Now the ‘Higher Knowledge’ is that which leads to immortality or that which goes beyond the word-meaning in languages.

This must have been a staggering revelation to the student who was then as much a victim of his generation as we are now of our own times. The great Śaunaka faithfully believed the declarations of Vedas and lived an entire life following strictly the ritualistic part of our immortal religion and at the end of his lifetime, when he reached the feet of a Master seeking the Supreme, he was told that he had squandered away the best part of his life in wooing but the ‘lower knowledge’.

~Chinmayananda

Of these two, the lower knowledge is the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Atharva-Veda, siksha (phonetics), kalpa (rituals), vyakaranam (grammar), nirukta (etymology), chhandas (metre), and jyotis (astronomy); and the Higher Knowledge is that by which the Imperishable Brahman is attained. 

The Vedas generally-and especially in this context-signify the mere assemblage of words (sabdarasi) constituting their texts. In order to attain the Higher Knowledge, a student who has mastered the words of the scriptures must go to a qualified preceptor and cultivate such spiritual disciplines as discrimination and renunciation. Otherwise he cannot realize the Imperishable Brahman. 

~Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.4 Trans & Comms

Tasmai sa hovāca dve vidye veditavye iti ha sma. Yad brahmavido vadanti parā caivāparā ca. (1.1.4)

tasmai – to him (Śaunaka); saḥ – he (Aṅgiras); uvāca – said; brahmavidaḥ – those who know Veda; vadanti – declare; iti – that; dve vidye – there are two types of knowledge; ha sma – indeed; veditavye – to be gained; yad – which (are known as); parā ca eva – higher; aparā ca – lower

Aṅgiras said to Śaunaka: ‘Those who know the Veda say that there are indeed two types of knowledge to be gained, which are (known as) higher and lower.

Instead of directly answering the question and unfolding parā-vidyā, the teacher starts with the statement that you also have to know aparā-vidyā. It is because of an important rule that Śaṅkara cites[34] here: a teacher has to first present all prevalent erroneous notions and negate them.

~Dayananda

4. To him (Śaunaka) Aṅgirā said, “There are two kinds of knowledge to be acquired, namely, aparā and parā – lower and higher. So say those (the great seers of the Upaniṣads) who know Brahman.”

According to Śaṅkara, the implication of the very question directly demands such an answer. The question concealed in its words not only indicates a thirst to know what that supreme Knowledge is, but also expresses at once a doubt in the mind of the student as to whether there can be such a ‘Knowledge’. The import of the question is: ‘O Teacher! Is there a Knowledge, knowing which all other knowledges become known, and if there be such a Knowledge, in what way is it different from the ordinary knowledges known to us and and how can I attain it?’

~Chinmayananda

To him he said: Two kinds of knowledge must be known-that is what the knowers of Brahman tell us. They are the Higher Knowledge and the lower knowledge.

The lower knowledge is the knowledge of the phenomenal world. In reality it is ignorance, for it does not lead to the Highest Good. The seer of the Upanishad asks the aspirant to acquire both the knowledge of the relative world and the Knowledge of Ultimate Reality. \Vhen by the pursuit of the former he fails to attain true freedom and immortality, he cultivates the latter.

~Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.3 Trans & Comms

śaunako ha vai mahāśālaḥ aṅgirasaṁ vidhivad upasannaḥ papraccha. kasminnu bhagavo vijñāte sarvamidaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavatīti. (1.1.3) 

śaunakaḥ – Śaunaka; ha vai – indeed; mahāśālaḥ – the famous householder; aṅgirasam – to Aṅgiras; vidhivat – as per the stipulations; upasannaḥ – approached; papraccha – (and) asked; iti – thus; bhagavaḥ – O Revered Sir!; kasmin nu vijñāte – by knowing which one thing alone; idam – this; sarvam – all; vijñātam – known; bhavati – becomes 

Śaunaka, the famous householder, approached Aṅgiras as per the stipulations and asked thus: ‘O Revered Sir! By knowing which one thing alone, does everything become known?

~Dayananda

The great householder Śaunaka duly approaching Aṅgirā in the prescribed manner asked, “What is That, my Lord, having known which all these become known”?

Śaunaka wants to know what is that Knowledge which is the very substance of all knowledges. In short, he wants to know the light principle in our intelligence by which knowledge of things are illumined for us during our existence.

~Chinmayananda

Saunaka, the great householder, approached Angiras in the proper manner and said: Revered sir, what is that by the knowing of which all this becomes known? 

According to Non-dualistic Vedanta an effect has no real existence apart from its cause. Therefore when a man knows the cause, he also should know that the effect has no reality independent of it. Brahman is the ultimate cause of the universe. When one knows Brahman, one also knows that the universe has no reality independent of Brahman. 

~Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.2 Trans & Comms

Atharvaṇe yāṁ pravadeta brahmā atharvā tāṁ purovācāṅgire brahmavidyām. Sa bhāradvājāya satya-vahāya prāha bhāradvājo‘ṅgirase parāvarām. (1.1.2)

purā – in the beginning; yām – which; brahmā – Brahmaji; atharvaṇe – to Atharvā; pravadeta – taught; tām – that; brahmavidyām – knowledge of Brahman; atharvā – Atharvā; aṅgire – to Aṅgir; uvāca – taught; saḥ – he (Aṅgir); satyavahāya – to Satyavaha; bhāradvājāya – one who was born in the family of Bharadvāja; prāha – taught; bhāradvājaḥ – Bhāradvāja; parāvarām – that which comes through a teacher and then a student; aṅgirase – (taught) Aṅgiras

In the beginning, Atharvā taught to Aṅgir that very same brahma-vidyā given by Brahmaji to him. Aṅgir taught it to Satyavaha who was born in the family of Bharadvāja. Satyavaha handed down this knowledge, that passes from the higher to the lower, to Aṅgiras.

~Dayananda

2. The very Knowledge which Brahmā taught to Atharvā, he taught it to Aṅgi in ancient days and he taught it to Ṛṣi Satyavaha – of the Bhāradvāja clan and Satyavaha taught it to Aṅgirā – the knowledge was so handed down from the greater (Teacher) to the lesser (disciple).

When the kindly Masters tried to guide their disciples, they did not claim this knowledge as their own but only quoted, in their turn, their own Masters. Thus, the purity of the scriptures had been kept up by this tradition of a ‘divine-copyright’.

We have, here, an entire line of Guru-śiṣya paramparā (Teacher-taught family tree) giving us the details of who taught whom. In this mantra the family tree of knowledge has been traced out to Aṅgirā and in the following mantras you will find how he is the Guru to whom a disciple approaches with a transcendental question. The answer given to the seeker by Maharṣi Aṅgirā is the contents of the Muṇḍakopaniṣad.

~Chinmayananda

The Knowledge of Brahman about which Brahma told Atharva, Atharva, in olden times, told Angir. Angir taught it to Satyavaha, belonging to the clan of Bharadvaja, and the latter taught it, in succession, to Angiras.

The Knowledge of Brahman was first revealed by the Lord to Brahm.ii, who transmitted it to His eldest son. Therefore this Knowledge is not of human origin and is free from human imperfections.

~Nikhilananda

Mundaka 1.1.1 Trans & Comms

Brahmā devānāṁ prathamaḥ sambabhūva viśvasya kartā bhuvanasya goptā. Sa brahmavidyāṁ sarvavidyā-pratiṣṭhām atharvāya jyeṣṭhaputrāya prāha. (1.1.1)

devānām – among the gods; brahmā – Brahmaji; prathamaḥ – first; saṁbabhūva – came into being; viśvasya – of the entire universe; kartā – creator; bhuvanasya – of the universe; goptā – protector; saḥ – he (Brahmaji); brahmavidyām –knowledge of Brahman; sarvavidyā-pratiṣṭhām – the most exalted among all forms of knowledge; atharvāya – to Atharva; jyeṣṭhaputrāya – his first son; prāha – taught Among the gods,

1. Brahmaji came into being first; he is the creator of the entire universe and also its protector. He taught the knowledge of Brahman which is the most exalted among all forms of knowledge, to Atharva, his first son.

One Īśvara alone is viewed from different standpoints and is called by different names. Viewed from the creation standpoint he is Brahmaji. From the standpoint of sustenance he is Viṣṇu. From the standpoint of withdrawal he is Śiva or Rudra.

~Dayananda

1. Of the Gods, Brahmā – the Creator and the protector of the universe – was self-born, first gave out the knowledge of Reality (Brahmavidyā), the Knowledge of all knowledges, the foundation for all sciences, to his own eldest son Atharvā.

Brahmā is not a product of sperm and ovum, but he is self-born. He is the manifestation of the creative urge in the Reality. He, it is said, was the first to give out the great knowledge of Brahmavidyā to his own eldest son, Atharvā.

This knowledge of the supreme Reality is called Brahmavidyā, may be, because it was first given out by Brahmā or because it deals with Brahman, the term as used in the Upaniṣads for the eternal and omniscient pure Consciousness.

This Brahmavidyā has been glorified in the Upaniṣads as the ‘Science of all sciences’; as the ‘Knowledge of all knowledges’; as the ‘foundation of all other sciences’! The Self is the Life Principle in us and all other knowledge bits about the external world and the inner world are but modifications of the Self.

~Chinmayananda

1. OM. BRAHMA, the Maker of the universe and the Preserver of the world, was the first among the devas. He told His eldest son Atharva about the Knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge.

By praising Brahma and the Knowledge of Brahman, the Upanishad indirectly extols the Knowledge which it intends to impart. The purpose is to awaken the interest of the hearer. 

~Nikhilananda