1 Mundaka Upanishad with Sri Aurobindo’s translation šā nti p āṭha ḥ ` -/Ô< k[ˆR?i-> z&[uyam deva -/Ôm! p?Zyema/]i-?r! yjÇa> , iSw/rEr! A¼E?s! tuòu/va~s?s! t/nUi-/r! Vy! Azem de/vih?t</ yd! Aayu>? . Sv/iSt n/ #NÔae? v&/Ïï?va> Sv/iSt n>? pU/;a iv/ñve?da> , Sv/iSt n/s! taúyaˆR/ Air?òneim> Sv/iSt nae/ b&h/Spit?r! dxatu . ` zaiNt/> zaiNt/> zaiNt>?. First Mundaka Chapter I brahm ā dev ānāṃ prathama ḥ sambabh ūva vi švasya kartt ā bhuvanasya gopt ā/ sa brahmavidy āṃ sarvavidy āprati ṣṭ hām atharv āya jye ṣṭ haputr āya pr āha// 1. 1. Brahma first of the Gods was born, the creator of all, the world's protector; he to Atharvan, his eldest son, declared the God-knowledge in which all sciences have their foundation. atharva ṇe y āṃ pravadeta brahm ātharv ā tāṃ purov ācāṅgire brahmavidy ām/ sa bh āradv ājāya satyavah āya pr āha bh āradv ājo ' ṅgirase par āvar ām// 2. 2. The God-knowledge by Brahma declared to Atharvan, Atharvan of old declared to Angir; he to Satyavaha the Bharadwaja told it, the Bharadwaja to Angiras, both the higher and the lower knowledge. šaunako ha vai mah āšā lo ' ṅgirasa ṃ vidhivad upasanna ḥ papraccha/ kasmin nu bhagavo vijñ āte sarvam ida ṃ vijñ āta ṃ bhavat īti// 3. 3. Shaunaka, the great house-lord, came to Angiras in the due way of the disciple and asked of him, “Lord, by knowing what does all this that is become known?” 2 tasmai sa hov āca/ dve vidye veditavye iti ha sma yad brahmavido vadanti par ā caiv āpar ā ca// 4. 4. To him thus spoke Angiras: Twofold is the knowledge that must be known of which the knowers of the Brahman tell, the higher and the lower knowledge. tatr āpar ā ṛgvedo yajurveda ḥ s āmavedo 'tharvaveda ḥ šik ṣā kalpo vy ākara ṇaṃ nirukta ṃ chando jyoti ṣamiti/ atha par ā yay ā tad ak ṣaram adhigamyate// 5. 5. Of which the lower, the Rig-veda and the Yajur-veda, and the Sama-veda and the Atharva-veda, chanting, ritual, grammar, etymological interpretation, and prosody and astronomy. And then the higher by which is known the Immutable. yat tadadre šyam agr āhyam agotram avar ṇam acak ṣuḥš rotra ṃ tadap āṇip ādam/ nitya ṃ vibhu ṃ sarvagata ṃ sus ūkṣma ṃ tadavyaya ṃ yad bh ūtayoniṃ paripa šyanti dh īrāḥ// 6. 6. That the invisible, that the unseizable, without connections, without hue, without eye or ear, that which is without hands or feet, eternal, pervading, which is in all things and impalpable, that which is Imperishable, that which is the womb of creatures sages behold everywhere. yathor ṇan ābhi ḥ s ṛjate g ṛhṇate ca yath ā p ṛthivy ām o ṣadhaya ḥ sambhavanti/ yath ā sata ḥ puru ṣāt ke šalom āni tath ākṣar āt sambhavat īha vi švam// 7. 7. As the spider puts out and gathers in, as herbs spring up upon the earth, as hair of head and body grow from a living man, so here all is born from the Immutable. tapas ā c īyate brahma tato 'nnam abhij āyate/ ann āt pr āṇo mana ḥ satya ṃ lok āḥ karmasu c āmṛtam// 8. 3 8. Brahman grows by his energy at work, and then from Him is Matter born, and out of Matter life, and mind and truth and the worlds, and in works immortality. ya ḥ sarvajña ḥ sarvavid yasya jñ ānamaya ṃ tapa ḥ/ tasm ād etad brahma n āma r ūpam anna ṃ ca j āyate// 9. 9. He who is the Omniscient, the all-wise, He whose energy is all made of knowledge, from Him is born this that is Brahman here, this Name and Form and Matter. Chapter II tad etat satya ṃ mantre ṣu karmāṇi kavayo y āny apa šya ṃs t āni tret āyāṃ bahudh ā santat āni/ tāny ācaratha niyata ṃ satyak āmā e ṣa va ḥ panth āḥ suk ṛtasya loke// 1. 1. This is That, the Truth of things: works which the sages beheld in the Mantras 1 were in the Treta 2 manifoldly extended. Works do ye perform religiously with one passion for the Truth; this is your road to the heaven of good deeds. yad ā lel āyate hyarci ḥ samiddhe havyav āhane/ tad ājyabh āgāv antare ṇāhut īḥ pratip ādayec-chraddhay āhutam// 2. 2. When the fire of the sacrifice is kindled and the flame sways and quivers, then between the double pourings of butter cast therein with faith thy offerings. yasy āgnihotram adar šam apaur ṇam āsam ac āturm āsyam an āgraya ṇam atithivarjita ṃ ca/ ahutam avai švadevam avidhin ā hutam āsaptam āṃs tasya lok ān hinasti// 3. 3. For he whose altar-fires are empty of the new-moon offering and the full- moon offering and the offering of the rains and the offering of the first fruits, 1 The inspired verses of the Veda. 2 The second of the four ages. 4 or unfed, or fed without right ritual, or without guests or without the dues to the Vishwa-Devas, destroys his hope of all the seven worlds. kālī kar ālī ca manojav ā ca sulohit ā y ā ca sudh ūmravar ṇā / sphuli ṅgin ī vi švaruc ī ca dev ī lel āyam ānā iti sapta jihv āḥ // 4. 4. Kali, the black, Karali, the terrible, Manojava, thought-swift, Sulohita, blood-red, Sudhumravarna, smoke-hued, Sphulingini, scattering sparks, Vishwaruchi, the all-beautiful, these are the seven swaying tongues of the fire. ete ṣu y aš carate bhr ājam āne ṣu yath ākāla ṃ c āhutayo hy ādad āyan/ ta ṃ nayanty et āḥ s ūryasya ra šmayo yatra dev ānāṃ patireko'dhiv āsa ḥ// 5. 5. He who in these when they are blazing bright performs the rites, in their due season, him his fires of sacrifice take and they lead him, these rays of the sun, there where the Overlord of the Gods is the Inhabitant on high. ehyeh īti tam āhutaya ḥ suvarcasa ḥ s ūryasya ra šmibhir yajam āna ṃ vahanti/ priy āṃ v ācam abhivadantyo 'rcayantya e ṣa va ḥ pu ṇya ḥ suk ṛto brahmaloka ḥ// 6. 6. “Come with us”, “Come with us”, they cry to him, these luminous fires of sacrifice and they bear him by the rays of the sun speaking to him pleasant words of sweetness, doing him homage, “This is your holy world of Brahman and the heaven of your righteousness.” plav ā hyete ad ṛḍ hā yaj ñar ūpā a ṣṭāda šoktam avara ṃ ye ṣu karma/ etacchreyo ye'bhinandanti m ūḍhā jar āmṛtyu ṃ te punar ev āpi yanti // 7. 7. But frail are the ships of sacrifice, frail these forms of sacrifice, all the eighteen of them, in which are declared the lower works; fools are they who hail them as the highest good and they come yet again to this world of age and death. avidy āyām antare vartam ānāḥ svaya ṃ dh īrāḥ pa ṇḍ it aṃ manyam ānāḥ / ja ṅghanyam ānāḥ pariyanti m ūḍhā andhenaiva n īyam ānā yath āndh āḥ // 8. 8. They who dwell shut within the ignorance and they hold themselves for learned men thinking, “We, even we are the wise and the sages”—fools are 5 they and they wander around beaten and stumbling like blind men led by the blind. avidy āyāṃ bahudh ā vartam ānā vaya ṃ k ṛtārth ā ityabhimanyanti b ālāḥ / yat karmi ṇo na pravedayanti r āgāt ten ātur āḥ k ṣīnalok āš cyavante // 9. 9. They dwell in many bonds of the ignorance, children thinking, “We have achieved our aim of Paradise”; for when the men of works are held by their affections, and arrive not at the Knowledge, then they are overtaken by anguish, then their Paradise wastes by enjoying and they fall from their heavens. iṣṭāpūrta ṃ manyam ānā vari ṣṭ ha ṃ n ānyacchreyo vedayante pramūḍhāḥ / nākasya p ṛṣṭ he te suk ṛte 'nubh ūtvema ṃ lok aṃ h īnatara ṃ v ā vi šanti // 10. 10. Minds bewildered who hold the oblation offered and the well dug for the greatest righteousness and know not any other highest good, on the back of heaven they enjoy the world won by their righteousness and enter again this or even a lower world. tapa ḥš raddhe ye hyupavasantyara ṇye šā nt ā vidv āṃso bhaik ṣyacary āṃ caranta ḥ/ sūryadv āre ṇa te viraj āḥ pray ānti yatr āmṛta ḥ sa puru ṣo hy avyay ātm ā // 11. 11. But they who in the forest follow after faith and self-discipline, calm and full of knowledge, living upon alms, cast from them the dust of their passions, and through the gate of the Sun they pass on there where is the Immortal, the Spirit, the Self undecaying and imperishable. par īkṣya lokān karmacit ān br ahma ṇo nirvedam āyānn āsty ak ṛta ḥ k ṛtena/ tadvij ñānārtha ṃ sa gurum ev ābhigacchet samitp āṇiḥ šrotriya ṃ brahmani ṣṭ ham// 12. 12. The seeker of the Brahman, having put to the test the worlds piled up by works, arrives at world-distaste, for not by work done is reached He who is 3 Uncreated. 3 Or, “He, the uncreated, lives not by that which is made.” Literally, “not by the made (or, by that which is done) the Unmade (He who is uncreated).” 6 For the knowledge of That, let him approach, fuel in hand, a Guru, one who is learned in the Veda and is devoted to contemplation of the Brahman.