🪷 ऐतरेयोपनिषद् · Aitareyopaniṣad

For the 4 Vedic seed-mantras (mahā-vākyas), see /mahavakyas. For the index of all 10 Mukhya Upaniṣads, see /upanishads.
🪷 अनुक्रमणिका · Contents · 5 sections
  1. Central Teaching
  2. Key Śloka
  3. Krishna-Tattva Connection
  4. Bhagavad Gītā Cross-References
  5. Mahā-Vākya

Upaniṣad #8 of 10 Mukhya · The Aitareya Upaniṣad — Pure Awareness IS Brahman · Ṛg-Veda · ~33 mantras across 3 chapters

🪷 MAHĀ-VĀKYA · GREAT-STATEMENT 🪷
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म
prajñānaṁ brahma
CONSCIOUSNESS / PURE-AWARENESS IS BRAHMAN
— Aitareya 3.1.3

Central Teaching

The Aitareya opens with the cosmological creation-account from the One Ātman (Adhyāya 1) · proceeds through the embryology of the human jīva (Adhyāya 2) · and culminates in the mahā-vākya declaration "prajñānaṁ brahma" (Adhyāya 3) — pure awareness IS the Absolute. The Aitareya is the Mahā-vākya of the Ṛg-Veda · the foundational anchor of the Bahvṛca-paramparā lineage.

Key Śloka

सर्वं तत्प्रज्ञानेत्रं प्रज्ञाने प्रतिष्ठितम् प्रज्ञानेत्रो लोकः प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठा प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म।

sarvaṁ tat prajñā-netraṁ prajñāne pratiṣṭhitam · prajñā-netro lokaḥ prajñā pratiṣṭhā · prajñānaṁ brahma

"All that exists is led by Consciousness, is grounded in Consciousness. Consciousness is the eye of the world; Consciousness is the foundation. CONSCIOUSNESS IS BRAHMAN."

— Aitareya 3.1.3

🪷 Krishna-Tattva Connection

Krishna IS the consciousness behind every cognition (BG 15.15 antaryāmin · sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo). The Aitareya mahā-vākya "prajñānaṁ brahma" is the Ṛg-Vedic anchor for Krishna's "buddhir buddhimatām asmi" (BG 7.10) — among the intelligent I am the intellect-itself.

Bhagavad Gītā Cross-References

This Upaniṣad echoes through the Bhagavad-Gītā at:

← 7. Taittirīya Upaniṣad↑ All 10 Mukhya Upaniṣads9. Chāndogyopaniṣad →

🪷 ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः 🪷

📚 See Also

📖 References

  1. Aitareyopaniṣad · Ṛg-Veda — Primary śruti source · ~33 mantras across 3 chapters
  2. Śaṅkara-Bhāṣya · Ādi Śaṅkara's commentary (~8th c. CE) — The Advaita Vedānta authoritative commentary on this Upaniṣad
  3. Aitareya 3.1.3 — The key-śloka of this Upaniṣad · the verse that crystallizes its teaching
Categories: Mukhya Upaniṣads · Vedānta · Śruti · Prasthāna-Trayī · Ṛg-Veda · Mahā-Vākya-Upaniṣads