Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
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The "great forest" Upanishad, the longest of the principal Upanishads, with the debates of Yajnavalkya and the prayer "Asato ma sadgamaya".
| Tradition | Hindu (Vedic) |
|---|---|
| Type | Upanishad |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Period | c. 8th–6th century BCE (scholarly estimate) |
What it contains
- Belongs to the Shukla Yajurveda (the end of the Shatapatha Brahmana).
- The sage Yajnavalkya's debates at the court of King Janaka, including questions from the woman philosopher Gargi Vachaknavi.
- Yajnavalkya's teaching to his wife Maitreyi on the self.
- "Aham brahmasmi" (I am Brahman), one of the four mahavakyas.
- The prayer "Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya, mrityor ma amritam gamaya" (lead me from untruth to truth, darkness to light, death to immortality).
- The description of the self as "neti neti" (not this, not this).
Significance
One of the oldest and most important Upanishads, and a key source for Vedanta. Gargi and Maitreyi are remembered as learned women of the Vedic age.