Upaniṣads · Muṇḍaka 1.1.1
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं ब्रह्मा देवानां प्रथमः संबभूव विश्वस्य कर्ता भुवनस्य गोप्ता ।
स ब्रह्मविद्यां सर्वविद्याप्रतिष्ठाम् अथर्वाय ज्येष्ठपुत्राय प्राह ॥
Transliteración (IAST)
oṃ brahmā devānāṃ prathamaḥ saṃbabhūva viśvasya kartā bhuvanasya goptā |
sa brahmavidyāṃ sarvavidyāpratiṣṭhām atharvāya jyeṣṭhaputrāya prāha ||
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
ओंoṃoṁ; the sacred syllable
ब्रह्माbrahmāBrahmā; the first creator
देवानाम्devānāmamong the gods; among the gods
प्रथमःprathamaḥthe first; the foremost
संबभूवsaṃbabhūvacame into being (perfect of sam-√bhū); came; was born
विश्वस्यviśvasyaof the universe; of the whole world
कर्ताkartāthe maker (kartṛ); the creator; the doer
भुवनस्यbhuvanasyaworld; of the sphere of being
गोप्ताgoptāthe guardian (goptṛ from √gup — 'to protect'); the protector; the keeper
सःsaḥhe; this Brahmā
ब्रह्मविद्याम्brahmavidyāmthe science of Brahman (brahma-vidyā); the brahma-vidyā; the knowledge of Brahman
सर्वविद्याप्रतिष्ठाम्sarvavidyāpratiṣṭhāmthe foundation of all sciences (sarva-vidyā-pratiṣṭhā); the support of all knowledge; the base of all the vidyās
अथर्वायatharvāyato Atharva; to the sage Atharvan
ज्येष्ठपुत्रायjyeṣṭhaputrāyato his eldest son; to his first son
प्राहprāhahe declared (pra-√ah); he uttered; he handed on
Traducción
Oṁ. Brahmā came into being first among the gods — the maker of the universe, the guardian of the world. He declared to Atharvan, his eldest son, the science of Brahman, the foundation of all sciences.
Versión
a9c3141f388b · publicado 26 jul 2026, 20:10:40 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The Muṇḍaka opens with the genealogy of knowledge. brahmā devānāṁ prathamaḥ sambabhūva — "Brahmā came into being first among the gods": the first born being of the universe, viśvasya kartā bhuvanasya goptā — "the maker of the universe, the guardian of the world". Yet even the creator is not himself the source of knowledge: he is its first recipient and first transmitter — sa brahmavidyāṁ… atharvāya jyeṣṭha-putrāya prāha — "he declared the brahma-vidyā to Atharvan, his eldest son". Knowledge is older than the maker of the world: Brahmā received it from Him by whom he was born (the Vedānta-sūtra opens with the same thought: creation and revelation are from one Source; the Bhāgavatam 1.1.1 will say: tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye — "He placed the Veda in the heart of the first poet").
sarva-vidyā-pratiṣṭhām — "the foundation of all sciences": brahma-vidyā is not one discipline among others but the base on which the rest stand: every science studies some region of what exists — this one studies Him by whom what exists, exists. That is why it is handed on first and most carefully: to the eldest son, in a direct line.
The very name of the Upaniṣad — muṇḍaka, "shaven [head]" — speaks of the price of this knowledge: it is for those who have "shaved off" the superfluous, cut away pretensions and ornaments; and at the end (3.2.10) the "vow of the head" is mentioned. Beginning with the first of the gods, the Upaniṣad sets its scale from the first words: what is now to be told to the householder Śaunaka is the very thing with which the Creator instructed his firstborn.