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By Jayaram V
The Aitareya Upanishad is one of the oldest of the Upanishads. It
belongs to the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is divided into
three chapters and
contains 33 verses. The Upanishad deals with the
process of creation. The first chapter deals with the creation of Purusha, ( the primeval
Being in Its macrocosmic form and man in Its microcosmic aspect), the
creation of the various divinities, and how they were placed and
assigned various duties. Section three of the first chapter deals with how
food was created
and how the various divinities sought to control it, but failed.
In the last few verses of this section we are explained how the self
entered the body and stayed there as the enjoyer. The second chapter is more difficult to understand. We are explained
here the three births of the self. The third chapter deals with the qualities of the Self or
Brahman. It
contains one of the most famous expressions of the Vedanta, "pragnanam
Brahma," which means Brahman is intelligence.
Most of this Upanishad is written in symbolic language and therefore
it is neither easy to understand it nor easy to translate it clearly. To avoid ambiguity commonly associated with such texts, we have
added a few words here and there in our translation to make the verses
more meaningful. We hope the readers will forgive us for this
transgression. This Upanishad is presented in four parts which you can access by
using the following links.
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