Kaushitaki 3.2
प्राणोऽस्मि प्रज्ञात्मा तं मामायुरमृतमित्युपास्स्व
Prāṇo'smi prajñātmā taṁ mām āyur amṛtam ity upāssva
I am prana, the conscious Self — meditate on me as life, as immortality.
Rig Veda · Kaushitaki Brahmana of the Rig Veda (Kaushitaki / Shankhayana shakha) · 49 mantras
कौषीतक्युपनिषद्
Kaushitaki Upanishad
Kauṣītaki-upaniṣad
Central theme: Prana as Brahman; the post-mortem path to the world of Brahma
Mahavakya
प्राणो ब्रह्म
Prāṇo brahma
“Prana is Brahman.”
— Kaushitaki 2.1
Summary
Four adhyayas, 49 mantras. Chapter 1 narrates Chitra Gangyayani's teaching to Aruni on the two post-mortem paths — devayana (the way of the gods, no return) and pitriyana (the way of the ancestors, return through the moon). Chapter 2 is the great prana-vidya: prana is the conscious Self, the breath that holds the senses, the immortal in the mortal. Chapter 3 records Indra's self-disclosure to Pratardana: "I am prana, I am the conscious Self — meditate on me as life, as immortality." Chapter 4 is the Balaki-Ajatashatru dialogue (paralleled in Brihadaranyaka 2.1) where 16 partial definitions of Brahman are corrected to the one Self.
Key concepts
- ●Prana-vidya — breath as the conscious Self
- ●Devayana vs. pitriyana — two post-mortem paths
- ●Indra-Pratardana dialogue ("aham asmi prajñātmā")
- ●Balaki-Ajatashatru — 16 false Brahmans corrected
- ●Paryanka-vidya — the cosmic couch of Brahma
Famous verse
Takeaway
Breath is not a function of the Self; the Self is the breath that breathes the breath.
All 10 principal Upanishads
IshaKenaKathaPrashnaMundakaMandukyaTaittiriyaAitareyaChandogyaBrihadaranyakaSvetasvataraKaushitakiMaitriYoga TattvaYoga KundaliniDhyana BinduAdvaya TarakaNarayanaPaingalaGanapatiDeviGarbhaJabala DarshanaTripuraAtmaAmritabinduParamahamsaTejobinduVarahaRama TapaniyaNrisimha TapaniyaGopala TapaniyaShandilyaNada BinduBrahmaKaivalyaSubalaJabaliYogachudamaniAkshamalaPaingalaAdvayatarakaKalisantaranaShandilyaMahanarayanaKatha RudraSarvasaraVajrasuchikaMahaNarada Parivrajaka