Brihadaranyaka

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, also called the Great Forest Upanishad, is one of the oldest and most important Upanishads. It is part of the Shukla (White) Yajurveda and is regarded as a principal Upanishad within Hindu philosophical literature. The text is traditionally dated to the early centuries BCE, with scholars placing it roughly between the 9th and 6th centuries BCE.

Content and structure: The Upanishad is organized into six adhyayas (chapters) that blend prose and verse. It presents cosmology, ritual lore, and, most prominently, metaphysical inquiry into the nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality, and the self (Atman). A central thread runs through dialogues attributed to the sage Yajnavalkya, including exchanges with his wife Maitreyī, through which the work develops key Vedantic themes such as the identity of the individual self with the universal principle and the pursuit of knowledge beyond ritual means.

Influence and significance: The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has played a foundational role in Hindu thought and in the development of Vedanta. It has been widely studied and commented upon by later philosophers, most notably by Adi Shankaracharya, whose Bhashya (commentary) systematized Advaita Vedanta in dialogue with the text's ideas.

Manuscripts and legacy: The Upanishad exists in manuscript traditions within the White Yajurveda, and it has been translated into many languages. It continues to be studied for its theological, linguistic, and exegetical significance.