Mundaka Upanishad

One of the ten principal Upanishads, belonging to the Atharva Veda, famous for the para-vidya / apara-vidya distinction and for the line “the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman.”

Overview

The Mundaka is one of the mukhya (principal) Upanishads commented on by Shankara and central to the prasthanatraya. It opens by distinguishing apara-vidya — lower knowledge, including even the four Vedas, grammar, astrology, and ritual — from para-vidya, the higher knowledge by which the Imperishable is known. The text proceeds through the “two birds on one tree” image of jiva and atman, the manifestation of the world from Brahman (as sparks from fire), and a sequence of meditations culminating in knowledge of atman-brahman identity.

Cited by Swami Sarvapriyananda for brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati — “the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman” (Mundaka 3.2.9) — which grounds the Advaitic claim that aparoksha jnana of Brahman is identity with Brahman, not a propositional achievement.

Related

• upanishads — parent category
• prasthanatraya — commented on by Shankara as part of the canon
• shankaracharya — his bhashya establishes the classical reading
• brahman, atman, jnana — core referents

Lecture evidence

• Ep. 6 [69:28]: Brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati cited — the knower of Brahman is none other than Brahman (Mundaka 3.2.9).