Concept

Brahman

ब्रह्मन्

verses
5,559
books
35
chapters
1,960

What the texts say

In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Brahman is the Supreme Reality, alone in the beginning, from which the cosmos manifested. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 In the Taittiriya Upanishad, Varuna teaches his son Bhrigu to know Brahman as that from which all beings arise and into which they return. Taittiriya Upanishad 3.1.1 The Kena Upanishad calls it the silent Reality beyond words, by whose power all speech arises. Kena Upanishad 1.4 The Katha Upanishad names the syllable Om as the Imperishable Brahman. Katha Upanishad 1.2.16 The Mundaka Upanishad says one who realizes Brahman becomes one with it, passes beyond grief and sin, and attains immortality. Mundaka Upanishad 3.2.9

Where to read

Every verse that names Brahman, book by book.

    • 1.1.2

      All that is described by various descriptions of Brahman has been conquered by Him. The entire multitude of various worlds, both manifest and unmanifest, was created by Ganesha.

    • 1.3.13

      Having said this, Narada went from there into the sphere of the universe, devoted to singing with the Veena, a yogi intent on Brahman.

    • 1.4.19

      He praised Ganesha, the embodiment of Brahman, with various hymns—the formless and the formed, Vighnaraja dwelling in the heart.

  1. Upanishads

    509 verses · 132 chapters

    Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chhandogya Upanishad, Katharudra Upanishad

    All 509 verses in the Upanishads
    • 3

      The rosary is contemplated as a living mandala: its hidden thread is Brahman itself; its right and left embody Śiva and Viṣṇu; its beginning is Sarasvatī (sacred speech) and its end is Gāyatrī (the liberating meter). Even the bead’s hollow…

    • r2

      Then the sage Sankriti approached Lord Aditya, the Sun deity, and prayed: 'O Revered Lord, kindly instruct me in the supreme science of Brahman.' Lord Aditya replied: 'O Sankriti, listen attentively. I shall impart to you the rare and…

    • 6

      When the mind drops its habit of taking sides—clinging to ‘thinkable’ or ‘unthinkable’—one abides in Brahman beyond all mental bias.

    • 1.1.20

      Sūta said: (I bow to) the primordial Person, the Lord; the One much-invoked and much-praised; the Real (ṛta), the one-syllabled Brahman; the eternal principle that is both manifest and unmanifest.

    • 1.36.17

      ‘O Brahmin, I am King Parīkṣit, the son of Abhimanyu. A deer struck by me has disappeared—have you seen it?’

    • 1.56.28

      A learned person who has this recited here to brāhmaṇas on festival occasions—having shaken off wrongdoing and having attained heaven—proceeds to the state of brahman.

    • 1.32.1

      A mighty spell is this: know ye it, O men; a mighty spell he will pronounce. There is not on earth, nor yet in heaven, aught like that whereby the plants draw breath and live.

    • 2.1.1

      Vena beheld that highest station, the highest hidden cavern, wherein the All becomes of single form. This Pṛśni milked forth: the new-born bands, the finders of the heavenly light, pressed near and sang their praise.

    • 2.18.1

      A slayer of foes: thou art the wasting of the Rival; bestow on me the driving-forth of the Rival—svāhā.

Key chapters

The chapters where Brahman matters most.

  1. The Path of Liberation: Self-Knowledge, Sense-Restraint, and Crossing the River of Worldly Flow

    Brahma Purana 238 · 2 verses

    The goal-state (brahmabhāva) and the realized identity toward…

  2. Puruṣa-Prakṛti Analysis in Advaita Śaiva Doctrine

    Shiva Purana 6.1.17 · 2 verses

    Supreme non-dual reality

  3. Bhū-parigraha-vidhāna: Procedure for Acquiring and Ritually Securing Land

    Agni Purana 2.39

  4. Rules for Ritual Bathing · Snapanotsava-vidhi

    Agni Purana 3.69

Key episodes

  1. The Yaksha and Uma Haimavati

    Kena Upanishad 3-4

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