Verse 1

Mundaka

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते । तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्वत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति ॥ १॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

द्वा । सुपर्णा । सयुजा । सखाया । समानम् । वृक्षम् । परि-षस्वजाते । तयोः । अन्यः । पिप्पलम् । स्वादु । अत्ति । अनश्नन् । अन्यः । अभि-चाकशीति ॥ १ ॥

IAST Transliteration

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā samānaṃ vṛkṣaṃ pariṣasvajāte | tayor anyaḥ pippalaṃ svādv atty anaśnann anyo abhicākaśīti || 1 ||

Translation

Deux oiseaux, unis et compagnons, s’étreignent au même arbre. L’un des deux mange le doux fruit du pippala ; l’autre, sans manger, demeure à contempler.

Academic Translation

Two birds, united (and) companions, embrace the same tree. Of the two, one eats the sweet pippala fruit; the other, not eating, looks on.

Verse Context

• Jīva–Īśvara/Ātman distinction at the empirical level; sākṣin (witness) and bhoktṛ (enjoyer); bondage through identification with action/fruit
• Mahavakya: Prepares the ground for ‘tat tvam asi’ by distinguishing the experiencing self from the witnessing Self and implying their deeper unity when ignorance is removed; not itself a Mahāvākya.
• Atharva
• Śaunaka (Atharvaveda tradition; Muṇḍaka) Shakha
• Chandas: Triṣṭubh (closely parallels Ṛgvedic imagery; commonly scanned as triṣṭubh-like)