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
दो सुन्दर पंखों वाले पक्षी, संयुक्त और सखा होकर, उसी एक वृक्ष को आलिंगन किए रहते हैं। उनमें से एक मधुर पिप्पल-फल का आस्वादन करता है; दूसरा बिना खाए साक्षी-भाव से केवल देखता रहता है।
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/fruitMahavakya: 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.AtharvaŚaunaka (Atharvaveda tradition; Muṇḍaka) ShakhaChandas: Triṣṭubh (closely parallels Ṛgvedic imagery; commonly scanned as triṣṭubh-like)