---
type: Reference
bundle: upanishadic-core
id: mundaka-upanishad
title: "Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad"
description: "Atharva Veda principal Upanishad; distinguishes higher and lower knowledge (para and apara vidya)."
tradition: Vedānta (Atharva Veda)
author: "Traditional; Atharva Veda lineage"
language: Sanskrit
approximate_date: "c. 800–400 BCE"
key_concepts_in_bundle: [saguna-brahman, nirguna-brahman, mahavakya, shravana, brahmabhavana]
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad — मुण्डक उपनिषद्

One of the ten principal Upaniṣads (Mukhya Upaniṣads). Three Muṇḍakas (chapters), each in two parts. Famous for the Parā-Aparā Vidyā distinction (higher and lower knowledge), the arrow-Brahman metaphor, and the Mahāvākya "Prajñānam Brahma" — though this Mahāvākya is usually sourced to the Aitareya Upaniṣad; some traditions count a Muṇḍaka Mahāvākya from Muṇḍaka 3.2.9 ("Brahmaiva Bhavati").

## Structure

- Muṇḍaka 1.1: Parā and Aparā Vidyā (higher and lower knowledge)
- Muṇḍaka 1.2: The inadequacy of ritual action alone
- Muṇḍaka 2: The nature of Brahman; creation from Brahman
- Muṇḍaka 3: The path to Brahman and liberation

## Key Passages for Bundle Concepts

| Passage | Concept | Content |
|---------|---------|---------|
| 1.1.3–9 | Parā / Aparā Vidyā | All sciences as Aparā; Brahman-knowledge as Parā |
| 1.1.9 | Saguṇa Brahman | Brahman as source of creation; Upāsanā context |
| 2.2.3–5 | Brahmabhāvanā | The arrow-to-Brahman metaphor; meditation leading to identity |
| 3.2.9 | Liberation | "Brahmaiva bhavati" — the knower becomes Brahman |

## The Arrow Metaphor (Muṇḍaka 2.2.4)

"Taking up the great weapon — the Upaniṣad as a bow — one should place on it the arrow sharpened by meditation. Drawing it with a mind absorbed in Brahman, one should pierce the target — the immortal Brahman." (Muṇḍaka 2.2.4)

This metaphor is one of the Upaniṣad's most famous passages: the Upaniṣad is the bow (the pramāṇa), the student's Vicāra-sharpened mind is the arrow, and Brahman is the target. The metaphor is active and directional — it supports the brahmabhavana.md account of Nididhyāsana as pointed, active inquiry rather than passive absorption.

## Parā and Aparā Vidyā (1.1.4–5)

The Muṇḍaka opens with a student asking "what, having been known, everything becomes known?" The teacher's answer distinguishes Aparā Vidyā (all Vedic ritual knowledge, grammar, prosody, etc.) from Parā Vidyā (knowledge of Brahman, "that which is indestructible"). This is the foundational Upaniṣadic claim that drives the entire upanishadic-core bundle: conventional knowledge cannot deliver liberation; only Brahman-knowledge can.

## Recommended Editions

- Gambhīrānanda translation (Advaita Ashrama — with Śaṅkara's commentary)
- Swami Sharvananda (Ramakrishna Math)
- Patrick Olivelle (Oxford — scholarly critical edition)
