---
type: Reference
bundle: upanishadic-core
id: taittiriya-upanishad
title: "Taittirīya Upaniṣad"
description: "Krishna Yajur Veda principal Upanishad; source of the pancha-kosha analysis."
tradition: Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda
language: Sanskrit
approximate_date: "c. 600–500 BCE"
key_concepts_in_bundle: [pancha-kosha, anandamaya-kosha, sat-chit-ananda, laksana-brahman]
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Taittirīya Upaniṣad — तैत्तिरीय उपनिषद्

Part of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda. Consists of three sections (Vallīs): Śikṣā Vallī (phonology and meter), Brahmānanda Vallī (the Pañcakośa and Brahman's nature), and Bhṛgu Vallī (the student's discovery of Brahman through progressive investigation). Primary source for the Pañcakośa model and for the Svarūpa Lakṣaṇa "satyam jñānam anantam brahma."

## Key Passages for Bundle Concepts

| Passage | Concept | Content |
|---------|---------|---------|
| TU 2.1 | Sat-Cit-Ānanda / Lakṣaṇa | "satyam jñānam anantam brahma" — the Svarūpa Lakṣaṇa |
| TU 2.1–5 | Pañcakośa | The five sheaths: Annamaya, Prāṇamaya, Manomaya, Vijñānamaya, Ānandamaya |
| TU 2.4 | Nirguṇa Brahman | "yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha" — from where speech returns |
| TU 2.5 | Ānandamaya Kośa | Structure and the "tail = Brahman" teaching |
| TU 2.8–9 | Sat-Cit-Ānanda (Ānanda) | The Ānanda-Mīmāṃsā: scaling of bliss to Brahman's Ānanda |

## Brahmānanda Vallī Structure

The Brahmānanda Vallī (chapter 2) presents the five Kośas as nested sheaths, each introduced as "Brahman" only to be superseded:
- 2.1: Annamaya — food-made sheath; "this verily is Brahman"
- 2.2: Prāṇamaya — breath-made; "different from and within the Annamaya"
- 2.3: Manomaya — mind-made; "different from and within the Prāṇamaya"
- 2.4: Vijñānamaya — intellect-made; speech-returns passage
- 2.5: Ānandamaya — bliss-made; the innermost sheath

The conclusion (2.9): *ānandaṃ brahmeti vyajānāt* — "he recognized Ānanda as Brahman" — is the endpoint of the investigation, pointing to Brahman's Ānanda-nature (not the Ānandamaya Kośa itself).

## Recommended Editions

- Gambhīrānanda translation (Advaita Ashrama)
- Sarvananda translation (Ramakrishna Math)
