---
type: Reference
bundle: upanishadic-core
id: aitareya-upanishad
title: "Aitareya Upaniṣad"
description: "Rigvedic principal Upanishad; source of the mahavakya prajnanam brahma (consciousness is Brahman)."
tradition: Ṛgveda
language: Sanskrit
approximate_date: "c. 600–500 BCE"
key_concepts_in_bundle: [prajnanam-brahma]
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Aitareya Upaniṣad — ऐतरेय उपनिषद्

Part of the Aitareya Āraṇyaka (Ṛgveda). Contains the Ṛgvedic Mahāvākya: Prajñānam Brahma (Aitareya 3.3). The Upaniṣad treats the origin of creation, the nature of the individual, and the identity of the knowing-consciousness with Brahman.

## Key Passage for Bundle Concepts

**Aitareya 3.3** (Prajñānam Brahma):

*prajñānam brahma* — "Consciousness is Brahman."

The context: after treating the creation of the universe, the organs of the body, and the Ātman, the text asks: "What is this that we worship as the Ātman?" The answer enumerates all functions — perception, hearing, smelling, speaking, tasting — and concludes with the statement that all these are functions of consciousness (Prajñāna). The final verse: "These are all Consciousness. The world is supported by Consciousness. Consciousness is Brahman (Prajñānam Brahma)."

## Svarūpa Lakṣaṇa Function

The Mahāvākya Prajñānam Brahma is the Svarūpa Lakṣaṇa for the self-luminous nature of Brahman — pointing not to Brahman as world-creator (Taṭastha Lakṣaṇa) but as the knowing-nature that is Brahman's own being.

## Recommended Editions

- Gambhīrānanda translation (Advaita Ashrama — included in Eight Upanishads)
- Nikhilananda translation (Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center)
