Santana - This word refers to the Supreme God, who is eternal, who dwells in the series of syllables in a word.Saama- This word refers to the Supreme God, whose forms are all non-different, who is present in the conjunctions of the syllables, who inspires the actions to pronounce the conjunctions.Balam - This word refers to the Supreme God, who is an epitome of energy, who is behind the efforts to produce the sounds.Matra- This word refers to the Supreme God, who bestows knowledge, who protects those who recite the Vedic Mantras, who is known by each of the Matras (Metrical Units), who is the indweller of the Matras, and one who inspires the phonetic actions of producing the Matras.Svara - This word refers to the Supreme God, who is known by each of the Svaras (Vedic Accents), who is the indweller of the Svara and one who inspires the phonetic actions of uttering the Svaras.Varna- This word refers to the Supreme God, who is known by each of the Varnas (Syllables), who is the indweller of the Varnas and one who inspires the phonetic actions of producing sounds.Sri Madhwacharya has presented manifold interpretations of each of these six aspects as under. This reference is not merely from the point of view of grammar, but more significantly from the spiritual angle.Īt the very beginning of the Sikshavalli the Upanishad puts forth six aspects of learning for a Brahma Jignasa Aspirant. The Siksha Valli deals with Vedic Phonetics. The excellences of the Bhashya can be noted in all these chapters. This Upanishad contains three chapters viz., Siksha Valli, Brahma Valli and Bhrigu Valli, the first chapter being the bulkiest among the three. As Lord Sri Vishnu has only mentioned Sage Bhrigu’s words in his teachings to Lord Brahma there is no contradiction. This amounts to saying that Sage Bhrigu has extolled Lord Vayu and others by these verses. Lord Sri Vishnu taught these verses to Lord Brahma not as his own words but as the words of Sage Bhrigu. If Lord Sri Vishnu is also the Rishi of this Upanishad, then will it not be inappropriate for him to salute Lord Vayu and others who are inferior to Him? To this Sri Madhwacharya gives a beautiful clarification. Contradiction in the invocatory verse In the opening verse of the Upanishad, the Rishi salutes Mitra, Varuna, Vayu and other deities. While Lord Sri Vishnu is the foremost Rishi, Lord Brahma, Lord Varuna and Sage Bhrigu are also the Rishis of this Upanishad. We would have been left with a whole lot of unanswered questions.Īt the outset, as it is a hallmark of each of his Bhashyas, Sri Acharya reveals the Rishis, and Devata of the Upanishad. There would have been no clarity about the concepts. It would not be inappropriate if we say that without the help of Acharya’s Bhashya the Upanishad would lead to several misunderstandings. Sri Madhwacharya has composed a scholarly commentary on the Taittiriya Upanishad. Pleased by this, the Lord bestowed upon him eternal devotion and knowledge. In these mantras the majesties of the five-fold forms of the Lord - Annamaya, Pranamaya, Vignanamaya, Manomaya, Anandamaya are stated. Sage Bhrigu learned this from his father Varuna and extolled the Lord with these mantras. He in turn taught this Upanishad to Lord Varuna.
Lord Brahma listened to this Upanishad from Lord Sri Vishnu present in the Sun. The popular Narayana Upanishad is the 10th chapter of this Aranyaka. It forms the 7th - 9th chapters of the Taittiriiya Aranyaka.
The Taittiriyopanishad belongs to Krishna (Black) Yajur Veda. The BrahmanandaVallienumerates with bliss of the Brahman. ShikshaValli presents instructions for the aspirants and process for attainment of Brahma Jnana or the knowledge of the self. Taittiriya Upanishad is divided into three sections, ShikshaValli, BrahmanandaValli and Bhriguvalli. Theory of Oneness is the ultimate teaching of the Upanishad “ (When) the Soul attains self-sovereignty, becomes lord of the mind, it becomes lord of speech, the lord of the eyes, the lord of the ears, the lord of knowledge then it becomes Brahman its body is the boundless space, its essential nature is the reality, truth its playground the life-force, its consciousness a state of bliss, it exists in serenity, in calmness, in peace, a state of immortality. The seventh, eighth and ninth chapters of the Taittiriya Arantyaka is considered as Taittiriya Upanishad. Taittiriya Upanishad is associated with Taittiriya recension of the Krishna Yajurveda.