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59-400: Traditional Pippalada is described to be the son of the sage Dadhichi and his wife, Suvarcas. After the death of Dadhichi, when Suvarcas was about to ascend the funeral pyre , she heard an aśarīriṇī vāṇī (a celestial voice) that informed her that she was pregnant. Suvarcas removed the foetus from her womb with a stone, and placed it near a banyan tree, proceeding to end her life. Pippalada

118-756: A Brahmin clan and the Dahiya Rajputs, a Rajput clan primarily found in Rajasthan , claim to be his descendants. According to folklore, Dadhimati is the name of the sage's sister, in whose name a fourth century temple exists in Naguar, Rajasthan, called the Dadhimati Mata Temple . The design of the Param Vir Chakra , an Indian military medal, is regarded to be inspired by the sacrifice of this sage. The mantra or incantation for

177-431: A detailed philosophical and logical idea about the origin of life on earth and the description is one of the earliest concepts on Matter and energy. The fourth section, in contrast, contains substantial philosophy. The last two sections discuss the symbol Om and concept of Moksha . Roer as well as Weber suggest that the last two Prashnas may be spurious, later age insertion into the original Upanishad. Prashna Upanishad

236-671: A head of a horse, which he had located in a lake in the country of Śaraṇya. Using the bones taken from the horse's head, the duo destroyed a number of asuras. In a variation of this legend featured in the Jaiminya Brahmana , the devas are said to have refused to bestow the Aśvaśira mantra of the Vedas to the Ashvini Twins . They declared that the being who would divulge this secret to the twins would have their head burst into

295-618: A large number of weapons from Dadhichi's bones, including the Vajrayudha , which was fashioned from his spine. The devas are then said to have defeated the asuras using the weapons thus created. Dadhichi is said to have been the first to leave Daksha 's yagna when he realised that Shiva had not been invited out of spite. Dadhichi is regarded to have had established his ashram in Misrikh , in Naimisharanya near Lucknow , in

354-594: A mare-like asura emerged from the third eye. When Pippalada asked the asura to destroy the devas, the former proceeded to attack Pippalada, stating that the sage himself was a deva, and hence would start by killing him. Pippalada prayed to Shiva once more, and was offered a refuge in a forest where the asura could not harm him. Brahma convinced the sage that the destruction of the devas would not bring his parents back. Pippalada agreed to stop his vendetta, but wished to talk to his parents. His parents appeared before him, requesting him to settle down and bear children. The asura

413-461: A nocturnal emission while dreaming about an apsara . At dawn, he discarded the semen-drenched towel upon which he slept, which was accidentally used by Kaṃsārī to cleanse herself after her bath, while she was ovulating. As a result, she was impregnated, and hid her condition due to shame. After giving birth to a son, she took the child to a forest, and left the child under the pippala tree, beseeching Vishnu to watch over him. While she lamented under

472-410: A school seeking knowledge about highest Brahman (Ultimate Reality). They ask sage Pippalada to explain this knowledge. He does not start providing answers for their education, but demands that they live with him ethically first, as follows: तन् ह स ऋषिरुवच भूय एव तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण श्रद्धया संवत्सरं संवत्स्यथ यथाकामं प्रश्नान् पृच्छत यदि विज्ञास्यामः सर्वं ह वो वक्ष्याम इति || To them then

531-460: A thousand pieces. The twin doctors of medicine sought out the sage Dadhichi, who offered to divulge this mantra. He only asked that the Ashvins replace his head with one of a horse when he reaped the consequences of the curse. After teaching them the mantra, the sage's head burst, and the twins carried out his request, and hence restored his life. The Shiva Purana features the sage as a friend of

590-807: A view similar to Phillips, with a slightly different ordering, placing the Prashna Upanishad's chronological composition in the fifth group of ancient Upanishads, but after the Svetasvatara Upanishad. The Prashna Upanishad consists of six questions and their answers. Except the first and the last Prashna, all other sections ask multiple questions. The pupils credited with the six questions are respectively Kabandhin Katyayana, Bhargava Vaidarbhi, Kausalya Asvalayana, Sauryayanin Gargya, Saibya Satyakama and Sukesan Bharadvaja. Sage Pippalada

649-578: A year and asked six questions. These questions and answers later came to be known as the Prashna Upanishad . Dadhichi Dadhichi ( Sanskrit : दधीचि , romanized :  Dadhīci ), also rendered Dadhyanga and Dadhyancha , is a sage in Hinduism . He is best known for his sacrifice in the Puranas , where he gives up his life so that his bones could be used to manufacture

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708-552: Is a deep sleep state where impressions end and the mind too sleeps without impressions, and this is the complete state of mind relaxation, of body happiness. It is then when everything in a person retires into Atman-Brahman, including the matter and elements of matter, water and elements of water, light and elements of light, eye and what is visible, ear and what is audible, smell and the objects of smell, taste and objects of taste, touch and objects of touch, speech and objects of speech, sexuality and objects of its enjoyment, feet and what

767-477: Is an ancient Sanskrit text, embedded inside Atharva Veda , ascribed to Pippalada sakha of Vedic scholars. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad , and is listed as number 4 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads of Hinduism. The Prashna Upanishad contains six Prashna (questions), with each chapter discussing the answers. The chapters end with the phrase, prasnaprativakanam , which literally means, "thus ends

826-570: Is best known for being attributed with the Praśna Upanishad . Dadhichi is also mentioned in the various hymns (Richas–Suktas) of the Rigveda . Dadhichi is featured in many Hindu legends, . According to the Rigveda , when Dadhichi resided in Devaloka , he observed that the earth was populated by numerous asuras . He urged Indra to destroy them, and towards this endeavour, offered him

885-691: Is credited with giving the answers. The questions are not randomly arranged, but have an embedded structure. They begin with macrocosmic questions and then proceed to increasing details of microcosmic, thus covering both universals and particulars. The six questions are about the origin, prana , origin of mind, meditation and spiritual states, nature of the syllable "Om", and the nature of the Supreme Being. Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The opening verses of Prashna Upanishad describe students who arrive at

944-756: Is difficult to resolve because all opinions rest on scanty evidence, an analysis of archaism, style and repetitions across texts, driven by assumptions about likely evolution of ideas, and on presumptions about which philosophy might have influenced which other Indian philosophies. Olivelle states Prashna Upanishad "cannot be much older than the beginning of the common era". Mahony suggests an earlier date, placing Prashna along with Maitri and Mandukya Upanishads, as texts that probably emerged about early fourth century BCE. Phillips dates Prashna Upanishad as having been composed after Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Isha, Taittiriya and Aitareya, Kena Katha and Mundaka, but before Mandukya, Svetasvatara and Maitri Upanishads. Ranade posits

1003-491: Is found in older Vedic literature, such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad hymn II.1.19. It asserts, for example, that human body has a heart as the principal organ of Self, from where arise 101 major arteries, each major artery divides into a hundred times, which in turn subdivide into 72,000 smaller arteries, giving a total of 727,210,201 small and large arteries, and that these arteries diffuse air throughout

1062-516: Is he who beholds, touches, hears, smells, tastes, perceives, thinks, reasons, conceives, acts, whose essence is knowledge, the Self. His foundation and dwelling is the supreme, indestructible Self. The Prashna Upanishad answers that happiness and bliss in man is this established calm state of knowing and dwelling in the Atman, the spiritual state of truth, beauty and goodness. The Prashna Upanishad opens

1121-414: Is it that sees the dreams? (4) What is it in man that experiences happiness? (5) On what is all this founded? The Prashna Upanishad begins the answer with a simile to state the background of extant theory, before offering its own explanation. Like rays of the sun that withdraw into the disc as it sets and that disperse ever more as it rises, all gods (sensory organs) inside man withdraw and become one in

1180-593: Is moveable, hands and what is seizable, mind and the objects of mind, thought and objects of thought, reason and objects of reason, self-consciousness and objects of self-consciousness, insight and objects of illumination, life-force and object of life-force. After setting the foundation of its dream theory and deep-sleep theory, the Prashna Upanishad defines Atman as Purusha (Cosmic Self, Consciousness, Soil of all beings, Universal principle), एष हि द्रष्ट स्प्रष्टा श्रोता घ्राता रसयिता मन्ता बोद्धा कर्ता विज्ञानात्मा पुरुषः । स परेऽक्षर आत्म नि संप्रतिष्ठते ॥ ९ ॥ It

1239-643: Is notable for its structure and sociological insights into the education process in ancient India. In some historic Indian literature and commentaries, it is also called Shat Prasna Upanishad . Prashna (प्रश्न) literally means, in modern usage, "question, query, inquiry". In ancient and medieval era Indian texts, the word had two additional context-dependent meanings: "task, lesson" and "short section or paragraph", with former common in Vedic recitations. In Prashna Upanishad, all these contextual roots are relevant. The text consists of questions with lessons or answers, and

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1298-828: Is regarded to have become one with the Ganga river. In the Shiva Purana , Pippalada, on his way to the river Pushpabhadra in the Himalayas , chanced upon a young maiden, and was consumed by lust. After enquiring the locals, he was informed that the maiden was Princess Padma, the only daughter of King Anaraṇya, regarded to be as virtuous as the goddess Lakshmi . The sage marched into the king's chambers and demanded her hand in marriage, threatening to reduce his kingdom to ash elsewise. The dejected king, after being advised by his counsellors, decided that he would have to put his dynasty before his beloved daughter, and promptly offered her as

1357-544: Is the spirit, matter is the moon. The sun ascends to the highest, alone in splendor, warming us and serving as the spirit of all creatures. He is Aditya, illuminates everything, as stated in the first Prashna, and has two paths - the northern and the southern. Those who desire offspring follow the guidance of sun's southern path, while those who seek the Self take the northern path, one of knowledge, brahmacharya , tapas and sraddha . The first chapter includes several symbolic mythological assertions. For example, it states that

1416-477: The Atman (Self) is born this life. Life enters the body, states the Prashna Upanishad, by the act of mind. It governs the body by delegating work to other organs, sage Pippalada continues in verse 3.4, each specialized to do its own work independent of the other powers, just like a king commands his ministers to govern functions in the villages in his kingdom. The Upanishad then enumerates a theory of human body that

1475-478: The Rishi (sage) said: Dwell with me a year, with Tapas , with Brahmacharya , with Sraddha (faith), Then ask what questions you will, If we know, we will tell you all. This preface is significant, states Johnston, as it reflects the Vedic era belief that a student's nature and mind must first show a commitment, aspiration, and moral purity before knowledge is shared. Secondly, the method of first question by

1534-549: The Vajra , the diamond-like celestial thunderbolt of the deity Indra , in order to slay Vritra . In the Bhagavata Purana , Dadhichi is described as the son of the sage Atharvan and his wife, Chitti. Atharvan is said to be the author of Atharvaveda , which is one of the four Vedas . Chitti was the daughter of the sage Kardama. The names of Dadhichi's wife and son were Suvarcas and Pippalada , respectively. After

1593-414: The asuras , headed by Vritra , once and for all. Dadhichi, however, told them of what he had done and informed them that their weapons were now a part of his bones. Realising that his bones were the only way by which the devas could defeat the asuras , he willingly gave his life in a pit of mystical flames, that he summoned with the power of his austerities. Vishvakarma is then said to have fashioned

1652-475: The asuras . Indra considered this blasphemous, and promptly destroyed the three heads of Viśvarūpa. Enraged by the loss of his son, Tvastar burnt offerings and offered incantations from the Atharvaveda for eight continuous days, until a son named Vritra appeared before him, and was tasked with slaying Indra. Indra and his devas waged war on Vrita and the asuras, and were defeated. The devas went to seek

1711-470: The Prashna Upanishad states that Prana (breath, spirit) is the most essential and powerful of all, because without it all other deities cannot survive in a creature, they exist only when Prana is present. The deities manifest their power because of and in honor of Prana . The spirit manifests itself in nature as well as life, as Agni (fire), as sun, as air, as space, as wind, as that which has form and as that which does not have form. The third Prashna of

1770-535: The Upanishad asks six questions: (1) Whence is life born? (2) when born, how does it come into the body? (3) when it has entered the body, how does it abide? (4) how does it go out of the body? (5) how does life interface its relation with nature and senses? (6) how does life interface with Self? Sage Pippalada states that these questions are difficult, and given the student's past curiosities about Brahman, he explains it as follows, आत्मन एष प्राणो जायते From

1829-424: The Upanishad focus on cause and effect of the transient, empirical, manifested world, remarks Eduard Roer. The fourth through sixth Prasna of the Upanishad focus on the nature of Self, that which is unchanging and independent of cause, of proof, and is self-evident. The fourth Prashna lists five questions: (1) What sleeps in man? (2) What is awake therein (when he sleeps)? (3) Which Deva (god, deity, organ) in man

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1888-586: The Vedic practice of describing sun as having six seasons, in contrast to five seasons for earth. The first section ends with verses 1.15 and 1.16 asserting that ethical living is necessary to realize the Atman-Brahman: Satya (truthfulness), Brahmacharya (chastity, celibacy if unmarried, fidelity if married), Tapas (austerity, meditation, perseverance), no Anrta (अनृत, falsehood, lying, deception, cheating) no Jihma (जिह्म, moral crookedness, ethical obliqueness with an intent to not do

1947-475: The aid of Vishnu . Vishnu revealed to Indra that only weapons made from the thunder-containing bones of the sage Dadhichi could kill Vritra . Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once slain, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra . Dadhichi acceded to the devas ' request, but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought all

2006-604: The answer is the implicit admission by the teacher with "if we know", that he may not know the answer, and thus acknowledging a sense of skepticism and humility into the process of learning. A year later, sage Pippalada is asked the first question, "whence are living beings created?" In verse 1.4 of Prashna Upanishad, the sage's answer is stated: Prajapati performed Tapas (heat, meditative penance, austerity) and created two principles , Rayi (matter, feminine), and Prana (spirit, masculine), thinking that "these together will couple to produce for me creatures in many ways". The sun

2065-452: The answer to the question". In some manuscripts discovered in India, the Upanishad is divided into three Adhyayas (chapters) with a total of six Kandikas (कण्डिका, short sections). The first three questions are profound metaphysical questions but, states Eduard Roer, do not contain any defined, philosophical answers, are mostly embellished mythology and symbolism.The first question gives

2124-497: The body. It is this life-breath which interfaces Self to all organs and life in human body, states the Upanishad. The third Prashna uses symbolic phrases, relying on more ancient texts. It states, in verse 3.5 for example, that "seven lights" depend on air circulated by arteries in order to function, which is a phrase which means "two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and mouth". Its answers to metaphysical questions are physiological, rather than philosophical. The first three Prashnas of

2183-414: The context of answer that follows, to reflect the extant belief that deities express themselves in human beings and creatures through sensory organs and capabilities. The second significant aspect of the question is its structural construct, wherein the teacher is called Bhagavan , reflecting the Vedic culture of veneration and respect for teachers. The Upanishad thus suggests multiple contextual meanings of

2242-514: The death of Dadhichi, when Suvarcas was about to ascend the funeral pyre , she heard an aśarīriṇī vāṇī (a celestial voice) that informed her that she was pregnant. Suvarcas removed the foetus from her womb with a stone, and placed it near a banyan tree, proceeding to end her life. Her child, Pippalada, became a famous rishi , associated with the Pippalada school of thought in Hinduism, and he

2301-557: The devas to be destroyed by Shiva, which would be fulfilled when they attended Daksha's yajna . According to the Devi Bhagavata Purana , Tvastar , the Prajapati , bore a deep-seated hatred for Indra , the king of the devas . He performed a penance to bear a child named Viśvarūpa, whose purpose was to slay Indra. The child grew to become a rishi , and since his mother, Racanā, was a daitya , he freely mingled with

2360-417: The devas, who attacked the sage, but their prowess was rendered futile because of Shiva's protection of the sage. The sage employed a few blades of the kusha grass against the divinities, which transformed into a trishula , frightening all but Vishnu from the scene. When the king appeared to offer his surrender, the sage once again affirmed that knowledge is superior to weapons and force. He cursed Indra and all

2419-665: The goddess Hinglaj is attributed to Dadhichi. To save some Kshatriya children from being killed by Parashurama , Dadhichi is said to have hidden them inside the temple of Hinglaj, and created the incantation of Hinglaj to protect them from Parashurama's wrath. Dadhichi is believed to have written the Narayana Kavacham, a Sanskrit hymn. Prashna Upanishad Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Prashna Upanishad ( Sanskrit : प्रश्नोपनिषद् , IAST : Praśnopaniṣad )

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2478-403: The highest Deva named Manas (mind) when he sleeps. Other people say, asserts the Upanishad, gods that reside inside man, other than the deity of mind, cease from work in this state of sleep, and in this state, the essence of a person, his Self sleeps. The Fourth Prashna of the Upanishad, thereafter presents "five fire" theory, pointing out that Prana (breath, life-force) does not sleep, that

2537-433: The king with the root of his foot. Kṣuva appealed to Vishnu to bless him with victory. Vishnu assumed the guise of a Brahmin, and appeared before Dadhichi, requesting the sage to grant him a boon. Dadhichi saw through Vishnu's guise, and wished to know the deity's purpose of visiting him. He was requested to make peace with the king. Dadhichi refused with a laugh, which angered Vishnu. The preserver deity summoned Indra and

2596-440: The mind sacrifices food stored in the body with air provided by breath in order to serve the mind. Dream is a form of enjoyment for the mind, where it reconfigures and experiences again, in new ways, what it has seen before, either recently or in past, either this life or another birth, whether true or untrue (Shaccha-Ashaccha, सच्चासच्च), whether heard or unheard, whether pleasant or unpleasant. In dream, mind beholds all. There

2655-433: The right thing), and no Maya (माया, dissimulation, delusion, guile). The second Prashna starts with three questions, "how many Deva (gods, deities, powers) uphold a living being? how many manifest their power thus? and who is the best?". The question is significant because it explicitly expresses gods to be residing in each living being and in nature, to support life. This is widely interpreted by scholars, given

2714-649: The sage's wife. Padma served her husband dutifully, just as Lakshmi served her consort, Vishnu . Even as Pippalada turned weak and emaciated, she remained loyal to him, rejecting the advances of Dharma when he tested her virtue. In the Upanishads , the following six sages: Sukeśas Bhāradvāja, Saivya Satyakāma, Sauryāyanin Gārgya, Kausalya Āśvalāyana, Bhārgava Vaidarbhi, and Kabandhin Katyāyana approached Pippalada, asking him about purpose of life. They performed austerities for

2773-480: The sage. The sage remembered Shukra , his ancestor, and the narrator of this legend, who employed his yogic powers to restore Dadhichi's limbs, and taught him the Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra to propitiate Shiva . When appeased, the deity appeared to offer the sage any boon of his choice, and Dadhichi wished for three: indestructible bones, immortality, and freedom from distress. Having received these boons, Dadhichi kicked

2832-405: The sake of the devas, and that his mother had been honour-bound to self-immolate after her husband's death, swore to become their foe. He performed a fierce penance to Shiva, wishing for the destruction of the devas. Shiva informed him that he would have a means of destroying the deities when the sage could see the former's third eye. When the sage was able to perform enough austerities to witness it,

2891-572: The sections within the Upanishad are also called prashna . The Prashna Upanishad was probably composed in the second half of 1st millennium BCE, likely after other Atharva Veda texts such as the Mundaka Upanishad , but the precise chronology of Prasna Upanishad is unclear and contested. The Mundaka Upanishad, for example, writes Patrick Olivelle , is rather later era ancient Upanishad and is, in all probability, post-Buddhist. The chronology of Prasna Upanishad, and other ancient India texts,

2950-517: The splendid King Kṣuva, a great devotee of Vishnu . Once, the two were embroiled in a dispute regarding the superiority of knowledge which is sought by the Brahmins over weapons and force sought by the kings. Angered that the king would express an opinion that was contrary to the scriptures, Dadhichi struck the head of Kṣuva with his left fist. In retaliation, the king employed the Vajra to disintegrate

3009-587: The state of Uttar Pradesh , India. Naimisharanya is cited in all of the Puranas as the location of his ashram, which is still in existence. The current location of the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad is also believed to be one of the ancient sites of his ashram. A popular legend about Dahod also says that Sage Dadhichi once meditated at the banks of Dudhimati river in Dahod. The Dadhich Brahmins ,

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3068-583: The student and then answer is significant, according to Johnston, as it reflects an interactive style where the student has worked out the question for himself before he is provided an answer, in contrast to a lecture style where the teacher provides the questions and answers regardless of whether the student understands either. The three ethical precepts emphasized in this verse of Prashna Upanishad are Tapas (austerity, perseverance, fervour), Brahmacharya (chastity, self-discipline) and Sraddha (faith, purity, calmness of mind). The second interesting part of

3127-421: The sun is ultimately the giver of rain and races in sky in the "chariot with seven wheels and six spokes". This symbolism is also found in more ancient Vedic literature, and the seven wheels represents half years, seasons, months, half months, days, nights, and muhurtas (मुहूर्त, a Vedic era division of time equaling 48 minutes and one muhurta was asserted to be 1/30 of a day). The six spoke symbolism refers to

3186-400: The tree, a celestial voice explained the circumstances of her pregnancy, and the future of the child. When Yājñavalkya and his two wives discovered her fainted form under the tree and awoke her, she willed herself to die out of shame. She was cremated, and Pippalada sustained himself by tasting the juice of the pippala tree, after which he was named. Narada found the child and explained that he

3245-482: The water of the holy rivers together at Naimisharanya , thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi then went into a deep meditative state, and released his life force from his body. His bones were used to fashion the Vajra, also known as the Vajrayudha (Vajra, the weapon), which would be employed to slay Vritra. Another version of this legend exists where Dadhichi

3304-417: The word Bhagavan . Such use of the term Bhagavan for teacher is repeated elsewhere, such as in the opening lines and verse 4.1 of the Prashna Upanishad, as well as in other Upanishads such as in verse 1.1.3 of the Mundaka Upanishad . Sage Pippalada opens the answers to the three questions by listing five gross elements, five senses and five organs of action as expression of deities. In verses 2.3 and 2.4,

3363-632: Was an incarnation of Brihaspati , whose duty it was to preach the Atharvaveda. Pippalada would go on to meet Shani , and request him to offer certain ritual practices for the protection of mankind from his malefic presence. Finally, Narada returned the eight-year old Pippalada to his father, and advised him to offer his son the sacred thread, which he grievingly did. According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana , Sage Pippalada, now aware that his father, Dadhichi, had sacrificed his life for

3422-415: Was asked to safeguard the weapons of the devas , as they were unable to match the arcane arts being employed by the asuras to obtain them. Dadhichi is said to have kept at the task for a very long time and, finally tiring of the job, is said to have dissolved the weapons in sacred water, which he then drank. The devas returned some time later and asked him to return their weapons so that they might defeat

3481-448: Was the child who was born to her, and grew up to become a great sage. He was sustained by the amritam offered to him by the tree, furnished by Chandra . In another account, Pippalada is described to be the product of an accidental insemination. Yājñavalkya was a renowned hermit, who lived in his hermitage with his sister, Kaṃsārī, who was an ascetic who strictly practised celibacy, and performed severe penances. One night, Yājñavalkya had

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