HINDU ENCYCLOPEDIA

सनातन धर्म भूमिका

Meaning of "Kenopanishad"

Word

Kenopanishad

Sanskrit

केनोपनिषत्

IAST

kenopaniṣat

In General

Kenopanishad belongs to Samaveda and it is from Talavakara Brahmana. It has got thirty five mantras arranged in four kandas or parts. The first two Kandas are in verses and the last two in prose. The first mantra starts with the word Kena, hence the name Knopanishad.

The Kenopanishad open with the spiritual aspirant honest doubt: is there any entity behind the sense organs?. The spiritually enlightened Guru answer that, there is one entity behind all these senses, though senses do not understand him. But that entity understand everything and it called Brahman.

Veda

“kenaprashitham, pathathi prashitham mana ---“, it is by whose will that the mind get attracted to the objects of mind and try its best to comprehend it ?

It is by whom the work is done. By whose command that everybody utter the words

Which Gods power and pursuance that the other sense organs like eye and ear get into their subject.

These entire questions were directed towards finding the truth behind the sensory world.

Atman is the knower of everything. If we miss the chance of knowing him, then we lose everything. In the fourth kanda Uma Haimavati and Indra also come into picture and Upanishad ends with the declaration that tapas (austerity), dama (self control), and karma (Work and duties ordained by the scriptures) are the means of attaining Brahman.

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Word Sanskrit IAST In General Veda Purana