Pancabrahma Upanishad
The text glorifies five facedShiva
Devanagari	पञ्चब्रह्म
IAST	Pañca-brahma
Title means	Five Realities
Date	before ~7th-century CE
Type	Shaiva[1]
LinkedVeda	Krishna Yajurveda[1]
Chapters	1
Verses	36[2]
Philosophy	Shaivism,Vedanta

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ThePancabrahma Upanishad (Sanskrit:पञ्च ब्रह्म उपनिषत्,IAST: Pañca-brahma Upaniṣad) is amedieval era Sanskrit text and is one of the minorUpanishads ofHinduism. The text is classified as one of 14Shaiva Upanishads, and one of the 32 Upanishads of theKrishna Yajurveda.^[3][1]

The Upanishad glorifies Shiva, withVedanta nondualism terminology.^[4] The text is notable for its focus onSadashiva, asBrahman, with his five faces corresponding to five Ishwaras,^[5] and for its recommendation of meditation on "So'ham" or "I am he, He am I" to achievemoksha, the union with Brahman.^[6]

The date or author ofPancabrahma Upanishad is unknown. Kramrisch states that this is a late text, but possibly one which was composed before theVishnudharmottara Purana.^[7] She dates the latter to about 7th-century CE, contemporary withAjanta Caves paintings.^[8]

Manuscripts of this text are also found titled asPanchabrahma Upanishad andPancabrahmopanishad.^[2][9] In theTelugu languageanthology of 108 Upanishads of theMuktika canon, narrated byRama toHanuman, it is listed at number 93 asPancabrahma Upanishad.^[10] This text is not a part of the 17th century compilation of 50 important Hindu Upanishads published byMughal EraDara Shikoh and of the 18th-century anthology of 52 Upanishads published byColebrooke, nor is it found in theBibliotheca Indica anthology by Narayana.^[11]

As an Upanishad, it is a part of the corpus ofVedanta literature collection that present the philosophical concepts of Hinduism.^[12]

The text opens with sage Paippalāda asking Shiva, "what is that which came to exist first?" Shiva's reply is structured as the verses ofPancabrahma Upanishad.^[13][14]

ThePancabrahma Upanishad describesfive forms of reality (Brahman) or Shiva that arose fromhighest reality –Sadyojata,Aghora,Vamadeva,Tatpurusha andIshana.^[15][16] He ispanchatmak, who conceals all five Brahmas, and to realize him ismoksha. The Ishana, asserts the text, is the highest form of Brahman, unmanifested impeller, adorned withOm, and that all five Brahmas resolve into the supremeNirguna (formless) Brahman.^[15][17] The supreme shines by its own light, beyond the five Brahmas, states this Pancabrahma text.^[15]

The text asserts that Sadyojata represents earth and is associated withKriya Sakti (power of action). The Aghora represents fire and drives theIccha Sakti (power of will, desire) and Vamadeva represents water and impels theJnana Sakti (power of knowledge).^[4][16] Tatpurusha represents air and is the power of life (breath, prana), while Ishana represents ether-space and the transcendental.^[5][15]

Teun Goudriaan, a professor in the Department of Oriental Studies and author,^[18] states that thePancabrahma Upanishad focuses on these symbolism behind the five faces of Shiva and mystical equations about all except Ishana face.^[19] The Ishana face of Shiva is glorified with general epithets such as "superior to the pacified", as "Brahman", as "Supreme", as "lustre behind everything", and as "I myself am that Brahman", thus emphasizing his fundamental position in this text.^[19] The verse 23 of the manuscript asserts that one must meditate on Shiva within, with "So'ham" or "I am He, He am I" to achievemoksha, the union with Brahman.^[6][19][20] This outlook of this text corresponds toAdvaita Vedanta position ofHindu philosophy, states Goudriaan.^[21]

This Upanishad, states Kramrisch, gives precedence to the "power of knowledge", in contrast with some Shaiva text such asVatulasuddh-agama which emphasize "power of will".^[7] According to Kramrisch, this may be either doctrinal differences or possible errors in transmission of the manuscripts over the centuries, but the components of Shavismontology are consistent across the texts, since the latter part of the 1st-millennium CE.^[7] The text, adds Kramrisch, asserts that "all this phenomenal world is the Parabrahman, Shiva, of the character of the fivefold Brahmans", and that everything in a being's inner and outer senses, that falls within or lies beyond, is Shiva of fivefold Brahman character.^[22][23]

The seeker realizes that aspect of five Brahman Shiva, in accord with the strength of his vision, his spiritual development, and it is Shiva who is in the heart of all beings, Shiva isSat-Cit-Ananda, meaning existence, consciousness, and Bliss.^[24][25] Shiva is the liberator, asserts the text.^[24][26][25]

Thepancabrahma concept found in this Upanishad is also found in the ŚaivāAgamas, described in a similar way.^[14][27]

• Atharvashiras Upanishad
• Kaivalya Upanishad
• Narayana Upanishad
• Tripura Upanishad

Bibliography

• Ayyangar, TRS (1953).Saiva Upanisads. Jain Publishing Co. (Reprint 2007).ISBN 978-0895819819.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Deussen, Paul (1997).Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
• Goudriaan, Teun (2008).Maya: Divine And Human. Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN 978-8120823891.
• Kramrisch, Stella (1981).The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ISBN 978-8120804913.
• Parmeshwaranand, S (2004).Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism, Volume 1. Sarup & Sons. p. 196.
• Mahadevan, T. M. P. (1975).Upaniṣads: Selections from 108 Upaniṣads. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.ISBN 978-81-208-1611-4.
• Nair, Shantha N. (2008).Echoes of Ancient Indian Wisdom. Pustak Mahal.ISBN 978-81-223-1020-7.
• Hattangadi, Sunder (2000)."पञ्चब्रह्मोपनिषत् (Panchabrahma Upanishad)"(PDF) (in Sanskrit). Retrieved1 February 2016.
• Tinoco, Carlos Alberto (1996).Upanishads. IBRASA.ISBN 978-85-348-0040-2.

• Upanishads

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