Brahmavidya

<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2>
The term brahmavidya is a compound derived from the Sanskrit terms <a href="/facts/Brahman/GM0QaQ9U">brahman</a> and <a href="/facts/Vidya_(philosophy)/Tkx3ame0">vidya</a>.
<a href="/facts/Brahman/GM0QaQ9U">Brahman</a> is the Ultimate Reality in Hinduism.
The word vidyā means "knowledge,"<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> and is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root -vid- ("to know"), also seen in the word <a href="/facts/Vedas/yQgc8B2x">Veda</a>. Its cognates in other <a href="/facts/Indo-European_languages/L34TfgSr">Indo-European languages</a> are the <a href="/facts/Greek_language/pzDd6eIz">Greek</a> εἶδον for ἐϝιδον ("I saw"), οἶδα for ϝοιδα ("I know"), <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> vidēre ("to see"), <a href="/facts/Slavic_languages/b5GaeFx1">Slavic</a> věděti, <a href="/facts/Gothic_language/14Hrn0o2">Gothic</a> ("witan, wait"), <a href="/facts/Proto-Germanic_language/LJrKRx5A">Germanic</a> wizzan, wissen ("to know"), and the <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a> ("wisdom, wit"). 

<h2 id="mythology">Mythology</h2>
The <a href="/facts/Shatapatha_Brahmana/vYn4N1my">Shatapatha Brahmana</a> features a legend in which the sage <a href="/facts/Atharvan/y4wVjXY5">Atharvan</a> was threatened decapitation by <a href="/facts/Indra/LLN2uI9D">Indra</a> if he restored the head of a sacrifical offering, since it would lead to the revelation of esoteric knowledge. The <a href="/facts/Ashvins/NV4YUlml">Ashvin</a> twins, eager to acquire this wisdom, promised to replace the head of Atharvan with that of a horse while keeping the real one in safekeeping, after which the head could be restored. Atharvan agreed, restoring the head of the sacrifice, and the knowledge was revealed from the horse-head. When Indra duly carried out this decapitation after the revelation, the Ashvins promptly restored the real head of the sage. The knowledge revealed came to be known as the Brahmavidya.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> 
In the Mundaka Upanishad, <a href="/facts/Brahma/gmJ5YDk0">Brahma</a> is stated to have revealed the Brahmavidya to his eldest son Atharvan, who passed it down to <a href="/facts/Angiras/BhmXwYmz">Angiras</a>, who in turn passed it down to <a href="/facts/Bharadvaja/VURrTskf">Bharadvaja</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> 
<a href="/facts/Yama_(Hinduism)/E0f1QACJ">Yama</a> is described to have imparted the knowledge of Brahmavidya to <a href="/facts/Nachiketa/hLlxJ2cC">Nachiketa</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> 

<h2 id="current-usage">Current usage</h2>
In modern Hinduism, Brahmavidya is used to mean a spiritual study of Hindu scriptures with the aim of realising the Ultimate Reality. Different modern Hindu leaders have defined it in the context of their own systems of philosophy.

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Sivaraman, Krishna (1989). Hindu Spirituality: Vedas Through Vedanta. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 421. ISBN 978-81-208-1254-3. <a href="978-81-208-1254-3" target="_blank">978-81-208-1254-3</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Rama, Swami (1990). Wisdom of the Ancient Sages: Mundaka Upanishad. Himalayan Institute Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-89389-120-6. <a href="978-0-89389-120-6" target="_blank">978-0-89389-120-6</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Nadkarni, M. V. (2019-03-20). The Bhagavad-Gita for the Modern Reader: History, Interpretations and Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-429-53508-6. <a href="978-0-429-53508-6" target="_blank">978-0-429-53508-6</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Macdonell's Sanskrit Lexicon definition is "knowledge, learning, science" <a href="/wiki/Arthur_Anthony_Macdonell" target="_blank">/wiki/Arthur_Anthony_Macdonell</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Brown, Cheever Mackenzie (1998-01-01). The Devi Gita: The Song of the Goddess: A Translation, Annotation, and Commentary. SUNY Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7914-3939-5. <a href="978-0-7914-3939-5" target="_blank">978-0-7914-3939-5</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Sarmah, Thaneswar (1991). The Bharadvājas in Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 16. ISBN 978-81-208-0639-9. <a href="978-81-208-0639-9" target="_blank">978-81-208-0639-9</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Tigunait, Rajmani (2008). The Pursuit of Power and Freedom. Himalayan Institute Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-89389-274-6. <a href="978-0-89389-274-6" target="_blank">978-0-89389-274-6</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Brahmavidya open-in-new

Brahmavidya