Altar of Words - Text and Ritual in Taittirīya Upani Ad 2 - Yitzhak Freedman (Numen, 2012)

Altar of Words: Text and Ritual in Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2
Author(s): Yitzhak Freedman

Source: Numen, Vol. 59, No. 4 (2012), pp. 322-343
Published by: Brill
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NVMEN
brill Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 brill.nl/nu
Altar of Words:
Text and Ritual in Taittiriya Upa
Yitzhak Freedman*
Department of Comparative Religion, The Faculty of the Humanities,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905Jerusalem, Israel
yitzhak.freedman @mail. huji. ac. il
Abstract
The following study examines the nature and purport of the Upanisadic text, focusing
on the second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanisad. This chapter exhibits structural
aspects that parallel those of the brick altar constructed during the Vedic ritual of
agnicayana, "piling of the fire-altar." An analysis of the chapter in light of the interpre
tations of this ritual in the Brahmanas leads to a new understanding of the text. Rather
than being primarily a revelation of doctrine, the text is a manual for a variant, verbal
ized form of the "piling of the fire-altar." The verbalized agnicayana includes a ritual
construction of the self (atrnan) as an altar, created not by bricks, but by the words of
the Upanisadic text.
Keywords
text, Upanisads, Taittirlya Upanisad, Agnicayana, internalization, verbalization
*' I wish to thank Dr. Yohanan Grinshpon, Prof. David Shalman, and the anonymous
reviewer of Numen for their comments on earlier versions of this article. My gratitude
is extended to Prof. Charles Malamoud, Dr. Naphtali Meshel and Dr. Eviatar Shulman
for their thought-provoking questions and suggestions, as well as to the participants of
the Seventh Annual Conference of Asian Studies in Israel, the Students' Seminar of the
Department of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the
First Annual Conference for the President's Fellows in the Humanities at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, where parts of this paper were presented. I am also deeply and
gratefully indebted to Prof. Gangadhara V. Bhat for teaching me the oral rendering of
the TU, and for his many explanations and insights.
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012 DOI: 10.1163/156852712X641778
Y Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 323
The early Upanisads often declare their own power and potency.
Upanisadic passages frequently end by stating that "he who knows
thus," say a evam-vit, evam vidvan, ya evam veda, etc. — "thus" refers to
the contents of the preceding text — will attain a highly desirable state
of being. Assertions of this sort evoke questions regarding the nature
and purport of the text. What makes an Upanisadic segment efficacious
in the eyes of its authors? What kind of encounter with it is intended to
harbor the results it promises? The following is a study of one such text,
the second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanisad (TU).
TU2 contains a description of man that is believed by scholars to be
based on the structure of the fire-altar (agni) built in the Vedic ritual of
agnicayana, or "piling of the fire-altar." A careful reading of the text in
light of the Brahmanic speculations regarding the agnicayana reveals a
more complex relation. Rather than being merely inspired by its shape,
the text of TU2 itself twice forms a fire-altar, an agni. It is the incorpo
ration of one of these text-based, verbal constructs as a new divine
body-self batman), that qualifies one as "he who knows thus." This
entails the undergoing of a rite in which a teacher performs a set series
of speech acts that create for his student a new atman, fashioned as agni.
Thus, becoming one "who knows," according to TU2, is the outcome
of a ritual performance, an alternative, verbalized form of the agni
cayana. The text, in certain portions of TU2, rather than being merely
an exposition of theory or doctrine, serves as the manual of this ritual.
TU2 opens with a declaration about the power of the "knowledge"
it is about to expound:
A knower of Brahman (brahma-vid) attains the beyond. Thus, it has been stated:
Brahman is truth, awareness, infinity. He who knows (>Ivid) that which lays in
the hidden cave within (guhd), in the highest heavens, fulfills every desire with
brilliant Brahman.1
" TU2.1: brahma-vid dpnotiparam \ tad esdbhyuktd \ satyam jndnam anantam brahma
| yo veda nihitam guhdydm parame vyoman \ so 'snute sarvdn kamdnt saha \ brahmand
vipdsciteti \
The last sentence is open to various readings. On the interpretation of this passage,
see Beall 1986:8. While I agree with E. F. Beall that the "ambiguity" of this passage
might have been intentional, we differ in our understanding ofTU2. As will become
apparent later on in this essay, I do not believe that this text was originally meant to be
"studied."
324 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
The text then continues to the major portion of the chapter, which
relates a long exposition on the structure of man (purusa). It starts by
describing his evolution and creation through the cosmic elements, and
then proceeds to detail the parts of his body:
From this self (atman), space evolved. From space, wind; from wind, fire; from
fire, the waters; from the waters, the earth; from the earth, plants; from plants,
food (anna)-, from food, man (purusa). This man is indeed made of the essence
of food:
This is his head. This is the right wing (paksa). This is the left wing. This is the
center (body, torso, dtmari). This is the tail (puccha), the base (pratisthd).2
The text refers to the body parts in this passage with the use of indexical
words, most likely intended to be accompanied by hand gestures.3 The
speaker is pointing to a body or body shape; it could be his own, the
body of his listener, or possibly, for reasons that will be clarified shortly,
to agni, the fire-altar.4 We might assume, along with the commentator
Sayana, that the speaker intended here is a teacher (dcdrya) addressing
his disciple (antevdsin) ,5 This supposition finds some support in the
2) TU2.1 (continued): tasmdd vd etasmdd dtmana akasah sambhutah \ dkasad vdyuh \

vdyor agnih \ agner apah \ adbhyah prthivi \ prthivyd osadhayah \ osadhibhyo 'nnam \
anndt purusah \ sa vd esa puruso 'nna-rasa-mayah \ tasyedam eva sirah \ ayam daksinah
paksah | ayam uttarah paksah \ ayam dtmd \ idam puccham pratisthd |
The "base" (pratisthd) mentioned here seems to refer collectively to the legs or feet.
The last member listed here is thus made of two parts taken together, namely, the
puccha (which signifies a bird's tail or the male organ) and the legs, probably in order
to limit the series of members to the significant number of five (see below). On the
meaning of pratisthd as "the legs," see Gonda 1975:339ff.
3) The Upanisads are oral texts and often include deictic pronouns in places where the
speaker was pointing at some physical object, such as parts of his body. See Olivelle
1998:8.
4) According to Michael Witzel (1996:165-66), "...Brahmana texts were composed

on the offering ground itself.... The teacher apparently carried out a dry run of the
ritual for his students." This implies that teachings were accompanied by hand gestures
pointing to the surrounding ritual articles.
" In Sayana's commentary both TU2 and TU3 open and close with the same invoca
tion, saha ndv avatu... ("May he protect us both... etc."). He ascribes the dual voice
in this invocation to the pair of student and teacher (atra ndv iti-sabdena sisydcdrydv
ucyete). So does Sarikara, in his commentary on the TU.
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 325
dominant position of this common pair of Upanisadic figures in other

sections of the TU. It is the subject of the closely-related opening sec
tion of TU3, where the narrative revolves around a student, Bhrgu, and
his master, teacher, and father, the god Varuna.6 A teacher and student
are also addressed in the final passage of the preceding chapter
(TU1.11).7
A few verses of praise to food (anna) follow the enumeration of the
members of the body made of food. The text then relates another
"body" of man:
Different from and interior (antara) in relation to this body made of the essence
of food is a body (atman) made of breath (prana). It (the body made of the
essence of food) is filled up by it (the body made of breath). It is indeed man
shaped (purusa-vidha). Following its man-shape (of the body made of food), here
is the man-shape (of the body made of breath):
His head is prana (out-breath). The right wing is vyana (inter-breath). The left
wing is apana (in-breath). The center is space. Earth is the tail, the base.8
6) TU2 and TU3 have a parallel inner structure and are evidently closely related. They
were regarded a single unit by Sayana, who calls it an Upanisad entitled Vdruni (see
also the preceding note). As mentioned above, the fact that TU3 relates a student
teacher narrative might support my reading ofTU2. Nevertheless, and although it is
tempting to point to some other aspects of TU3 (in particular, to the role ascribed in
it to the father) that are highly relevant to some of the ideas presented below, it must
be stressed that I do not regard these texts to represent a single or coherent line of
thought. They presumably had a common "editor" who collected, ordered, and fitted
together preexisting texts (consider, for instance, the composite character of TU2.6
and TU3.6). It is likely that he drew from various sources (as is generally the case in
the older Upanisads; see Olivelle 1998:11). In particular, the first section ofTU3 is a
variant of a known Brahmanic tale on Bhrgu and Varuna. The other Brahmanic ver
sions of this tale (Jaiminlya Brahmana 1.42-44; Satapatha Brahmana (!>B) 11.6.1)
revolve around the daily fire ritual, the agnihotra. In contrast, TU2 is connected to the
agnicayana (see below).
On the relation between TU2 and TU3, and their existence as a common textual
unit that is separate from TU1, see Cohen 2008:149-58, Olivelle 1998:288, Varenne
1968.
7> See also TU1.3.1-2.
8) TU2.2: tasmad vd etasmad anna-rasa-may at \ anyo 'ntara atma prdna-mayab \ tenaisa
piirnah \ sa vd esa purusa-vidha eva | tasya purusa-vidhatam | anv ayam purusa-vidhah \
tasya prdna eva sirah \ vydno daksinah paksah \ apdna uttarah paksah | dkdsa dtma \
prthivlpuccham pratisthd |
326 Y Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
Again, after the enumeration of body parts, the text introduces a few
verses, this time praising prana. Then follow, in a similar manner, the
bodies made of manas (mind), vijnana (awareness, perception), and
ananda (bliss, satisfaction, ecstasy).9 Each body is again said to be "dif
ferent and interior" (anyo 'ntarah) in relation to the one preceding it.10
The parts of these bodies, their heads, two wings, torsos, and tails and
bases, like the body made of prana, are again provided in the form of
short statements containing specific designations. The following Table 1
summarizes the different bodies enumerated in TU2 and their respec
tive members:
Table 1
body\member 1 siras 2 daksinah 3 uttarah 4 dtmd 5 puccham

(head) paksab paksab (body, pratistha
(right wing) (left wing) torso) (tail, base)
1 anna (food) tasyedam ayam ayam ayam idam puccham

eva sirah daksinah uttarah atmd pratistha
paksah paksah
2 prdna (breath) prdna vydna apdna dkasa prthivi
3 manas (mind) Yajur Rg Sama adesa Atharvangirasa
4 vijndna (perception) sraddha rta

satya yoga maha
5 ananda (bliss) priya moda pramoda ananda Brahman
In translating the names of the three kinds of breath mentioned in this passage
(prdna, vydna, apdna), I follow Patrick Olivelle (1998:301).
9> On the meaning of ananda in TU2 and in ancient India in general, see Buitenen
1979, Gispert-Sauch 1977, Olivelle 1997.
101 The word antara does not necessarily mean "interior," although this is one of its
common Vedic meanings. It could also be understood as a synonym of anya ("other"),
or, alternatively, it could mean "following or next in order." Nevertheless, I concur
with the translation used here by most translators, for reasons that will become clear
later in this essay. In any case, it would seem unreasonable to suppose that whoever
composed this text was unaware of such a prevailing meaning of the word.
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 327
This five-fold series of fives, marked with bird-like features such as

wings and tails, is based on the structure of agni, the Vedic fire-altar.11
Agni is constructed by piling consecrated earthen bricks (istaka) in the
"piling of the fire-altar."12 In the common form of this ritual, the altar
is made of five layers of bricks and is shaped like a great falcon (suparna,
syend) facing east. This falcon is said to have five main parts — a head,
two wings, a torso, and a tail.13
Almost two-thirds of TU2 (up to the middle of TU2.6) are dedi
cated to this enumeration of the twenty-five parts of the five-layered
man, whereas the majority of the remainder of this chapter does not
seem to form an immediate continuation of it.14 But in the final section
ofTU2, the five aforementioned bodies are listed again in the same
order (2.8):
He who is this one here, in man (purusa), and the one over there, in the sun — he
is one. Upon passing away from this world, he who knows thus (saya evam-vii),
steps over into {upa-sam^kram) the body (atman) made of food (anna-maya)
steps over into the body made of breath (prdna-maya)
steps over into the body made of mind (mano-maya)
steps over into the body made of perception (vijnana-maya)
steps over into the body made of bliss (ananda-maya) ,15
This is a description of the final journey, the journey beyond death,

which leads to the bliss residing in the core of man. After it, the chapter
ends with a few phrases relating to the highly desired state that is
attained upon completion of the journey.
'" The first to make note of this, as far as I am aware, was Johannes A. B. van Buitenen
(1962:30).
I2) For a general description of the details of this complex ritual, see Kane 1930: vol.
2, 1246-1255, and Frits Staal's (1983) elaborate study of this ritual and his documen
tation of its performance in 1975.
131 SB6.1.1.6-7; 8.7.3.5; 10.4.5.2; 13.8.3.9.
,4) Wilhelm Rau (1981:360) even claims that there is some breach, or "lacuna," in
TU2.6.
15) TU2.8: sayas cdyam puruse | yas cdsdv dditye \ sa ekah \ saya evam-vit \ asmdl lokdt
pretya \ etam anna-mayam atmdnam upasankrdmati \ etam prdna-mayam atmdnam
upasankrdmati \ etam mano-mayam atmdnam upasankrdmai \ etam vijndna-mayam
atmdnam upasankrdmati \ etam ananda-mayam atmdnam upasankrdmati \
328 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
The journey is to be taken by "he who knows thus," saya evam-vit.

What, then, does he "know," and how? What is meant by "thus"? What
is the key to the completion of the final voyage to the beyond? The
answer, it seems, relates to the identity between what is "in man" and
what is in the universal realm, "in the sun," which is also stated (albeit
somewhat differently) in the opening verses of TU2.16 But there is
more. The means for becoming qualified for the final journey inwards
must also be related to the contents of the first two-thirds of TU2, as it
is there that the five bodies that appear as steps on the final journey are
elaborated upon. We may then ask, how does the enumeration of the
five bodies and their parts help elicit the desired outcome described at
the end of TU2?
Several decades ago, Henk W. Bodewitz offered what could be taken
as a partial solution to the questions raised above, when he claimed that
TU2 "implies a... meditation-piling."17 Bodewitz thus suggests that
TU2 actually relates to a practice based on the agnicayana ritual. He
further explains what kind of practice he believes is involved when
he writes about a closely-related passage in the Maitrayanlya Upanisad.
He states that "the piling of the fire-altar is a mental operation, a medi
tation, which transfers the performer into unity with Brahman in five
successive stages (corresponding to the five layers of the fire-altar)."18
Accepting Bodewitz's view on TU2 would imply that we frame it, as
he does, within the well-known notion of the "interiorization of
sacrifice."19 This notion, however, is not entirely applicable to the text
16> Note that the Upanisadic notion of the identity between the self and the universal
is expressed in TU2.8 with an equation that is found in a similar form among the
Brahmanic speculations on the agnicayana (see SB10.5.2).
17) Bodewitz 1973:282. George Gispert-Sauch (1977:74-75) came to a similar con
clusion in his study of the TU.
l8> Bodewitz 1973:282, his parenthesis. On the relationship between TU2 and
MaiUl.l; 6.33-34, see ibid., 291-92n63, and Buitenen 1962:29-33.1 tend to believe
that MaiU6.33, regardless of its chronological relation to TU2, is not related to the
kind of practice to which TU2 alludes, but is rather a speculation on the agnicayana of
the kind common to the Brahmanas. MaiU6.33 takes the fire-altar as its point of refer
ence and also refers to its bricks (istaka) and even to the yajamdna. In contrast, TU2
employs the structure of agni without any overt reference to the agnicayana.
19> See Bodewitz's (1985:9-13) discussion of Katha Upanisad 1.13-19, which he
rightly connects with TU2. On the relation between these two texts, see below.
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 329
in question. Bodewitz correctly observes that becoming qualified as

"one who knows thus," according to TU2, implies an operation that
parallels the construction of the fire-altar, and that this operation is
performed in a manner that does not involve the use of bricks, earthen
bricks. Nevertheless, as we shall see, becoming an evam-vidis not based
upon "meditation," i.e. on a practice that is altogether "internal," per
formed in silence, and can be practiced alone, for one's own sake.
To find out what kind of practice was intended to elicit the results
promised in TU2.8, we now continue our exploration of the text by
following our best clue, the correspondence between the text and the
altar of fire. We therefore turn to a brief overview of the Brahmanic
speculations on the agnicayana, our most available expressions of the
line of thought that might have guided the composition of TU2. The
overview will be based primarily on the Satapatha Brahmana (SB),
which belongs, like the TU, to the Yajur-Veda, and which is the most
detailed text regarding this ritual among the Brahmanas.
According to the second chapter of the sixth kdnda of the SB, the
construction of agni, the fire-altar, was at first undertaken by the god
Agni (or by the gods in general, in another version of the story) as a
means to cure the creator, Prajapati.20 Creating the universe had left
Prajapati weak, depleted, and falling apart. He was dying: losing his
vital power, his breath (prana).21 He turned to Agni and pled with him:
samdhehi — put me back together, make me whole, fashion me back to
completion. The construction of agni reversed Prajapati's dissolution
20) SB6.1.2.13. Later in this same chapter (SB6.L2.21), the gods (devas) are said to be
the ones who reconstruct Prajapati (see also SB10.4.4.1). For a summary and anno
tated study of SB6.1.1—2, seeTull 1989:60-69.
21) SB6.1.2.11-12:... prajapatis tv evedam sarvam asrjata yad idam kimca || sa prajdh
srstvd | sarvam djimitvd vyasramsata... tasmad visrastdtprdno madhyata udakramat tas
minn enam utkrante deva ajahuh \ |
"It was Prajapati who produced this all, anything there is. Having produced thus,
completing the race of creation, he was exhausted... and so breath rose and departed
from within him, and with its departure the gods deserted him." Note that the loss of
breath followed by the deserting of the gods (in this context, I believe, the devas repre
sent the vital powers usually calledprdnas or indriyas) clearly implies Prajapatis death
or affinity to death. Cf. Kausitaki Upanisad (KausU) 2.14.
On Prajapati and his dissolution in the act of creation according to the Brahmanas
(including an overview of the relevant scholarship), see Smith 1989:54-69.
330 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
(SB6.1.2.13). With each brick, a part of him returned to its place, and
with the completed altar, Prajapati was reborn and put together anew,
now in the form of his creation, his savior, Agni. The fire-altar is thus
simultaneously both Agni and Prajapati. The SB repeatedly explores the
implications of this identity by pointing to numerous sets of correspon
dences between the structure of agni and various aspects of the cosmos,
both being Prajapati's body.
According to the SB, the patron of the sacrifice, the yajamdna, is also
put together in the agnicayana.22 In building agni, the officiating priests
construct for him a new divine body-self (,atman), identical to the one
the god Agni built for Prajapati. The piling of the altar engenders the
correlation between agni and the cosmos, making them a reality for the
yajamdna, who is now himself identified with the creator. The con
struction of the altar is concomitantly his cure, his antidote to death.
For according to one of the most common Vedic beliefs on death, its
mark is dissolution, a falling apart during which each human compo
nent returns to its place in the cosmos — sight to the sun, breath to the
wind, the body to earth, and so on.23 Constructing a new atman through
the agnicayana allows the opposite to happen. Just as Agni ensured that
each of Prajapati's members was back in its place in his new self, in agni,
so do the officiating priests ensure that the yajamdna will own a complete
and immortal self to counteract death's destructive shredding force.24
22) See, for instance, SB10.1.4, or SB10.4.3, which relates how the gods averted death
by means of the agnicayana and states that the same will be the lot of whoever repeats
that deed of theirs. On the meaning of the agnicayana ritual according to the Brahmanas
and the mythology related to it, see Converse 1974, Eggeling 1882: vol. 4, xiii-xxvii,
Kaelber 1990:36-44, Malamoud 1996:58-67; 212-229, 2002, Mus 1978, Tull
1989:77-102.
23) See Rg-VedalO.16.3; SB10.3.3.8; Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (BAU) 3.2.13; 3.7.2.

According to Bruce Lincoln (1986:119-140), this was the prevailing view on death in
Vedic culture, held in common with other ancient Indo-European cultures and having
its assumed origins in PIE.
24) Note that Prajapati's request to Agni implies that being dispersed in the cosmos is
undesirable. The fact that death as dispersion was considered unwanted and threaten
ing is also revealed by the fact that the Asuras, the gods' enemies, are said to explode,
annihilate, and scatter (vi^Jdhvams), like a chunk of earth smashing against a rock
(BAU1.3.7, see also Chandogya Upanisad (ChU) 1.2.7-8; Jaiminiya Upanisad
Brahmana (JUB)1.7.6; 1.60.7-8; 2.3.12-13). The famous threats of death by a "shat
tering" (vi^pai) of the head as a consequence of losing in a sacrificial debate might also
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 331
The agnicayana thus prepares the yajamana for his death. His new
dtman, fashioned as an agni and shaped like a great falcon, will carry
him in due time on high to the world of the gods. A great journey
awaits him. Initiated to his new immortal self through the completion
of the agnicayana ritual, and now bearing the title agni-cit, "one who
has piled an agni? he is ready. To finalize the procedure, at the time of
his death, the SB states that a small structure of the same five-fold, fal
con-like shape must be built as his smasdna, his tomb:
The smasdna of an agni-cit is made in the shape of agni. By constructing agni, one
fashions his self (dtman) in sacrificial action (yajnena) for the sake of attaining
that world (above), but this sacrificial act remains incomplete as long as the
smasdna is not made. The piling of agni only comes to completion by building the
smasana of an agni-cit, in the shape of agniP
The contents of TU2 were meant to be employed in a similar manner

and in order to serve purposes analogous to the acts of agnicayana and
its conclusion, the making of the tomb, or the smasdna-cayana.26 First,
it is apparent that, akin to the purpose of building the brick-made altar,
TU2 suggests a method for the reversal of death as dispersion. In the
final journey described in TU2.8, instead of exploding and falling apart
in all directions, "he who knows thus" will implode as he travels inwards
from self to self to his utmost center. Recall that the interior "hiding"
(guha) is mentioned at the outset ofTU2 as the subject of ultimate
knowledge leading to the highest attainment.27 The idea of escaping
death by resorting to what is most essential, most central, and most
be based on the view of dispersion as an unwanted form of death. On the meaning of

this threat in Vedic culture, see Black 2007:80-88, Insler 1989, Witzel 1987.
25) SB 13.8.1.17:... agni-vidhaydgni-citah smasdnam karoti yad vai yajamdno 'gnim
cinute 'musmaitallokdyayajnendtmanamsamskurutaetaduhayajniyarnkarmdsarnsthitam
d smasdna-karandt tad yad agni-vidhaydgni-citah smasdnam karoty agni-citydm eva tat
samsthdpayati.
See also SB13.8.3.9.
26) On the relationship between the agnicayana and the smasana-cayana, and for an
overview of the scholarship on this topic, seeTull 1989:108-18.
27) This "hiding" is the interior of the heart. On the Upanisadic image of the heart,
and on the idea of the self residing in the guhd, see Olivelle 2006.
332 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
condensed is quite common in the Upanisads.28 In TU2, it appears as

the outcome of a specific mode of preparation.
The journey inwards requires preparation, just as does the agni-cit's
final flight to the world of the gods. The proper self must first be con
structed. The latter prepares by constructing an agni made of bricks.
Similarly, TU2 offers its own way of constructing the self as an agni,
one that collects and unites what is otherwise destined for dissolution
and dispersion. According to TU2, as we have seen, becoming eligible
for the final journey inwards requires "knowledge" of its first two-thirds.
In them, the series of statements starting with tasyedam eva sirah ("this
is his head") simultaneously alludes to three altars, or three five-fold
winged agnh. One is the material altar made of earthen bricks, which
serves as a model. The second is purusa, man himself, whose inner
structure is revealed in TU2 to be, potentially, shaped and layered like
an agni — made not from the bottom up, but from the outside in
(somewhat like a matryoshka, a Russian nesting doll). The third altar
was the one used to construct the desired atman. It lies within the con
tents ofTU2 itself.
TU2 holds a formula for constructing an immortal self, capable of
turning upon death into its innermost essence. The atman to be built is
structured as an agni, but instead of being made of istakas, its building
blocks are verbally-created images and designations. They lie in their
proper order within the first two-thirds of TU2, in the enumeration of
the twenty-five parts described at the outset of this essay and summa
rized in Table 1. The text of the first two-thirds of TU2 thus contains
both a plot or a diagram of the self being built, and the "material" and
"tools" necessary for completion of the scheme, which are designations
and statements, respectively. Rather than being a description or a the
ory of man and his configuration, this text is primarily a manual. It was
employed in creating what I refer to as a verbal construct, one in which
words and statements are used to form a three-dimensional mental
structure. I will have more to say about this below.
TU2 parallels the agnicayana and its conclusion in yet another way.
Just as the agni-cit's piling of the altar is completed by making its small
28) Consider, for example, ChUl.4 and JUB1.18, where the gods, having failed to
escape death by hiding in the meters of the Veda (dispersed in its cosmos of sound),
finally become immortal by entering (fra^Jvis) the single sound (svara) om.
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 333
counterpart, the tomb, so the creation of the verbally-constructed self

embedded within the first part of TU2 has its own corresponding struc
ture. A fourth, miniature agni lays hidden in TU2.8. The description of
the final journey appears there in five sentences, each containing five
words in turn. The following Table 2 cites the words of TU2.8 in their
proper order, placed into the same categories as in Table 1. Notice how
the word atmanam appears in each sentence in its proper position
according to the five-fold structure related at the beginning of TU2:
Table 2
body\member 1 s'iras 2 daksinah 3 uttarah 4 dtmd 5 puccham

(head) paksah paksah (body, pratisthd
(right wing) (left wing) torso) (base)
1 anna (food) etam anna

mayam atmanam
upasankramati
2 prana (breath) etam prana mayam atmanam upasankramati
3 manas (mind) etam mano
mayam atmanam upasankramati
4 vijnana (perception) vijnana
etam mayam atmanam upasankramati
5 ananda (bliss) etam ananda mayam atmanam
upasankramati
Technically, there are only four words in each sentence, the

third words appearing as a compound (samasa). Still, each s
this passage differs from the others in one of the two words co
the compound, which makes the distinction between them s
In any case, even if we choose to disregard the numbering of
in each sentence, we are still left with a five-fold textual str
corresponds to agni and to the purusa whose parts are enum
TU2.1-6. This textual segment is, in fact, another imma
made of words.
It appears to designate the complementary, perhaps symbo
the process of constructing the five-fold dtman. Just as t
cayana completes the agni-ciis divine agni-shaped self that
him to the gods, the miniature agni appearing in TU2.8 seem
that "he who knows thus" has an dtman that will allow him
final journey inwards. Thus, the creation of the five-fold sel
mented not only by the final journey beyond death, but also by
that describes it.
Let us return to TU2.1-6 and the construction the self as
Already in the SB, we find the notion that the construction
334 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
made of bricks creates for the yajamana a body made of sounds, or

rather made of Vedic, sacred speech. For speech (vac), explains the SB,
is constantly employed during the agnicayana ritual, more so since each
istakd is consecrated through speech, with the use of specific Vedic
verses (SB 10.5.1). Accordingly, among the many equations found in
the SB related to the agnicayana, we also find its structure equated with
the entire Veda (SB10.4.2.21-31).29 Charles Malamoud, in his beauti
ful essay "A Body Made of Words and Poetic Meters," situates this
equation within the Brahmanic belief according to which man, in
essence, is made of the words of the Veda:
... the ideal of replacing the various parts of one's body with elements or aspects
of the Veda reveal or confirm the fundamental affinity of man with speech
Vedic texts repeatedly explain that man is able or bound to give a verbal reality to
whatever he does or feels, to whatever happens to him. It is this characteristic that
enables him to build a purely verbal dtman for himself. Actually, man — in fact,
a man born in one of the first three varnas, or perhaps a man born from Brahmana
parents — is linked to, or rather identified with, speech and the Vedic text from
the very beginning: we learn from BAU VI 4,25 that as soon as a son is born, the
father takes him on the lap and whispers in his ear, "You are the Veda," vedo'si.
(Malamoud 2002:23)
Malamoud proceeds to claim that this basic feature of man, his being
made of Veda, can be seen as a forerunner to the Upanisadic assertion
of the identity between man's inner essence (dtman) and the universal,
Brahman. In TU2, we find a combination of both of these lines of
thought.
Let us note that speech, in Brahmanic India, is at the same time both
the material that comprises what man is and the tool used to create
him. This is the case, for example, when the father tells his son that he
is Veda. The same holds true for TU2. Speech is employed in the con
struction of the five-fold self with the use of specific concise statements,
such as tasyedam eva sirah, "this is his head," or rg daksinah paksah, "Rg
is his right wing" (of the body made of manas), and so on. Using John
Austin's (1986:6) initial terminology, we would say that such utterances
29) See also SB10.5.4, where the bricks of the fire-altar are equated, among others, to
the Vedic meters (verses 7-9). Later, they are also identified as parts of the human body
(verse 12).
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322-343 335
are "performative," or, following John Searle (1976:13-16), that they

are "demonstrative." With each such statement, the teacher generates
and puts in its proper place a new member of the verbally-constructed
agni that is to form the new self of the soon-to-be "he who knows
thus."30 Completing the full series of twenty-five utterances enumerat
ing purusds parts creates an atman as a verbalized construct.
Looking closely at TU2 thus presents us with a set of variations on
the agnicayana and its meaning as it appears in the Brahamanas. First,
we have a teacher and a disciple in place of the officiating priest(s) and
yajamana (and so in place of Agni and Prajapati).31 We have also
observed that the promised result of the process to which TU2 alludes,
the implosion to the center of being, is an inversion of the alleged result
of the original ritual, the journey to the world of the gods. Finally, the
means of creating agni and the self are replaced as well. Instead of the
original method of the construction of agni, there comes a parallel pro
cedure of construction, with words and images used for bricks, and a
series of statements uttered instead of the series in which istakas were
placed and consecrated. TU2 thus refers to a process that inverts and
replaces the original Vedic ritual.
This replacement is not an "internalization" of ritual. Rather, it would
better be termed a verbalization of ritual. The original ritual, the agni
cayana, is not dropped in TU2 in favor of an "internal," mental perfor
mance. Neither is it compared or said to be homologous to some
internal, mental, bodily, or other human function, as some Upanisadic
texts do in relation to certain Vedic rituals.32 TU2 also does not offer an
abstraction of the agnicayana, ascribing it with some "inner" or esoteric
30) Speech is a Vedic teacher's main apparatus. Accordingly, he is also termed vaktr or
pravaktr— one who speaks out, recites, or articulates (see, for instance, the invocation
opening and closing TU1).
31> The Vedic text regards the teacher-student pair as a parallel to the priest and patron
of the sacrifice during a Vedic student's learning period (brahmacarya), where he
undergoes a process that corresponds to sacrificial progression. See Kaelber 1990:112
15 and Smith 1986:79-84. ChU8.5.1 specifically equates sacrifice (jyajna) and brah
macarya.
32) Such as those in regards to the Soma sacrifice (ChU3.16-17) or the agnihotra
(KausU2.5).
336 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
meaning.33 The five-fold, verbalized structure of man appearing in TU2

serves to create a self in a process that does occur "externally." It can be
heard and observed as it happens — a teacher is speaking and gesturing
to his disciple. Hie process does indeed relate to the internal structure
of man and does, in a sense, have an "internal" or "mental" outcome, as
far as an dtman can be considered as such. In this, however, it does not
differ from the original ritual, which, at least according to the SB, cre
ates a new self for the yajamdna. One could even say, following Stanley
Tambiah (1968:202), that every ritual has an effect on man and his
mind, and thus is, in a sense, "internal."
The novelty of the process of constructing the self according to the
scheme appearing in TU2 lies in the fact that it is not based on physical
actions accompanied by speech, but rather on speech itself. In other
words, in TU2, we find the basis for a performance of the ritual of con
structing a self in the form of agni "verbalized," in the sense that in it,
verbal actions, or speech acts (the uttering of statements such as "this is
his head"), replace physical actions (laying down an earthen brick dur
ing the agnicayana). It is a verbalized agnicayana.
It is true that unlike the original ritual of the construction of agni, we
do not know most of the details relating to the verbal construction of
agni. The inventory of members of the agni-shaped purusa in TU2.1—6
is almost all that we have left of an initiation ritual that was, imagin
ably, elaborately detailed. However, this partiality of exposition is
typical of the Upanisads. For example, CU5.19—24 includes a list of
invocations belonging to the ritual of prdndgnihotra, but does not
supply an account of most of its details.34 Similarly, the findings above
do suggest the existence of some form of ritual related to TU2, one
which is worthy of the term just as much as the brick-based agnicayana
that inspired it. It might have been a separate procedure intended to
replace the original agnicayana entirely, or a complementary one, per
haps using the brick-made agni as a model to which the teacher points
as he utters the crucial words. Another possibility is that the construc
tion of the self happened over a long period of time, during which it
33> On the possible meanings of the term "internalization of sacrifice," see Bentor
2000, Bodewitz 1973:337n84.
34) On CU5.19-24 and its relation theprdndgnihotra, see Bodewitz 1973:265-69. On
the prdndgnihotra, see ibid., 213-343.
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 337
was broken up into five occasions, each of which was devoted to the
creation of one of the five layers of the verbal agni in the disciples evolv
ing atman.
Although we have no direct record of the verbalized agnicayana out
side of TU2, there is some evidence to support the possibility of its
existence. First, another Upanisadic text contains a possible reference to
it. As briefly mentioned above (note 19), Katha Upanisad 1.13-19,
where Yama teaches Naciketas how to build the fire-altar in the "hidden
cave within" (nihitam guhaydm, verse 14), is closely connected to TU2,
a fact also suggested by the use of the same wording (nihitam guhaydm)
in the opening declaration in TU2 (see above). It is plausible that by
relating the building of the altar in the heart, this text refers to the
building of the verbalized agni ofTU2.35 The connection between these
two texts also seems to support the interpretation of TU2 presented in
this essay because the teaching on the agnicayana appearing in the
Katha Upanisad is part of a narrative that revolves around the initiation
of Naciketas.36
Secondly, we know about the existence of initiation rituals in which
one's identity is forged by creating the self as a verbal construct from
other Upanisadic sources, namely, the rite described in Kausltaki
Upanisad 2.15 (here in Patrick Olivelle's translation):
Next, the father-son ceremony, which is also called the rite of transfer. A father,
when he is close to death, calls his son. After the house has been strewn with fresh
grass, the fire has been kindled, and a pot of water has been set down along with
a cup, the father lies down, covered in a fresh garment. The son comes and lies on
top of him, touching the various organs of the father with his own corresponding
organs. Alternatively, the father may execute the transfer with the son sitting and
facing him. The father then makes the transfer to the son:
"I will place my speech in you," says the father. "I place your speech in me,"
responds the son. "I will place my breath in you," says the father. "I place your
breath in me," responds the son. (Olivelle 1998:345)
35) The Katha text might refer to a process similar to the one intended in TU2, but it
may also reflect a typical Brahamnic interpretation on the agnicayana (like the MaiU
passages; see note 18), perhaps only influenced byTU2 (unlike TU2, it does mention
the istakds). I agree with Bodewitz (1985:12), who does not see these two possibilities
as mutually exclusive in this case.
36) On the notion of initiation in the Katha Upanisad, see Heifer 1968.
338 Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
The text further describes how the father transfers all of his parts and
powers in the same manner. Afterwards, he is to retire from the village,
or remain there under his son's authority. Thus, in this ceremony, he
actively transfers his identity to his son.37 The utterances in this passage
are very different in nature from the ones found in TU2. Still, the ini
tiation ritual described in this text resembles the verbalized agnicayana
of TU2 in that the creation of a new self for the son is performed
according to a preexisting model, the father, and by using a set series of
utterances.38
The above findings regarding TU2 affect our understanding of other

Upanisadic and Brahmanic texts. The following passage from the
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (BAU) also contains an enumeration of the
parts of a purusa:
He (Death) divided himself (dtmdnam) into three — a third to the sun, a third to
the wind. He is also breath (prdna) divided to three. His head is the eastern quar
ter, and his arms are this (the southeast) and that (the northeast). His tip (puccha)
is the western quarter, and his thighs are this (the southwest) and that (the north
west). His sides are the south and the north. His back is the heavens, his insides
are the space between heaven and earth, this (the earth) is his chest. He stands
firm {pmti^lstha) on the waters. One who knows thus (evam vidvdn) stands firm
wherever he goes.39
371 For similar interpretations of this passage, see Black 2007:142, Mus 1978:119—21.
For other discussions of this passage, specifically in relation to renunciation in the
Hindu tradition, see Olivelle 1993:123-126, Sprockhoff 1979:389ff. Cf. also
BAU1.5.17-20.
38) purther, albeit partial, support to the possibility of the existence of the verbal agni
cayana comes from our knowledge of similar rites from later times in India. The tradi
tions often referred to as "tantric" include methods of divinization of the self, using
fixed textual schemes enumerating body members and designations, at times also with
the aid of a visible model (such as an icon of a deity, or a geometrical design, a yantrd).
Some of these methods include initiations in which a teacher uses such textual schemes
to create a new divine self for his disciple, identifying the parts of his body with those
of the deity (on the "textualization" of the self in tantric traditions, see Flood 2006).
"Tantric" rituals and texts generally belong to an era much later than the TU, and yet,
they are also known to contain notions originating in Vedic times (see Padoux 1990:1
29 for some of the connections between tantric practices and beliefs and the Vedic
texts). Similarly, the detailing of the parts of the human body and of the deity in cer
tain common forms of Hindu pujd might also be relevant in this context.
39) BAU1.2.3 (=SB10.6.5.3): sa tredhdtmdnam vyakurutddityam trtlyam vayum trtiyam
| sa esa prdnas tredhavihitah \ tasya prdci dik siro 'sau cdsau cermau \ athdsya pratici dik
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 339
This section is part of a longer description of the creation of the world

by Death. Here again, we can assume that a teacher is talking and ges
turing to his disciple, using utterances that enumerate the parts of a
purusa. A full understanding of this passage would require further study,
which should focus on its relation to the asvamedha ritual and the
Brahmanic speculations regarding it, both of which form the back
ground for the opening section of the BAU. Still, in light of the find
ings presented above, I do believe that it is possible that this text was
used in, or perhaps is a reflection of, some sort of initiation rite, to a
state of identification with the cosmos.
These findings might similarly apply to an array of other Upanisadic
(and Brahmanic) passages. Joel P. Brereton, in an introductory chapter
on the Upanisads, recognizes in them what he calls five major "para
digms" of thought about the world. The first paradigm he introduces is
the mark of Upanisadic passages that set "the correlation of one aspect
of reality to another" (Brereton 1990:119).40 Mostly, such passages are
concerned with correlating a set of parts belonging to the cosmic (adhi
daiva) or ritual (adhi-yajna) realm, to the sphere of the body/self (adhy
atmri). Following the findings presented above regarding TU2,1 suggest
that such passages, at least in some cases, were originally intended
mainly for the sake of construction and creation, not revelation. Rather
than merely offering a theory or an explanation of man and his relation
to the cosmos, such texts were intended as a plot or a manual for a ritual
construction of the self, like the contents ofTU2.1—6. This would also
be in accord with the seemingly technical format in which such sets of
correlations often appear in the Upanisads. One such example isTU1.7,
where six sets of five members appear in a list, with almost no explana
tion added. In Olivelle's translation, it is rendered as follows:
Earth, Intermediate Region, Sky, Quarters, Intermediate Quarters.

Fire, Wind, Sun, Moon, Stars.
Waters, Plants, Trees, Space, Body (dtman).
That was with respect to beings. Now with respect to the body:
puccham asau cdsau ca sakthyau \ daksind codici ca pdrsve \ dyauh prstham antar-iksam
udaram iyam urah | sa eso 'psu pratisthitah \ yatra kva caiti tad eva pratitisthaty evam
vidvdn ||
40) The other four "paradigms" he defines are "emergence and resolution," "hierarchy,"
"paradox," and "cycles."
340 V Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343
Out-breath, Inter-breath, In-breath, Up-breath, Link-Breath.

Sight, Hearing, Mind, Speech, Touch.
Skin, Flesh, Sinew, Bone, Marrow.
After making this analysis, a seer proclaimed: "Clearly, this whole world is
fivefold. By means of the fivefold, one surely secures the fivefold." (Olivelle
1998:295-97)
The use of sets of five in this passage, and the passage's position within
the TU, suggest that it might have served as a manual for the perfor
mance of some variant of the verbal agnicayana. Additional examples of
Upanisadic sets of identifications that could be relevant in this context
include the five-fold image of the heart and its arteries as connecting
between types of breath and cosmic entities (ChU3.13.1-6);41 the
inventory of the six aspects of the vaisvanara fire and their correlations
to parts of the cosmos, the human body, and the head (SB 10.6.1;
CU5.11—18);42 and others.
The enumeration of purusa's members in TU2.1-6 is, too, a set of
correlations. In this sense, it continues the Brahmanic (and Upanisadic)
endeavor of weaving together man, ritual, and cosmos, pointing to a
seemingly endless web of hidden connections (bandhu) between them.
The verbal agnicayana, like the original agnicayana, is a method of put
ting these bandhus into effect, making them the governing reality of the
disciple as he becomes "one who knows thus." This method itself results
in the creation of another correlation, the one between agni and the
text. Like TU2.8, the text in TU2.1—6 follows the shape of the altar,
when it lists in proper order its five sets (layers) of five designations that
are the building blocks of the verbal agni. Finally, the text, too, finds its
41> The list of correspondences appearing in ChU3.13.1-6 is identical to the one

appearing in CU5.19-23, which is connected to theprdndgnihotra (see above). Never
theless, it is possible that ChU3.13.1-6, and the entire section of the CU to which it
belongs (CU3.12-3.15.2), might also relate to some variant of the verbal agnicayana.
This is suggested by the use of sets of five, by the notion of the self as abiding in the
interior of the heart (antar hrdayam, CU3.12.9; 3.14.2-4), and by the reference to
Sandilya, the SB's great authority on the agnicayana, in CU3.14 (and in the parallel
SB 10.6.3).
42) The texts enumerating the cosmic and bodily connections related with the
vaisvanara fire seem to relate to a variant, verbalized form of the offering of twelve
portions of the purodasa cake to Agni as vaisvanara (on this offering, see Gonda
1987:124-145). I intend to return to the analysis of these texts in a future study.
Y. Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322—343 341
proper place in the Brahmanic universe of hidden connections, correla

tions, and mirroring images.
The identity of the "one who knows thus," the evam-vid, is now
available to us. He is no other than the counterpart of one who bears a
grammatically similar title, the agni-cit, the one who, as a yajamdna,
completed the piling of the fire-altar made of bricks. The mark of being
an evam-vid, according to TU2, or what qualifies one as someone who
"knows," is thus a form of ritual.43 The evam-vid, the one who "knows"
the contents of the text ("thus") in a manner that will ensure that at his
death he will complete the journey to his innermost center, is the
disciple who has undergone and completed the construction of his
self as an immortal agni made of words and images, in the verbalized
agnicayana.
How can a text, a bundle of words, change one's state of being? There
are, to be sure, various plausible answers to this question. In the case of
TU2, the text is potentially efficacious due to its possible application in
a specific performance. A pile of bricks, after all, might be the equiva
lent of the creator and even of the entire universe, only on the condi
tion that it has been put together properly, ritually. So, in TU2, the text
does not reveal what man is, but rather contains within it a key to what
he can be.
43) This point contradicts the view held by Indian tradition and, to a great extent, by
modern scholarship as well, regarding knowledge, vidyd, being opposed by its very
nature to karman, ritual action. Although the question of the relation between these
two concepts is beyond the scope of this essay, it must be stressed that they are not
necessarily opposites in Brahmanic thought. The Upanisads do claim that vidya is dif
ferent from and superior to karman. The latter particularly associates in the Upanisads
with the use of the hands (see BAU3.2.8: hastabhyam hi karma karoti "action is done
using the hands"; see also TU3.10.2), while vidyd, etymologically connected with the
infinite sound of Veda, associates with speech and proclamation (or instruction, prava
cana, pra^vac, see TU1.3.2-3). Yet, Brahmanic passages that distinguish between the
two, such as BAU1.5.16 or 5B10.4.3.9-10, also present them as two closely-related,
parallel means for attaining a common goal - the conquering of a world (loka) beyond
this one, and so also the aversion of death. Brian K. Smith has made a similar point on
the study of the Veda and its relation to Vedic ritual, in his "Ritual, Knowledge, and
Being" (Smith 1986).
342 Y Freedman / Numen 59 (2012) 322-343
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Altar of Words - Text and Ritual in Taittirīya Upani Ad 2 - Yitzhak Freedman (Numen, 2012)

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Altar of Words: Text and Ritual in Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2

Author(s): Yitzhak Freedman

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012 DOI: 10.1163/156852712X641778

2) TU2.1 (continued): tasmdd vd etasmdd dtmana akasah sambhutah \ dkasad vdyuh \

4) According to Michael Witzel (1996:165-66), "...Brahmana texts were composed

dominant position of this common pair of Upanisadic figures in other

body\member 1 siras 2 daksinah 3 uttarah 4 dtmd 5 puccham

1 anna (food) tasyedam ayam ayam ayam idam puccham

2 prdna (breath) prdna vydna apdna dkasa prthivi

3 manas (mind) Yajur Rg Sama adesa Atharvangirasa

4 vijndna (perception) sraddha rta

5 ananda (bliss) priya moda pramoda ananda Brahman

This five-fold series of fives, marked with bird-like features such as

This is a description of the final journey, the journey beyond death,

The journey is to be taken by "he who knows thus," saya evam-vit.

in question. Bodewitz correctly observes that becoming qualified as

23) See Rg-VedalO.16.3; SB10.3.3.8; Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (BAU) 3.2.13; 3.7.2.

The contents of TU2 were meant to be employed in a similar manner

be based on the view of dispersion as an unwanted form of death. On the meaning of

condensed is quite common in the Upanisads.28 In TU2, it appears as

counterpart, the tomb, so the creation of the verbally-constructed self

body\member 1 s'iras 2 daksinah 3 uttarah 4 dtmd 5 puccham

1 anna (food) etam anna

Technically, there are only four words in each sentence, the

made of bricks creates for the yajamana a body made of sounds, or

are "performative," or, following John Searle (1976:13-16), that they

meaning.33 The five-fold, verbalized structure of man appearing in TU2

The above findings regarding TU2 affect our understanding of other

This section is part of a longer description of the creation of the world

Earth, Intermediate Region, Sky, Quarters, Intermediate Quarters.

Out-breath, Inter-breath, In-breath, Up-breath, Link-Breath.

41> The list of correspondences appearing in ChU3.13.1-6 is identical to the one

proper place in the Brahmanic universe of hidden connections, correla

. 2006. "Heart in the Upanisads." Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici 1:51-67.

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