अध्याय १
श्लोक 1
मैत्रायणी कौषितकी बृहज्जाबालतापनी ।कालाग्निरुद्रमैत्रेयी सुबालक्षुरमन्त्रिका ।ॐ बृहद्रथो ह वै नाम राजा राज्ये ज्येष्ठं पुत्रं निधापयित्वेदमशाश्वतं मन्यमानः शारीरं वैराग्यमुपेतोऽरण्यं निर्जगाम स तत्र परमं तप आस्थायादित्यमीक्षमाण ऊर्ध्वबाहुस्तिष्ठत्यन्ते सहस्रस्य मुनिरन्तिकमाजगामाग्निरिवाधूमकस्तेजसा निर्दहन्निवात्मविद्भगवाञ्छाकायन्य उत्तिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ वरं वृणीश्वेति राजानमब्रवीत्स तस्मै नमस्कृत्योवाच भगवन्नाहमात्मवित्त्वं तत्त्वविच्छृणुमो वयं स त्वं नो ब्रूहीत्येतद्वृतं पुरस्तादशक्यं मा पृच्छ प्रश्नमैक्ष्वाकान्यान्कामान्वृणीश्वेति शाकायन्यस्य चरणवभिमृश्यमानो राजेमां गाथां जगाद
maitrāyaṇī kauṣitakī bṛhajjābālatāpanī | kālāgnirudramaitreyī subālakṣuramantrikā | oṃ bṛhadratho ha vai nāma rājā rājye jyeṣṭhaṃ putraṃ nidhāpayitvedamaśāśvataṃ manyamānaḥ śārīraṃ vairāgyamupeto'raṇyaṃ nirjagāma sa tatra paramaṃ tapa āsthāyādityamīkṣamāṇa ūrdhvabāhustiṣṭhatyante sahasrasya munirantikamājagāmāgnirivādhūmakastejasā nirdahannivātmavidbhagavāñchākāyanya uttiṣṭhottiṣṭha varaṃ vṛṇīśveti rājānamabravītsa tasmai namaskṛtyovāca bhagavannāhamātmavittvaṃ tattvavicchṛṇumo vayaṃ sa tvaṃ no brūhītyetadvṛtaṃ purastādaśakyaṃ mā pṛccha praśnamaikṣvākānyānkāmānvṛṇīśveti śākāyanyasya caraṇavabhimṛśyamāno rājemāṃ gāthāṃ jagāda
हिन्दी अर्थ
ॐ। राजा बृहद्रथ अपने ज्येष्ठ पुत्र को राज्य सौंपकर, ‘यह शरीर अशाश्वत है’ ऐसा विचार कर वैराग्यपूर्वक वन में तपस्या करने गए। सहस्र दिनों के कठोर तप के उपरांत आत्मज्ञानी महर्षि शाकायन्य उनके सम्मुख प्रकट हुए।
English
(Maitrayani, Kaushitaki, Brihajjabala, Tapani, Kalagnirudra, Maitreyi, Subala, Kshurika, Mantrika — the Upanishads of this group are listed.) Om. There was a king named Brihadratha, who, having established his eldest son in the kingdom, thinking "this body is impermanent," went to the forest in dispassion. There he practised the highest austerity, gazing at the sun with his arms raised. At the end of a thousand days the sage Shakayanya, the venerable knower of the Self, came near, blazing like a smokeless fire, as if burning with his radiance, and said to the king: "Arise, arise! Choose a boon." The king bowed to him and said: "Venerable one, I do not know the Self; you know the truth, and we have heard that you do. Tell us that." (Shakayanya said:) "This is a choice that was made in earlier times and is hard to fulfil; do not ask this question, O descendant of Ikshvaku; choose other desires." Touching Shakayanya's feet, the king spoke this verse: