ancient Indian literary works. Patrick Olivelle writes: "Both the Mundaka and the Mahanarayana are rather late Upanisads and are, in all probability, post-Buddhist." Most of the teachings in the Upanishads of Hinduism, including Manduka Upanishad, however, relate to the existence of Self and Brahman, and the paths to know, realize one's Self and Brahman, making the fundamental premise of Mundaka Upanishad distinctly different than Buddhism's denial of "Self or Brahman". Some of the ideas and allegories in Mundaka Upanishad have chronological roots in more ancient Vedic literature such as Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya and Katha Upanishads. The allegory of "blind leading the blind" in section 1.2 of Mundaka, for example, is also found in Katha Upanishad's chapter 1.2. The allegory of two birds in section 3.1 of Mundaka Upanishad, similarly, is found in hymns of Rig Veda chapter I.164. Structure The Mundaka Upanishad has three Mundakams (parts, or shavings), each part has two khanda (खण्ड, section or volume). The section 1.1 has 9 mantras structured as metered poetic verses. Section 1.2 has 13 verses, section 2.1 includes 10 verses, section 2.2 is composed of 11 verses, section 3.1 has 10, while the last section 3.2 has 11 verses. Combined, the Upanishad features 64 mantras. Several manuscript versions of Mundaka Upanishad have been discovered so far. These show minor differences, particularly in the form additional text being inserted and interpolated, the insertion apparent because these texts do not fit structurally into the metered verses, and also because the same text is missing in manuscripts discovered elsewhere. Content The Mundaka Upanishad opens with declaring Brahma as the first of gods, the creator of the universe, and the knowledge of Brahman (Ultimate Reality, Eternal Principle, Cosmic Self) to be the foundation of all knowledge. The text then lists a succession of teachers who shared the knowledge of Brahman with the next generation. Charles Johnston suggests that this announces the Vedic tradition of teacher-student responsibility to transfer knowledge across the generations, in unbroken succession. Johnston further states that the names recited are metaphors, such as the One who Illuminates, Keeper of Truth, Planetary Spirit, mythological messenger between Gods and Men among others, suggesting the divine nature and the responsibility of man to continue the tradition of knowledge sharing across human generations. The higher knowledge versus lower knowledge - First Mundakam In verse 1.1.3 of Mundaka Upanishad, a Grihastha (householder) approaches a teacher, and asks, The setting