INTRODUCTION The third Upanişad commented upon by Sri Ranga- rāmānuja is the Praśnopanişad. The Praśnopanişad belongs to the Atharvaņa Veda. The Praśna is one of the earliest Upadişads. It is a mystical Uparişad in the sense that it undertakes to answer important questions regarding origins, methods and paths. The topics discussed in this Upanişad are in the form of questions and answers. Because of this the Upanişad goes by the name Praśna (Book of Questions and Answers). Obviously the subjects must have entailed a lot of discussion in those early times. Though the Kena also begins with questions, yet in this Upanişad several points about which there were doubts entertained in the minds of seekers after truth, are addressed to a Teacher in the form of questions. The seekers in the Upanişad under consideration are six in number instead of one seeker alone, and the Upanişad is a bunch of six questions and their answers. It would be clear however that the six questious are of such a kind as to involve the necessity of knowledge of the answers to the other questions also. 2. The order of the questions addressed to the Teacher is exactly the reverse of the order of names of seekers mentioned at the very beginiing of the Upanişad: this may be due to the fact that the questions asked at the beginning are preliminaries to the final or ultimate questions. 3. The descriptions of the seekers as Brahmaparā), Brahmavistháh, Param Brahmānveşamāņāh, lead the com. 1. Prasnopanişad and its date: It is conceded that it is one of the earliest Upanişads. For the first time we have the mention of the expla- nation of the two paths the interpretation of the Rayi and Präņa. The significance of the Omkāra, pranava, left without any explanation by the lis, and Katha, finds a fuller treatment in this Upanisad and the Mandokya and Mundaka
