Svetaketu (), also spelt Shvetaketu, was a sage mentioned in the

Chandogya Upanishad The ''Chandogya Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: , IAST: ''Chāndogyopaniṣad'') is a Sanskrit text embedded in the Chandogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda of Hinduism.Patrick Olivelle (2014), ''The Early Upanishads'', Oxford University Press; , pp. 166-1 ...

. He was the son of the sage Uddalaka, whose real name was Aruni, and represents the pursuit of knowledge. The

Upanishad The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

s entail the journey of Svetaketu from ignorance to knowledge of the self and truth (''sat''). In the Mahabharata, Svetaketu is credited for creating the practice of the "wife being loyal to one husband for life" after observing a

brahmana The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedas, Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rigveda, Rig, Samaveda, Sama, Yajurveda, Yajur, and Athar ...

catching his mother's hand in front of his father. The case of Svetaketu appears in three principal (''

mukhya Principal Upanishads, also known as Mukhya Upanishads, are the most ancient and widely studied Upanishads of Hinduism. Composed between 800 BCE to the start of common era, these texts are connected to the Vedic tradition. Content The Principal U ...

'')

s, namely, the

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' (, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanisad'' is tenth in the Muktikā or "cano ...

S. 6.2.1 to 6.2.8,

S.5.3 and in the Kausitaki S.1. Svetaketu is the recipient of the knowledge enshrined in the mahavakya which appears in the sixteen chapters of the 6th section (Prapathaka) of the

First Reincarnation Story

Svetaketu's story in the Chandogya Upanishad is the first time that reincarnation is mentioned in the Vedas and perhaps in all of the known writings in human history. In the story, Svetaketu returns home from studying and his childhood friends ask him what he learned about the afterlife, to which he replies it was not part of his curriculum. They ask Svetaketu's father and he also does not know, so they ask the king, who claims to have known all along and explained the concept of reincarnation. He adds that it is a common belief among the Kshatriya (warrior and administrative class) and from this belief, they draw their power (courage in battle).

First Reincarnation Story

References

Further reading