One who truly knows that supreme Brahman becomes Brahman itself. In their family no one is born who does not know Brahman. They cross sorrow, they cross sin, freed from the knots of the heart, they become immortal.

This concluding verse of the Muṇḍaka proclaims the supreme fruit of knowledge: identity with Brahman and immortality.

Brahma veda brahmaiva bhavati — whoever knows Brahman becomes Brahman. This is not a future promise but a statement of fact. The knowledge of Brahman is not acquiring something new but recognizing what we have always been. We do not become Brahman; we discover that we are.

Nāsyābrahmavitkule bhavati — in their family no one is born who does not know Brahman. A bold statement: knowledge has transformative power that affects generations. The Upaniṣads consider that the spiritual lineage (paramparā) transmits not only teachings but a quality of consciousness.

Tarati śokam — they cross sorrow. Tarati is to cross to the other side, to overcome. The ocean of sorrow (śoka) that characterizes saṃsāra is left behind.

Tarati pāpmānam — they cross sin. Pāpman includes everything that binds us: past negative actions, tendencies (vāsanās), accumulated karma. All is neutralized in the fire of knowledge.

Guhāgranthibhyo vimuktaḥ — freed from the knots of the heart (hṛdaya-granthi). The “knots” are attachments, identifications, ego contractions that separate us from our natural vastness. Knowledge cuts them like a sharp sword.

Amṛto bhavati — they become immortal. Amṛta is not eternal life of the body but the realization that the Ātman was never born and will never die. Immortality is our nature, not an acquisition.