It comprises the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters of the second book of Aitareya Aranyaka, which is one of the four layers of Rig vedic text.

[2] According to a 1998 review by Patrick Olivelle and other scholars, the Aitareya Upanishad was likely composed in a pre-Buddhist period, possibly 6th to 5th century BCE.

Considered one of the middle Upanishads, the date of composition is not known but has been estimated by scholars to be sometime around 6th or 5th century BCE.

Paul Deussen summarizes the first chapter of Aitareya Upanishad as follows, The world as a creation, the Man as the highest manifestation of the Atman who is also named as the Brahman - this is the basic idea of this section.

[2] The overall idea of chapter 2 of Aitareya Upanishad is that it is procreation and nurturing of children that makes a man immortal, and the theory of rebirth, which are the means by which Atman sustainably persists in this universe.

Adi Shankara, for example, commented on Aitereya Upanishad, clarifying that some of his peer scholars have interpreted the hymns in a way that must be refuted.

The first meaning, as follows, is incomplete and incorrect, states Shankara This is the true Brahman called Prana (Life force), this is the only God.

Adi Shankara then reminds the reader that the Aitereya Upanishad must be studied in its context, which starts with and states Atma va idam in hymn 1.

[12] Other translators include Max Muller, Paul Deussen, Charles Johnston, Nikhilānanda, Gambhirananda, Sarvananda, Patrick Olivelle[13] and Bhānu Swami (with commentary of Śrī Raṅgarāmānujācārya).