Talk:Māṇḍukyakārikā

By Swami Harshananda

Origin of Māṇḍukya Upaniṣad

The Māndukya Upaniṣad which belongs to the Atharvaveda is the shortest of the ten Upaniṣads. It is considered as the major ones. It has the unique distinction of a detailed exposition by two stalwarts:

1. Śaṅkara (A. D. 788-820)
2. Gauḍapāda (7th century A. D.), teacher of Śaṅkara teacher

Origin of Māṇḍukyakārikā

Gauḍapāda wrote a detailed commentary on this Upaniṣad in the form of Kārikās. His work is now well-known as the Māndukyakārikā. Āgamaśāstra is another name by which it is known.

Sections of Māṇḍukyakārikā

Apparently, this Kārikā is a commentary on the Māndukya Upanisad, in reality it is much more than that. It looks as though Gauḍapāda has used this Upaniṣad as a means to expound his own brand of Advaita Vedānta. Some people even go to the extent of not granting the status of an Upaniṣad to the Māndukyopa- nisad and dub it as the creation of Gauḍapāda himself! The Māndukyakārikā has a total of 215 verses divided into four prakaraṇas or sections. They are:

1. Āgama-prakaraṇa - It has 29 verses.
2. Vaitathya-prakaraṇa - It has 38 verses.
3. Advaita-prakaraṇa - It has 48 verses.
4. Alātaśānti-prakaraṇa - It has 100 verses.

The last three prakaraṇas are entirely independent expositions of Advaita Vedānta from various angles. Śaṅkara has commented upon all the Kārikās also, apart from the Upaniṣad itself.

Āgamaprakaraṇa

It is a commentary on the entire Māndukyopaniṣad dividing it into four parts. The explanatory Kārikās are interspersed as:

• Kārikās 1 to 9 after the sixth mantra of the Upaniṣad
• Kārikās 10 to 18 after the seventh mantra
• Kārikās 19 to 23 after the eleventh mantra
• Kārikās 24 to 29 after the last (the twelfth) mantra

Vaitathyaprakaraṇa

The Vaitathyaprakaraṇa deals with the Vaitathya or unreality of the world by analysing the three states of consciousness.

Advaitaprakaraṇa

The Advaitaprakaraṇa attempts to establish advaita, that Brahman is the one and only Reality, through yukti or logic.

Alātaśāntiprakaraṇa

It is the longest of the four sections. It refutes 35 schools of philosophy that existed during Gauḍapāda’s time using the famous example of alāta or a lighted torch which, when rotated, appears as a circle of fire, though no such circle really exists. In the same way, the dvaitaprapañca or the world of duality is only an appearance and not real.

Gist of Māndukyakārikā

Some of the more important concepts given by Gauḍapāda in this work may now be mentioned briefly.

• Analyzing the avasthātraya or the three states of consciousness, jāgrat (waking state), svapna (dream state) and suṣupti (deep- sleep state), Gauḍapāda makes an important point that "It is only in the waking state that the dream and the deep-sleep states are negated. However, from the turīya (the ‘fourth’ state) standpoint which is the eternal ‘waking state’ in the ātman, even the so-called waking state also is filled with the darkness of ignorance." Compared to this, all the three states are actually the night of ignorance.
• ‘Ajāti’ or ‘non-birth’ is another concept which is peculiar to this work. Since Brahman alone is real and all other objects, whether it is this world or the jīvas (living beings), are only appearances, there is no question of any ‘birth’ (jāti = birth) or creation of this world at all. Though the scriptures have described sṛṣṭi or creation, they have not declared it to be real.
• However, following the beaten track of tradition and as a concession (out of compassion) to the ordinary sādhakas Gauḍapāda accepts praṇavopāsanā and explains the procedure in details.
• Another special term used in this work is ‘asparśayoga’. It is the same as the experience of unalloyed bliss of the Self (Ātman/Brahman) wherein there is no sparśa or contact of the senses with their objects, but only with the Self (a = not; sparśa = contact; yoga = union).

Epilogue

The Kārikā ends with a definition of mokṣa or liberation as just a rediscovery of one’s true nature as the Ātman and a brief description of the man of liberation. Ānandagiri (15th century A. D.) has written a gloss on the commentary of Śaṅkara, elucidating further wherever necessary.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore