Mandukya Upanishad Shankara Bhashya

Mandukya Upanishad, first verse: Text हरिः ओम् । ओमित्येतदक्षरमिदं सर्वं तस्योपव्याख्यानं भूतं भवद्भविष्यदिति सर्वमोङ्कार एव | यच्चान्यत्त्रिकालातीतं तदप्योङ्कार एव ॥ १ ॥ hariḥ om | omityetadakṣaramidaṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavadbhaviṣyaditi sarvamoṅkāra eva | yaccānyattrikālātītaṃ tadapyoṅkāra eva || 1 || 1. Hariḥ Aum. Aum, the word, is all this. A clear explanation of it (is the following). All that is past, present and future is verily Aum. That which is beyond the triple conception of time, is also truly Aum....

Mandukya Upanishad, second verse: Text सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् ॥ २ ॥ sarvaṃ hyetad brahmāyamātmā brahma so 'yamātmā catuṣpāt || 2 || 2. All this is verily Brahman. This Ātman is Brahman. This Ātman has four quarters. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) All this is verily Brahman. All that has been said to consist merely of Aum (in the previous text) is Brahman. That Brahman which has been described1 (as existing) inferentially2 is now pointed out, as being directly3 known, by the passage, “This Self is Brahman”....

Mandukya Upanishad, verse 3 Text जागरितस्थानो बहिष्प्रज्ञः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनविंशतिमुखः स्थूलभुग्वैश्वानरः प्रथमः पादः ॥ ३ ॥ Jāgaritasthāno bahiṣprajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ sthūlabhugvaiśvānaraḥ prathamaḥ pādaḥ || 3 || 3. The first quarter (Pāda) is Vaiśvānara whose sphere (of activity) is the waking state, who is conscious of external objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and whose experience consists of gross (material) objects. सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि । संपश्यन्नात्मयाजी वै स्वाराज्यमधिगच्छति ॥ sarvabhūtasthamātmānaṃ sarvabhūtāni cātmani | saṃpaśyannātmayājī vai svārājyamadhigacchati || Shankara Bhashya (commentary) Jāgaritasthāna, i....

Mandukya Upanishad, verse 4 Text स्वप्नस्थानोऽन्तः प्रज्ञाः सप्ताङ्ग एकोनविंशतिमुखः प्रविविक्तभुक्तैजसो द्वितीयः पादः ॥ ४ ॥ svapnasthāno'ntaḥ prajñāḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ praviviktabhuktaijaso dvitīyaḥ pādaḥ || 4 || 4. The second quarter (Pāda) is the Taijasa whose sphere (of activity) is the dream, who is conscious of internal objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and who experiences the subtle objects. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) He is called the Svapnasthāna because the dream (state) is his (Taijasa) sphere....

Mandukya Upanishad, verse 5 Text यत्र सुप्तो न कञ्चन कामं कामयते न कञ्चन स्वप्नं पश्यति तत्सुषुप्तम् । सुषुप्तस्थान एकीभूतः प्रज्ञानघन एवाऽऽनन्दमयो ह्यानन्दभुक् चेतोमुखः प्राज्ञस्तृतीयः पादः ॥ ५ ॥ yatra supto na kañcana kāmaṃ kāmayate na kañcana svapnaṃ paśyati tatsuṣuptam | suṣuptasthāna ekībhūtaḥ prajñānaghana evā''nandamayo hyānandabhuk cetomukhaḥ prājñastṛtīyaḥ pādaḥ || 5 || 5. That is the state of deep sleep wherein the sleeper does not desire any objects nor does he see any dream....

Mandukya Upanishad, verse 6 Text एष सर्वेश्वरः एष सर्वज्ञ एषोऽन्तर्याम्येष योनिः सर्वस्य प्रभवाप्ययौ हि भूतानाम् ॥ ६ ॥ eṣa sarveśvaraḥ eṣa sarvajña eṣo'ntaryāmyeṣa yoniḥ sarvasya prabhavāpyayau hi bhūtānām || 6 || 6. This is the Lord of all; this is the knower of all; this is the controller within; this is the source of all; and this is that from which all things originate and in which they finally disappear. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) This in its natural1 state, is the Lord (Īśvara) of all....

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.1 Text बहिष्प्रज्ञो विभुर्विश्वो ह्यन्तःप्रज्ञस्तु तैजसः । घनप्रज्ञस्तथा प्राज्ञ एक एव त्रिधा स्मृतः ॥ १ ॥ bahiṣprajño vibhurviśvo hyantaḥprajñastu taijasaḥ | ghanaprajñastathā prājña eka eva tridhā smṛtaḥ || 1 || 1. Viśva (the first quarter) is he who is all-pervading and who experiences the external (gross) objects. Taijasa (the second quarter) is he who cognizes the internal (the subtle) objects. Prājña is he who is a mass of consciousness....

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.2 Text दक्षिणाक्षिमुखे विश्वो मनस्यन्तस्तु तैजसः । आकाशे च ह्य्दि प्राज्ञस्त्रिधा देहे व्यवस्थितः ॥ २ ॥ dakṣiṇākṣimukhe viśvo manasyantastu taijasaḥ | ākāśe ca hydi prājñastridhā dehe vyavasthitaḥ || 2. Viśva is he who cognizes in the right eye, Taijasa is he who cognizes in the mind within and Prājña is he who constitutes the Ākāśa in the heart. Thus the one Ātman is (conceived as) threefold in the (one) body....

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.3-5 Text विश्वो हि स्थूलभुङ्नित्यं तैजसः प्रविविक्तभुक् । आनन्दभुक्तथा प्राज्ञस्त्रिधा भोगं निबोधत ॥ ३ ॥ viśvo hi sthūlabhuṅnityaṃ taijasaḥ praviviktabhuk | ānandabhuktathā prājñastridhā bhogaṃ nibodhata || 3 || 3. Viśva always experiences the gross (object), Taijasa the subtle and Prājña the blissful Know these to be the threefold experiences. स्थूलं तर्पयते विश्वं प्रविविक्तं तु तैजसम् । आनन्दश्च तथा प्राज्ञं त्रिधा तृप्तिं निबोधत ॥ ४ ॥ sthūlaṃ tarpayate viśvaṃ praviviktaṃ tu taijasam |...

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.6 Text प्रभवः सर्वभावानां सतामिति विनिश्चयः । सर्वं जनयति प्राणश्चेतोंशून्पुरुषः पृथक् ॥ ६ ॥ prabhavaḥ sarvabhāvānāṃ satāmiti viniścayaḥ | sarvaṃ janayati prāṇaścetoṃśūnpuruṣaḥ pṛthak || 6 || 6. It is thoroughly established that the coming into effect can be predicated only of all positive entities that exist. The Prāṇa manifests all; the Puruṣa creates the conscious beings (the Jīvas) in their manifold form separately. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) The manifestation can be predicated of positive1 entities comprehended as the different forms of Viśva, Taijasa and Prājña—whose existence, of the nature of illusory names and forms caused by an innate Avidyā (ignorance), cannot be denied....

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.7 Text विभूतिं प्रसवं त्वन्ये मन्यन्ते सृष्टिचिन्तकाः । स्वप्नमायासरूपेति सृष्टिरन्यैर्विकल्पिता ॥ ७ ॥ vibhūtiṃ prasavaṃ tvanye manyante sṛṣṭicintakāḥ | svapnamāyāsarūpeti sṛṣṭiranyairvikalpitā || 7 || 7. Those who think of (the process of) creation believe it to be the manifestation of the superhuman power of God; while others look upon it as of the same nature as dream and illusion. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) Creation is the manifestation of the superhuman power of God3; thus think those who reflect on (the process of) creation....

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.8 Text इच्छामात्रं प्रभोः सृष्टिरिति सृष्टौ विनिश्चिताः । कालात्प्रसूतिं भूतानां मन्यन्ते कालचिन्तकाः ॥ ८ ॥ icchāmātraṃ prabhoḥ sṛṣṭiriti sṛṣṭau viniścitāḥ | kālātprasūtiṃ bhūtānāṃ manyante kālacintakāḥ || 8 || 8. Those who affirm (the existence of the) created objects attribute this manifestation to the mere will of God, while those who look upon time as real declare time to be the manifestor of all beings. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) The manifestation (creation) proceeds from the mere will of God because His will in reality cannot1 but achieve its purpose....

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.9 Text भोगार्थं सृष्टिरित्यन्ये क्रीडार्थमिति चापरे । देवस्यैष स्वाभावोऽयमाप्तकामस्य का स्पृहा ॥ ९ ॥ bhogārthaṃ sṛṣṭirityanye krīḍārthamiti cāpare | devasyaiṣa svābhāvo'yamāptakāmasya kā spṛhā || 9 || 9. Others think that the manifestation is for the purpose of enjoyment (of God) while still others attribute it to mere diversion (on the part of God), Rut it is the very nature of the Effulgent Being (Ātman) (for), what other desire is possible for Him whose desire is always in the state of fulfilment?...

Mandukya Karika, verse 1.10 Text निवृत्तेः सर्वदुःखानामीशानः प्रभुरव्ययः । अद्वैतः सर्वभावानां देवस्तुर्यो विभुः स्मृतः ॥ १० ॥ nivṛtteḥ sarvaduḥkhānāmīśānaḥ prabhuravyayaḥ | advaitaḥ sarvabhāvānāṃ devasturyo vibhuḥ smṛtaḥ || 10 || 10. In it, indicated as the changeless and the Supreme Lord, there is a cessation of all miseries. It is the one without a second among all entities. It is known as the Turīya (Fourth), effulgent and all-pervading. Shankara Bhashya (commentary) In (the Knowledge of) Īśāna, meaning the Turīya Ātman there is a cessation1 of all miseries characterised by the three states, viz....

Mandukya Upanishad, seventh verse: Text नान्तःप्रज्ञं न बहिःप्रज्ञं नोभयतःप्रज्ञं न प्रज्ञानघनं न प्रज्ञं नाप्रज्ञम् | अदृश्यमव्यवहार्यमग्राह्यमलक्षणमचिन्त्यमव्यपदेश्यमेकात्मप्रत्ययसारं प्रपञ्चोपशमं शान्तं शिवमद्वैतं चतुर्थं मन्यन्ते स आत्मा स विज्ञेयः || 7 || nāntaḥprajñaṃ na bahiḥprajñaṃ nobhayataḥprajñaṃ na prajñānaghanaṃ na prajñaṃ nāprajñam | adṛśyamavyavahāryamagrāhyamalakṣaṇamacintyamavyapadeśyamekātmapratyayasāraṃ prapañcopaśamaṃ śāntaṃ śivamadvaitaṃ caturthaṃ manyante sa ātmā sa vijñeyaḥ || 7 || 7. Turīya is not that which is conscious of the internal (subjective) world, nor that which is conscious of the external (objective) world, nor that which is conscious of both, nor that which is a mass all sentiency, nor that which is simple consciousness, nor that which is insentient....