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Mandukya Upanishad

Chapter 1

माण्डूक्योपनिषत्

Mandukya Upanishad

Verses

  1. Verse 1

    oṃ bhadraṃ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devā bhadraṃ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ | sthirairaṅgaistuṣṭuvāṃsastanūbhirvyaśema devahitaṃ yadāyuḥ | bhadraṃ no api vātaya manaḥ || oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ||

    Meaning

    Om. O gods, may we hear what is auspicious with our ears; may we see what is auspicious with our eyes, O worshipful ones. With steady limbs and bodies, may we, offering praise, enjoy the life allotted by the gods. May what is auspicious be wafted into our minds. Om, peace, peace, peace.

  2. Verse 2

    oṃ ityetadakṣaramidaṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavad bhaviṣyaditi sarvamoṅkāra eva yaccānyat trikālātītaṃ tadapyoṅkāra eva || 1||

    Meaning

    Om — this syllable is all this. Its further explanation is: all that is past, present, and future is verily Om. And whatever else is beyond the three times, that too is verily Om.

  3. Verse 3

    sarvaṃ hyetad brahmāyamātmā brahma so'yamātmā catuṣpāt || 2||

    Meaning

    All this is verily Brahman. This Self is Brahman. This same Self has four quarters (padas).

  4. Verse 4

    jāgaritasthāno bahiṣprajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ sthūlabhugvaiśvānaraḥ prathamaḥ pādaḥ || 3||

    Meaning

    The first quarter is Vaishvanara, whose sphere is the waking state, who is conscious of the external, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who enjoys gross objects.

  5. Verse 5

    svapnasthāno'ntaḥprajñaḥ saptāṅga ekonaviṃśatimukhaḥ praviviktabhuktaijaso dvitīyaḥ pādaḥ || 4||

    Meaning

    The second quarter is Taijasa, whose sphere is the dream state, who is conscious of the internal, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who enjoys the subtle (mental impressions).

  6. Verse 6

    yatra supto na kañcana kāmaṃ kāmayate na kañcana svapnaṃ paśyati tat suṣuptam | suṣuptasthāna ekībhūtaḥ prajñānaghana evānandamayo hyānandabhuk cetomukhaḥ prājñastṛtīyaḥ pādaḥ || 5||

    Meaning

    Where the sleeper desires no desire whatsoever and sees no dream whatsoever — that is deep sleep. The third quarter is Prajna, whose sphere is deep sleep, in whom all has become one, who is a mass of consciousness, full of bliss, an enjoyer of bliss, with consciousness for his door.

  7. Verse 7

    eṣa sarveśvaraḥ eṣa sarvajña eṣo'ntaryāmyeṣa yoniḥ sarvasya prabhavāpyayau hi bhūtānām || 6||

    Meaning

    This (Prajna) is the Lord of all, the all-knowing, the inner controller; this is the source of all, the origin and dissolution of all beings.

  8. Verse 8

    nāntaḥprajñaṃ na bahiṣprajñaṃ nobhayataḥprajñaṃ na prajñānaghanaṃ na prajñaṃ nāprajñam | adṛṣṭamavyavahāryamagrāhyamalakṣaṇaṃ acintyamavyapadeśyamekātmapratyayasāraṃ prapañcopaśamaṃ śāntaṃ śivamadvaitaṃ caturthaṃ manyante sa ātmā sa vijñeyaḥ || 7||

    Meaning

    They consider the Fourth (Turiya) to be: not conscious of the internal, not conscious of the external, not conscious of both, not a mass of consciousness, neither conscious nor unconscious; unseen, beyond dealings, ungraspable, without distinguishing marks, unthinkable, indescribable; whose sole essence is the conviction of the one Self, in whom the phenomenal world has ceased; the tranquil, the auspicious, the non-dual. That is the Self; that is to be known.

  9. Verse 9

    so'yamātmādhyakṣaramoṅkāro'dhimātraṃ pādā mātrā mātrāśca pādā akāra ukāro makāra iti || 8||

    Meaning

    This same Self, with regard to the syllable, is Om. With regard to the elements (matras), the quarters are the elements and the elements are the quarters — namely the sounds a, u, and m.

  10. Verse 10

    jāgaritasthāno vaiśvānaro'kāraḥ prathamā mātrā''pterādimattvād vā''pnoti ha vai sarvān kāmānādiśca bhavati ya evaṃ veda || 9||

    Meaning

    Vaishvanara, whose sphere is waking, is the sound 'a', the first element — from apti (pervading) or from adimattva (being first). He who knows this verily attains all desires and becomes the first.

  11. Verse 11

    svapnasthānastaijasa ukāro dvitīyā mātrotkarṣāt ubhayatvādvotkarṣati ha vai jñānasantatiṃ samānaśca bhavati nāsyābrahmavitkule bhavati ya evaṃ veda || 10||

    Meaning

    Taijasa, whose sphere is dream, is the sound 'u', the second element — from utkarsha (superiority) or from ubhayatva (being in between). He who knows this verily exalts the flow of knowledge and becomes equal (to all); in his line none is born who is not a knower of Brahman.

  12. Verse 12

    suṣuptasthānaḥ prājño makārastṛtīyā mātrā miterapītervā minoti ha vā idaṃ sarvamapītiśca bhavati ya evaṃ veda || 11||

    Meaning

    Prajna, whose sphere is deep sleep, is the sound 'm', the third element — from miti (measuring) or from apiti (merging). He who knows this verily measures all this and (into him) all merges.

  13. Verse 13

    amātraścaturtho'vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivo'dvaita evamoṅkāra ātmaiva saṃviśatyātmanā''tmānaṃ ya evaṃ veda || 12||

    Meaning

    The Fourth is without element, beyond all dealings, in whom the phenomenal world has ceased, auspicious and non-dual. Thus Om is verily the Self. He who knows this enters the Self by his own Self.