Mandukya

The Mandukya Upanishad, commonly known simply as Mandukya, is a short text from the Hindu scriptures. It belongs to the Atharva Veda and is regarded as one of the principal Upanishads. The text contains twelve mantras and centers on the sacred syllable om and the nature of consciousness.

The core of Mandukya is a concise analysis of four states of consciousness. It presents jagrat (waking), swapna (dreaming), sushupti (deep sleep), and the fourth state, turiya, a transcendent awareness beyond the first three. The syllable Om is explained as having three phonetic parts corresponding to the first three states (A, U, M), while the silence that follows represents turiya.

The Upanishad asserts that the individual self (atman) is identical with the ultimate reality (Brahman) in turiya, indicating a nondual perspective. It uses Om as a mnemonic device for realizing this unity and for guiding inquiry toward self-knowledge.

Commentaries and influence: A major early commentary is Gaudapada's Mandukya Karika, which develops the nondual interpretation within Advaita Vedanta. The Karika and Mandukya have been influential in later Vedantic thought and are frequently cited in discussions of consciousness, meditation, and metaphysics.

In tradition, Mandukya is studied alongside the other Upanishads as a concise treatise on consciousness and the nature of reality. It continues to be cited in scholarly and devotional contexts for its synthesis of metaphysics, epistemology, and soteriology.