Category: Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad

Literal Translation and Immediate Sense The second mantra of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad reads: सर्वं ह्येतद्ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् ॥ २ ॥ A straightforward translation is: सर्वं – all that exists, the totality. ह्येतत् – indeed this. ब्रह्म – the ultimate reality, Brahman. आयम् – this (referring to the self). आत्मा – the individual self, Atman.…

Introduction The opening verse of the Mandukya Upaniṣad presents a single, profound mantra: ॐ इत्येतदक्षरमिदं सर्वं तस्योपव्याख्यानं भूतं भवद्भविष्यदिति सर्वमोङ्कार एव । यच्चान्यत्त्रिकालातीतं तदप्योङ्कार एव ॥ १ ॥ Though it appears compact, this mantra encapsulates the entirety of existence, past, present, and future, within the vibration of ॐ. In this article we unpack the linguistic…