What do you think?
Rate this book
Mundaka Upanishad With Commentary of Shankara
The Mundaka Upanishad is one of the major Upanishads belonging to the Atharva Veda. Mundaka means ''shaved'' like a shaved head. The teachings revealed in this Upanishad are meant to leave the student clean, or shaved of the veil of ignorance. Indeed, the study of this Upanishad has been traditionally confined to the shaven-heads, or the sannyasins , who have renounced everything and devoted themselves exclusively to contemplation. The book consists of 64 mantras. The Gambhirananda translation includes the Devanagri script, English translation and Shankara's commentary. This is the second edition as revised by the translator.
98 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 800
32 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
Adi Shankaracharya
242 books227 followersAdi Shankara(788 CE - 820 CE), also known as Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya was an Indian guru from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta. His teachings are based on the unity of the ātman and brahman— non-dual brahman, in which brahman is viewed as nirguna brahman, brahman without attributes.
Shankara travelled across India and other parts of South Asia to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He is reputed to have founded four mathas ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship.
His works in Sanskrit concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of advaita (nondualism). He also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara represented his works as elaborating on ideas found in the Upanishads, and he wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon (Brahma Sutra, principal upanishads and Bhagavad Gita) in support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers arguments against the views of some other schools like Samkhya and certain schools of Buddhism.
AKA Śaṅkarācārya; Śaṃkara; Śaṃkarācārya; Ṣaṅkara Āchārya; Shamkaracharya; Çamkara; Śaṃkara-bhagavat-pāda; Shankara; Çankara; Ādi Śaṅkara; Shankarâchârya; Śaṁkarācharya; Sankara; Shang-chieh-lo; Shangjieluo; Śankaracharya; Adi Sankar; Āticaṅkarācārya Svāmikaḷ; Caṅkarācārya Svāmikaḷ; Adi Sankaracharya; Āticaṅkar; Āticaṅkarācāriyar; Āticaṅkarar; Adi Sankaracarya; Adi Shankaracharya; Camkaracarya
Shankara travelled across India and other parts of South Asia to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He is reputed to have founded four mathas ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship.
His works in Sanskrit concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of advaita (nondualism). He also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara represented his works as elaborating on ideas found in the Upanishads, and he wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon (Brahma Sutra, principal upanishads and Bhagavad Gita) in support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers arguments against the views of some other schools like Samkhya and certain schools of Buddhism.
AKA Śaṅkarācārya; Śaṃkara; Śaṃkarācārya; Ṣaṅkara Āchārya; Shamkaracharya; Çamkara; Śaṃkara-bhagavat-pāda; Shankara; Çankara; Ādi Śaṅkara; Shankarâchârya; Śaṁkarācharya; Sankara; Shang-chieh-lo; Shangjieluo; Śankaracharya; Adi Sankar; Āticaṅkarācārya Svāmikaḷ; Caṅkarācārya Svāmikaḷ; Adi Sankaracharya; Āticaṅkar; Āticaṅkarācāriyar; Āticaṅkarar; Adi Sankaracarya; Adi Shankaracharya; Camkaracarya
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 8, 2013
The essence of the Upanishads and the original writings of Advaita Vedanta. Although the language is archaic and uses much Sanskrit etc., it is certainly not beyond the grasp of anyone willing to spend some time reading and digesting this non-dual philosophy. It certainly packs a "Nondual" punch, probably more so than contemporary writers, and will undoubtedly give rise to a new way of looking at life provided the reader's mind is open and willing to doubt what is normally taken for "real". Recommended for all spiritual seekers.
May 8, 2021
The Mandukya is definitely the best gateway upanishad in my view.
I read the original text + Gaudapada’s Karika through Swami Sarvapriyananda’s commentary.
It is a surprisingly small yet complex piece of thought that requires some form of guidance from a master. When done in combination with commentaries it can be thought of as a course called “The Introduction to Consciousness”.
The raw text was too intense and crisp but the commentaries from generations of great philosophers (through anecdotes and examples) really helped me in understanding the text better.
I read the original text + Gaudapada’s Karika through Swami Sarvapriyananda’s commentary.
It is a surprisingly small yet complex piece of thought that requires some form of guidance from a master. When done in combination with commentaries it can be thought of as a course called “The Introduction to Consciousness”.
The raw text was too intense and crisp but the commentaries from generations of great philosophers (through anecdotes and examples) really helped me in understanding the text better.
July 1, 2018
With Gaudapada Karikas.
June 5, 2025
Principles of Hermetics and Western consciousness wrapped in the Vedas? The great treasure of the Upanishadic chronicles.
One thing that became clear to me after reading the Mandukya Upanishad is that it reaches the same realization of Atman through non-dual Advaita philosophy, exploring the meaning of life much like the concept of The All and God-realization in various spiritual texts—whether it’s Sophia in Gnosticism, Kali in Tantra, or Brahman and Atman in the Mandukya Upanishad.
Despite consisting of only twelve mantras, simply reading and understanding this Upanishad at a broader level can offer profound awareness and help guide many of life’s decisions, especially spiritual ones.
The book begins with the concept of OM, which is almost romantically described as The All—the imagined universe, much like how it is portrayed in occultism and the teachings of great magicians across traditions. The four quarters of Brahman are described with great depth:
Vaisvanara
Taijasa
Prajna
Atman
The Upanishad goes beyond the understanding of the subtle astral body, and beyond name and form—not the name and form society gives you, but the essential ones. Every name and form is the content of God, a creation of God for you as an individual. That gives us a dignified nature—or should I say, almost a dual personality made up of divine dignity (God) and earthly nature.
The Upanishad offers a powerful interpretation of existence, leading to the concept of Turiya, the state beyond deep sleep and waking consciousness. It shows how the meaning of life and desire is internal, not external—it reminds me of Tarkovsky's Stalker. Our ultimate longing and desire will only recreate the same cycle, and we remain stuck in samsara until we become exhausted, dissolve our ego, and move closer to God-realization or Atman.
One thing that became clear to me after reading the Mandukya Upanishad is that it reaches the same realization of Atman through non-dual Advaita philosophy, exploring the meaning of life much like the concept of The All and God-realization in various spiritual texts—whether it’s Sophia in Gnosticism, Kali in Tantra, or Brahman and Atman in the Mandukya Upanishad.
Despite consisting of only twelve mantras, simply reading and understanding this Upanishad at a broader level can offer profound awareness and help guide many of life’s decisions, especially spiritual ones.
The book begins with the concept of OM, which is almost romantically described as The All—the imagined universe, much like how it is portrayed in occultism and the teachings of great magicians across traditions. The four quarters of Brahman are described with great depth:
Vaisvanara
Taijasa
Prajna
Atman
The Upanishad goes beyond the understanding of the subtle astral body, and beyond name and form—not the name and form society gives you, but the essential ones. Every name and form is the content of God, a creation of God for you as an individual. That gives us a dignified nature—or should I say, almost a dual personality made up of divine dignity (God) and earthly nature.
The Upanishad offers a powerful interpretation of existence, leading to the concept of Turiya, the state beyond deep sleep and waking consciousness. It shows how the meaning of life and desire is internal, not external—it reminds me of Tarkovsky's Stalker. Our ultimate longing and desire will only recreate the same cycle, and we remain stuck in samsara until we become exhausted, dissolve our ego, and move closer to God-realization or Atman.
December 7, 2020
The Mandukya Upanishad is one of the greatest texts in the world and the most important if you want to understand Advaita Vedanta. It is an intense teaching on nonduality. It reminds us constantly of our nondual nature which reveals how much of our lives is lived in dualistic thinking. But this translation by Swami Nikhilananda is special. As with his other translations, he has a great knack for explaining the depth of the teachings and making them accessible to anyone. His translation of the Mandukya Upanishad, Gaudapada's Karika, and Shankara's commentary are second to none. One of the reasons this particular text is important is because of Gaudapada's Karika and Shankara's commentary. The Mandukya Upanishad on its own is wonderful, but with the help of the two great Advaita Vedanta sages, Gaudapada and Shankara, we learn the true nature of ourselves. Both made the Mandukya Upanishad accessible from their time until now. What was once a mysterious text hard to understand since the era of the Upanishad's, is now a great teaching we can understand if we let our ego go. We can thank Gaudapada and Shankara for revealing the essence of this most important Upanishad.
Read
August 19, 2020The book is an excellent exposition of Advait Vedanta. To be honest, the language is fairly difficult to understand but if you work on it then it's not too difficult either. Sanskrit slokas are given with commentaries and footnotes. The first chapter states that Shrutis aim is to establish the non-duality of the Atman purely using scriptural authority. In the later chapters, the same is proved via reasoning along with answers to some of the counter-arguments. Read this book only if you have an overview (at least) of the material from simplified sources. If you are a spiritual seeker, you can't skip it and if you are simply an explorer, read it to get a different world view
January 29, 2025
If you start this upanishad, you are not gonna be the same.
It takes you on an incredible journey.
Read alot of the other mentioned sources as well. Understand each of the mentioned word first and then PRACTICE.
Practicing will make it much simpler to connect the dots.
I also watched a discourse along with it by swami sarvapriyananda on yt. Some 60 odd hours.
ALOT TO UNPACK STILL.
but one simple realization is,
Feel the sound in your belly, throat and head, it changes your perception 100%.
"Ability to perceive" anything and everything definitely "grows"by practicing 108 times.
Worth it.
It takes you on an incredible journey.
Read alot of the other mentioned sources as well. Understand each of the mentioned word first and then PRACTICE.
Practicing will make it much simpler to connect the dots.
I also watched a discourse along with it by swami sarvapriyananda on yt. Some 60 odd hours.
ALOT TO UNPACK STILL.
but one simple realization is,
Feel the sound in your belly, throat and head, it changes your perception 100%.
"Ability to perceive" anything and everything definitely "grows"by practicing 108 times.
Worth it.
December 15, 2022
This should be in everyone's reading list
April 12, 2023
Another must read for those seeking spiritual and philosophical truths.
October 22, 2020
The Mandukya Upanishad is the shortest of the Upanishads and pre-dates the current schools of vedic thought, well before even Adi Shankaracharya and his gurus.
It is also supposed to be the most accessible for those who are interested in pursuing the path of knowledge to find answers (vs. other modes such as faith, duty etc.). I can safely say that I was not able to grasp the true essence of it despite reading it multiple times, accompanied by videos on it by other teachers. But, that in no way is a comment on the Mandukya itself but my inability to understand what Thuriya is.
You can easily find many versions of the Upanishad itself online, including the treatise/interpretation published by Gaudapada, which is called the Mandukya Karika. The treatise goes a long way in helping understand the essence behind what appear to be extremely tight, succinct and heavy verses. The ideas themselves are simple but I came away with the feeling that I had barely even steered my ship towards the iceberg, let alone see its tip.
I will be reading this quite often and regularly.
It is also supposed to be the most accessible for those who are interested in pursuing the path of knowledge to find answers (vs. other modes such as faith, duty etc.). I can safely say that I was not able to grasp the true essence of it despite reading it multiple times, accompanied by videos on it by other teachers. But, that in no way is a comment on the Mandukya itself but my inability to understand what Thuriya is.
You can easily find many versions of the Upanishad itself online, including the treatise/interpretation published by Gaudapada, which is called the Mandukya Karika. The treatise goes a long way in helping understand the essence behind what appear to be extremely tight, succinct and heavy verses. The ideas themselves are simple but I came away with the feeling that I had barely even steered my ship towards the iceberg, let alone see its tip.
I will be reading this quite often and regularly.
Read
October 20, 2024Mandukya Upanishad With Gaudapada's Karika and Shankara's Commentary - Swami Nikhilananda
With Swami Sarvapriyananda - Mandukya Upanishad
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2...
Mundaka Upanishad - Swami Gambhirananda
With Swami Sarvapriyananda - Mundaka Upanishad
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD...
With Swami Sarvapriyananda - Mandukya Upanishad
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2...
Mundaka Upanishad - Swami Gambhirananda
With Swami Sarvapriyananda - Mundaka Upanishad
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD...
July 14, 2016
The interpretation is deep and penetrating. But knowledge will not bring wisdom... Knowing will....
August 31, 2025
The Absolute Truth...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews