The Mundaka Upanishad (, ) is an ancient Sanskrit Vedic text, embedded inside Atharva Veda. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad, and is listed as number 5 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads of Hinduism. It is among the most widely translated Upanishads.
It is presented as a dialogue between sage Saunaka and sage Angiras. It is a poetic verse style Upanishad, with 64 verses, written in the form of mantras. However, these mantras are not used in rituals, rather they are used for teaching and meditation on spiritual knowledge.Max Muller (1962), The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, , pages xxvi–xxvii.
The Mundaka Upanishad contains three Mundakams (parts), each with two khandas (sections). The first Mundakam, states Roer, defines the science of "Higher Knowledge" and "Lower Knowledge", and then asserts that acts of oblations and pious gifts are foolish, and do nothing to reduce unhappiness in current life or next, rather it is knowledge that frees. The second Mundakam describes the nature of the Brahman, the Self, the relation between the empirical world and the Brahman, and the path to know Brahman. The third Mundakam expands the ideas in the second Mundakam and then asserts that the state of knowing Brahman is one of freedom, fearlessness, complete liberation, self-sufficiency and bliss.
Some scholarsNorman Geisler and William D. Watkins (2003), Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views, Second Edition, Wipf, , pages 75–81. suggest that passages in the Mundaka Upanishad present the pantheism theory.
In some historic Indian literature and commentaries, the Mundaka Upanishad is included in the canon of several verse-structured Upanishads that are collectively referred to as "Mantra Upanishad" or "Mantropanishad".Introduction to the Upanishads Max Muller, Volume XV, Oxford University Press, page xliii.
Etymology Mundaka (Sanskrit: मुण्डक) literally means "shaved" (as in shaved head) or "shorn", and can also refer to the lopped trunk of a tree. The root of this term is unclear; Eduard Roer suggests it may allude to "knowledge that shaves, or liberates, one of errors and ignorance".muNDAka Monier Williams English Sanskrit Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit LexiconEduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, page 142 In ancient and medieval texts, the Mundaka Upanishad's individual chapters are also referred to as "mundakam", though the etymological basis for this usage is also unclear.
Chronology The exact chronology of Mundaka Upanishad, like other Vedic texts, is unclear.Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, , Chapter 1 All opinions rest on scanty evidence, an analysis of archaism, style and repetitions across texts, driven by assumptions about likely evolution of ideas, and on presumptions about which philosophy might have influenced which other Indian philosophies.
Phillips dates Mundaka Upanishad as a relatively later age ancient Upanishad, well after Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Isha, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Kena and Katha. Paul Deussen considers Mundaka Upanishad to be composed in a period where poetic expression of ideas became a feature of ancient Indian literary works.S Sharma (1985), Life in the Upanishads, , pages 17-19
Patrick OlivelleP Olivelle, 'Contributions to the Semantic History of Samnyasa' (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 101, No. 3, 1981, pp. 265-274) writes: "Both the Mundaka and the Mahanarayana are rather late Upanisads and are, in all probability, post-Buddhist."
Most of the teachings in the Upanishads of Hinduism, including Mundaka Upanishad, however, relate to the existence of Self and Brahman, and the paths to know, realize one's Self and Brahman, making the fundamental premise of Mundaka Upanishad distinctly different from Buddhism's denial of "Self or Brahman".KN Jayatilleke (2010), Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, , pages 246-249, from note 385 onwards;Steven Collins (1994), Religion and Practical Reason (Editors: Frank Reynolds, David Tracy), State Univ of New York Press, , page 64; Quote: "Central to Buddhist soteriology is the doctrine of not-self (Pali: anattā, Sanskrit: anātman, the opposed doctrine of ātman is central to Brahmanical thought). Put very briefly, this is the [Buddhist] doctrine that human beings have no soul, no self, no unchanging essence.";Edward Roer (Translator), , pages 2-4Katie Javanaud (2013), Is The Buddhist 'No-Self' Doctrine Compatible With Pursuing Nirvana?, Philosophy NowJohn C. Plott et al (2000), Global History of Philosophy: The Axial Age, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 63, Quote: "The Buddhist schools reject any Ātman concept. As we have already observed, this is the basic and ineradicable distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism".
Some of the ideas and allegories in Mundaka Upanishad have chronological roots in more ancient Vedic literature such as, Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, and Katha Upanishads. For example, the allegory of "blind leading the blind" in section 1.2 of Mundaka Upanishad is also found in section 1.2 of Katha Upanishad.Floyd H Ross (2013), The Meaning of Life in Hinduism and Buddhism, Routledge, , page 41 Similarly, the allegory of two birds in section 3.1 of the Mundaka Upanishad is found in hymns of Rig Veda, I.164.Max Muller (1962), Manduka Upanishad, in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, , page 38 with footnote 1
Structure The Mundaka Upanishad has three Mundakams (parts, or shavings), each part has two khanda (खण्ड, section or volume). The section 1.1 has 9 mantras structured as metered poetic verses. Section 1.2 has 13 verses, section 2.1 has 10 verses, section 2.2 has 11 verses, section 3.1 has 10, and the last section 3.2 has 11 verses. In total, the Upanishad features 64 mantras.Eduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 142-164Max Muller (1962), Manduka Upanishad, in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, , pages 27-42
Several versions of the Mundaka Upanishad manuscript have been discovered so far. They show minor differences, particularly in the form of additional text insertions and interpolations. The insertions are apparent because they do not fit structurally into the metered verses, and also because the same text is missing in manuscripts discovered in other locations.
Content The Mundaka Upanishad opens with declaring Brahma as the first of gods, the creator of the universe, and the knowledge of Brahman (Ultimate Reality, Eternal Principle, Cosmic Self) to be the foundation of all knowledge.Max Muller (1962), Manduka Upanishad, in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, , page 27Eduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 150-151
The text then lists a succession of teachers who shared the knowledge of Brahman with the next generation. It describes a lineage of knowledge transmission that begins with Brahma, the creator god, who imparted the knowledge of Brahman to Atharva. Atharva then passed this knowledge to Angira, and in turn, it was taught to Satyavaha Bharadvaja. Satyavaha then conveyed it to Angiras.Robert Hume, Mundaka Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 366-367 Charles Johnston suggests that this announces the Vedic tradition of teacher-student responsibility to transfer knowledge across the generations, in unbroken succession.Charles Johnston, The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, (Reprinted in 2014), Archive of Mundaka Upanishad, page 249 Johnston further states that the names recited are metaphors, such as the One who Illuminates, Keeper of Truth, Planetary Spirit, mythological messenger between Gods and Men among others, suggesting the divine nature and the responsibility of man to continue the tradition of knowledge sharing across human generations.
The higher knowledge versus lower knowledge - First Mundakam In verse 1.1.3 of Mundaka Upanishad, Saunaka (a Grihastha) approaches Angiras (a teacher), and asks,
The setting of this question is significant, states Johnston, because it asserts that knowledge transfer is not limited to older teachers to young students, rather, even adult householders sought knowledge as pupils from teachers in Vedic tradition.
Angiras answered, states verse 1.1.4 of the Mundaka Upanishad, by classifying all knowledge into two: "lower knowledge" (apara vidya) and "higher knowledge" (para vidya). Hume calls these two forms of knowledge as "traditions of religion" and "knowledge of the eternal" respectively. The lower knowledge includes knowledge of four Vedas, phonetics, grammar, etymology, meter, astrology, and the knowledge of sacrifices and rituals. Some manuscripts of Manduka Upanishad expand the list of lower knowledge to include logic, history, Puranas and Dharma.Max Müller, The Upanishads, Part 2, Mundaka Upanishad, Oxford University Press, page 27 footnote 2 The higher knowledge is the means by which one can comprehend the imperishable (Aksara, Brahman). It is the knowledge of Brahman - the one which cannot be seen, seized, has no origin, varna,Johnston translates this as family and color, Müller translates it as caste with a footnote acknowledging that the medieval era Indian commentator translates it as "origin and qualities"; see Johnston's translation of Mundaka Upanishad, page 250 and Müller's translation of verse 1.1.6, page 28 with footnote 1 eyes, ears, hands, or feet; it is the eternal, all-pervading, infinitesimal, imperishable, indestructible.Max Müller, The Upanishads, Part 2, Mundaka Upanishad, Oxford University Press, page 27-28
In verse 1.1.7, the Upanishad uses the analogy of a spider to illustrate the relationship between the manifest and unmanifest aspects of existence and to recognize the imperishable as the source and essence of all that is:
Sacrifices, oblations and pious works are useless, knowledge useful - First Mundakam The first seven mantras of second khanda of first Mundakam explain how man has been called upon, promised benefits for, scared unto and misled into performing sacrifices, oblations and pious works. In verses 1.2.7 through 1.2.10, the Upanishad asserts this is foolish and frail, by those who encourage it and those who follow it, because it makes no difference to man's current life and after-life, it is like blind men leading the blind, it is a mark of conceit and vain knowledge, ignorant inertia like that of children, a futile useless practice.Max Muller (1962), Manduka Upanishad, in The Upanishads - Part II, Dover Publications, , pages 30-33Eduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 153-154
The Mundaka Upanishad, in verses 1.2.11 through 1.2.13, asserts spiritual knowledge liberates man, and those who undertake Sannyasa (renunciation) to attain such knowledge achieve it through Tapas (meditation, austerity), living a simple and tranquil life on alms, without any sacrifices and rituals.Robert Hume, Mundaka Upanishad, Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, page 369 In verses 1.2.12 and 1.2.13, the Upanishad suggests that "perishable acts cannot lead to eternal knowledge", instead it encourages seekers to gain knowledge from a learned spiritual teacher (guru) focused on Brahman.Charles Johnston, The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (1920-1931), The Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, (Reprinted in 2014), Archive of Mundaka Upanishad, pages 252-253
Brahman is the inner Self of all things - Second Mundakam