Mandukya upanishad

[Guest guest]

Any one knows why Mandukya Upanishad is called so?

 

Neither Karika nor Sankara touches this aspect.

 

Chinmayananda in his commentary talks of this, though in a round

about way, explaining some philosophical meaning given by

a 'mahatma'he has met in a roadside dharma sala.

 

On the other hand, I think the Upanishad is attributed to Varuna, who

taught it in the form of a mandooka (toad)

 

 

any reply is much appreciated.

 

kishore

[Guest guest]

I have not studied the Upanishads in twenty years (since my college

days) but the name Varuna rings a bell. I do not know if I still

have that old college text. Let me go see. I have quite a few books

on many ancient cultures, but it looks like that one was donated to

the library? I studied them in a course taught my a professor

Shaner. I still remember him as he had been some sort of world class

skier before he gave it all up to come back and teach at the college

level.

 

Somehow when I hear the term Upanishad, though, there was some

discussion about stone and clouds and altars? I am sorry I am

pulling from old memories I have not considered in years, so I can

not add a context to this?

 

Anyway, I have joined this group for a while to learn.

 

James M. Rogers

emarhalys

 

 

 

, " kishore mohan "

<kishore_future> wrote:

> Any one knows why Mandukya Upanishad is called so?

>

> Neither Karika nor Sankara touches this aspect.

>

> Chinmayananda in his commentary talks of this, though in a round

> about way, explaining some philosophical meaning given by

> a 'mahatma'he has met in a roadside dharma sala.

>

> On the other hand, I think the Upanishad is attributed to Varuna,

who

> taught it in the form of a mandooka (toad)

>

>

> any reply is much appreciated.

>

> kishore

[Guest guest]

I have discussed various possibilities in the contribution to the

entry in wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad

 

For ready reference, I am giving here what I have written in

wikipedia:

 

" The name literally means the Scripture of Toad. However, the

commentators including karikas and sankara did not touch upon to

explain the name.

 

It is said Varuna, the Lord of Cosmic waters has taken the form of a

toad to preach this Upanishad. This story makes it more interesting

since there is a hymn called Toad Hymn (manduka sukta) in the Rgveda,

which is ostensibly an ode to the arrival of monsoons. But the

cosmological significance of the hymn is yet to be unravelled. The

connection between the hymn and the upanishad, in terms of

cosmological significance, may be an interesting point to search for.

 

Secondly, manduka is also a type of yoga- " particular kind of abstract

meditation in which an ascetic sits motionless like a frog " (Monier-

Williams), seemingly hard to practice. Mandukasana is one of the 32

asanas(postures) described in yoga. Possibly the Upanishad, which is

connected with meaning of Aum, which is essentially an Object of

Meditation, has been named after Manduka to indicate the yoga aspect

of the Aum.

 

On the other hand, some attribute this Upanishad to Sage Mandukha.

However,reference to this sage, just as sage Swetaswatara, to who

another celebrated Upanishad is attributed, does not appear any where

else in the scriptures or other literature. (verify)

 

Also, there is a vedic seer Mandakeya (or MAnduki)who contributed his

name to a Rgvedic sakha. While his father's name is said to be Indra

pramati(a disciple of Paila), Mandukeya literally means son of

Manduka and it appears that mandukya is a metronymic(son of manduki

and hence, mAnduki) It is to be seen whether it is possible to

identify the upanishadic seer with Mandakeya, since 'mAndookya' also

means the son of 'manduki'.

 

There seems to be more than one vedic seer with the name mandakeya.

For eg., we have Hrsva(short)mandukeya as a vedic seer who has

proposed semi vowels.(ref. phonology:critical concepts by Charles W.

Kreidler)Thus, it is possible to have manduka as a Gotra . However,

the mandukas are identified with bhargavas, who are vArunis.

 

Thus, the allegory seems to be that Varuna himself has taken birth as

Sage Mandukeya (or sage Manduka), who belongs to the lineage of

Varuna to preach this Upanishad. "

 

 

 

Any corrections or additions are welcome.

 

kishore patnaik

[Guest guest]

I have discussed various possibilities in the contribution to the

entry in wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad

 

For ready reference, I am giving here what I have written in

wikipedia:

 

" The name literally means the Scripture of Toad. However, the

commentators including karikas and sankara did not touch upon to

explain the name.

 

It is said Varuna, the Lord of Cosmic waters has taken the form of a

toad to preach this Upanishad. This story makes it more interesting

since there is a hymn called Toad Hymn (manduka sukta) in the Rgveda,

which is ostensibly an ode to the arrival of monsoons. But the

cosmological significance of the hymn is yet to be unravelled. The

connection between the hymn and the upanishad, in terms of

cosmological significance, may be an interesting point to search for.

 

Secondly, manduka is also a type of yoga- " particular kind of abstract

meditation in which an ascetic sits motionless like a frog " (Monier-

Williams), seemingly hard to practice. Mandukasana is one of the 32

asanas(postures) described in yoga. Possibly the Upanishad, which is

connected with meaning of Aum, which is essentially an Object of

Meditation, has been named after Manduka to indicate the yoga aspect

of the Aum.

 

On the other hand, some attribute this Upanishad to Sage Mandukha.

However,reference to this sage, just as sage Swetaswatara, to who

another celebrated Upanishad is attributed, does not appear any where

else in the scriptures or other literature. (verify)

 

Also, there is a vedic seer Mandakeya (or MAnduki)who contributed his

name to a Rgvedic sakha. While his father's name is said to be Indra

pramati(a disciple of Paila), Mandukeya literally means son of

Manduka and it appears that mandukya is a metronymic(son of manduki

and hence, mAnduki) It is to be seen whether it is possible to

identify the upanishadic seer with Mandakeya, since 'mAndookya' also

means the son of 'manduki'.

 

There seems to be more than one vedic seer with the name mandakeya.

For eg., we have Hrsva(short)mandukeya as a vedic seer who has

proposed semi vowels.(ref. phonology:critical concepts by Charles W.

Kreidler)Thus, it is possible to have manduka as a Gotra . However,

the mandukas are identified with bhargavas, who are vArunis.

 

Thus, the allegory seems to be that Varuna himself has taken birth as

Sage Mandukeya (or sage Manduka), who belongs to the lineage of

Varuna to preach this Upanishad. "

 

 

 

Any corrections or additions are welcome.

 

kishore patnaik

 

 

 

 

 

 

, " jay5nth " <jay5nth wrote:

>

> Good Point, I have read Bhagavan Chinmayanada's work and I think

its

> a very clever explanation. About Varuna giving this in the form of

a

> toad comes from Dvaita interpretations and dvaita interpretations

> tend to make most of the things unnatural(like puranas) which, will

> not be a acceptable when we are extremely practical in present

times.

> I would like to know as much as you do about the origins of this

> famous work.

>

>

> , " kishore mohan "

> <kishore_future> wrote:

> > Any one knows why Mandukya Upanishad is called so?

> >

> > Neither Karika nor Sankara touches this aspect.

> >

> > Chinmayananda in his commentary talks of this, though in a round

> > about way, explaining some philosophical meaning given by

> > a 'mahatma'he has met in a roadside dharma sala.

> >

> > On the other hand, I think the Upanishad is attributed to Varuna,

> who

> > taught it in the form of a mandooka (toad)

> >

> >

> > any reply is much appreciated.

> >

> > kishore

>

[Guest guest]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad

 

About the Upanishad

 

The name literally means the Scripture of Frog. However, the

commentators including Gaudapada and Sankara did not touch upon to

explain the name.[2]

 

Let us examine some aspects of the name of the Upanishad, which helps

us to understand the Vedichistory behind the Upanishad:

 

1.Some attribute the Upanishad to a sage called Manduka. Manduka means

son of " Manduki " and a seer with this metronymic is mentioned in the

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad along with the Mandukeyas, his disciples. The

Mandukeyas figure in the Bhagavata purana as the receivers of a branch

of the Rig Veda from Indra. This group of seers also figures in the

Rig Veda itself: their hymns are mostly connected with lingustics, for

example Hrsva (short) Mandakeya, a vedic seer who proposed semi

vowels.[3]. A text on the etymology of Vedas with the name " Manduki

Shiksha " deals with the notes of the musical scale. There are more

than one Mandukas, since Manduka is a gotra belonging to Asuric

Brahmins. (Bhargavas)

 

2. Connection with Varuna It is said Varuna, the Lord of Cosmic

waters, has taken the form of a frog to preach this Upanishad. This

story makes it more interesting since there is a hymn called Toad Hymn

(manduka sukta) in the Rgveda, which is ostensibly an ode to the

arrival of monsoons. But the cosmological significance of the hymn is

yet to be unraveled. The connection between the hymn and the

Upanishad, in terms of cosmological significance, may be an

interesting point to search for. This assertion finds more support

since Varuna is an Asuric God and lends himself to the ancestries of

more than one Asuric gotra.

 

3. Manduka is also a type of yoga - a " particular kind of abstract

meditation in which an ascetic sits motionless like a frog " .[4]

Mandukasana is one of the asanas (postures) described in yoga.

Seemingly hard to practice. Mandukasana is one of the 32

asanas(postures) described in yoga. Possibly the Upanishad, which is

connected with meaning of Aum, which is essentially an Object of

Meditation, has been named after Manduka to indicate the yoga aspect

of the Aum.

 

For the very reason that it explains the esoteric meaning of the

fundamental syllable Aum of vedic spiritual tradition, the Upanishad

has been extolled greatly. The Muktikopanishad, which talks about all

other Upanishads, says that if a person cannot afford to study all the

hundred and eight Upanishads, it will be enough to read just the

MÄndÅ«kya Upanishad. According to Dr.S. Radhakrishnan, in this

Upanishad we find the fundamental approach to the attainment of

reality by the road of introversion and ascent from the sensible and

changing, cleansing the mind of thoughts, feelings and wishes related

to the material, relative world, and reaching the soul which, being

spiritual and having an absolute nature as the Lord, is the only one

that can perceive Him, Who is also absolute and spiritual, and cannot

be perceived with material relative senses.

[hnbhat]

The commentator indicates the name it got as it belongs to the मण्डूक-शाखा of the अथर्ववेद just like the name तैत्तिरीय उपनिषत् attached to तैत्तिरीय-शाखा of यजुर्वेद. This is according to Upanishadhmayogin.

 

अथर्ववेदप्रविभक्त-मण्डूकशाखा-मस्तक०

 

i.e. the Vedanta portion of मण्डुक recension of Artharvaveda.

 

Thanks for the different views provided in this conncetion.