Introduction

The Mandukya  Upanishad belongs to Atharva Veda. Though it has only twelve mantras, its teachings are profound. Gauḍapadacharya wrote the Karika on it. A Karika differs from a commentary. In a commentary, the commentator analyses each mantra and comments on it in detail. A Karika, on the other hand, presents the essential philosophical teachings.

The Karika consists of four chapters comprising a total of 215 verses (Karikas). Chapter I is called Agama Prakaraṇa. It is so called because it is based on the twelve mantras of the Upanishad. This chapter contains 29 Karikas. Chapters II, III, and IV are respectively Vaitathya Prakaraṇa (On the Unreality of the World), comprising 38 Karikas; Advaita Prakaraṇa (On Non-duality), comprising 48 Karikas; and Alatasanti Prakaraṇa (On the Quenching of the Firebrand), comprising 100 Karikas.
The Upaniṣhad and Karika are traditionally studied together along with the commentary of Shankaracharya.

The method of teaching adopted in the Upanishad is different from that in some other major Upanishads. They employ the cause-and-effect model of creation. According to this model, Brahman is the cause of creation. Brahman, the cause, is real, whereas creation, the effect, is mithya. Just as clay is real and the pot is mithya, Brahman alone is ultimately real.

The Mandukya Upanishad, however, adopts the experiencer–experienced model of creation. The Upanishad divides the experienced universe into three states: the waking state, the dream state; and the state of dreamless sleep. These three states are mutually exclusive. However, the Self is present across all three states. The same Self is designated by three names according to the state: the waker, the dreamer, and the sleeper.

The experiencer is real, whereas what is experienced is mithya. The Self, the ultimate experiencer, is real, and the world that is experienced is mithya. Being the ultimate experiencer, the Self is never an object of experience.

The existence of an object can be established only when it is known by someone; otherwise, it belongs to the category of the non-existent, like the horn of a rabbit. Anything becomes knowable only in the presence of a knower. The knower is “I”—the observer, the subject. The subject, “I,” alone lends existence to all the objects in creation. My existence does not depend on objects, for even in the absence of the experience of objects, the existence of the subject is self-evident. Thus, the Self is real, whereas the world is mithya.

Mantras 1 and 2
Mantra 1 introduces the inquiry into Om, and Mantra 2 introduces the inquiry into the Self. The detailed inquiries are presented in Mantras 8 to 12 and Mantras 3 to 7, respectively.
Since every object is denoted by a name, the name is non-different from the object. The Upanishad emphasizes the non-difference between the name and the named. This identity is important because both the name and the named can be eliminated through a single process of inquiry, leading to the realization of Brahman, which is different from both.
“As all these objects that are indicated by names are non-different from the names, and as names are non-different from Om, so Om is verily all this. And as the supreme Brahman is known through the relationship tionship subsisting between name and its object, It, too, is but Om.” [ Swami Gambhirananda. Eight Upanishads]

The Upanishad declares that everything belonging to the past, present, and future, whether inert objects or sentient living beings, is nothing but Om. The ultimate reality is beyond time, being beginningless and endless. Both that which falls within time and that which lies beyond time are denoted by Om. Thus, the inquiry into Om encompasses everything. The actual inquiry is undertaken later in Mantras 8 to 12.

Brahman alone is real. It is both transcendent and immanent. It is everything within time as well as beyond time. The Upanishad declares that Brahman is the Self and that the Self has four quarters, which are discussed in Mantras 3 to 7.

Mantra 3 describes the first quarter, Mantra 4 the second quarter, Mantras 5 and 6 the third quarter, and Mantra 7 the fourth quarter.
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