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{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Upanishad
| title = ''Mantrika Upanishad''
| image = Ascetic asanas2.jpg
| caption = Mantrika Upanishad is one of the earliest theistic yoga texts
| alt = Culika Upanishad
| Devanagari = मन्त्रिक
| Sanskrit_transliteration = Māntrika
| type = Samanya
| Veda = [[Shukla Yajurveda]]
| chapters = 1
| verses = 21
| philosophy = [[Samkhya]], [[Yoga]], [[Vedanta]], [[Bhakti]]
}}
The '''''Mantrika Upanishad''''' ({{lang-sa|मन्त्रिक उपनिषत्}}, [[IAST]]:Māntrika Upaniṣad) is a minor [[Upanishad]] of [[Hinduism]]. The Sanskrit text is one of the 22 Samanya Upanishads, is part of the [[Vedanta]] and [[Yoga]] schools of [[Hindu]] philosophy literature, and is one of 19 Upanishads attached to the [[Shukla Yajurveda]].{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=579}}<ref name=mirceaeliad127>Mircea Eliade et al. (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-691-14203-6}}, page 127</ref> In the [[Muktika]] canon, narrated by [[Rama]] to [[Hanuman]], it is listed at number 32 in the [[anthology]] of 108 [[Upanishads]].{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=556–57}}

The Upanishad comprises 21 verses. It attempts a syncretic but unsystematic formulation of ideas from [[Samkhya]], [[Yoga]], [[Vedanta]] and [[Bhakti]].<ref name=mirceaeliad127/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}} It is therefore treated as a theistic Yoga text.<ref name=mirceaeliad127/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}} Mantrika suggests the theory, according to [[Paul Deussen]]'s interpretation, that the universe was created by [[Purusha]] and [[Prakriti]] together, and various active soul-infants drink from inactive [[Ishvara]] soul (God) who treats this as a form of [[Vedic sacrifice]].{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}} Dalal interprets the text as giving an exposition on [[Brahman]] (changeless reality) and [[Maya (illusion)|Maya]] (changing reality, metaphysical illusion).{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=1168}} According to the ''Mantrika Upanishad'', "the Brahman dwells in body as soul, and this soul as God changes dwelling thousands of time".{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681 verses 17–19}}

The ''Mantrika Upanishad'' is also called '''''Culika Upanishad''''' ({{lang-sa|चूलिका उपनिषत्}}).{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=677 with footnote 1}}

==Etymology and classification==
Mantrika means "enchanter, reciter of spells", while 'Cūlikā' means "tip, summit, top of a column".{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=677}}<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=mantrika+&trans=Translate&direction=AU Mantrika] Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany (2012)</ref> The basis for the title of the Upanishad is unclear, but may refer to the phrases in the text on "pointed top of a pillar" and its extensive use of [[mantra]] metaphors and riddle-like terms from Atharvaveda known partly for its esoteric teachings of spells and enchantment.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}}

Different schools of [[Hindu philosophy]] have varied in their classification of ''Mantrika Upanishad''. The 11th-century scholar [[Ramanuja]], of [[Vishishtadvaita]] school, for example, quoted from ''Mantrika Upanishad'',<ref>Hajime Nakamura (1989), A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0651-1}}, page 46</ref> but classified Mantrika as an [[Atharvaveda]] Upanishad.<ref name=winternitzsarma/> The anthology in the Muktika Upanishad, however, lists it as attached to the White (Shukla) Yajurveda.<ref name=winternitzsarma>Moriz Winternitz and V. Srinivasa Sarma, A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0264-3}}, page 224</ref>

==Chronology==
The ''Mantrika Upanishad'' (or Culika Upanishad), suggested [[Mircea Eliade]], was "probably written at the same period as the [[Maitri Upanishad]], and in it we find the simplest form of theistic Yoga".<ref name=mirceaeliad127/> It is one of the earliest theistic yoga texts.<ref>Mircea Eliade et al. (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-691-14203-6}}, pages 124–127</ref> The relative chronology of the text is likely to have been in the final centuries of 1st millennium BCE, contemporaneous with the didactic parts of the [[Mahabharata]], and probably earlier than the [[Brahma Sutras|Vedanta-sutras]] and the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga-sutras]].<ref name=mirceaeliad127/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}} The Upanishad attempts a synthesis of Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta and Bhakti devotionalism ideas, but with a hazy syncretism and poor organization, suggesting that the text may be from a period where these ideas were being formulated.<ref name=mirceaeliad127/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}}

==Structure==
The text has a poetic structure and has 21 verses.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–681}} For example, verses 17–18 of the text state,

{{Quote|
<poem>
In him in whom this universe is interwoven,
Whatever moves or is motionless,
In [[Brahman]] everything is lost,
Like bubbles in the ocean.

In him in whom the living creatures of the universe,
Emptying themselves become invisible,
They disappear and come to light again,
As bubbles rise to the surface.
</poem>
|''Mantrika Upanishad'' 17–18|Translated by [[Paul Deussen]]<ref>Paul Deussen and AS Geden (Translator, 1966), The Philosophy of the Upanishads, Dover, {{ISBN|978-0-486-21616-4}}, page 222</ref>}}

==Contents==
{{multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| width1 = 110
| width2 = 220
| footer = Verse 1 of ''Mantrika Upanishad'' describes Atman (soul) as an eight footed [[Hamsa (bird)|Hamsa]] bird fettered with three strands ([[Guṇa]]s, innate qualities).{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–681}}<ref name=sanskritmantrika>[http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/mantrika.html?lang=sa ॥ मन्त्रिकोपनिषत् ॥] Sanskrit text of ''Mantrika Upanishad'', SanskritDocuments Archives (2009);<br>Quote: अष्टपादं शुचिं '''हंसं''' त्रिसूत्रमणुमव्ययम् । त्रिवर्त्मानं तेजसोहं सर्वतःपश्यन्न पश्यति ॥</ref>
| image1 = Hansa Damayanthi.jpg
| image2 = Mute swan Vrhnika.jpg
}}

===Metaphor of Atman as Swan: verses 1–2===
The Upanishad opens with a metaphor for soul, as an eight-footed swan bird,<ref name= Warrier/> with three innate characteristics (Gunas), eternal jewel, radiating in eight regions of the heaven (eight quadrants of sphere):{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=678}}
{{Quote|
<poem>
The bird, radiating, eight footed
Three stranded, eternal jewel,
Having flames of fire, wandering twofold,
Everyone sees him and sees him not.

When at the time of creatures delusion,
The darkness around God is torn,
Then He is seen in the cavern of Gunas,
In [[Sattva]]m, by the Gunaless alone.
</poem>
|''Mantrika Upanishad'' 1–2|{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}}}}

In verse 1, states Deussen, the metaphor is that "everyone sees Him (Purusha) as the sun-bird, and does not see Him as the Atman".{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=678}} The Atman is without qualities (Guna) and perceives this ''Purusha'', as that which develops out of ''Sattva''.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–678}} In [[Samkhya]] philosophy of Hinduism, ''Sattva'' is the ''Guna'' that is the innate attribute and quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, universalizing, holistic, constructive, creative, building, positive, peaceful, virtuous.<ref>Joseph Alter (2004), Yoga in modern India, Princeton University Press, page 55</ref>

===Metaphor of universe as milch-cow: verses 3–7===
In verse 3, states Deussen, Maya (Prakriti, nature) is stated to be the mother of all of the empirical universe, eternal, firm and of eight-fold form.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=678–679 with footnotes}}<ref name= Warrier/> She is impartial, and those who do not know their inner self, exploit her (Prakriti) for their enjoyment.{{Sfn|Rāmānuja|Ramanujachari|2004|p=24}} This mother is like a milking cow, the procreatress, states the Upanishad, who generously cultivates all beings, with the three Gunas.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=678–679 with footnotes}}{{Sfn|Rāmānuja|Ramanujachari|2004|p=24}}

Those driven by their senses are countless, and like infants who drink from this sense-object milch cow, states the text.<ref name= Warrier >{{Cite web|last= Warrier | first= AG Krishna |url=http://www.celextel.org/upanishads/shukla_yajur_veda/mantrika.html |year=1931 | title=Mantrika Upanishad| access-date=16 December 2015|publisher= The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai}}</ref>{{Sfn|Rāmānuja|Ramanujachari|2004|pp=24–25}} They enjoy her, but it is soul, states Deussen, who as God (the Ishvara of the theistic yoga system) who experiences and enjoys Prakriti through his thought and deed.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–679 with introduction}}

===Metaphors for Self and Brahman: verses 8–13===
The Upanishad, in verses 8 to 9, states that the householders and the sages of [[Rigveda]], [[Samaveda]] and Yajurveda recognize the two birds, one which eats the fruit and other which is detached and silently watches.<ref name= Warrier/> This metaphor – for the Individual and Supreme (Atman, soul) or [[Prakriti]] and [[Purusha]] – is found in Rigveda verse 1.164.20, and numerous other Upanishads (such as Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.1, Katha Upanishad 1.3.1):{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677, 679 with footnotes}}<ref>DR Bhandarkar (1989), Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture, Asian Educational Services, Singapore, {{ISBN|81-206-0457-1}}, page 24</ref><ref>Willard Johnson (1976), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/599827 On the Ṛg Vedic Riddle of the Two Birds in the Fig Tree (RV 1.164.20–22), and the Discovery of the Vedic Speculative Symposium], Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 96, No. 2, pages 248–258</ref>

{{Quote|
<poem>
Two birds with fair wings, inseparable companions,
in the same sheltering tree have found a refuge.
One of the twain eats the sweet fig-tree's fruitage,
the other, not eating, just looks on.
</poem>
|[[Rigveda]] 1.164.20|<ref>[[Antonio T. de Nicolás]] (2003), Meditations Through the Rig Veda, {{ISBN|978-0-595-26925-9}}, page 34</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/hymnsrigveda02grifgoog#page/n314/mode/2up The Hymns of Rigveda], Book 1, Hymn 164, Verse 20, page 287</ref>}}

The ''Mantrika Upanishad'' in verses 10–13, quotes from the [[Samhita]] and [[Brahmana]] of the [[Atharvaveda]] (AV), the designations of Brahman, citing sages like [[Bhrigu]] and [[Bhargava]]s.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–680 with footnotes}}<ref name= Warrier/> The series of designations where Brahman is pursued or found, as recited by verses 11 to 13 of the text, include – Brahmacharin (AV 11.5), Vratya or wandering [[sannyasi]] (AV 15.1), Skambha or pillar / household (AV 10.7–8), Palita or grey with age (AV 9.9–10), Anadvan or bull (AV 4.11), Rohita or rising red sun-god (AV 13.1.2–3), Ucchista or remaining (AV 11.7), Kala or time (AV 19.53–54), Prana or vital breath (AV 11.4), Bhagavan Atman or the exalted Atman (AV 10.8.44), Purusha (AV 19.6), Sarva-Bhava-Rudra (AV 11.2), Ishvara (AV 19.6.4), Prajapati (AV 4.2), Viraj (AV 8.9.10), Prsni (AV 2.1), and Salilam or primordial waters (AV 8.9.1).{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=677–680 with footnotes}}<ref name= Warrier/>

The ''Mantrika Upanishad'', states Maurice Bloomfield, is notable through its verse 10–13, for being an exception in the Upanishadic corpus, that provides an almost complete cryptic catalogue of the cosmogonic and theosophic hymns in Gopatha Brahmana of [[Atharvaveda]].<ref>Maurice Bloomfield, {{Google books|j9MoAAAAYAAJ|Atharvaveda}}, page 19</ref>

===Self, Brahman and Samkhya: verses 14–19===
The text in verse 14 acknowledges that Samkhya scholars and Atharvan scholars call him by different names or counts, the former consider him Gunaless person, the latter consider him as the head.<ref name= Warrier/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}} The verse 15, similarly acknowledges that some state Brahman and Self to be non-dual, others as dual, some as three-fold, others as five-fold.<ref name= Warrier/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}}

The Brahman is seen as One, with eyes of knowledge, everywhere including in the world of plants, states verse 16.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}} It is this Brahman, asserts the ''Mantrika Upanishad'', in whom the universe is woven, and it includes all that moves and all that does not move, from whom the empirical world emerges and into whom all objects ultimately merge.<ref name= Warrier/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}} The Brahman dwells in body as soul, states verse 19 of the text, and this soul as God changes dwelling thousands of time (rebirth).{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}}

===Brahman knowledge is for everybody: verses 20–21===
In the concluding verses, the Upanishad states that one who teaches this doctrine achieves [[Avyakta]], and any [[Brahmin]] or non-Brahmin who knows Brahman achieves liberation and rests in Brahman.<ref name= Warrier/>{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}}

{{Quote|
<poem>
Yea, who, [[Brahmin|Brāhmaṇā]] or not,
Knows the Brahman and its commandment,
He disappears, entering,
Into the one who rests in Brahman.
</poem>
|''Mantrika Upanishad'' 21|{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=681}}}}

==See also==
*''[[Chandogya Upanishad]]''
*''[[Maitri Upanishad]]''
*''[[Yoga-kundalini Upanishad]]''
*''[[Yogatattva Upanishad]]''
*''[[Yoga Vasistha]]''

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last= Dalal |first=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1168|date=18 April 2014|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-277-9}}
*{{cite book|last1= Deussen |first1=Paul |last2= Bedekar|first2=V.M. |last3= Palsule |first3=G.B. |title=Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYepeIGUY0gC&pg=PA677|year=1997|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1467-7}}
*{{cite book|last= Nair |first=Shantha N. |title=Echoes of Ancient Indian Wisdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzFvE0IR7rkC&pg=PT579|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Pustak Mahal|isbn=978-81-223-1020-7}}
*{{cite book|last1= Rāmānuja |last2= Ramanujachari |first2=V. K. |title=Elements of Vedic Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymx-grfEPK0C&pg=PA30|year=2004|publisher=Cosmo Publications|isbn=978-81-7755-764-0}}

{{Mukhya Upanishads}}
{{Hindudharma}}

[[Category:Upanishads]]
[[Category:Sanskrit texts]]

Mantrika Upanishad - Revision history

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