| Kundika Upanishad | |
|---|---|
 A renouncer or sanyasi at a young age | |
| Devanagari | कुण्डिका |
| LinkedVeda | Sama Veda |
| Verses | One chapter with 34 verses |
| Philosophy | Vedanta |
TheKundika Upanishad (Sanskrit:कुण्डिका उपनिषत्,IAST: Kuṇḍikā Upaniṣad), also known asKundikopanishad, is an ancient text and a minorUpanishad ofHinduism. It is one of the 19Sannyasa Upanishads,[1] and is one of the 16 Upanishads attached to theSama Veda.[2][3]
The text is titled Kundika in surviving Telugu language versions, and notably large parts of it are identical to theLaghu-Sannyasa Upanishad versions found in some parts of India.
TheKundika andLaghu-Sannyasa Upanishads discuss when and how someone may renounce, and the answers it gives are different from those found in other Upanishads such as theJabala Upanishad.[4] The text dedicates most of its verses to the lifestyle of the renouncer, and its broad theme centers around renunciation or spiritual enlightenment.[5] The text mentions ancient cultural and religious Hindu traditions.[6][7] It describes renunciation as a stage of life where a man lives like a monk yogi, sleeps on sand and near temples, remain calm and kind no matter what others do to him, while pondering onVedanta and meditating onBrahman throughOm.[6] A renouncer, states theKundika Upanishad, should seek to realize the identity of his soul with the universal soul.[6][8]
Kundika means "water holder"[9] or "student's water-pot."[10]
The text is titled Kundika in surviving Telugu language versions, and notably large parts of it are identical to theLaghu-Sannyasa Upanishad versions found in some parts of India.[11][12] The oldest layer of the text was composed before 3rd century CE, likely in the final centuries of the 1st-millennium BCE.[13][14]
Text was likely added to it over a long period of time, and numerous recensions were created.[14] TheKundika Upanishad survives in very damaged and corrupted versions,[15] in Telugu and Sanskrit languages, a few with the titleLaghu-Sannyasa Upanishad.[13][14]
The Upanishad, in one version, has 34 verses in a single chapter.[16] In other versions, the text has 28 verses,[17] or 5 to 6 chapters with no verse numbers.[18][15] The text is a mix of prose and metered poetry.
In the Teluguanthology of 108 Upanishads of theMuktika canon, narrated byRama toHanuman, theKundika Upanishad is listed at number 75.[19]
TheSannyasi
I am pure consciousness, the witness of all!
I am free from the thought of "I" and "mine"!
I have no lord!
All are myself, and I am all!
I am unique, and I transcend all!
I am my own eternal bliss,
pure undivided consciousness!
The Kundika and Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishads discuss when and how someone may renounce, and the answers it gives are different from those found in other Upanishads such as theJabala Upanishad.[4] The text dedicates most of its verses to the lifestyle of the renouncer, and its broad theme centers around renunciation or spiritual enlightenment.[5] The text is notable for implying an ancient cultural tradition, that a man should go visit sacred places in his retirement, and take his wife with him.[6] After the travels, he should proceed to renunciation where he lives like a monk yogi, sleeps on sand and near temples, remain calm and kind no matter what others do to him while pondering onVedanta and meditating onBrahman throughOm.[6] He should seek to realize the identity of his soul with the universal soul.[6]
A few manuscript versions of the Upanishad start and end with general invocations, such as of theśānti mantra.[note 1][note 2]
In the first two verses, the Upanishad deals with the Brahmacharya stage, when as a student well-versed in Upanishads, a person graduates to the Grihashthashrama stage of a householder by marrying a suitable girl with the consent of his guru. In the next verses 3 to 6 the Upanishad gives justification for a person to lead the forest dweller or Vanaprastha stage of life. In the remaining 28 verses, starting with discarding the life of forest dweller, the sanyasa stage of life with details on how to renounce and attain self-realization are explained.[16][24]
TheKundika Upanishad begins with a preface and notable definition. The first two verses mention a student, who used to take delight in Vedic studies with hisGuru (teacher) but becomes tired of student life, leaves with his teacher's permission.[25][26] The Upanishad defines this ex-student anAshramin, a definition that is different than the typically understood meaning forAshramin as someone living in an Ashrama (monastic order).[25]
This ex-student, states the text, then marries a woman of equal birth, he deposits the fire, performs a Brahma-sacrifice for a day and night. Both Deussen and Olivelle consider this verse as obscure insertion and possibly corrupted, because neither does it fit with style nor does it follow theSandhi rules of Sanskrit.[27][28]
ThatAshramin, continues the text, reaches an age when he should retire from leading the household. He should divide his estate among his sons, spend some time in the forest along with his wife.[26] After this comes renunciation. According to Olivelle, these verses suggest the position recommended by Kundika is that thefour life stages are to be sequential, with renunciation being the last stage.[29] This position is different than the freedom suggested to anyone in any stage of life, that is recommended inJabala Upanishad.[4]
The retired, states the text, becomes a hermit and departs from his former routine. He begins wandering in sacred regions, taking his wife with him.[6][30]
On the day of initiation, statesKundika Upanishad, after he renounces the fire, he should silently recite the thirty four verses of Atharvaveda section 11.8.[31][32]
The renouncer from that day stops shaving the armpits and the pubic hair.[31] He has his face and head shaved, and wears ochre-colored clothing.[31]
He then leaves.[31]
He wanders about homeless.[33] He begs and eats what he receives.[34] He carries a water strainer. He strains the water before he drinks, in order to save the lives of little creatures that live in water, states the Upanishad.[33][34]
The third chapter of Upanishad describes the belongings of the renouncer, as follows:[35]
A pot, a drinking cup, a sling, a tripod, a pair of shoes, a patched garment against the cold, a loincloth, a water strainer, a bathing cloth, and an outer garment: an ascetic should avoid anything else other than these.
— Kundika Upanishad, Chapter 3, Translated by Patrick Olivelle[35]
The renouncer's lifestyle is of a wanderer. He begs with a split drygourd.[35] He sleeps in a temple, or on the sandy banks of a river.[36] He bathes and cleanses himself. He does not rejoice when others praise him.[35] He does not curse when others abuse him.[37][35] This way of life marks his inner victory over his senses, in his journey of renunciation.[37][35]
There is, states Deussen, likely corruption of the text with "tripod walking stick" wording requirements because it does not follow the precise meter the rest of the poetic verse does and it is not consistent across manuscript editions.[38]
TheKundika Upanishad asserts in chapter 4, that theYoga (union) of knowledge occurs in mind, in the mind is perceived space, from space comes wind, from wind comes light, from the light rain the waters, from waters originated the earth, from earth came plants and food, from food is created semen, and from semen originates man.[39] The one who studies, meditates and understands the origins and causes, realizes theBrahman, that which is ageless, immortal, imperishable, indestructible constant.[40][41][42]
In chapter 5, the text recommends yoga and breathing exercises for the renouncer, however states Deussen, the verses of this chapter appear altogether corrupted and damaged.[43]
TheLaghu-Samnyasa Upanishad ends here, while theKundika Upanishad continues with one additional chapter.[44]
The last chapter of the text is structured entirely as a poem.[8][45] This poem has been influential, fragments of it are referenced and appear inAdvaita Vedanta texts such as in verses 495–529 ofVivekachudamani attributed toAdi Shankara.[46] The poem describes the state of the liberated renouncer, and its author embeds double meanings mapping and resonating with external and internal realities, the physical and psychological states of man.[45][46]
The renouncer has realized that his inner state is an ocean of total bliss, but one punctuated by waves that rise and fall because of winds ofMaya (changing reality, illusion).[45][8] He feels that his soul is not limited by his body, just like the sky is not limited by a cloud.[8] He is like a sky, far beyond the reach of time. He is the sun beyond the light, he is the sea without the shore, he is the hill that never changes, he is thePurusha, he is theNarayana, he is the Lord, he is one with them all.[8] He is pure consciousness, he is the witness of all, he is free from selfishness or the thought of mine, he has no lord.[8]
This liberated wise sage, states the Upanishad, feels "all are myself, and I am all", he sees himself alone everywhere, he is blissful, he feels his uniqueness yet transcendence, he does what he wants to do, ever delighting in himself.[45][8]
TheLaghu-Sannyasa Upanishad attaches an additional chapter before theKundika Upanishad, and it does not include the last entirely poetic Kundika chapter.[11]Laghu- means small, and this prefix differentiates it from the mainBrihat-Sannyasa Upanishad (Brihat- means "great, big").[15][47]
The first extra chapter attached in the Laghu-Sannyasa text is ritual-focused in contrast to the rest. Its opening sentence, statesPatrick Olivelle, does not explicitly state that it is meant for aBrahmin but the style makes it clear that the ritual specified is addressed to a Brahmin on a dying bed, but who has recovered his health.[48] The verses in this extra chapter ask this person, if he resolves to renounce, to first declare his intention to renounce to his friends and family,[note 3] offer oblations to his ancestors, libation on the morning after new moon, then recite hymns from theVedas, such as verses from section 4.1.1 of Atharvaveda:[50]
Rising victorious above heaven and earth, all yonder worlds;
may Brahman, creator of all, kindly grant everyone prosperity.
In the east at first Brahman was born; Vena revealed him from the radiant summit;
Disclosed his forms, the deepest, the most exalted, womb of the existent and the non-existent.
— Chapter 1 of Laghu-Samnyasa Upanishad (missing fromKundika Upanishad),[51]
Thereafter, the Laghu-Sannyasa text continues to the opening lines of theKundika Upanishad.[52]
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