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{{italic title}}{{Short description|Minor Upanishad of Hinduism}}
{{Infobox Upanishad
| image = Vishwaksenacharya.jpg
| caption = A renouncer or sanyasi at a young age
| Devanagari = कुण्डिका
| meaning =
| composition_date =
| Veda = [[Sama Veda]]
| verses = One chapter with 34 verses
| philosophy = [[Vedanta]]
}}
The '''''Kundika Upanishad''''' ({{langx|sa| कुण्डिका उपनिषत्}}, [[IAST]]: Kuṇḍikā Upaniṣad), also known as '''''Kundikopanishad''''', is an ancient text and a minor [[Upanishad]] of [[Hinduism]]. It is one of the 19 [[Sannyasa]] Upanishads,{{Sfn|Knapp|2005|p=17}} and is one of the 16 Upanishads attached to the [[Sama Veda]].{{Sfn|Prasoon|2008|p=84}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=x–xi}}

The text is titled Kundika in surviving Telugu language versions, and notably large parts of it are identical to the ''Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishad'' versions found in some parts of India.

The ''Kundika'' and ''Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishad''s discuss when and how someone may renounce, and the answers it gives are different from those found in other Upanishads such as the ''[[Jabala Upanishad]]''.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1993|pp=117–119}} The text dedicates most of its verses to the lifestyle of the renouncer, and its broad theme centers around renunciation or spiritual enlightenment.{{Sfn|Dalal|2010|p=429}} The text mentions ancient cultural and religious Hindu traditions.{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}}<ref>June McDaniel (2009), Religious Experience in Hindu Tradition, Religion Compass, Volume 3, Issue 1, pages 99–115</ref> 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 on [[Vedanta]] and meditating on [[Brahman]] through [[Om]].{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}} A renouncer, states the ''Kundika Upanishad'', should seek to realize the identity of his soul with the universal soul.{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}}

==Etymology==
Kundika means "water holder"{{Sfn|Ananth|1999|p=182}} or "student's water-pot."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=kuNDikA&script=&direction=SE&link=yes| title=kuNDikA| access-date=8 January 2016|publisher=Spokensanskrit}}</ref>

==Dating and versions==
The text is titled Kundika in surviving Telugu language versions, and notably large parts of it are identical to the ''Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishad'' versions found in some parts of India.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=120–128}}{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=733 with footnote}} The oldest layer of the text was composed before 3rd century CE, likely in the final centuries of the 1st-millennium BCE.{{Sfn|Sprockhoff|1991}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=5, 8–9}}

Text was likely added to it over a long period of time, and numerous recensions were created.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=5, 8–9}} The ''Kundika Upanishad'' survives in very damaged and corrupted versions,{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=733–739}} in Telugu and Sanskrit languages, a few with the title ''Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishad''.{{Sfn|Sprockhoff|1991}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=5, 8–9}}

The Upanishad, in one version, has 34 verses in a single chapter.<ref name=Ramanathan/> In other versions, the text has 28 verses,{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000}} or 5 to 6 chapters with no verse numbers.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=122–128}}{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=733–739}} The text is a mix of prose and metered poetry.

In the Telugu [[anthology]] of 108 Upanishads of the [[Muktika]] canon, narrated by [[Rama]] to [[Hanuman]], the ''Kundika Upanishad'' is listed at number 75.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=556–57}}

==Contents==
{{Quote box
|quote ='''The [[Sannyasa|Sannyasi]]'''
<poem>
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!
</poem>
|source = —''Kundika Upanishad, Chapter 6'' {{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=128}}<ref name=peterheehs86>Peter Heehs (2002), Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual Expression and Experience, New York University Press, {{ISBN|978-0814736500}}, pages 86–87</ref>
|width = 28%
| bgcolor=#FFE0BB
|align = right
}}

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 the [[Jabala Upanishad]].{{Sfn|Olivelle|1993|pp=117–119}} The text dedicates most of its verses to the lifestyle of the renouncer, and its broad theme centers around renunciation or spiritual enlightenment.{{Sfn|Dalal|2010|p=429}} 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.{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}} 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 on [[Vedanta]] and meditating on [[Brahman]] through [[Om]].{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}} He should seek to realize the identity of his soul with the universal soul.{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}}

A few manuscript versions of the Upanishad start and end with general invocations, such as of the [[Shanti Mantra|śānti mantra]].{{refn|group=note|For example, an ''āpyāyantu'', {{Sfn|Parmeshwaranand|2000|p=405}} which is an [[ode]] to [[Brahman]] after its revelation and realization through the study of the Upanishads. Ramanathan translates it as Om! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality; And all the senses grow in strength. All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads. May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me. Let there be no denial at all: Let there be no denial at least from me. May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me, Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me. Om! Let there be Peace in me! Let there be Peace in my environment! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me!<ref name=Ramanathan>{{Cite web |last= Ramanathan |first= A. A. |url= http://www.celextel.org/upanishads/sama_veda/kundika.html |title= ''Kundika Upanishad'' |year= 1978 |access-date= 9 January 2016 |publisher= The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai |archive-date= 27 September 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020153/http://www.celextel.org/upanishads/sama_veda/kundika.html |url-status= dead }}</ref>}}{{refn|group=note|The Ramanathan translation of Kundika and other Samnyasa Upanishads has been reviewed and called "extremely poor and inaccurate" by scholars; see, for example, Olivelle.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=7}}}}

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.<ref name=Ramanathan/>{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=215}}

===When can one renounce?===
The ''Kundika Upanishad'' begins with a preface and notable definition. The first two verses mention a student, who used to take delight in Vedic studies with his [[Guru]] (teacher) but becomes tired of student life, leaves with his teacher's permission.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=122 with footnote 13}}{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=735}} The Upanishad defines this ex-student an ''Ashramin'', a definition that is different than the typically understood meaning for ''Ashramin'' as someone living in an Ashrama (monastic order).{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=122 with footnote 13}}

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 the ''[[Sandhi]]'' rules of Sanskrit.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=123 with footnote 14}}{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=733, 735 with footnotes}}

That ''Ashramin'', 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.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=735}} After this comes renunciation. According to Olivelle, these verses suggest the position recommended by Kundika is that the [[Ashrama (stage)|four life stages]] are to be sequential, with renunciation being the last stage.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=123 with footnote 15}} This position is different than the freedom suggested to anyone in any stage of life, that is recommended in [[Jabala Upanishad]].{{Sfn|Olivelle|1993|pp=117–119}}

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.{{Sfn|Nair|2008|p=Chapter 5}}{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=735–736}}

===The dress and hygiene on the day of initiation===
On the day of initiation, states ''Kundika Upanishad'', after he renounces the fire, he should silently recite the thirty four verses of Atharvaveda section 11.8.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=124 with footnotes}}{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=736–737}}

The renouncer from that day stops shaving the armpits and the pubic hair.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=124 with footnotes}} He has his face and head shaved, and wears ochre-colored clothing.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=124 with footnotes}}

He then leaves.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=124 with footnotes}}

He wanders about homeless.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=verse ॥ ९॥}} He begs and eats what he receives.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=124–125 with footnotes}} 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.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=verse ॥ ९॥}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=124–125 with footnotes}}

===Renouncer's lifestyle===
The third chapter of Upanishad describes the belongings of the renouncer, as follows:{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125 with footnotes}}

{{Quote|
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{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125 with footnotes}}}}

The renouncer's lifestyle is of a wanderer. He begs with a split dry [[gourd]].{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125 with footnotes}} He sleeps in a temple, or on the sandy banks of a river.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=737}} He bathes and cleanses himself. He does not rejoice when others praise him.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125 with footnotes}} He does not curse when others abuse him.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=verses १२ and १३}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125 with footnotes}} This way of life marks his inner victory over his senses, in his journey of renunciation.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=verses १२ and १३}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125 with footnotes}}

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.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=737 with footnotes}}

===Meditation and yoga for the renouncer===
[[File:An Indian monk sadhu sannyasi.jpg|thumb|A sannyasi]]
The ''Kundika Upanishad'' asserts in chapter 4, that the [[Yoga]] (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.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=125–126}} The one who studies, meditates and understands the origins and causes, realizes the [[Brahman]], that which is ageless, immortal, imperishable, indestructible constant.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|p=738}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=126}}{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|p=verse १४}}

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.{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=738 with footnote 1}}

The ''Laghu-Samnyasa Upanishad'' ends here, while the ''Kundika Upanishad'' continues with one additional chapter.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=127}}

===The state of liberated renouncer===
The last chapter of the text is structured entirely as a poem.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}}{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|pp=verses १६ – २८}} This poem has been influential, fragments of it are referenced and appear in [[Advaita Vedanta]] texts such as in verses 495–529 of ''Vivekachudamani'' attributed to [[Adi Shankara]].{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=127 with footnote 35}} 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.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|pp=verses १६ – २८}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=127 with footnote 35}}

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 of [[Maya (illusion)|Maya]] (changing reality, illusion).{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|pp=verses १६ – २८}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}} He feels that his soul is not limited by his body, just like the sky is not limited by a cloud.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}} 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 the [[Purusha]], he is the [[Narayana]], he is the Lord, he is one with them all.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}} He is pure consciousness, he is the witness of all, he is free from selfishness or the thought of mine, he has no lord.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}}

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.{{Sfn|Hattangadi|2000|pp=verses १६ – २८}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=127–128}}

==''Laghu-Sannyasa'' and ''Kundika Upanishads'' overlap==
The ''Laghu-Sannyasa Upanishad'' attaches an additional chapter before the ''Kundika Upanishad'', and it does not include the last entirely poetic Kundika chapter.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=120–128}} ''Laghu-'' means small, and this prefix differentiates it from the main ''Brihat-Sannyasa'' Upanishad (''Brihat-'' means "great, big").{{Sfn|Deussen|Bedekar|Palsule|1997|pp=733–739}}{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=241–256}}

The first extra chapter attached in the Laghu-Sannyasa text is ritual-focused in contrast to the rest. Its opening sentence, states [[Patrick Olivelle]], does not explicitly state that it is meant for a [[Brahmin]] 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.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=120 with footnote 2}} 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,{{refn|group=note|Formal ''Samkalpa'', or prior declaration of intent about major life decisions and major life rituals, before loved ones, is a Vedic tradition; see Olivelle{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=121 with footnote 6}}}} offer oblations to his ancestors, libation on the morning after new moon, then recite hymns from the [[Vedas]], such as verses from section 4.1.1 of Atharvaveda:{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=121–122}}

{{Quote|
<poem>
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.
</poem>
|Chapter 1 of Laghu-Samnyasa Upanishad (missing from ''Kundika Upanishad)''|{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=121}}}}

Thereafter, the Laghu-Sannyasa text continues to the opening lines of the ''Kundika Upanishad''.{{Sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=122}}

==See also==
*''[[Aruneya Upanishad]]''
*''[[Jabala Upanishad]]''
*''[[Paramahamsa Upanishad]]''

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

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

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|last= Ananth |first=Sashikala |title=The Penguin Guide to Vaastu: The Classical Indian Science of Architecture and Design|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zprGgrE662QC&pg=PA182|year=1999|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-027863-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA429|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}}
*{{cite book|last1= Deussen |first1=Paul |last2= Bedekar|first2=V.M. |last3= Palsule |first3=G.B. |title=Sixty Upanishads of the Veda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYepeIGUY0gC&pg=PA757|date=1 January 1997|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1467-7}}
*{{Cite web|url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/kundika.pdf |title= कुण्डिकोपनिषत् (Kundika Upanishad)|access-date=8 January 2016| language = sa|last= Hattangadi| first= Sunder| year= 2000 }}
* {{Citation |last=Knapp |first=Stephen |year=2005 |title=The Heart of Hinduism: The Eastern Path to Freedom, Empowerment and Illumination |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-35075-9}}
*{{cite book|last= Nair |first=Shantha N. |title=Echoes of Ancient Indian Wisdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzFvE0IR7rkC&pg=PT215|year=2008|publisher=Pustak Mahal|isbn=978-81-223-1020-7}}
*{{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195070453}}
*{{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1993|title= The Asrama System|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195083279}}
*{{cite book|last= Parmeshwaranand |first=Swami |title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Upanisads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7PpmaKjLvUC|date=1 January 2000|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-148-8}}
*{{cite book|last= Prasoon |first=Prof.S.K. |title=Indian Scriptures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvmAwVXPKbQC&pg=PT84|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Pustak Mahal|isbn=978-81-223-1007-8}}
*{{cite journal|first=Joachim Friedrich|last=Sprockhoff |year=1991| title=Laghu-Samnyasa-Upanisad und Kundika-Upanisad: Versuch einer deutschen Ubersetzung|journal=Asiatische Studien|volume= 45|pages=107–131| language=de}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Mukhya Upanishads}}

[[Category:Upanishads]]

Kundika Upanishad - Revision history

Lekhachitra963 at 12:31, 7 November 2024