Eight Upanishads, with the Commentary of Sankaracarya, Vol. I

by Adi Shankaracharya (Commentary), Gambhirananda (Translator)

Part 1 of a two-volume set. Volume One covers the Isa, Kena, Katha, and Taittiriya Upanishads. Each verse has the Devanagri Sanskrit, with English translation and commentary, with further commentary by Sankaracarya. Also included is an Index to texts in Devanagri Sanskrit.

Genres: Hinduism, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Nonfiction

427 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1957

About the author

Adi Shankara(788 CE - 820 CE), also known as Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya was an Indian guru from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta. His teachings are based on the unity of the ātman and brahman— non-dual brahman, in which brahman is viewed as nirguna brahman, brahman without attributes.

Shankara travelled across India and other parts of South Asia to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He is reputed to have founded four mathas ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship.

His works in Sanskrit concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of advaita (nondualism). He also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara represented his works as elaborating on ideas found in the Upanishads, and he wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon (Brahma Sutra, principal upanishads and Bhagavad Gita) in support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers arguments against the views of some other schools like Samkhya and certain schools of Buddhism.

AKA Śaṅkarācārya; Śaṃkara; Śaṃkarācārya; Ṣaṅkara Āchārya; Shamkaracharya; Çamkara; Śaṃkara-bhagavat-pāda; Shankara; Çankara; Ādi Śaṅkara; Shankarâchârya; Śaṁkarācharya; Sankara; Shang-chieh-lo; Shangjieluo; Śankaracharya; Adi Sankar; Āticaṅkarācārya Svāmikaḷ; Caṅkarācārya Svāmikaḷ; Adi Sankaracharya; Āticaṅkar; Āticaṅkarācāriyar; Āticaṅkarar; Adi Sankaracarya; Adi Shankaracharya; Camkaracarya

Reviews

[Anmol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This itself is a blessing for me that you brand me as sworn to monism and faced by many who are wedded to plurality. Therefore I shall conquer all; and so I begin the discussion.

This is solely a review of Shankara's commentaries on the 4 Upanishads in this volume, and not on the Upanishads themselves - for who am I to comment on the latter?

Isha Upanishad - 3.5/5

Despite its deceptively short length, the Isha is obviously one of the most perplexing Upanishads, which a reader soon realises. One would expect one of the greatest philosopher-saints of India to bring some clarity here. Having read Sri Aurobindo's far superior work on this Upanishad previously though, Shankara does appear incoherent in comparison.

In the very first verse, Shankara interprets vAsyam to mean "covered", when as per the rules of Sanskrit grammar, the correct interpretation in that context must be "inhabited". Yet Shankara's world-denying Advaita cannot allow for the Lord inhabiting it in as direct a manner as stated in the very first verse of this first Upanishad of the Muktika canon. The Isha Upanishad is best understood as a reconciler of opposite approaches to the divine in one person - Shankara, against the spirit of this, interprets these opposites as applying to different people with different spiritual goals in mind. This makes what is an admittedly confusing, yet deeply rich, Upanishad into something that actually becomes too straightforward such that it can barely be called a principal Upanishad anymore.

Kena Upanishad and Katha Upanishad - 4/5

In comparison, Shankara's commentaries on these two are much more detailed, both in length and complexity, and consequently are a much better reading experience. It is also worth noting that since these 2 Upanishads don't challenge jagat mithya to the extent of the Isha, Shankara is largely acceptable here. He particularly helped me understand some of the difficult verses of the Kena - particularly the one where the student replies "Not that I do not know; I know and do not know as well" - good luck figuring out what that says about the suprarational nature of Brahman without a commentary.

Taittiriya Upanishad - 5/5

It is in this Upanishad, which forms the latter half of this volume, that Shankara truly shines. Here, he effortlessly deals with numerous objections of the "pseudo-Vedantins" and explains this highly mystical/esoteric/symbolic text in a coherent manner that is also entirely consistent with his philosophy. Though I would be interested in knowing what Sri Aurobindo thought about this one, because from my reading, it contains a lot of symbolism similar to that of the Rigveda. It is in the Taittiriya that Shankara's argumentative skill is apparent.

All in all, an obviously fantastic read. Often, there is a tendency among Advaitins to read short poems like the Ashtavakra Gita/Avadhuta Gita/Atma Bodha and think that we know it all (of course, I'm describing myself from a few years ago) and that there is nothing left to be done but soak in nonduality. But this book has helped me engage with Advaita at a deeper level and also recognise its pitfalls. While Advaita itself may be true (whether by itself or qualified, as in Vishishtadvaita or Shuddhadvaita), it really is worth it to question Shankara's (or any other philosophers, for that matter) views on all ancillary aspects and develop apparently minor disagreements with them. Ultimately, this can make our individual experience of nonduality more nuanced.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent foundation to practise unity through diversity. The commentary from Sri Sankaracarya is rich and full. The discussions from each objection unravels the mind and leads the reader to the purport of each sruti.
Having the sanskrit to sound then using the translation gives a fulness to, and never ceases to add new understanding with each read and reflection.

[Shouvik Hore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look no farther, brethren!
The hermit and his hut,
No more may if's, no but's,
Stop ye from knowing- then,
Let worldly doors be shut.

[Tj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent translations with word for word sanskrit-english too, and commentaries by sankara. I reccomment that anyone who wants to read upanishads do it from this or a similar issue.

[Rewa Rishi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains 8 main upnishads imparting knowledge about Brahman.

[Rakesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book to read about the essence of Vedas. Commentary is really eye opening, i personally recommend if anyone is interested in Vedas or Hindu philosophy go for it, and read it once.

[Chayan Roychoudhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translation was good. What I did not like was Sankara's commentary which I can't seem to agree with. His intellectual view of God is little cruel for me to handle. But I found a free version of Aurobindo's translation in the net which was poetic and wrote notes from it beside Gambhirananda's translation. I especially like the Katha Upanishad and most of Isha and Kena.

[Siddharth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authoritative text but not recommended as your first reading of these four Upanishads since it has highly professorial English likely due to being translated sometime in the 1950s, making already dense subject matter not entirely clear for a reader accustomed to the vocabulary of today.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting parts. Interesting to see how he analyzes texts.

[Abhishek Shekhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last chapter in volume 1 is explained beautifully. Compilation is great and objections are as real as they come in mind while reading.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and precise translation. very helpful for any serious Vedanta student.

[PKumar Sachin]

My reflections on the commentary of Sri Sankracarya on Ishopanishad. While I hold Sankracarya to be a great teacher, I will be critical in my assessment of some aspects of his writing.

It is for good reasons that modern Indian thinkers regard Ishopansihad as the pinnacle of Hindu insight. Each verse of this rather short poem is a profound exposition on the nature of the Self and the two paths towards its realization: karma (action) and vidya (knowledge). Sankracarya's commentary powerfully establishes the theoretical difference between karma (treating it in the same category as avidya) and vidya. I have to concede the sheer antitheticality of the two and admit that logically the two cannot be reconciled. Nonetheless, from a practical perspective, it is an indispensable matter to bring the two together and bind them in some kind of relation: perhaps that action is subordinate to knowledge or some relation to that effect. I was surprised by the lack of such a discussion in the commentary. This gap isn't just a matter of theoretical completeness and philosophical rigor. Rather, by not doing so Sankracarya has left a lot of room for practical interpretation regarding just what should be the status of action in human life. Is he saying that once one realizes one's true self, are they to become sanyasis and completely disengage from society at large? I have difficult believing that Sankracarya had this sort of thing in mind. I am simply unconvinced that a thinker for whom Bhagavad Gita is a starting axiom will believe that complete detachment from society is the only prescribed path for an Advaitin. Perhaps it was the social milieu and the zeitgeist of the times that is reflected is this aspect of his thinking. It is to the credit of modern Hindu philosophers such as Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, and Swami Dayanand Saraswati that this gap no longer exists.

[Venkat Krishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Upanishads, being the original and unparalleled texts on non-physical science, cannot be compared or grouped with anything else. This makes them sometimes difficult to understand without some explanation. The commentaries by Adi Shankaracarya on the ten major Upanishads provide the most logical explanation of the Upanishads. This book is the best translation of Adi Shankaracarya's commentary on Isha, Kena, Katha, and Taittiriya, four of the ten major Upanishads.

[Nothing Heretosee · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty hard to follow but i like a chase

[Anindya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book might be a challenge. I would recommend listening to the speeches of Sw. Sarvapriyananada.