The Journey In Library · Sacred Texts · No. 11
Three Upanishads: Isha, Kena, Mandukya
The roots of Vedanta, in Sanskrit and plain English with notes
Sanskrit · c. 6th–2nd century BCE · Vedanta
ईशा वास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् ।
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् ॥
īśā vāsyam idaṃ sarvaṃ yat kiñca jagatyāṃ jagat |
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam ||
All this, whatever moves in this moving world, is pervaded by the Lord. Enjoy it by letting go. Do not covet: whose, after all, is wealth?
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From the book
The Upanishads are the philosophical texts that close the Vedas. Their central claim is that the reality behind the world and the self at the core of each person are one and the same.
The Isha opens by asking us to enjoy the world by letting it go. The Kena asks not what we perceive, but what makes perceiving possible at all. The Mandukya, in just twelve verses, describes waking, dreaming and deep sleep, and the awareness present in all three.
What's inside
- About this edition and key terms
- The Isha Upanishad: the Lord who dwells in all (18 verses)
- The Kena Upanishad: by whom? (34 verses)
- The Mandukya Upanishad: Om and the four states (12 verses)
About this edition
The original Sanskrit in Devanagari script, with a new translation into plain, modern English written for The Journey In, and short notes where a verse needs context.