Mandukya Upanishad and Karika

The Mandukya Upanishad is an important Upanishad, particularly to its Advaita Vedanta school. It succinctly presents several central doctrines, namely that "the universe is Brahman," "the Self (Atma) exists and is Brahman," and "the four states of consciousness". The Mandukya Upanishad, the shortest of all, also presents several theories about the syllable Aum, and that it symbolizes self. It is in prose, consisting of twelve short verses, and is associated with a Rig Vedic school of scholars and is assigned to Atharvaveda.

One of the first known extant metrical commentary on this Upanishad was written by Gaudapada, This commentary, called the Māndūkya-kārikā, is the earliest known systematic exposition of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara, a disciple of Govinda Bhagavatpada who himself was either a direct disciple of Gaudapada, further made commentaries on Gaudapada Mandukya karika, Mandukya Upanishad forms one of the basis of Advaita Vedanta as expounded by Adi Shankara.