मनीषापञ्चकम्
Manīṣāpañcakam
Five verses of considered opinion
Manīṣāpañcakam (Manisha Panchakam) or “Five verses of considered opinion” is a hymn (stotram) composed by Adi Shankara. This article contains the Sanskrit text, along with English translation and word-for-word meaning of the hymn. It also contains a brief commentary, Roman transliteration, prose order in Sanskrit and an audio file containing the chanting of the hymn.
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Sanskrit Text, English Transliteration and English Translation
Sanskrit Text, English Transliteration and English Translation
जाग्रत्स्वप्नसुषुप्तिषु स्फुटतरा या संविदुज्जृम्भते
या ब्रह्मादिपिपीलिकान्ततनुषु प्रोता जगत्साक्षिणी ।
सैवाहं न च दृश्यवस्त्विति दृढप्रज्ञाऽपि यस्यास्ति चे-
च्चाण्डालोsस्तु स तु द्विजोऽस्तु गुरुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ॥१॥
jāgratsvapnasuṣuptiṣu sphuṭatarā yā saṃvidujjṛmbhate
yā brahmādipipīlikāntatanuṣu protā jagatsākṣiṇī |
saivāhaṃ na ca dṛśyavastviti dṛḍhaprajñā’pi yasyāsti ce-
ccāṇḍālosstu sa tu dvijo’stu gururityeṣā manīṣā mama ||1||
1. “I am not the seen object. I am none other than that consciousness that is clearly evident in the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states; that which is the witness of the world and is strung across all bodies, right from Brahma up to the ant” – whoever has such a firm understanding, he is indeed my guru, whether he be of a low-caste or a high-caste. This is my considered opinion.
ब्रह्मैवाहमिदं जगच्च सकलं चिन्मात्रविस्तारितं
सर्वं चैतदविद्यया त्रिगुणयाऽशेषं मया कल्पितम् ।
इत्थं यस्य दृढा मतिः सुखतरे नित्ये परे निर्मले
चाण्डालोऽस्तु स तु द्विजोऽस्तु गुरुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ॥२॥
brahmaivāhamidaṃ jagacca sakalaṃ cinmātravistāritaṃ
sarvaṃ caitadavidyayā triguṇayā’śeṣaṃ mayā kalpitam |
itthaṃ yasya dṛḍhā matiḥ sukhatare nitye pare nirmale
cāṇḍālo’stu sa tu dvijo’stu gururityeṣā manīṣā mama ||2||
2. “I am Brahman alone. This world and everything (in it) is extended in awareness alone. All this, without any remainder, has been fabricated by me, through the three gunas that constitute ignorance” – thus he whose mind is firmly established in the joyous, eternal and pure higher (self), he is indeed my guru, whether he be of a low-caste or a high-caste. This is my considered opinion.
शश्वन्नश्वरमेव विश्वमखिलं निश्चित्य वाचा गुरो-
र्नित्यं ब्रह्म निरन्तरं विमृशता निर्व्याजशान्तात्मना ।
भूतं भावि च दुष्कृतं प्रदहता संविन्मये पावके
प्रारब्धाय समर्पितं स्ववपुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ॥३॥
śaśvannaśvarameva viśvamakhilaṃ niścitya vācā guro-
rnityaṃ brahma nirantaraṃ vimṛśatā nirvyājaśāntātmanā |
bhūtaṃ bhāvi ca duṣkṛtaṃ pradahatā saṃvinmaye pāvake
prārabdhāya samarpitaṃ svavapurityeṣā manīṣā mama ||3||
3. (Such a guru) - whose self is calm and pure, who is always unceasingly pondering upon Brahman, having ascertained with the help of his guru’s teaching that the entire universe is constantly decaying, and having burnt his past and future karmas in the fire of consciousness - he offers his body to the karmas that have fructified in the present birth. This is my considered opinion.
या तिर्यङ्नरदेवताभिरहमित्यन्तः स्फुटा गृह्यते
यद्भासा हृदयाक्षदेहविषया भान्ति स्वतोऽचेतनाः ।
तां भास्यैः पिहितार्कमण्डलनिभां स्फूर्तिं सदा भावय-
न्योगी निर्वृतमानसो हि गुरुरित्येषा मनीषा मम ॥४॥
yā tiryaṅnaradevatābhirahamityantaḥ sphuṭā gṛhyate
yadbhāsā hṛdayākṣadehaviṣayā bhānti svato’cetanāḥ |
tāṃ bhāsyaiḥ pihitārkamaṇḍalanibhāṃ sphūrtiṃ sadā bhāvaya-
nyogī nirvṛtamānaso hi gururityeṣā manīṣā mama ||4||
4. The yogi with a contented mind, who is always contemplating upon that which is clearly taken as “I” by animals, humans and gods - by which light the insentient sense objects of the heart, eyes and body shine, like the disc of the sun – he indeed is my guru. This is my considered opinion.
यत्सौख्याम्बुधिलेशलेशत इमे शक्रादयो निर्वृता
यच्चित्ते नितरां प्रशान्तकलने लब्ध्वा मुनिर्निर्वृतः ।
यस्मिन्नित्यसुखाम्बुधौ गलितधीर्ब्रह्मैव न ब्रह्मवि-
द्यः कश्चित्स सुरेन्द्रवन्दितपदो नूनं मनीषा मम ॥६॥
yatsaukhyāmbudhileśaleśata ime śakrādayo nirvṛtā
yaccitte nitarāṃ praśāntakalane labdhvā munirnirvṛtaḥ |
yasminnityasukhāmbudhau galitadhīrbrahmaiva na brahmavi-
dyaḥ kaścitsa surendravanditapado nūnaṃ manīṣā mama ||6||
5. That ocean of joy, with whose minuscule portion Indra and other gods are contented, that which constantly produces calmness in the mind; having gained which the sage is contented – one whose mind is immersed in that eternal ocean of joy is not just the knower of Brahman, but he is verily Brahman indeed. Whoever he may be, his feet are worthy to be worshiped by Indra (the king of Gods) indeed. This is my considered opinion.
Manīṣāpañcakam (Manisha Panchakam) or “Five verses of considered opinion” is a hymn (stotram) composed by Adi Shankara, and consists of 5 verses (ślokas) that describe the characteristics of a liberated person.
Popular belief about the origin of this hymn
In the first two verses, Adi Shankara emphasises that even a person born in a low caste is worthy of being a guru, if he is a self-realized person. To exemplify a low-caste person, Adi Shankara uses the specific example of someone belonging to the Chandala caste (or tribe) which was considered to be one of the lowest castes. A Chandala was considered as an untouchable, i.e., someone who should not be touched by a higher caste person. In earlier days, if a higher caste person’s body inadvertently scraped against such an untouchable, the higher caste person would be considered to have become contaminated, and needed to take a bath (to remove the contamination) before resuming normal activities.
Perhaps because of the specific usage of the word Chandala, there is a popular belief about the origin of this hymn. It is said that once Adi Shankara was walking on the narrow streets of Kashi (modern day Varanasi), after having bathed in the sacred river Ganga, when he saw a Chandala approaching from the opposite direction. Adi Shankara asked the Chandala to move away, in order to avoid contact. In reply, the Chandala asked certain questions, which pointed out the divergence between Adi Shankara’s philosophy (that of non-duality) and practise (the notion of untouchability, based on duality). Adi Shankara, realized that this was no ordinary Chandala (again, according to popular belief, Lord Shiva himself had appeared in the form of a Chandala to teach an important life-lesson). Adi Shankara then composed the five verses of Manisha Panchakam as a reply to the Chandala’s questions. Whether such an incident actually occurred is irrelevant for a true seeker – in fact such futile enquiry only tends to distract the sincere seeker into dwelling upon the greatness of Adi Shankara, instead of focusing on what he is actually trying to say – i.e, caste is not a barrier for self-realization. The sheer brilliance and undeniable greatness of Adi Shankara is self-evident from his compositions, and the huge impact on the Indian society that survives to this day; it does not require one more anecdote to buttress it.
Meaning of “manisha”
Each verse of this hymn ends with the words “manisha mama” (meaning, “this is my manisha” ), and hence this hymn is titled Manisha Panchakam.
The word “manisha” in Sanskrit can be translated as “thought, reflection, consideration, wisdom, intelligence, conception, idea, etc.” Essentially it denotes a conclusive opinion that has been arrived at after much thought and reflection.
It also denotes a certain level of conviction. The word “manisha” is derived from two root words – “manas” (mind) and “isha” (to go). Thus it indicates the natural conclusion that the mind arrives at.
In this article, the word “Manisha” has been translated as “considered opinion”.
Verse 1:Connected Consciousness
In the first verse, the hymn addresses the most important aspect of the true self – that of consciousness or awareness. This consciousness is omnipresent. It is present in the individual at all times – whether he is awake, or in a dream state, or in deep sleep state. Even in the deep sleep state - when mind and memory are completely at rest – the awareness exists. We know this, because after waking up, the person says “I slept well”, which means that there is some aspect which is aware of the fact that he slept well. Similarly, this consciousness is present in all living beings - right from the most exalted being (Brahma or the “lord of creation”) up to the tiny ant. In fact, this consciousness present in various living beings is mistaken to be separate in each being, thus resulting in the concept of the individual soul. But a truly realized person knows that it is only a single consciousness that is strung across all living beings. It is akin to the single electricity that expresses itself as light in a light bulb, as heat in a water heater, as cold in a refrigerator, as sound in a radio, as colour in a television, as movement in an electric vehicle, etc. So, Adi Shankara says, whoever identifies with that consciousness that is ever-present in all living beings is worthy of being his guru.
Verse 2: Fabricated Universe
Once a person is convinced that he is none other than the omnipresent consciousness (verse 1), he then has to account for the existence of the external world. It appears that there is an enormous variety and multiplicity of objects in the universe, and the individual self is only one minuscule fraction of the whole.
In the second verse, the hymn addresses the reality (or, to be more accurate, the non-reality) of the external world. A self-realized person knows “I am not in the universe. In fact, the universe is in me”. At first this may sound like a strange statement. But let us take the example of the dream experience to understand this statement. Suppose I have a dream where I am walking in a forest on a mountain, when I am attacked by a tiger which is about to kill me. On waking up, I find that I am in the comfort of my bed. Now where did all these objects of my dream exist during the dream? These various objects of the dream – the inert and immovable mountain, the living but immovable trees, the living and moving tiger and the “me” of my dream – they are arose in me, were sustained in me, and then disappeared into me. If we carefully analyse our dream experience, it is quite logical to conclude that even the waking state is quite similar to the dream state. The waking state may have a slightly higher “reality quotient”, but ultimately all external people, objects and experiences are all “cognized” within the individual self.
Thus in the second verse, Adi Shankara says that a person who is worthy of being a guru knows that the entire universe is in himself (i.e., in consciousness), and the external objects are merely projected due to primordial ignorance (maya) which is of the nature of the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas).
Verse 3: Coping with Karma
When the self-realized person has understood that he is consciousness (verse 1) and that the externality of the universe is a false projection (verse 2), then the question arises – “what am I (the individual self) doing here in this universe?”. Therefore, in the third verse, the hymn delves into the liberated person’s attitude towards karma.
According to the theory of karma, the reason for the (illusory) cycle of birth-death-rebirth are the “residual tendencies” (vasanas) that the individual soul (jeevatma) acquires in each birth. As the individual soul interacts with the projected external world, certain powerful desires and aversions arise. If the mind identifies strongly with such desires and aversions, then they create certain impressions(vasanas), which are carried forward to future births. These impressions manifest as the inborn tendencies of the new-born individual. Such impressions can be easily discerned in extreme cases, when they manifest as various “manias” and “phobias” that cannot be logically explained based on the events of the present life. These accumulated impressions are referred to as karma, and karma is the reason for the rebirth of the individual soul. In each birth, the jeevatma exhausts some of the accumulated karma and also adds some new karma to the accumulation.
Karmas are divided into three categories:
1. Sanchita karma: This refers to the net total accumulated karma (i.e., “accrued karma” minus “exhausted karma”) till the end of one’s previous birth.
2. Prarabhdha karma: This is a portion of the sanchita karma that has been earmarked for exhaustion in one’s current birth. This decides the parameters related to the physical, mental, intellectual, and situational (space, time, family, friends and relatives) context of one’s present birth.
3. Agami karma: This is the balance karma that will remain at the end of one’s current birth, that needs to be exhausted in future births.
A self-realized person transcends the bondage of the individual soul. He dis-identifies from the status of jeevatma (individual soul) and realizes that he is indeed paramatma (universal soul or the omnipresent consciousness). At this point, the bonds of sanchita karma and agami karma are cut asunder and they will no longer affect him. This phenomenon is commonly explained using the example of the roasted seed. A normal seed, when planted in fertile soil and cultivated properly, has the ability to grow into a plant, which in turn can produce many more seeds. However, when that seed is roasted, it loses its ability to germinate and sprout. Similarly, the sanchita and agami karmas, when roasted in the heat of self-knowledge, lose their power to generate future births for the jeevatma. However, the prarabhdha karma, which is the fructified karma for the current birth cannot be avoided and has to be endured till the end of the current birth. This is similar to the plant whose seeds may be roasted, but the plant itself will continue to live till the end of its current life.
Thus Adi Shankara says that a person worthy of being a guru is one who “having burnt his past (i.e., sanchita) and future (i.e., agami) karmas in the fire of consciousness, he offers his body to the karmas that have fructified in the present birth (i.e., prarabhdha karma)”.
Verse 4: Light of all lights
Having realized the truth about the self (verse 1), the world (verse 2) and the false bondage of karma (verse 3), then the question arises - what exactly does a liberated person do with the rest of his life, after self-realization? In verse 4, the hymn provides some clarifications.
Firstly, with self-realization comes contentment – there is nothing more that I need, since I am everything. Secondly, there is constant contemplation upon and identification with the oneness of the self in all beings – whether it a human being, or a lower being (animal) or a higher being (god). There is one single (non-dual) consciousness that is self-luminous, and everything else is illuminated by that consciousness. Thus, the inert body-mind-intellect complex (made up of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, and phosphorus) appears as though sentient, only because it derives the sentience from that non-dual consciousness. It is like the non-luminous filament of an electric bulb, that appears luminous only because it derives its luminosity from electricity.
Therefore Adi Shankara says, one who is worthy of being a guru is always contemplating on the “I” which is present in all beings – the light behind all lights.
Verse 5: Ocean of Joy
In the fifth and final verse, the hymn describes the benefit of self-realization. The real self is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Here, existence, consciousness and bliss are not three different properties of the same self, because the Upanishads clearly state that the real self (referred to as atman or Brahman) does not have any properties whatsoever (nirguna). What it means is that Consciousness itself is Existence, which itself is Bliss. Thus when false superimpositions of individuality, gender, caste, birth, etc. disappear due to self-realization, the blissful nature of the self will shine through - just as the brilliance of the sun shines through when the clouds that cover it disappear. This bliss is of such unimaginable proportion that even the joy experienced by the gods is only a minuscule portion of the bliss of the real self (atmannanda or brahmananda).
Split-sandhis, Prose Order and Word-for-word Meaning
Verse-1
जाग्रत्-स्वप्न-सुषुप्तिषु स्फुटतरा या संवित्-उज्जृम्भते
या ब्रह्म-आदि-पिपीलिका-अन्त-तनुषु प्रोता जगत्-साक्षिणी ।
सा-एव-अहं न च दृश्य-वस्तु-इति दृढ-प्रज्ञा-अपि यस्य-अस्ति चेत्
चाण्डालः-अस्तु सः द्विजः-अस्तु गुरुः-इति-एषा मनीषा मम ॥१॥
“या संवित् जाग्रत्-स्वप्न-सुषुप्तिषु स्फुटतरा उज्जृम्भते, या जगत्-साक्षिणी ब्रह्म-आदि पिपीलिका-अन्त तनुषु प्रोता, सा एव अहं । न च दृश्य-वस्तु ॥” इति दृढ प्रज्ञा यस्य अपि अस्ति चेत्, सः तु चाण्डालः अस्तु द्विजः-अस्तु, गुरुः इति एषा मनीषा मम ॥
या that which संवित् consciousness जाग्रत्-स्वप्न-सुषुप्तिषु in waking, dreaming and deep sleep states स्फुटतरा clearly उज्जृम्भते becomes visble (is evident) या that which जगत्-साक्षिणी witness of the world ब्रह्म-आदि beginning with Brahma पिपीलिका-अन्त up to the ant तनुषु in the bodies प्रोता strung (i.e., connects) सा that एव alone अहं I am न not च and दृश्य-वस्तु the seen object इति thus दृढ firm प्रज्ञा understanding यस्य अपि of whomever अस्ति चेत् if present सः he तु indeed चाण्डालः a low-caste अस्तु may be द्विजः a high-caste अस्तु may be गुरुः guru इति thus एषा this मनीषा considered opinion मम mine
Verse-2
ब्रह्म-एव-अहम्-इदं जगत्-च सकलं चित्-मात्र-विस्तारितं
सर्वं च-एतत्-अविद्यया त्रिगुणया-अशेषं मया कल्पितम् ।
इत्थं यस्य दृढा मतिः सुखतरे नित्ये परे निर्मले
चाण्डालः अस्तु द्विजः-अस्तु, गुरुः इति एषा मनीषा मम ॥२॥
“अहं ब्रह्म एव । इदं जगत् च सकलं चित्-मात्र-विस्तारितं । मया एतत् अशेषं सर्वं च त्रिगुणया अविद्यया कल्पितम् ॥” इत्थं यस्य दृढा मतिः सुखतरे नित्ये परे निर्मले, सः तु चाण्डालः अस्तु द्विजः-अस्तु, गुरुः इति एषा मनीषा मम ॥
अहं I am ब्रह्म Brahman एव alone इदं this जगत् world च and सकलं everything चित्-मात्र-विस्तारितं is extended in awareness alone मया by me एतत् this अशेषं without any remainder (i.e., entirely) सर्वं everything च and त्रिगुणया by the three gunas अविद्यया by ignorance (Maya) कल्पितम् fabricated इत्थं thus यस्य whose दृढा firm मतिः opinion सुखतरे in the joyous नित्ये in the eternal परे in the higher निर्मले in the pure सः he तु indeed चाण्डालः a low-caste अस्तु may be द्विजः a high-caste अस्तु may be गुरुः guru इति thus एषा this मनीषा considered opinion मम mine
Verse-3
शश्वत्-नश्वरम्-एव विश्वम्-अखिलं निश्चित्य वाचा गुरोः
नित्यं ब्रह्म निरन्तरं विमृशता निर्व्याज-शान्त-आत्मना ।
भूतं भावि च दुष्कृतं प्रदहता संविन्मये पावके
प्रारब्धाय समर्पितं स्व-वपुः-इति-एषा मनीषा मम ॥३॥
“अखिलं विश्वम् शश्वत्-नश्वरम् एव” (इति) गुरोः वाचा निश्चित्य, नित्यं निरन्तरं ब्रह्म विमृशता निर्व्याज-शान्त-आत्मना, भूतं भावि च दुष्कृतं संविन्मये पावके प्रदहता, स्व-वपुः प्रारब्धाय समर्पितं इति एषा मनीषा मम ॥
अखिलं entire विश्वम् universe शश्वत्-नश्वरम् constantly decaying एव only (इति) this गुरोः guru’s वाचा through speech निश्चित्य having ascertained नित्यं eternally निरन्तरं without cessation ब्रह्म Brahman विमृशता by the pondering निर्व्याज-शान्त-आत्मना by one whose self is pure and calm भूतं the past भावि the future च and दुष्कृतं sins संविन्मये पावके in the fire of consciousness स्व-वपुः one’s own body प्रदहता by the burner प्रारब्धाय for the present समर्पितं offered इति thus एषा this मनीषा considered opinion मम mine
Verse-4
या तिर्यक्-नर-देवताभिः-अहम्-इति-अन्तः स्फुटा गृह्यते
यत्-भासा हृदय-अक्ष-देह-विषया भान्ति स्वतः-अचेतनाः ।
तां भास्यैः पिहित-अर्क-मण्डल-निभां स्फूर्तिं सदा भावयन्
योगी निर्वृत-मानसः हि गुरुः-इति-एषा मनीषा मम ॥४॥
या तिर्यक्-नर-देवताभिः “अहम्” इति अन्तः स्फुटा गृह्यते, स्वतः अचेतनाः हृदय-अक्ष-देह-विषयाः यत् भासा भान्ति, भास्यैः पिहित-अर्क-मण्डल-निभां तां स्फूर्तिं सदा भावयन् निर्वृत-मानसः योगी हि गुरुः इति एषा मनीषा मम ॥
या that which तिर्यक्-नर-देवताभिः by the animals, humans and gods “अहम्” I इति this अन्तः within स्फुटा clearly गृह्यते is taken स्वतः by itself अचेतनाः insentient हृदय-अक्ष-देह-विषयाः sense objects of the heart, eyes and body यत् भासा by whose light भान्ति shine भास्यैः by the shining पिहित-अर्क-मण्डल-निभां like the disc of the sun तां that स्फूर्तिं throbbing सदा always भावयन् contemplating निर्वृत-मानसः one with a contented mind योगी yogi हि indeed गुरुः guru इति thus एषा this मनीषा considered opinion मम mine
Verse-5
यत्-सौख्य-अम्बुधि-लेश-लेशत इमे शक्र-आदयः निर्वृता
यत्-चित्ते नितरां प्रशान्त-कलने लब्ध्वा मुनिः-निर्वृतः ।
यस्मिन्-नित्य-सुख-अम्बुधौ गलित-धीः-ब्रह्म-एव न ब्रह्मवित्
यः कश्चित्-सः सुरेन्द्र-वन्दित-पदः नूनं मनीषा मम ॥५॥
यत् सौख्य-अम्बुधि लेश-लेशत इमे शक्र-आदयः निर्वृताः, यत् चित्ते नितरां प्रशान्त-कलने लब्ध्वा मुनिः निर्वृतः, यस्मिन् नित्य-सुख-अम्बुधौ गलित धीः ब्रह्म एव न ब्रह्मवित्, यः कश्चित् सः सुरेन्द्र-वन्दित-पदः नूनं मनीषा मम ॥
यत् which सौख्य-अम्बुधि ocean of joy लेश-लेशत very very slightly इमे these शक्र-आदयः Indra and other gods निर्वृताः are contented यत् which चित्ते in the mind नितरां constantly प्रशान्त-कलने in producer of calmness लब्ध्वा having gained मुनिः the sage निर्वृतः is contented यस्मिन् in which नित्य-सुख-अम्बुधौ eternal ocean of joy गलित immersed धीः mind ब्रह्म Brahman एव alone न not ब्रह्मवित् knower of Brahman यः कश्चित् whosoever सः he सुरेन्द्र-वन्दित-पदः whose feet are worthy to be worshiped by Indra (the king of Gods) नूनं indeed मनीषा considered opinion मम mine
Prosody (Chandas)
Manīṣāpañcakam is composed in the Śārdūlavikrīḍita chandaḥ (metre), which consists of 19 syllables in each pāda (quarter), with the heavy (guru) and light (laghu) syllables arranged as follows:
--- UU- U-U UU- --U --U -
Notation:
-denotes guru (heavy) syllable
U denotes laghu (light) syllable
The pause (yati) is after the 12th syllable of each pāda
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