केनोपनिषत् (व्याख्याचतुष्टयोपेता)- Kenopanishat with Pratipadarthadipika Praksika Ananda and Subodhini Commentaries (An Old and Rare Book)

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Of the many programmes undertaken by the Academy of Sanskrit Research, the one which has progressed substantially is the Project on the Upanishads. Kannada editions of two Upanishads have already been published. The present volume is the first of the editions in Sanskrit. The Project covers the publication of a series which would encompass the major Upanishads.

Upanishads are a vast storehouse of insightful, spiritual knowledge and rank high in Indian literature, and indeed in world literature. Profound philosophical principles are deeply embedded in them and to understand their hidden meaning is indeed a daunting pursuit. The texts are beautifully constructed in orderly poetry, but as in the case of a Pharaon Pyramid in Egypt, the enchantment of the structure belies the difficulty of probing the contents within. The great Acharyas had the intellectual and spiritual power to delve into the true meaning of the Upanishads, and their Bhashyas lead us by the hand, as it were, into the hidden mysteries. These Bhashyas are a valuable part of our heritage and they cannot be disseminated wide enough or often enough.

The Upanishad Project of the Academy is an attempt to provide a rigorous presentation of the vast stream of spiritual thought in the Upanishads, as interpreted in the Bhashyas, through publications in Kannada, English and also in the original Sanskrit. The present edition gives, along with the main text, the authoritative text of the Bhashyas in the original Sanskrit, supplemented by the Academy's own commentary wherever necessary. The commentaries presented herein belong to. or are allied with, the school of philosophy propounded by Acharya Ramanuja. This is the first time that the four main commentaries of the school have been brought together in one volume. It is hoped that thereby comparative research between different schools of interpretation of the Upanishad will be facilitated.

We cannot understand the deep-seated philosophical truths in the Upanishad without the compassionate intervention of the Brahman which is an intervention mediated by Brahman's inseparable associate, Mahalakshmi. Indeed even the Devas themselves cannot attain this understanding without that help. The Kenopanishad conveys this profound insight as a story within a story. The belief that the deepest knowledge of spiritual truth can be attained by one's own exertions is a sign of one's egotism. The realisation that such knowledge is beyond the frontier of the human mind is the sign of a truly knowledgeable person. Such and similar lessons are found in this Upanishad. Spiritual truths will be revealed by the Brahman through a self-generated desire to uplift society. When such kindness becomes available we should have the awareness not to turn away from it but to receive and enjoy it, and also to spread the knowledge in society. This is one of the significant messages of the Kenopanishad.

Suppressing egotism in the individual promotes peace and equanimity in society. The Upanishad has presented deepseated principles aimed at the former. This is a notable illustration of the concern that the Upanishads in general have towards the latter.

This edition of Kenopanishad represents a pioneering effort of the Academy in utilising modern technology for its publications. The text has been composed on a phototype setter with the active participation of the scholar writers. With this experience the Academy hopes to move towards rapid, modern means of printing and publication.

The Government of India and the Government of Karnataka have taken an abiding interest in the Academy. The Academy gratefully acknowledges the munificent support given by them to all its endeavours.

Sri M. B. Parthasarathy lyengar, the leader of the project for the Critical Editions of the Upanishads and all members of his team have worked with deep devotion and excellent scholarship to prepare this edition. The Academy is grateful to them.

KENOPANISHAD derives its name by the opening word "KENA" i.e., 'by whom?". The question from whence the life principle (Prana), mind (Manas) and the five senses (Indriyas) derive their individual capacities has been answered in this beautiful Upanishad, thereby explaining the role of the Supreme Self (Parabrahman) as the prime cause of all knowledge.

The text of the Upanishad is presented along with the available four commentaries highlighting the view-point of Vishishtadvaita philosophy in this volume for the first time. They are i. Pratipadartha Dipika of Sribhashyam Ramanujacharya ii. Prakashika of Rangaramanujamuni iii. Anandabhashya of Ramananda and iv. Subodhini of Gopalananda. Since a long time, the first three commentatries have not been available in the market. Hence, the Academy has brought out this volume as its maiden effort in its scheme of publishing major Upanishads with all the available Vishishtadvaitic commentaries. It is hoped that the present work will facilitate an indepth study of Kenopanishad in the light of Vishishtadvaita philosophy.

The book opens with a scholarly introduction followed by the text of the Upanishad in full. The word by word meaning and purport of each passage (Manthra) are given next. This is followed by the texts of different commentaries pertaining to each passage. Variant readings and explanations to difficult words and phrases, wherever needed, are provided in the foot-notes. Titles and sub-titles are also provided to facilitate easy comprehension of the text.

Elaborate and analytical information is provided in the following appendices. They are: i. Index of Manthras ii. Index of quotations iii. Index of words having a number of meanings in different contexts as explained by various commentators iv. List of names used to denote the Supreme Self (Parabrahman). v. List of names used to denote various deities vi. Essence of Kenopanishad in five verses in Sanskrit vii. Lifę sketches of the commentators viii. Life sketches of authors quoted by commentators ix. Index of passages from Kenopanishad with explanations found in other Vedantic texts and x. Bibliography. It is hoped that the present edition will satisfy the needs of the traditional Pandits, modern scholars and the serious students of philosophy.

Our thanks are due to the project leader Sri. M.B. Parthasarathy lyengar and his team of scholars, whose efforts have culminated in the pressent form of this volume. The President of the Academy evinced keen interest in publishing this volume in Sanskrit by phototypesetting process, on an experimental basis. This has been educative to the publisher and to the typesetting firm as well, since this is a maiden attempt for both parties. This experience has emboldened the Academy to embark on purchasing an electronic typesetting equipment to facilitate its publication projects in Sanskrit and English. Our respectful thanks are due to the President Sri. M.A.S. Rajan, for ably leading the Academy into the electronic era. We express our humble thanks to the Secretary and the other members of the Managing Committee for their individual involvement and continued support in all the activities of the Academy. We are also grateful to the members of the Scrutiny Committee viz., Vidwans K.S. Varadachar, N.S. Anantharangachar, N.S. Ramanujatatachariar and S.N.C. Raghunathacharya who offered their valuable suggestions in preparing the manuscript. We also thank other scholars who have striven hard directly or indirectly to produce this first publication of the Upanishad Project in Sanskrit.

Our thanks are due to M/s. VC Tronics of Sree Ambika Power Press, of Bangalore-1, for their photocomposing service on behalf of M/s. Electronic Technology Company Pvt. Ltd., and M/s. Kanthi Offset Printers, Bangalore-4, for their printing service. We offer our sincere thanks to the Government of Karnataka and Government of India for financing the activities of the Academy.

The Readers are requested to offer their valuable suggestions for further improvement of this volume.