The Mandukya Upanishad is an ancient philosophical text found in the general Brahmana texts of the Atharvaveda. Though short, it delves deeply into the profound spiritual knowledge concerning the Atman (the individual self) and Brahman (the ultimate reality).
This Upanishad primarily focuses on the nature of reality and the relationship between the individual self and the universal consciousness. It expounds upon the concept of the four states of consciousness: waking (jagrat), dreaming (swapna), deep sleep (shushupti), and the fourth state beyond them, known as Turiya, which represents the state of pure consciousness or transcendence.
The Mandukya Upanishad is revered for its concise yet comprehensive exploration of the nature of existence and the essence of consciousness, making it a foundational text in the study of Vedanta and Advaita philosophy.