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New page: Image:lighterstill.jpg The '''Upanishads''' (Devanagari: उपनिषद्,: upaniṣad, also spelled "Upanisad") are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings o...
[[Image:lighterstill.jpg]]
The '''Upanishads''' (Devanagari: उपनिषद्,: upaniṣad, also spelled "Upanisad") are [[Hindu]] [[scriptures]] that constitute the core teachings of [[Vedanta]]. They do not belong to any particular period of [[Sanskrit]] [[literature]]: the oldest, such as the [[Brhadaranyaka]] and [[Chandogya]] Upanishads, date to the late [[Brahmana]] period (around the middle of the first millennium BCE), while the latest were composed in the medieval and early modern period. The Upanishads realize monist [[idea]]s, some of which were hinted at in the earlier [[text]]s, and they have exerted an important influence on the rest of Hindu and Indian [[philosophy]], and are considered one of the 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written.
The philosopher and commentator [[Shankara]] is thought to have composed commentaries on eleven mukhya or principal Upanishads, those that are generally regarded as the oldest, spanning the late Vedic and Mauryan periods. The Muktika Upanishad (predates 1656) contains a list of 108 canonical Upanishads.
==Etymology==
The [[Sanskrit]] term ''upaniṣad'' derives from ''upa-'' (nearby), ''ni-'' (at the proper place, down) and ''sad'', that is "sitting down near" a teacher in order to receive instruction- "laying siege" to the teacher, as Schayer puts it. Monier-Williams adds that "according to native authorities ''upanishad'' means 'setting to rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit');..." [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0200/mw__0234.html] A gloss of the term ''upaniṣad'' based on [[Shankara]]'s commentary on the Katha Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishads equates it with ''Ātmavidyā'', that is "knowledge of the [[Atman]]", or ''Brahmavidyā'' "knowledge of Brahma". Other dictionary meanings include "esoteric doctrine" and "secret doctrine".
==Philosophy==
The Upanishads speak of a universal spirit '''(Brahman)''' and an individual soul, '''(Atman)''' and at times assert the [[identity]] of both. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The mystical [[nature]] and intense philosophical bent of the Upanishads has led to their explication in numerous [[manner]]s, giving birth to three main schools of [[Vedanta]]. [[Shankara]]'s [[exegesis]] of the Upanishads does not describe Brahman as the God in a monotheistic sense; he ascribes to it no limiting characteristics, not even those of [[being]] and non-being. Thus, Shankara's philosophy is named [[advaita]], "not two" as opposed to [[dvaita]], founded by [[Madhvacharya]], which holds that Brahman is ultimately a personal God, to be aligned with [[Vishnu]], or [[Krishna]] (''brahmano hi pratisthaham'', ''I am the Foundation of Brahman'' [[Bhagavad Gita]] 14.27). The third major school of Vedanta is [[Vishishtadvaita]], founded by [[Ramanuja]]charya and it has some aspects in common with the other two.
The ninth chapter of the ''[[Taittiriya Upanishad]]'' says:
::''He who knows the Bliss of Brahman (divine consciousness)... does not distress himself with the thought "why did I not do what is good? why did I do what is evil?". Whoever knows this (bliss) regards both of these as Atman (self, soul), indeed he cherishes both as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman.
The key phrase of the Upanishads, to [[Advaita Vedanta]], is तत् त्वं अिस "Tat Tvam Asi" (That thou art). Vedantins believe that in the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize it through discrimination. (However, interpretations of this phrase differ.) Verses 6, 7 & 8 of [[Isha Upanishad]]:
::::''Whoever sees all beings in the soul and the soul in all beings...What delusion or sorrow is there for one who sees unity?<br>It has filled all. It is radiant, incorporeal, invulnerable...Wise, intelligent, encompassing, self-existent,..It organizes objects throughout eternity.
The Upanishads also contain the first and most definitive explications of the divine syllable [[Aum]] or OM, the cosmic vibration that underlies all existence. The mantra "''Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti''" (the soundless sound, peace, peace, peace) is often found in the Upanishads. Devotion to God is foreshadowed in Upanishadic [[literature]], and was later realized by texts such as the Bhagavad Gita.
==List of Upanishads==
==="Principal" Upanishads===
The following list includes the eleven "principal" (''mukhya'') Upanishads commented upon[http://www.cs.memphis.edu/~ramamurt/u_intro1.html#NDAUTHOR] by [[Shankara]], and accepted as [[shruti]] by most Hindus. Each is associated with one of the four Vedas ([[Rigveda]] (ṚV), [[Samaveda]] (SV), [[White Yajurveda]] (ŚYV), [[Black Yajurveda]] (KYV), [[Atharvaveda]] (AV));
# [[Aitareya]] ṚV)
# [[Bṛhadāraṇyaka]] (ŚYV)
# [[Taittiriya Upanishad]] (KYV)
# [[Chāndogya]] (SV)
# [[Kenopanishad Kena]] (SV)
# [[Isha Upanishad]] Īṣa (ŚYV)
# [[Śvetāśvatara]] (KYV)
# [[Kaṭha]] (KYV)
# [[Muṇḍaka]] (AV)
# [[Māṇḍūkya]] (AV)
# [[Praśna]] (AV)
The [[Kauśītāki]] and [[Maitrāyaṇi]] Upanishads are sometimes added. All these date from before the [[Common Era]]. From [[linguistics|linguistic]] evidence, the oldest among them are the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upanishads. The Jaiminīya Upaniṣadbrāhmaṇa, belonging to the late Vedic Sanskrit period, may also be included. Of nearly the same age are the Aitareya, Kauṣītaki and Taittirīya Upaniṣads, while the remnant date from the time of transition from Vedic to Classical Sanskrit.
The older Upanishads are associated with Vedic Charanas, Shakhas or schools; the Aitareya and [[Kauśītāki]] Upanishads with the Shakala shakha, the Chāndogya Upanishad with the Kauthuma shakha, the Kena Upanishad with the [[Jaiminiya]] shakha, the Kaṭha Upanishad with the Caraka-Katha shakha, the Taittirīya and [[Śvetāśvatara]] Upanishads with the [[Taittiriya]] shakha, the Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad with the Maitrayani shakha, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Īṣa Upanishads with the Vajasaneyi Madhyandina shakha, and the Māṇḍūkya and Muṇḍaka Upanishads with the [[Shaunaka]] shakha.
In the Muktika Upanishad's list of 108 Upanishads the first 10 are grouped as ''mukhya'' "principal". 21 are grouped as Sāmānya Vedānta "common [[Vedanta]]", 23 as Sannyāsa, 9 as Shākta, 13 as Vaishnava, 14 as Shaiva and 17 as [[Yoga]] Upanishads. [http://www.vedah.com/org/literature/upanishads/108Upanishads.asp] [http://www.egr.msu.edu/~sundare2/mantra-sangraha/MuktikaUpanishad.pdf]
===Shakta Upanishads===
Later Upanisads are often highly sectarian: this was "one of the strategies used by sectarian movements to legitimate their own texts through granting them the nominal status of ''Śruti''." For the most part, the canonical Shakta Upanishads are sectarian tracts reflecting doctrinal and interpretative differences between the two principal sects of Srividya upasana (a major [[Tantric]] form of Shaktism). As a result, the many extant listings of "authentic" Shakta Upanisads vary in content, reflecting the sectarian bias of their compilers:
<blockquote>
"Past efforts to construct lists of [[Shaktism|Shakta]] Upanisads have left us no closer to ''understanding either their 'location' in Tantric tradition or their place within the Vedic corpus. [...] At stake for the Tantric is not the authority of ''[[sruti]]'' per se, which remains largely undisputed, but rather its correct interpretation. For non-Tantrics, [it ''is'' a text's] Tantric contents that brings into question its identity as an Upanisad. At issue is the text's classification as ''sruti'' and thus its inherent authority as ''Veda''."''
</blockquote>
Of the texts listed in the [[Muktika]] Upanishad nine are classified as Shakta Upanishads:
# ''Sītā'' (AV)
# ''Annapūrṇa'' (AV)
# ''Devī'' (AV)
# ''Tripurātapani'' (AV)
# ''Tripura'' (RV)
# ''Bhāvana'' (AV)
# ''Saubhāgya'' (RV)
# ''Sarasvatīrahasya'' (KYV)
# ''Bahvṛca'' (RV)
The list excludes several notable and widely used Shakta Upanisads, including the ''Kaula Upaniṣad'', the ''Śrīvidyā Upaniṣad'' and the ''Śrichakra Upaniṣad''.
==Renown outside of India==
The [[Vedas]] became known outside of India when the Upanishads were translated from [[Sanskrit]]. At first, they were translated into Persian. This was done as a result of Emperor Akbar's liberal religious attitude. (Parts of this account are taken from the Introduction to [[Max Müller]]'s ''The Upaniṣads}}'', Part I.) The prince Shah Jehan, who was influenced by the Emperor and shared Akbar's viewpoint, had an eldest son named Dara Shikoh. Shikoh was, like his father, a liberal [[Muslim]] and wrote a book that attempted to reconcile [[Islam]] with [[Hinduism]]. In 1640, Dara Shikoh visited Kashmir and met pandits, who told him about the Upanishads. Later, he invited pandits from Benares to come to Delhi, which was under Mughal control, in order to assist him in translating the ''Upanishads''. In 1657, the translation of the ''Upanishads'' into Persian was completed. In his translation, known by the name ''Sirr-e-Akbar'' (The Greatest Mystery), he states at the Introduction that the work referred to in the [[Qur'an]] as the "''Kitab al-maknun''" or the ''hidden book'' is none other than the Upanishads. Two years later, in 1659, his brother Aurangzib, who was a strict Muslim, had him executed under the [[Sharia]] law as an apostate from Islam. This may have been a pretext, because Shikoh had been the eldest son and Aurangzib ascended the throne after Shikoh's execution.;the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzib, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire." Max Müller, ''The Upaniṣads'', Part I, "Introduction," p. lvii.
=== European Scholarship ===
In 1775, the French scholar Anquetil Duperron received a manuscript of part of the Upanishads from Guillaume Le Gentil, who resided at the court of Shula ud daula. Duperron requested the remaining part and then collated the two parts. He translated them into both French and Latin. The French version was never published but the Latin translation was published in 1801. The Latinized title was ''Oupnek'hat''. The German philosopher Arthur [[Schopenhauer]] read the Latin translation and extravagantly
:"How imbued is every line with firm, definite, and harmonious significance! From every page we come across profound, original, and sublime thoughts, whilst a lofty and sacred earnestness pervades the whole. ; it is the most profitable and sublime reading that is possible in the world; it has been the consolation of my life and will be that of my death." Schopenhauer, ''Parerga and Paralipomena'', Vol. II, § 182.
praised it in his main work, ''The World as Will and Representation'', which was published in 1819]], as well as in his ''Parerga and Paralipomena'', In Chapter XVI, "Some Remarks on Sanskrit Literature." (1851). He found that the Upanishads accorded with his own philosophy, which taught that the [[individual]] is a manifestation of the one basis of [[reality]]. For Schopenhauer, that fundamentally real underlying unity is what we know in ourselves as "will." Another German philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph [[Schelling]], praised the mystical and spiritual aspects of the Upanishads. Schelling and other members of the [[German Idealism|German Idealist]] group were dissatisfied with [[Christianity]] and became fascinated with the Vedas and the Upanishads. Similarly minded English and European writers, such as Thomas Carlyle, Victor Cousin, [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], and Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, claimed to find deep [[wisdom]] in these; Western writings. In the United States, the group known as the [[Transcendentalism|Transcendentalists]] were influenced by Schelling's German Idealists. These Americans, such as [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]] and [[Henry David Thoreau|Thoreau]], were not satisfied with traditional Christian [[mythology]] and therefore embraced Schelling's interpretation of [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s [[Transcendental idealism]], as well as his celebration of the romantic, exotic, mystical aspect of the Upanishads. As a result of the influence of these writers, the Upanishads gained renown in Western countries.
==References==
# Brodd, Jefferey (2003). World Religions. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press. ISBN 978-0-88489-725-5.
# Sris Chandra Sen (1937). The Mystic Philosophy of the Upanishads. General Printers \& Publishers. Chapter: VEDIC LITERATURE AND UPANISHADS. p. 19: "..according to the Vedas to which they are supposed to belong, ... The muktika list of 108 upanishad is as follows:"
# S. Gajanan Shambhu Sadhale, Sri Garibdass Oriental Series, no. 44. (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1987).
# Cf. Arthur Anthony Macdonell. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. p. 53.
# Stanislaw Schayer. Die Bedeutung des Wortes Upanisad. Rocznik Orientalistyczny 3,1925, 57-67)
# Monier-Williams. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. p. 201. [1] Web version accessed 1 April 2007.
# Smith 10)
# Tat tvam asi in Context. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 136, 1986, 98-109
# Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, page 51.
# ".:SAKSIVC: Vedic Literature: Upanishads: 108 Upanishads:.". www.vedah.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
# Translated by Dr.A.G.Krishna Warrier. "Muktika Upanishad". TheTheosophicalPublishingHouse,Chennai. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
# Holdrege 1996, p. 7,426n
# Brooks, Douglas Renfrew, The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Shakta Tantrism, The University of Chicago Press (Chicago, 1990), pp. 13-14.
# Parts of this account are taken from the Introduction to Max Müller's The Upaniṣads, Part I.
# "…the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzib, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire." Max Müller, The Upaniṣads, Part I, "Introduction," p. lvii.
# "How imbued is every line with firm, definite, and harmonious significance! From every page we come across profound, original, and sublime thoughts, whilst a lofty and sacred earnestness pervades the whole. … it is the most profitable and sublime reading that is possible in the world; it has been the consolation of my life and will be that of my death." Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. II, § 182.
# In Chapter XVI, "Some Remarks on Sanskrit Literature."
==Further reading==
* Edmonds, I.G. Hinduism. New York: Franklin Watts, 1979.
* Eknath Easwaran, Upanishads, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 9781586380212}}
* Embree, Ainslie T., ed. The Hindu Tradition. New York: Random House, 1966.
* Veda and Torah, SUNY Press, ISBN 0791416399
* Merrett, Frances, ed. The Hindu World. London: MacDonald and Co, 1985.
* Pandit, Bansi. The Hindu Mind. Glen Ellyn, IL: B&V Enterprises, 1998.
* Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. New York: Labrynth Publishing, 1995.
* Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. Hinduism: World Religions. New York: Facts on File, 1991.
* [[Max Müller]], translator, ''The Upaniṣads'', Part I, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-486-20992-X.
* [[Max Müller]], translator, ''The Upaniṣads'', Part II, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-486-20993-8.
==External links==
===Original text===
* [http://sanskrit.gde.to/doc_upanishhat/ Upanishads at Sanskrit Documents Site]
* [http://www.swargarohan.org/Upanishad/main.htm Several Upanishads, Devanagari text, in PDF]
* [http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil.htm#Upan GRETIL]
* [http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/indexe.htm?/texte/texte.htm TITUS]
===Translations===
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/upan/index.htm Translations of major Upanishads]
* [http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/upanishads/aitareya_upanishad.php 11 principal Upanishads with translations]
* [http://www.sankaracharya.org Translations of principal Upanishads at sankaracharya.org]
* [http://www.tititudorancea.com/z/vedanta.htm Upanishads and other Vedanta texts]
* http://www.worldwidewonder.co.cc
* [http://www.kavitakosh.org/mridul.htm Hindi poetic translations of Upanishads by Dr Mridul Kirti]
*[http://www.celextel.org/108upanishads/ Complete translation on-line into English of all 108 Upaniṣad-s] [not only the 11 (or so) major ones to which the foregoing links are meagerly restricted]-- lacking, however, diacritical marks
[[Category: Religion]]
The '''Upanishads''' (Devanagari: उपनिषद्,: upaniṣad, also spelled "Upanisad") are [[Hindu]] [[scriptures]] that constitute the core teachings of [[Vedanta]]. They do not belong to any particular period of [[Sanskrit]] [[literature]]: the oldest, such as the [[Brhadaranyaka]] and [[Chandogya]] Upanishads, date to the late [[Brahmana]] period (around the middle of the first millennium BCE), while the latest were composed in the medieval and early modern period. The Upanishads realize monist [[idea]]s, some of which were hinted at in the earlier [[text]]s, and they have exerted an important influence on the rest of Hindu and Indian [[philosophy]], and are considered one of the 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written.
The philosopher and commentator [[Shankara]] is thought to have composed commentaries on eleven mukhya or principal Upanishads, those that are generally regarded as the oldest, spanning the late Vedic and Mauryan periods. The Muktika Upanishad (predates 1656) contains a list of 108 canonical Upanishads.
==Etymology==
The [[Sanskrit]] term ''upaniṣad'' derives from ''upa-'' (nearby), ''ni-'' (at the proper place, down) and ''sad'', that is "sitting down near" a teacher in order to receive instruction- "laying siege" to the teacher, as Schayer puts it. Monier-Williams adds that "according to native authorities ''upanishad'' means 'setting to rest ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the supreme spirit');..." [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0200/mw__0234.html] A gloss of the term ''upaniṣad'' based on [[Shankara]]'s commentary on the Katha Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishads equates it with ''Ātmavidyā'', that is "knowledge of the [[Atman]]", or ''Brahmavidyā'' "knowledge of Brahma". Other dictionary meanings include "esoteric doctrine" and "secret doctrine".
==Philosophy==
The Upanishads speak of a universal spirit '''(Brahman)''' and an individual soul, '''(Atman)''' and at times assert the [[identity]] of both. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The mystical [[nature]] and intense philosophical bent of the Upanishads has led to their explication in numerous [[manner]]s, giving birth to three main schools of [[Vedanta]]. [[Shankara]]'s [[exegesis]] of the Upanishads does not describe Brahman as the God in a monotheistic sense; he ascribes to it no limiting characteristics, not even those of [[being]] and non-being. Thus, Shankara's philosophy is named [[advaita]], "not two" as opposed to [[dvaita]], founded by [[Madhvacharya]], which holds that Brahman is ultimately a personal God, to be aligned with [[Vishnu]], or [[Krishna]] (''brahmano hi pratisthaham'', ''I am the Foundation of Brahman'' [[Bhagavad Gita]] 14.27). The third major school of Vedanta is [[Vishishtadvaita]], founded by [[Ramanuja]]charya and it has some aspects in common with the other two.
The ninth chapter of the ''[[Taittiriya Upanishad]]'' says:
::''He who knows the Bliss of Brahman (divine consciousness)... does not distress himself with the thought "why did I not do what is good? why did I do what is evil?". Whoever knows this (bliss) regards both of these as Atman (self, soul), indeed he cherishes both as Atman. Such, indeed, is the Upanishad, the secret knowledge of Brahman.
The key phrase of the Upanishads, to [[Advaita Vedanta]], is तत् त्वं अिस "Tat Tvam Asi" (That thou art). Vedantins believe that in the end, the ultimate, formless, inconceivable Brahman is the same as our soul, Atman. We only have to realize it through discrimination. (However, interpretations of this phrase differ.) Verses 6, 7 & 8 of [[Isha Upanishad]]:
::::''Whoever sees all beings in the soul and the soul in all beings...What delusion or sorrow is there for one who sees unity?<br>It has filled all. It is radiant, incorporeal, invulnerable...Wise, intelligent, encompassing, self-existent,..It organizes objects throughout eternity.
The Upanishads also contain the first and most definitive explications of the divine syllable [[Aum]] or OM, the cosmic vibration that underlies all existence. The mantra "''Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti''" (the soundless sound, peace, peace, peace) is often found in the Upanishads. Devotion to God is foreshadowed in Upanishadic [[literature]], and was later realized by texts such as the Bhagavad Gita.
==List of Upanishads==
==="Principal" Upanishads===
The following list includes the eleven "principal" (''mukhya'') Upanishads commented upon[http://www.cs.memphis.edu/~ramamurt/u_intro1.html#NDAUTHOR] by [[Shankara]], and accepted as [[shruti]] by most Hindus. Each is associated with one of the four Vedas ([[Rigveda]] (ṚV), [[Samaveda]] (SV), [[White Yajurveda]] (ŚYV), [[Black Yajurveda]] (KYV), [[Atharvaveda]] (AV));
# [[Aitareya]] ṚV)
# [[Bṛhadāraṇyaka]] (ŚYV)
# [[Taittiriya Upanishad]] (KYV)
# [[Chāndogya]] (SV)
# [[Kenopanishad Kena]] (SV)
# [[Isha Upanishad]] Īṣa (ŚYV)
# [[Śvetāśvatara]] (KYV)
# [[Kaṭha]] (KYV)
# [[Muṇḍaka]] (AV)
# [[Māṇḍūkya]] (AV)
# [[Praśna]] (AV)
The [[Kauśītāki]] and [[Maitrāyaṇi]] Upanishads are sometimes added. All these date from before the [[Common Era]]. From [[linguistics|linguistic]] evidence, the oldest among them are the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya Upanishads. The Jaiminīya Upaniṣadbrāhmaṇa, belonging to the late Vedic Sanskrit period, may also be included. Of nearly the same age are the Aitareya, Kauṣītaki and Taittirīya Upaniṣads, while the remnant date from the time of transition from Vedic to Classical Sanskrit.
The older Upanishads are associated with Vedic Charanas, Shakhas or schools; the Aitareya and [[Kauśītāki]] Upanishads with the Shakala shakha, the Chāndogya Upanishad with the Kauthuma shakha, the Kena Upanishad with the [[Jaiminiya]] shakha, the Kaṭha Upanishad with the Caraka-Katha shakha, the Taittirīya and [[Śvetāśvatara]] Upanishads with the [[Taittiriya]] shakha, the Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad with the Maitrayani shakha, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Īṣa Upanishads with the Vajasaneyi Madhyandina shakha, and the Māṇḍūkya and Muṇḍaka Upanishads with the [[Shaunaka]] shakha.
In the Muktika Upanishad's list of 108 Upanishads the first 10 are grouped as ''mukhya'' "principal". 21 are grouped as Sāmānya Vedānta "common [[Vedanta]]", 23 as Sannyāsa, 9 as Shākta, 13 as Vaishnava, 14 as Shaiva and 17 as [[Yoga]] Upanishads. [http://www.vedah.com/org/literature/upanishads/108Upanishads.asp] [http://www.egr.msu.edu/~sundare2/mantra-sangraha/MuktikaUpanishad.pdf]
===Shakta Upanishads===
Later Upanisads are often highly sectarian: this was "one of the strategies used by sectarian movements to legitimate their own texts through granting them the nominal status of ''Śruti''." For the most part, the canonical Shakta Upanishads are sectarian tracts reflecting doctrinal and interpretative differences between the two principal sects of Srividya upasana (a major [[Tantric]] form of Shaktism). As a result, the many extant listings of "authentic" Shakta Upanisads vary in content, reflecting the sectarian bias of their compilers:
<blockquote>
"Past efforts to construct lists of [[Shaktism|Shakta]] Upanisads have left us no closer to ''understanding either their 'location' in Tantric tradition or their place within the Vedic corpus. [...] At stake for the Tantric is not the authority of ''[[sruti]]'' per se, which remains largely undisputed, but rather its correct interpretation. For non-Tantrics, [it ''is'' a text's] Tantric contents that brings into question its identity as an Upanisad. At issue is the text's classification as ''sruti'' and thus its inherent authority as ''Veda''."''
</blockquote>
Of the texts listed in the [[Muktika]] Upanishad nine are classified as Shakta Upanishads:
# ''Sītā'' (AV)
# ''Annapūrṇa'' (AV)
# ''Devī'' (AV)
# ''Tripurātapani'' (AV)
# ''Tripura'' (RV)
# ''Bhāvana'' (AV)
# ''Saubhāgya'' (RV)
# ''Sarasvatīrahasya'' (KYV)
# ''Bahvṛca'' (RV)
The list excludes several notable and widely used Shakta Upanisads, including the ''Kaula Upaniṣad'', the ''Śrīvidyā Upaniṣad'' and the ''Śrichakra Upaniṣad''.
==Renown outside of India==
The [[Vedas]] became known outside of India when the Upanishads were translated from [[Sanskrit]]. At first, they were translated into Persian. This was done as a result of Emperor Akbar's liberal religious attitude. (Parts of this account are taken from the Introduction to [[Max Müller]]'s ''The Upaniṣads}}'', Part I.) The prince Shah Jehan, who was influenced by the Emperor and shared Akbar's viewpoint, had an eldest son named Dara Shikoh. Shikoh was, like his father, a liberal [[Muslim]] and wrote a book that attempted to reconcile [[Islam]] with [[Hinduism]]. In 1640, Dara Shikoh visited Kashmir and met pandits, who told him about the Upanishads. Later, he invited pandits from Benares to come to Delhi, which was under Mughal control, in order to assist him in translating the ''Upanishads''. In 1657, the translation of the ''Upanishads'' into Persian was completed. In his translation, known by the name ''Sirr-e-Akbar'' (The Greatest Mystery), he states at the Introduction that the work referred to in the [[Qur'an]] as the "''Kitab al-maknun''" or the ''hidden book'' is none other than the Upanishads. Two years later, in 1659, his brother Aurangzib, who was a strict Muslim, had him executed under the [[Sharia]] law as an apostate from Islam. This may have been a pretext, because Shikoh had been the eldest son and Aurangzib ascended the throne after Shikoh's execution.;the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzib, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire." Max Müller, ''The Upaniṣads'', Part I, "Introduction," p. lvii.
=== European Scholarship ===
In 1775, the French scholar Anquetil Duperron received a manuscript of part of the Upanishads from Guillaume Le Gentil, who resided at the court of Shula ud daula. Duperron requested the remaining part and then collated the two parts. He translated them into both French and Latin. The French version was never published but the Latin translation was published in 1801. The Latinized title was ''Oupnek'hat''. The German philosopher Arthur [[Schopenhauer]] read the Latin translation and extravagantly
:"How imbued is every line with firm, definite, and harmonious significance! From every page we come across profound, original, and sublime thoughts, whilst a lofty and sacred earnestness pervades the whole. ; it is the most profitable and sublime reading that is possible in the world; it has been the consolation of my life and will be that of my death." Schopenhauer, ''Parerga and Paralipomena'', Vol. II, § 182.
praised it in his main work, ''The World as Will and Representation'', which was published in 1819]], as well as in his ''Parerga and Paralipomena'', In Chapter XVI, "Some Remarks on Sanskrit Literature." (1851). He found that the Upanishads accorded with his own philosophy, which taught that the [[individual]] is a manifestation of the one basis of [[reality]]. For Schopenhauer, that fundamentally real underlying unity is what we know in ourselves as "will." Another German philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph [[Schelling]], praised the mystical and spiritual aspects of the Upanishads. Schelling and other members of the [[German Idealism|German Idealist]] group were dissatisfied with [[Christianity]] and became fascinated with the Vedas and the Upanishads. Similarly minded English and European writers, such as Thomas Carlyle, Victor Cousin, [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], and Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, claimed to find deep [[wisdom]] in these; Western writings. In the United States, the group known as the [[Transcendentalism|Transcendentalists]] were influenced by Schelling's German Idealists. These Americans, such as [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]] and [[Henry David Thoreau|Thoreau]], were not satisfied with traditional Christian [[mythology]] and therefore embraced Schelling's interpretation of [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]'s [[Transcendental idealism]], as well as his celebration of the romantic, exotic, mystical aspect of the Upanishads. As a result of the influence of these writers, the Upanishads gained renown in Western countries.
==References==
# Brodd, Jefferey (2003). World Religions. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press. ISBN 978-0-88489-725-5.
# Sris Chandra Sen (1937). The Mystic Philosophy of the Upanishads. General Printers \& Publishers. Chapter: VEDIC LITERATURE AND UPANISHADS. p. 19: "..according to the Vedas to which they are supposed to belong, ... The muktika list of 108 upanishad is as follows:"
# S. Gajanan Shambhu Sadhale, Sri Garibdass Oriental Series, no. 44. (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1987).
# Cf. Arthur Anthony Macdonell. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. p. 53.
# Stanislaw Schayer. Die Bedeutung des Wortes Upanisad. Rocznik Orientalistyczny 3,1925, 57-67)
# Monier-Williams. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. p. 201. [1] Web version accessed 1 April 2007.
# Smith 10)
# Tat tvam asi in Context. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 136, 1986, 98-109
# Catherine Robinson, Interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Images of the Hindu Tradition: The Song of the Lord. Routledge Press, 1992, page 51.
# ".:SAKSIVC: Vedic Literature: Upanishads: 108 Upanishads:.". www.vedah.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
# Translated by Dr.A.G.Krishna Warrier. "Muktika Upanishad". TheTheosophicalPublishingHouse,Chennai. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
# Holdrege 1996, p. 7,426n
# Brooks, Douglas Renfrew, The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Shakta Tantrism, The University of Chicago Press (Chicago, 1990), pp. 13-14.
# Parts of this account are taken from the Introduction to Max Müller's The Upaniṣads, Part I.
# "…the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzib, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire." Max Müller, The Upaniṣads, Part I, "Introduction," p. lvii.
# "How imbued is every line with firm, definite, and harmonious significance! From every page we come across profound, original, and sublime thoughts, whilst a lofty and sacred earnestness pervades the whole. … it is the most profitable and sublime reading that is possible in the world; it has been the consolation of my life and will be that of my death." Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. II, § 182.
# In Chapter XVI, "Some Remarks on Sanskrit Literature."
==Further reading==
* Edmonds, I.G. Hinduism. New York: Franklin Watts, 1979.
* Eknath Easwaran, Upanishads, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 9781586380212}}
* Embree, Ainslie T., ed. The Hindu Tradition. New York: Random House, 1966.
* Veda and Torah, SUNY Press, ISBN 0791416399
* Merrett, Frances, ed. The Hindu World. London: MacDonald and Co, 1985.
* Pandit, Bansi. The Hindu Mind. Glen Ellyn, IL: B&V Enterprises, 1998.
* Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. New York: Labrynth Publishing, 1995.
* Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. Hinduism: World Religions. New York: Facts on File, 1991.
* [[Max Müller]], translator, ''The Upaniṣads'', Part I, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-486-20992-X.
* [[Max Müller]], translator, ''The Upaniṣads'', Part II, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-486-20993-8.
==External links==
===Original text===
* [http://sanskrit.gde.to/doc_upanishhat/ Upanishads at Sanskrit Documents Site]
* [http://www.swargarohan.org/Upanishad/main.htm Several Upanishads, Devanagari text, in PDF]
* [http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil.htm#Upan GRETIL]
* [http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/indexe.htm?/texte/texte.htm TITUS]
===Translations===
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/upan/index.htm Translations of major Upanishads]
* [http://www.bharatadesam.com/spiritual/upanishads/aitareya_upanishad.php 11 principal Upanishads with translations]
* [http://www.sankaracharya.org Translations of principal Upanishads at sankaracharya.org]
* [http://www.tititudorancea.com/z/vedanta.htm Upanishads and other Vedanta texts]
* http://www.worldwidewonder.co.cc
* [http://www.kavitakosh.org/mridul.htm Hindi poetic translations of Upanishads by Dr Mridul Kirti]
*[http://www.celextel.org/108upanishads/ Complete translation on-line into English of all 108 Upaniṣad-s] [not only the 11 (or so) major ones to which the foregoing links are meagerly restricted]-- lacking, however, diacritical marks
[[Category: Religion]]