Vedas and Upanishads: A Structural Profile By T.N.

Sethumadhavan January 2010 This essay originally appeared in the October, 2005 issue of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams illustrated monthly Sapthagiri Introduction The Vedic philosophy encompasses the oldest spiritual texts of any reli ion in the !orld" and its su#$ects are #road and numerous. %ts more advanced concepts can #e difficult for even the reatest scholars to fathom. The Vedic literature discusses many types of philosophical vie!points" and studyin some of them !ill let us see that many of the concepts that !e accept as ne! today are nothin more than parts of the ancient Vedic &no!led e that had #een dealt !ith and thorou hly understood thousands of years a o. Thus" there are not many ideas that are really ne! at all. The main purpose of the Vedic literature is to esta#lish &no!led e of the '#solute Truth and the process for attainin the hi hest levels of self(reali)ation*. + Stephen ,napp Thus a study of the Vedas is nothin #ut a search for the Truth" nothin #ut understandin ourselves" nothin #ut to &no! !hy !e are #orn in this !orld and !here !e !ill #e oin !hen !e drop this physical #ody. The purpose of the study is to discover and understand the truth #ehind the phenomenal universe and human existence. 'ccordin to our ancient !isdom this study is a $oint venture #et!een the student and the teacher !ith full mutual trust and ood!ill to find out an ans!er to the fundamental -uestion of the purpose of our existence. .r./adha&rishnan says that the Vedas are the earliest documents of the human mind that !e possess. They are the most ancient literary monuments of the human race. The !ord 0Veda1 means to &no! implyin that the su#$ect of the Vedas is ,no!led e. 2ere &no!led e does not mean facts a#out the external !orld li&e physics or chemistry. %t means the &no!led e of the eternal" sacred" spiritual !isdom. %t is a#out the nature of man himself. %t tells him !ho he really is. %t is the &no!led e of the chan eless and Supreme /eality #ehind the ever chan in o#$ective !orld of men and matter. The texts containin this &no!led e have no authorship" no time frame !ithin !hich they had #een authored. They are called 0'paurusheya1 meanin that they are not authored #y any 3urusha or human mind. They !ere revealed to the /ishis or Seers ( the .rashtas"

men of !isdom" durin the depths of their meditation. These sa es !ere merely the instruments of 4od to spread 2is !ords. Their utterances !ere called 05antras1 !hich !ere not the result of any intuition #ut !ere the result of .ivine Vision !hich is called 05antra .rishti1. Their inner and outer meanin s !ere really &no!n only to those to !hom they !ere revealed. 2ence none can challen e them on rounds of reason or lo ic. There is no final authority #eyond the Vedas6 in today1s mana ement $ar on the #uc& stops at the ta#le of the Vedas. The 7panishads form perhaps the most important part of the Vedas on !hich the edifice of the 0Shad .arshanas1 or the six systems of the 2indu 3hilosophy have #een #uilt up. The mystical teachin s of the 7panishads are the essence of the Vedic 2indu /eli ion and 3hilosophy. The 7panishads are the crest $e!els ( choodamani + of the Vedas. Historicity and Preservation of the Vedas The modern researchers are still stru lin to fix up the exact period of the Vedas and there is no final conclusion as yet. Their conclusions differ as !idely as 28000 years B.9. to 1000 years B.9. 2o!ever" the eneral consensus amon most of the %ndian scholars is to consider the 5ohen$adaro(2arappa culture i.e. a#out :000 B.9. to #e the later phase of Vedic culture. This #rin s us to conclude that the date of the /i (Veda" considered as the earliest in human history" is around 10"000 B.9. The !ords 0.rshti1 and 0Sruti1 + seein and hearin " used in descri#in the Vedas si nify their very #asic revelatory nature. ;or several centuries" the Vedas had to #e committed to memory and !ere passed on orally from eneration to eneration. 's they !ere preserved to posterity throu h hearin they are termed as 0Sruti1" !hat is heard. <ithout the use of !ritin a fool(proof method !as used to chant each 5antra in various patterns and com#inations such as 3ada 3atha" ,rama 3atha" Jata 3atha and 4hana 3atha to prevent any errors creepin into the Vedas. The modes of chantin prescri#e the #asics li&e ho! much time one has to ta&e for recitin a !ord" ho! to re ulate #reathin !hile recitin so that re-uired vi#rations are produced in the specific parts of the #ody !hich !ill yield pure !ord(sound. Codification of the Vedas chapter 2 %t is #elieved that the potency of the Vedas started decayin !ith the departure of Bha a!an Sri ,rishna from this !orld. =ven this !as considered to #e a .ivine 3lan for the ,ali >u a as per !hich only a part of the lory and efful ence of the Vedas is to #e left over from total extinction. This .ivine 'rran ement could #e put throu h the a ency of Sa e Veda Vyasa. This sa e !as then not &no!n under this name. 2is name !as .!aipayana as he !as #orn in an island ?.!eepa@. 2e !as considered as a manifestation of Bha a!an Sri ,rishna himself for fulfillin a specific purpose in this !orld and hence he !as &no!n as ,rishna .!aipayana. 2e !as also &no!n as Badarayana. The !ord 1Vyasa1 means an essay or composition. %t also means dealin !ith a matter su#$ect !ise and classifyin it suita#ly. 's ,rishna .!aipayana did all these tas&s for the proper study and understandin of the Vedas he #ecame famous as Sa e Veda Vyasa. 2is

contri#ution to the codification of the Vedas is so reat that he is more !idely &no!n as Veda Vyasa than #y any other name. Sa e Veda Vyasa collected all the 5antras in existence durin his period" edited" codified and or ani)ed them into four roups !hich he tau ht to his four chief disciples. These are as underA CLASSIFICATI ! F TH" V"#AS !a$e f The Veda Tau%ht To &i% Paila 'a(us Vaisha$payana Sa$a )ai$ini Atharvan Su$antu Vedic Te*ts The Vedas !ere mainly utili)ed in the performance of >a$nas ?sacrifices@ !hich !ere the most common form of early Vedic reli ion. Such uses of the Veda led to its division #ased upon the convenience of the chief priests conductin the sacrifices. 'll the hymns used #y the priest !hose function !as to invo&e the deities to the sacrifice ?!ho is called 2otra@ #ecame the /i Veda. The part of the Veda used #y the chief executor of the sacrificial rites ?called 'dhvaryu@ formed >a$ur Veda. 9ollection of all the musical chants to #e sun #y the concerned priest ?called 7d atir" the sin er@ #ecame Sama Veda. The rest of the hymns dealin !ith a variety of topics !as called 'tharva Veda !hich !as assi ned to a priest considered as the supervisor over the !hole process of sacrifice ?called Brahma@. Au*iliary and Su+sidiary Te*ts of the Vedas Because of the difficulty in understandin the Vedas" the sa es evolved a system of auxiliaries to the Vedas &no!n as %.Vedan as" %%.Veda(7pan as #oth meanin the lim#s of the Vedas" and %%%. 7pa(Vedas meanin su#sidiary parts of the Vedas" %.!edangas They are six in num#er vi). Title ./Si0sha 2/Vya0aran a 1/!iru0ta 4/Chandas 5/)yotisha 6/7alpa V"#A!,A Su+(ect #ealt -ith Science of phonetics or pronunciation and intonation/ Science of the %ra$$ar of lan%ua%e "ty$olo%y or the science of ori%in2 $eanin% and e*planation of the Vedic 3ords/ Prosody or science of co$position of the hy$ns li0e $eter2 rhy$e2 paada etc/ of the $antras Astrono$y and astrolo%y $ainly directed to3ards fi*in% up of auspicious $o$ents for the perfor$ance of the Vedic sacrifices Science or $anual of sacrificial rituals2 +oth Vedic and do$estic/

%%. !eda"#pangas These are the six systems of 2indu philosophy !hich is &no!n as Shad .arsanas. They areA V"#A UPA!,A Shad #arshana r Si* Syste$s f Hindu Philosophy !yaya Vaiseshi0 San0hy 'o%a Poorva Uttara 8i$a$sa a a 8i$a$sa or Vedanta/ 9. #pa !edas They are called the su#sidiary Vedas. They are four in num#er one attached to each Veda vi). UPA VEDA Or Subsidiary Vedas Title Su+(ect #ealt 3ith Veda to 3hich attached Ayurveda Science of life" of sound health includin the art of &i% Veda preventin and curin diseases Science of fine arts li&e Sa$a Veda/ Gandharva Veda music and dance ,no!n as 'rtha(sastra Artha Veda science of economics" Atharva Veda politics and statecraft Science of archery and 'a(urvoda/ Dhanurveda !arfare Vedas are thus a storehouse of &no!led e needed for man&ind" not merely spiritual #ut also secular or temporal. They are not compositions made in any one particular period. They are spread over a period of time6 one roup separated from the other pro#a#ly #y centuries and handed do!n from one eneration to the other throu h !ord of mouth. #ivisions in each Veda chapter 1 The contents of the Vedas are in the form of a collection of mantras. The !ord 5antra means 0that !hich protects !hen repeated and reflected upon1. The /i Veda mantras are called 0/i&1 meanin hymns or stan)as of verses metrically set to convey definite meanin . The Sama Veda mantras are called 0Saman1 meanin chants !hile >a$ur Veda mantras are called 0>a$us1 meanin sacrificial sentences. These collections are called Samhitas. They #rin out the purport of a Veda in the shape of mantras" methodically arran ed. Samhita means that !hich is collected and arran ed. =ach Veda is also divided into Samhita and Brahmana. The Brahmana includes !ithin itself 'ranya&a and 7panishad. Thus the division of the Vedas into these four cate ories suita#le to the four sta es of human life is as underA #IVISI !S F TH" V"#AS

Sa$hita 9rah$ana Aranya0a Upanishad a. Samhita %t is the name iven to the collection of mantras or hymns and prayers in praise of .eities for attainin prosperity here and happiness hereafter. Samhita portion is considered as the principal text of a Veda. This portion is mainly meant for Brahmacharis" those !ho are in the first sta e of their lives. #. $rahmana This portion of a Veda uides people in the performance of Vedic ,armas or sacrificial rituals6 they are the prose explanations of the method of usin the mantras in the >a$nas and other rituals. Brahmana is suita#le for the householders" those #elon in to the second sta e in life. c. %ranya&a <hen one see&s the solitude of the forests ?'ranya@ for further concentration" the physical performance of >a$nas !ill #e impractica#le for various reasons more so due to old a e. The 'ranya&a portion is addressed to the people of that cate ory offerin a su#stitute for rituals. They teach methods of meditation #ased upon sym#olical interpretations of sacrificial rites. %t is a process of performin >a$nas and sacrifices at the mental level. ;or example Brihadaranya&a 7panishad starts !ith such analytical mental performance of 's!amedha >a$na. The 'ranya&as are intended for the Vanaprasthas or people !ho prepare themselves for the last sta e in life i.e. Sanyasa. 'ranya&as form the transition lin& #et!een the ritual of the Brahmanas and the philosophy of the 7panishads. d. #panishads The 7panishads are the concludin portions of the Vedas !hich discuss philosophical issues. They are the essence of the Vedas containin their &no!led e aspects. The philosophy of the 7panishads occupies the hi hest pedestal in the spiritual &no!led e. They spea& a#out the identity of the Supreme =ternal Soul" the Brahman" the individual soul" the 'tman" their mutual relationship" the 7niverse ?$a at@ and man1s place in it. %n short they deal !ith 'iva, 'agat and 'agadish(ara. 's this is the core portion of the Vedas !e shall #e devotin more time on this topic later. .r. /adha&rishnan puts it li&e this. <hile the hymns or Samhitas are the creation of the poets" the Brahmanas are the !or& of the priests6 the 7panishads are the meditations of the philosophers. The flo! of thou ht from the Samhitas to Brahmanas to 'ranya&as to 7panishads is the indication of the process of evolution of 2indu reli ion over the centuries* . Thus !e have in the Vedas portions dealin !ith the action or performance of rituals (. ,arma ,anda" portions dealin !ith the method of !orship and meditation ( 7pasana ,anda and lastly the portion dealin !ith the 2i hest &no!led e" the &no!led e of Brahman ( Jnana ,anda. /ou hly spea&in " the Samhitas and Brahmanas constitute ,arma ,anda" the 'ranya&as the 7pasana ,anda and the 7panishads the Jnana ,anda.

Soo0ta2 Sootra and Sha0ha Before oin further !e should #e a!are of !hat is meant #y Soo&tas" Sootras and Sha&has as !e come across these terms fre-uently in the Vedic literature" Soo&ta The !hole of the /i Veda Samhita is in the form of verses. They are also called /i& or hymns in praise of different .evatas. %n the later a e these verses or /i&s come to #e called as Slo&as or stan)as. =ach /i& is a mantra and a num#er of /i&s or mantras constitute a Soo&ta ( examples are the popular 3urusha Soo&tam" Narayana Soo&tam" Sri Soo&tam etc. Sootra Sootras are aphorisms or declarations usin minimum num#er of !ords to pro$ect a maximum dimension of thou ht. %t is a short formula usin the least possi#le num#er of letters ivin no room for any am#i uity to express a su#lime philosophic thou ht. Thus it contains the very essence of the thou ht and is a#solutely faultless in its nature. The #est example is the famous Brahma Sootra !hich is also &no!n as Vedanta Sootra or Sarira&a Sootra !hich contains in a mystifyin !ay the doctrines spelt out in the 7panishads. Because of their cryptic nature" Bhashyas or commentaries are necessary to understand Sootras. The names of other important Sootras are 3atan$ali >o a Sootra" Narada Bha&ti Sootra" Shandilya Bha&ti Sootra" 'shtadhyayi of 3anini etc. %n fact the six Vedan as mentioned a#ove and the six systems of 2indu philosophy ( Shad .arshanas form the most important t!elve sets of Sootra literature of 2induism. Sha&ha ( its plan and purpose The Samhitas in course of time #ranched off leadin to the formation of Sha&has or recensions. The #ranchin off of the Vedic traditions too& place as a result of several factors such as eo raphical location of the priests" ritual speciali)ation and doctrinal disputes. =ach of the principal sa es had several disciples. These disciples or their successors mi ht have done some editin of the Vedic mantras to suit the rites they !ere re-uired to perform and the eo raphical locations !here they !ere placed over !hich the local culture also must have had its influence. 'nother reason iven for the division of Vedas into many Sha&has is the vastness of the su#$ect to #e covered #y a student for achievin his spiritual oal. The scheme of Vedic learnin is first studyin and recitation of the hymns ?Samhita@ follo!ed #y performance of >a$nas ?Brahmana@" then an en-uiry into the rationale #ehind the performance of these >a$nas ?'ranya&a@ and lastly" an en-uiry into 03aramatma Tatt!a1 and attainin its actual experience ?7panishad@. Since masterin these tas&s in their entirety is an almost impossi#le $o#" a method in the form of Sha&has of the Vedas !as evolved !here#y only the optimum re-uired for each purpose !as tau ht. =ach Sha&ha thus contains that many mantras under each cate ory of Samhita" Brahmona" 'ranya&a and 7panishad as !ould ena#le a see&er to accomplish li#eration or 5o&sha"

Structure of the Vedas chapter 4 <e !ill no! enter into the inner sanctum sanctorum of the Vedas and loo& at the treasures contained therein. %t is to #e #orn in mind here that conventionally spea&in " it is the Samhita that is indicated !hen !e use the !ord Veda. /i Veda means /i Veda Samhita. So also is the case !ith the other Vedas. The Brahmanas" 'ranya&as and 7panishads have independent names. &i% Veda Sa$hita Bf all the four Vedic Samhitas" the / . Veda Samhita is the oldest and occupies a pride of place in the Vedic literature. The !hole of /i Veda Samhita is in the form of verse. %t is a collection of Soo&tas or hymns revealed to various /ishis at different periods of time. 2ence a variety of ideas" styles of lan ua e" rammar" historical and cultural factors are found here. This Samhita contains masterpieces of poetic compositions li&e the famous 3urusha Soo&tam and the mornin prayers to 7shas" the oddess of da!n. %t !as said to have 21 Sha&has #ut no! only five of them are &no!n to exist. 'ccordin to the ancient tradition" the !hole /i Samhita has #een divided into 10 5andalas. The 5andalas are su#divided into 'nuva&as" the 'nuva&as into Soo&tas and Soo&tas into mantras as follo!s.

&i%:Veda Sa$hita ;

8andala ;

Anuva0a ;

Soo0ta ;

8antra

/i Veda contains 10882 mantras spread over 102C Soo&tas and C8 'nuva&as in 10 5andalas. The topics dealt !ith in the /i Veda Samhita can #e classified into : roups. The first roup is in praise of the deities li&e ' ni" lndra" Varuna" 5itra and others. The Vedic deities num#erin :: are assi ned to the three re ions of the universe vi). earth ?3rithvi@" heaven ?.yaus@ and intermediary space ?'ntari&sha@. 'lthou h these deities appear as personifications of forces of nature" they are actually different facets of Brahman" the Bnly Bne Supreme /eality. The famous mantra on this point e&am sat viprah bahudha vadanti meanin 0Truth is one" sa e1s call it #y various names1 occurs in this Samhita. The second roup is concerned !ith philosophical speculations li&e the ori in of the 7niverse and the real nature of human #ein s. 'lthou h the Samhita is a #oo& of laudatory hymns still all the later ideas of Vedanta includin Jnana and Bha&ti are found therein at least in a rudimentary form. 2o!ever" advocacy of !orship of 4od !ith form and -ualities ( Sa unoposona ( is predominant. The proclamation contained in various mantras sho! that it teaches e&a"devata"vada or monotheism and not polytheism. ;or example" the Samhita states that 4od creates the !orld out of 2imself and rules over it6 2e is omnipresent ?present every!here@" omnipotent ?all po!erful@ and omniscient ?all &no!in @" 2e is ever perfect" infinitely

compassionate" easily approacha#le #y the devotees and 2e rants us immortality. But the idea a#out actual process of creation of the universe finds a place only in the later Vedantic literature i.e. the 7panishads. The third roup deals !ith several secular su#$ects li&e marria e" !ar etc." !hich sho! the nature of society of those times. ' $ust and e-uita#le social order existed. 2o!ever" social life !as conditioned #y spiritual consciousness. There !as Samanvaya or harmony of life here and hereafter. Satya ?truth@ and .harma ?ri hteousness@ are lorified and 'mritatva ?immortality@ as the oal of life !as accepted. The Brahmanas" 'ranya&as and the 7panishads of this Veda are 1. 'itareya and ,ausita&i Brahmanas 2. 'itareya and San&hyayana 'ranya&as and :. 'itareya and ,ausita&i 7panishads 'a(ur Veda Sa$hita %t is a collection of >a$us or the mantras in prose !hich ive procedural details to the 'dhvaryu priest for the proper performance of >a$nas. The popular hymn in praise of Dord Siva ( Sri /udraprasna + finds a place in this Veda. The other famous prayer 3urusha Soo&tam also occurs here !ith some modifications. >a$ur Veda Samhita is in t!o parts vi). ,rishna >a$urveda and Shu&ia >aiurveda. ,rishna >a$urveda !as tau ht #y sa e Vaishampayana. %t is considered older than the Shu&la >a$urveda. Today a vast ma$ority follo! the >a$ur Veda. ,rishna >a$urveda is common in the South and Shu&la >a$urveda in the North. ,rishna >a$urveda Samhita is said to have contained C8 Sha&has #ut only four of them are availa#le no! out of !hich the Taittiriya Samhita is !idely prevalent especially in South Jndia. %t deals !ith detailed descriptions of sacrifices li&e /a$asuya" Va$apeya" Somaya a etc. The other three Sha&has are not so !ell &no!n thou h they also deal !ith similar sacrifices. /elated to this Samhita are( 1. Taittiriya Brahmana 2. Taittiriya and 5aitrayani 'ranya&as :. Taittiriya" ,atha" S!etas!atara" 5aitrayani and 5oha Narayana 7panishads. Shu&la >a$urveda Samhita is said to have #een #rou ht to the &no!led e of the <orld #y the famous sa e >a$naval&ya from Vaa$asani !hich means the Sun 4od. 2ence this is also &no!n as Va$asneyi Samhita" This is entirely in verse form. But of 1E Sha&has of this Samhita said to hove #een existed6 only t!o vi). ,anva and 5adhyandina Sha&has are presently existin . The former is common in South %ndia !hile the latter is popular in the North. This Samhita also deals mainly !ith >a$nas li&e ' nishtoma.

/elated to this Samhita are( 1. Satapatha Brahmana. This is a !or& extensively servin as a eneral uide to all the Vedas. 2. Brhad('ranya&a and :. Brhadaraanyo&oponishad and %savasyopanishad. Sa$aveda Sa$hita Samaveda Samhita is the hi hly commended scripture of 2induism. 2o!ever it is not considered as an independent !or&. 'll the mantras of the /i Veda !hich are useful to 7d atir priest for chantin in the >a$nas to ensure the race of the 4ods have #een #rou ht to ether in this Veda. 0S'1 means a mantra of the /i Veda" 0'5'1 means musical notes. 2ence a Saman is a mantra of the /i Veda set to music. The !ord Saama also means that !hich #rin s peace to the mind. 'lthou h this Veda is said to have 1000 Sha&has only three are availa#le no!. 7nli&e the mantras of the other three Vedas" the mantras of Samaveda are simply &no!n as Saman havin seven svaras or musical scales. Therefore" Saama 4ana or sin in of hymns as per the rules of Sama Veda is said to #e the #asis and source of the seven svaras or notes fundamental to the )ndian music systems The special virtue of Sama Veda is that althou h its mantras are from the /i Veda they are set to music !hich is reatly conductive to the spiritual evolution of a human #ein and to -ualify oneself for receivin the race of the 4ods. 2ence" Sri ,rishna says in the 4ita ?9h.10 Verse 22@ vedaanaam saamavedosmi meanin 0amon the Vedas % am the Sama Veda1. Similarly" in the Dalita Sahasranama" one of the epithets used to descri#e the .ivine 5other is Saama *aana +riye meanin one !ho is pleased !ith the recital of Saman. 'ffiliated to this Samhita are( 1. But of F Brahmanas of this Veda Tandya 5aha Brahmana is the #i est and most important. 2. Bnly one 'ranya&a of this Samhita is availa#le !hich is called Talava&ara or Jaiminiya 'ranya&a. :. The !ell &no!n 9hando ya 7panishad and the ,enopanishad" !hich is also &no!n as Talava&aropanishad" are from this Veda. Atharva Veda Sa$hita 'tharva means purohit or pundit. This Veda is said to have #een #rou ht to li ht #y a Sa e called 'tharvan and hence this name. This is also called Brahma Veda #ecause it is assi ned to the Brahma priest !ho supervises the conduct of the >a$nas. The mantras in this Veda are #oth in prose and verse forms" 's the 'tharva Veda Samhita has some special features it stands apart from the other three Vedas. %t deals more !ith thin s here and no! than !ith the hereafter and the sacrifices are utili)ed as a means to them.

This Veda contains many types of mantras desi ned to !ard off evils and hardship as also to destroy enemies. Besides this it deals !ith diseases and their cure" rites for prolon in life" for fulfillin one1s desires" construction activities" trade and commerce" statecraft" defense systems of the country etc. 5any hymns deal !ith creation and emer ence of the 7niverse. The hymn extollin the !onder of creation is called 3rithvi Soo&tam. 'midst these mundane su#$ects hi h philosophical ideas are also found in this Veda. The literary style of this Veda is hi hly sophisticated. 5ost of the Sha&has of 'tharva Veda are lost. But of the F Sha&has &no!n to have existed under this Samhita only t!o are availa#le no!. They are 3ippalada and Sauna&a. Bnly one Brahmana called 4opatha Brahmana has #een discovered. No 'ranya&a of this Veda has come to li ht so far. There are a num#er of 7panishads !hich are associated !ith this Veda. The three !ell &no!n 7panishads vi). 3rasna" 5unda&a and 5andu&ya as also the ,aivalya 7panishad #elon to this Veda. Co$$entaries on the Vedas chapter 5 's the Vedic literature is difficult to understand" their Bhashyas or commentaries come to our aid in #rin in out their inner meanin s. Bver the centuries there has #een a alaxy of commentators on Vedas amon !hom Sayanacharya of the 1Gth century holds a uni-ue place #oth in terms of the outstandin -uality of his !or&s and their sheer volume. Upanishads 'fter havin had an aerial vie! of the Vedas and the place of the 7panishads in them !e may no! venture to o deeper to fathom the depths of the 7panishads. . %f there is one mass of scriptures in the !orld that has sustained the spiritual thin&in over the millennia" it is the 7panishads. 'll the schools of thou ht" reli ious movements that flourished in the later periods in %ndian history have #een a #yproduct of the 7panishadic thin&in . They ained respecta#ility and acceptance only #ecause they follo!ed the footprints of the 7panishads. 8eanin% of the 3ord <Upanishad= Several meanin s of the !ord 7panishad have #een iven #y the scholars. San&ara interprets this !ord to mean &no!led e of 4od implyin that the central theme of the 7panishads is that &no!led e !hich destroys i norance of man and leads him to Brahman1. This definition conveys three aspects of divine &no!led e or !isdom !hich 1. loosens the #ond of Samsara of a #ein 2. destroys his in#orn i norance ?'$nana@ of his real nature and :. leads him to Brahman or 4od" the '#solute.

=tymolo ically the !ord 07panishad1 means that !hich is tau ht to the pupils sittin at the feet of their teachers. Thus the 7panishads are #oo&s of !isdom tau ht #y the accomplished teachers to the deservin students. 'ctually the philosophy of the 7panishads !as treated as /ahasya or 4uhya or confidential not meant as a popular philosophy for an avera e person. The reason is the common sayin that half(&no!led e is dan erous meanin there#y that the hi hest !isdom could he misunderstood #y those !ho are not mature enou h to a#sor# its deeper si nificance. The initial hesitation of >ama" the Dord of .eath" to part !ith the hi hest &no!led e to Nachi&eta till he proved his !orthiness illustrates this point 2e offered the youn Nachi&eta all &inds of temptations to divert his attention. But Nachi&eta stood the test successfully concentratin on his oal of o#tainin the secret &no!led e. 7ltimately" Dord >ama had to relent and #e an 2is exposition !hich is the su#$ect matter of the ,athopanishad. Since the 7panishads form the concludin portion of each of the Vedas they are often spo&en of as Vedanta i.e. the end or 'nta of the Vedas" The 7panishads are the primary texts of Vedanta and in the common parlance" the !ord 7panishad itself came to mean Vedanta 3hilosophy. !u$+er and Classification The num#er of !or&s that o #y the name 7panishad and availa#le today in print exceeds 200. The 5u&ti&opanishad ives a list of 10C 7panishads. 2o!ever" the principal 7panishads are accepted to #e those !hich 'di San&aracharya !ho lived #et!een ECC and C20 '... chose to comment upon. San&ara !as the earliest commentator on the 7panishads. 2e chose only 10 7panishads for his commentaries. 'ccordin to some scholars he commented upon 11 7panishads. 2e refers to G more 7panishads in his commentary on Brahma Sutra. 9onsiderin the ones chosen #y him for commentin and as reference material as the most ancient and authentic" they are termed as ma$or or principal 7panishads. <e may list them as follo!s

MAJOR UPANISHADS
! Isavasya "r Is"#anishad $! Prasna U#anishad %! Taittiriya U#anishad &!'rhadaranya(a U#anishad )! Jaabaala U#anishad 2/ 7ena Upanishad 5/ 8unda0a Upanishad >/ AitareyaUpanishad ../Svetasvatara Upanishad .4/8ahanarayanaUpanishad 1/ 7athaUpanishad 6/8andu0ya Upanishad ?/ Chando%ya Upanishad .2/7ousita0i Upanishad .5/ Pain%ala Upanishad/

.r. /adha&rishnan adds G more 7panishads to the list of 3rincipal 7panishads vi). 5aitri 7panishad Su#aala 7panishad ,aivalya 7panishad Va$rasuchi&a 7panishad 9hronolo ically spea&in " some scholars classify the 7panishads into three #elon in to the three periods to !hich they are attri#uted. roups

The first and the oldest roup 9onsists of H 7panishads headed #y the Brhadaranya&a follo!ed #y the 9hando ya. Both these 7panishads are !ritten in prose and #oth are ac&no!led ed as the most authoritative presentation of the central doctrines of the 7panishads. The other four in this roup are the Taittiriya" 'itareya" ,aushita&i and ,ena 7panishads. The second roup" mostly in verse form set to standard metres" comprises 8 7panishads vi)" the ,atha" %sa" Shvetasvatara" 5unda&a and 5ahanarayana. . %n the third roup !e return to prose !hich consists of : texts vi). 3rasna" 5andu&ya and 5aitri or 5aitrayani 7panishads. 5ost of the 7panishads outside the a#ove list #elon to a later era of %ndian culture" !ritten mainly to propa ate specific cults or sects6 =ven then" they made a considera#le contri#ution to the reli ion and ethics of the times and developed Vedantic spirit amon the people. They are called minor 7panishads and rouped to ether in H cate ories Vi).

MINOR UPANISHADS
Vedanta U#anishads Siva Upanishads Sa0ta Upanishads Vaishnava Upanishads 'o%a Upanishads Sanyasa Upanishads

The Vedanta 7panishads follo! the lines of ma$or 7panishads in their principles. Siva" Sa&ta and Vaishnava 7panishads propa ate the cults of Siva" Sa&ti and Vishnu respectively. The >o a 7panishads deal !ith 2atha >o a and /a$a >o a #ased on 3atan$ali1s >o a Sutra and other !or&s. Sanyasa 7panishads deal exclusively !ith 5onasticism" its ideals" practices" rules and re ulations. Spread of Upanishads to other countries 'nother important fact in this connection is a#out the spread of 7panishads to the rest of the !orld particularly to the <est. ' collection of 80 7panishads !as translated from Sans&rit to 3ersian in the year 1H8H under the name of Bupne&1hat at the instance of Sultan 5ohammed .ara Shu&oh son of the 5o hal ,in " Shah$ehan. .

This 3ersian !or& !as later translated into Datin in 1C01(1C02. Thereafter" 4erman scholars translated the Datin version into 4erman from !here it !as ta&en to the shores of =n land #y others li&e Bohtlin & and .eussen. 5ax 5uller" !ho lived #et!een 1C2: and 1F00 '." selected 12 ma$or 7panishcids in his Sacred Boo&s of the =ast Series !hich !ere pu#lished in t!o volumes in 1CEF and 1CCG 3aul .eussen" another 4erman scholar !rote t!o masterpieces on the 7panishads in 4erman !hich !ere translated into =n lish later. 2is !or&s are entitled 0The 3hilosophy of the 7panishads1 translated into =n lish #y /ev. 'S. 4eden and 0Sixty 7panishads of the Veda1 in t!o volumes translated into =n lish #y 3rofessors V.5. Bede&ar and 4.B. 3alsule of 3une. The !ell noted !or& #y an =n lishman is 0The Thirteen 3rincipal 7panishads1 #y /o#ert =arnest 2ume. Co$$entaries on the Upanishads By its very definition 7panishads are !or&s of deep thou hts re-uirin special efforts and s&ill to understand. The lan ua e used is archaic datin #ac& thousands of years. Because of their affiliation !ith sacrificial and ritualistic reli ion" their concepts are not easily intelli i#le to us" removed as !e are" #y millennia from those ideas. 2ence it is impossi#le for any one to understand them much less et consistent understandin of them !ithout an authoritative .commentary. San&ara !as the earliest and the first to comment upon the 7panishads. %t oes to the eternal credit of San&ara that throu h his masterly commentaries he #rou ht out the 7panishads from o#scurity and made them accessi#le and intelli i#le to a !ider audience. 2is follo!ers !rote explanatory !or&s on San&ara1s commentaries !hich #ecame the source #oo&s of 2indu philosophy. /amanu$a !ho lived #et!een 101E and 11:E '." did not comment on any of the 7panishads #ut had enriched some of their concepts in his Vedantasan raha. 2is follo!er /an aramanu$a completed the tas& #y commentin on all the ma$or 7panishads. 5adhvacharya !ho lived #et!een 11FE and 12EH '. !rote #rief commentaries on all the ten ancient 7panishads upon !hich his follo!ers had also !ritten explanatory studies. 'mon the 7panishads" %savasyopanishad attracted the attention of the maximum num#er of scholars and sa es !ho had commented upon it over the centuries. Present Position The audience to the 7panishads is ever ro!in aided #y the contri#utions of su#se-uent commentators" thin&ers and sa es. %n the present a e S!ami$is li&e Vive&ananda" 'uro#indo" Sivananda" 9hinmayananda and .ayananda did yeoman service for spreadin the &no!led e of 7panishads across the lo#e particularly in the 7.S.'. No!adays" than&s to the modern science of information technolo y the !hole !orld has

#ecome a receptive audience to the &no!led e of Vedanta disseminated throu h the %nternet. 4lory to the VedasI 4lory to the 7panishadsI 2arih BmI