Vaishnava Upanishads

The Vaishnava Upanishads are minor Upanishads of Hinduism, related to Vishnu theology (Vaishnavism). There are 14 Vaishnava Upanishads in the Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads.[1] They, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally classified separate from the thirteen major Principal Upanishads considered to be more ancient and from the Vedic tradition.[2]

The Vaishnava Upanishads also contrast from other groups of minor Upanishads, such as the Samanya Upanishads which are of a generic nature, the Sannyasa Upanishads which focus on the Hindu renunciation and monastic practice, the Yoga Upanishads related to Yoga, the Shaiva Upanishads which highlight aspects of Shaivism, and the Shakta Upanishads which highlight Shaktism.[3][4]

These Upanishads propound Vishnu, Narayana, Rama or one of his avatars as the supreme metaphysical reality called Brahman in Hinduism. They discuss a diverse range of topics, from ethics to the methods of worship.[5]

Some of the Vaishnava Upanishads exist in more than one version, each version attached to a different Veda depending on the region their manuscript has been discovered.[6][7] Furthermore, scholars disagree on which minor Upanishads are Vaishnava; for example, Deussen classifies Maha Upanishad as a Vaishnava Upanishad,[8] but Tinoco lists it as a Samanya Upanishad.[7]

Date

The composition date of each Vaishnava Upanishad is unclear, and estimates on when they were composed vary with scholar. According to Mahony, the minor Upanishads are approximately dated to be from about 100 BC to 1100 AD.[9]

According to Ramdas Lamb, associate professor of religion at the University of Hawaii, the sectarian Upanishads which are the post-Vedic scriptures are not easily datable due to their very nature of the "multiple layers of material". Of these Upanishads the Purva Nrisimha Tapaniya and Uttara Tapaniya Upanishads, which are part of the Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishadas, are the earliest dated to before the seventh century AD.[10]

Patrick Olivelle states that sectarian Upanishads attached to Atharvaveda – which include some Vaishnava Upanishads – were likely composed in the second millennium, until about the 16th century.[11]

List of 14 Vaishnava Upanishads

List of the Vaishnava Upanishads according to Muktikā anthology
Title Muktika serial # Attached Veda Period of creation
Narayana Upanishad 18 Krishna Yajurveda
Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad 27 Atharvaveda Before seventh century
Mahanarayana Upanishad 52 Atharvaveda Second half of 1st millennium BC
Rama Rahasya Upanishad 54 Atharvaveda 17th century
Rama Tapaniya Upanishad 55 Atharvaveda 16th century
Vasudeva Upanishad 56 Sama Veda Modern text
Avyakta Upanishad 68 Sama Veda before seventh century
Tarasara Upanishad 91 Shukla Yajurveda After 14 century
Gopala Tapani Upanishad 95 Atharvaveda 7th century
Krishna Upanishad 96 Atharvaveda Late medieval period
Hayagriva Upanishad 100 Atharvaveda After 10th century
Dattatreya Upanishad 101 Atharvaveda 14th or 15th century
Garuda Upanishad 102 Atharvaveda
Kali Santarana Upanishad 103 Krishna Yajurveda Before 1500

See also

References

  1. ↑ Deussen 1997, p. 556.
  2. ↑ Mahony 1998, p. 271.
  3. ↑ William K. Mahony (1998). The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination. State University of New York Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-7914-3579-3.
  4. ↑ Moriz Winternitz; V. Srinivasa Sarma (1996). A History of Indian Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 217–224 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-0264-3.
  5. ↑ Sen 1937, p. 26.
  6. ↑ Deussen 1997, pp. 566–567.
  7. 1 2 Tinoco 1996, pp. 87–89.
  8. ↑ Paul Deussen (1980). Sixty Upaniṣads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 799 with footnote 1. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
  9. ↑ Mahony 1998, p. 290.
  10. ↑ Lamb 2002, p. 191.
  11. ↑ Olivelle 2008, p. xxxiii.

Bibliography

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