Upanishads

(noun)

A collection of Vedic texts that contain the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Related Terms

Examples of Upanishads in the following topics:

  • Vedic and Upanishadic Periods

    • The Brahmana prose texts: The Brahmanas proper of the four Vedas belong to this period, as well as the Aranyakas, the oldest of the Upanishads and the oldest Shrautasutras.
    • The Sutra language texts: This is the last stratum of Vedic Sanskrit leading up to c. 500 BCE, comprising the bulk of the Śrauta and Grhya Sutras as well as some Upanishads.
    • The Upanishads are a collection of philosophical texts which form the theoretical basis for the Hindu religion.
    • All Upanishads are associated with one of the four Vedas—Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda—and have been passed down in oral tradition.
    • More than 200 Upanishads are known, and with the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutra, the mukhya Upanishads provide a foundation for several later schools of Indian philosophy.

  • The Rise of Hinduism

    • The Upanishads are a collection of Vedic texts that contain the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
    • The Upanishads are found in the conclusion of the commentaries on the Vedas, and have been passed down by oral tradition.
    • Hinduism evolved as a combination of various cultures and traditions, including Vedic religion and the Upanishads.

  • Sanskrit

    • Works of Sanskrit literature, such as the Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali, which are still consulted by practitioners of yoga today, and the Upanishads, a series of sacred Hindu treatises, were translated into Arabic and Persian.