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Muktikā

Telugu-language anthology of 108 Upaniṣhads

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Muktikā (Sanskrit: मुक्तिका) refers to the Sanskrit-language anthology of a canon of 108 Upaniṣhads.^[1] The date of composition of each is unknown, with the oldest probably from about 800 BCE.^[2][3] The Principal Upanishads were composed in the 1st millennium BCE,^[4] most Yoga Upanishads composed probably from the 100 BCE to 300 CE period,^[5] and seven of the Sannyasa Upanishads composed before the 3rd century CE.^[6][7]

^[1] The canon is part of a dialogue between Rama and Hanuman dealing with the inquiry into mukti in the Muktikā Upanishad (108 in the list). The other collections of Upanishads include Oupanekhat, a Persian language anthology of 50 Upanishads; the Colebrooke Collection of 52 Upanishads, and the 52 Upanishad Collection of Nārāyana.^[8]

The canon[edit]

The canon is part of a dialogue between Rama and Hanuman. Rama proposes to teach Vedanta, saying "Even by reading one verse of them [any Upanishad] with devotion, one gets the status of union with me, which is hard to get even by sages." Hanuman inquires about the different kinds of "liberation" (ormukti, hence the name of the Upanishad), to which Rama answers, "The only real type [of liberation] is Kaivalya."^[9]

The list of 108 Upanishads is introduced in verses 26-29:^[9]

But by what means does one attain the Kaivalya kind of Moksha? The Mandukya [Upanishad] is enough; if knowledge is not attained from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. Attaining knowledge very quickly, you will reach my abode. If certainty is not attained even then, study the 32 Upanishads and stop. If desiring Moksha without the body, read the 108 Upanishads. Hear their order.

Most scholars list ten upanishads as principal, or the Mukhya Upanishads, while some consider eleven, twelve or thirteen as principal, or the most important Upanishads (highlighted).^[10][11][12]

The list of 108 names is given in verses 30–39. They are as follows:

Transmission[edit]

Almost all printed editions of ancient Vedas and Upanishads depend on the late manuscripts that are hardly older than 500 years, not on the still-extant and superior oral tradition.^[13] Michael Witzel explains this oral tradition as follows:

The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalized early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is, in fact, something like a tape-recording.... Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present.^[14]

Categories[edit]

In this canon,

• 10upaniṣads are associated with the Rigveda and have the śānti beginning vaṇme-manasi.
• 16upaniṣads are associated with the Samaveda and have the śānti beginning āpyāyantu.
• 19upaniṣads are associated with the Shukla Yajurveda and have the śānti beginning pūrṇamada.
• 32upaniṣads are associated with the Krishna Yajurveda and have the śānti beginning sahanāvavatu.
• 31upaniṣads are associated with the Atharvaveda and have the śānti beginning bhadram-karṇebhiḥ.

The first 13 are grouped as mukhya ("principal"), and 21 are grouped as Sāmānya Vedānta ("common Vedanta"). The remainder are associated with five different schools or sects within Hinduism, 20 with Sannyāsa (asceticism), 8 with Shaktism, 14 with Vaishnavism, 12 with Shaivism and 20 with Yoga.

References[edit]

• Muktika Upanishad, Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier, Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai, ^{[year needed]}
• Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1-4051-3251-5

External links[edit]

Sanskrit Wikisource has original text related to this article:

उपनिषत्

• Muktika Upanishad - Translated by: Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
• 108 Upanishads of the Muktika