Classification of the Upaniṣad

It is very tough to find out the correct number of genuine Upaniṣads. Dr.Meena P. Pathak proclaims that, “The Upaniṣadic literature has continued to grow from time to time till the recent period, i.e., 20^th cent.”^[1] She has pointed out that, “The number of the available Upaniṣads goes to exceed two hundred and more.”^[2] The Muktikopaniṣad has mentioned 108 Upaniṣads, which are recognised as more significant.^[3] Among the 108 Upaniṣads, ten Upaniṣads are regarded as the major Upaniṣads, in which Saṃkarācārya has written his commentary.

The names of the Upaniṣads as mentioned in the Muktikopaniṣad are enlisted below^[4] :

1. Īśa Upaniṣad: Śukla Yajurveda;
2. Kena Upaniṣad: Sāmaveda;
3. Kaṭha Upaniṣad: Kṛṣna Yajurveda;
4. Praśna Upaniṣad: Atharvaveda;
5. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: Atharvaveda;
6. Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad: Atharvaveda;
7. Tattirīya Upaniṣad: Kṛṣna Yanurveda;
8. Aitareya Upaniṣad: Ṛgveda;
9. Chāndogya Upaniṣad: Sāmaveda;
10. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: Śukla Yajurveda;

The other ninety eight Upaniṣads, in which Śaṃkarācārya has not commented and which are not given Vedic authority, are regarded as minor Upaniṣads. But they have the great values for understanding the philosophical truths as well as Indian culture and civilisation. These minor Upaniṣads are as follows.^[5]

Ṛgvedic Upaniṣads:

1. Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad;
2. Nādabindu Upaniṣad;
3. Ātmaprabodha Upaniṣad;
4. Nirvāṇa Upaniṣad;
5. Mudgala Upaniṣad;
6. Tripurā Upaniṣad;
7. Akṣamālikā Upaniṣad;
8. Saubhāgya Upaniṣad;
9. Bahvṛca Upaniṣad;

Śukla Yajurvedic Upaniṣads:

1. Jābāla Upaniṣad;
2. Haṃsa Upaniṣad;
3. Paramahaṃsa Upaniṣad;
4. Subāla Upaniṣad;
5. Māntrika Upaniṣad;
6. Nirālamba Upaniṣad;
7. Triśikhībrāhmaṇa Upaniṣad;
8. Maṇḍalabrāhmaṇa Upaniṣad;
9. Advayatāraka Upaniṣad;
10. Paingal Upaniṣad;
11. Bhikṣu Upaniṣad;
12. Turiyātita Upaniṣad;
13. Adhyātma Upaniṣad;
14. Tārasāra Upaniṣad;
15. Yājñavalkya Upaniṣad;
16. Śatyāyani Upaniṣad;
17. Muktika Upaniṣad;

Kṛṣṇa Yajurvedic Upaniṣads:

1. Brahma Upaniṣad;
2. Kaivalya Upaniṣad;
3. Garbha Upaniṣad;
4. Nārāyaṇa Upaniṣad;
5. Amṛtābindu Upaniṣad;
6. Kaṭhavallī Upaniṣad;
7. Amṛtānanda Upaniṣad;
8. Kālāgnirudra Upaniṣad;
9. Kṣurikā Upaniṣad;
10. Sarvasāra Upaniṣad;
11. Śukarahasya Upaniṣad;
12. Tejobindu Upaniṣad;
13. Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad;
14. Brahmavidyā Upaniṣad;
15. Skanda Upaniṣad;
16. Yogotattva Upaniṣad;
17. Dakṣiṇāmūrti Upaniṣad;
18. Śārīraka Upaniṣad;
19. Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad;
20. Ekākṣara Upaniṣad ;
21. Akṣi Upaniṣad;
22. Avadhuta Upaniṣad;
23. Rudrahṛdaya Upaniṣad;
24. Varāha Upaniṣad;
25. Yogakuṇḍalinī Upaniṣad;
26. Pañcabrahma Upaniṣad;
27. Prāṇāgnihotra Upaniṣad;
28. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad;
29. Kalisantaraṇa Upaniṣad;
30. Sarasvatīrahasya Upaniṣad;

Sāmavedic Upaniṣad:

1. Āruṇi Upaniṣad;
2. Maitrāyaṇi Upaniṣad ;
3. Maitreyī Upaniṣad;
4. Vajrasūcikā Upaniṣad;
5. Yogacuḍāmani Upaniṣad;
6. Vāsudeva Upaniṣad;
7. Mahat Upaniṣad;
8. Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣad;
9. Avyakta Upaniṣad;
10. Kuṇḍikā Upaniṣad;
11. Sāvitrī Upaniṣad;
12. Rudrākṣajābāla Upaniṣad;
13. Darśana Upaniṣad;
14. Jābāli Upaniṣad;

Atharvavedic Upaniṣads:

1. Atharvaśiras Upaniṣad;
2. Atharvaśikhā Upaniṣad;
3. Bṛhajjābāla Upaniṣad;
4. Nṛsiṃhatāpinī Upaniṣad;
5. Nāradaparivrājaka Upaniṣad;
6. Sītā Upaniṣad;
7. Śarabha Upaniṣad;
8. Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad;
9. Rāmarahasya Upaniṣad;
10. Rāmatāpinī Upaniṣad;
11. Śāṇḍilya Upaniṣad;
12. Paramahaṃsaparivrājaka Upaniṣad ;
13. Annapūrṇā Upaniṣad;
14. Sūrya Upaniṣad;
15. Ātma Upaniṣad;
16. Pāśupata Upaniṣad;
17. Parabrahma Upaniṣad;
18. Tripuratāpinī Upaniṣad;
19. Devī Upaniṣad;
20. Bhāvanā Upaniṣad;
21. Brahmā Upaniṣad;
22. Gaṇapati Upaniṣad;
23. Mahāvākya Upaniṣad;
24. Gopalatāpinī Upaniṣad;
25. Kṛṣṇa Upaniṣad;
26. Hayagrīva Upaniṣad;
27. Dattātreya Upaniṣad;
28. Garuḍa Upaniṣad;

The above mentioned minor Upaniṣads are again divided into six groups^[6], viz., Yoga, Sāmānyavedānta, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Saṃnyāsa, and Śākta, Here an effort has been made highlight their names according to their group:

Yoga Upaniṣads

(1) Advayatāraka Upaniṣad, (2) Aṃṛtānāda Upaniṣad, (3) Amṛtavindu Upaniṣad, (4) Kṣurikā Upaniṣad, (5) Tejobindu Upaniṣad, (6) Triśikhibhrāhmaṇa Upaniṣad, (7) Darśana Upaniṣad, (8) Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad, (9) Pāśupatabrāhmaṇa Upaniṣad, (10) Brahmavidyā Upaniṣad, (11) Maṇḍalabrāhmaṇa Upaniṣad, (12) Mahāvākya Upaniṣad, (13) Yogakuṇḍalini Upaniṣad, (14) Yogacuḍāmaṇi Upaniṣad (15) Yogatattva Upaniṣad, (16) Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad, (17) Varāha Upaniṣad, (18) Śaṇḍilya Upaniṣad and (19) Haṃsa Upaniṣad.

Sāmānya Vedānta Upaniṣads

(1) Akṣi Upaniṣad, (2) Adhyātma Upaniṣad, (3) Annapūrṇā Upaniṣad, (4) Ātmā Upaniṣad, (5) Ātmabodha Upaniṣad (6) Ekākṣara Upaniṣad, (7) Kauṣītaki brāhṃaṇa Upaniṣad, (8) Garbha Upaniṣad, (9) Nirālamba Upaniṣad, (10) Paiṅgala Upaniṣad, (11) Prāṇāgni Upaniṣad, (12) Māntrika Upaniṣad, (13) Mahat Upaniṣad, (14) Muktika Upaniṣad, (15) Mudgala Upaniṣad, (16) Maitrāyanī Upaniṣad, (17) Vajraśucikā Upaniṣad, (18) Śāriraka Upaniṣad, (19) Sukarahasya Upaniṣad (20) Sarvasāra Upaniṣad (21) Sāvitrī Upaniṣad (22) Subāla Upaniṣad (23) Sūrya Upaniṣad and (24) Skanda Upaniṣad.

Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣads

(1) Avyakta Upaniṣad, (2) Kalisaṃtaraṇa Upaniṣad, (3) Kṛṣṇa Upaniṣad, (4) Garuḍa Upaniṣad, (5) Gopālatāpinī Upaniṣad, (6) Tārasāra Upaniṣad, (7) Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad, (8) Dattātreya Upaniṣad, (9) Narāyaṇa Upaniṣad, (10) Nṛsiṃhatāpinī Upaniṣad, (11) Rāmatāpinī Upaniṣad, (12) Rāmarahasya Upaniṣad, (13) Vāsudeva Upaniṣad, and (14) Hayagriva Upaniṣad.

Śaiva Upaniṣads

(1) Akṣamālikā Upaniṣad, (2) Atharvaśikhā Upaniṣad, (3) Atharvaśira Upaniṣad, (4) Kālāgnirudra Upaniṣad, (5) Kaivalya Upaniṣad, (6) Gaṇapati Upaniṣad, (7) Jābalī Upaniṣad, (8) Dakṣiṇāmūrti Upaniṣad, (9) Pañcabrahma Upaniṣad, (10) Bṛhajjābāla Upaniṣad, (11) Bhasmajābāla Upaniṣad, (12) Rudrahṛdaya Upaniṣad, (13) Rudrākṣajābāla Upaniṣad, (14) Śarabha Upaniṣad and (15) Śvetaśvatara Upaniṣad.

Samnyāsa Upaniṣads

(1) Avadhūta Upaniṣad, (2) Āruṇi Upaniṣad, (3) Kaṭharudra Upaniṣad, (4) Kuṇḍikā Upaniṣad, (5) Jābāla Upaniṣad, (6) Turiyātīta Upaniṣad, (7) Nāradaparivrājaka Upaniṣad, (8) Nīrvāṇa Upaniṣad, (9) Parabrahma Upaniṣad, (10) Paramahaṃsa Upaniṣad, (11) Paramahaṃsa Parivrājaka Upaniṣad, (12) Brahma Upaniṣad, (13) Bhikṣuka Upaniṣad, (14) Maitreyī Upaniṣad, (15) Yājñavalkya Upaniṣad (16) Sātyāyani Upaniṣad and (17) Samnyāsa Upaniṣad.

Śākta Upaniṣads

(1) Tripuratāpinī Upaniṣad, (2) Tripurā Upaniṣad, (3) Sarasvatīrahasya Upaniṣad, (4) Saubhāgya Lakṣmi Upaniṣad, (5) Bhāvanā Upaniṣad (6) Bahvṛca Upaniṣad, and (7) Sītā Upaniṣad.

It is very tough to ascertain the date of the creation of the Upaniṣads. Some of the Upaniṣads belong to the pre-Buddhistic era and some are of post-Buddhistic time.^[7] The Upaniṣadic thought is believed to be originated in between the last part of the Vedic era and the rise of Buddhism. It may be accepted that in between 1000 B.C. to 300 B.C.; the Upaniṣads took their final shape.^[8] Śaṃkarācārya has commented on some of the oldest Upaniṣads, like the Aitareya, the Kauṣitakī, the Taittirīya, the Chāndogya, Bṛhadāraṇyaka and some parts of the Kena Upaniṣads. He also commented on many post-Buddhistic Upaniṣads belong to 400 or 300 B.C.^[9] The verse 1-13 of the Kena Upaniṣad and (IV-8-21) of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad represents transition towards metrical Upaniṣads and have been considered as later additions. The Kaṭhopaniṣad, which is created later than the above mentioned

Upaniṣads, discussed on the elements of Sāṃkhya and Yoga systems. The references of the hymns of the other Upaniṣads and the verses of the Śrimadbhagavadgītā have been frequently found in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad. The Upaniṣad belonging to the Atharvaveda developed much later. The elements of Sāṃkhya and Yoga systems are found in the Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad was composed at the time when the several philosophical theories were flourishing.

Robert Earnest Hume, who has considered 13 principal Upaniṣads, has arranged these in the following order.^[10]

1. Bṛahdāraṇyaka Upaniṣad;
2. Chāndogya Upaniṣad;
3. Taittirīya Upaniṣad;
4. Aitareya Upaniṣad;
5. Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad;
6. Kena Upaniṣad;
7. Kaṭha Upaniṣad;
8. Īśa Upaniṣad;
9. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad;
10. Praśna Upaniṣad;
11. Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad;
12. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad;
13. Maitrī Upaniṣad;

Renede has classified the Upaniṣads in five groups:^[11]

(i) Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and Chāndogya Upaniṣad
(ii) Īśa Upaniṣad and Kena Upaniṣad.
(iii) Aitareya Upaniṣad, Taittirīya Upaniṣad and Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad.
(iv) Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad.
(v) Praśna Upaniṣad, Maitrī Upaniṣad and Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.

Dussen and Keith classified the Upaniṣads in the following manner^[12] :

1. Ancient Prose Upaniṣads

(i) Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, (ii) Chāndogya Upaniṣad, (iii) Taittirīya Upaniṣad, (iv) Aitareya Upaniṣad, (v) Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad and (v) Kena Upaniṣad.

2. The Metrical Upaniṣads

(i) Kaṭha Upaniṣad, (ii) Īśa Upaniṣad, (iii) Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, (iv) Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad and (v) Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad.

3. The Later Prose Upaniṣads

(i) Praśna Upaniṣad, (ii) Maitrayanīya Upaniṣad and (iii) Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad.

4. The Later Atharvaṇa Upaniṣads

(i) Yoga-Upaniṣads, (ii) Saṃnyāsa-Upaniṣads, (iii) Sāmānyavedāntopaniṣads (iv) Śaiva-Upaniṣads, (v) Vaiṣṇava-Upaniṣads (vi) Śākta-Upaniṣads and minor-sectarian Upaniṣads.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Pathak, Meena P., A Study of Taittirīya Upaniṣad , p.11

[2]:

Ibid

[3]:

Muktikopaniṣad , 30-40

[4]:

Ibid., 30

[5]:

Pathak, Meena P., A Study of Taittirīya Upaniṣad , p.12

[6]:

Pathak, Meena P., A Study of Taittirīya Upaniṣad , p.13

[7]:

Radhakrishnan, S., Indian Philosophy , (Vol.-I), p.141

[8]:

Ibid., p.142

[9]:

Ibid

[10]:

Hume, Robert Ernest., The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Preface, p (xi)

[11]:

Pathak, Meena P., A Study of Taittirīya Upaniṣad , p.15

[12]:

Ibid., p.15-16