Muktikā

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The Muktikā (Sanskrit: "deliverance") refers to the canon of 108 Upaniṣads found in Telugu language version of Muktika Upanishad. The date of composition of each is unknown, with the oldest probably from about 800 BCE and the youngest probably composed after the 15th-century CE.^[1]^[2] The Principal Upanishads were composed in the 1st millennium BCE,^[3] most Yoga Upanishads composed probably from the 100 BCE to 300 CE period,^[4] and seven of the Sannyasa Upanishads composed before the 3rd century CE.^[5]^[6]

The Canon

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, hard to get even by sages." Hanuman enquires about the different kinds of "liberation" (Mukti, hence the name of the Upanishad), to which Rama answers that "the only real type [of liberation] is Kaivalya".

The list of 108 Upanishads is introduced in verses 26-29:

But by what means is the Kaivalya kind of Moksha got? The Mandukya is enough; if knowledge is not got from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. Getting knowledge very soon, you will reach my abode. If certainty is not got even then, study the 32 Upanishads and stop. If desiring Moksha without the body, read the 108 Upanishads. Hear their order. (trans. Warrier)

Some scholars list ten as principal – the Mukhya Upanishads, while most consider twelve or thirteen as principal, most important Upanishads (highlighted).^[7]^[8]^[9]

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

Transmission

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Categories

In this canon,

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

The first 13 are grouped as mukhya ("principal"). 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.

	Shukla Yajurveda	Krishna Yajurveda	Atharvaveda	Samaveda	Ṛgveda
Mukhya;^[9] these form the core of ancient texts, predating classical Hinduism; they span the 1st millennium BCE and reflect the emergence of Vedanta from Vedic religion.	Īṣa Bṛhadāraṇyaka	Kaṭha Taittirīya Śvetāśvatara	Praśna Muṇḍaka Māṇḍūkya	Kena Chāndogya Maitrāyaṇi	Kauśītāki Aitareya
Sāmānya; These are general Upanishads, and do not focus on any specific post-classical Hindu tradition. Some are referred to as Vedantic Upanishads.^[12]	Subāla Mantrikā Nirālamba Paiṅgala Adhyātmā Muktikā	Garbha Sarvasāra Śukarahasya Skanda Śārīraka Ekākṣara Akṣi Prāṇāgnihotra	Sūrya Ātmā	Vajrasūchi Maha Sāvitrī	Ātmabodha Mudgala
Sannyāsa^[13] These are Upanishads that focus on asceticism and renunciation	Jābāla Paramahaṃsa Advayatāraka Bhikṣuka Turīyātīta Yājñavalkya Śāṭyāyaniya	Brahma Tejobindu Avadhūta Kaṭharudra	Parivrāt (Nāradaparivrājaka) Paramahaṃsaparivrājaka Parabrahma	Āruṇeya Maitreyi Sannyāsa Kuṇḍika	Nirvāṇa
Śākta These are Upanishads that focus on goddess Devi-related themes		Sarasvatīrahasya	Sītā Annapūrṇa Devī Tripurātapani Bhāvana		Tripura Saubhāgya Bahvṛca
Vaiṣṇava These are Upanishads that focus on god Vishnu-related themes	Tārasāra	Nārāyaṇa Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa (Kali)	Nṛsiṃhatāpanī Mahānārāyaṇa (Tripād vibhuti) Rāmarahasya Rāmatāpaṇi Gopālatāpani Kṛṣṇa Hayagrīva Dattātreya Gāruḍa	Vāsudeva Avyakta
Śaiva These are Upanishads that focus on god Shiva-related themes		Kaivalya Kālāgnirudra Dakṣiṇāmūrti Rudrahṛdaya Pañcabrahma	Atharvaśikha Bṛhajjābāla Śarabha Bhasma Gaṇapati	Rudrākṣa Jābāla	Akṣamālika (Mālika)
Yoga^[14] These are Upanishads that focus on Yoga-related themes	Haṃsa Triśikhi Maṇḍalabrāhmaṇa	Amṛtabindu Amṛtanāda Kṣurika Dhyānabindu Brahmavidyā Yogatattva Yogaśikhā Yogakuṇḍalinī Varāha	Śāṇḍilya Pāśupata Mahāvākya	Yogachūḍāmaṇi Darśana	Nādabindu

References

↑ Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads. Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199540259, see Introduction
↑ Gudrun Buhnemann (1996), Review: The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Śakta Tantrism, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Volume 116, Number 3, page 606
↑ Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231144858, Chapter 1, pages 28-30
↑ Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, page 96
↑ Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, page 91
↑ Patrick Olivelle (1992), The Samnyasa Upanisads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195070453, pages 5, 8-9
↑ Robert C Neville (2000), Ultimate Realities, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0791447765, page 319
↑ Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231144858, pages 28-29
1 2 Peter Heehs (2002), Indian Religions, New York University Press, ISBN 978-0814736500, pages 60-88
↑ Quotation of "... almost all printed editions depend on the late manuscripts that are hardly older than 500 years, not on the still extant and superior oral tradition" is from: Witzel, M., "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, p. 69.
↑ For the quotation comparing recital to a "tape-recording" see: Witzel, M., "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, pp. 68–69.
↑ Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 567. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
↑ Patrick Olivelle (1992), The Samnyasa Upanisads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195070453, pages x-xi, 5
↑ The Yoga Upanishads SS Sastri, Adyar Library

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

External links

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

The 108 Upanishads

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