Muktikā
Muktikā
The Muktikā (Sanskrit: " मुक्तिका ") refers to the canon of 108 Upaniṣads. The date of composition of each is unknown, with the oldest probably from about 800 BCE.[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)
The list of 108 names is given in verses 30-39. They are as follows:
Isha Upanishad
Kena Upanishad
Katha Upanishad
Prashna Upanishad
Mundaka Upanishad
Mandukya Upanishad
Taittiriya Upanishad
Aitareya Upanishad
Chandogya Upanishad
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Brahma Upanishad
Kaivalya Upanishad
Jabala Upanishad
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
Hamsopanishad
Aruneya Upanishad
Garbhopanishad
Narayanopanishad
Paramahamsopanishad
Amritabindu Upanishad
Amritanada Upanishad
Atharvashiras Upanishad
Atharvashikha Upanishad
Maitrayaniya Upanishad
Kaushitaki Upanishad
Brihajjabala Upanishad
Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad
Kalagni Rudra Upanishad
Maitreya Upanishad
Subala Upanishad
Kshurika Upanishad
Mantrika Upanishad
Sarvasara Upanishad
Niralamba Upanishad
Shukarahasya Upanishad
Vajrasuchi Upanishad
Tejobindu Upanishad
Nada Bindu Upanishad
Dhyanabindu Upanishad
Brahmavidya Upanishad
Yogatattva Upanishad
Atmabodha Upanishad
Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad
Trishikhibrahmana Upanishad
Sita Upanishad
Yogachudamani Upanishad
Nirvana Upanishad
Mandala-brahmana Upanishad
Dakshinamurti Upanishad
Sharabha Upanishad
Skanda Upanishad
Mahanarayana Upanishad
Advayataraka Upanishad
Rama Rahasya Upanishad
Rama tapaniya Upanishad
Vasudeva Upanishad
Mudgala Upanishad
Shandilya Upanishad
Paingala Upanishad
Bhikshuka Upanishad
Maha Upanishad
Sariraka Upanishad
Yogashikha Upanishad
Turiyatitavadhuta Upanishad
Brihat-Sannyasa Upanishad
Paramahamsa Parivrajaka Upanishad
Malika Upanishad
Avyakta Upanishad
Ekakshara Upanishad
Annapurna Upanishad
Surya Upanishad
Akshi Upanishad
Adhyatma Upanishad
Kundika Upanishad
Savitri Upanishad
Atma Upanishad
Pashupatabrahma Upanishad
Parabrahma Upanishad
Avadhuta Upanishad
Tripuratapini Upanishad
Devi Upanishad
Tripura Upanishad
Kathashruti Upanishad
Bhavana Upanishad
Rudrahridaya Upanishad
Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad
Bhasma Upanishad
Rudraksha Upanishad
Ganapati Upanishad
Darshana Upanishad
Tarasara Upanishad
Mahavakya Upanishad
Pancabrahma Upanishad
Pranagnihotra Upanishad
Gopala Tapani Upanishad
Krishna Upanishad
Yajnavalkya Upanishad
Varaha Upanishad
Shatyayaniya Upanishad
Hayagriva Upanishad
Dattatreya Upanishad
Garuda Upanishad
Kali-Santarana Upanishad
Jabali Upanishad
Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad
Sarasvati-rahasya Upanishad
Bahvricha Upanishad
Muktikā Upanishad (this text)
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 | Sarvasāra Śukarahasya Skanda Śārīraka Garbha Ekākṣara Akṣi Prāṇāgnihotra | Sūrya Ātmā | Vajrasūchi Maha Sāvitrī | Ātmabodha Mudgala |
| Sannyāsa[13]These are Upanishads that focus on renunciation-related themes and the life of a sannyasi (monk) | Jābāla Paramahaṃsa Advayatāraka Bhikṣuka Turīyātīta Yājñavalkya Śāṭyāyaniya | Brahma Tejobindu Avadhūta Kaṭharudra | Nāradaparivrājaka Paramahaṃsa parivrājaka Parabrahma | Āruṇeya Maitreya Sannyāsa Kuṇḍika | Nirvāṇa |
| ŚāktaThese are Upanishads that focus on goddess Devi-related themes | Sarasvatīrahasya | Sītā Annapūrṇa Devī Tripurātapini Bhāvana | Tripura Saubhāgya Lakshmi Bahvṛca | ||
| VaiṣṇavaThese are Upanishads that focus on god Vishnu-related themes | Tārasāra | Nārāyaṇa Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa | Nṛsiṃhatāpanī Mahānārāyaṇa Rāmarahasya Rāmatāpaṇi Gopālatāpani Kṛṣṇa Hayagrīva Dattātreya Gāruḍa | Vāsudeva Avyakta | |
| ŚaivaThese 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 |