Muktikā

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:

1. Isha Upanishad
2. Kena Upanishad
3. Katha Upanishad
4. Prashna Upanishad
5. Mundaka Upanishad
6. Mandukya Upanishad
7. Taittiriya Upanishad
8. Aitareya Upanishad
9. Chandogya Upanishad
10. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
11. Brahma Upanishad
12. Kaivalya Upanishad
13. Jabala Upanishad
14. Shvetashvatara Upanishad
15. Hamsopanishad
16. Aruneya Upanishad
17. Garbhopanishad
18. Narayanopanishad
19. Paramahamsopanishad
20. Amritabindu Upanishad
21. Nada Bindu Upanishad
22. Atharvashiras Upanishad
23. Atharvashikha Upanishad
24. Maitrayaniya Upanishad
25. Kaushitaki Upanishad
26. Brihajjabala Upanishad
27. Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad
28. Kalagni Rudra Upanishad
29. Maitreya Upanishad
30. Subala Upanishad
31. Kshurika Upanishad
32. Mantrika Upanishad
33. Sarvasara Upanishad
34. Niralamba Upanishad
35. Shukarahasya Upanishad
36. Vajrasuchi Upanishad
37. Tejobindu Upanishad
38. Nada Bindu Upanishad
39. Dhyanabindu Upanishad
40. Brahmavidya Upanishad
41. Yogatattva Upanishad
42. Atmabodha Upanishad
43. Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad
44. Trishikhibrahmana Upanishad
45. Sita Upanishad
46. Yogachudamani Upanishad
47. Nirvana Upanishad
48. Mandala-brahmana Upanishad
49. Dakshinamurti Upanishad
50. Sharabha Upanishad
51. Skanda Upanishad
52. Mahanarayana Upanishad
53. Advayataraka Upanishad
54. Rama Rahasya Upanishad
55. Rama tapaniya Upanishad
56. Vasudeva Upanishad
57. Mudgala Upanishad
58. Shandilya Upanishad
59. Paingala Upanishad
60. Bhikshuka Upanishad
61. Maha Upanishad
62. Sariraka Upanishad
63. Yogashikha Upanishad
64. Turiyatitavadhuta Upanishad
65. Brihat-Sannyasa Upanishad
66. Paramahamsa Parivrajaka Upanishad
67. Malika Upanishad
68. Avyakta Upanishad
69. Ekakshara Upanishad
70. Annapurna Upanishad
71. Surya Upanishad
72. Akshi Upanishad
73. Adhyatma Upanishad
74. Kundika Upanishad
75. Savitri Upanishad
76. Atma Upanishad
77. Pashupatabrahma Upanishad
78. Parabrahma Upanishad
79. Avadhuta Upanishad
80. Tripuratapini Upanishad
81. Devi Upanishad
82. Tripura Upanishad
83. Kathashruti Upanishad
84. Bhavana Upanishad
85. Rudrahridaya Upanishad
86. Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad
87. Bhasma Upanishad
88. Rudraksha Upanishad
89. Ganapati Upanishad
90. Darshana Upanishad
91. Tarasara Upanishad
92. Mahavakya Upanishad
93. Pancabrahma Upanishad
94. Pranagnihotra Upanishad
95. Gopala Tapani Upanishad
96. Krishna Upanishad
97. Yajnavalkya Upanishad
98. Varaha Upanishad
99. Shatyayaniya Upanishad
100. Hayagriva Upanishad
101. Dattatreya Upanishad
102. Garuda Upanishad
103. Kali-Santarana Upanishad
104. Jabali Upanishad
105. Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad
106. Sarasvati-rahasya Upanishad
107. Bahvricha Upanishad
108. 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
Śākta These are Upanishads that focus on goddess Devi-related themes		Sarasvatīrahasya	Sītā Annapūrṇa Devī Tripurātapini Bhāvana		Tripura Saubhāgya Lakshmi Bahvṛca
Vaiṣṇava These are Upanishads that focus on god Vishnu-related themes	Tārasāra	Nārāyaṇa Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa	Nṛsiṃhatāpanī Mahānārāyaṇa 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

1. Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads. Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199540259, see Introduction
2. 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
3. Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231144858, Chapter 1, pages 28-30
4. Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, page 96
5. Gavin Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521438780, page 91
6. Patrick Olivelle (1992), The Samnyasa Upanisads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195070453, pages 5, 8-9
7. Robert C Neville (2000), Ultimate Realities, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0791447765, page 319
8. Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231144858, pages 28-29
9. Peter Heehs (2002), Indian Religions, New York University Press, ISBN 978-0814736500, pages 60-88
10. 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.
11. For the quotation comparing recital to a "tape-recording" see: Witzel, M., "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood 2003, pp. 68–69.
12. Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 567. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
13. Patrick Olivelle (1992), The Samnyasa Upanisads, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195070453, pages x-xi, 5
14. 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

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