Principal Upanishads

Eleven sacred texts revealing the nature of ultimate reality, consciousness, and liberation

Īśa Upaniṣad · Īśāvāsya

Veda: Śukla Yajurveda

Structure: 18 Mantras (no subdivisions)

The Lord dwells in all · Renunciation through action

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Kena Upaniṣad · By Whom?

Veda: Sāmaveda

Structure: 4 Khaṇḍas · 35 Mantras

  • Khaṇḍa 1: Mantras 1–9
  • Khaṇḍa 2: Mantras 1–5
  • Khaṇḍa 3: Mantras 1–12
  • Khaṇḍa 4: Mantras 1–9

Inquiry into the source of consciousness

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Kaṭha Upaniṣad · Nachiketa & Death

Veda: Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda

Structure: 2 Adhyāyas × 3 Vallīs each · 119 Mantras

  • Adhyāya 1 · Vallī 1: 29 mantras
  • Adhyāya 1 · Vallī 2: 25 mantras
  • Adhyāya 1 · Vallī 3: 17 mantras
  • Adhyāya 2 · Vallī 1: 15 mantras
  • Adhyāya 2 · Vallī 2: 15 mantras
  • Adhyāya 2 · Vallī 3: 18 mantras

Nachiketa's dialogue with Yama · The path to immortality

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Praśna Upaniṣad · Six Questions

Veda: Atharvaveda

Structure: 6 Praśnas (Questions) · 67 Mantras

  • Praśna 1: 16 mantras (Origin of creation)
  • Praśna 2: 13 mantras (Prāṇa supremacy)
  • Praśna 3: 12 mantras (Prāṇa and mind)
  • Praśna 4: 11 mantras (Sleep and dream states)
  • Praśna 5: 7 mantras (Meditation on OM)
  • Praśna 6: 8 mantras (The sixteen parts)

Pippalāda's answers on cosmic truth

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Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad · The Shaven One

Veda: Atharvaveda

Structure: 3 Muṇḍakas × 2 Khaṇḍas · 64 Mantras

  • Muṇḍaka 1 · Khaṇḍa 1: 9 mantras
  • Muṇḍaka 1 · Khaṇḍa 2: 13 mantras
  • Muṇḍaka 2 · Khaṇḍa 1: 10 mantras
  • Muṇḍaka 2 · Khaṇḍa 2: 11 mantras
  • Muṇḍaka 3 · Khaṇḍa 1: 10 mantras
  • Muṇḍaka 3 · Khaṇḍa 2: 11 mantras

Higher and lower knowledge · Two paths

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Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad · OM & Four States

Veda: Atharvaveda

Structure: 12 Mantras (no subdivisions)

OM and the four states of consciousness · Shortest Upaniṣad

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Taittirīya Upaniṣad · The Five Sheaths

Veda: Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda

Structure: 3 Vallīs (Valleys) · 31 Anuvākas

  • Śikṣāvallī (Valley of Instruction): Anuvākas 1–12
  • Brahmānandavallī (Valley of Brahman's Bliss): Anuvākas 1–9
  • Bhṛguvallī (Valley of Bhṛgu): Anuvākas 1–10

Phonetics · Brahman as bliss · Five sheaths (pañcakośa)

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Aitareya Upaniṣad · Creation & Consciousness

Veda: Ṛgveda

Structure: 3 Adhyāyas with Khaṇḍas · 33 Mantras

  • Adhyāya 1: 3 Khaṇḍas (Creation of universe and human)
  • Adhyāya 2: 1 Khaṇḍa (Birth and rebirth)
  • Adhyāya 3: 1 Khaṇḍa (Prajñāna is Brahman)

Creation · Rebirth · Consciousness as Brahman

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Chāndogya Upaniṣad · Tat Tvam Asi

Veda: Sāmaveda

Structure: 8 Adhyāyas with Khaṇḍas · ~627 Mantras

  • Adhyāya 1: 13 Khaṇḍas (Udgītha meditation)
  • Adhyāya 2: 24 Khaṇḍas (Sāman worship)
  • Adhyāya 3: 19 Khaṇḍas (Various meditations)
  • Adhyāya 4: 17 Khaṇḍas (Jānaśruti, Satyakāma)
  • Adhyāya 5: 24 Khaṇḍas (Five fires, transmigration)
  • Adhyāya 6: 16 Khaṇḍas ("Tat Tvam Asi")
  • Adhyāya 7: 26 Khaṇḍas (Nārada and Sanatkumāra)
  • Adhyāya 8: 15 Khaṇḍas (Space in the heart)

"You are That" · Udgītha · One of the longest Upaniṣads

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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · The Great Forest

Veda: Śukla Yajurveda

Structure: 6 Adhyāyas with Brāhmaṇas · 47 Brāhmaṇas total

  • Adhyāya 1: 6 Brāhmaṇas (Horse sacrifice, creation, Prāṇa)
  • Adhyāya 2: 6 Brāhmaṇas (Gārgya, Maitreyi dialogue)
  • Adhyāya 3: 9 Brāhmaṇas (Janaka's court, "Neti Neti")
  • Adhyāya 4: 6 Brāhmaṇas (Dream/sleep, death/rebirth)
  • Adhyāya 5: 15 Brāhmaṇas (Pūrṇam, Da-Da-Da teaching)
  • Adhyāya 6: 5 Brāhmaṇas (Pañcāgnividyā, procreation)

Ātman is Brahman · "Not this, not this" · Longest Upaniṣad

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Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad · The Lord

Veda: Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda

Structure: 6 Adhyāyas · 113 Mantras

  • Adhyāya 1: 16 mantras (Questions on causation)
  • Adhyāya 2: 17 mantras (Yoga practice)
  • Adhyāya 3: 21 mantras (The Supreme Lord)
  • Adhyāya 4: 22 mantras (One God, many forms)
  • Adhyāya 5: 14 mantras (Knowledge and liberation)
  • Adhyāya 6: 23 mantras (Devotion to the Lord)

The Lord (Īśvara) · Liberation through devotion · Rudra-Śiva theology

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