Muktikā
Sanskrit-language anthology of 108 Upaniṣhads
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Through Upanishads, Yoga and Moksha
The canon is part of a dialogue between Rama and Hanuman dealing with the inquiry into mukti in the Muktikā Upanishad (108 in the list). The other collections of Upanishads include Oupanekhat, a Persian language anthology of 50 Upanishads; the Colebrooke Collection of 52 Upanishads, and the 52 Upanishad Collection of Nārāyana.
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, which is hard to get even by sages." Hanuman inquires about the different kinds of "liberation" (or mukti, hence the name of the Upanishad), to which Rama answers, "The only real type [of liberation] is Kaivalya."
The list of 108 Upanishads is introduced in verses 26-29:
But by what means does one attain the Kaivalya kind of Moksha? The Mandukya [Upanishad] is enough; if knowledge is not attained from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. Attaining knowledge very quickly, you will reach my abode. If certainty is not attained even then, study the 32 Upanishads and stop. If desiring Moksha without the body, read the 108 Upanishads. Hear their order.
Most scholars list ten upanishads as principal, or the Mukhya Upanishads, while some consider eleven, twelve or thirteen as principal, or the most important Upanishads (highlighted).
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)
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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. 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.
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"), and 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.