| Maha Upanishad | |
|---|---|
 The text discusses Narayana (Vishnu) | |
| Devanagari | महा |
| IAST | Mahā |
| Title means | Great[1] |
| Type | Vaishnava[1] |
| LinkedVeda | Samaveda[2] |
| Chapters | 6 |
| Verses | 549[3] |
| Philosophy | Vaishnavism |
TheMaha Upanishad (Sanskrit:महा उपनिषद्,IAST: Mahā Upaniṣad) is a Sanskrit text and is one of the minorUpanishads ofHinduism.[4][5] The text is classified as aSamanya Upanishad.
The text exists in two versions, one attached to theAtharvaveda in some anthologies,[6] and another attached to theSamaveda.[5] The Atharvaveda version is shorter, and in prose.[7][8] The Samaveda version is partly in poetic verses.[9]
The Vaishnava Upanishad describesVishnu as the highest being, and above Brahma.[1][10] Both groups of texts, however, use reverential words of all Hindu gods, and assert them to be the sameAtman-Brahman.[10] The Upanishad presents a syncretism of Vaishnava andVedanta ideas, and is notable for its teaching of"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", or "the world is one family".[11][12][13]
The date or author of Maha Upanishad is unknown, but Deussen considers it to be the most ancient of Vaishnava Upanishads attached to the Atharvaveda.[14]
Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as Mahopanishad.[9][15] In the Telugu languageanthology of 108 Upanishads of theMuktika canon, narrated byRama toHanuman, it is listed at number 61.[16] In the collection of Upanishads under the titleOupanekhat, put together by Sultan MohammedDara Shikhoh in 1656, consisting of aPersian translation of 50 Upanishads and who prefaced it as the best book on religion, the Maha is listed at number 16.[17] Dara Shikoh's collection was in the same order as found in Upanishad anthologies popular in north India. In the 52 Upanishads version of Colebrook this Upanishad is listed at 9.[18] In the Bibliothica Indica edition of Narayana the Upanishad is also listed at 9 in his list of 52 Upanishads popular in South India.[19]
The Upanishad presentsVishnu as the highest being, aboveSamkhya principles, above Shiva, and above Brahma.[1] This Upanishadic text competes with Shaiva Upanishads, such as theAtharvashikha Upanishad andAtharvashiras Upanishad, which asserts Shiva as higher than Vishnu and Brahma.[20] Both groups, however, use profusely reverential words in describing all three – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (or Maheshvara, Rudra), and identify them as manifestations of the same universalAtman-Brahman (ultimate reality).[10]
The world is a family
One is a relative, the other stranger,
say the small minded.
The entire world is a family,
live the magnanimous.
Be detached,
be magnanimous,
lift up your mind, enjoy
the fruit of Brahmanic freedom.
The text references and uses fragments ofVedic hymns, such as fromTaittiriya Brahmana section 2.2 andShatapatha Brahmana section 6.1, but reformulates them in the image of Vishnu.[1] He as Brahman is the origin of the universe, asserts the text, from whom arosePurusha, Atman andPrakriti (nature, substances, body) ofSamkhya philosophy.[22] For the last two concepts, the Upanishad uses the termTejas.[22] Thereafter, from Narayana, arose Shiva and Brahma, theOm, the cosmic chants and songs, the meters of literature, then the Vedas. The text shares some verses with another Vaishnava text – theMahanarayana Upanishad, and a Shaiva Upanishad – theAtharvashiras.[22]
The longer version of the text, which is attached to Samaveda, includes the shorter version as first part and then presents more text. It goes on to describe the path to liberation and bliss as one of realizing one's soul, of Brahman as knowledge and Vishnu.[23][24]
A liberated person isJivanmukta, states the text, and is characterized by one who is untouched whether joy or grief befalls him, doesn't get angry at anyone or anything, neither is mean to anyone nor fears anyone, is free from desire and non-desire, is introverted and likes his own company, is silent and without arrogance, acts without envy or agitation, is detached and functions without cravings, is quiet and calm, active and full in spirit.[25][24] He is self-restrained, driven by inquiry, in company of good people, studies theShastras, asks, "Who am I? How didSamsara develop?"[26][27] The drink of immortality for him, states the Upanishad, is his delight in the Self (soul,Atman), experiencing the joy of his own inner awareness and nature.[28][27]
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The Vishnu-focussed text is notable for describingShiva as thetrident holding one, states Deussen, who possesses beauty, truth, chastity, austerity, renunciation, intelligence and mastery.[30]
The Upanishad is oft-quoted ancient text for the credo,"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (Sanskrit: वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्), or "the world constitutes but one family".[11][12][31] This verse ofMaha Upanishad is engraved in the entrance hall of theparliament of India.[29]
The text has been influential in the major Hindu literature that followed it. The popularBhagavata Purana, composed sometime between 500 CE and 1000 CE, the most translated of thePurana genre of literature in Hinduism,[32] for example, calls theVasudhaiva Kutumbakam adage of theMaha Upanishad, as the "loftiestVedantic thought".[33] This adage, according to Chung Tan, influenced the Chinese culture and is an example of "dynamics of boundarylessness of a Himalaya Sphere phenomenon, viz. Chinese culture with Indian input".[34]
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