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Muktikā (Sanskrit: मुक्तिका) refers to theSanskrit-languageanthology of a canon of 108Upaniṣhads.[1] The date of composition of each is unknown, with the oldest probably from about 800 BCE.[2][3] ThePrincipal Upanishads were composed in the 1st millennium BCE,[4] most Yoga Upanishads composed probably from the 100 BCE to 300 CE period,[5] and seven of the Sannyasa Upanishads composed before the 3rd century CE.[6][7]
[1] The canon is part of a dialogue betweenRama andHanuman dealing with the inquiry intomukti in the Muktikā Upanishad (108 in the list). The other collections of Upanishads includeOupanekhat, a Persian language anthology of 50 Upanishads; the Colebrooke Collection of 52 Upanishads, and the 52 Upanishad Collection of Nārāyana.[8]
The canon is part of a dialogue betweenRama andHanuman. Rama proposes to teachVedanta, 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" (ormukti, hence the name of the Upanishad), to which Rama answers, "The only real type [of liberation] isKaivalya."[9]
The list of 108 Upanishads is introduced in verses 26-29:[9]
But by what means does one attain the Kaivalya kind ofMoksha? TheMandukya [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 theMukhya Upanishads, while some consider eleven, twelve or thirteen as principal, or the most important Upanishads (highlighted).[10][11][12]
The list of 108 names is given in verses 30–39. They are as follows:
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.[13]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 atape-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.[14]
In this canon,
The first 13 are grouped asmukhya ("principal"), and 21 are grouped asSāmānya Vedānta ("commonVedanta"). The remainder are associated with five different schools or sects withinHinduism, 20 withSannyāsa (asceticism), 8 withShaktism, 14 withVaishnavism, 12 withShaivism and 20 withYoga.
| Shukla Yajurveda | Krishna Yajurveda | Atharvaveda | Samaveda | Ṛgveda | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mukhya;[12] these form the core of ancient texts, predating classical Hinduism; they span the 1st millennium BCE and reflect the emergence ofVedanta fromVedic religion. | |||||
| Sāmānya; These are general Upanishads, and do not focus on any specific post-classical Hindu tradition. Some are referred to as Vedantic Upanishads.[15] |
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| Sannyāsa[16] These are Upanishads that focus onrenunciation-related themes and the life of asannyasi (monk) |
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| Śākta These are Upanishads that focus on goddessDevi-related themes | |||||
| Vaiṣṇava These are Upanishads that focus on godVishnu-related themes |
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| Śaiva These are Upanishads that focus on godShiva-related themes | |||||
| Yoga[17] These are Upanishads that focus onYoga-related themes |
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