Yoga Upanishads
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Yoga Upanishads are a group of minor Upanishads of Hinduism related to Yoga. There are twenty Yoga Upanishads in the anthology of 108 Upanishads listed in the Muktika anthology..[1][2] The Yoga Upanishads, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally classified separate from the thirteen major Principal Upanishads considered to be more ancient and from the Vedic tradition.[3]
The Yoga Upanishads deal with the theory and practice of Yogic techniques, with varied emphasis on methodology and meditation, but with some shared ideas.[2] They contrast from other groups of minor Upanishads, such as the Samanya Upanishads which are of a generic nature, the Sannyasa Upanishads which focus on the Hindu renunciation and monastic practice, the Shaiva Upanishads which highlight aspects of Shaivism, the Vaishnava Upanishads which highlight Vaishnavism, and the Shakta Upanishads which highlight Shaktism.[4][5]
Date
The composition date of each Yoga Upanishad is unclear, and estimates on when they were composed vary with scholar. According to Mahony, they are likely dated between 100 BC and 1100 AD.[6] However, Gavin Flood dates the Yoga Upanishads to the 100 BC to 300 AD period.[7] According to James Mallinson, some Yoga Upanishads were revised in the eighteenth century to incorporate the Hatha Yoga ideas of the Hindu Natha sub-tradition.[8]
Mircea Eliade states that textual style, archaic language and the mention of some Yoga Upanishads in other Indian texts, suggests the following Yoga Upanishads were likely composed in the same period as the didactic parts of the Mahabharata and the chief Sannyasa Upanishads: Brahmabindu (probably composed about the same time as Maitri Upanishad), Ksurika, Amritabindu, Brahmavidya, Tejobindu Upanishad, Nadabindu, Yogashikha, Dhyanabindu and Yogatattva.[9] Eliade's suggestion places these in the final centuries of BC or early centuries of the AD. All these, adds Eliade, were likely composed earlier than the ten or eleven later Yoga Upanishads such as the Yoga-kundalini, Varaha and Pashupatabrahma Upanishads.[9]
Scope
Yoga Upanishads discuss different aspects and kinds of Yoga, ranging from postures, breath exercises, meditation (dhyana), sound (nada), tantra (kundalini anatomy) and others.[7] Some of these topics are not covered in the Bhagavad Gita or Patanjali's Yogasutras.[10]
Many texts describe Yoga as consisting of steps or members (angas) and according to Paul Deussen, the important Yoga Upanishads which deal with these are the Brahmavidya, Kshurika, Culika (listed under the Samanya Upanishads), Nadabindu, Brahmabindu, Amritabindu, Dhyanabindu, Tejobindu, Yogashika, Yogatattva, and Hamsa.[11] These 11 Yoga Upanishads belong to Vedic shakha (school) from the Vedantic point of view. These Upanishads include discussion of ethics [ yama (self restraints such as non-violence) and niyama (self effort such as study) ], asana (physical exercises and body posture), pranayama (breath exercises), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration of the mind), dhyana (contemplation and meditation) and samadhi (a state of meditative consciousness).[11][12]
List of 20 Yoga Upanishads
| Title | Muktika serial # | Attached Veda | Period of creation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamsa Upanishad | 15 | Shukla Yajurveda | |
| Amritabindu Upanishad | 20 | Atharvaveda | Final centuries of BC or early centuries of the AD. |
| Nadabindu Upanishad or Amrita Nada Bindu Upanishad | 21 | Rigveda or Atharvaveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Kshurika Upanishad | 31 | Atharvaveda also Krishna Yajurveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Tejobindu Upanishad | 37 | Atharvaveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Nadabindu Upanishad | 38 | Atharvaveda or Rigveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Dhyanabindu Upanishad | 39 | Atharvaveda and Samaveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Brahmavidya Upanishad | 40 | Atharvaveda and Krishna Yajurveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Yogatattva Upanishad | 41 | Atharvaveda | 100 BC to 300 AD or about 150 AD or 11th- to 13th-century |
| Trishikhibrahmana Upanishad | 44 | Shukla Yajurveda | Early 1st-millennium AD |
| Yogachudamani Upanishad | 46 | Samaveda | 14th- to 15th-century AD |
| Mandala-brahmana Upanishad | 48 | Shukla Yajurveda | Early 1st-millennium AD |
| Advayataraka Upanishad | 53 | Shukla Yajurveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Shandilya Upanishad | 58 | Atharvaveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Yogashikha Upanishad | 63 | Krishna Yajurveda | 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Pashupatabrahma Upanishad | 77 | Atharvaveda | Later era |
| Yoga-kundalini Upanishad | 86 | Krishna Yajurveda | Common era text, composed sometime after Yogasutras |
| Darshana Upanishad | 90 | Samaveda | Around 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Mahavakya Upanishad | 92 | Atharvaveda | Around 100 BC to 300 AD |
| Varaha Upanishad | 98 | Krishna Yajurveda | Middle of the 2nd millennium AD |
See also
References
- ↑ Deussen 1997, p. 556.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mahony 1998, p. 271.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Mahony 1998, p. 290.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Flood 1996, p. 96.
- ↑ Mallinson 2004, p. 14.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mircea Eliade (1970), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691017646, pages 128–129
- ↑ Derek 1989, p. 196-197.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Deussen 2010, p. 385-86.
- ↑ Sen 1937, p. 25.
Bibliography
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