Shakta Upanishads
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Shakta Upanishads
Shakta Upanishads are a group of minor Upanishads of Hinduism related to the Shaktism theology of a Goddess (Devi) as the Supreme Being. There are 8 Shakta Upanishads in the Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads. They, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally classified separate from the thirteen major Principal Upanishads considered to be from the ancient Vedic tradition. The Shakta Upanishads also 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 Yoga Upanishads related to Yoga, the Shaiva Upanishads which highlight aspects of Shaivism, and the Vaishnava Upanishads which highlight Vaishnavism. Composed in medieval India, the Shakta Upanishads are among the most recent minor Upanishads, and constitute an important source of information on Devi worship and Tantra-related theology. Some Shakta Upanishads exist in more than on ...
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Upanishad
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , pages 2-3; Quote: "The Upanishads supply the basis of later Hindu philosophy; they are widely known and quoted by most well-educated Hindus, and their central ideas have also become a part of the spiritual arsenal of rank-and-file Hindus." They are the most recent part of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge; earlier parts of the Vedas deal with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pp. 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford Un ...
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Atman (Hinduism)
Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian handball player Religion * ''Ātman'' (Jainism), or ''Jīva'', a philosophical term used within Jainism to identify the soul * ''Ātman'' (Hinduism), meaning "Self", a philosophical concept common to all schools of Hindu philosophy * ''Ātman'' (Buddhism), ''attā'' or ''attan'', a reference to the essential self ** '' Anattā'' or ''anātman'' — "not-self", central concept in Buddhism * '' Atman jnana'' — "knowledge" in the context of Indian philosophy and religions See also * Ataman, a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds * World Soul (other) World Soul may refer to: * Anima mundi, the "world-soul" in Plato and derived traditions in Western philosophy ** ''Weltseele'' "world-soul" in German philosophy, ...
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Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad
The ''Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad'' (सौभाग्य लक्ष्मी उपनिषत्), also called ''Saubhagyalakshmyupanishad'' (सौभाग्यलक्ष्म्युपनिषत्), Saubhagya meaning ''auspicious'', Lakshmi a deity, Saubhagyalakshmi is a minor Upanishadic text of Hinduism.Vedic Literature, Volume 1, , Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras, India, pages 583-584 Written in Sanskrit, it is one of the 10 Upanishads attached to the Rigveda, and is classified as one of the 8 Shakta Upanishads. The Upanishad presents its ideas through Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and fortune. It discusses true wealth, and then presents Yoga meditation for spiritual attainment away from material cravings and towards inner wealth. Sri is the synonym used for Lakshmi. The text also presents Tantra concepts such as nine ''chakra'' as a part of yogic practice. The text is notable for its syncretic presentation of the Advaita Vedanta doctrines with Shaktism worship. ...
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Bhavana Upanishad
The ''Bhavana Upanishad'' ( sa, भावन उपनिषद्, IAST: Bhāvana Upaniṣad) is a medieval era minor Upanishad of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit, the text is classified as one of the Shakta Upanishads and attached to the Atharvaveda. The Upanishad identifies the human body as Srichakra yantra and elaborates on this theme, and its worship. History The author and the date when ''Bhavana Upanishad'' was composed are unknown. The text was likely composed, in the same period as other Shakta Upanishads, between the 12th- and 15th-century CE. While this text is a relatively late composition in the Upanishadic collection, literary evidence confirms that Shakta Tantrism has roots in ancient times and the interaction between Vedic and Tantric traditions trace back to at least the sixth century, and the surge in Tantra tradition developments during the late medieval period, states Geoffrey Samuel, were a means to confront and cope with Islamic invasions and political ins ...
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Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Shakha of the many survive today, namely the Śakalya Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum. The ''Rigveda'' is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. Its early layers are among the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. The sounds and texts of the ''Rigveda'' have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the ''Rigveda'' Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see) Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of 19001200 BCE has also been given. The text is layered, consisting of the ...
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Tripura Upanishad
The ''Tripura Upanishad'' ( sa, त्रिपुरा उपनिषद्, IAST: Tripurā Upaniṣad) is a medieval era minor Upanishad of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit, the text is classified as a Shakta Upanishad and attached to the Rigveda. It is, as an Upanishad, a part of the corpus of Vedanta literature collection that present the philosophical concepts of Hinduism. The ''Tripura Upanishad'' places the goddess Tripura Sundari as the ultimate Shakti (energy, power) of the universe. She is described as the supreme consciousness, above Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The text is one of the important texts of the Shakta tradition and notable for its theory of ''Tripura'' (literally "three cities") symbolizing the three roads of work, worship and wisdom. Douglas Brooks states the text is historically notable as being "as close to an introduction to Shakta Tantrism as we may find", distilling into its 16 verses almost every important topic in Shakta Tantra tradition. The text pr ...
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Devi Upanishad
The ''Devi Upanishad'' (Sanskrit:देवी उपनिषत्), is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism and a text composed in Sanskrit. It is one of the 19 Upanishads attached to the Atharvaveda, and is classified as one of the eight Shakta Upanishads. It is, as an Upanishad, a part of the corpus of Vedanta literature collection that present the philosophical concepts of Hinduism. The text was likely composed between 9th- to 14th-centuries CE. It refers to ''Mahadevi'' as representing all goddesses. The Devi Upanishad is part of the five Atharvashiras Upanishads important to Tantra and Shakta philosophy traditions. The Upanishad states that the Goddess is the Brahman (ultimate metaphysical Reality), and from her arise Prakṛti (matter) and Purusha (consciousness). She is bliss and non-bliss, the Vedas and what is different from it, the born and the unborn, and all of the universe. Etymology ''Devi'' and ''Deva (Hinduism), Deva'' are Sanskrit terms found in the Vedi ...
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Tripuratapini Upanishad
The ''Tripuratapini Upanishad'' ( sa, त्रिपुरातापिनी उपनिषद्, IAST: Tripurātāpinī Upaniṣad) is a medieval era Sanskrit text and one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. It is classified as one of the eight Shakta Upanishads and attached to the Atharvaveda. The Upanishad is a notable goddess and tantra-related text. It asserts that the universe was created by the union of Shiva and Shakti, that all existence is interdependent on both the feminine and the masculine. The text presents Tripura, as the primordial power, as the great goddess of three cities, tantra chakras (yantra) as means of her worship, the wheel of kamakala and describes mantras to remember her. The last chapter of the Upanishad is an Advaita-style discussion of goddess (Shakti) as the ultimate reality Brahman with the text asserting that one's Atman (self, soul) is identical with the Brahman. These philosophical premises of ''Tripuratapini Upanishad'' belong to the ' ...
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Atharva Veda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, , page 38 The text is the fourth Veda, and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.Laurie Patton (1994), Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: ys in Vedic Interpretation, State University of New York Press, , page 57 The language of the Atharvaveda is different from Vedic Sanskrit, preserving pre-Vedic Indo-European archaisms. It is a collection of 730 hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books.Maurice BloomfieldThe Atharvaveda Harvard University Press, pages 1-2 About a sixth of the Atharvaveda texts adapts verses from the Rigveda, and except for Books 15 and 16, the text is mainly in verse deploying a diversity of Vedic meters. Two different recensions of the text – the and the – have sur ...
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Sita Upanishad
The ''Sita Upanishad'' ( sa, सीता उपनिषत्) is a medieval era Sanskrit text and a minor Upanishad of Hinduism. It is attached to the Atharva Veda, and is one of the Vaishnava upanishads. It is categorized as a late Upanishad, in which goddess Sita is extolled as the Ultimate Reality of the Universe (Brahman), the ground of Being (Spirituality), and material cause behind all manifestation.R Gandhi (1992), Sita's Kitchen, State University of New York Press, , page 113 with note 35 The Upanishad identifies Sita with primordial Prakriti (nature) and her three powers, asserts the text, are manifested in daily life as will ( ichha), action (kriyā) and knowledge ( jnana). This Upanishad is notable for asserting that the cosmos is Atman (soul), it resides in the heart, its awareness and self-realization emerges by Vichara (investigation into the Self) and Samadhi, the ultimate stage of meditation. History The author and the century in which Sita Upanishad was comp ...
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Muktikā
Muktikā (Sanskrit: मुक्तिका) refers to the Telugu-language anthology of a canon of 108 Upaniṣhads. The date of composition of each is unknown, with the oldest probably from about 800 BCE. The Principal Upanishads were composed in the 1st millennium BCE, most Yoga Upanishads composed probably from the 100 BCE to 300 CE period, and seven of the Sannyasa Upanishads composed before the 3rd century CE. Muktikā refers to the collection of 108 Upanishads available in printed form since 1883 CE in the Telugu language. The canon is part of a dialogue between Rama and Hanuman dealing with the inquiry into 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 Lord Rama and Hanuman. Rama proposes to teach Vedanta, saying "Even by readi ...
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Patrick Olivelle
Patrick Olivelle is an Indologist. A philologist and scholar of Sanskrit Literature whose work has focused on asceticism, renunciation and the dharma, Olivelle has been Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin since 1991. Olivelle was born in Sri Lanka. He received a B.A. (Honours) in 1972 from the University of Oxford, where he studied Sanskrit, Pali and Indian religions with Thomas Burrow and R.C. Zaehner. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974 for a thesis containing the critical edition and translation of Yadava Prakasa's ''Yatidharmaprakasa'' under the supervision of Ludo Rocher. Between 1974 and 1991, Olivelle taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flags ...
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