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Sannyasa Upanishads are a group of minor Upanishads of Hinduism related to the renunciation, monastic practice and asceticism.[1] There are 19 Sannyasa Upanishads in the Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads.[2] They, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally classified separately from the thirteen major Principal Upanishads considered to be from the ancient Vedic tradition.[3]
The Sannyasa group of minor Upanishads differ from other groupings, broadly based on their overall focus, even though there are overlaps. They contrast with the Samanya Upanishads which are of a generic nature, the Yoga Upanishads related to Yoga, the Shaiva Upanishads which highlight aspects of Shaivism, the Shakta Upanishads which focus on Shaktism, and the Vaishnava Upanishads which highlight Vaishnavism.[3][4]
Six of the nineteen Sannyasa Upanishads were composed in ancient India, in the first centuries CE.[5] Others are dated to be from the medieval era.[6] All except one has a strong Advaita Vedanta focus, which according to Patrick Olivelle may be explained by the fact that the major monasteries of the early medieval period belonged to the Advaita Vedanta, which selected or recast those texts which fitted into their teachings.[7][8][9]
The Sannyasa Upanishads are notable for their descriptions of the Hindu sannyasi (renouncer), his character and his state of existence as he leads the monastic life in the Ashrama tradition.[10] They generally assert that the life of the sannyasi is one of carefree simplicity of compassion for all living beings,[11][12] of reflection, not rituals,[13] dedicated to Jnana-kanda (knowledge section of the Vedas),[14][15] finding home when he is in union with truth and perfection.[15][16] Self-knowledge is his journey and destination,[15][17] a solitary place his monastery of bliss.[18] They also offer contrasting views on who, how and at what age one may renounce the world for spiritual pursuits.[19]
- ^ Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads. Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199540259
- ^ Deussen 1997, p. 556; Olivelle 1992, pp. x–xi, 5.
- ^ a b Mahony 1998, p. 271.
- ^ Winternitz & Sarma 1996, p. 217–224 with footnotes.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 10.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. x–xi, 8–18.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Stephen H Phillips (1995), Classical Indian Metaphysics, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0812692983, page 332 with note 68
- ^ Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791436967, pages 62-63
- ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 5, 227–235.
- ^ Deussen 1997, pp. 761, 763, 766.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 127–128, 236–237.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 228 with footnote 8.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 228 with footnote 10.
- ^ a b c Sprockhoff 1976, pp. 187–197.
- ^ Gananath Obeyesekere (2005), Karma and Rebirth: A Cross Cultural Study, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-2609-0, pp. 99–102
- ^ Olivelle 1992, pp. 269–271, 278–280.
- ^ Olivelle 1992, p. 232, sutra 47.
- ^ Olivelle 1993, pp. 118–119, 178–179 with footnotes, 220–221 with footnote 38.