| Devanagari: | शरीरक or शारीरक |
| Meaning: | Body |
| Type: | Samanya |
| Veda: | Krishna Yajurveda |
The Sariraka Upanishad (Sanskrit: शारीरक उपनिषत्, IAST: Śārīraka Upaniṣad) is one of the minor Upanishads and is listed at 62 (in the serial order in the Muktika enumerated by Rama to Hanuman) in the modern era anthology of 108 Upanishads. Composed in Sanskrit,[1] it is one of the 32 Upanishads that belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda, and is classified as one of the Samanya (general), and is one of several dedicated mystical physiology Upanishads.[2] [3]
The Upanishad, along with Garbha Upanishad, focuses on what is the relation between human body and human soul, where and how one relates to the other, and what happens to each at birth and after death. These questions and various theories are mentioned in the earliest Upanishads of Hinduism, the theories evolve, but Sariraka and other mystical physiology Upanishads are dedicated to this discussion. The texts, states Paul Deussen have been revised in later era and their corrupted content is inconsistent across known manuscripts.[4]
The text asserts that the human body is a composite of elements from earth, water, air, space (akash), and energy (agni, fire); and that the human soul (jīva) is "the lord of the [human] body".[2] It then describes how human sensory organs arise from these, how functions such as human will, doubt, memory, intellect, copulation, speech, anger, fear, delusion, right conduct, compassion, modesty, non-violence, dharma and other aspects of life arise.[2] The Sariraka Upanishad states that Prakriti (inert but always changing nature) consists of eight native forms, fifteen functional modifications, for a total of twenty-three tattva. It adds that the twenty fourth tattva in human body is avyakta (undifferentiated cosmic matter), asserting the individual soul functions as Kshetrajna ("the lord of the body") and the Purusha (indestructible universal principle, unchanging cosmic soul) is different and greater than the twenty four tattvas.[2]
The term śārīraka literally means "relating to the constitution of body and its parts" and "doctrine about the body and soul".[5] The text is also called Sharirakopanishad (Sanskrit: शारीरकोपनिषत्).
The text consists of one chapter, which begins with a long prose prologue presenting a theory of human physiology, followed by eight verses.[6] Verses 1 through 4, as well as 6 through 7 are metric, while the 5th verse is longer and presents the theory of three Guṇas and four states of consciousness.[6] The last verse asserts that Purusha is supreme.[2]
The Upanishad opens with the declaration that a body is a composite of pṛiṭhvī or earth and four primordial elements (mahābhūṭas) – agni or fire, vayu or air, apas or water, and akasha or cosmic space.[7] It asserts that whatever is hard in any living body is the essence of earth; that which is fluid part is the essence of water; the hot in a body is the essence of fire; that which moves is essence of air; and the openings or pores in the body is of the essence of cosmic space.[7]
Shariraka Upanishad refers to the sensory organs as jñānenḍriyas (organs to know).[7] It links them to the elements as follows: the ear is attributed to space and both as essential to the sense of sound; the skin as essence of vayu, for touch; the eye is associated with fire with characteristics to know form; the tongue as essence of water, for taste; and nose as essence of earth, for smell.[7]
The text refers to the functional organs as karmenḍriyas (organs of action).[7] These are of two types, external and internal, suggests the text. The external organs of action include the mouth as the organ of speech; the hands to lift; the legs to walk, the organs of excretion to remove bodily waste, and the organs of procreation to enjoy.[1]
The internal organs of action are called Anṭaḥkaraṇa, comprising four types namely: Manas or mind for Sankalpa-vikalpa (free will and doubt); Buddhi or intellect for discernment and understanding; Ahamkara or ego for sense of self (egoism); and chitta or mental faculty for memory.[7] The body parts where these four antahkaranas reside, asserts the text, are as follows: mind is at the end of the throat; intellect behind the face; ego in the heart; and chitta emanates from the navel.[1]
The Sariraka Upanishad maps the various empirical physiology and sensory functions to its theory of constitutional elements as follows:[6] [8]
| Element | Sanskrit name | Functional role | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth | Bone, skin, nadis (vessels), nerves, hair and flesh | Sound, touch, form, taste, smell | ||
| Water | Blood, phlegm, urine, shukra (semen) and sweat | Sound, touch, form, taste | ||
| Fire | Agni | Hunger, thirst, need for rest, greed and need to copulate | Sound, touch, form | |
| Air | Vayu | Walking, eyelid movement, vocal cords, scratching | Sound, touch | |
| Space | Akash | Desire, anger, avarice, delusion and fear | Sound |
The Upanishad adopts the Samkhya theory of three Guṇas or innate qualities, as being present in all beings. These three gunas are called: (goodness, constructive, harmonious), (passion, active, confused), and (darkness, destructive, chaotic).[9]