Shakta Upanishads Explained

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 one version.^[1]

The Shakta Upanishads are notable for declaring and revering the feminine as the Supreme, the primal cause and the metaphysical concepts in Hinduism called Brahman and Atman (soul). The philosophical premises in many Shakta Upanishads, states June McDaniel, is syncretism of Samkhya and Advaita Vedanta schools of Hindu philosophy, called Shaktadavaitavada (literally, the path of monistic Shakti).

Date

The composition dates and authors of the Shakta Upanishads are unknown. Patrick Olivelle states that sectarian Upanishads attached to Atharvaveda were likely composed in the second millennium, until about the 16th century. The Shakta Upanishads, states Denise Cush, were composed between the 12th- and 15th-century CE.

List of 8 Shakta Upanishads

List of the Shakta Upanishads according to Muktikā anthology

width=220px style="background"	Title ! width=60px	Muktikā Serial Number ! width=150px	Attached Veda
width=120px	Sita Upanishad	45	width=40px
width=120px	Tripuratapini Upanishad	80	width=40px	Atharva Veda
width=120px	Devi Upanishad	81	width=40px	Atharva Veda
width=120px	Tripura Upanishad	82	width=40px	Rigveda
width=120px	Bhavana Upanishad	84	width=40px	Atharva Veda
width=120px	Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad	105	width=40px	Rigveda
width=120px	Sarasvati-rahasya Upanishad	106	width=40px	Krishna Yajurveda
width=120px	Bahvricha Upanishad	107	width=40px	Rigveda

See also

• Hindu texts
• Puranas

References

Bibliography

• Book: Brooks, Douglas Renfrew. The Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press . 978-0226075693 . 1990.
• Book: Brooks, Douglas Renfrew. Auspicious Wisdom. State University of New York Press . 978-0791411452 . 1992.
• Book: Cush, Denise. Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge. 978-0700712670. 2007. etal.
• Book: Deussen, Paul. Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. 1997. Motilal Banarsidass. 978-81-208-1467-7.
• Book: Mahadevan, T. M. P. . Upaniṣads: Selections from 108 Upaniṣads. 1975. Motilal Banarsidass. 978-81-208-1611-4.
• Book: Mahony, William K. . The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination. 1998. State University of New York Press . 978-0-7914-3579-3 .
• Book: McDaniel, June . Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal. 2004. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-534713-5.
• Book: Olivelle, Patrick . Upanisads. 2008. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-954025-9.
• Book: Moriz. Winternitz. V. Srinivasa. Sarma. A History of Indian Literature. 1996. Motilal Banarsidass . 978-81-208-0264-3 .

Notes and References

1. Gudrun Buhnemann (1996), Review: The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Śakta Tantrism, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Volume 116, Number 3, page 606