1.

1 Overview of Vedas

This sub-module is based on the teachings of Swami Dayananda and Swami Paramarthananda.

Introduction

In this first sub-module we’ll take a look at the Vedas, its origin, meaning, and the major sections in the
Veda. We’ll also see how Vedanta is related to the Vedas, and learn about the Upanishads.

The Vedas

The word “Veda” is derived from the Sanskrit root “Vid” which means “to know”. It is generally
translated as “the treasure of knowledge” or “the source or means of knowledge”.

The Vedas are called Apaurusheya Jnanam. Apaurusheya means not of human origin, and Jnanam
means knowledge. It is revealed knowledge (Shruti). This is an important point because it means that
Vedas were not composed by human beings through intellectual and logical reasoning.

The Vedas were revealed to the Rishis (a Seer, ‘one who sees’) of ancient India who had purified, tuned
and made their mind single pointed through meditation.

There are in total 4 Vedas:

1. Rig Veda

2. Yajur Veda

3. Sama Veda

4. Atharva Veda

Each Veda is primarily divided into two main sections.

1. Karma Kanda (Action Section)

2. Jnana Kanda (Knowledge Section)

Karma Kanda focuses on Dharma, Karma, rituals, and other special actions meant to achieve security
(Artha) and pleasures (Kama). This is the biggest section in each Veda because it deals with the various
human desires and the actions needed to fulfill them. Since the means to achieve the desires are actions
(Karma), this section is called the Action Section.

The second section, Jnana Kanda, is a much shorter section because it deals with only one human
desire; the desire for liberation (Moksha). Moksha cannot be gained through any action, but only
through knowledge. Hence this is called the Knowledge Section.

Karma Kanda (Action Section)

Karma Kanda is the source for various rituals, prayers and meditations required for gaining security
and pleasure in the world. It is also the section where the rules of Dharma are mentioned.

According to the Vedas, every action (Karma) we do has a subtle result. The reason it’s called subtle is
because the result may not be immediately evident.

If the action follows the rules of Dharma, the result is Punya (merit), or what we call in modern
parlance “good Karma”. This Punya would lead to a pleasant, enjoyable experience in future.

When an action breaks the rules of Dharma, it’s called Adharma, also known as “bad Karma” in
modern parlance. The subtle result of Adharma is Papa (demerit). Papa would lead to an uncomfortable
or painful experience in future.

So the do’s (Dharma) and don’ts (Adharma) mentioned in Karma Kanda are important for all those
who seek to gain happiness and avoid sorrow in life.

The rewards of Punya may also lead one to heaven, but the concept of heaven in the Vedas is different
from other religions. Heaven in Vedas is a temporary stay.

You stay in heaven as long as you have Punya to spend. You leave heaven once your Punya is
exhausted. So heavenly life is not eternal.

If heaven is temporary, then the gaining of heaven is not liberation. Heaven is achieved through Karma.
So there is no liberation through Karma.

Jnana Kanda (Knowledge Section)

Both section of the Vedas are sources of knowledge about things for which one has no other means of
knowledge. But the role of knowledge in each section is different.

In the first section the ultimate end is the gain of security and pleasure in this world. However in the
second section the ultimate end is knowledge itself. This is a very important point.

Jnana Kanda also has a special name called Vedanta. The word “Vedanta” is a combination of two
Sanskrit words: “Veda” (Knowledge) and “Anta” (End). Vedanta literally means “End of Knowledge”.

Vedanta is the knowledge that ends one’s search for knowledge.

The Upanishads

The Jnana Kanda section of each Veda may have one or many Upanishads. The Upanishads are in the
form of dialogues between teacher and student.

It is the Upanishads that constitute the foundation of Vedanta. All other subsequent literature in Vedanta
is of human origin and derived from the Upanishads.

Definition Of Upanishad

There are 2 definitions of Upanishad. We’ll look at the smaller one first.

The word Upanishad means the “destruction of ignorance” (shad) by revealing

what “sits nearest” (upani) to you. What sits nearest to you is the Self; so Self-
Knowledge destroys ignorance.

The 2nd and more expanded definition of the term Upanishad is as follows.

Upanishad consists of 3 portions: “Upa”, “Ni” and “Shad.

The “Upa” part is derived from the statement “Guru Upa Sadanam”, approaching a Guru.

Why do you need to approach a Guru?

The reason is that even though Vedanta contains Self Knowledge, this knowledge cannot be gained
easily. The knowledge contained in the Upanishads needs to be taught in a proper, time-tested manner.

And the person who has the key to this knowledge is the Guru. Hence “Guru Upa Sadanam”
(approaching the Guru) is required for gaining the knowledge, and therefore the “Upa” part.

The second part “Ni” means “Nischaya Jnanam”, knowledge which is free from obstacles.

The scriptures talk about two types of obstacles: Samshaya which means “doubt”, which is an
intellectual obstacle, and Viparyaya which means “unhealthy emotional habits”, which is an
emotional obstacle.

So as long as intellectual and emotional obstacles exist, knowledge (Jnanam) is obstructed. So

Nischaya Jnanam means removal of doubts and unhealthy emotional habits.

So first we go to the Guru. This process is called Shravanam (listening to the teaching), the first stage
of Self Inquiry.

In the second stage we remove doubts concerning the teachings, which is called Mananam.

And in the third and last stage we remove the unhealthy emotional habits which allow us to assimilate
the teachings, which is called Nididhyasanam.

Therefore “Upa” and “Ni” indicate Shravanam, Mananam and Nididhyasanam (the 3 stages of Self
Inquiry) to gain the knowledge.
The final portion is “Shad” which is derived from the statements “Nivritti Nasha” and “Avashadanam
Nasha”. Nasha means destruction; destruction of all obstacles, especially the ignorance obstacle.

So when one gains firm knowledge through the 3 stages of Self Inquiry (Shravanam, Mananam and
Nididhyasanam), ignorance is destroyed.

Therefore “Upanishad” means the wisdom which is gained through the 3 stages of Self-Inquiry, and
that which destroys ignorance.

What Constitutes As An Upanishad?

To indicate that a Guru is required, the scriptures give the teachings in the form of a teacher-student
dialogue. One dialogue or a set of dialogues put together constitutes as a single Upanishad.

So a single Upanishad may contain one dialogue or a set of dialogues. And all 4 Vedas, especially in
the end portion, we have many Upanishads; in fact hundreds of Upanishads.

The 10 Main Upanishads

At one time there were hundreds of Upanishads, but many were lost over the years. Currently there
are 108 extant Upanishads, of which 10 are considered to be the principal Upanishads.

The ten major Upanishads are:

1.     Īṣa

2.     Kena

3.     Kaṭha

4.     Praṣna

5.     Muṇḍaka

6.     Māṇḍūkya

7.     Taittirīya

8.     Aitareya

9.     Chāndogya

10.    Bṛhadāraṇyaka

These 10 are considered to be the most important as they give the essence of all the Upanishads.

These 10 Upanishads were analyzed by Vyasa in his Brahma Sutras, and commentaries were also
written on them by Adi Shankara. (We’ll talk more about Adi Shankara in the 4th sub-module “Role
of Vedanta”)

That’s how these 10 Upanishads became prominent and widely studied. So studying these 10
Upanishads is as good as studying all the Upanishads.
These ten are popularly known as Dasa Upanishads or Dasopanishads; “Dasa” meaning ten. So for
easy remembrance the names of these 10 Upanishads are presented in the form of a verse.

Isa Kena Katha Prasna Mundaka Mandukya Thithiri Aitareyancha

Chandogyam Brihadaranyakam Dasa.

Of these 10 Upanishads 4 are from Yajur Veda, 3 from Atharva Veda, 2 from Sama Veda and 1 from
Rig Veda.
 It’s important to note that this verse does not give the order of study, it just enumerates the 10
Upanishads. In fact the first one, Isavasya Upanishad, is the most difficult one of them all and is not
to be studied first.

Division Of Each Veda

We mentioned above that each Veda is divided into 2 sections; the Karma Kanda and the Jnana Kanda.
The Vedas have another type of division wherein each Veda is divided into 2 sections called Samhita
(mantras) and Brahmana (rituals). The Brahmana portion includes within itself two more sections
called Aranyaka and Upanishads.

The 4 sections of the Vedas symbolically represent the 4 stages of a human life called Ashrama, and
each section contains rituals and guidance for that particular stage.

The first stage is Brahmacharya or a bachelor student stage. The 2nd stage is Grihastha or householder
stage. The 3rd stage is Vanaprastha or retired life. And last and 4th stage is Sannyasa or renounced life.

So each section of the Veda corresponds to each stage in life, but it’s only symbolical and not a hard
and fast rule.
We also mentioned previously that Upanishads are found in the Jnana Kanda section or the later part of
the Vedas. However this is not always the case.

In some cases, Upanishads are found in the earlier, Samhita section also. Such Upanishads are called
Samhita Upanishad or Samhitopanishad or Mantra Upanishad or Mantropanishad, and Upanishads
occurring in the Brahmana section are called Brahmana Upanishad or Brahmanopanishad.

And Brahmanopanishads are generally considered to be a commentary or an elaboration on the

Samhitopanishad found in the earlier section in the same Veda.

Summary

1.Vedas were not composed by human beings.

There are 4 Vedas. Each Veda is divided into two main sections: Karma Kanda (Action
2.
Section) and Jnana Kanda (Knowledge Section).
3.Karma Kanda deals with gaining security and pleasure in the world, and the rules of Dharma.
Actions that follow Dharma accrue Punya, and actions that break Dharma accrue Papa. Punya
4.may lead to heaven, but since heaven is temporary, it’s not liberation. So Karma can never lead
to liberation.
5.Jnana Kanda deals with only one subject matter: Moksha (liberation).
The Jnana Kanda section is also called Vedanta. The Jnana Kanda section may contain one or
6.
many Upanishads.
Of the 108 extant Upanishads, 10 are considered to be the most important as they give the
7.
essence of all the Upanishads. These ten Upanishads are called Dasopanishads.
The word “Upanishad” means the wisdom that is gain through the 3 stages of Self-Inquiry
8.
(listening, removing doubts and assimilation), and that which destroys ignorance.
9.One dialogue or a set of dialogues put together constitutes a single Upanishad.
A Veda can also be divided alternately into 4 sections: Samhita (mantras) and Brahmana
10.
(rituals), and the Brahmana portion also includes 2 sub-sections: Aranyaka and Upanishad.
Upanishads found in the Samhita section are called Mantropanishad or Samhitopanishad, and
11.
Upanishads found in the Brahmana section are called Brahmanopanishad.

1.2 The 10 Main Upanishads

This sub-module is based on the teachings of Swami Paramarthananda.

Introduction

In the previous sub-module we saw that each Veda was divided into 4 sections, and each Veda contains
one or many Upanishads.

It is the Upanishads that constitute the foundation of Vedanta so it’s important to have a little more
information on the main Upanishads.

So in this sub-module we’ll provide a basic background for the 10 Main Upanishads. We’ll see how the
Upanishad names were derived, which Rishis gave out the Upanishads, and the content and structure of
the Upanishads.

However if you feel you’re not interested in reading about the background of the Upanishads at this
point in time then you can skip this chapter and move to the next chapter. This chapter is not mandatory
reading.

Now let’s take a brief look at the background and composition of each of the 10 Main Upanishads.
1. Isavasya Upanishad

Isavasya Upanishad is a small Upanishad consisting of 18 mantras and it belongs to Shukla Yajur Veda.

There are 4 Vedas, of which one is Yajur Veda. And Yajur Veda itself has 2 divisions. One is known as
Krishna Yajur Veda and the other as Shukla Yajur Veda.

If you translate them then Krishna Yajur Veda means “black school” of Yajur Veda and Shukla Yajur
Veda means “white school” of Yajur Veda.
Isavasya Upanishad is one of the few Upanishads like Taittiriya Upanishad for which the Svara is still
maintained and available for chanting. Svara means the intonation for chanting.

This Upanishad is a Mantra Upanishad because it occurs in the mantra or the Samhita portion of the
Vedas. So Isavasya can also be called a Samhitopanishad.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which also belongs to Shukla Yajur Veda is a Brahmanopanishad, and is
considered to be an elaboration of Isavasya Upanishad since generally a Brahmanopanishad is
considered to be a commentary on the Samhitopanishad.

So the 18 mantras of Isavasya Upanishad are elaborated in more than 400 mantras of Brihadaranyaka.
From that we know that Isavasya is a very condensed Upanishad.

Apart from Adi Shankara many other Acharyas (Teachers) have written commentaries on this
Upanishad. It is one of the most popular and well known Upanishads.

Even in the Dasopanishads verse where we enumerate the 10 main Upanishads we start with Isavasya.
Because of the enumeration many people believe that Isavasya has to be studied first. But in fact this is
a complicated Upanishad and has to be studied after some of the other Upanishads.

This Upanishad gets it name because of the first portion of the beginning verse “Isavasyam Idam
Sarvam”. The first two words are “Isa” and “Avasyam” and hence its called Isavasya. The first word is
“Isa” so it can also be called Isa Upanishad or Isopanishad.

All Upanishads begin with a Shanti Pathah (a mantra) invoking the grace of the Lord. And the
convention is that all the Upanishads belonging to one particular Veda will have the same Shanti
Pathah.

So all Atharva Veda Upanishads will have the same Shanti Pathah and all Sama Veda Upanishads will
have the same Shanti Pathah and so on.

2. Kena Upanishad

This Upanishad is also called Kenopanishad. This is a small Upanishad in Sama Veda, and it has 4
chapters, each chapter known as a Kanda or Adhyaya.

There are in total 35 mantras and therefore it’s a relatively small but a very important Upanishad.

And this Upanishad also begins with a Shanti Pathah which is a common Shanti Pathah to all Sama
Veda Upanishads.

This Upanishad begins with the word “Kena” hence the name for the Upanishad.

3. Katha Upanishad

This Upanishad is also known as Kathopanishad and belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.

This is a fairly big Upanishad consisting of 119 mantras spread over 2 chapters. Each chapter is called
an Adhyaya, and in each chapter there are 3 sections known as Vallis.
4. Prasna Upanishad

This Upanishad belongs to Atharva Veda like the Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishads.

While Mundaka Upanishad is considered to be a Samhitopanishad, Prasna Upanishad is considered to

be a Brahmanopanishad.

And generally a Brahmanopanishad is considered to be a commentary on the Samhitopanishad. So in

this case Prasna Upanishad is a commentary or elaboration on Mundaka Upanishad.

This Upanishad can also be called by the name Prasnopanishad, and it is given in the form of a
dialogue between a Guru named Pippalada and 6 disciples.

There are 6 chapters with 67 mantras in this Upanishad and each chapter is a dialogue with one of the
six disciples.

Therefore it is a reasonably big Upanishad. And since in each chapter the teacher Pippalada is
answering questions raised by the students, this Upanishad got the name Prasna Upanishad, the word
“Prasna” meaning a “question”.

5. Mundaka Upanishad

This Upanishad can also be called as Mundakopanishad.

This Upanishad belongs to Atharva Veda and it is known by the name Mundaka Upanishad because of
several reasons.

We’ll look at one of the simpler reasons as to why this Upanishad is named so.

“Mundaka” means “head”, and the word “head” generally indicates importance. For e.g. the head of an
organization.

Mundaka Upanishad is known by this name because it is one of the most important Upanishads.
Therefore it being a primary Upanishad it’s called Mundaka Upanishad.

This Upanishad has got 3 chapters and 6 sections; each chapter having 2 sections each. Each chapter is
known as Mundaka and each section as a Kanda. There are in total 65 mantras in the entire Upanishad.

6. Mandukya Upanishad

This Upanishad belongs to Atharva Veda like Mundaka Upanishad. In fact many people get confused
between Mundaka and Mandukya Upanishad.

It is not exactly known how this Upanishad got its name. There are several possibilities given. One
possibility is that this Upanishad is associated with a Rishi named Manduka and hence the name
Mandukya Upanishad.

Another reason is that the word “Manduka” in Sanskrit means a frog. Some people suggest that since in
Mandukya Upanishad the teaching is given in stages, the Upanishad leaps from one stage to another,
just like a frog leaps from one place to another. Hence the name “Frog Upanishad”.
This is the smallest Upanishad among the 10 main Upanishads, containing only 12 mantras.

We know that it’s impossible to cover entire Vedanta in just 12 mantras, so it’s important to know that
this Upanishad is not primarily meant to teach Vedanta but to remember the teachings which have been
elaborately dealt with in the other Upanishads.

Another Upanishad called the Muktika Upanishad praises the Mandukya Upanishad saying “One
Mandukya Upanishad is enough because it contains the whole of Vedanta”.

So Mandukya Upanishad is a summarization of the elaborate teachings contained in the other

Upanishads. So you can understand this Upanishad only if you’ve studied the other Upanishads.

However so that this Upanishad can be studied on its own, Gaudapada who was Adi Shankara’s Guru’s
Guru wrote an elaborate commentary on it called Mandukya Karika.

Adi Shankara’s Guru was Govinda Bhagavatpada and his Guru was Gaudapada.

So in Mandukya Karika Gaudapada has done an analysis of these 12 mantras and presented it in verse
form. It is not exactly a commentary because Gaudapada does not go word by word. In a commentary
every word of the mantra is commented upon. That type of commentary is called Bhasyam.

In Mandukya Karika Gaudapada writes an analysis of the entire Upanishad. And this analysis is in the
form of verses. “Karika” means a verse analysis.

And since the author is Gaudapada, the text is also known as Gaudapada Karika.

And there are 215 verses (Karikas) on the 12 Upanishad mantras. And since Mandukya Upanishad can
be understood only with the help of these Karikas, the Upanishad and Mandukya Karika are generally
studied together.

Even in Adi Shankara’s commentary, he comments upon both the Upanishad as well as the Karikas.
And when you combine the 12 mantras with the 215 Karikas, the Upanishad suddenly becomes a big
study.

7. Taittiriya Upanishad

This Upanishad belongs to Yajur Veda and as we saw earlier Yajur Veda has 2 branches: Krishna Yajur
Veda (Black school branch) and Shukla Yajur Veda (White school branch), and Taittiriya Upanishad
belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.

This is a very significant Upanishad, both in the Karma Kanda or ritualistic circles and also in Vedantic
circles.

This Upanishad is important from a ritualistic viewpoint because this Upanishad is chanted in temples.
And from a Vedantic viewpoint also this is an important Upanishad, and Adi Shankara also gives
prominence to this Upanishad.
This Upanishad is called Taittiriya Upanishad because of various reasons. One of the reasons is that in
the succession of Acharyas (teachers) who have preserved and propagated this Upanishad, one of
Acharyas was known as Tittiri Acharya and hence the name of the Upanishad.

This Upanishad is in prose form and has 3 chapters, each chapter being known as a “Valli”. The three
chapters are called Shiksha Valli, Brahma Valli and Bhrigu Valli.

The chapters are named so because each chapter begins with that word. So Shiksha Valli begins with
the word “Shiksha”, Brahma Valli with the word “Brahma” and Bhrigu Valli with the word “Bhrigu”.

8. Aitareya Upanishad

This Upanishad belongs to Rig Veda and among the 10 Upanishads the only one from Rig Veda.

This Upanishad was given out by a Rishi named Aitareya and hence the name of the Upanishad.
Aitareya Rishi is also known as Mahidasa. So some people call him Aitareya Mahidasa Rishi.

And this Rishi got the name of Aitareya because his mother’s name was Itara. “Aitareya” means he
who’s mother is Itara.

According to a traditional story Aitareya was once very depressed because he felt his father did not
love him. So he went to his mother and told her of his sorrow.

So to remove her son’s unhappiness, Itara prayed to their family deity (Kuladevata) who was Prithvi
Devata (Earth deity). And that is why Aitareya is also called Mahidasa because “Mahi” means Prithvi
and “Dasa” means devotee. So Mahidasa means a devotee of Prithvi.

And when the mother and son prayed together to Prithvi Devata, the deity appeared in front of them
and blessed Aitareya with all knowledge.

And because of this blessing Aitareya became a Rishi (a wise person) and what knowledge he got by
the grace of Prithvi Devata, he brought out in the form of Aitareya Brahmanam, which is a very big
portion of Rig Veda.

And Aitareya Brahmanam has in total 40 chapters, and towards the end of it comes Aitareya
Aranyakam, and a portion of that is Aitareya Upanishad.

And this Upanishad has in total 3 chapters divided into 5 sections. The first chapter has 3 sections and
the last 2 chapters have 1 section each. This is a relatively small Upanishad consisting of 33 mantras.

9. Chandogya Upanishad

Now we come to the last 2 Upanishads; Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, both of which are
voluminous Upanishads.

This Upanishad belongs to Sama Veda like Kena Upanishad, and it’s a big Upanishad consisting of 8
chapters and 627 mantras. In fact among the 10 Upanishads, Chandogya has the highest number of
mantras.
Chandogya Upanishad is also said to be chanted with Svara (intonation) like Isavasya and Taittiriya
Upanishads. Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is available with Svara.

Svara for Mundaka and Katha Upanishads are not available. Even though Kena Upanishad is also from
Sama Veda, Svara for it is not available.

Chandogya is considered to be an important Upanishad because Vyasa selects many mantras from
Chandogya for his analysis in Brahma Sutra. In fact among the Dasopanishads, Chandogya has the
most number of mantras in Brahma Sutra.

And this Upanishad is called Chandogya because of a particular derivation. The Sanskrit word “Chand”
has 2 meanings. One meaning is “to give happiness”, and the second meaning is “to protect” or “to
guard”. And the word “Chanda” is derived from the root “Chand”.

Vedas in general are called Chanda because they protect a human being from Samsara. They not only
protect but also give happiness.

Another derivative of the word “Chand” is “Chandas” which means a Vedic metre. So Sama Veda in
particular is called Chanda because firstly it’s a Veda (it protects and gives happiness) and it can also be
sung unlike the other Vedas which can only be chanted.

In fact Indian music is supposed to be derived from Sama Veda. So the conclusion is that Sama Veda
can also be alternatively called Chandas.

And the word “Chandoga” means a person who sings Sama Veda (Chandas). And the Upanishad which
belongs to Sama Veda chanters (Chandoga) is called “Chandogyam”. That is how the name of the
Upanishad was derived.

10. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Like Isavasya Upanishad this Upanishad also belongs to Shukla Yajur Veda.

As we read earlier, since Isavasya is a Mantra Upanishad and Brihadaranyaka a Brahmana Upanishad,
Brihadaranyaka is considered to be a commentary or an elaboration of Isavasya.

Shukla Yajur Veda has 2 branches: Kanva Shakha and Madhyandina Shakha. “Shakha” means a
“branch”. And Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is found in both the branches.

Even though this Upanishad occurs in two places, the Upanishad reads almost the same with only
minor differences.

Adi Shankara has commented upon Kanva Shakha Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and later Swami
Vidyaranya, who wrote the famous Vedantic text Panchadasi, commented upon Madhyandina Shakha
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

The Upanishad name is a compound of two words “Brihad” and “Aranyakam”. In ancient times, the
Sannyasis after renouncing the world would go and live in the forests and study the Upanishads. So
“Aranyakam” means “what is studied in the forests”.
And “Brihad” means “great” or “big”. Brihadaranyaka is a great Upanishad not only in terms of its
volume, it’s great in terms of the depth of its insight. So it’s a great Upanishad in terms of both quantity
as well as quality.

Thus the name Brihadaranyaka can mean either “a great Upanishad studied in the forests” or “an
Upanishad as great or big as a forest”.

This Upanishad has got 434 mantras which makes it a very big Upanishad. Based on mantra count
Chandogya seems to be bigger with 627 mantras, but the size of each mantra in Brihadaranyaka is
bigger. So ultimately volume-wise Brihadaranyaka is as big as Chandogya.

But if we look at Adi Shankara’s commentaries on Brihadaranyaka, it’s twice that of his commentary
on Chandogya. This is because the philosophical portion in Chandogya is relatively lesser; there are
more Upasanas (meditative practices) and hence Shankara’s commentary is brief.

Whereas in Brihadaranyaka, the philosophical portions are more and therefore Shankara’s commentary
is much larger. In fact among all his commentaries on Dasopanishads, Brihadaranyaka Bhashyam
(commentary) is supposed to be the best and considered as great as his Brahma Sutra Bhashyam.

There is a difference in the text layout in both Upanishads. In Chandogya, the Vedanta and Upasana
portions are clearly segregated whereas in Brihadaranyaka both portions are intermixed.

The 434 mantras of Brihadaranyaka are spread out over 6 chapters. Each chapter is called an Adhyaya.
And traditionally these 6 chapters are divided into 3 pairs, each pair being called a “Kandam”.

First 2 chapters make the first Kandam called Upadesha Kandam or Madhu Kandam. It is called
Upadesha Kandam because it is in the form of teaching the truths. And it’s called Madhu Kandam
because there is topic called “Madhu” in this Kandam.

The 2nd Kandam consisting of the 3rd & 4th chapter is called Upapatti Kandam or Muni Kandam.
Upapatti Kandam means predominantly logical in nature. In this Kandam logical support is given to the
teaching.

And Muni means a “Sage”. So it’s also called Muni Kandam because in this Kandam, Muni
Yajnavalkya (a Sage) plays an important role.

The 3rd Kandam consisting of 5th and 6th chapters is called Khila Kandam or Upasana Kandam. It’s
known as Khila Kandam because it consists of a variety of miscellaneous topics. And it’s also called
Upasana Kandam because these 2 chapters contain a variety of Upasanas.

So this is the basic background behind the 10 Main Upanishads.

The Upanishads represent a great chapter in history, they are respected not only because of the unique
and beautiful way in which they are presented, but because they inspired generations of people from
different cultures by the wisdom of their ideas and spiritual power. “The fire still burns bright on their
altars”. Their light is for the seeing eye, and their message is for the seeker of truth.