उपनिषद्upaniṣad · sitting near, secret teaching
The Upanishads, the roots of yoga philosophy
3 min read · Updated October 17, 2026 · sources checked October 17, 2026
In short
The Upanishads are the philosophical texts that close the Vedas, composed from about the seventh century BCE onwards. They teach that the self (ātman) is one with the ground of all (brahman). About ten to thirteen are called principal; for yoga, the key ones are the Kaṭha (the first definition of yoga), the Śvetāśvatara (posture and breath), the Taittirīya (the koshas) and the Māṇḍūkya (Om).
What the Upanishads are
The four Vedas each end with a layer of texts that ask a new kind of question. Not "how do we perform the sacrifice?" but "who is the one who performs it, sees, hears and knows?" These are the Upanishads, and because they come at the end of the Veda they are also called Vedānta, the end of the Veda.
Their answer is the teaching every school of yoga later drew on: the self in us (ātman) is not the body, the breath or the mind; it is one with brahman, the ground of everything. The Upanishads do not prove this as a theory. They point to it through dialogues, images and meditations, and they expect the student to practise.
How many, and how old
Hundreds of texts call themselves Upanishads. The Muktikā Upaniṣad gives a canon of 108. Ten are traditionally called principal (mukhya): the ten on which Śaṅkara, in the eighth century, wrote his commentaries. Scholars often add three more.
Dates are approximate. Following Patrick Olivelle, the oldest, the prose Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya, are generally placed before the Buddha, around the seventh to sixth century BCE; the Taittirīya a little later; the verse Upanishads such as the Kaṭha, Śvetāśvatara and Muṇḍaka in the last centuries BCE. The twenty or so "yoga Upanishads", which describe postures, breath and the subtle body, are much later.
The principal Upanishads and what they give to yoga
| Upanishad | Veda | Size | What it gives to yoga |
|---|---|---|---|
| Īśa | White Yajurveda | 18 verses | Seeing the divine in everything; action without greed |
| Kena | Sāmaveda | 4 short parts | What makes the mind think and the eye see |
| Kaṭha | Black Yajurveda | 6 sections | Naciketas and Death; the chariot; the first definition of yoga (6.11) |
| Praśna | Atharvaveda | 6 questions | Breath (prāṇa) as the support of life; meditation on Om |
| Muṇḍaka | Atharvaveda | 3 parts | Higher and lower knowledge; Om as the bow, the self as the arrow (2.2.4) |
| Māṇḍūkya | Atharvaveda | 12 verses | Om and the four states: waking, dream, deep sleep and the fourth |
| Taittirīya | Black Yajurveda | 3 sections | The five selves later called the koshas (2.1-2.5) |
| Aitareya | Ṛgveda | 3 chapters | Consciousness (prajñāna) as brahman |
| Chāndogya | Sāmaveda | 8 chapters | Chanting Om; "you are that" (6.8.7) |
| Bṛhadāraṇyaka | White Yajurveda | 6 chapters | The self known only as "not this, not this"; the prayer asato mā sad gamaya |
| Śvetāśvatara (often added) | Black Yajurveda | 6 chapters | The oldest instructions on posture, breath and place for meditation (2.8-2.15) |
Six passages to know
Everything is inhabited (Īśa 1). The opening of the shortest principal Upanishad.
ईशा वास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् । तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद्धनम् ॥
īśā vāsyam idaṃ sarvaṃ yat kiñca jagatyāṃ jagat | tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam ||
All this, whatever moves in this moving world, is to be inhabited by the Lord. Enjoy it by letting it go; do not covet: whose, after all, is wealth?
The first meditation posture (Śvetāśvatara 2.8). Body upright, senses gathered into the heart: centuries before the Yoga Sutras.
त्रिरुन्नतं स्थाप्य समं शरीरं हृदीन्द्रियाणि मनसा संनिवेश्य । ब्रह्मोडुपेन प्रतरेत विद्वान्स्रोतांसि सर्वाणि भयावहानि ॥
trir unnataṃ sthāpya samaṃ śarīraṃ hṛdīndriyāṇi manasā saṃniveśya | brahmoḍupena pratareta vidvān srotāṃsi sarvāṇi bhayāvahāni ||
Holding the body straight, its three upper parts raised, drawing the senses with the mind into the heart, the wise one crosses all the frightening currents on the raft of brahman.
The next verses describe restraining the breaths and, when the breath has quieted, breathing out through the nose (2.9), and choosing a level, clean place, sheltered from wind, free of gravel, fire and sand (2.10).
The five selves (Taittirīya 2.1-2.5). The person is first "made of the essence of food", then, within it, a self made of breath, of mind, of understanding, of bliss: the map that later Vedānta called the five sheaths.
स वा एष पुरुषोऽन्नरसमयः ॥
sa vā eṣa puruṣo 'nnarasamayaḥ ||
This person, truly, is made of the essence of food.
Om as a bow (Muṇḍaka 2.2.4). A meditation instruction in one image; it continues the teaching of Om.
प्रणवो धनुः शरो ह्यात्मा ब्रह्म तल्लक्ष्यमुच्यते । अप्रमत्तेन वेद्धव्यं शरवत्तन्मयो भवेत् ॥
praṇavo dhanuḥ śaro hy ātmā brahma tal lakṣyam ucyate | apramattena veddhavyaṃ śaravat tanmayo bhavet ||
Om is the bow, the self is the arrow, brahman is called the target. It must be pierced with unwavering attention; one should become one with it, like the arrow.
You are that (Chāndogya 6.8.7). The teacher Uddālaka to his son Śvetaketu, a refrain repeated nine times.
स य एषोऽणिमैतदात्म्यमिदं सर्वम् । तत्सत्यम् । स आत्मा । तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो ॥
sa ya eṣo 'ṇimaitad ātmyam idaṃ sarvam | tat satyam | sa ātmā | tat tvam asi śvetaketo ||
That finest essence: the whole world has it as its self. That is the real. That is the self. You are that, Śvetaketu.
Lead me from the unreal (Bṛhadāraṇyaka 1.3.28). Chanted at the end of countless classes and satsangs, often without knowing where it comes from.
असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय ॥
asato mā sad gamaya | tamaso mā jyotir gamaya | mṛtyor māmṛtaṃ gamaya ||
From the unreal lead me to the real. From darkness lead me to light. From death lead me to the immortal.
In its context it is a chant (japa) recited during a Vedic rite, and the Upanishad explains it itself: the unreal and darkness are death, the real and light are the immortal.
Which to read first
- The Māṇḍūkya, twelve verses on Om: you can read it in an evening and practise it the next morning. See the Māṇḍūkya Upanishad.
- The Kaṭha, the most dramatic and the most "yogic": a boy, Death, and the teaching of the chariot. See the Kaṭha Upanishad.
- The Īśa, eighteen verses that join renunciation and action, the theme the Bhagavad Gita will develop.
Then the Śvetāśvatara chapter 2 for meditation, the Taittirīya for the koshas, and only after that the two great prose Upanishads, Chāndogya and Bṛhadāraṇyaka, which are long and need a guide.
Good to know
Read slowly, aloud, a few verses a day, and keep one verse with you through the day. The Upanishads were taught orally from teacher to student; they open up when they are heard and repeated, which is the sense of svādhyāya.
Free editions
The Sanskrit of most principal Upanishads is on GRETIL. Two public-domain translations cover them: Max Müller's in the Sacred Books of the East (vol. 1, 1879, and vol. 15, 1884) and Robert Ernest Hume's The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (1921), clearer and with notes. Both are on the Internet Archive.
Our edition
The Upanishads for Yogis gathers the passages that shaped yoga, from the Īśa, Kaṭha, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Śvetāśvatara, Chāndogya and Bṛhadāraṇyaka to the later yoga Upanishads, each in Devanāgarī, transliteration and our own translation, with an honest account of the history and a practice at the end of each chapter devoted to a text.
The Upanishads, page by page
Questions people ask
What does Upanishad mean?
Upa-ni-ṣad literally means to sit down near. Monier-Williams notes the reading 'sitting at the feet of a teacher to listen', hence secret teaching given in this way, and adds that Indian authorities explain it as what destroys ignorance by revealing knowledge of the supreme spirit.
How many Upanishads are there?
Hundreds of texts carry the name. The Muktikā Upaniṣad lists 108, the canon most often quoted. Ten are traditionally called principal, the ones Śaṅkara commented on; scholars often add the Śvetāśvatara, Kauṣītaki and Maitrī to make thirteen.
What are the 10 principal Upanishads?
Īśa, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya and Bṛhadāraṇyaka. Each belongs to one of the four Vedas: for example the Kaṭha and Taittirīya to the Black Yajurveda, the Māṇḍūkya and Muṇḍaka to the Atharvaveda.
When were the Upanishads written?
Over several centuries. Scholars place the oldest, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and Chāndogya, before the Buddha, around the seventh to sixth century BCE; the verse Upanishads such as the Kaṭha, Śvetāśvatara and Muṇḍaka in the last centuries BCE; and the later 'yoga Upanishads' much later.
Where can I read the Upanishads free?
The Sanskrit of most principal Upanishads is on GRETIL (University of Göttingen). Public-domain English translations: Max Müller, Sacred Books of the East 1 (1879) and 15 (1884), and Robert Ernest Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (1921), on the Internet Archive.
How do you pronounce Upanishads?
oo-PUH-ni-shuds: the u is short, the a of pa like the u in but, and the ṣ is a retroflex sh, said with the tongue curled back.
Sources
- Principal Upanishads, Wikipedia (the ten, their Vedas, the thirteen) checked October 17, 2026
- Upanishads, Wikipedia (108 of the Muktikā canon; dating after Olivelle and Flood) checked October 17, 2026
- Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), entry upa-niṣad (Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries) checked October 17, 2026
- Īśa Upaniṣad, Kāṇva recension, with commentary, Sanskrit text, verse 1 (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
- Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, Sanskrit text, 2.8 (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
- Taittirīya Upaniṣad with Śaṅkara's commentary, Sanskrit text, 2.1-2.8 (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
- Chāndogya Upaniṣad with commentary, Sanskrit text, 6.8.7 (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, Kāṇva recension, with commentary, Sanskrit text, 1.3.28 (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
- Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, Sanskrit text in Devanāgarī, 2.2.4 (sanskritdocuments.org) checked October 17, 2026
- Robert Ernest Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (Oxford University Press, 1921), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
- F. Max Müller, The Upanishads, Part I, Sacred Books of the East 1 (Oxford, 1879), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
- F. Max Müller, The Upanishads, Part II, Sacred Books of the East 15 (Oxford, 1884), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
- Adi Shankara, Wikipedia (his commentaries on the ten principal Upanishads, after Mayeda 2006 and Hacker 1995) checked October 17, 2026