Sambodhi 2001 Vol 24

Author(s): Jitendra B Shah, K M Patel
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 35

SOME PROBLEMS OF THE UPANIŞADS
AS A ŚRUTI LITERATURE*
VIJAY PANDYA
It would almost be a trite statement that since times immemorial Upanisads along with the Vedas, Brahmans and Aranyakas have been recognised as the Śruti or revealed literature. There is almost an indisputable tradition that the Vedas, Brahmaņs, Āranyakas and Upanişadas form the entire Vedic corpus and hence the Upanisads have attained the unassailable position of being the Śruti literature.
Out of this whole Vedic corpus, there seems to be some problems about the Upanisads as to their being Śruti literature. Though the tradition nowhere casts any aspersion on the Upanisads as Śruti literature, nevertheless, it shows some chinks also.
First of all, the word designating the Upanisadic literature itself is liable to be understood in more than one sense. The word Upanisad has retained the original meaning 'secret. The texts which contain the secret (knowledge, instruction etc.) are the Upanisads. And along with these, there are other meanings which have also remained attached to the word. The word Upanisad has also a connotation of the sorcery, a magic formula, a charm or an incantation. The hymns from the VII mandala 7-55 or the X mandala 10-145 are designated as Prasvāpini Upanisad and Sapatnībādhanam Upanisad. Then there are some chapters of the Arthaśāstra of Kautilya also called Upanisad in the sense of secret polity. So this flexible and fluid state of meaning of the word Upanisad causes confusion and detracts from the Upanişads its revelatory character.
Then as we know, Upanişads are an integral part of the Vedic literature. All the Upanişads are believed to be connected with one of the Vedas and they are a part of either of the Brahmana or Aranyaka portion. The relation between the Upanisads and the Aranyakas is enveloped in haze and there does not seem to be any clear-cut principle of demarcation. As we know, the Brahmanas and Aranyakas are a germinating ground for the rich crop of philosophical thought.
* Paper presented at the 39th Session of the All-India Oriental Conference
organised at Vadodara (Gujarat India) from 13 to 15 October 1998.