List of 108 Upaniṣads
‘Upaniṣa- d’ usually stands for the first ten Iśāvāsya, Kena, Kaṭha, Praśna, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya, Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Muṇdaka and Māṇdūkya, that have been commented on by Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda, and the other three (Kauṣītaki, Śvetāśvatara and Jābāla- , that are referred by him in his commentaries on Brahmasūtra and Upaniṣads,.
The number of Upaniṣads translated by Dara Sikoh amounts to 50; their number as given in Mahāvākya-muktāvali, and in the Muktikopaniṣad is 108.
Paul Deussen has commented on 60 Upanishads
Professor Weber thinks that their number, so far as we at present, may be reckoned at 235 (Weber, History of Sanskrit Literature, pg.155 note).
However, in order to arrive at so high a number, every title of an Upaniṣad would have to be counted separately, while in several cases it is clearly the same Upaniñad, which is quoted under different names. In an alphabetical list, the number of real Upaniṣads reached 149. To that number Dr. Burnellin his catalogue added 5, Prof. Haug 16, making the sum total to 170. (source - Indian Antiquary, II,267).
This is mainly about the earliest set of Upaniṣads. Thereafter in the later times, most scholars turned sectarian. Over the centuries, varieties of texts gave themselves (or were tagged) the suffix-Upaniṣad - to their title. That was perhaps meant to provide those texts a halo of authority and an elevated position in the hierarchy of traditional texts. The thoughts in most of such texts were neither fresh nor universal. Most of those texts were theistic and sectarian in their approach; and were therefore, classified according to their affiliations, such as Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva and Śākta etc. With that, the spirit of enquiry, also vanished. Each was busy championing his cause, putting down the other. There was neither the spirit, nor the wisdom of enquiry.
Now, there are as many Upaniṣads as one can list; there is no definite number. According to some, there are more than 360 Upaniṣads, which include the major and the minor ones; the ancient and the not so ancient; some well known and some hardly known.
Furnished below is the list of 108 Upaniṣads that have been commented by Śrī Upaniṣad Brahmendra Yogin (whose original name is Śri Rāmachandrendra Saraswatī, belonging to Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Maṭha, Kānchi), a disciple of Swāmi Vāsudevendra. The entire group is divided into six categories, namely i) Sāmānya Vedānta ii) Yoga Vedānta iii) Sannyāsa Vedānta iv) Śaiva Vedānta v) Vaiṣṇva Vedānta vi) Śākta Vedānta. All these 108 Upaniṣads in the six categories are available as separate books with original texts, the commentary of Upaniṣad Brahmendra Yogin, and the English translation of some of them published by Adyar Library and Research Centre, Adyar, Chennai – 600 020.
ṚGVEDA (10)
| 1 | Aitareya Upaniṣad |
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| 2 | Akṣamālika Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
| 3 | Ātmabodha(ka) Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
| 4 | Bahvṛcā Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
| 5 | Kauṣītaki (Brāhmaṇa) Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
| 6 | Mudgala Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
| 7 | Nādabindu Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
| 8 | Nirvāṇa Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
| 9 | Saubhāgya-Lakṣ- mī Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
| 10 | Tripurā Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
ŚUKLA-YAJURVEDA (19)
1 | -11 | -Adhyātma Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
2 | -12 | -Advaya-Tāraka Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
3 | -13 | -Bhikṣuka(ka) Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
4 | -14 | -Bṛhadāraṇy- aka Upaniṣad |
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5 | -15 | -Haṃsa Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
6 | -16 | -Iśāvāsya Upaniṣad |
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7 | -17 | -Jābāla Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
8 | -18 | -Maṇdala-Brāh- maëa Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
9 | -19 | -Mantrikā Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
10 | -20 | -Muktikā Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
11 | -21 | -Nirālamba Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
12 | -22 | -Paiṅgala Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
13 | -23 | -Paramahaṃsa Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
14 | -24 | -Śāṭyāyan- (ya) Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
15 | -25 | -Subāla Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
16 | -26 | -Tārāsara Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
17 | -27 | -Triśikhi-Brā- hmaṇa Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
18 | -28 | -Turyātīta(Av- adhūta) Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
19 | -29 | -Yājñavalkya Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
KṚSNA-YAJURVEDA (32)
1 | -30 | -Akṣi Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
2 | -31 | -Amṛtabindu Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
3 | -32 | -Amṛtānāda Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
4 | -33 | -Avadhūta Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
5 | -34 | -Brahmavidyā Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
6 | -35 | -Brahma Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
7 | -36 | -Dakṣiṇāmū- rti Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
8 | -37 | -Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
9 | -38 | -Ekākṣara Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
10 | -39 | -Garbha Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
11 | -40 | -Kaivalya Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
12 | -41 | -Kālāgni-Rudr- a Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
13 | -42 | -Kalisanatara- a Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
14 | -43 | -Kaṭha Upaniṣad |
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15 | -44 | -Kaṭha-Rudr- a Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
16 | -45 | -Kṣurikā Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
17 | -46 | -Mahānārāya- a/Yājïiké Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
18 | -47 | -Pañcabrahma Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
19 | -48 | -Prāṇāgniho- tra Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
20 | -49 | -Rudra-hṛdaya- Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
21 | -50 | -Saraswatī-rah- asya Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
22 | -51 | -Śārīraka Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
23 | -52 | -Sarvasāra Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
24 | -53 | -Skanda Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
25 | -54 | -Śuka-rahasya Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
26 | -55 | -Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
27 | -56 | -Taittirīya Upaniṣad |
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28 | -57 | -Tejobindu Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
29 | -58 | -Varāha Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
30 | -59 | -Yoga-kuṇdali- ni Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
31 | -60 | -Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
32 | -61 | -Yogatattva Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
SĀMA-VEDA (16)
1 | -62 | -Āruṇi(ka) Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
2 | -63 | -Avyakta Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
3 | -64 | -Chāndogya Upaniṣad |
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4 | -65 | -Darśana Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
5 | -66 | -Jābāla-(Darś- ana) Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
6 | -67 | -Kena Upaniṣad |
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7 | -68 | -Kuṇdikā Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
8 | -69 | -Mahā Upaniṣad/Mahat (Śārīraka) Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
9 | -70 | -Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
10 | -71 | -Maitreyī Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
11 | -72 | -Rudrākṣa-J- bāla Upaniṣad/ -Rudra-hṛdaya Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
12 | -73 | -Sannyāsa Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
13 | -74 | -Sāvitrī Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
14 | -75 | -Vajrasūcikā Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
15 | -76 | -Vāsudeva Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
16 | -77 | -Yoga-cudāma- i Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
ATHARVA-VEDA (31)
1 | -78 | -Annapurṇā Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
2 | -79 | -Atharvaśikhā Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
3 | -80 | -Atharvaśīrṣ- a Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
4 | -81 | -Ātmā Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
5 | -82 | -Bhasma-Jābāla- Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
6 | -83 | -Bhāvanā Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
7 | -84 | -Bṛhad-Jābāl- a Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
8 | -85 | -Dattātreya Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
9 | -86 | -Devī Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
10 | -87 | -Gaṇapati (Atharvaśirṣa) Upaniṣad | Śiva Upaniṣad |
11 | -88 | -Garuda Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
12 | -89 | -Gopāla-Tāpanī- (ya) Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
13 | -90 | -Hayagrīva Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
14 | -91 | -Kṛṣṇa Upaniṣad | Sāmānya Vedānta |
15 | -92 | -Mahāvākya Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
16 | -93 | -Māṇdūkya Upaniṣad |
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17 | -94 | -Muṇdaka Upaniṣad |
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18 | -95 | -Nārada-Pari- vrājaka Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
19 | -96 | -Nṛsiṃha-t- panīya Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
20 | -97 | -Parabrahma Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
21 | -98 | -Paramahaṃsa-- Parivrājaka Upaniṣad | Sannyāsa Upaniṣad |
22 | -99 | -Pāśupata(Br- hmaṇa) Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
23 | -100 | Praśna Upaniṣad |
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24 | -101 | -Rāma-rahas- ya Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
25 | -102 | -Rāma-tāpan- ya Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
26 | -103 | -Śāṇdilya Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
27 | -104 | -Śarabha Upaniṣad | Śaiva Upaniṣad |
28 | -105 | -Sītā Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
29 | -106 | -Sūrya Upaniṣad | Yoga Upaniṣad |
30 | -107 | -Tripadvibhūt- i-Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad | Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad |
31 | -108 | -Tripurā-tāp- ani Upaniṣad | Śākta Upaniṣad |
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Swāmini Ātmaprajñānanda Saraswati is a Vedāntācāryā and Vyākaraṇācāryā. She teaches Vedānta and Pāṇini in Ārsha Vidyā Vikāś Kendra at Bhubaneswar. She is the author of three published books - Nomenclature of the Vedas , Ṛṣikās of the Ṛgveda and Om: The Sound Symbol.
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