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LEARN OUR TRADITION THE EASY WAY"-
SAMPRADAYA LESSONS FOR KIDS
GRADE 2 LESSON 13: ?UPANISHADS?
(written in Tamil by Desika Bhakta Ratnam, U. Ve. Seva Srinivasa Raghava chariar Swami under his "Jayamangala Paada Thittam" and translated in English by Sri M.K.Srinivasan Swami of Vedanta Desika Research Center)

Upanishads are a part of Vedas which describe the glory and greatness of the Supreme Being. ?Upa? means ?near? and ?nishad? means ?to take?. So, Upanishad means that which takes us near to the Supreme Lord- Parabrahmam (See Chapter 5). Thus, they are very important to us who seek liberation.

Whatever may be the contents of the Vedas, the Upanishads always talk about the ultimate Being. His qualities etc.

There are 108 Upanishads in all, according to scholars. But, only 10 out of them have been chosen for an in-depth study of the Supreme power and which forms the basis for difficult philosophies to establish their doctrines. These 10 are given below:
1. Isavasya 2. KEna 3. KaTa, 4.Prasna, 5. MunDaka, 6. MaanDookhya,
7. Taittriya 8. SvEtasvataara, 9. ChaandOkhya and 10. BrihadaaraNyaka.

Of these, Taittriya Upanishad belongs to Krishna Yajurveda, Isavasya to Sukla Yajurveda and ChandOKhya to Saamaveda

Sri Ramanuja has written a commentary based on the contents of these Upanishads, thus establishing the tenets of Visishtadvaita philosophy.

Further, there are several Upanishads based on Lord?s incarnations such as Sri Nrisimha Taapaneeya, Sri Gopaala Taapaneeya, Sri Rama Taapaneeya, Sri Narayana, Sri Subhala, Kaushidaki Upanishads etc.
Each Upanishad has its own ?Saanthi PaaTa?s meaning benedictory verses e,g
SaanO Mitrah, Sam VaruNah..., Poornamathah..., Bhadram KarNEbi...
Only after chanting the benedictory portion should the Vedas be recited.

Some details of interest are given below in respect of a few Upanishads to illustrate the variety of their structures.
1. Isaavaasya Upanishad contains 18 Mantras.
2. KEna Upanishad contains 4 khaanDas.
3. KaTa Upanishad contains 2 Adhyayas.
4. Prasna Upanishad contains 6 Vallis.
5. MunDaka Uponishad contains 6 Prasnas
6. MaaNDookhya Upanishad contains 3 khaaNDas
7. Taittriya Upanishad contains 52 Anuvaakas.
8. BrihadaaraNyaka Upanishad contains 8 Adhyayas
9. ChaanDOKhya Upanishad contains 8 Prabhaatas
10. SvEtasvataara Upanishad contains 6 Adhyayas.
11. Subhala Upanishad contains 5 khaaNDas
12. Atharva sikhaa Upanishad contains 2 khaaNDas.
13. Maantrika Upanishad contains 2 khaaNDas.
14. Agnirahasya Upanishad contains 2 khaaNDas
15. Kausheedhaki Upanishad contains 3 Adhyayas.
We should study Upanishads as part of our curriculum to uplift ourselves at the feet of an Acharya.
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QUESTIONS
1. What are Upanishads and why are they so called?
2. How many are they?
3. What are the ?Saanthi PaaTa?s?
4. Mention the names of various divisions of Upanishads?
5. Who wrote the commentary on Upanishads to establish our system of philosophy?
6. Memorize the names of the 10 major Upanishads?