Isha Upanishad
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An opening invocation prefaced to the Isha Upanishad in some^clarify editions.

The Isha Upanishad (īśa upaniṣad, otherwise Ishopanishad īśopaniṣad or īśāvāsya upaniṣad) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total; like other core texts of the vedanta, it is considered revealed scripture (Śruti) by diverse traditions within Hinduism. The name of the text derives from the incipit, īśā, "by the Lord (Isha)". The Upanishad appears in the final chapter (adhyāya) of the White Yajurveda, but is historically one of the latest of the principal (mukhya) Upanishads, dating approximately to Mauryan times.

The short text covers a wide spectrum of philosophy, religion, ritualism and metaphysics.

The Supreme

Part of a series on Hindu scriptures

Vedas Rigveda · Yajurveda · Samaveda · Atharvaveda Divisions Samhita · Brahmana · Aranyaka · Upanishad

Upanishad Aitareya · Brihadaranyaka · Isha · Taittiriya · Chandogya · Kena · Mundaka · Mandukya · Katha · Prashna · Shvetashvatara

Vedanga Shiksha · Chandas · Vyakarana · Nirukta · Jyotisha · Kalpa

Mahakavya (epics) Mahabharata · Ramayana

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The Isha Upanishad is significant amongst the Upanishads for its description of the nature of the supreme being (Ish). It presents a monist or non-dual perspective of the universe, in that it assumes this being,^[1] 'is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated' (verse 8), who 'moves and does not move', who is 'far away, but very near as well', who 'although fixed in His abode is swifter than the mind' (verses 4 & 5).

The text then asserts the oneness of the supreme self;

For the enlightened one all that exists is nothing but the Self

and asks;

So how could any delusion or suffering continue for those who know this oneness?

The later verses take the form of a series of prayers requesting that the speaker be able to see past the supreme light or effulgence in order to understand the true nature of the Supreme Lord.

Text

In the two shakhas of the White Yajurveda (called VSM and VSK) the order of verses 1-8 is the same, however VSK verses 9–14 correspod to VSM verses 12, 13, 14, 9, 10, 11. VSM 17 is a variation of VSK 15, VSK 16 is lacking in VSM, and VSK 17–18 correspond to VSM 15–16. The verse numbers used elsewhere in this article refer to VSK:

Verse 18 is a Rigvedic verse (RV 1.189.1) invoking Agni.

References

1. ^ Weber 1878:103

Literature

• A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Śrī Īśopaniṣad, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1969.
• Sri Aurobindo, The Upanishads [1]. Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry. 1972.
• S. Radhakrishnan. The Principal Upanishads. George Allen and Unwin Ltd. New York. 1969.
• Swami Gambhirananda, Eight Upanishads, Vol.1. with the commentary of Shankaracharya. Tr. Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 2nd edn. 1989.
• Albrecht Weber, The History of Indian Literature (1878).
• N.Srinivasagopalan, Isa Upanisad Revisited,Oupanisada Publications, 16, Vayupuri, Secunderabad 500 094. 2004 ISBN 978-81-7525-831-0 The Subtitle is 'The Recipe for an Enlightened and Joyful Life of High Effectiveness and All-round success'
• Sri Aurobindo, Isha Upanisad, Sri Aurobindo Asram, Pondichery. 1986
• Swami Satyananda Saraswati,Ishavasya Upanishad,Bihar School of Yoga, Monghyr, Bihar, India.1973
• Sri Ganapati Sachchidanada Swamiji, Sri Sachchidananda Avadh00ta Datta Peetham, Mysore. 1992

See also

• Upanishads
• Bhagavata Purana
• Mahabharata
• Bhagavad Gita

External links

• GRETIL etext
• Isha Upanishad translation and commentary by Swami Paramananda
• Isa Upanishad A translation by Swami Nikhilananda
• Isha Upanishad as Shukla Yajurveda Adhyaya 40 (White Yajurveda Chapter 40) A translation by Ralph T.H. Griffith, 1899
• Isa Upanishad translation by Max Muller
• Isha Upanishad translation by Sri Aurobindo Gosh, 1910.
  Also see this. Similar to the previous, but with slight grammatical variations.
• Isha Upanishad Commentary by Sri Aurobindo Gosh
• Isha Upanishad Commentary by Dr. CS Shah
• Isha Upanishad translation and commentary by P.K. Hari Hara Subramanian.
• Isha Upanishad translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester.
• Isha Upanishad Invocation Translations Several translations of Purna, the Isha Upanishad Invocation.