upaniṣat-sahita sūtra kahe yei tattva
mukhya-vá¹›ttye sei artha parama mahattva
upaniá¹£at - the authorized Vedic version; sahita - along with; sÅ«tra - the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra; kahe - it is said; yei - the subject matter; tattva - in truth; mukhya-vá¹›ttye - by direct understanding; sei - that truth; artha - meaning; parama - ultimate; mahattva - glory.
“The Absolute Truth is described in the Upaniṣads and Brahma-sūtra, but one must understand the verses as they are. That is the supreme glory in understanding.
It has become fashionable since the time of Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya to explain everything regarding the Å›Ästras in an indirect way. Scholars take pride in explaining everything in their own way, and they declare that one can understand the Vedic scriptures in any way he likes. This “any way you like†method is foolishness, and it has created havoc in the Vedic culture. One cannot accept scientific knowledge in his own whimsical way. In the science of mathematics, for example, two plus two equals four, and one cannot make it equal three or five. Yet although it is not possible to alter real knowledge, people have taken to the fashion of understanding Vedic knowledge in any way they like. It is for this reason that we have presented Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ As It Is. We do not create meanings by concoction. Sometimes commentators say that the word kuruká¹£etra in the first verse of the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ refers to one’s body, but we do not accept this. We understand that Kuruká¹£etra is a place that still exists, and according to the Vedic version it is a dharma-ká¹£etra, or a place of pilgrimage. People still go there to perform Vedic sacrifices. Foolish commentators, however, say that kuruká¹£etra means the body and that pañca-pÄṇá¸ava refers to the five senses. In this way they distort the meaning, and people are misled. Here ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu confirms that all Vedic literatures, including the Upaniá¹£ads, Brahma-sÅ«tra and others, whether Å›ruti, smá¹›ti or nyÄya, must be understood according to their original statements. To describe the direct meaning of the Vedic literatures is glorious, but to describe them in one’s own way, using imperfect senses and imperfect knowledge, is a disastrous blunder. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu fully deprecated the attempt to describe the Vedas in this way.
Regarding the Upaniá¹£ads, the following eleven Upaniá¹£ads are considered to be the topmost: Īśa, Kena, Kaá¹ha, PraÅ›na, Muṇá¸aka, MÄṇá¸Å«kya, TaittirÄ«ya, Aitareya, ChÄndogya, Bá¹›had-Äraṇyaka and ÅšvetÄÅ›vatara. However, in the Muktikopaniá¹£ad, verses 30-39, there is a description of 108 Upaniá¹£ads. They are as follows: (1) Īśopaniá¹£ad, (2) Kenopaniá¹£ad, (3) Kaá¹hopaniá¹£ad, (4) PraÅ›nopaniá¹£ad, (5) Muṇá¸ako-paniá¹£ad, (6) MÄṇá¸Å«kyopaniá¹£ad, (7) TaittirÄ«yopaniá¹£ad, (8) Aitareyo-paniá¹£ad, (9) ChÄndogyopaniá¹£ad, (10) Bá¹›had-Äraṇyakopaniá¹£ad, (11) Brahmopaniá¹£ad, (12) Kaivalyopaniá¹£ad, (13) JÄbÄlopaniá¹£ad, (14) ŚvetÄÅ›-vataropaniá¹£ad,(15) Haá¹sopaniá¹£ad, (16) Āruṇeyopaniá¹£ad, (17) Garbho-paniá¹£ad, (18) NÄrÄyaṇopaniá¹£ad, (19) Paramahaá¹sopaniá¹£ad, (20) Amá¹›ta-bindÅ«paniá¹£ad, (21) NÄda-bindÅ«paniá¹£ad, (22) Śiropaniá¹£ad, (23) Atharva-Å›ikhopaniá¹£ad, (24) MaitrÄyaṇy-upaniá¹£ad, (25) Kauṣītaky-upaniá¹£ad, (26) Bá¹›haj-jÄbÄlopaniá¹£ad, (27) Ná¹›siá¹ha-tÄpanÄ«yopaniá¹£ad, (28) KÄlÄgni-rudropaniá¹£ad, (29) Maitreyy-upaniá¹£ad, (30) SubÄlopaniá¹£ad, (31) Ká¹£uri-kopaniá¹£ad, (32) Mantrikopaniá¹£ad, (33) Sarva-sÄropaniá¹£ad, (34) NirÄ-lambopaniá¹£ad, (35)Åšuka-rahasyopaniá¹£ad, (36)Vajra-sÅ«cikopaniá¹£ad, (37) Tejo-bindÅ«paniá¹£ad, (38) NÄda-bindÅ«paniá¹£ad, (39) DhyÄnabindÅ«-paniá¹£ad, (40)Brahma-vidyopaniá¹£ad, (41)Yoga-tattvopaniá¹£ad, (42) Ātma-bodhopaniá¹£ad, (43) NÄrada-parivrÄjakopaniá¹£ad, (44) TriÅ›ikhy-upaniá¹£ad, (45) SÄ«topaniá¹£ad, (46) Yoga-cÅ«á¸Ämaṇy-upaniá¹£ad, (47) NirvÄṇopaniá¹£ad, (48) Maṇá¸ala-brÄhmaṇopaniá¹£ad, (49) Daká¹£iṇÄ-mÅ«rty-upaniá¹£ad, (50) Śarabhopaniá¹£ad, (51) Skandopaniá¹£ad, (52) MahÄnÄrÄyaṇopaniá¹£ad, (53) Advaya-tÄrakopaniá¹£ad, (54) RÄma-rahasyopaniá¹£ad, (55) RÄma-tÄpaṇy-upaniá¹£ad, (56) VÄsudevopaniá¹£ad, (57)Mudgalopaniá¹£ad, (58)ÅšÄṇá¸ilyopaniá¹£ad, (59)Paiá¹…galopaniá¹£ad, (60) Bhikṣūpaniá¹£ad, (61) Mahad-upaniá¹£ad, (62) ŚÄrÄ«rakopaniá¹£ad, (63) Yoga-Å›ikhopaniá¹£ad, (64) TurÄ«yÄtÄ«topaniá¹£ad, (65) SannyÄsopaniá¹£ad, (66) Paramahaá¹sa-parivrÄjakopaniá¹£ad, (67) MÄlikopaniá¹£ad, (68) Avyaktopaniá¹£ad, (69) EkÄká¹£aropaniá¹£ad, (70) PÅ«rṇopaniá¹£ad, (71) SÅ«ryopaniá¹£ad, (72) Aká¹£y-upaniá¹£ad, (73) AdhyÄtmopaniá¹£ad, (74) Kuṇá¸ikopaniá¹£ad, (75) SÄvitry-upaniá¹£ad, (76) Ātmopaniá¹£ad, (77) PÄÅ›upatopaniá¹£ad, (78) Param-brahmopaniá¹£ad, (79) AvadhÅ«topaniá¹£ad, (80) TripurÄ-tapanopaniá¹£ad, (81) Devy-upaniá¹£ad, (82) Tripuropaniá¹£ad, (83) Kaá¹ha-rudropaniá¹£ad, (84) BhÄvanopaniá¹£ad, (85) Há¹›dayopaniá¹£ad, (86) Yoga-kuṇá¸aliny-upaniá¹£ad, (87) Bhasmopaniá¹£ad, (88) RudrÄká¹£o-paniá¹£ad, (89) Gaṇopaniá¹£ad, (90) DarÅ›anopaniá¹£ad, (91) TÄra-sÄropaniá¹£ad, (92) MahÄ-vÄkyopaniá¹£ad, (93) Pañca-brahmopaniá¹£ad, (94) PrÄṇÄgni-hotropaniá¹£ad, (95) GopÄla-tÄpany-upaniá¹£ad, (96) Kṛṣṇopaniá¹£ad, (97) YÄjñavalkyopaniá¹£ad, (98) VarÄhopaniá¹£ad, (99) ŚÄá¹yÄyany-upaniá¹£ad, (100) HayagrÄ«vopaniá¹£ad, (101) DattÄtreyopaniá¹£ad, (102) GÄruá¸opaniá¹£ad, (103) Kaly-upaniá¹£ad, (104) JÄbÄly-upaniá¹£ad, (105) SaubhÄgyopaniá¹£ad, (106) SarasvatÄ«-rahasyopaniá¹£ad, (107) Bahvá¹›copaniá¹£ad and (108) Mukti-kopaniá¹£ad. Thus there are 108 generally accepted Upaniá¹£ads, of which eleven are the most important, as previously stated.
