Upanishad

[ oo-pan-i-shad, oo-pah-ni-shahd ]

noun

, Hinduism.

1. any of a class of speculative prose treatises composed between the 8th and 6th centuries b.c. and first written a.d. c1300: they represent a philosophical development beyond the Vedas, having as their principal message the unity of Brahman and Atman.

Upanishad

/ juː-; -ˌʃæd; uːˈpʌnɪʃəd /

noun

1. Hinduism any of a class of the Sanskrit sacred books probably composed between 400 and 200 bc and embodying the mystical and esoteric doctrines of ancient Hindu philosophy

Derived Forms

• Uˌpaniˈshadic, adjective

Other Words From

• U·pani·shadic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Upanishad¹

< Sanskrit upaniṣad, equivalent to upa near + ni- down + -ṣad, sandhi variant of sad- sit ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Upanishad¹

C19: from Sanskrit upanisad a sitting down near something, from upa near to + ni down + sīdati he sits

Example Sentences

And I just started the Upanishads last week.

From New York Times

So I started reading the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, went to retreats, learned some chanting, studied some Sanskrit, and was like, “This is like amazing.”

From New York Times

They learn Sanskrit in order to read the “Yoga Sutras,” the “Upanishads,” the “Bhagavad Gita” in their original language.

From Los Angeles Times

It was the age of Buddha, Confucius, Lao-Tze, the Upanishads, the Hebrew prophets, Greek natural science and philosophy and so on.

From Salon

For them, it is an ascetic practice: the sadhu severs connection with his family, renounces his worldly possessions and lives a life of celibacy as prescribed from the sacred texts Paramahamsa Parivrajaka Upanishad.

From The Guardian