logo
logo
Sign in

Chandogya Upanishad

avatar
Piyali bhoir
Chandogya Upanishad

Chandogya Upanishad is as old as Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and together they rank among the oldest Upanishads. Chandogya Upanishad was written on the Vedic Brahmana period about ninth to eighth century BC. Chandogya Upanishad is associated with Samveda. It is ranked ninth in the Muktika canon of hundred and eight Upanishadas.


Chandogya Upanishad is the part of Chandogya Brahaman that contains ten chapters. The first two chapters of Chandogya Brahmana deal with the rituals of sacrifice and worship. The rest eight chapters constitute Chandogya Upanishad. Chandogya Upanishad is the ancient and authentic source of principal fundamentals of Vedanta philosophy. In Brahma Sutras a number of references are made to this Chandogya Upanishad, which indicates its special significance in Vedantic philosophy. The speciality of Chandogya Upanishad is important Upasanas of Meditation like Dahara Vidya, Shandilya Vidya etc.

The Chandogya Upanishad is notable for its lilting metric structure, its mention of ancient cultural elements such as musical instruments, and embedded philosophical premises that later served as foundation for Vedanta school of Hinduism. It is one of the most cited texts in later Bhasyas (reviews and commentaries) by scholars from the diverse schools of Hinduism. Adi Shankaracharya, for example, cited Chandogya Upanishad 810 times in his Vedanta Sutra Bhasya, more than any other ancient text.

The Upanishad comprises the last eight chapters of a ten chapter Chandogya Brahmana text.The first chapter of the Brahmana is short and concerns ritual-related hymns to celebrate a marriage ceremony and the birth of a child.

The second chapter of the Brahmana is short as well and its mantras are addressed to divine beings at life rituals. The last eight chapters are long, and are called the Chandogya Upanishad.

A notable structural feature of Chandogya Upanishad is that it contains many nearly identical passages and stories also found in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, but in precise meter.


collect
0
avatar
Piyali bhoir
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more