Sariraka Upanishad
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The Sariraka Upanishad (Sanskrit: शारीरक उपनिषत्, IAST: Śārīraka Upaniṣad) is one of the minor Upanishads and is listed at 62 (in the serial order in the Muktika enumerated by Rama to Hanuman[1]) in the modern era anthology of 108 Upanishads. Composed in Sanskrit,[2][3] it is one of the 32 Upanishads that belongs to the Krishna Yajurveda, and is classified as one of the Samanya (general),[4] and is one of several dedicated mystical physiology Upanishads.[5][6]
Sariraka Upanishad | |
---|---|
Devanagari | शरीरक or शारीरक |
Title means | Body |
Type | Samanya |
Linked Veda | Krishna Yajurveda |
The Upanishad, along with Garbha Upanishad, focuses on what is the relation between human body and human soul, where and how one relates to the other, and what happens to each at birth and after death.[7] These questions and various theories are mentioned in the earliest Upanishads of Hinduism, the theories evolve, but Sariraka and other mystical physiology Upanishads are dedicated to this discussion.[7] The texts, states Paul Deussen have been revised in later era and their corrupted content is inconsistent across known manuscripts.[7]
The text asserts that the human body is a composite of elements from earth, water, air, space (akash), and energy (agni, fire); and that the human soul (jīva) is "the lord of the [human] body".[5] It then describes how human sensory organs arise from these, how functions such as human will, doubt, memory, intellect, copulation, speech, anger, fear, delusion, right conduct, compassion, modesty, non-violence, dharma and other aspects of life arise.[5] The Sariraka Upanishad states that Prakriti (inert but always changing nature) consists of eight native forms, fifteen functional modifications, for a total of twenty-three tattva. It adds that the twenty fourth tattva in human body is avyakta (undifferentiated cosmic matter), asserting the individual soul functions as Kshetrajna ("the lord of the body") and the Purusha (indestructible universal principle, unchanging cosmic soul) is different and greater than the twenty four tattvas.[5]