Amritabindu Upanishad

Amritabindu Upanishad
Amritabindu mentions Padmasana (above) and other asanas
Devanagari	अमृतबिन्दु
Title means	Drop of nectar
Date	100 BCE to 300 CE
Linked Veda	Krishna Yajurveda or Atharvaveda
Verses	Varies with versions, 22 or 38
Philosophy	Yoga

The Amritabindu Upanishad (Sanskrit:अमृतबिन्दु उपनिषद्) is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. It is one of the five Bindu Upanishads, attached to the Atharvaveda, and one of twenty Yoga Upanishads in the four Vedas.

The text is notable for condemning "bookish learning" and emphasizing practice, as well as for presenting a six limbed Yoga system which match five stages of the eight stage Patanjali's Yogasutras and offering a unique, different sixth stage.

The Amṛitabindu is listed at number 20 in the serial order of the Muktika enumerated by Rama to Hanuman in the modern era anthology of 108 Upanishads. The text sometimes appears under the title Brahmabindu Upanishad or Amritanada Upanishad, in some anthologies. It shares over 20 Vedanta-philosophy related verses with Amritanada Upanishad in compilations where these two texts are separated into independent Upanishads.

Paul Deussen states that the title has two meanings, first being "the esoteric doctrine of a bindu (point) or nada (reverberation) of the word Om which signifies Brahman", while the second meaning is a drop which grants immortality. The discussion of Om by the text, states Deussen, suggests that the former meaning may be more appropriate. It is one of five Upanishads whose title has the suffix "bindu" meaning "drop", while “amrita” represents nectar of immortality like ambrosia in Greek literature parlance, but here its real emphasis is on mind. Amritabindu Upanishad, also meaning "Immortal Point," differentiates between vocal recitation of the Om syllable and its non-vocal practice.

The different names of similar texts may be the result of a scribal error that persisted as the text spread across India. However, the number of verses vary between the manuscripts, ranging from twenty two verses in Ayyangar translation, and 38 in Deussen translation.