Isha Upanishad
| Isha | |
|---|---|
| Devanagari | ईशा |
| IAST | īśā |
| Date | 1st millennium BCE |
| Type | Mukhya Upanishad |
| Linked Veda | Shukla Yajurveda |
| Verses | 17–18 |
| Commented by | Adi Shankara, Madhvacharya |
|
Part of a series on the Hindu scriptures Upanishads |
 |
| Rigveda |
|---|
| Aitareya |
| Yajurveda |
| Brihadaranyaka · Isha · Taittiriya · Katha |
| Samaveda |
| Chandogya · Kena |
| Atharvaveda |
| Mundaka · Mandukya · Prashna |
| Other Major Upanishads |
| Shvetashvatara ·Kaushitaki ·Maitrayaniya |
The Isha Upanishad (Devanagari: ईशोपनिषद् IAST īśopaniṣad) is one of the shortest Upanishads, embedded as the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda. It is a Mukhya (primary, principal) Upanishad, and is known in two recensions, called Kanva (VSK) and Madhyandina (VSM). The Upanishad is a brief poem, consisting of 17 or 18 verses, depending on the recension.
It is a key scripture of the Vedanta sub-schools, and an influential Śruti to diverse schools of Hinduism. The name of the text derives from its incipit, īśā vāsyam, "enveloped by the Lord", or "hidden in the Lord (Self)". The text discusses the Atman (Soul, Self) theory of Hinduism, and is referenced by both Dvaita (dualism) and Advaita (non-dualism) sub-schools of Vedanta.
It is classified as a "poetic Upanishad" along with Kena, Katha, Svetasvatara and Mundaka by Paul Deussen (1908).
The root of the word Ishvara comes from īś- (ईश, Ish) which means "capable of" and "owner, ruler, chief of", ultimately cognate with English own (Germanic , PIE *aik-). The word Isha (ईश) literally means "ruler, master, lord". The term vāsyam (वास्य) literally means "hidden in, covered with, enveloped by".
Ralph Griffith and Max Muller, each interpret the term "Isha" in the Upanishad interchangeably as "Lord" and "Self" (one's soul). Puqun Li translates the title of the Upanishad as "the ruler of the Self".
The Upanishad is also known as Ishavasya Upanishad and Vajasaneyi Samhita Upanishad.
The chronology of Isha Upanishad, along with other Vedic era literature, is unclear and contested by scholars. All opinions rest on scanty evidence, assumptions about likely evolution of ideas, and on presumptions about which philosophy might have influenced which other Indian philosophies.
Buddhism scholars such as Richard King date Isha Upanishad's composition roughly to the second half of the first millennium BCE, chronologically placing it after the first Buddhist Pali canons.
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