The most sacred texts of Vedas are contained in the Upanishads, which is considered as the Vedanata (the every essence of Veda).

The Upanishads are set in a highly exalted state and the Vedas authorise only those who have gained the purity of body, mind and intellect to pursue the learning and understanding through the competent teacher. Being part of the Vedas, the Upanishadic texts are considered divine and as the key to the ultimate knowledge and its realisation. The Upanishads as part of the Sruti is considered timeless, eternal, and apaurusheya (unauthored). However, many seers of ancient India are associated with the Upanishadic texts and the scholars date these texts to be thousands of years before the period the incarnation of Lord Krishna. The word Upanishad in Sanskrit is made of three words : Upa + Ni + Shad. The word “Upa” means “‘near”or as the means to ,  ni refers to  to lead and the word  shad offers three contextual meaning namely,  truth ,  to sit or  destroy . In the words of Bhagavan Adi Shankara, therefore, the Upanishad refers to the point by nearing which one is led to the true knowledge or to the true knowledge which is gained by sitting near the Guru or the knowledge that destroys (the ignorance) and (reveals) the truth.

In this Kali Yuga, where sincere duty itself is considered as the greatest tapas, devotion (bhakthi) as the chief way to salvation, it may be essential to bring out the secrets of the Upanishads for the grasp of all human beings, so that every one of us can embark on the search of true knowledge and realisation within oneself.

This Atman is not to be realised by the power of speech nor by a vast intellect, nor by the study of the Vedas! – Such is the bold utterance of Upanishads thereby asserting that knowledge is a only a tool and the realisation is only when one becomes that true knowledge itsef. Beginning with the divine commentaries of the principle ten Upanishads by Sri Adi Shanakara, there are hundreds of texts, commentaries and interpretations on the Upanishads that stimulate intellectual debates, inspired understandings and vedantic appeal.

Here is an attempt to provide a poetic translations of the Upanishads in Tami.

There are many views on how many thousands of Upanishads once existed and how few available today. However, an index of Upanishad exist in the Upanishad called Mukyopanishad. In it, there are names of about one hundred and eight Upanishads, of which as mentioned in the Mukyopanishad. Of these, only Nine Upanishads are considered important by the Brahma-Sutras, the aphorisms that codified the philosophy of the Upanishads. By prefixing these nine texts with the word  Mandukya , the Brhama-Sutras project these nine as the jewel of the Vedanta.

Bhgavan Adi Shankaracharya has presented the ten Upanishads as  daSopanishad which included all the nine texts mentioned within the Brahma-Sutras. These are in order of their mention:

• (1) ISa
• (2) kena
• (3) kaTha
• (4) praSna
• (5) muNDaka
• (6) mANdUkya
• (7) aitareya
• (8) taittirIya
• (9) bRhadAraNyaka
• (10) chAndogya

In the Mukyopanishad, it is said that Lord Sri Rama preached to Hanuman  the only means by which the final emancipation is attained is through maaNDUkya upanishhad alone, which is enough for the salvation for all aspirants. If the wisdom or GYAna is not attained thereby the study of e 10 upanishhads; thou shalt soon attain GYAna, and then My Seat. O son of ajnjanaa, if thy GYAna is not made firm, practice (study) well the 32 upanishhads. Thou shalt get release. If thou longest after videhamukti, study the 108 upanishhads. I will truly state in order the (names of the) upanishhads with their Shaanti (purificatory mantras). Hearken to them. (They are:)  and thus goes the Muktika Upanishad with the names of 108 Upanishads.

As experts have explained before, when we read the Upanishads, we can see the context and the authority of the Upanishad. For example, each Upanishad starts with a prayer called  Shaanti which is to be invokved by the teacher and the students at the start of each lesson. Scholars have established that the 10 upanishhads are from Rig veda as they have the Shaanti beginning with the phrase “vaNme-manasi.” Similaarly, the Upanishhads from Shukla Yajur veda have the Shaanti beginning with “puurNamada” and he Krishna Yajurveda with the Shaanti beginning as  sahanaavavatu. The Sama Veda upanishhads have the Shaanti beginning ” aapyaayantu” and the Atharva veda Upanishads have have the Shaanti beginning ” hadram-karNebhiH”.

There is also a classification suggested by many scholars that based on the focus and key messages from the Upanishads, they can be grouped into a) Sanyasa Upanishads – those which relates to the path of absolute renunciation and the ways of life for those who adore saintlyhood, b) Yoga Upanishads – those which outlines the principles of yoga, c) Saiva Upanishads – those which focus on Lord Shiva as the Brhamam, d) Vaishnavva – those which is based on Lord Narayana as the principle manifestation of God and e) Samanya and f) Sakta Upanishads.

Sri Ramakrishana mutt, Chennai, India has published all these 108 Upanishads with transliteration and meaning in Tamil. Sri Anna, who I consider as my virtual guru, has provided the meanings and interpretations of these highly complex philosophical texts in simple words of Tamil and the entire Tamil world is indebted to him for his tapas.

In a feeble attempt to have all these 108 Upanishads in the form of Tamil Verses, on the strength of forgiving grace of God, I pledged my soul to Sri Anna and have attempted an inspired translation of these texts through Tamil Verses. And mainly to keep the interest of my young children, I have also summarised in simple English, the essence of each Upanishad. I have started with the 11th Upanishad and in the rest of the sojourn of my life, I will try to expand on this list. With the grace of God and by His will, I yearn for completing this worthwhile cause.

These pages contain inspirational rendering of selected Upanishads in Tamil and an interpretation in English for practical understanding. Upon the peruse, if you are motivated to dwell deep into the study and understanding of these eternal science, I consider my work earned its merit. Even better will be those who take the struggle to feedback to me of my follies or on any feeble value that this is endowed by the grace of God!

Peace be!