Sannyasa Upanishads

According to Sprockhoff, six of the Sannyasa Upanishads – Aruni, Kundika, Kathashruti, Paramahamsa, Jabala and Brahma – were composed before the 3rd-century CE, likely in the centuries before or after the start of the common era, states Sprockhoff.{{sfn|Sprockhoff|1976|pp=277–294, 319–377}} According to Olivelle, they must be younger, dating them to the first centuries CE.{{sfn|Olivelle|1992|p=10}}

The Asrama Upanishad is dated to the 3rd century CE, the Naradaparivrajaka and Satyayaniya Upanishads to around the 12th century, and about ten of the remaining Sannyasa Upanishads are dated to have been composed in the 14th to 15th century CE, well after the start of Islamic Sultanates period of South Asia in the late 12th century.{{sfnm|Olivelle|1992|1pp=x-xi, 8–18|Sprockhoff|1976|2pp=277–294, 319–377}}

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Some of the oldest Sannyasa Upanishads have a strong Advaita Vedanta outlook, and these pre-date Adi Shankara. Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism (Advaita) Vedanta philosophy. This may be, states Patrick Olivelle, because major Hindu monasteries of early medieval period (1st millennium CE) belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition.{{sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=17–18}}

The 12th-century Shatyayaniya Upanishad is a significant exception, which presents qualified dualistic and Vaishnavism (Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) philosophy.{{sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=17–18}}Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791436967}}, page 81 note 27 These texts were influential and often discussed by medieval era Indian scholars. For example, states Olivelle, the Jabala Upanishad was mentioned by Adi Shankara in his bhasya on Brahma Sutras, and he did so several times, at 1.2.32, 2.1.3, 3.3.37–41, 3.4.17–18 and others.{{sfn|Olivelle|2011|pp=220–221 with footnote 38}}

Among the thirteen major or Principal Upanishads, all from the ancient era, many include sections related to Sannyasa.{{sfn|Olivelle|1992|pp=x-xi, 4–9}} For example, the motivations and state of a Sannyasi are mentioned in Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad, a classical major Upanishad.{{citation|first=Robert Ernest|last=Hume|url=https://archive.org/details/thirteenprincipa028442mbp |title= The Thirteen Principal Upanishads |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1921}} Maitrāyaṇi starts with the question, "given the nature of life, how is joy possible?" and "how can one achieve moksha (liberation)?"; in later sections it offers a debate on possible answers and its views on Sannyasa.Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 367, 373

• Hindu texts
• Puranas

{{Reflist|30em}}

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• {{cite book|first=Joachim F|last=Sprockhoff|year=1976|title=Samnyasa: Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus|publisher=Wiesbaden: Kommissionsverlag Franz Steiner|language=German| isbn=978-3515019057}}
• {{cite book|first1=Moriz| last1= Winternitz| first2=V. Srinivasa| last2=Sarma|title=A History of Indian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C |year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0264-3 }}

{{Mukhya Upanishads}}

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Category:Upanishads