The ''Kshurika Upanishad'' (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: क्षुरिका उपनिषत्,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Kṣurikā Upaniṣad) is an ancient Sanskrit text and one of the minor

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. It is one of twenty

Yoga Upanishads Yoga Upanishads are a group of minor Upanishads of Hinduism related to Yoga. There are twenty Yoga Upanishads in the anthology of 108 Upanishads listed in the Muktika anthology.. The Yoga Upanishads, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally ...

in the four

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

. Its manuscripts are either attached to the

Atharvaveda The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...

, or to the

Krishna Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

. The text includes sections on Yoga postures, breath exercises and withdrawal of senses from outside to inside as a means to cleanse the body and mind. The aim of Yoga, states the Upanishad, is to know and liberate one's soul. The text is also called Kṣurikopanishad.

Etymology

The Sanskrit word ''Kshurika'' means "

razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before t ...

", and in this Upanishad, it metaphorically signifies yoga being a tool to cut oneself away from

Maya (illusion) ''Maya'' (; Devanagari: , IAST: ), literally "illusion" or "magic", has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. In later Vedic texts, connotes a "magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not ...

and errors. A similar meaning to Kshurika is attributed in the

Mundaka Upanishad The Mundaka Upanishad ( sa, मुण्डक-उपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit Vedic text, embedded inside Atharva Veda. It is a Mukhya (primary) Upanishad, and is listed as number 5 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads of Hin ...

Chronology

The text is ancient, states

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanians, Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who establ ...

, who places its relative chronology to the same period when the following Hindu texts were composed -

Maitri Upanishad The ''Maitrayaniya Upanishad'' ( sa, मैत्रायणीय उपनिषद्, ) is an ancient Sanskrit text that is embedded inside the Yajurveda.Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 3 ...

, the didactic parts of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, the chief

Sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...

Upanishads and along with other early Yoga Upanishads such as Brahmabindu,

Brahmavidya Brahmavidya is that branch of scriptural knowledge derived primarily through a study of the Upanishads, Brahma Sūtras and Bhagavad Gita. Derived from the sanskrit words brahma and vidyā, brahman is the neuter gender of the root word-form brih t ...

, Tejobindu,

Yogatattva The '' Yogatattva Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: योगतत्त्व उपनिषत्, IAST: Yogatattva Upaniṣhad), also called as ''Yogatattvopanishad'' (योगतत्त्वोपनिषत्), is an important Upanishad with ...

, Nadabindu, Yogashikha, Dhyanabindu and Amritabindu. These and the Kshurika text, adds Eliade, were composed earlier than the ten or eleven later yogic Upanishads such as the Yoga-kundali,

Varaha Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is most commonly associated with the lege ...

and Pashupatabrahma Upanishads.Mircea Eliade (1970), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, , pages 128-129

Gavin Flood __NOTOC__ Gavin Dennis Flood (born 1954) is a British scholar of comparative religion specialising in Shaivism and phenomenology, but with research interests that span South Asian traditions. From October 2005 through December 2015, he served ...

dates this text, along with other Yoga Upanishads, to be probably from the 100 BCE to 300 CE period.

Anthology

Kshurika Upanishadis listed at number 31 in the serial order of the Muktika enumerated by

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

in the modern era

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

of 108 Upanishads. Colebrooke's version of 52 Upanishads, popular in north India, lists this Upanishad's text at number 4 The Narayana anthology also includes this Upanishad at number 4 in ''Bibliothica Indica''. In the collection of Upanishads under the title "Oupanekhat", put together by Sultan Mohammed

Dara Shikhoh Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank ...

in 1656, consisting of a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

translation of 50 Upanishads and who prefaced it as the best book on religion, the Kshurika is listed at number 33 and is named '' Tschchourka'' According to Alain Daniélou, this Upanishad is one of the 10

Raja Yoga ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

Upanishads, seven of which are under the Krishna Yajurveda and the balance 3 under the

Shukla Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

The text is composed in poetic prose style. It is notable for its discussion of concentration of mind during meditation, stating that mind is the ''Kshurika'' (razor) that can cut away worldly distractions and external sense objects during '' Dharana'' step of

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

. It calls it the ''Dhyana-yoga''. The Upanishad also includes sections on

Asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

(posture),

Pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...

(breath exercises) and

Pratyahara Pratyahara () or the 'gathering towards' is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in his classical work, ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' composed in the 2nd century BCE. It is also the first stage of the ...

(withdrawal of senses from outside to inside) as a means to cleanse the body and mind. The aim of Yoga, describes the Upanishad, is to know and liberate one's soul. Yogic meditation, states the Kshurika Upanishad, is the razor that helps severe the mind from the changing reality and worldly cravings, achieve self-knowledge and liberation from Samsara (rebirth).

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Mukhya Upanishads Upanishads

Etymology

Chronology

Anthology

Contents

See also

References

Bibliography