Upanishads List: 10 Principal Upanishads and the 108 Muktika Canon (2026 Guide)

The principal Upanishads (mukhya Upanishads) are the ten oldest and most authoritative Upanishads on which Adi Shankara wrote commentaries: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka. Many scholars add the Shvetashvatara, Kaushitaki and Maitri to make 13. The wider traditional Upanishads list — the Muktika canon — names 108 Upanishads, grouped below by Veda. This guide gives both lists, which Veda each text belongs to, its central teaching, and where a beginner should start.

The principal Upanishads list

A traditional Sanskrit verse lists the ten in the order used below: īśa-kena-kaṭha-praśna-muṇḍa-māṇḍūkya-tittiriḥ, aitareyaṃ ca chāndogyaṃ bṛhadāraṇyakaṃ tathā. Each Upanishad belongs to a particular Veda and branch (shakha).

#	Upanishad	Sanskrit	Veda	Form	Known for
1	Isha (Ishavasya)	ईश	Shukla Yajurveda	Verse (18 verses)	“Ishavasyam idam sarvam” — all this is pervaded by the Lord; action without attachment
2	Kena	केन	Samaveda	Verse and prose	“By whom?” — what powers the mind and senses; the Uma Haimavati story
3	Katha	कठ	Krishna Yajurveda	Verse	Nachiketa’s dialogue with Yama about death; the chariot image of the self
4	Prashna	प्रश्न	Atharvaveda	Prose	Six students ask sage Pippalada six questions
5	Mundaka	मुण्डक	Atharvaveda	Verse	Higher (para) and lower (apara) knowledge; “Satyameva Jayate” (3.1.6)
6	Mandukya	माण्डूक्य	Atharvaveda	Prose (12 verses)	Om and the four states: waking, dream, deep sleep, and turiya
7	Taittiriya	तैत्तिरीय	Krishna Yajurveda	Prose	The five sheaths (pancha kosha); “satyam vada, dharmam chara”
8	Aitareya	ऐतरेय	Rigveda	Prose	Creation from the Self; “prajnanam brahma”
9	Chandogya	छान्दोग्य	Samaveda	Prose	Uddalaka teaches Shvetaketu “tat tvam asi”; meditation on Om
10	Brihadaranyaka	बृहदारण्यक	Shukla Yajurveda	Prose	Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi; “aham brahmasmi”; “asato ma sad gamaya”
11	Shvetashvatara	श्वेताश्वतर	Krishna Yajurveda	Verse	A devotional, theistic vision of Rudra-Shiva as the supreme Lord
12	Kaushitaki	कौषीतकि	Rigveda	Prose	The journey of the soul after death; prana as Brahman
13	Maitri (Maitrayaniya)	मैत्री / मैत्रायणीय	Krishna Yajurveda (placed under Samaveda in the Muktika list)	Prose	King Brihadratha’s search; links to later Samkhya and Yoga ideas

Adi Shankara’s commentaries (bhashyas) on the first ten are the reason these ten became the core. The Shvetashvatara is sometimes counted as the eleventh because a commentary on it is also attributed to Shankara, though scholars debate that attribution.

How old are the principal Upanishads?

Exact dates are uncertain. Scholars generally regard the prose Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya as the oldest, placing them in the first half of the 1st millennium BCE, before or around the time of the Buddha. The verse Upanishads (Isha, Katha, Mundaka, Shvetashvatara) are usually placed somewhat later, and the Mandukya and Prashna later still. Common scholarly estimates for the whole principal group range from roughly 800 BCE to the last centuries BCE. Traditional Hindu belief treats all Upanishads as shruti — revealed, authorless knowledge — and does not date them historically.

The four Mahavakyas (great sayings)

Later Vedanta picked one “great saying” from an Upanishad of each Veda. They are the most quoted lines of the entire literature:

Mahavakya	Meaning	Source	Veda
Prajñānam brahma	Consciousness is Brahman	Aitareya Upanishad	Rigveda
Aham brahmāsmi	I am Brahman	Brihadaranyaka 1.4.10	Shukla Yajurveda
Tat tvam asi	You are That	Chandogya 6.8.7	Samaveda
Ayam ātmā brahma	This Self is Brahman	Mandukya 2	Atharvaveda

The Muktika canon: 108 Upanishads

The Muktika Upanishad — itself the 108th and last in its own list — is framed as a dialogue in which Rama teaches Hanuman which Upanishads to study for liberation. It famously says the Mandukya alone is enough for a seeker of liberation, then recommends the ten principal ones, then 32, and finally all 108. The Muktika is a late text and its date is unknown, but its list became the standard printed collection, especially in South India.

Muktika categories

Category	Number	Focus
Mukhya (principal)	13	Core Vedanta philosophy
Samanya Vedanta (general)	21	General Vedantic teachings
Sannyasa	20	Renunciation and monastic life
Yoga	20	Meditation, breath, sound, kundalini
Vaishnava	14	Vishnu, Narayana, Rama, Krishna, Narasimha
Shaiva	12	Shiva, Rudra
Shakta	8	The Goddess (Devi)

All 108 Upanishads grouped by Veda

Rigveda (10): Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Nadabindu, Atmabodha, Nirvana, Mudgala, Akshamalika, Tripura, Saubhagyalakshmi, Bahvricha.

Samaveda (16): Kena, Chandogya, Aruni (Arunika), Maitrayani, Maitreyi, Vajrasuchi, Yogachudamani, Vasudeva, Mahat, Sannyasa, Avyakta, Kundika, Savitri, Rudrakshajabala, Jabaladarshana, Jabali.

Shukla Yajurveda (19): Isha, Brihadaranyaka, Jabala, Hamsa, Paramahamsa, Subala, Mantrika, Niralamba, Trishikhi-brahmana, Mandala-brahmana, Advayataraka, Paingala, Bhikshuka, Turiyatita, Adhyatma, Tarasara, Yajnavalkya, Shatyayaniya, Muktika.

Krishna Yajurveda (32): Katha, Taittiriya, Brahma, Kaivalya, Shvetashvatara, Garbha, Narayana, Amritabindu, Amritanada, Kalagnirudra, Kshurika, Sarvasara, Shukarahasya, Tejobindu, Dhyanabindu, Brahmavidya, Yogatattva, Dakshinamurti, Skanda, Shariraka, Yogashikha, Ekakshara, Akshi, Avadhuta, Katharudra, Rudrahridaya, Yogakundalini, Panchabrahma, Pranagnihotra, Varaha, Kalisantarana, Sarasvatirahasya.

Atharvaveda (31): Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Atharvashira, Atharvashikha, Brihajjabala, Nrisimhatapani, Naradaparivrajaka, Sita, Sharabha, Tripadvibhuti-mahanarayana, Ramarahasya, Ramatapani, Shandilya, Paramahamsaparivrajaka, Annapurna, Surya, Atma, Pashupata-brahma, Parabrahma, Tripuratapani, Devi, Bhavana, Bhasmajabala, Ganapati, Mahavakya, Gopalatapani, Krishna, Hayagriva, Dattatreya, Garuda.

Spellings vary between editions (for example Bahvricha/Bahvrichi, Shatyayaniya/Satyayani), so search using more than one form if you cannot find a title.

How the Upanishads reached the world

• c. 1657: The Mughal prince Dara Shikoh had a large set of Upanishads — around 50, according to most accounts — translated into Persian as the Sirr-i-Akbar (“The Greatest Secret”).
• 1801–1802: The French scholar Anquetil-Duperron published a Latin translation of that Persian version, the Oupnek’hat, in Strasbourg — the first European-language translation of a major Hindu text.
• 1814 onwards: The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer read the Latin version and wrote that its study “has been the solace of my life” and “will be the solace of my death”.

Where should a beginner start?

1. Isha — only 18 verses; you can read it in one sitting.
2. Katha — a story (Nachiketa and Yama) that carries the big ideas; the easiest to enjoy.
3. Kena and Mundaka — short, poetic and clear about “higher knowledge”.
4. Mandukya — 12 verses, but dense; read it with a commentary (traditionally with Gaudapada’s Karika).
5. Taittiriya, then Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka — longer prose works best kept for later.

Widely used English translations include Patrick Olivelle’s Upaniṣads (Oxford World’s Classics), S. Radhakrishnan’s The Principal Upanishads, Swami Gambhirananda’s Eight Upanishads with Shankara’s commentary (Advaita Ashrama), and Eknath Easwaran’s readable version for newcomers.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming all 108 are ancient. Many of the sectarian, yoga and sannyasa Upanishads were composed much later, some well into the common era. Only the principal ones belong to the late Vedic period.
• Confusing the Upanishads with the Puranas. Upanishads are the philosophical end of the Vedas (shruti); Puranas are later narrative texts (smriti).
• Quoting a Mahavakya without its context. “Tat tvam asi” comes in a nine-times-repeated teaching in Chandogya 6 — read the full chapter to understand it.
• Using a single translation. Key terms like atman, brahman and maya are translated very differently by Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita commentators; compare at least two.
• Skipping the Vedic background. Knowing which Veda each Upanishad belongs to makes its imagery (fire, sacrifice, chant) much clearer — start with the 4 Vedas explained.

Related reading

The Upanishads quote and discuss the most famous Vedic prayer — see Gayatri mantra meaning in English. If you read Hindi, our guide to the six Vedangas explains the supporting sciences of Vedic study. And to see Vedic themes brought into a public garden, visit Noida’s Ved Van Park. For an overview of each text with references, see Principal Upanishads on Wikipedia; for Vedic recitations and texts, the Government of India’s Vedic Heritage Portal.

Start with the ten principal Upanishads, keep the 108-name Muktika list as a map for later exploration, and read slowly: these are short texts that were meant to be studied with a teacher, one question at a time.