A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.95

c11.95

Not only is the longest Upanishad attached to the *White Yajurveda*, but also one of the very shortest, consisting of only eighteen stanzas. This is the *Īçā*, which is so called from its initial word. Though forming the last chapter of the *Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā*, it belongs to a rather late period. It is about contemporaneous with the latest parts of the *Bṛihadāraṇyaka*, is more developed in many points than the *Kāṭhaka*, but seems to be older than the *Çvetāçvatara*. Its leading motive is to contrast him who knows himself to be the same as the Ātman with him who does not possess true knowledge. It affords an excellent survey of the fundamental doctrines of the Vedānta philosophy.