A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s8.47

v1.c8.s8.47

The Maitrāyaṇīya-Upaniṣad,² which, by reason of its title, is attributed to a school of the Black Yajurveda,³ belongs to a considerably later period which must have been post-Buddhistic. It is again written in *prose*, like the earliest Upaniṣads. This prose, however, no longer shows any Vedic traces. On the grounds of language, style and contents, we may place the work in the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The Māṇḍūkya-Upaniṣad⁴ of the Atharvaveda probably also belongs to this same later period. Śaṅkara, who quotes the twelve Upaniṣads previously enumerated as sacred and authoritative texts in his commentary on the Brahmasūtras, mentions neither the Maitrāyaṇīya- nor the Māṇḍūkya-Upaniṣad.¹