The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c6.s1.81

c6.s1.81

The philosophic and religious quality of the Upanishads will occupy a good deal of our attention when we come to the higher religion of the Veda in the fifth and sixth lectures of this course. For the present we may content ourselves with some facts in the literary history of these extraordinary compositions. As regards their date we can say at least this much, that the older Upanishads antedate Buddha and Buddhism. The production of after-born Upanishads continued, however, many centuries after Buddhism, into very modern times. Next to the Rig-Veda the Upanishads are decidedly the most important literary document of early India. For the history of religion they are even more important.