7 Things to know about the Upanishads -
1) The word “Upanishad” has several meanings.

It signifies esoteric knowledge.

It also indicates interactions between a Guru and their mentees. Upa (close)–Ni (below)–Sada (sit) – it means sitting in front a Guru to gain knowledge.

In essence, the word signifies knowledge.
2) In Upanishads, the focus lies on knowledge: the Jnana Marga (ज्ञान मार्ग).

Upanishads constitute a definitive stage in the evolution of Indian philosophy.
3) In Upanishads, we can see contributions of individuals from varied backgrounds.

That includes people from different varnas, men and women philosophers, and some young children such as Nachiketa, as well.
4) Atman (आत्मन) and Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) are the two major concepts around which the philosophy of Upanishads revolves.
5) Adi Shankaracharya classifies these 10 as the major Upanishads:

Īśā, Kena, Kaṭha, Praṣna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya, and Bṛhadāraṇyaka.
6) Not all the Upanishads were composed at the same time or by the same person.

Some are in Verse form, some in prose.

It is often considered that Upanishads run parallel to the Buddhist era, but several Upanishads, esp. those in the verse form, are thought be much older.
7) Upanishads often impart intricate philosophical concepts through simple conversations between a Guru and their mentees.

In their simplicity and subtlety lies the true richness of the Upanishads.
These 7 points are some of the key highlights from the first episode of the Upanishads Series, which you can visit here –

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @BhandarkarI

21 Aug
The four Vedas are the foundational heritage of the Indian civilisation. The Vedic literary tradition also includes Vedangas: Brahmanas, Aranyakas & Upanishads.

Below is a playlist of lecture series "Vedas to Vedangas" by Dr. Sucheta Paranjpe.

(Thread)
In this first lecture, Dr. Sucheta Paranjpe gives a glimpse of the Rigveda samhita and its composition.

She also touches upon the life of women in Vedic society, and also reveals that there is a mention of 21 women rishis in the vedas.

In the second lecture, Dr. Paranjpe touches upon a diverse range of topics such as the customs & culture, various seers, Vivaha Sukta, etc.

She also provides a sliver of history: Rigveda contains the oldest recorded instance of the solar eclipse.

Read 6 tweets
15 Aug
Dāśārajña War - The First Epochal War of India

-

A Descriptive thread
India’s ancient history has two parallel strands of equal antiquity and enigma. The first is Sapta-Sindhu civilisation, the second is the oral tradition of Vedas.

As Dr. Dhavalikar remarked, these two strands rarely intersect, and this peculiarity has created many mysteries.
One of such enigmatic & epochal events is the Dāśārajña War.

While its archaeological evidence is not yet available, we find its memories in the Rgveda. They tell us the story of a great war that once took place amongst the kingdoms of Vedic India.
Read 13 tweets
1 Aug
Lokmanya Tilak is one of the chief architects of India's freedom struggle. His legacy but extends far beyond.

There are few threads that bind @BhandarkarI to his legacy, thus with great humility we extend our tribute to the great man on his 101st death anniversary.

(Thread)
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on July 23, 1856 in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

He would soon move to Pune, and it would become a defining move in many different ways.
In 1880, at the age of 24, he founded the New English School in Pune with his associates.

In 4 years time, they would establish the Deccan Education Society in Pune. Today it runs some of the prestigious institutions in India including the iconic Fergusson College (Est. 1885).
Read 20 tweets
13 Jul
The Ancient History of the City of Mumbai
-

A thread based on the excerpts from the book "Bombay - Story of the Island City". This book, written by A.D. Pusalkar and V.G. Dighe, was published by @BhandarkarI in 1949.
"The modern island of Bombay was a cluster of seven islands in ocean, when man first made his appearance here.

That he was still in the Stone Age is seen from the discovery of flint tools along the shores of Back Bay and in the Kolaba district along with line of the harbour."
"In traditional history as recorded in the Puranas and Mahabharata, the western coast of India, which included Bombay, was known as Aparanta ... in the narrowest connotation, Aparanta means Northern Konkan with its capital at Surparaka (modern Sopara)"
Read 11 tweets
6 Jul
The life of Sir Ramakrushna Gopal Bhandarkar and the origins of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

-

A long thread on the occasion of 184th jayanti of Sir Bhandarkar and the 104th foundation day of the institute
The decades between 1860s to 1920s was an age of reformers.

Many social, political & religious reformers lived & worked in that era. Their legacies have left an indelible mark on India’s evolution into what we are today.

Sir Ramkrushna Gopal Bhandarkar was one of them.
Sir R.G. Bhandarkar was born on 6th July, 1837 in Malvan, which lies in the erstwhile Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

He graduated from the Elphinstone College Mumbai, and belonged to one of the first graduation batches of the Mumbai university.
Read 20 tweets
4 Jul
18 Parvans of Mahabharata - Sabha Parvan

-

A live thread on the lecture Image
The incidence of Sabhā may seem small in the vast expanse of Mahābhārata, but its impact far outweighs that of many longer chapters.
In a very short span, we see the becoming of Yudhiṣṭhira in a mighty emperor and then in matter of few throws of dice, we see him being stripped away of all his glory and grace.
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(