Vaishnava Upanishads


The Vaishnava Upanishads are minor Upanishads of Hinduism, related to Vishnu theology. There are 14 Vaishnava Upanishads in the Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads. They, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally classified separate from the thirteen major Principal Upanishads considered to be more ancient and from the Vedic tradition.
The Vaishnava Upanishads propound Vishnu, Narayana, Rama, or one of his avatars as the supreme metaphysical reality called Brahman in Hinduism. They discuss a diverse range of topics, from ethics, to the methods of worship.
Some of the Vaishnava Upanishads exist in more than one version, each version attached to a different Veda depending on the region their manuscript has been discovered. Furthermore, scholars disagree on which minor Upanishads are Vaishnava; for example, Deussen classifies Maha Upanishad as a Vaishnava Upanishad, but Tinoco lists it as a Samanya Upanishad.
The Vaishnava Upanishads also contrast from other groups of minor Upanishads, such as the Samanya Upanishads, which are of a generic nature, the Sannyasa Upanishads, which focus on the Hindu renunciation and monastic practice, the Yoga Upanishads related to Yoga, the Shaiva Upanishads, which highlight aspects of Shaivism, and the Shakta Upanishads, which highlight Shaktism.

Date

The composition date of each Vaishnava Upanishad is unclear, and estimates on when they were composed vary with scholar. According to Mahony, the minor Upanishads are approximately dated to be from about 100 BCE to 1100 CE.
According to Ramdas Lamb, associate professor of religion at the University of Hawaii, the sectarian Upanishads which are the post-Vedic scriptures are not easily datable due to their very nature of the "multiple layers of material". Of these Upanishads the Purva Nrisimha Tapaniya and Uttara Tapaniya Upanishads, which are part of the Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishadas, are the earliest dated to before the seventh century CE.
Patrick Olivelle states that sectarian Upanishads attached to Atharvaveda – which include some Vaishnava Upanishads – were likely composed in the second millennium, until about the 16th century.

List

The fourteen Vaishnava Upanishads are:
TitleMuktika serial #Attached VedaPeriod of creation
Narayana Upanishad18Krishna Yajurveda1st Century AD
Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad27AtharvavedaUnknown
Mahanarayana Upanishad52Atharvaveda300-100 BCE
Rama Rahasya Upanishad54Atharvaveda1st Century AD
Rama Tapaniya Upanishad55Atharvaveda7th Century AD
Vasudeva Upanishad56Sama VedaUnknown
Avyakta Upanishad68Sama Veda7th Century AD
Tarasara Upanishad91Shukla Yajurveda12th Century AD
Gopala Tapani Upanishad95Atharvaveda8th Century BCE
Krishna Upanishad96AtharvavedaUnknown
Hayagriva Upanishad100AtharvavedaUnknown
Dattatreya Upanishad101AtharvavedaUnknown
Garuda Upanishad102AtharvavedaUnknown
Sri Upanishad103Krishna Yajurveda1st Century AD