Sarvasara Upanishad

The Sarvasara Upanishad ( सर्वसार उपनिषत्, IAST: Sarvasāra Upaniṣad) is a Sanskrit text and is one of the 22 Samanya (general) Upanishads of Hinduism. The text, along with the Niralamba Upanishad, is one of two dedicated glossaries embedded inside the collection of ancient and medieval era 108 Upanishads. The text exists in two versions, one attached to the Atharvaveda in many Sanskrit anthologies, and another attached to the Krishna Yajurveda in some anthologies such as the Telugu-language version. The two versions have some differences, but are essentially similar in meaning. Sarvasara Upanishad defines and explains 23 Upanishadic concepts, while Niralamba Upanishad covers 29. These two texts overlap in some concepts, both refer to older Principal Upanishads (dated to 1st millennium BCE), but offer independent explanations suggesting that accepting a diversity of views were a part of its tradition. The date and author of Sarvasara Upanishad is unknown, but it is likely a late medieval text like the Muktika Upanishad. Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as Sarva-Upanisatsara, Sarva Upanishad, Sarvasar Upanishad, Sarva-upanishad-sara and Sarvasaropanishad. In the Telugu language anthology of 108 Upanishads of the Muktika canon, narrated by Rama to Hanuman, it is listed at number 33. The text is also found in the early 19th-century Henry Thomas Colebrooke anthology of Upanishads popular in North India, and in the Narayana compilation of Upanishads popular in South India.In the collection of Upanishads under the title "Oupanekhat", put together by Sultan Mohammed Dara Shikhoh in 1656, consisting of a Persian translation of 50 Upanishads and who prefaced it as the best book on religion, the Sarvasara is listed at number 11 and is named Sarb. Oupanekhat also lists Sarbsar, but both Max Müller and Paul Deussen state that the misnamed text in the Persian compilation is not Sarvasar Upanishad. The Sarvasara Upanishad is written in the style of glossary of Vedanta terms.