anubhūti-prakāśa

svāmi vidāraṇya, the author of the popular pancadaśī, is one of the most famous names in vedāntic circles. Another one of his works, the anubhūti-prakāśa is a verse treatise on the upaniṣads. It consists of 20 chapters, and comments on the primary upaniṣads (excluding the īśa and māṇḍūkya).

1. aitareya, ṛg – 108 verses
2. taittirīya, kṛ yajus – 150 verses
3. chāndogya, sāma (6th chapter) – 140 verses
4. chāndogya, sāma (7th chapter) – 90 verses
5. chāndogya, sāma (8th chapter) – 100 verses
6. muṇḍaka, atharva – 100 verses
7. praśna, atharva – 100 verses
8. kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇa, ṛg – 100 verses
9. kauṣītaki-brāhmaṇa, ṛg – 72 verses
10. maitrāyaṇi, sāma – 150 verses
11. kaṭha, kṛ yajus – 120 verses
12. śvetāśvatara, kṛ yajus – 120 verses
13. bṛhadāraṇyaka, śu yajus (1st chapter) – 289 verses
14. bṛhadāraṇyaka, śu yajus (2nd chapter, ajātaśatru) – 120 verses
15. bṛhadāraṇyaka, śu yajusv (2nd chapter, maitreyī) – 103 verses
16. bṛhadāraṇyaka, śu yajus (2nd chapter, madhu) – 50 verses
17. bṛhadāraṇyaka, śu yajus (3rd chapter) – 310 verses
18. bṛhadāraṇyaka, śu yajus (4th chapter) – 324 verses
19. kena, atharva – 100 verses
20. nṛsiṁhottaratāpinī, atharva – 100 verses

There are many (108+) upaniṣads, and we often wonder about their relative importance. It is interesting to note that the anubhūti-prakāśa also has something to say about this.

aitareye taittirīye chāndogye ’tharvane ca yat |
tattvaṁ catur-veda-vidyā-prakāśe tat samīritam ||
anubhūti-prakāśo ‘tha kauṣitakyādi-nāmasu |
catur-vedāṅga-śākhāsu yat tattvaṁ tad udīryate || 8-1,2

The 20 chapters of the anuhbūti-prakāśa are published with its name in the colophon that follows each chapter. However, according to the verses above (and the śruti-saṁyojinī ṭīkā thereupon), this is actually a collection of two different works.

1. “vidyā-prakāśa” on the pradhāna-śākhās consists of chapters 1-7
2. “anubhūti-prakāśa” on the aṅga-śākhās consists of chapters 8-20

Thus, according to svāmī vidyāraṇya, we have a primary collection of the following five upaniṣads – (1) aitareya (2) taittirīya (3) chāndogya (4) muṇḍaka and (5) praśna.

Note: not everyone agrees with this two-fold division. Some see vidyā-prakāśa as an adjective to anubhūti-prakāśa. Though possible, this reading does seem a little forced.