Muktika

Muktika, or the Muktikā Upanishad, is a minor Upanishadic text in Hindu literature. Scholarly consensus places its composition in the late medieval period (roughly 15th–17th centuries CE), though exact dating and origin are debated. The work exists as a frame narrative in which Lord Rama recounts to Hanuman a list of 108 Upanishads, presenting them as sources of instruction and pathways to liberation. The name Muktikā derives from mukti, meaning liberation, and is commonly understood as “the book of liberation” or “the key to liberation.”

Content and structure: The central emphasis of the text is the enumeration of 108 Upanishads. Rama offers judgments on the authority, suitability, and significance of these Upanishads for spiritual seekers. The list includes widely known Upanishads—often regarded as the core or mukhya Upanishads—as well as numerous later Upanishads. Rather than presenting original philosophical doctrine, the Muktikā Upanishad functions primarily as a catalog and guide to the broader Upanishadic corpus, reflecting a medieval to early modern-era reception of Vedanta literature.

Significance: The Muktikā Upanishad is frequently cited as a key reference for the traditional catalog of 108 Upanishads. It provides insight into how later generations categorized and valued the Upanishadic texts, and it is used in studies of Vedanta to understand the hierarchy and dissemination of Upanishadic authority across schools and periods.

Textual status and transmission: Generally regarded as a minor Upanishad, the Muktikā is attributed to the Vedantic tradition of cataloging sacred texts. It appears in various manuscript traditions and is sometimes associated with the Atharva Veda, though attachment can vary by recension.