Each of the four Vedas consists of a Samhita, a Brahmana; an Aranyaka and an Upanishad. Because the Upanishads constitute the concluding portions of the Vedas, they are called vedanta (“the conclusion of the Vedas”), and they serve as the foundational texts in the theological discourses of many Hindu traditions that are also known as Vedanta. The Sanskrit term Upaniṣad translates to “sitting down near”, referring to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving esoteric knowledge. Although there are more than 200 Upanishads, only thirteen have been identified out as presenting the core teachings. They are the Chandogya, Kena, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Katha, Mundaka, Taittriyaka, Brihadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Isa, Prasna, Mandukya and the Maitri Upanishads.
The Upanishads were collectively considered amongst the 100 Most Influential Books ever written by the British poet Martin Seymour-Smith. Their significance has been recognized by writers and scholars and they also noted similarity between the doctrine of Upanishads and those of Plato and Kant.
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