he Upanishads are the end part of the Vedas which briefly expound the philosophic principles of the Vedas. The Upanishads speak of the identity of the individual soul and the supreme soul. They reveal the most subtle and deep spiritual truths. There are total 108Upanishads.Of these, 14 Upanishads are Vaishnava Upanishads. They are as follows:
1. Narayana Upanishad: Describes that in the beginning all beings emerged from Narayana. It also introduces the Narayana Ashtakshara mantra and describes the benefits of chanting it.
2. Nrsimhatapini Upanishad: It has two parts, in the poorva part, it speaks in detail about the greatness of Lord Narasimha. It also has the great king of mantras, called the Narasimha Mantra, and depicts in detail how to meditate on it. In the Uttara part it talks about the greatness of Pranava and the Narasimha Raja Mantra. It gives a detailed method of meditating on Lord Narasimha.
3. Tripadvibhutimahanarayanaupanishad: Brahma did tapas for one thousand years to know about Brahmam from Lord Vishnu. This Upanishad contains what Lord Vishnu told him. He also clears his doubts, such as whether Brahmam has a form or not and also gives the shapes of several Yantras.
4. Ramarahasya Upanishad: Explains that Lord Rama is Brahma Taraka and expounds various mantras for worshipping him. Also gives Yantras for worshipping Rama.
5. Ramatapini Upanishad: There are two parts , the poorva tapini and the uttara tapini. It talks about the greatness of the word, "Rama", as well as rama Yantra, which is similar to the Srichakra. it also discusses the belief that Lord Shiva tells the Taraka mantra in the ears of all people dying in Varanasi and the method of worship of Rama.
6. Vasudeva Upanishad: Explains what Urdhva Pundra(the sign worn by Vaishnavaites) is and the rules for wearing it.
7. Avyakta Upanishad: Deals with the creation of clearly defined things from that unclear past. Tells how Prajapati came from Avyakta and went on to create the world. It also gives a mantra to worship Lord Vishnu.
8. Tarasara Upanishad: Narrates about the holiness of Kurukshetra, taraka mantra and Pranava and illustrates the method of worship of Lord Narayana.
9. Gopalatapini Upanishad: Sages approach Lord Brahma to know the procedure to worship Krishna. What he tells them is contained in this Upanishad. The Upasana mantra of Govinda is also given here.
10. Krishna Upanishad: The sages, when they met Rama, wanted to embrace him. He caused them to be born as Gopis and himself took the avatara of Krishna, so that they could embrace him. This book discusses who were born as what in Krishnavatara.
11. Hayagreeva Upanishad: Brahma tells Narada that whoever meditates and worships Lord Hayagreeva gets to know the Brahma Vidya. The mantra for worship of Lord Hayagreeva is given here.
12. Dattatreya Upanishad: Depicts the method of meditation and worship of Dattatreya through the Dattatreya mantra.
13. Garuda Upanishad: The method of meditation and worship of Garuda, the vehicle of Lord Vishnu is given here.
14. Kali santarana Upanishad: Talks about how the evils of the Kali age are to be crossed. The sixteen letter prayer on Rama would help one in doing this.
Narayana Upanishad
aAtharva Rishi who has seen Lord Narayana has conveyed his direct experience in a poetic form through the Narayana Upanishad. It is also called as Narayana Atharvasheersham by scholars.
Here is a video of Narayana Upanishad with meanings in English. Veda mantras chanted at prasanti Nilayam in the presence of Sadguru Sri Satya Sai Baba.
