The Upanishads are composed

Vedic speculation turned inward: the Upanishads ask what the self (ātman) is and how it relates to ultimate reality (brahman).

Why it matters

These texts made systematic self-inquiry — 'know thyself' in a distinctively Indian register — a core intellectual practice, feeding Buddhism, Vedānta and every later Indian philosophy.

Related events

• c. 563 BCE – 483 BCE

  The Buddha teaches in the Ganges valley

  Siddhartha Gautama taught a path out of suffering through understanding its causes: craving and ignorance, addressed by ethics, meditation and insight.

  Philosophy · south asia

• 322 BCE – 185 BCE

  The Mauryan empire unifies most of South Asia

  Chandragupta Maurya, advised by the strategist Kautilya, built a centralized empire with provinces, spies, and the statecraft manual Arthashastra.

  Empires · south asia

• c. 130 BCE – 1453

  The Silk Road opens

  After Zhang Qian's missions to Central Asia, caravan routes linked Chang'an to the Mediterranean, moving silk, horses, faiths, technologies and plagues.

  Economics

Sources

• Encyclopædia Britannica — Upanishad