English: The early Upanishads (Upanisad, Upanisat) are scriptures of Hinduism. Variously dated by scholars to have been composed between 900 BCE to about 200 BCE, these texts are in Sanskrit language and embedded within a layer of the Vedas. They contain a mixture of philosophy and mystical speculations, many set in the form of dialogues or pedagogic style. Their central teachings include the concepts of Atman (soul, self) and Brahman (metaphysical reality).

The above image is from surviving leaves of a Brihadaranyaka Upanishad manuscript. It is page 1 front (recto), 1 back (verso), 2 front, 2 back of the manuscript. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is the oldest known Upanishad, dated to between 900 to 600 BCE (pre-Buddhist era). It is a key text to the contemporary Vedanta traditions of Hinduism (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Smarta tradition).

These manuscripts was purchased in the 19th-century and are now preserved in the Schoenberg Center manuscript collection, Penn Library, USA.

Language: Sanskrit

Script: Devanagari

The photo above is of a 2D artwork of a text that is over 2,000 years old, from a manuscript that was produced before the 19th-century. Therefore Wikimedia Commons PD-Art licensing guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer is herewith donated to wikimedia commons under CC 4.0 license.

बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्