| The Maitri or Maitrayaniya
Upanishad, belongs to the Maitrayaniya sakha or branch of the Black Yajur Veda.
(1) Maitri is the principal teacher and Maitrayana is the name of the shakha to which the
Upanishad belongs. It contains seven chapters of which the last two are comparatively
modern. The whole Upanishad is later in date than the classical Upanishads which it quotes
frequently. (2) We have a reference to the
trimurti conception Brahma, Vishnu and Siva in IV. 5, which also indicates the late date
of the Upanishad. The three forms are traced to the three gunas, rajas, sattva and tamas
in V. 2. Suggestions of the illusionary character of the world, momentariness of
phenomenon show the influence of Buddhist thought. Ramatirtha's commentary on the
Upanishad is of much interest.
- In some texts it is assigned to the Sama Veda
- From the grammatical peculiarities it is found in this Upanishad
Max Muller ascribes the Upanishad 'to an early rather than late period.' Sacred Books
of the East, Vol. XV (1900), p.6
Source S. Radhakrishnan : The Principal Upanishads
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