ABSTRACT
The stanza from the Svetavatara Upanisad tells us several essential things about the transmission of the Upanisads. First of all, the Upanisads are meant to be passed on within a particular scholastic lineage or within a family. Second, we should note that the stanza from the Svetasvatara Upanisad claims that the contents of the Upanisad are secret. And finally, the stanza from the Svetasvatara Upanisad quoted at the beginning of this chapter suggests that the teachings the Upanisad professes are not entirely new; they were already "taught in a former age". Some of the very oldest Upanisads are simply portions of larger late Vedic texts, later identified as "Upanisads" because they deal with themes common to other Upanisadic texts, such as the identification of brahman and atman. A highly developed mnemonic culture existed in ancient India, and students were expected to memorize the texts recited by their teachers very precisely.
