The Upanisads are historic writings from India that were verbally authored in Sanskrit between between 700 and 300 BCE. There are thirteen main Upanisads, many of which were probably written by several authors and incorporate a range of literary styles. The Upanisads were written in a ritualistic setting as a part of a larger body of literature known as the Vedas, but they represent the start of a reasoned investigation into a number of age old philosophical questions about the nature of being, the nature of the self, the origin of life, what happens to the self when one dies, the good life, and ways of relating to others.
