Contents -- Note on the Translations -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. The Samnyāsa Upanisads -- 1.1 Editions, Translations, and Studies -- 1.2 Dates -- 1.3 Context: Brāhmanical Literature on Renunciation -- 2. Renunciation and Society: The Inner Conflict of Tradition -- 2.1 Vedic Theology: Sacrifice and Marriage -- 2.2 Socioeconomic Changes in Sixth-Century India -- 2.3 Rival Views of Religious Life -- 2.4 The Emergence of a New World -- 2.5 The Householder and the Celibate -- 2.6 When Two Worlds Meet: Conflict and Compromise -- 3. The Nature and Purpose of Renunciation -- 3.1 Renunciation as a Non-ritual State -- 3.2 Renunciation as the Perfection of the Ritual -- 3.3 The Ritual Effects of Renunciation -- 3.4 Renunciation and Detachment -- 3.5 Renunciation and Liberation -- 4. The Rite of Renunciation -- 4.1 The Qualification for Renunciation -- 4.2 The Renunciation of Fire -- 4.3 Ritual Death and the Abandonment of Ritual Implements -- 4.4 The Ritual Formula of Renunciation -- 4.5 The Symbols of the Renunciatory State -- 5. The Classifications of Renouncers -- 6. The Behavior and Customs of Renouncers -- 6.1 Wandering Alone and Homeless -- 6.2 Mendicancy -- 6.3 Possessions and Emblems -- 6.4 Courting Dishonor: Madness and Acting Like Animals -- TRANSLATIONS -- Āruni Upanisad -- Laghu-Samnyāsa Upanisad and Kundikā Upanisad -- Kathaśruti Upanisad -- Paramahamsa Upanisad -- Jābāla Upanisad -- Brahma Upanisad -- Āśrama Upanisad -- Maitreya Upanisad -- Nāradaparivrājaka Upanisad -- Nirvāna Upanisad -- Bhiksuka Upanisad -- Turīyātītāvadhuta Upanisad -- Brhat-Samnyāsa Upanisad -- Paramahamsaparivrājaka Upanisad -- Parabrahma Upanisad -- Brhad-Avadhuta Upanisad -- Yājñavalkya Upanisad -- Śātyāyanīya Upanisad -- Laghu-Avadhuta Upanisad -- Abbreviations and Bibliography -- Index to the Introduction -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M.

N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Index to the Translations -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.