The prefix 'Upa' in the word 'Upanishad' denotes:

The word "Upanishad" is made of "upa" (near), "ni" (down) and "shad" (to sit), and literally means "sitting down near" the teacher.

Meaning of the word:

• It refers to students sitting near the teacher (guru) to receive secret or sacred knowledge.
• The teachings were often given in the form of dialogues between teachers and students.
• The word also came to mean "secret teaching" or "hidden knowledge".

About the Upanishads:

• They are philosophical texts that form the last part of Vedic literature, and are therefore also called "Vedanta" (end of the Vedas).
• They were composed mainly in the later Vedic period, from about 800 BCE onwards.
• There are more than 200 Upanishads, but about 108 are traditionally listed, and 10 to 13 are considered the principal (major) Upanishads.
• The principal Upanishads include Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka.

Main ideas of the Upanishads:

• "Brahman": the ultimate reality behind the universe.
• "Atman": the individual self or soul.
• The individual self (atman) and the universal reality (brahman) are ultimately one.
• Famous statements ("Mahavakyas") include "Tat tvam asi" (That thou art) and "Aham Brahmasmi" (I am Brahman).
• The ideas of karma (action) and rebirth, and the goal of liberation (moksha), are developed in the Upanishads.
• They stressed knowledge (jnana) rather than rituals.

Contributors:

• Thinkers such as Yajnavalkya, Uddalaka Aruni and women thinkers such as Gargi and Maitreyi are mentioned in the Upanishads.
• NCERT notes that some of the thinkers were not Brahmanas, and some were kings, such as Janaka of Videha.

Influence:

• The Upanishads influenced later Indian philosophy, including Vedanta, as well as Buddhism and Jainism.
• They were translated into Persian in the 17th century by Dara Shikoh, as "Sirr-i-Akbar".

Why not the other options?

• ✗"Upa" does not mean distance, knowledge or worship.