Vasudeva Upanishad (Sanskrit: वासुदेव उपनिषत्, or Vasudevopanishad is one of 108 Upanishadic Hindu texts, written in Sanskrit language. It belongs to the Vaishnava sect, which worships Vishnu and his avatar Krishna, and this late medieval era minor Upanishad is attached to the Samaveda. It is one of the 14 Vaishnava Upanishads dedicated to Vaishnava sacred marks, including the Urdhva Pundra - the Vaishnava tilaka. It is described in a sermon by Krishna to the sage Narada.
A female sannyasi monk with a Urdhva Pundra mark on forehead (19th century painting).
The Upanishads are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hinduism. They are the most recent addition to the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, and deal with meditation, philosophy, consciousness, and ontological knowledge. Earlier parts of the Vedas dealt with mantras, benedictions, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices.
Image: Guru and Disciple I
Image: Yama teaches Nasiketha
Image: Tat tvam asi
Image: Vajrasuchi Upanishad sample i, Samaveda, Sanskrit, Devanagari script, 1728 CE manuscript