Dhanurveda – Archery. It is the shaastra that explains about different shastras and astras. Primarily shaastra that is related to bows and arrows is called dhanurveda.. mahaadeva shiva is the lord of dhanurvidyaa. Great warriors of archery are known from itihaasas raamaayanam and mahaabhaarata. Every warrior from itihaasas were experts in archery. All ancient bhaarateeya kings particularly from both soorya vamsha and chandra vamsha  were experts in dhanurvidya . mahaarushi parashuraama, guru dronacharya were the great masters of archery. vedic rushis were all masters of dhanurvidyaa and used to teach in gurukulas to all sections of warriors. kaarta veeryaarjuna,shree raama,indrajit,bheeshma, arjuna, karna and ekalavya were the best among archers of ancient bhaarat. shree raamachandra was a great dhanurdhaari, whose arrow, once shooted, certainly breaks the goal. durgaa maataa is great female warrior in the pauraanic history. In addition to bow and arrow there are many shastras used by devatas  and warriors of sanaatana dharma and various heroes in the history of the mankind. Mace/gadaa, disc/chakra, sword/khadga, and many other related shastra’s names were in use during pauraanic history. shastras when used with mantras are called astras. astras are divine weapons, which are to be used with mantras. brahmaastra, paashupataastra, naaraayanaastra, shakti astra, aagneyaastra, vaarunaastra, naagaastra, garudaastra, vajra, sudarshana chakra etc several astraas are there. Chanting a mantra, even if a blade of grass is shot, turns into that powerful astra and hits the aim. Besides mahaabhaarata, we can get the details of archery, from agni puraana etc puraanas and prasthaanabhedi etc granthas. The lord of kaamashaastra and devata of reproduction is also expert in archery. His bow is made of sugar cane and his bows are made of various divine flowers. The diffraction theory of light is represented in sanaatana dharma as indra dhanus.

Each veda shaakhaa got an upanishat at its end. So, as many veda shaakhaas are there so many upanishats are there. Out of them 1008 upanishats are available now. Out of them 108 upanishats are important. Out of them 10 upanishats are very important in teaching brahmajnaana. Jagadguru shree aadi shankara bhagvatpaada wrote bhaashyam/commentaries for those ten upanishats.

In this section a few important upanishats will be taught which essentially form the fundamental blocks for the common man to understand the knowledge encrypted in the vedas.  The Knowledge of self-realization and the concepts of brahma and aatmaa will eventually lead to higher enlightenment and lead to moksha.

upanishats can be categorized into:

1. vedaanta upanishats
2. yoga upanishats
3. shaiva upanishats
4. vaishnava upanishats and
5. shaakteya upanishats.

The vedanta upanishats have 11 important upanishats.

1. eesha, 2. kena, 3. katha,4. prashna,5. mundaka,6. maandookya, 7. aitareeya,
2. taittiriya 9. chaandogya, 10. brihadaaranyaka, 11. shvetaashvatara.

They are commented on, by various aacharyas starting with aadi shankaraachaarya.

Brief Note on all the above important upanishats, is given here under, including two more upanishats– namely kausheetakee upanishat and maitraayaneeya upanishat.