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Aruneya Upanishad is a minor Upanishad in the corpus of the 108 Upanishads of Hinduism. It is written in Sanskrit. It is one of the 16 Upanishads attached to the Samaveda. It is classified as a Sannyasa Upanishad.
It deals with the cultural phenomenon of a Sannyasi , a practitioner of Sannyasa or renunciation. The Upanishad also outlines the character and lifestyle of a Paramahamsa, the monk who has achieved the highest state of spirituality. The text is told as a sermon from the god Prajapati to the sage Aruni, who gives his name to this Upanishad.
The text is dated from the 1st-millennium BCE, and is notable for its details on the renunciation tradition in ancient India. The Upanishad recommends the practice of Samadhi as a means to know the Atman , which states Patrick Olivelle, contextually means deep yogic contemplation. It is also notable as one of the earliest text stating that knowledge qualifies one to undertake Sannyasa, a position different from other ancient Upanishads such as the Jabala Upanishad which states that detachment from the world qualifies one to begin the journey of renunciation. The text, states Paul Deussen, is a vivid record of a remarkable cultural phenomenon of ancient India, that has survived into the modern era, and "what gave birth to it lies in Man, lies in all of us".
The text also known as Aruneyi Upanishad, Arunika Upanishad and Aruni Upanishad.