English: The minor Upanishads (Upanisad, Upanisat) are Hindu texts. Variously dated by scholars to have been composed between 0 CE to about 1500 CE, the minor Upanisads are in Sanskrit language and traditionally appended to the Vedas. They contain a mixture of philosophy and mystical speculations, many set in the form of dialogues or pedagogic style.

The above image is from the 1st millennium Vajrasuchi Upanishad, a manuscript copied and published in 1728 CE in the Deccan region. It is notable for being a sustained philosophical attack against the caste system, and in general social discrimination of any form, and for asserting that any human being can achieve the highest spiritual state of existence regardless of birth. It is attributed to Adi Shankara (~800 CE) in the Hindu tradition, but this attribution has been questioned.

The highlighted section means, "What is meant by Brahmin? Is it his individual soul? Is it his body? Is it based on his birth? Is it his knowledge? Is it his deeds? Is it his rites?"

These manuscripts are preserved at the Lalchand Research Library, Ancient Indian Manuscript Collection, DAV College Digital Library Initiative, Chandigarh India, in association with SP Lohia and Indorama Charitable Trust. The texts are over 2000 years old, the re-copying into this particular manuscript is dated to a 1728 CE reproduction. The manuscript shows decay and damage on the sides and its edges.

Language: Sanskrit

Script: Devanagari

Script style: pre-14th century (Northern / Western)

The photo above is of a 2D artwork of a text that is over 1,000 years old, from a manuscript that was produced long before 1923. Therefore Wikimedia Commons PD-Art licensing guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer is herewith donated to wikimedia commons under CC 4.0 license.