The Niralamba Upanishad is one of the most important Upanishads which is not studied as much as it should be. It contains simple and direct wisdom that is applicable to all. In fact, the Upanishad declares that learning it alone leads one to liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
The word Niralamba translates to standing alone (or standing without Support). Before we go into the content of the Niralamba Upanishad, we will have to understand the classification of the Upanishads.
In fact, this categorization appears in the Muktika Upanishad – which is is a conversation between Sri Rama and Hanuman where Sri Rama tells Hanuman about the Upanishadic texts that would lead one towards liberation. Sri Rama talks about the different types of liberation and says that in order to attain liberation “The Mandukya Upanishad is enough; if knowledge is not got from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. “ These were called the Mukhya Upanishads (later a few Upanishads have been added to the canon of the Mukhya Upanishads).
Sri Rama also goes on to say that if desiring moksha without the body one can read 108 Upanishads (including the 10 Mukhya Upanishads). The Niralamba Upanishad is number 34 in this list of Upanishads.