It is likely that the text was a living document and some verses were edited over a period of time before the 6th century BCE. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad was in all likelihood composed in the earlier part of 1st millennium BCE, in the 7th-6th century BCE, give or take a century or so, according to Patrick Olivelle. Brihadaranyaka is one of the first Upanishads, along with that of Jaiminiya Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishads. Scholars have offered different estimates ranging from 900 BCE to 600 BCE, all preceding Buddhism. The exact year, and even the century of the Upanishad composition is unknown. The chronology and authorship of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, along with Chandogya and Kaushitaki Upanishads, is further complicated because they are compiled anthologies of literature that must have existed as independent texts before they became part of these Upanishads. Patrick Olivelle states, "in spite of claims made by some, in reality, any dating of these documents (early Upanishads) that attempts a precision closer than a few centuries is as stable as a house of cards". The chronology is difficult to resolve because all opinions rest on scanty evidence, an analysis of archaism, style and repetitions across texts, driven by assumptions about likely evolution of ideas, and on presumptions about which philosophy might have influenced which other Indian philosophies. The chronology of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, like other Upanishads, is uncertain and contested.
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