27
construction made of them, but sought to explain it as having emanated from one great being who is sometimes described as one with the universe and surpassing it, and at other times as being separate from it; the agnostic spirit which is the mother of philosophic thought is seen at times to be so bold as to express doubts even on the most fundamental questions of creation—"Who knows whether this world was ever created or not?" Secondly the growth of sacrifices has helped to establish the unalterable nature of the law by which the (sacrificial) actions produced their effects of themselves. It also lessened the importance of deities as being the supreme masters of the world and our fate, and the tendency of henotheism gradually diminished their multiple character and advanced the monotheistic tendency in some quarters. Thirdly, the soul of man is described as being separable from his body and subject to suffering and enjoyment in another world according to his good or bad deeds; the doctrine that the soul of man could go to plants, etc., or that it could again be reborn on earth, is also hinted at in certain passages, and this may be regarded as sowing the first seeds of the later doctrine of transmigration. The self (âtman) is spoken of in one place as the essence of the world, and when we trace the idea in the Brâhma@nas and the Âra@nyakas we see that âtman has begun to mean the supreme essence in man as well as in the universe, and has thus approached the great Âtman doctrine of the Upani@sads.
CHAPTER III
THE EARLIER UPANI@SADS [Footnote ref 1]. (700 B.C.-600 B.C.)
The place of the Upani@sads in Vedic literature.
Though it is generally held that the Upani@sads are usually attached as appendices to the Âra@nyakas which are again attached to the Brâhma@nas, yet it cannot be said that their distinction as separate treatises is always observed. Thus we find in some cases that subjects which we should expect to be discussed in a Brâhma@na are introduced into the Âra@nyakas and the Âra@nyaka materials are sometimes fused into the great bulk of Upani@sad teaching. This shows that these three literatures gradually grew up in one
___________________________________________________________________
[Footnote 1: There are about 112 Upani@sads which have been published by the "Nir@naya-Sâgara" Press, Bombay, 1917. These are 1 Ísâ, 2 Kena, 3 Katha, 4 Pras'na, 5 Mun@daka, 6 Mâ@n@dukya, 7 Taittirîya, 7 Aitareya, 9 Chândogya, 10 B@rhadâra@nyaka, 11 S'vetâs'vatara, 12 Kau@sitaki, 13 Maitreyî, 14 Kaivalya, 15 Jâbâla, 16 Brahmabindu, 17 Ha@msa, 18 Âru@nika, 19 Garbha, 20 Nârâya@na, 21 Nârâya@na, 22 Paramaha@msa, 23 Brahma, 24 Am@rtanâda, 25 Atharvas'iras, 26 Atharvas'ikhâ, 27 Maitrâya@nî, 28 B@rhajjâbâla, 29 N@rsi@mhapûrvatâpinî, 30 N@rsi@mhottaratâpinî, 31 Kâlâgnirudra, 32 Subâla, 33 K@surikâ, 34 Yantrikâ, 35 Sarvasâra, 36 Nirâlamba, 37 S'ukarahasya, 38 Vajrasûcikâ, 39 Tejobindu, 40 Nâdabindu, 41 Dhyânabindu, 42 Brahmavidyâ, 43 Yogatattva, 44 Atmabodha, 45 Nâradaparivrâjaka, 46 Tris'ikhibrâhma@na, 47 Sîtâ, 48 Yogacû@dama@ni, 49 Nirvâna, 50 Ma@ndalabrâhma@na, 51 Dak@si@nâmûrtti, 52 S'arabha, 53 Skanda, 54 Tripâdvibhûtimahânârya@na, 55 Advayatâraka, 56 Ramarahasya, 57 Râmapûrvatâpinî, 58 Râmottaratâpinî, 59 Vâsudeva, 60 Mudgala, 61 Sâ@n@dilya, 62 Pai@ngala, 63 Bhik@suka, Mahâ, 65 S'ârîraka, 66 Yogas'ikhâ, 67 Turiyâtîta, 68 Sa@mnyâsa, 69 Paramaha@msaparivrâjaka, 70 Ak@samâlâ, 71 Avyakta, 72 Ekâk@sara, 73 Annapûrnâ, 74 Sûrya, 75 Aksi, 76 Adhyâtma, 77 Ku@n@dika, 78 Sâvitrî, 79 Âtman, 80 Pâ'supatabrahma, 81 Parabrahma, 82 Avadhûta, 83 Tripurârâpini, 84 Devî, 85 Tripurâ, 86 Ka@tharudra, 87 Bhâvanâ, 88 Rudrah@rdaya, 89 Yogaku@n@dali, 90 Bhasmajâbâla, 91 Rudrâk@sajâbâla, 92 Ga@napati, 93 Jâbâladars'ana, 94 Tâiasâra, 95 Mahâvakya, 96 Paficabrahma, 97 Prâ@nâgnihotra, 98 Gopâlapûrvatâpinî, 99 Gopâlottaratâpinî, 100 K@r@s@na, 101 Yâjñavalkya, 102 Varâha, 103 S'âthyâyanîya, 104 Hayagrîva, 105 Dattâtreya, 106 Garu@da, 107 Kalisantara@na, 108 Jâbâli, 109 Saubhâgyalak@smî, 110 Sarasvatîrahasya, 111 Bahvrca, 112 Muktika.
The collection of Upani@sads translated by Dara shiko, Aurangzeb's brother, contained 50 Upani@sads. The Muktika Upani@sad gives a list of 108 Upani@sads. With the exception of the first 13 Upani@sads most of them are of more or less later date. The Upani@sads dealt with in this chapter are the earlier ones. Amongst the later ones there are some which repeat the purport of these, there are others which deal with the S'aiva, S'âkta, the Yoga and the Vai@s@nava doctrines. These will be referred to in connection with the consideration of those systems in Volume II. The later Upani@sads which only repeat the purport of those dealt with in this chapter do not require further mention. Some of the later Upani@sads were composed even as late as the fourteenth or the fifteenth century.]
29