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INTRODUCTION,
хсу
shad. He, as Colebrooke was the first to point out, takes Mahidåsa 'to be an incarnation of Narayana, proceeding from Visala, son of Abga,' and he adds, that on the sudden appearance of this deity at a solemn celebration, the whole assembly of gods and priests (suraviprasangha) fainted, but at the intercession of Brahma, they were revived, and after making their obeisance, they were instructed in holy science. This avatara was called Mahidása, because those venerable personages (mahin) declared themselves to be his slaves (dasa)
In order properly to understand this legend, we must remember that Anandatîrtha, or rather Visvesvaratîrtha. whose commentary he explains, treated the whole of the Mahaitareya-upanishad from a Vaishnava point of view, and that his object was to identify Mahida sa with Narayana. He therefore represents Narayana or Hari as the avatara of Visala, the son of Brahman (abgasuta), who appeared at a sacrifice, as described before, who received then and there the name of Mahidâsa (or Mahidasa), and who taught this Upanishad. Any other person besides Mahidåsa would have been identified with the same ease by Visvesvaratîrtha with Vishnu or Bhagavat.
A third legend has been made up out of these two by European scholars who represent Mahidasa as the son of Visala and Itara, two persons who probably never met before, for even the Vaishnava commentator does not attempt to take liberties with the name of Aitareya, but simply states that the Upanishad was called Aitareyî, from Aitareya.
Leaving these legends for what they are worth, we may at all events retain the fact that, whoever was the author of the Aitareya-brâhmana and the first three books of the Aitareya-aranyaka, was not the author of the two concluding Aranyakas. And this is confirmed in different ways. Såyana, when quoting in his commentary on the Rig-veda from the last books, constantly calls it a Satra of Saunaka, while the fourth Åranyaka is specially ascribed
· Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, 1873, JI, p. 42.
Digitized by Google
| SR No. | 007670 |
| Book Title | Upnishad |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Max Muller |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1879 |
| Total Pages | 1835 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 35 MB |