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INTRODUCTION.
its peculiar character, namely, the recognition of the necessity of works as a preparation for the reception of the highest knowledge. This agrees well with the position occupied by this Upanishad at the end of the Samhita, in which the sacrificial works and the hymns that are to accompany them are contained. The doctrine that the moment a man is enlightened, he becomes free, as taught in other Upanishads, led to a rejection of all discipline and a condemnation of all sacrifices, which could hardly have been tolerated in the last chapter of the Yagur-vedasamhità, the liturgical Veda par excellence.
Other peculiarities of this Upanishad are the name is, lord, a far more personal name for the highest Being than Brahman; the asurya (demoniacal) or asûrya (sunless) worlds to which all go who have lost their self; Matarisvan, used in the sense of prâna or spirit; asnâviram, without muscles, in the sense of incorporeal ; and the distinction between sambhati and asambhati in verses 12-14.
The editions of the text, commentaries, and glosses, and the earlier translations may be seen in the works quoted before, p. lxxxiv.
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