gopAla-tApanI UpaniSad (fwd)

Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian ramakris at EROLS.COM
Thu Oct 15 23:00:29 UTC 1998


Edwin Bryant wrote:

> Does anybody have any knowledge of the tApanIyopaniSads (also tApanI >upaniSads)? I have a number of commentaries to the GopAlatApanI, but >other than the statement found therein that it was well known in >Gujarat, I can find no information about this or the other works coming >(apparently) from the same school  (rAmatApanI, nRsiMghatApanI). They >are obviously very late VaiSNava UpaniSads. Can anybody add to this >meagre store of knowledge?

Deussen's Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol II pp. 809-888. He has
translated the Rama-pUrva and uttatara tApinI and the nRisi.nha pUrva
and uttara tApini upanisads.

See also the The Vaisnava Upanisads, edited by Pandit A. Mahadeva Sastri
for the commentary of Upanisad Brahma yogin (18th to 19th century
author).

Deussen gives _some_ historical info. A lower date can be fixed for
these upanisads based on their earliest commentaries, which he talks
abbout in his introduction. The nRsi.nha pUrva and uttara tApini
upanisads have a commentary attributed to Gaudapada and Sankara, but
these seem to be spurious ascriptions.

In the Anubhutiprakasa, Vidyaranya (14th century author) has written a
chapter on the nRsi.nha uttara tApinI upanisad. See the Critical edition
of the Anubhutiprakasa, by Godabarisa Mishra, University of Madras.

Suresvara also seems to be quoting from this upanisad in his
bRhadAranyaka vArtika. But I have forgotten the verse number in the
vArtika, now.

Among these nRisi.nha tApinI upanisads don't seem to be very late. Must
be at least older than the 14th century.

Rama





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