BAU or Buddha's life ... which came first?

[Ruzsa Ferenc]

Dear Jan,

Bronkhorst in his forthcoming book (Greater Magadha. Studies in the Culture
of Early India. Brill, Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia,
19) addresses the problem in detail and suggests convincingly that many
important parts of the BU are *significantly* later than the Buddha.

Yours,
Ferenc

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jan E.M. Houben" <j_e_m_houben at YAHOO.COM>
To: <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 6:15 PM
Subject: BAU or Buddha's life ... which came first?


> Dear All,
> One of the many problems of dating texts and
> events in Indian cultural history concerns the
> relative dates of the Brhad-Aranyaka-Upanisad and
> the life of the Buddha. The 'traditional' view,
> starting from estimates by Max Müller and others,
> would place the old Vedic Upanisads, including
> BAU, before the Buddha. Some have argued,
> however, that the BAU was composed (finalized?)
> after the Buddha (and after Panini). I remember
> that Johannes Bronkhorst (The two traditions of
> meditation) and Richard Gombrich have written on
> this (in the 80s-90s). What are the latest
> contributions on this topic in which a student of
> mine is interested?
> Thanks,
> Jan Houben
>
>
>
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