Hindu idea of "hidden" verses in heaven

[Robert Goldman]

I believe the idea may be traced back as far as Rgveda 1.164.45 where it is said that sacred speech is divided into four quarters three of which are hidden while only the fourth is spoken by humans.

Cheers.


On Feb 14, 2012, at 7:38 AM, Michael Slouber wrote:

> Dear Dean and others,
> 
> Shaman Hatley discusses the widespread motif of the massive, unrevealed Ur-Tantra in his 2007 doctoral thesis (pp.268--272).  It is available through the UPenn repository: <http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3292099/>.  
> 
> This idea reminds me of the Purusa-sukta too, where it says that ¾ of him is in heaven and only ¼ on earth, but perhaps this is a tenuous connection.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Michael Slouber
> Visiting Adjunct Instructor
> Religious Studies
> Brown University
> http://garudam.info
> 
> 
> 
> On Feb 14, 2012, at 10:16 AM, Dean Michael Anderson wrote:
> 
>> I first ran across this idea when reading the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva.
>> 
>> It says that the number of verses in the extant text are only a subset of a larger text that exists in heaven. Depending on the situation on earth a different number of verses might manifest. 
>> 
>> I've since run across it in passing in some tantric writings as well. 
>> 
>> Does anyone know the origin of this idea of a large heavenly corpus in contrast to a smaller earthly one? Or have any citations for texts that mention it?
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> Dean
> 

Dr. R. P.  Goldman
Professor of Sanskrit
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
MC # 2540
The University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-2540
Tel: 510-642-4089
Fax: 510-642-2409





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