[INDOLOGY] tapasya

[Nagaraj Paturi]

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad uses the word tap in both the senses of burning
and deep meditation connecting the two meanings into one. It uses the words
s'raanta and tapta sequentially hinting at a synonimity between them.

asya śrāntasya taptasya tejoraso niravartatāgniḥ || BrhUp_1,2.2 ||

so 'kāmayata -- bhūyasā yajñena bhūyo yajeyeti |
so 'śrāmyat |
sa tapo 'tapyata |
tasya śrāntasya taptasya yaśo vīryam udakrāmat |
prāṇā vai yaśo vīryam |
tat prāṇeṣūtkrānteṣu śarīraṃ śvayitum adhriyata |
tasya śarīra eva mana āsīt || BrhUp_1,2.6 ||

tasmāt sarvadevatyaṃ prokṣitaṃ prājāpatyam ālabhante |
eṣa vā aśvamedho ya eṣa tapati |
tasya saṃvatsara ātmā |

On Wed, Aug 28, 2024 at 1:50 PM Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Hi Howard,
>
> For some reason, I think that Heinrich Zimmer,
> may have written about this, but I’m away from my library and can’t recall
> exactly where. Maybe Philosophies of India. He was a Schopenhauerian, which
> would make good sense here, as the problem of the autonomy or heteronomy of
> the will seems clearly central to the topic that interests you.
>
> good luck
> Matthew
>
> Sent from Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> for iOS
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 28, 2024 at 05:29, Howard Resnick via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info
> <On+Wed,+Aug+28,+2024+at+05:29,+Howard+Resnick+via+INDOLOGY+%3C%3Ca+href=>>
> wrote:
>
> Dear Scholars,
>
> Within various genres of Sanskrit literature, perhaps especially
> itihāsa-purāṇa, we find a pervasive belief that tapasya — serious austerity
> -- bestows power on the performer, either directly or through the agency of
> a Deva, Ṛṣi, or other superior being. The examples are almost innumerable.
>
> I’m trying to explore this claim about the power of tapasya. On the
> empirical side, one can speak of the power of mental discipline and
> detachment from the body, etc. But of course empirically, there is nothing
> like the supernatural results obtained by serious ascetics in the ancient
> literature.
>
> One common apologetic is to attribute or assign such powers to the
> previous three yugas, with the claim that those powers fail in Kali-yuga.
>
> I bring this up because I am working on a reconstruction of the famous
> Mahābhārata story of Ambā who performed unimaginable tapasya, and then, as
> a result, took birth as Śikhaṇḍī and enabled the killing of Bhīṣma at
> Kurukṣetra.
>
> The facile explanation of course is to invoke the notion of pre-scientific
> mythology. I am trying to take a more cautious approach. Of course tapasya
> as a source of power intersects the notion of attaining yoga-siddhis, a
> process in which tapasya is also heavily involved.
>
> I bring this up in a heuristic, exploratory way and would be grateful for
> any observations, insights, or theories about this, especially the link
> between severe self-abnegation and power.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Howard
>
>
>
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-- 
Nagaraj Paturi

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
Dean, IndicA
BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
BoS Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Ramtek, Maharashtra
BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies,
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
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