Re: Bāṣkalamantra Upaniṣad
Namasté,
Your contributions to this thread are wonderful to see; thank you all who have read and commented so far.
I'm sorry that I didn't see Baobobtree's comment until now. Perhaps this Upaniṣad was saved, out of a scholarly desire to preserve a rare text, but it's also possible that Zoroastrianism was the motivation. My limited understanding is that Indra appears twice within that religion: as Indra, an arch-dæmon and servant of the evil Ahriman, and as Verethragna (=Vedic Vṛtrahan), a lord of victory and a force of great good.
Mana, thank you for the praise, though the scholars who translated the original Sanskrit deserve a lot more of the credit. Converting French to English is a much easier task.
Omkara, thank you so much for these links! I had hoped that my English version was adequate, and it's reassuring to see a very similar English text in print. The Śaunaka is completely new to me, and the excerpt provided is fascinating. I had only read of the equation of Indra with the Praṇava in the writings of David Frawley, and until now, did not know that the idea appeared anywhere else. Now I'm quite motivated to locate and read the rest.
ShivaFan, the ram you're referring to does exist in Vedic astrology as Meṣa rāśi (the same meṣa, "ram," that appears in the upaniṣad's first verse). That's all I'm able to contribute, though; perhaps someone with jyotiṣa experience could better understand the knowledge being offered in that regard.
Last edited by Arjuni; 11 December 2012 at 03:30 PM.
"What was, what is, what will be: I am That." -from BÄá¹£kalamantra Upaniá¹£ad
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