why mandukya upanishad called so?

[Guest guest]

I have discussed various possibilities in the contribution to the

entry in wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad

 

For ready reference, I am giving here what I have written in

wikipedia:

 

" The name literally means the Scripture of Toad. However, the

commentators including karikas and sankara did not touch upon to

explain the name.

 

It is said Varuna, the Lord of Cosmic waters has taken the form of a

toad to preach this Upanishad. This story makes it more interesting

since there is a hymn called Toad Hymn (manduka sukta) in the Rgveda,

which is ostensibly an ode to the arrival of monsoons. But the

cosmological significance of the hymn is yet to be unravelled. The

connection between the hymn and the upanishad, in terms of

cosmological significance, may be an interesting point to search for.

 

Secondly, manduka is also a type of yoga- " particular kind of abstract

meditation in which an ascetic sits motionless like a frog " (Monier-

Williams), seemingly hard to practice. Mandukasana is one of the 32

asanas(postures) described in yoga. Possibly the Upanishad, which is

connected with meaning of Aum, which is essentially an Object of

Meditation, has been named after Manduka to indicate the yoga aspect

of the Aum.

 

On the other hand, some attribute this Upanishad to Sage Mandukha.

However,reference to this sage, just as sage Swetaswatara, to who

another celebrated Upanishad is attributed, does not appear any where

else in the scriptures or other literature. (verify)

 

Also, there is a vedic seer Mandakeya (or MAnduki)who contributed his

name to a Rgvedic sakha. While his father's name is said to be Indra

pramati(a disciple of Paila), Mandukeya literally means son of

Manduka and it appears that mandukya is a metronymic(son of manduki

and hence, mAnduki) It is to be seen whether it is possible to

identify the upanishadic seer with Mandakeya, since 'mAndookya' also

means the son of 'manduki'.

 

There seems to be more than one vedic seer with the name mandakeya.

For eg., we have Hrsva(short)mandukeya as a vedic seer who has

proposed semi vowels.(ref. phonology:critical concepts by Charles W.

Kreidler)Thus, it is possible to have manduka as a Gotra . However,

the mandukas are identified with bhargavas, who are vArunis.

 

Thus, the allegory seems to be that Varuna himself has taken birth as

Sage Mandukeya (or sage Manduka), who belongs to the lineage of

Varuna to preach this Upanishad. "

 

 

 

Any corrections or additions are welcome.

 

kishore patnaik

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