The Bhagavadgîtâ, with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ — SBE Vol. 8 (trans. K. T. Telang, 1882)
The translator’s English as printed (K. T. Telang). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
Akin to this point, though quite distinct from it, is one which arises on a passage where the emancipated being is identified with Vishṇu,. Mitra, Agni, Varuṇa, and Pragapati’. Now it is reasonable to suppose, that the deities thus specified here must have been among those held in highest repute at the time, the whole significance of the passage where they are mentioned requiring that that should be so. But in our Pantheon as disclosed by our later literature, Mitra and Agni and Varuna occupy but a very subordinate position. Even in Kâlidâsa *, the subordination of these deities to our celebrated Trinity seems to be quite fully established. But, on the other hand, in the Vedic theogony, they are among the most prominent deities. In the Taittiriya-upanishad, we have in the very first sentence Mitra, Varuṇa, Vishṇu, and Brahman (who may be identified with Pragâpati) all mentioned together, and their blessings invoked. This does not help in fixing a date for the Anugita; but it lends some support to the conclusion already arrived at on that point, by showing that the theogony of the Anugita is not yet very far removed from the theogony of the Vedic times, while it is separated by a considerable interval from the theogony disclosed in the works of even such an early writer of the classical period as Kalidasa.
1 See p. 345. ? See inter alia, Kumara II, 20 seq., and VII, 44 seq., and cf. our Bhartyhari (Bombay Sanskrit Classics), Introd, Pp. xix.
Closely related to this point, though quite distinct from it, is one that arises from a passage in which the emancipated being is identified with Vishṇu, Mitra, Agni, Varuṇa, and Prajâpati. It is reasonable to suppose that the deities named there must have been among those held in highest esteem at the time, since the whole significance of the passage depends on that being so. Yet in our Pantheon as revealed by our later literature, Mitra, Agni, and Varuṇa occupy a very subordinate position. Even in Kâlidâsa, the subordination of these deities to our celebrated Trinity appears to be quite fully established. In the Vedic theogony, on the other hand, they are among the most prominent deities. In the Taittiriya-upanishad, the very first sentence mentions Mitra, Varuṇa, Vishṇu, and Brahman — who may be identified with Prajâpati — all together, and invokes their blessings. This does not help in fixing a date for the Anugita; but it lends some support to the conclusion already reached on that point, by showing that the theogony of the Anugita is not yet very far removed from the theogony of the Vedic times, while a considerable interval separates it from the theogony revealed in the works of even so early a writer of the classical period as Kâlidâsa.
1 See p. 345. 2 See inter alia, Kumara II, 20 seq., and VII, 44 seq., and cf. our Bhartyhari (Bombay Sanskrit Classics), Introd, Pp. xix.