Sanatkumara

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Sanatkumara ( Sanskrit सनत्कुमार, sanatkumāra m. ) Was a well-known Vedic rishi and spiritual teacher. It is also mentioned by other names such as Kumara and Sanatsujata .

Meaning of the name

sanat-kumāra literally means "eternal youth" or "son of Brahma ". He is one of the four or seven sons of Brahma and is considered to be one of the oldest ancestors of mankind and the author of some Sanskrit scriptures. The name Sanatkumara is sometimes given to great saints who maintain youthful purity. sanat-sujāta means "forever beautiful" or "forever well-born".

The Sanskrit sources

In the Mahabharata , Sanatkumara is mentioned as one of seven brothers who are referred to as Brahma's "spirit-born" sons. In Harivamsha also seven names are called and in the Bhagavata Purana four: Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Sanatkumara. The latter can also be found in the first two texts mentioned, while the other names only partially match. In the last verse of the Chandogya Upanishad , Sanatkumara is equated with Skanda .

The sanatsujatiya

The Santsujātīya is a section in the 5th book of the Mahabharata, the Udyoga Parva, chap. 40-45. At a critical moment, Vidura, King Dhritarashtra's advisor , calls Sanatsujata on an inner plane and asks him to come and teach the king the doctrine of the true self and immortality. The Rishi complies with this request in a long lecture and deals with various spiritual and philosophical topics. The main points of his teaching are the right and constant concentration on spiritual practice as well as the need for a living contact with inner truth, which is more important than following external rituals or knowledge of the Vedic scriptures, which in itself is not sufficient.

literature

  • JAB van Buitenen, trans. and ed., The Mahabharata , 3 vols. (Book I-V) Chicago: University of Chicago, 1973-78. (See vol. 3, pp. 285-294, for a summary and translation of the Sanatsujatiya.)
  • The Mahavatar Babaji and Sanatkumara in: Wilfried Huchzermeyer, Krishnamurti and the Taoism , Karlsruhe 2001, pp. 53–59. ISBN 978-3931172-04-6

Remarks

  1. ↑ Pronunciation Sanatsudschāta.
  2. ↑ MMS Shastri Chitrao, Bharatavarshiya Prachin Charitrakosha (Dictionary of Ancient Indian Biography, in Hindi), Pune 1964, pp. 1016, 1018
  3. ↑ sanat is also a synonym for the god Brahma.
  4. ^ Monier-Williams Online Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 1141
  5. ↑ 12.327.64-5, Pune Critical Edition
  6. ↑ mānasāḥ sutāḥ
  7. ^ Wilfried Huchzermeyer , Studies in the Mahabharata. Indian Culture, Dharma and Spirituality in the Great Epic. Karlsruhe 2018, pp. 154–55.
  8. ↑ Pronunciation Sanatsudschātīya.
  9. ^ Monier-Williams Online Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 1141.
  10. ^ Studies in the Mahabharata , pp. 158-63