Yajnavalkya
Yajnavalkya ( Sanskrit : याज्ञवल्क्य , Yājñavalkya m. ) Was a Vedic Rishi under the legendary King Janaka . He is considered to be the author of several Vedic writings. His highly respected and much-cited teachings illuminate the knowledge of the Atman and Brahman , and clarify about karma and reincarnation .
Life
The Brahmin Yajnavalkya was a disciple of Aruni, according to other sources from Bhaskali. In the list of teachers who passed on the White Yajurveda , the name is listed in 13th position.
Before the beginning of the sacrifice at Janaka's court, there was a great disputation ( brahmodyam ) among the brahmins present. To find out who was the most learned among them, the king offered a price of a thousand cows. Ten quarter weights of gold were tied to each of the horns. Yajnavalkya was superior to all other participants in spiritual knowledge and took the prize.
He became a priest and advisor to King Janaka, the father of Sita, and married two women, Katyayani and Maitreyi. When the already aged Yajnavalkya decided to retreat to the forest to meditate in solitude, he divided his fortune between his two wives. Katyayani was happy with it. But Maitreyi asked him if she could achieve immortality with this fortune. Yajnavalkya understood the question and introduced it to his sacred knowledge.
Works
Several scriptures are ascribed to the Yajnavalkya, such as the Yajnavalkyasmriti and the Shatapatha Brahmana. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad , in the first part (I, 2,4), he is the person who explains the essence of Atman to his wife Maitreyi. This conversation is repeated almost identically, with some additional embellishments, in the second part (II, 4,5). The entire second part of this Upanishad is called Yajnavalkyam Kandam .
One after the other, he proves his superiority over nine interlocutors in a speech contest (3.1-9) at the court of King Janaka. In the second conversation (4,1-2) with Janaka he rejects the definitions of Brahman by other teachers and in the third conversation (4,3,1-4,4,25) explains the essence of the Atman in waking, in sleep and in To die.
yoga
According to Yajnavalkya is a yoga book from the 12th / 13th centuries. Century named the Yogayajnavalkya . The unknown author has the Yajnavalkya explain yoga in his work.
literature
- Walter Ruben : Brhadāranyakopanișad III-IV translated. In: Beginning of Philosophy in India. Berlin 1955, pp. 195–249.
- Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya : Indian Philosophy . New Delhi 1964.
- Yajnawalkya . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, pp. 372-372 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
- Walter Ruben: Yajñavalkya . Philosophers lexicon. Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1982, pp. 958-960.