[Y-Indology] A verse from Shvetaashvatara upanishad

[Guest guest]

Take a look at the recent translations of Valerie Roebuck (Penguin Books

India)

and Patrick Olivelle (OUP), along with their notes.

 

Luis González-Reimann

University of California, Berkeley

___________________

 

 

At 03:48 PM 10/11/2002 +0000, you wrote:

 

>

> Dear indologists,

>

> Shvetaashvatara upanishad has the following verse

> 1.4 tam ekanemi.n trivR^ita.n shhoDashaanta.n

> shataardhaara.n vi.nshatipratyaraabhiH

> ashhTakaiH shhaDbhir vishvaruupaikapaasha.n

> trimaargabheda.n dvinimittaikamoham.h

>

> This verse is translated by Max Muller as

>

> 4. We meditate on him who (like a wheel) has one felly with three tires,

> sixteen ends, fifty spokes, with twenty counter-spokes, and six sets of

> eight; whose one rope is manifold, who proceeds on three different roads,

and

> whose illusion arises from two causes.

>

> I have two questions:

>

> 1. Is there a depiction of this image (three tires,sixteen ends, etc.) that

> reflects all of the components numerically correct?

>

> 2. Is there any interpretation of this description being a symbol of

> some other than a wheel structure?

> Whar are all those spokes, counter spokes, one-rim but three

> circumferences? What are those six sets of eight?

>

> Thanks in advance,

> Dmitri.