History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.13

c6.13

The Upaniṣads also, though they are devoted to the pursuit of philosophical truth, contain highly poetic passages e. g. ‘धनुर्गृहीत्वौपनिषदं महास्त्रं शरं ह्युपासानिशितं संधयीत । आयम्य तद्भावगतेन चेतसा लक्ष्यं तदेवाक्षरं सोम्य विद्धि ॥’ मुण्डकोपनि. II. 2. 3. Similarly, the verse ‘आत्मानं रथिनं विद्धि शरीरं रथमेव तु’ (कठोपनिषद् I. 3. 3) contains a good रूपक and the verses ‘इन्द्रियेभ्यः परा ह्यर्था अर्थेभ्यश्च परं मनः ।... पुरुषः परः ।’ contain the figure सार. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 1231-1233 for the recitation of narratives called पारिप्लव for one year in अश्वमेध and Śat. Br. XIII. 4. 3 (SBE. vol. 44 pp. 360-371). In the ऐत. ब्रा. (VII. 18. 10=33. 6) the story of शुनःशेप is called शौनःशेपाख्यान, which the hotṛ priest was to recite to the king in the Rājasūya sacrifice. In ऐत. ब्रा. (III. 25. 1= 13. 1) there is mention of सौपर्णाख्यान.