The History of Indian Literature c8.515

c8.515

Under the names Vishṇu, Purushottama, and Vásudeva, Vishṇu is mentioned as the supreme Átman in several Upanishads;cont∗ Kṛishṇa Devakíputra appears likewise in some of them (the Átmaprabodha and Nárāyaṇa), not, however, as supreme Átman, but merely, as in the Chhándogyop., as a particularly pious sage. It is in the *Gopálatápanyopanishad* (74, 75) that we first find him elevated to divine dignity. Of this Upanishad, the second part at least, in prose, is known to me.cont† It treats first of the *gopís* of Mathurá and Vraja, then it passes to the identification of Mathurá with Brahmapura, &c.; and it belongs without doubt to a very modern period, as it exhibits hardly any points of contact with other Upanishads in regard to contents and language.¹⁹¹ The *Gopíchandanopanishad* (76) also probably belongs to this place:¹⁹² I know it only by name.