A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s9.55

v1.c8.s9.55

Brahman. Thus, above all, the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-Upaniṣad (IV, 3-4) sketches a picture of the fortunes of the soul, which, as Deussen¹ rightly remarks, “for richness and warmth of expression surely stands alone in Indian literature, and perhaps in the literature of all nations.” Here we find also the doctrine of the *transmigration of souls*, and in the closest connection with it, developed clearly and distinctly for the first time, the *ethical doctrine of Karman*, *action*, which, with the unerringness of a law of Nature, must have its consequences. This great doctrine of *action*, which was later, especially in Buddhism, preached in every street and by-way, is still a great mystery in the Upaniṣads. Ārtabhāga asks Yājñavalkya: