History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c95.71

v7.c95.71

In the Upaniṣads there is apparent discrepancy as regards what was created and the order of the things²⁴⁵⁷ created. The Br. Up. (V. 5. 1) states ' in the beginning there were only waters; the waters created *satya*, which is *brahma*, brahman created Prajāpati, who created the gods'. In Chān. Up. VI. 2. 3 the thing expressly mentioned as the first creation is *tejas* (heat), ākāśa not being mentioned at all, while in the Tai. Up. II. 1 ākāśa is said to have been first created and then Vāyu (was created from ākāśa), then Agni from Vāyu. Similarly, in the Chān. Up. IV. 2 where the creation of *tejas*, waters and food (i e. the earth) is expressly mentioned, nothing is said about the creation of Vāyu, which is set out in Tai. Up. II. 1. This matter about the creation of the elements and their order is discussed in V. S. II. 3. 1-11. The reply of Śaṅkarācārya is that a *Śruti* passage like the one in Ch. Up. is concerned only with the creation of some elements like *tejas* and cannot be also interpreted as having a second purpose, viz showing that the creation of ākāśa in Tai. Up. is wrong and should be discarded.²⁴⁵⁸