The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Shvetashvatara Upanishad
Shumbha and Nishumbha are able to
conquer the gods and assume control of
heaven, but they are unable to resist the
power of the Goddess.
Shurpanakha
([having] “nails [like] winnowing-fans”)
In the Ramayana, the earlier of the two
great Indian epics, Shurpanakha is the
sister of Ravana, the demon-king of
Lanka. Although she is a minor character
in the epic, she plays a pivotal role in
advancing the action of the story. As
Ravana’s sister, Shurpanakha is a demon
woman of high status, and is free to
choose her own husband according to
her inclinations. As she roams through
the forest one day, she happens to see
Rama, the epic’s protagonist, and is
immediately smitten by his handsome
form. Assuming the shape of a beautiful
woman, she approaches him and
expresses her desire for him. Rama tells
her that since he is already married, his
brother Lakshmana will be a more
appropriate match for her. When
Lakshmana gives her reasons why he
too cannot marry her, Shurpanakha
becomes angry. Realizing that Rama’s
wife Sita is the real impediment to her
desires, Shurpanakha tries to harm her,
and in the struggle that follows,
Lakshmana mutilates her by cutting off
her ears and her nose. Shrieking with
pain and humiliation, Shurpanakha
returns to her brother Ravana’s court,
who swears that her insult will be
avenged. After their brothers Khara and
Dushana are killed in a direct attack on
Rama, Ravana decides to get revenge by
kidnapping Sita, an action that eventually
causes his own death.
Shvetaketu
A character in the Chandogya Upanishad,
one of the speculative texts that
form the latest stratum of the Vedas.
In the upanishad, Shvetaketu is the
son of Uddalaka Aruni, and a paradigm
for a seeker of knowledge.
Shvetaketu’s education also symbolizes
the conception of true knowledge found
in the Upanishads and the way that this
differs from earlier conceptions.
According to a story in the upanishad’s
sixth chapter, Shvetaketu is sent away by
his father to study the Vedas, and when
he returns twelve years later having
mastered all the Vedas, he incorrectly
considers himself learned. Shvetaketu’s
father punctures his arrogance, showing
him the difference between memorization
and true knowledge, by asking
Shvetaketu questions about the nature
of the cosmos. When Shvetaketu cannot
answer these, he admits his ignorance
and accepts instruction from his father
on the nature of the Self (atman). This
instruction contains the teaching “That
thou art” (tat tvam asi). This is one of
the “great statements” (mahavakya) in
Indian philosophy, and asserts the
ultimate nondifference between Brahman
and atman, the cosmos and the individual
Self.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
A text generally regarded as one of the
latest upanishads, the speculative religious
texts that themselves form the
most recent stratum of the Vedas. This
judgment is based on both the Shvetashvatara
Upanishad’s form and on its
content. Stylistically, the earliest upanishads
tend to be written in prose, or
prose mixed with verse, whereas the
later upanishads, including the Shvetashvatara,
are completely in verse. In
terms of content, the earlier upanishads
tend to be long and rambling, whereas
in the later ones the ideas are far more
concise and clearly developed. The
Shvetashvatara Upanishad’s most original
idea is its description of the
Supreme Being in completely theistic
terms, in contrast to the abstract,
impersonal representations in the earlier
upanishads. It identifies Ultimate
Reality as the god Rudra, who was later
identified with the god Shiva, one of the
most important modern Hindu deities.
The text is also notable for an explicit
description of the process and results of
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