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Angirasa Ghora

Angirasa Ghora was a Vedic sage. He is the intense, formidable descendant of Sage Angiras. He is the seer of Rig Veda verse, (III. 36. 10), Vishwamitra being the seer of the other ten verses of the hymn. In the Kaushitaki Brahmana (30.6), he is one of the priests at a divine yajna. In the Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.6), he is said to have been the teacher of Bhagavan Sri Krishna.

The teaching imparted by Ghora Anigrasa to Bhagavan Sri Krishna conveys that life itself is a sacrifice. This teaching, which reduces the importance of the external Vedic sacrifice, is found in the Bhagavad Gita too (4.23).

Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.6-7) propounds meditation on Brahman at the time of death, a theme also found in the Bhagavad Gita (8.5-10). The ethical virtues mentioned in Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.4) namely, dana (generosity), arjava (frankness), ahimsa (non-violenece), tapas (penance) a nd satyavacana (truthfulness), are repeated in the Bhagavad Gita (16.1 – 2) as well.

These statements confirm the well-known tradition that Bhagavan Sri Krishna taught the essence of Upanishads through the Bhagavad Gita. It is reasonable to suppose that the story refers to a historical fact. Very probably Bhagavan Sri Krishna learnt these doctrines, which form the essence of the Bhagavad Gita from Ghora Angirasa and founded the Bhagavata tradition of Vaishnavism based on these.

As for the name of the teacher, there is an apparent inconsistency, as the term may denote black magic – a practice farthest removed from Upanishadic idealism. Atharva Veda consists of two broad types of griha (domestic) rituals and related prayers. Those aiming at welfare are shanta, i.e., agreeable, and are termed atharvana, while those which mean harm are ghora and are termed angirasa. The dual character is reflected in the original name of Atharva Veda that is Atharvangirasah.

It may look strange that the one who practices such things should teach Upanishadic idealism, but this may be a characteristic of Atharva Veda tradition. We must remember that the monistic idea of Brahman as the one truth pervading all is prominently established in Atharva Veda long before the Upanishads. Atharva Veda has the maximum number of hymns praying for harmony among all. Also, most of the minor Upanishads of later ages are associated with Atharva Veda.