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.