Source for story about Nandi

[Harry Spier]

Dear list members,

Swami Vimalananda in his edition and translation of the Mahānārāyanopaṇiṣad, comments on verse 25 in section 1 that Nandi is called cakratuṇḍa because he wielded the cakra as a weapon in his mouth while Shiva was battling demons.

Do any of the list members know the origin of this story or more details about it.  I wasn't able to find anything in Mani's Puranic encyclopedia under either Nandi or  cakratuṇḍa.

Thanks,

Harry Spier

[Ajit Gargeshwari]

The Gayatri Mantra occurs in several places in The Taittiriya Arnayaka. plee see pp 699, 744-755 and 769-799 Anand Asrama series available at archives.org. Please see Sayanas commentary on X.1.This shows there were several varying resensions of Gaytris. Syana comments only on 6. Other recension probably had more Gayatris. Again in the same Aranyaka X, 1 invokes 12 more including Chakratunda- Nandi. The Maha Narayana Upanishad belonging to Taittiriya shakha has as many as 18 Gaytris invoking beside other deities.

Chakratunda (Garra gotyla) are found in the Epics (Hora, 1951).

These might be the possible place to look for their legends and stories.

Regards
Ajit Gargeshwari
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।2.20।।

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[Hnbhat B.R.]

Monier Williams has the word, चक्रतुण्ड, but not as the name of Nandin:

चक्रतुण्ड [ cakratuṇḍa ] [ cakrá-tuṇḍa ] m. ( [ °krá- ] ) " circular-beaked " , a kind of mythical being Lit. Suparṇ. xxiii , 4

   a kind of fish Lit. R. (B) iii , 73 , 14.

He could have given the source for his information as commentaries usually do. Or you may contact him personally and ask for the source of his information.

According to some sources it is the name of Shiva, in his Bhairava form:

 रूद्र बटुक क्रोधेस कालधर, चक्रतुण्ड दस पाणि व्यालधर ॥ 

And in Mahanarayanopanishat, it is the name of Nandin. The commentary of Sayana, makes it as a metaphoric name and no mention of a any episode like Nirmalananda.

चक्रतुण्डं चक्रमिव तुण्डं यस्य (सः)। यथा चक्रायुधं विष्णुप्रयुक्तं समुद्यद् रक्षांसि हन्ति, तथा  स्वारूढपरमशिवस्य रक्षोभिः सह संगरप्रसङ्गे स्वमुखेन तान्यत्तीत्यर्थः।

So there the use of metaphoric adjective of Nandin, could not appear in any of the synonyms in the Dictionaries or Purana Indices, which only lists proper names and not all the metaphors. And in this case, it is cassually explained with reference to the battle of Shiva and not any episode or legend as such. I think Nirmalananda also tried to explain this much as by Sayana in English and not referring to any particular episode.

 

On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 11:49 AM, Harry Spier <vasisht...@gmail.com> wrote:

--

[Rajagopal Iyer]

namo namaH,

On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 12:20 PM, Ajit Gargeshwari
<ajit.gar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The Gayatri Mantra occurs in several places in The Taittiriya Arnayaka.

Just for posterity's sake, according to tradition,

TA 7 == TU 1 (shiikshaa vallii)
TA 8 == TU 2 (bR^ighu vallii)
TA 9 == TU 3 (aananda vallii)
TA 10 == TU 4 (mahaanaaraayaNaayopanishht.h)

Regards,

--
aa no bhadraaH kratavo yantu vishvataH
(Let auspicious come from the Universe)

Rajagopal

[Hnbhat B.R.]

​The word चक्रतुण्ड occurs in चक्रतुण्डाय धीमहि TA.10.1.5d.

and in no other Gayatri and the explanation I have given is from the same reference to the derivation of the word.

Why to quote other Gayatri's as well in this connection which have nothing to do with the explanation of the word in question वक्रतुण्ड or the episode asked for in support of Nirmalananda's allusion to it as a legend in support of his allusion he has made?

If any episode in Purana-s or Vedic texts supporting the allusion to the espisode as mentioned by Nirmalananda in his translation is welcome.

[Ajit Gargeshwari]

As Sayana's explanation is not clear there is a possibility चक्रतुण्ड could be one of the 12 gayatris invoked and the legend may be connected with that. Thats why I mentioned about Gayatri Thanks.

Regards
Ajit Gargeshwari
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।2.20।।

[Harry Spier]

On Friday, March 7, 2014 5:39:53 AM UTC-8, hnbhat wrote:

According to some sources it is the name of Shiva, in his Bhairava form:

 रूद्र बटुक क्रोधेस कालधर, चक्रतुण्ड दस पाणि व्यालधर ॥ 

Thank you Dr. Bhat.  Do you know the source of that quote.

Harry Spier

[Hnbhat B.R.]

http://e-stuti.blogspot.in/2011/03/shri-bhairav-chalisa.html

[Hnbhat B.R.]

Do any of the list members know the origin of this story or more details about it.  I wasn't able to find anything in Mani's Puranic encyclopedia under either Nandi or  cakratuṇḍa.

It seems that Nirmalananda, has taken the noun as a proper noun literally, unlike Sayana who took it metaphoric allusion to the face of Nandi.

चक्रं तुण्डे यस्य सः - चक्रतुण्डः  ० one who has the disc in his mouth.

Like चक्रपाणिः. which is the specific disc of Vishnu regularly characterised by the disc, and used as his epithet and is listed in शब्दकल्पद्रुम:

​​cakrapāṇiḥ, puṁ, (cakraṁ sudarśanāstraṁ pāṇau yasya .

vyadhikaraṇabahubrīhisamāsaḥ .) viṣṇuḥ

or चरणायुधः = epithet for used as synonym cock.

caraṇāyudhaḥ, puṁ, (caraṇa evāyudhaṁ astraviśeṣo

yasya .) kukkuṭaḥ . ityamaraḥ . 2 . 5 . 17

which is popular that the cocks fight each other using their claws as the weapon and there is not any need of any specific battle. शूली is a synonym of Maheshvara who is always characterised with trident, though he is called having a शूल. 

The case of चक्रतुण्ड is a different case which is not used as a common epithet or synonym generally except in the said Gayatri and the word didn't get any entry like other compounds. And this is the reason, why Sayana took it as a synonym. But Nirmalananda took it as popular name for Nandi, on its derivation, like चक्रपाणि, in the case of Vishnu, it is used as a synonym of him and in other cases, any one wearing disc in hand, it is taken as literal. This is the difference in the interpretation of both.

The disc of Vishnu need not any specific battle with any specific demon, but usually it is used in any battle with any enemy. Only this much is intended, he explained its derivation in the literal sense, like Cakrapani, who always carry the Cakra in his hand as he is having 4 hands. Nandin, in contrast, who is an ox, the carrier of Shiva, personified as one of the commanders of Shiva, according to Puranas, wil have to carry the disc as a weapon, only in his mouth in any battle of Shiva with demons (which is always the case) and need not any specific battle of Shiva with any particular demon, as you have understood because of the explanation of derivation of the word in the literal sense.

As an ox, it can use its mouth or for that, its face, with its horns, as a disc, waving it circularly like disc against the demons when his master fights with his demons. This is the metaphoric explanation of Sayana. The difference again, is the literal etymological explanation and the metaphorical explanation of the word. And need not refer to any specific episode, as disc is the common weapon, used in any battle.

[Harry Spier]

Thank you Ajit,

I believe there are three versions of the Mahānārāyana Upaniṣad

a) Taittirīya Araṇyaka chapter 10 (shorter version 64 chapters) 
published by Ananda Ashram with Sayana's commentary (ānandāśramasaṁskṛtagranthavālaḥ volume 36) starting page 689 (downloadable from www.archive.org )
I believe this version is also available with Baskara's commentary and may be downloadable from the DLI (Digital Library of India).  The version of Taittiriya Aranyaka with Baskara's commentary I found on archive.org didn't go up to chapter 10.

b)  Taittirīya Araṇyaka chapter 10 (longer version 80 chapters)  
also published by Ananda Ashram with a commentary by an unknown author in  volume 36 as a pariśiṣṭa beginning on page 783.

c) Mahānārāyanopaniṣad associated with the Atharva Veda with the commentary Dīpikā by Nārāyaṇa
The edition by Colonel G. A. Jacob, Bombay Sanskrit Series vol 35 is downloadable from DLI (maybe from www.archive.org I'm not sure)

Swami Vimalananda says he based his edition on all of these three versions.

The Gayatri to Nandi that contains the name "cakratuṇḍa"

tatpuruṣaya vidmahe

cakratuṇḍāya dhīmahi

tanno nandiḥ pracodayāt

is in the Taittiriya Aranyaka longer version (Ananda Ashram edition  pariśiṣṭa page 797) and in Swami Vimalananda's edition but not in the shorter version of Taittiriya Aranyaka chapter 10.  The Gayatri to Nandi is in the Atharva Veda rescension edition of Jacob but with  vakratuṇḍa  instead of cakratuṇḍa .

Harry Spier

[Harry Spier]

Thank you Dr. Bhat,

I have just seen your message now and will go through this information . 

Harry Spier