MANDUKYA UPANISHAD

Let us examine some aspects of the name of the Upanishad, which helps us to understand the Vedichistory behind the Upanishad:

1.Some attribute the Upanishad to a sage called Manduka. Manduka means son of "Manduki" and a seer with this metronymic is mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad along with the Mandukeyas, his disciples. The Mandukeyas figure in the Bhagavata purana as the receivers of a branch of the Rig Veda from Indra. This group of seers also figures in the Rig Veda itself: their hymns are mostly connected with lingustics, for example Hrsva (short) Mandakeya, a vedic seer who proposed semi vowels.^[3]. A text on the etymology of Vedas with the name "Manduki Shiksha" deals with the notes of the musical scale. There are more than one Manduka, since Manduka is a gotra belonging to Asuric Brahmins. (Bhargavas)

2. Connection with Varuna It is said Varuna, the Lord of Cosmic waters, has taken the form of a frog to preach this Upanishad. This story makes it more interesting since there is a hymn called Toad Hymn (manduka sukta) in the Rgveda, which is ostensibly an ode to the arrival of monsoons. But the cosmological significance of the hymn is yet to be unraveled. The connection between the hymn and the Upanishad, in terms of cosmological significance, may be an interesting point to search for. This assertion finds more support since Varuna is an Asuric God and lends himself to the ancestries of more than one Asuric gotra.

3. Manduka is also a type of yoga - a "particular kind of abstract meditation in which an ascetic sits motionless like a frog".^[4] Mandukasana is one of the asanas (postures) described in yoga. Seemingly hard to practice. Mandukasana is one of the 32 asanas(postures) described in yoga. Possibly the Upanishad, which is connected with meaning of Aum, which is essentially an Object of Meditation, has been named after Manduka to indicate the yoga aspect of the Aum.

(Posted in Wikipedia on 01.11.2008 

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mandukya_Upanishad&diff=prev&oldid=248957991

Also see http://books.google.co.in/books?id=vvJ3FI_pYekC&pg=PA48&dq=frog+croaking+indian+philosophy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9PZRU87vI8ySiQf3sYDoCQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=frog%20croaking%20indian%20philosophy&f=false

(page 43-46)