LinuxTurn pages
Upanishads · Hayagrīva 2.p1
॥
Devanāgarī
हयग्रीवैकाक्षरेण ब्रह्मविद्यां प्रवक्ष्यामि । ब्रह्मा महेश्वराय महेश्वरः संकर्षणाय संकर्षणो नारदाय नारदो व्यासाय व्यासो लोकेभ्यः प्रायच्छदिति
Transliteration (IAST)
hayagrīvaikākṣareṇa brahmavidyāṃ pravakṣyāmi | brahmā maheśvarāya maheśvaraḥ saṃkarṣaṇāya saṃkarṣaṇo nāradāya nārado vyāsāya vyāso lokebhyaḥ prāyacchaditi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
हयग्रीव-एक-अक्षरेणhayagrīva-eka-akṣareṇawith the one-syllable [mantra] of Hayagrīva
ब्रह्म-विद्यां प्रवक्ष्यामिbrahma-vidyāṃ pravakṣyāmiI shall expound the knowledge of brahman
ब्रह्मा महेश्वरायbrahmā maheśvarāyaBrahmā [gave it] to Maheśvara
महेश्वरः संकर्षणायmaheśvaraḥ saṃkarṣaṇāyaMaheśvara to Saṃkarṣaṇa
संकर्षणः नारदायsaṃkarṣaṇaḥ nāradāyaSaṃkarṣaṇa to Nārada
नारदः व्यासायnāradaḥ vyāsāyaNārada to Vyāsa
व्यासः लोकेभ्यः प्रायच्छत् इतिvyāsaḥ lokebhyaḥ prāyacchat itiVyāsa gave it to the worlds
Translation
«With the one-syllable [mantra] of Hayagrīva I shall expound the knowledge of brahman. Brahmā [gave it] to Maheśvara, Maheśvara to Saṃkarṣaṇa, Saṃkarṣaṇa to Nārada, Nārada to Vyāsa, Vyāsa gave it to the worlds».
Version
c46629df5b7b · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second upaniṣad begins, and it opens with paramparā, “succession”: a list of those through whom the teaching passed. It is worth saying why this list matters more than it appears to. It is a receipt: the exposition begins not with “here is the truth,” but with “here is from whom I have this.”
We have noted, reading many books, that the teaching of complete oneness cannot be taught, for teaching requires two; here teaching is not only acknowledged but written out by name. The Vaiṣṇava side stands on succession as on nothing else, and its rule was cited reading the Kṛṣṇa Upaniṣad: sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ, “the mantras of those outside a lineage are held to be fruitless.” Add, too, what deserves special note in this list.
Named second is Maheśvara, that is, Śiva; third is Saṃkarṣaṇa. This sequence exists in Vaiṣṇava lineages too, and is no accident: the rudra-sampradāya, one of the four recognized ones, is traced precisely from Śiva. The four lineages are: śrī (from Lakṣmī, through Rāmānuja), brahma (from Brahmā, through Madhva), rudra (from Śiva, through Viṣṇusvāmī), and kumāra (from the four Kumāras, through Nimbārka).
That is, Śiva stands in the list not as a rival, but as a transmitter; and this, to my mind, precisely reflects his position, discussed reading Varāha (4.32): honor — yes; equate — no.