Upanishads · Śvetāśvatara 4.13
॥
Devanāgarī
यो देवानाम् अधिपो यस्मिंल् लोका अधिश्रिताः ।
य ईशे अस्य द्विपदश् चतुष्पदः कस्मै देवाय हविषा विधेम
Transliteration (IAST)
yo devānām adhipo yasmiṃl lokā adhiśritāḥ /
ya īśe asya dvipadaś catuṣpadaḥ kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यः देवानाम् अधिपःyaḥ devānām adhipaḥwho is the overlord of the gods; supreme over the deities
यस्मिन्yasminin whom; on whom
लोकाःlokāḥthe worlds; all the worlds
अधिश्रिताःadhiśritāḥare established; rest
यः ईशेyaḥ īśewho rules; who holds sway
अस्य द्विपदःasya dvipadaḥover this two-footed; over the two-footed
चतुष्पदःcatuṣpadaḥand the four-footed; and over the four-footed
कस्मै देवायkasmai devāyato which God; to what Deity
हविषाhaviṣāwith an oblation; with a sacrificial gift
विधेमvidhemashall we minister; shall we render service
Translation
He who is the overlord of the gods, in whom the worlds are established, who rules here over the two-footed and the four-footed — to which God shall we offer our oblation?
Version
80a685aa2c7f · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:13:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra is taken from the great hymn to Hiraṇyagarbha, where every verse ends with this question: kasmai devāya haviṣā vidhema. The question is famous for its ambiguity, and both sides of it work.
The first reading is the plain one: "to which God shall we sacrifice?" This is the question of a man who has gone through all the known gods and understood that none of them is the One. The question stands in the place of the answer because there is as yet no name.
The second reading the ancient commentators draw from the word ka, "who": it became a name — Ka. Then the line reads: "to the God Ka we shall offer our oblation", that is, to Him who is known as a question.
The Śvetāśvatara takes this verse for a reason. Its whole first adhyāya was a string of questions; here the question sounds again — but now the reader already knows the answer: it is He who holds the net, who begot Hiraṇyagarbha, who wields māyā.
And the second line is touching: He rules "the two-footed and the four-footed". After lordship over gods and worlds, cattle are mentioned. He on whom the universes rest is also the owner of the cow in the yard.