Upanishads · Atharvaśiras 5
॥
Devanāgarī
यो वै रुद्रः स भगवान् यश् चेन्द्रस् तस्मै वै नमोनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
yo vai rudraḥ sa bhagavān yaś cendras tasmai vai namonamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यः वै रुद्रःyaḥ vai rudraḥhe who is Rudra; the one who is Rudra
सः भगवान्saḥ bhagavānhe is the Lord; he indeed is the Bhagavān
यः च इन्द्रःyaḥ ca indraḥand who is Indra; and the one who is Indra
तस्मै वै नमः नमःtasmai vai namaḥ namaḥto him be homage and homage; to him obeisance and obeisance
Translation
He who is Rudra — He is the Lord, and He is Indra. To Him be homage and homage.
Version
9b06e3edc291 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:17:52 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fourth name is Indra, king of the gods, the thunderer of the Ṛgveda.
In the oldest hymns he is chief: more hymns are addressed to him than to any other; he slew Vṛtra and released the waters. In the Upaniṣads he is usually a pupil — the one who lives a hundred and one years with Prajāpati to learn of the Ātman.
And here he stands fifth in the count, after the son of Śiva.
This is a mark of the age in which such books took shape. The eldest of the gods has become one of the names, and not the first at that.
But the litany does not demean him: it calls him Him. The difference between “you are less” and “you are He” is great.
Recall that the gods in the first section came asking. They did not know who was before them — and were answered. All the names listed here are the names of those who came and asked.