Upanishads · Atharvaśiras 6
॥
Devanāgarī
यो वै रुद्रः स भगवान् यश् चाग्निस् तस्मै वै नमोनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
yo vai rudraḥ sa bhagavān yaś cāgnis 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 अग्निःyaḥ ca agniḥand who is Agni; and the one who is Agni
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 Agni. To Him be homage and homage.
Version
a1bcce424c49 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:17:52 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth name is Agni, fire.
With him the Ṛgveda begins: agnim īḷe purohitam — “Agni I invoke, the one set in front”. He is the priest of the gods and the mouth by which the gods eat: without him the sacrifice does not arrive.
In the first section Rudra already named Himself the three sacrificial fires — gārhapatya, dakṣiṇāgni and āhavanīya. Now fire itself is named.
This repetition is no carelessness. The first section was speech in the first person: “I am this and this”. The litany is the gods' speech about Him. One and the same thing said from inside and from outside.
Note that fire in these books is no element among elements. He is the intermediary: that through which the here passes into the beyond. Hence the dead are given to him.
The next names — wind, sun, moon — will finish the roll of lights and elements.