Upanishads · Atharvaśiras 14
॥
Devanāgarī
यो वै रुद्रः स भगवान् यच् च स्वस् तस्मै वै नमोनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
yo vai rudraḥ sa bhagavān yac ca svas 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
यत् च स्वःyat ca svaḥand which is “svaḥ”; and that which is svaḥ
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 “svaḥ” — heaven. To Him be homage and homage.
Version
02534989a3b6 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:17:52 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third utterance is svaḥ, heaven: the world to which men go for their merits and from which they return when the merits are spent.
The three first utterances — bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ — are pronounced together before the Gāyatrī and form the core of every rite. They are called mahāvyāhṛti, “the great utterances”.
Note that it was by this triad that the gods came in the first section: it is said they “came to the heavenly world”, svargaloka. They questioned Rudra there, above.
And now their own dwelling-place is named by His name.
This is the constant move of the Upaniṣads: the ground on which the asker stood is taken from under him, and it is shown that the ground too is He.
The next utterance, the fourth, will step beyond the usual triad.