Upanishads · Atharvaśiras 15
॥
Devanāgarī
यो वै रुद्रः स भगवान् यच् च महस् तस्मै वै नमोनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
yo vai rudraḥ sa bhagavān yac ca mahas 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 महःyat ca mahaḥand which is “mahaḥ”; and that which is mahaḥ
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 “mahaḥ” — the world of greatness. To Him be homage and homage.
Version
e60bb7ad367c · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:17:52 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fourth utterance is mahaḥ, “greatness”.
It stands apart. The first three are always pronounced; the fourth is added not everywhere, and the Taittirīya Upaniṣad gives it a place of its own, calling it “Brahman” and saying that by it the three first grow.
There it is said: “mahaḥ is Brahman; by it the other worlds grow great”.
The fourth, that is, does not stand in the row with the three but holds them. As in the count of states the fourth — turīya — does not stand in the row with waking, dream and oblivion.
This feature is worth remembering, for it will return: the thirty-sixth section of this book will speak of the four measures of the syllable Om, and the fourth there will prove to be of the same kind.
The litany stops at the fourth and does not go on to the remaining three of the seven. And this too says something: beyond the fourth there is nothing left to enumerate.