Upanishads Atharvaśiras 41

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Upanishads · Atharvaśiras 41

॥

Devanāgarī

तद् वा अथर्वणः शिरो देवकोशः समुज्झितः । तत् प्राणो ऽभिरक्षति शिरो ऽन्तम् अथो मनः । न च दिवो देवजनेन गुप्ता न चान्तरिक्षाणि न च भूम इमाः यस्मिन्न् इदं सर्वम् ओतप्रोतं तस्माद् अन्यं न परं किंच नास्ति

Transliteration (IAST)

tad vā atharvaṇaḥ śiro devakośaḥ samujjhitaḥ / tat prāṇo 'bhirakṣati śiro 'ntam atho manaḥ / na ca divo devajanena guptā na cāntarikṣāṇi na ca bhūma imāḥ yasminn idaṃ sarvam otaprotaṃ tasmād anyaṃ na paraṃ kiṃca nāsti

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

तत् वै अथर्वणः शिरःtat vai atharvaṇaḥ śiraḥthat is the head of Atharvan; this is Atharvan's crown

देवकोशः समुज्झितःdevakośaḥ samujjhitaḥthe treasure-chest of the gods, poured forth; the gods' coffer, overflowing

तत् प्राणः अभिरक्षतिtat prāṇaḥ abhirakṣatithat the breath guards; the prāṇa protects it

शिरः अन्तम् अथो मनःśiraḥ antam atho manaḥthe head to its limit, and the mind; the head to its edge, and the thought

न च दिवः देवजनेन गुप्ताःna ca divaḥ devajanena guptāḥand the heavens are not guarded by the host of gods; and the sky is not kept by the god-folk

न च अन्तरिक्षाणिna ca antarikṣāṇinor the mid-airs; nor the airy expanses

न च भूमाः इमाःna ca bhūmāḥ imāḥnor these earths; nor these grounds

यस्मिन् इदम् सर्वम् ओतप्रोतम्yasmin idam sarvam otaprotamin whom all this is woven warp and weft; in whom this whole is threaded through and through

तस्मात् अन्यत् न परम्tasmāt anyat na paramother than him there is no higher; beyond him nothing is higher

किंचन अस्तिkiṃcana astinothing at all exists; there is nothing whatsoever

Translation

That is the head of Atharvan, the treasure-chest of the gods, poured forth; the breath guards it — the head to its limit, and the mind. And the heavens are not guarded by the host of gods, nor the mid-airs, nor these earths; but he in whom all this is woven warp and weft — other than him there is nothing else and nothing higher.

Commentary

Here the title of the book is explained: atharvaṇaḥ śiraḥ — “the head of Atharvan”.

Atharvan is the ancient line of fire-priests whose name the fourth Veda bears. And “head” means the head, the summit, and the beginning.

The book, that is, declares itself the summit of the Atharvaveda.

Then it is said: deva-kośa — “the treasure-chest of the gods”. Kośa means “receptacle, treasury, sheath”. On this word the Taittirīya builds its whole doctrine of the five sheaths of the Ātman.

Here it is called samujjhita — “poured forth, let out”: the treasury is not locked.

The second half of the section is the strongest. It is said that neither the heavens, nor the air, nor the earths are guarded by the gods.

This is a direct denial of that on which ordinary piety stands. The gods watch the quarters, the gods uphold the worlds — and here it is said: not guarded.

And then the reason: because the guardian is not the host, but He in whom everything is “woven warp and weft”, ota-prota.

The loom-image is from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, where Yājñavalkya is asked on what all is woven; and he leads the questioner from world to world until he reaches the Imperishable.

Here the same conclusion is given at once: tasmād anyan na paraṃ kiṃcanāsti — “other than him there is nothing else and nothing higher”.

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0bccbcb6e762 · published Jul 29, 2026, 3:17:52 AM UTC

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