Upanishads · Kaṭharudra 15
॥
Devanāgarī
तानि भूतानि सूक्ष्माणि पञ्चीकृत्येश्वरस्तदा । तेभ्य एव विसृष्टं तद्ब्रह्माण्डादि शिवेन ह
Transliteration (IAST)
tāni bhūtāni sūkṣmāṇi pañcīkṛtyeśvarastadā | tebhya eva visṛṣṭaṃ tadbrahmāṇḍādi śivena ha
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तानि भूतानि सूक्ष्माणिtāni bhūtāni sūkṣmāṇithose subtle elements
पञ्ची-कृत्य ईश्वरः तदाpañcī-kṛtya īśvaraḥ tadāhaving quintupled, Ishvara then
तेभ्यः एव विसृष्टं तत्tebhyaḥ eva visṛṣṭaṃ tatfrom them indeed was emitted that
ब्रह्म-अण्ड-आदि शिवेन हbrahma-aṇḍa-ādi śivena hathe egg of Brahmā and the rest — by Śiva
Translation
Having quintupled those subtle elements, Ishvara then — from them indeed was emitted that egg of Brahmā and the rest — by Śiva.
Version
bf0f01f77f26 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a verse where the abstract exposition suddenly changes, and this change is worth noting. Until now it was said: "arose," "proceeded," "from space, wind." All these are verbs without an acting person; and so is this whole part of the book. But here a name suddenly appears: īśvaraḥ, "the Lord" — and a second name, śivena, "by Śiva," in the instrumental case, that is, "by whom it was made."
It is worth noting the verb too: pañcīkṛtya, "having quintupled" — a gerund from a transitive verb. Not "the elements mixed," but "having quintupled them, the Lord…"; and the world is visṛṣṭam, "emitted, sent forth," not "arose." All this in one verse, in the middle of a discourse built on impersonal constructions.
This very change is what the Vaiṣṇava side points to every time the dispute arises over whether the world needs a designer. Creation can be set forth without an agent — as long as the discourse concerns the order of elements: this from that, that from this. But as soon as it comes to mixing in the proper proportion, an agent appears of himself, for only one who knows the proportion can mix in that proportion.
The Vedānta-sūtra settles this very question, and settles it the same way: "and because of the verbal [indication of intent] — not the unconscious [is the cause of the world]" (1.1.5). A design presupposes a designer; and this verse, written in a book of an entirely different orientation, shows the same thing, only not on purpose.