Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 2
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रणम्य शिरसा पादौ शुको व्यासमुवाच ह । को देवः सर्वदेवेषु कस्मिन्देवाश्च सर्वशः
Transliteration (IAST)
praṇamya śirasā pādau śuko vyāsamuvāca ha | ko devaḥ sarvadeveṣu kasmindevāśca sarvaśaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रणम्य शिरसा पादौpraṇamya śirasā pādauhaving bowed his head to the feet
शुकः व्यासम् उवाच हśukaḥ vyāsam uvāca haŚuka said to Vyāsa
कः देवः सर्व-देवेषुkaḥ devaḥ sarva-deveṣu"who is the god among all gods"
कस्मिन् देवाः च सर्वशःkasmin devāḥ ca sarvaśaḥ"and in whom are all the gods"
Translation
"Having bowed his head to the feet, Śuka said to Vyāsa: 'who is the god among all gods? and in whom are all the gods?'"
Version
986c75334abf · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The one asking is Śuka, Vyāsa's son — the very one who narrates the whole Bhāgavatam to King Parīkṣit. His question is the question always asked in India, and one that still gives rise to strife to this day: ko devaḥ sarva-deveṣu, "who is the god among all gods?" It is remarkable to whom it is asked. Not to a teacher of another school, but to his father; and he bows to his feet as he asks. The question, then, is asked not for dispute, but to learn.
The second half of the question matters more than the first and usually slips by: kasmin devāḥ ca sarvaśaḥ, "and in whom are all the gods?" That is, it asks not only who is chief, but who contains the rest. A question put this way is already half answered. The one who contains all is not one of a series, and his seniority does not lie in being stronger than his neighbors. A dispute over who is chief is conducted among equals of the same category; but here the question is about a different category — about the one in whom the rest abide.
The Vaiṣṇava side answers this question with names: Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa. This book will answer with the name Rudra — and immediately say that Rudra, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā are one form, divided into three for a purpose (15). This answer deserves to be heard to the end before disputing it.