Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 8
॥
Devanāgarī
रुद्रात्प्रवर्तते बीजं बीजयोनिर्जनार्दनः । यो रुद्रः स स्वयं ब्रह्मा यो ब्रह्मा स हुताशनः
Transliteration (IAST)
rudrātpravartate bījaṃ bījayonirjanārdanaḥ | yo rudraḥ sa svayaṃ brahmā yo brahmā sa hutāśanaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
रुद्रात् प्रवर्तते बीजंrudrāt pravartate bījaṃfrom Rudra proceeds the seed
बीज-योनिः जनार्दनःbīja-yoniḥ janārdanaḥthe womb of the seed is Janārdana
यः रुद्रः सः स्वयं ब्रह्माyaḥ rudraḥ saḥ svayaṃ brahmāwhich is Rudra, that is Brahmā himself
यः ब्रह्मा सः हुत-आशनःyaḥ brahmā saḥ huta-āśanaḥwhich is Brahmā, that is the eater of offerings
Translation
"From Rudra proceeds the seed; the womb of the seed is Janārdana. Which is Rudra, that is Brahmā himself; which is Brahmā, that is the eater of offerings."
Version
a5b9d16eff75 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Origination is spoken of, and spoken of with the very words used for this in these books: bīja and yoni, "seed" and "womb." Rudrāt pravartate bījam, "from Rudra proceeds the seed"; bīja-yonir janārdanaḥ, "the womb of the seed is Janārdana." That is, the seed comes from one, and the other is that in which it is received and grows.
This image stands at the very foundation of Vaiṣṇava books and is worked out there in detail. The Gītā says: "the great Brahman is My womb; into it I place the seed, and from there comes the birth of all beings" (14.3). There, then, He both places the seed and is the womb.
Here the roles are distributed differently: the seed from Rudra, the womb Janārdana. But what matters is that the roles are distributed: one thing to one, another to the other, and both are needed. This is, in essence, the whole meaning of such passages, and the whole measure of their agreement with us. One could argue at length over which of the two is the seed and which the womb; but that birth requires two stands in both books and is not disputed.
A separate word is worth saying about the word hutāśana, "eater of offerings" — a name of Agni. The series, accordingly, continues: Rudra is Brahmā, Brahmā is Agni; and all this is not a heaping-together of gods, but an indication that the acting principle is one, and names are given according to the action.