Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 33
॥
Devanāgarī
यः सर्वज्ञः सर्वविद्यो यस्य ज्ञानमयं तपः । तस्मादत्रान्नरूपेण जायते जगदावलिः
Transliteration (IAST)
yaḥ sarvajñaḥ sarvavidyo yasya jñānamayaṃ tapaḥ | tasmādatrānnarūpeṇa jāyate jagadāvaliḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यः सर्व-ज्ञः सर्व-विद्यःyaḥ sarva-jñaḥ sarva-vidyaḥwho is all-knowing, all-wise
यस्य ज्ञान-मयं तपःyasya jñāna-mayaṃ tapaḥwhose austerity consists of knowledge
तस्मात् अत्र अन्न-रूपेणtasmāt atra anna-rūpeṇafrom him here, in the form of food
जायते जगत्-आवलिःjāyate jagat-āvaliḥis born the succession of worlds
Translation
"Who is all-knowing, all-wise, whose austerity consists of knowledge — from him here, in the form of food, is born the succession of worlds."
Version
ea35fd4fd75a · published Aug 7, 2026, 1:42:45 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The passage of the Muṇḍaka (1.1.9) is cited, and it contains an expression disputed for centuries: jñāna-mayaṃ tapaḥ, "austerity consisting of knowledge." In the original it is said: "from That which is all-knowing and all-wise, whose tapas consists of knowledge, is born this Brahman, name, form, and food." The whole dispute over whether the world has an intelligent designer was settled by Vedāntic teachers by appeal to precisely this verse; it was discussed when reading the Bhāvanā (p15) and the Kāṭharudra (15).
The argument is simple. Tapas means "heat, effort, austerity," and in descriptions of creation it denotes the tension from which the world emerges. And it is said that this heat is from knowledge: not blind effort, not the boiling of matter, but the tension of one who knows.
The Vedānta-sūtra rests on this verse in examining whether an unconscious principle can be the cause of the world; and it decides no: "and because of the verbal [indication of intent] — not the unconscious" (1.1.5). The second half of the verse adds a material detail: the worlds are born anna-rūpeṇa, "in the form of food." That is, the first thing the design unfolds into is not an abstraction, but the edible; and this is constant in these books: where there is creation, there is food.