Upanishads · Rudrahṛdaya 40
॥
Devanāgarī
न तत्र चन्द्रार्कवपुः प्रकाशते न वान्ति वाताः सकला देवताश्च । स एष देवः कृतभावभूतः स्वयं विशुद्धो विरजः प्रकाशते
Transliteration (IAST)
na tatra candrārkavapuḥ prakāśate na vānti vātāḥ sakalā devatāśca | sa eṣa devaḥ kṛtabhāvabhūtaḥ svayaṃ viśuddho virajaḥ prakāśate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न तत्र चन्द्र-अर्क-वपुः प्रकाशतेna tatra candra-arka-vapuḥ prakāśatethere the form of the moon and sun does not shine
न वान्ति वाताःna vānti vātāḥnor do the winds blow
सकलाः देवताः चsakalāḥ devatāḥ caand all the deities [do not shine]
सः एषः देवः कृत-भाव-भूतःsaḥ eṣaḥ devaḥ kṛta-bhāva-bhūtaḥthat very god, having become the being of what was created
स्वयं विशुद्धः विरजः प्रकाशतेsvayaṃ viśuddhaḥ virajaḥ prakāśateshines himself, pure, dustless
Translation
"There the form of the moon and sun does not shine, nor do the winds blow, nor do all the deities [shine]. That very god, having become the being of what was created, shines himself, pure, dustless."
Version
f92b58d01de1 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The famous passage is cited, found in various forms in the Kaṭhaka (2.2.15), the Muṇḍaka (2.2.10), and the Śvetāśvatara: "there neither sun nor moon nor stars shine; by His radiance all this shines." In the Gītā it is repeated almost word for word: "that is My supreme abode, which neither sun nor moon nor fire illumines; having reached it, one does not return" (15.6). It is worth examining what is said here, for it is sometimes read as a description of darkness or emptiness.
The opposite is said. Not "it is dark there," but — there the luminaries are not needed: they do not shine there, not because they have gone out, but because there is nothing to illuminate, for light is already there. So a candle does not shine at noon.
It is worth noting the verb standing at the end: prakāśate, "shines." It is used of Him Himself: the sun does not shine, but He shines. That is, the negations are listed not to end in negation, but to establish an affirmation.
A separate word is worth saying about the word virajas, "dustless." Rajas means both "dust" and "passion" — the second guṇa; and this word plays on both meanings aptly. Dustless is one on whom neither dust nor passion settles; and this image is material: every thing in the world gathers dust, but He does not.