Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 1.6
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ स होवाच भगवान्परमेश्वरः परमकारुणिकः प्रमथान्सुरानपि
Transliteration (IAST)
atha sa hovāca bhagavānparameśvaraḥ paramakāruṇikaḥ pramathānsurānapi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथ सः ह उवाच भगवान्atha saḥ ha uvāca bhagavānthen said the Lord
परम-ईश्वरःparama-īśvaraḥthe supreme sovereign
परम-कारुणिकःparama-kāruṇikaḥmost compassionate
प्रमथान् सुरान् अपिpramathān surān apito the pramathas as well as the gods
Translation
«Then said the Lord, the supreme sovereign, most compassionate — to the pramathas as well as the gods…»
Version
b9ab4f4c8c5a · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The answer begins, and the speaker is called parama-kāruṇikaḥ, «most compassionate». The word kāruṇika is from karuṇā, «pity, compassion», discussed when reading Devī (16); there it was noted that compassion presupposes the capacity to be moved, and only one who has a heart can be moved. Worth noting: this definition is placed before the answer. Not «wise», not «all-knowing», but — compassionate; that is, what moves Him to answer is not knowledge but pity for the questioner.
Worth noting too whom He answers: pramathān surān api, «to the pramathas as well as the gods». The pramathas are Śiva's retinue, coarse and fearsome beings; and they listen alongside the gods. This detail, to my mind, is not accidental and deserves mention. The teaching is not spoken to a select few alone: among the listeners are both gods and retinue. And that is not always so in books of this kind.
The Vaishnava side insists particularly on the makeup of the audience and cites it as a marker. The Bhāgavatam is told to a king with seven days left to live; the Gītā to a warrior on a battlefield; and in both cases the listeners are hardly the select alone, but whoever happened to be nearby. A teaching that can be spoken only to the chosen holds no honor for it; and that the essential thing is not hidden away was discussed when reading Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (2.13).