Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.9
॥
Devanāgarī
शिवलिङ्गं त्रिसन्ध्यमभ्यर्च्य कुशेष्वासीनो ध्यात्वा साम्बं मामेव वृषभारूढं हिरण्यबाहुं हिरण्यवर्णं हिरण्यरूपं
Transliteration (IAST)
śivaliṅgaṃ trisandhyamabhyarcya kuśeṣvāsīno dhyātvā sāmbaṃ māmeva vṛṣabhārūḍhaṃ hiraṇyabāhuṃ hiraṇyavarṇaṃ hiraṇyarūpaṃ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शिव-लिङ्गं त्रि-सन्ध्यम् अभ्यर्च्यśiva-liṅgaṃ tri-sandhyam abhyarcyahaving honored the śiva-liṅga at the three sandhyās
कुशेषु आसीनः ध्यात्वा साम्बंkuśeṣu āsīnaḥ dhyātvā sāmbaṃseated on kuśa grass, having meditated, with Umā
माम् एव वृषभ-आरूढंmām eva vṛṣabha-ārūḍhaṃme indeed, mounted on the bull
हिरण्य-बाहुं हिरण्य-वर्णंhiraṇya-bāhuṃ hiraṇya-varṇaṃgolden-armed, golden-hued
Translation
«Having honored the śiva-liṅga at the three sandhyās, seated on kuśa grass, having meditated on [me] with Umā — me indeed, mounted on the bull, golden-armed, golden-hued, golden-formed…»
Version
663f2ab56461 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The meditation begins, and Śiva himself speaks it in the first person: mām eva, «me indeed». This change of person is the same as noted when reading Yoga-kuṇḍalinī (1.78): while the techniques are being set out, the speech is impersonal; but the moment it reaches the object of meditation, the «I» appears. Worth noting the first detail of the form: vṛṣabha-ārūḍha, «mounted on the bull».
The bull Nandi is Śiva's companion, discussed when reading Tripurātāpinī (27): he is the gatekeeper lying at the entrance of every Śaiva temple. Worth noting that the description begins not with abstractions but with what He rides upon. This is constant in descriptions of the form: each has his own mount — Viṣṇu the eagle, Brahmā the goose, Indra the elephant.
This detail, for all its outward appearance, means something. One who has a means of travel is one who arrives; and one who arrives arrives somewhere, to someone. The Vaishnava side insists on this and tells of arrivals constantly: He appears to Gajendra, arriving on Garuḍa; He comes to Sudāmā on foot. An abstract beginning arrives nowhere; and so in descriptions of the form the carrier stands in the first line.