Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.18
॥
Devanāgarī
जनितेन्द्रस्य सोमोऽहं जनितोत विष्णोः सोमोऽहमेव जनिता स यश्चन्द्रमसो देवानां भूर्भुवस्वरादीनां सर्वेषां लोकानां च
Transliteration (IAST)
janitendrasya somo'haṃ janitota viṣṇoḥ somo'hameva janitā sa yaścandramaso devānāṃ bhūrbhuvasvarādīnāṃ sarveṣāṃ lokānāṃ ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
जनिता इन्द्रस्य सोमः अहम्janitā indrasya somaḥ ahamthe begetter of Indra, Soma am I
जनिता उत विष्णोःjanitā uta viṣṇoḥand the begetter of Viṣṇu
सोमः अहम् एव जनिताsomaḥ aham eva janitāSoma am I, the begetter
सः यः चन्द्रमसः देवानांsaḥ yaḥ candramasaḥ devānāṃhe who [begets] the moon, the gods
सर्वेषां लोकानां चsarveṣāṃ lokānāṃ caand all the worlds
Translation
«…the begetter of Indra, Soma am I; and the begetter of Viṣṇu, Soma am I, the begetter — he who [is the begetter] of the moon, of the gods, and of all the worlds bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ».
Version
5163b8f814d8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the passage this speech is really cited for: janitota viṣṇoḥ, «and the begetter of Viṣṇu». This passage is constantly brought up in disputes, and it must not be answered evasively. The first thing worth saying: such passages exist on both sides. In Śaiva books, Śiva begets Viṣṇu; in Vaishnava books, Viṣṇu begets Śiva, and the Bhāgavatam says that Rudra was born from Brahmā's forehead, and Brahmā from Viṣṇu's navel (3.12.7). Both series are recorded, both are ancient.
Second: to argue by citing such passages is to argue by citation count; and in such an argument whoever has more of them in his own collection wins. Third, and this matters. Indian theology has worked out a rule for how to proceed in the face of such disagreement, and it is recognized by every school: one looks not at the number of passages but at sambhava, «possibility», and at samanvaya, «reconciliation» — that is, at which reading keeps both series true.
The Vaishnava reconciliation is this: Śiva is śambhu, engendered by and not different from Him, «as milk from milk and curds from milk» (Brahma-saṃhitā 5.45) — that is, neither a creature nor an equal, but a special category. On such a reading, passages like this one turn out to speak of His own power and need not be discarded. As for this passage itself, worth noting: Viṣṇu is named in the same series as Indra and the moon, that is, among the gods, not as the highest. And this shows of whom the speech is: of Viṣṇu as one of the tri-mūrti, as discussed when reading Rudra-hṛdaya (15).