Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.20
॥
Devanāgarī
हिरण्यगर्भादीनहं जायमानान्पश्यामि । यो रुद्रो अग्नौ यो अप्सु य ओषधीषु यो रुद्रो विश्वा भुवना विवेशैवमेव
Transliteration (IAST)
hiraṇyagarbhādīnahaṃ jāyamānānpaśyāmi | yo rudro agnau yo apsu ya oṣadhīṣu yo rudro viśvā bhuvanā viveśaivameva
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
हिरण्यगर्भ-आदीन् अहंhiraṇyagarbha-ādīn ahaṃHiraṇyagarbha and the rest, I
जायमानान् पश्यामिjāyamānān paśyāmisee being born
यः रुद्रः अग्नौ यः अप्सुyaḥ rudraḥ agnau yaḥ apsuwho is Rudra in fire, who in the waters
यः ओषधीषुyaḥ oṣadhīṣuwho in the plants
यः रुद्रः विश्वा भुवना विवेशyaḥ rudraḥ viśvā bhuvanā viveśawho as Rudra entered all worlds
Translation
«Hiraṇyagarbha and the rest I see being born. Who is Rudra in fire, who in the waters, who in the plants, who as Rudra entered all worlds — so it is».
Version
b17ccb737c93 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Worth noting the verb: jāyamānān paśyāmi, «I see [them] being born». Not «I beget» and not «I am», but — I see; and that the verb of sight decides more in these disputes than reasoning was discussed when reading Tripurātāpinī (89). The seer and the seen are two; and here it is said He looks upon those being born, not that He is born together with them.
The second half of the line is taken from the Śvetāśvatara (2.17): «who is the god in fire, who in the waters, who entered all worlds, who in the plants, who in the trees — to that god, bow, bow». Worth noting that in the original this passage ends with a bow: tasmai devāya namo namaḥ. Here the bow is omitted, and in its place stands evam eva, «so it is».
This omission, to my mind, deserves noting. Where the original bows, this book identifies; and the difference between «a bow to the One in fire» and «that very thing am I» is the whole difference at stake here. The Vaishnava side keeps the bow and explains why. One bows to another; and every time identification displaces the bow, the second person disappears from the speech — and with him, everything the speech was for.