Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.21
॥
Devanāgarī
अयमेवात्मान्तरात्मा ब्रह्मज्योतिर्यस्मान्न मत्तोऽन्यः परः । अहमेव परो विश्वाधिकः
Transliteration (IAST)
ayamevātmāntarātmā brahmajyotiryasmānna matto'nyaḥ paraḥ | ahameva paro viśvādhikaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अयम् एव आत्मा अन्तरात्माayam eva ātmā antarātmāhe indeed is the self, the inner self
ब्रह्म-ज्योतिःbrahma-jyotiḥthe light of Brahman
यस्मात् न मत्तः अन्यः परःyasmāt na mattaḥ anyaḥ paraḥfor there is none higher than me
अहम् एव परः विश्व-अधिकःaham eva paraḥ viśva-adhikaḥI indeed am the highest, surpassing the world
Translation
«He indeed is the self, the inner self, the light of Brahman — for there is none higher than me; I indeed am the highest, surpassing the world».
Version
65eb0975caf8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is said: na mattaḥ anyaḥ paraḥ, «there is none higher than me». This turn is worth comparing with what the Gītā says: mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya, «there is nothing higher than Me, O Dhanañjaya» (7.7). The coincidence is nearly word for word; and this, to my mind, is the best case for showing why arguing by citation is fruitless.
One and the same turn of phrase stands in two books, about two names. Both passages are ancient; both are recorded; and anyone who thinks to settle the matter by weighing passages will end up counting rather than examining. How, then, is it to be decided? — By the very means Indian literature uses for such matters: by examining the whole body of testimony and its coherence.
The Vaishnava side points here to three things. First: the passage on Viṣṇu's supremacy stands in Śaiva books too — for instance Rudra-hṛdaya (13), where Viṣṇu is called «the eternal self of all beings». Second: the reverse — Śaiva books naming Śiva the highest — is not to be found, for the Bhāgavatam, speaking of Śiva, always calls him vaiṣṇavānāṃ yathā śambhuḥ, «foremost of the Vaishnavas» (12.13.16). Third: Śiva himself in these books is constantly depicted as worshipping, and a few lines on this very book will say that Viṣṇu bows in the southern direction (2.60) — but also that Śiva meditates.
This dispute, however, is worth conducting without heat; and that enmity between worshippers is a matter of their own was discussed when reading Rudra-hṛdaya (6–7).