Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.58
॥
Devanāgarī
ते सर्वे भस्मदिग्धाङ्गा रुद्राक्षाभरणाः कृताञ्जलयो नित्यमभिध्यायन्ति । तत्र पूर्वस्यं दिशि ब्रह्मा कृताञ्जलिरहर्निशं मामुपास्ते
Transliteration (IAST)
te sarve bhasmadigdhāṅgā rudrākṣābharaṇāḥ kṛtāñjalayo nityamabhidhyāyanti | tatra pūrvasyaṃ diśi brahmā kṛtāñjaliraharniśaṃ māmupāste
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ते सर्वे भस्म-दिग्ध-अङ्गाःte sarve bhasma-digdha-aṅgāḥall of them, their bodies smeared with ash
रुद्राक्ष-आभरणाः कृत-अञ्जलयःrudrākṣa-ābharaṇāḥ kṛta-añjalayaḥadorned with rudrākṣa, with joined palms
नित्यम् अभिध्यायन्तिnityam abhidhyāyanticonstantly contemplate
तत्र पूर्वस्यां दिशि ब्रह्माtatra pūrvasyāṃ diśi brahmāthere, in the eastern quarter, Brahmā
अहर्-निशं माम् उपास्तेahar-niśaṃ mām upāsteworships me day and night
Translation
«All of them — their bodies smeared with ash, adorned with rudrākṣa, with joined palms — constantly contemplate. There, in the eastern quarter, Brahmā, with joined palms, worships me day and night».
Version
f0c976eb3204 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A listing of directions begins, and at each one of the great ones stands, worshipping Śiva. The east is given to Brahmā. Worth noting the phrase rudrākṣa-ābharaṇāḥ, «with rudrākṣa as their ornament». The word ābharaṇa means precisely «ornament, adornment»; and it is said that their adornment is dried berries.
Behind this lies a thought common to every ascetic code: a mark of belonging takes the place of an ornament. A person does not stop wearing a distinguishing mark altogether — he exchanges one distinction for another, and the new one is valuable precisely because outwardly it costs nothing. The danger here is well known and deserves stating plainly, for it lies in wait for every community. A humble mark becomes an object of pride as easily as a costly one; and one who wears beads as a sign of his own superiority differs from one who wears gold in nothing but the price of the material.
The Vaishnava side sets against this a measure worth remembering: for it, «more devoted is the one who does not consider himself devoted». The sign remains, but is recognized as unfit to serve as grounds for reckoning.