Upanishads · Rudrākṣajābāla 1.2
॥
Devanāgarī
दिव्यवर्षसहस्राणि चक्षुरुन्मीलितं मया । भूमावक्षिपुटाभ्यां तु पतिता जलबिन्दवः
Transliteration (IAST)
divyavarṣasahasrāṇi cakṣurunmīlitaṃ mayā | bhūmāvakṣipuṭābhyāṃ tu patitā jalabindavaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दिव्य-वर्ष-सहस्राणिdivya-varṣa-sahasrāṇifor thousands of divine years
चक्षुः उन्मीलितं मयाcakṣuḥ unmīlitaṃ mayāthe eye was kept open by me
भूमौ अक्षि-पुटाभ्याम्bhūmau akṣi-puṭābhyāmonto the ground, from the eyelids
पतिताः जल-बिन्दवःpatitāḥ jala-bindavaḥdrops of water fell
Translation
For thousands of divine years my eye was kept open; onto the ground, from the eyelids, drops of water fell.
Version
bb39c7bcad77 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the book tells the same thing differently, and the discrepancy deserves naming outright rather than smoothing over. In the prose (0p2) it said nimīlitākṣo'bhavam, "I closed my eyes," and from them drops fell. Here it says the opposite: cakṣur unmīlitaṃ mayā, "the eye was kept open" by me for thousands of years, and from long unblinking, moisture welled up.
And in a third place (3p6) yet another explanation will be given: Sadāśiva, at the dissolution of the world, closes the eye of destruction, and from it the rudrākṣas are born. Three accounts in one book, and they do not agree with one another. The first and third speak of closing, the second of opening; and the book offers no reconciliation.
Let us say what can honestly be said of this. Such discrepancies usually mean the book was assembled from several traditions that circulated separately, and that the compiler did not think it necessary to reconcile them. The conclusion for the reader is twofold. One should not build arguments on details where the book itself is unstable; but one should not reject the book for this either, for on what truly matters to it — that the sign was born of tears and is given out to all — all three accounts agree.