Upaniṣads · Bhasmajābāla 2.40
॥
Devanāgarī
तदेवाहम् । तत्रार्चितोऽहम् । साक्षादर्चितः
Transliteración (IAST)
tadevāham | tatrārcito'ham | sākṣādarcitaḥ
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तत् एव अहम्tat eva ahamthat indeed am I
तत्र अर्चितः अहम्tatra arcitaḥ ahamthere I am worshipped
साक्षात् अर्चितःsākṣāt arcitaḥdirectly worshipped
Traducción
«That indeed am I; there I am worshipped; directly worshipped».
Versión
f930fe2b66ae · publicado 12 ago 2026, 5:00:00 UTC
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It is said sākṣāt arcitaḥ, «directly worshipped». The word sākṣāt means «before the eyes, visibly, directly», and it was discussed when reading Rudra-hṛdaya (36). That is, it is asserted that in this place He Himself is worshipped, not an image.
This position, in the theology of the image, is the central one, and it is worth stating plainly, for on this both sides agree. The image is not a reminder and not a symbol; it is He Himself, having taken a form accessible to the senses. And so service to the image is not an exercise of imagination: one offers to Him, and He accepts.
The Vaishnava side rests on this and has worked it out more than others. Arcā-avatāra, «descent into the image», is counted among the Lord's manifestations on equal footing with the rest; and the Bhāgavatam says that seeing stone or wood in the image is nāraki-buddhi, «infernal reasoning» (Padma-purāṇa). Worth noting that here the same is said more briefly and without elaboration: tad eva aham, «that indeed I am».
Separately worth saying something about the word arcita, «worshipped», from arc, «to venerate, to render homage». From the same root come arcā, «image», and arcana, «service». That is, in the word itself, the object and the act are named by the same root: an image is what is venerated; and its name states nothing beyond this.