उपनिषद् · Śvetāśvatara 3.4
॥
देवनागरी
यो देवानां प्रभवश् चोद्भवश् च विश्वाधिपो रुद्रो महर्षिः ।
हिरण्यगर्भं जनयामास पूर्वं स नो बुद्ध्या शुभया संयुनक्तु
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
yo devānāṃ prabhavaś codbhavaś ca viśvādhipo rudro maharṣiḥ /
hiraṇyagarbhaṃ janayāmāsa pūrvaṃ sa no buddhyā śubhayā saṃyunaktu
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
यः देवानाम्yaḥ devānāmwho of the gods; He who for the gods
प्रभवःprabhavaḥthe source; the origin
चcaand; as well as
उद्भवःudbhavaḥthe rising; the coming forth
चcaand; also
विश्वाधिपःviśvādhipaḥlord of the universe; supreme over all
रुद्रःrudraḥRudra; He who wrings a cry from evil
महर्षिःmaharṣiḥthe great seer; first among the ṛṣis
हिरण्यगर्भम्hiraṇyagarbhamHiraṇyagarbha; the Golden Germ — the firstborn Brahmā
जनयामासjanayāmāsabegot; brought forth
पूर्वम्pūrvamin the beginning; at the very first
सः नःsaḥ naḥmay He us; let Him us
बुद्ध्या शुभयाbuddhyā śubhayāwith a good understanding; with luminous discernment
संयुनक्तुsaṃyunaktujoin; let Him unite
अनुवाद
He who is the source and the rising of the gods, lord of the universe, Rudra, the great seer, who in the beginning begot Hiraṇyagarbha — may He join us with a good understanding.
संस्करण
7d4af3859ec7 · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:13:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The mantra settles the question of seniority, and settles it exactly: He is "the source and the rising of the gods". Not the first among them, but the one from whom they come. All disputes over which deity is chief turn out to be disputes inside what has already been produced.
The proof is named outright: He begot Hiraṇyagarbha. Hiraṇyagarbha, "the Golden Germ", is the firstborn being, the maker of forms, the one called Brahmā. In this hierarchy he is not the first cause but the first creation; and therefore the Lord stands above the highest of the created.
The name Rudra is here furnished with the epithet maharṣi, "great seer", rare for a formidable deity. Behind the names the Upaniṣad keeps one and the same trait: this God is not only mighty but all-knowing; He creates knowingly, not blindly.
And the mantra ends with a petition worth remembering: "may He join us with a good understanding". Not "may He give wealth", not "may He keep us from harm" — may He unite us with śubhā buddhi, luminous discernment. The verb saṁyunaktu is from the same root yuj as "yoga": the request is that He Himself harness our mind to the good, because by its own strength the mind harnesses badly, as the second adhyāya showed.