उपनिषद् · Bhasmajābāla 1.3
॥
देवनागरी
हिरण्यबाहुं हिरण्यरूपं हिरण्यवर्णं हिरण्यनिधिमद्वैतं चतुर्थं ब्रह्मविष्णुरुद्रातीतमेकमाशास्यं भगवन्तं शिवं प्रणम्य
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
hiraṇyabāhuṃ hiraṇyarūpaṃ hiraṇyavarṇaṃ hiraṇyanidhimadvaitaṃ caturthaṃ brahmaviṣṇurudrātītamekamāśāsyaṃ bhagavantaṃ śivaṃ praṇamya
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
हिरण्य-बाहुं हिरण्य-रूपंhiraṇya-bāhuṃ hiraṇya-rūpaṃgolden-armed, golden-formed
हिरण्य-वर्णं हिरण्य-निधिम्hiraṇya-varṇaṃ hiraṇya-nidhimgolden-hued, the golden treasure
अ-द्वैतं चतुर्थंa-dvaitaṃ caturthaṃnon-dual, the fourth
ब्रह्म-विष्णु-रुद्र-अतीतम्brahma-viṣṇu-rudra-atītamsurpassing Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra
एकम् आशास्यं भगवन्तं शिवं प्रणम्यekam āśāsyaṃ bhagavantaṃ śivaṃ praṇamyahaving honored the one, longed-for Lord Śiva
अनुवाद
«…golden-armed, golden-formed, golden-hued, the golden treasure, non-dual, the fourth, surpassing Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra, the one, longed-for Lord Śiva — having honored…»
संस्करण
8e26c13decdb · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The description is finished, and in it there is something worth marking: brahma-viṣṇu-rudra-atītam, «surpassing Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra». That is, the one addressed is set above Rudra himself; yet the address is to Mahādeva, that is, to Śiva. This turn is usual in Śaiva books and marks the distinction between Rudra as one of the three and Śiva as the highest. This distinction is legitimate and every school makes it: the Vaishnavas too distinguish Viṣṇu as one of the tri-mūrti from Viṣṇu as the highest.
Worth noting too is the word caturtham, «the fourth». Three are named — and the one addressed is the fourth beside them. The same word turya, «the fourth», was discussed when reading Tripurātāpinī (32).
Separately worth mentioning is the series hiraṇya-bāhu and the rest, «golden-armed, golden-formed, golden-hued». This series is taken from the Śatarudrīya, the famous hymn of the Yajur-veda to Rudra, where hiraṇya-bāhu occurs word for word. Worth noting: the same series of epithets is applied in the Īśā (16) to the sun and to the Puruṣa within it: «a golden vessel covers the face of truth… that Puruṣa who is in the sun — He am I». That is, these words circulate among the names in the tradition, and every school applies them to its own.
There is nothing to argue about here. An argument from epithet is weak everywhere: the epithets are shared, the names are different.