The Atharvasiras Upanishad (Rudra as Suprime God)

The Atharvasiras Upanishad (Rudra as Suprime God)


The Atharvasiras Upanishad, one of the 31 minor Upanishadic texts associated with the Atharva Veda, is classified as  one of the 14 Shaiva Upanishads. Throughout Upanishad he is described as Brahman, the creator, preserver and destroyer of the manifested worlds. Rudra is the lord of all the worlds, of the ones above and of the ones below. Rudra is all. He is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He is also the one God, Brahman. His form is the form of the universe. He is brahmam, the material universe and the objectivity that we experience in our delusion. He represents both unity and diversity and all the divine qualities of strength and vigour. The Atharvasiras Upanishad has been an important text in the Pashupata Shaivism tradition and the Nath Yogi movement founded by Gorakhnath.

The text begins with the answer to the question, "Who is Rudra?" He is introduced as that one "which existed at first, exists now and shall exist in future", the eternal and the non-eternal, the visible and the invisible, the Brahman and the non-Brahman. He is described as the essence of all gods, all living beings, one with the universe and as Maheshvara. The same verse is repeated  in 2nd chapter with Brahma replaced with the names of numerous gods (Vishnu, Skanda, Indra, Agni, Vayu, Surya and others), thereafter replaced by objects of nature, substances, direction, colors, mantras, concepts (Truth), with the last verse stating "Rudra is the exalted one, he is the Universe, to him salutation, the salutation". The 3rd chapter continues to assert the oneness of everything and everyone as Rudra. He is asserted as growth, as prosperity, as peace, as all, as non-all, as whole, as non-whole, as done, as non-done, the principle behind everything and the highest goal of every living form and everything that changes. 

The 4th chapter offers mystical explanations to why Rudra is described the way he is. He is called Om because when uttered he makes Prana go upwards. He is called the holy call because he is the essence of all the Vedas. He is called all prevading because he permeates the silence of the universe. He is called infinite because when uttered there is no end of it in any dimension. He is unity, he is eternal, he is energy, he is Om, he is silence that follows Om. The 5th chapter asserts that one should revere Rudra as one, he has no second. He dwells within, those who abandon anger, greed and worldly desires realize him and attain peace. Rudra is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He is everywhere, he is all matter, he is in fire, he is in water, he has become plants and trees, he has become all living beings, states in the 6th chapter. Nothing is earlier, and nothing later, he pervades all the world.

The Upanishad extols the virtues and attributes of Lord Siva. It identifies Siva or Rudra with Brahman and describes him as the creator of Brahmam, the objective or the manifested worlds. In the Upanishad we also find some important concepts of Saivism: Siva as the lord of the animals, Siva as the concealer and bestower of grace and knowledge, Siva as the master of the elements, Siva as the breath itself and Siva as the one who relieves people from the bonds of this world

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