Meanings of Some Names of the Supreme Being Found in the Vedic Mantras

 

## **Meanings of Some Names of the Supreme Being Found in the Vedic Mantras**

### **1. “Om Kham Brahma”** (Yajurveda 40/17)

**Oṃ** = The protector of all; the Supreme Brahman who, like space, is all-pervading.

### **2.**

**“Salutations to Prāṇa, in whose control is everything.

He is the Lord of all beings.

In Him everything is established.”**

(Atharvaveda 11/4/1)

**Īśvara** = The wondrous Lord, the master of all objects in the universe.

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### **3.**

**“The wise ever behold the supreme abode of Viṣṇu,

expanded like an eye across the heavens.”**

(Rigveda 1/2/7/20)

**Viṣṇu** = The all-pervading One endowed with beautiful attributes; the One who supports all.

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### **4.**

**“Seeing all the lovely works, He moves forward;

Hari, bearing His weapons.”**

(Rigveda 9/57/2)

**Hari** = The Supreme Being who removes sorrow.

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### **5.**

**“Brahmā, the creator of all beings, first came into existence.

Who can compete with the Supreme Brahman?”**

(Atharvaveda 19/22/21)

**Brahmā** = The greatest, the universal generator; the Supreme Being.

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### **6.**

**“With the brilliance of Brahman, I release for myself what is auspicious.

May I conquer rivals and make them powerless.”**

(Atharvaveda 10/6/30)

**Śiva** = The all-auspicious, benevolent Supreme Lord.

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### **7.**

**“Salutations to Śambhu, and to the giver of joy;

Salutations to Śaṅkara, and to the one who brings happiness;

Salutations to Śiva, and to the most auspicious.”**

(Yajurveda 16/41)

**Śaṅkara** = The Supreme Lord who constantly inspires righteous actions.

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### **8.**

**“We worship the Tryambaka,

fragrant and nourishing all beings.

May He free us from bondage like a cucumber from its stem,

not from immortality but from death.”**

(Rigveda 7/59/12)

**Tryambaka** = The knower of the three times—past, present, and future;

the Lord of the world of action, the causal world, and all individual souls.

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### **9.**

**“We invoke You, O Ganapati, Lord of all groups;

We invoke You, beloved Lord of the beloved ones;

We invoke You, Lord of all treasures…”**

(Yajurveda 23/19)

**Gaṇapati** = The Supreme Lord of all groups, communities, and assemblies.

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### **10.**

**“He is Aryamā, He is Varuṇa, He is Rudra, He is Mahādeva.

Radiant with His rays, He comes, the mighty Indra.”**

(Atharvaveda 13/4/4)

This mantra includes several names of the Supreme:

* **Aryamā** = The Supreme Father who honors the noble.

* **Mahādeva** = The God of gods, the greatest benefactor.

* **Varuṇa** = The most excellent, the supreme.

* **Rudra** = The wise Lord who causes the wicked to weep.

* **Mahendra** = The greatest and most powerful sovereign.

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### **11.**

**“They call Him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni;

He is the radiant divine Being, the great soul.

The sages speak of the One Reality in many ways—

as Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan…”**

(Atharvaveda 9/10/28)

This mantra also includes many names of the Supreme:

* **Indra** = The supremely powerful Lord

* **Mitra** = The friend of all; the One who loves all

* **Agni** = The all-pervading, conscious Supreme Being, the embodiment of knowledge

* **Divya** = The luminous, exalted divine Lord

* **Suparṇa** = The capable Lord who nurtures beautifully

* **Gurutmān** = The One possessing the greatest greatness

* **Yama** = The just ruler of the universe

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### **One Supreme, Formless God**

Many such names of the **one formless Supreme Father** appear in the Vedas. Based on these names, many great personalities in history were given similar names. Over time, due to ignorance, people assumed that these names referred to different gods or divine incarnations mentioned in the Vedas. This belief is baseless.

**God is one. He is formless, omnipresent, pervading every particle, sustaining and nurturing all. He grants results to each according to their actions. His supreme name is Oṃ.**

All other countless names in the Vedas—such as Viṣṇu, Śiva, Rudra, Indra, Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, Ambā—are names of that same formless Oṃ, according to His various qualities.

Our ancestors—ṛṣis and sages—worshipped that formless Lord through yoga and meditation.

### **The Misunderstanding of Idol Worship**

Creating various idols with different names of God, adorning them, offering food, water, milk, fruits, oil, performing rituals of “infusing life” into them, or taking them as symbols of God—

**all this is mere ignorance, delusion, and misunderstanding.**

Idol worship is not a “ladder,” not a “beginner’s class,” nor a path for upliftement.

It is a pit in which spiritual growth stops, and people remain trapped in it until death.

### **True Worship**

**Yajña, Yoga, remembrance of God’s best name—AUM—and living according to the Vedas is true devotion to the beloved Supreme Controller of the universe. This is the only way of True Worship.**

It is not proper to waste this rare and precious human life in meaningless practices.

Reproduced by Dr. Vivek Arya

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