Atharvashira Upanisad

Atharvashira is a very old upanishad glorifying Lord Rudra-Shiva. This upanishad is made up of mantras for chanting and consists of teachings from the Atharvaveda in the form of a dialogue between the Devas and Lord Rudra in the first part presented below. The second part of the text is the doctrine as taught by the Pashupata sages on the nature and names of Lord Rudra, and the practice of the Pashupata Vrata, which we will examine in the future. There are a few recensions of this upanishad which differ slightly in content and verse numbering, but the core teaching is the same. The Atharvashira teaches an early form of monism common to the upanishadic era in which the Lord is both Creator and creation. He is Brahman, the abstract absolute reality taught in the principal upanishads.

There are a handful of very ancient Shaiva upanishads including the Nilarudra (part of the Atharveda Samhita Paippalada recension), Shvetashvatara, Atharvashira, Atharvashikha and Kaivalya. Indologists of the 19th century initially considered the Atharvashira not a very ancient text, but likely from the first millennium CE. However, on account of the fact that Atharvashira along with the Rudradhyaya is recommended in the Dharma Sutras (e.g., Gautama, Baudhayana, etc.) as purificatory hymns, it was realized that the Atharvashira is quite ancient indeed. Therefore, the Atharvashira must predate the Dharma Sutras, which are assigned the period of 600-300 BCE, and is currently dated to about the 5th century BCE. This places the Atharvashira in roughly the same time frame as the Shvetashvatara. Just like it is not known to which school of the Krsna Yajurveda (Katha or Taittariya) the Shvetashvatara belongs, so it is not known to which school of the Atharvaveda the Atharvashira belongs. It is entirely possible that upanishads of the Pashupata sages transcended the boundaries of Vedic schools.

Aum Namah Shivaya. 
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Peace Prayer

O Devas! May we hear with our ears what is auspicious,

May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, o praise-worthy ones,

May we have strong organs and healthy bodies,

May we live our lifespans allotted by the Devas.

May Indra of great glory bestow well-being unto us,

May Puṣān, the all-knowing, bestow well-being unto us,

May Tarkṣya, the destroyer of evil, bestow well-being unto us,

May Bṛhaspati ensure our welfare!

Aum, peace, peace, peace.

Aum! Once, the Devas resorted to the heavens and approached Lord Rudra and asked, “Who are You?”

He replied: “I alone was in the beginning, I am now, and I will be in the future. There is none but Me!”

He spread Himself out and pervaded all the quarters.

[He said]:

I am eternal and non-eternal,

I am the manifest and the unmanifest,

I am Brahman and non-Brahman!

I am the east, the west, the south and the north,

I am above and I am below,

I am the directional quarters and the cross quarters,

I am man and non-man, I am woman,

I am Gāyatrī and I am Sāvitrī,

I am triṣṭub, jagati and anuṣṭup; I am meter itself!

I am the Truth!

I am the three fires: gārhapatya, dakṣiṇa and āhavanīya,

I am cow and I am bull,

I am Rg, Yajur, Sāma and Atharvāṅgirasa,

I am the first, the superior and the best!

I am water and I am fire,

I am the secret and the forest (teachings),

I am the imperishable and the perishable,

I am the nourisher and the purifier,

I am the top, the center, the outside, and the front,

I am Light!

I am the form of all (beings) and all are equal to me.

He who knows Me knows all the Devas!

I nourish (the world) through My own light,

Brahman through Brahman,

Brāhmaṇas through brāhmaṇas,

Oblations through oblations,

Life through life,

Truth through Truth,

Dharma through Dharma!

Thereafter, the Devas ceased to see Lord Rudra in His own glory. They mediated, and began to praise Him with hands uplifted.

Aum!

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Brahmā; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Viṣṇu; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Skanda; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Indra; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Agni; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Vāyu; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Sūrya; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Soma; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is the Grahas (senses) eight; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is the Pratigrahas (sense objects) eight; we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Bhū(-loka); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Bhuvaḥ(-loka); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Svaha(-loka); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Mahaḥ(-loka); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Pṛthivī (earth); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Antarīksa (atmosphere); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Dyaus (heavens); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Āpas (water); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Tejas (fire); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Kāla (time); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Yama (Ruler over death); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Mṛtyu (death); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Amṛtaṁ (immortality); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Ākāśaṁ (space); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Viśvaṁ (the universe); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Sthūlaṁ (gross); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Sūkṣmaṁ (subtle); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Śuklaṁ (white); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Kṛṣṇaṁ (black); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Kṛtsnaṁ (the entirety); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Satyaṁ (the Truth); we salute Him again and again.

He who is Rudra, He is the Lord. He is Sarvaṁ (All); we salute Him again and again.

Bhū is Thy beginning, Bhuvaḥ Thy middle, and Svaha Thy head.

Thou art the form of the universe,

Thou art the one Brahman, Thou hast bifurcated and trifurcated – Thou art growth!

Thou art tranquility and nourishment,

Thou art the offered and the unoffered oblation,

Thou art the gift and the ungifted,

Thou art all and the non-all,

Thou art the universe and the non-universe,

Thou art the deed and non-deed,

Thou art the highest and non-highest,

Thou art the final aim!

Atharvaśiropanisad I-IIIa.

Aum Namo Bhagavate Rudrāya