living things including human beings as also the four Vedas are created. The entire Universe with the Sun, Moon and Stars are created from this Yagam.

Suktham 121 says ' Prajapathi alias Hiraya Garban was born before the creation of Universe from the Universal soul. Immediately He became the Supreme God for the Universe'

Suktham 125 is the Devi Suktham. In this Devi in the form of Paramatma says that She has realized Brahmam that She is the 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, 12 Adityas, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Agni, Aswis and all other Gods put together, that She exists in living things as Jeevatma, that She fills the Universe and is the Supreme consciousness of the entire Universe. This Suktham is probably the root of later works like Devi Bhagavatham, Devi Mahathmyam etc. (Devi Mahathmyam is a part of Markandeya Puranam)

Suktham 129 says that in the beginning there was nothing, there was no concept of time or day or night, that there was only pure Brahmam. In this state of nothingness, the Universal Consciousness wanted to create something. The Suktham explores the reasons for creation and concludes that it is only God who knows the answers for such questions.

Suktham 130 says ' We know that the Gods sacrificed Prajapathi in a Maanasa (imaginary) Yagam. To which God did they dedicate the sacrifice? What was the result of the Yagam? What was the Haviz? The Suktham goes on to say that Gayathri, Moon, Sun, Brihaspathi, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Rishis, human beings were all created from this Yagam. The Saptha Rishis like Marichi learnt Vedic rites from their ancestors Angiras and started conducting Yagas in the proper way. Like good charioteers, they led the human race in the path of righteousness.

LATER UPANISHADS

Upanishads written after the 13 ancient Upanishads include Vaishnava Upanishads and Saktha Upanishads. Many of these Upanishads equate specific deities to Brahmam. The Kalisantharana Upanishad says that Adi Narayana is Brahmam, Ganapathi Upanishad says that Ganapathi is Brahmam, Skanda Upanishad says that Subramania is Brahmam, Krishna Upanishad says that Sri Krishna is Brahmam ( Bhagawad Gita also says this ), Mukthika Upanishad says that Sri Rama is Brahmam, Surya Upanishad says that Surya is Brahmam, Narayana Atharvasira Upanishad says that Narayana is Brahmam, Kaivalya Upanishad says that Siva/Rudra is Brahmam, Samba Upanishad says that Siva is Brahmam, Narasimha Purva Thapinya Upanishad says that Narsimham is Brahmam.

There are also Upanishads which extol certain religious practices. Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad extols the virtues of Rudraksham for Siva worship. Rudraksham is the seed of the tree Elaco Carpus Genitrus which grows in the Himalayas, Deccan and Indonesia.The Upanishad describes Rudrakshams of four colours. The Siva Puranam also describes in great detail the different types and sizes of Rudraksham and the benefits of wearing each of these. The Siva Puranam also describes Rudrakshams with faces from 1 to 14. When we examine a Rudraksham closely, we see that it is like a peeled orange with vertical lines from top to bottom. The space between two lines is called a face. The lesser the