In the beginning, there was Skambha, the cosmic Pillar, the foundation of all that is and will be. A mystery surrounds how much of Skambha entered into all that exists and all that is yet to come, for when he fashioned one limb into a thousand forms, how much of his essence flowed into each? Skambha’s presence pervades creation, yet his fullness remains elusive. Where people discern the worlds, the sheaths of existence, the waters, and Brahman itself—where the boundary between being and non-being dissolves—there arises the question: who is Skambha, who is that god? In the realm where ascetic heat reaches its zenith and upholds the discipline of observance, where truth, faith, the waters, and Brahman gather together—there, too, the riddle of Skambha persists: who indeed is that god? Within Skambha are established the earth, the atmosphere, and the sky; in him are set fire, the moon, the sun, and the wind. All the thirty-three gods are gathered in one of his limbs. Upon Skambha rest the first-born seers, the sacred hymns of Ṛc, Sāman, and Yajus, and the great earth itself; there, the singular Seer is established. Within the person, Skambha holds both immortality and death; his channels are like an ocean gathered within. The four directions stand as his foremost channels, and the sacrifice itself advances in him. Those who know Brahman in the heart of the person truly know the Supreme Lord; whoever knows the Supreme Lord and Prajapati, the Lord of creatures, those wise ones who know the eldest, they alone truly know Skambha. His head became Vaiśvānara, the universal fire; his eyes became the Angirases, seers of light; his limbs became the Yātavas. His mouth is spoken of as Brahman, his tongue honey-sweet, his intellect is Virāj, the shining one. From Skambha the Ṛc verses were uttered, from him the Yajus arose; his hairs are the Sāman chants, and his mouth is Atharvan and Angiras. Some people know the unsubstantial branch as the highest, while others, less discerning, take the branch as real and worship it. Within Skambha are established the Ādityas, Rudras, and Vasus; within him are the past and the future, and all the worlds are set. The thirty-three gods always guard his treasure, yet who among mortals knows this hidden wealth? Where the gods who know Brahman worship the eldest Brahman, to know them directly is to be a true knower of Brahman. The gods called Bṛhants were born from the non-existent; one limb of Skambha is known as the non-existent itself. When Skambha, generating offspring, turned away the ancient, that ancient is known as one of his limbs. In another limb, the thirty-three gods divided the body, and some who know Brahman know those gods as well. People know the golden germ, the highest and unexcelled, as the source; Skambha at first poured out that gold within the world. In Skambha are the worlds, in him is austerity, and in him is the established order. The speaker declares direct knowledge of Skambha, for within him, Indra and all things are set firm. Equally, in Indra are the worlds, austerity, and order; Indra is directly known, and in Skambha all is firmly established. In the beginning, the name was called out from the sun and the dawn; when the Unborn first came into being, he attained the sovereignty of sound, beyond which there is nothing higher, nothing that has been. To that eldest Brahman, homage is offered: to him belong the earth, the broad midspace, and the womb of creation; he made the sky his head. His eye is the sun, his ever-renewed moon, his mouth is fire. His breath is the wind, his inhalation and exhalation are Angiras, and the directions are his wisdom. Skambha upheld both heaven and earth, the wide atmosphere, the six broad regions; he entered this entire world of beings. Born from toil and heat, equal throughout all worlds, he fashioned Soma alone; to that eldest Brahman, homage is given. Yet, questions arise: how does the wind not settle, how does the mind not delight, and why do the waters, seeking truth, never find rest? In the midst of the world, the great lord stands established in austerity, upon the surface of the waters; all the gods rest upon him, like branches around the trunk of a tree. To him, with hands, feet, speech, ears, and eyes, the gods always offer tribute—he is Skambha, both measured and immeasurable. From him, darkness is driven out and destroyed by evil; in him shine all the lights, the threefold radiances, in the Lord of creatures. He who knows the golden reed standing in the waters knows the secret Lord of all beings. Some see two youthful weavers spinning the loom of creation, weaving six rays; one stretches the threads forward and sets them, the other neither removes them nor reaches their end. Of these two, ever circling, it is not known which is beyond; the wise praise one, and bear it above in heaven. These rays uphold the sky and create melodies for the wind. He who sustains all that was and will be, and who alone is lord of heaven, is the eldest Brahman, to whom homage is due. By Skambha all things are supported; heaven and earth stand firm, and Skambha is all that breathes, blinks, and moves. Three offspring moved forth, while others entered the sun from all sides; the vast one stood as the measure of the realm, entering the golden mares. The wheel of time has twelve spokes and one rim, three hubs—who can comprehend this? There, three hundred and sixty pegs are set, sixty are fixed and unmoving. Thus, Skambha is the hidden foundation, the upholder of all, the mystery at the heart of existence. To know Skambha is to know the secret of the worlds, the gods, and the eternal order.