Adhyaya 6
Original Sanskrit
1 स्वभावमेके कवयो वदन्ति कालं तथान्ये परिमुह्यमानाः ।देवस्यैष महिमा तु लोके येनेदं भ्राम्यते ब्रह्मचक्रम् ॥
2 येनावृतं नित्यमिदं हि सर्वं ज्ञः कालकारो गुणी सर्वविद्यः ।तेनेशितं कर्म विवर्तते ह पृथिव्यप्तेजोनिलखानि चिन्त्यम् ॥
3 तत्कर्म कृत्वा विनिवर्त्य भूयस्तत्त्वस्य तत्त्वेन समेत्य योगम् ।एकेन द्वाभ्यां त्रिभिरष्टभिर्वा कालेन चैवात्मगुणैश्च सूक्ष्मैः ॥
4 आरभ्य कर्माणि गुणान्वितानि भावांश्च सर्वान् विनियोजयेद्यः ।तेषामभावे कृतकर्मनाशः कर्मक्षये याति स तत्त्वतोऽन्यः ॥
5 आदिः स संयोगनिमित्तहेतुः परस्त्रिकालादकलोऽपि दृष्टः ।तं विश्वरूपं भवभूतमीड्यं देवं स्वचित्तस्थमुपास्य पूर्वम् ॥
6 स वृक्षकालाकृतिभिः परोऽन्यो यस्मात्प्रपञ्चः परिवर्ततेऽयम् ।धर्मावहं पापनुदं भगेशं ज्ञात्वात्मस्थममृतं विश्वधाम ॥
7 तमीश्वराणां परमं महेश्वरं तं देवतानां परमं च दैवतम् ।पतिं पतीनां परमं परस्ताद्विदाम देवं भुवनेशमीड्यम् ॥
8 न तस्य कार्यं करणं च विद्यते न तत्समश्चाभ्यधिकश्च दृश्यते ।परास्य शक्तिर्विविधैव श्रूयते स्वाभाविकी ज्ञानबलक्रिया च ॥
9 न तस्य कश्चित्पतिरस्ति लोके न चेशिता नैव च तस्य लिङ्गम् ।स कारणं करणाधिपाधिपो न चास्य कश्चिज्जनिता न चाधिपः ॥
10 यस्तन्तुनाभ इव तन्तुभिः प्रधानजैः स्वभावतः ।देव एकः स्वमावृणोति स नो दधातु ब्रह्माप्ययम् ॥
11 एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः सर्वव्यापी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा ।कर्माध्यक्षः सर्वभूताधिवासः साक्षी चेता केवलो निर्गुणश्च ॥
12 एको वशी निष्क्रियाणां बहूनामेकं बीजं बहुधा यः करोति ।तमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीरास्तेषां सुखं शाश्वतं नेतरेषाम् ॥
13 नित्यो नित्यानां चेतनश्चेतनानामेको बहूनां यो विदधाति कामान् ।तत्कारणं सांख्ययोगाधिगम्यं ज्ञात्वा देवं मुच्यते सर्वपाशैः ॥
14 न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥
15 एको हंसः भुवनस्यास्य मध्ये स एवाग्निः सलिले संनिविष्टः ।तमेव विदित्वातिमृत्युमेति नान्यः पन्था विद्यतेऽयनाय ॥
16 स विश्वकृद् विश्वविदात्मयोनिर्ज्ञः कालकालो गुणी सर्वविद्यः ।प्रधानक्षेत्रज्ञपतिर्गुणेशः संसारमोक्षस्थितिबन्धहेतुः ॥
17 स तन्मयो ह्यमृत ईशसंस्थो ज्ञः सर्वगो भुवनस्यास्य गोप्ता ।य ईशेऽस्य जगतो नित्यमेव नान्यो हेतुर्विद्यत ईशनाय ॥
18 यो ब्रह्माणं विदधाति पूर्वं यो वै वेदांश्च प्रहिणोति तस्मै ।तं ह देवमात्मबुद्धिप्रकाशं मुमुक्षुर्वै शरणमहं प्रपद्ये ॥
19 निष्कलं निष्क्रियंशान्तं निरवद्यं निरञ्जनम् ।अमृतस्य परंसेतुं दग्धेन्दनमिवानलम् ॥
20 यदा चर्मवदाकाशं वेष्टयिष्यन्ति मानवाः ।तदा देवमविज्ञाय दुःखस्यान्तो भविष्यति ॥
21 तपःप्रभावाद् देवप्रसादाच्च ब्रह्म ह श्वेताश्वतरोऽथ विद्वान् ।अत्याश्रमिभ्यः परमं पवित्रं प्रोवाच सम्यगृषिसङ्घजुष्टम् ॥
22 वेदान्ते परमं गुह्यं पुराकल्पे प्रचोदितम् ।नाप्रशान्ताय दातव्यं नापुत्रायाशिष्याय वा पुनः ॥
23 यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ ।तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः ॥प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
॥ इति श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषत्समाप्ता ॥
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation made directly from Sanskrit.
1 Some thinkers, bewildered, speak of inherent nature as the cause, and others of time.But it is the god's greatness in the world by which this wheel of Brahman turns.
2 By him all this is ever enfolded: the knower, maker of time, bearer of qualities, knower of all.Governed by him, action unfolds. Earth, water, radiance, air and space must be contemplated.
3 Having done that work and turned back from it again, entering union with the truth of the real,through one, two, three or eight, through time and the subtle qualities of the self—
4 he who begins works joined to qualities and assigns all states of being,when these cease, his past work destroyed, at the exhaustion of action he departs, truly other than them.
5 He is the beginning, the cause that brings union about; beyond the three times, he is seen to be without parts.First worship that god, taking every form, the source of existence, worthy of praise, abiding in your own mind;
6 he is beyond and other than the tree, time and forms; from him this unfolding world turns.Know him within the self, bringer of right, dispeller of evil, lord of blessing, immortal dwelling of all.
7 Let us know him, supreme great Lord of lords, supreme divinity of the gods,master of masters, highest beyond the highest, god, lord of the world, worthy of praise.
8 He has no work to perform, no instrument of action; no equal or superior to him is seen.His supreme power is heard of in many forms, and his knowledge, strength and action are inherent.
9 No master of his exists in the world, no ruler, and no distinguishing mark of him.He is the cause, lord of the lords of the senses; no one begot him, and no one governs him.
10 Like a spider with its threads, the one god, by his own nature,wraps himself in threads born of primal nature. May he grant us dissolution into Brahman.
11 One god, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the inner Self of all beings,watcher over action, dwelling of all beings, witness, conscious, alone and without qualities.
12 The one ruler of the many who do not act makes the single seed manifold.The wise who behold him within the self have lasting happiness, and no others.
13 Eternal among the eternal, conscious among the conscious, the one who fulfills the desires of the many—knowing that god, the cause, reached through discernment and yoga, one is freed from every bond.
14 There the sun does not shine, nor moon and stars; these flashes of lightning do not shine there, much less this fire.All shines after him who shines; by his light all this shines forth.
15 The one swan in the midst of this world is the very fire lodged in the waters.Knowing him alone, one passes beyond death; no other path leads to that journey's end.
16 Maker of all, knower of all, source of himself, knowing, time's own time, bearer of qualities, knower of all,master of primal nature and the knower of the field, lord of qualities, cause of wandering, liberation, continuance and bondage.
17 He is filled with that, immortal, established in lordship, knowing, everywhere, guardian of this world.He rules this world forever; no other cause of its governance exists.
18 The god who first brought Brahma into being and sent the Vedas forth to him,who illumines understanding of the Self—to him I turn for refuge, longing for release:
19 without parts, without action, peaceful, faultless, stainless,the supreme bridge to immortality, like a fire whose fuel is burned away.
20 When human beings can roll up space like a hide,then sorrow will end without knowing the god.
21 Through the power of austerity and the god's grace, the wise Shvetashvatarafully declared to those beyond the stages of life the supremely pure Brahman, cherished by the company of seers.
22 This highest secret at the Veda's end, taught in a former age,must not be given to one who is not at peace, nor to one who is neither a son nor a pupil.
23 For the great soul whose devotion to the god is supreme, and whose devotion to the teacher is as to the god,these meanings, once declared, shine forth.They shine forth for the great soul. So it is said.
Om. May he guard us both. May he nourish us both. May we work together with vigor. May our study shine. May we bear no hatred toward each other.Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Thus ends the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted translation made independently from Sanskrit.
1 Some thinkers are confused and say that things come from their own nature. Others say time is the cause.But what turns this wheel of Brahman is the god's greatness at work in the world.
2 He always surrounds everything here. He knows, makes time, possesses qualities and has all knowledge.Actions develop under his direction. We must consider earth, water, light, air and space.
3 After doing that work and then turning away from it, a person comes into union with the true nature of reality,through one, two, three or eight, and through time and the self's subtle qualities—
4 the one who sets actions with their qualities in motion and puts all conditions of existence in order,when those conditions disappear and past actions are destroyed, goes beyond them as action runs out, truly different from them.
5 He is the beginning and the cause of things coming together. He is beyond past, present and future and is seen as having no parts.First worship this god, who takes every form, is the source of existence, deserves praise and is present in your own mind;
6 he is different from and beyond the tree, time and forms. This whole expanded world turns because of him.Know him within yourself: immortal, the home of everything, bringing what is right, removing evil and ruling good fortune.
7 Let us know the god who deserves praise and rules the world: the highest Lord over all rulers, the highest god over the gods,the master over every master, the highest one beyond them all.
8 He has no task to do and no tool for doing it. Nobody can be seen who is equal to him or better than he is.We hear of his higher power in many forms. Knowledge, strength and action belong to his own nature.
9 There is nobody in the world who is his master or who directs him, and there is no mark that defines him.He is the cause and rules the rulers of the senses. Nobody produced him and nobody has authority over him.
10 By his own nature, the one god covers himself with threads that come from basic nature,just as a spider does with its threads. May he let us merge into Brahman.
11 One god is hidden in every being. He is everywhere and is the inner Self of all beings.He oversees actions and is the home of every being, the witness who is aware, alone and without qualities.
12 One ruler of the many who do not act turns one seed into many forms.Wise people who see him inside themselves have happiness that lasts. Others do not.
13 Among those who last, he is eternal; among those who are aware, he is conscious. He alone provides what the many desire.Knowing that god, the cause reached through analysis and yoga, frees a person from every tie.
14 The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and stars, nor these flashes of lightning. How could this fire shine there?Everything else shines by following his shining. His light makes all of this bright.
15 The single swan at the center of this world is also the fire contained in water.Only knowing him takes you past death. There is no other way to reach that destination.
16 He makes the world and knows it. He produces himself, knows, is the time of time, possesses qualities and has all knowledge.He governs basic nature and the knower of the field, rules the qualities and causes rebirth, release, continued existence and bondage.
17 He consists of that, does not die, is established in rule, knows and is everywhere. He guards this world.He is always the one who governs it. There is no other cause of its being governed.
18 The god first created Brahma and gave him the Vedas.He lights up our understanding of the Self. I want to be free, so I take refuge in him:
19 he has no parts and does not act. He is at peace, free of fault and free of stains,the highest bridge to immortality, like a fire that has burned up all its fuel.
20 When people manage to roll up space as if it were a piece of hide,then they will be able to end suffering without knowing the god.
21 Through the force of disciplined effort and the god's favor, the wise Shvetashvatarafully taught the highest, purest Brahman, welcomed by the gathered seers, to people beyond life's stages.
22 This deepest secret at the end of the Veda was taught in an earlier age.It must not be given to someone whose mind is not calm, or to someone who is neither a son nor a student.
23 Someone with a great soul who is deeply devoted to the god, and equally devoted to the teacher,will see these teachings clearly when they are explained.The person with a great soul sees them clearly. That is what is said.
Om. May he protect the two of us and provide for us. May we put our strength into our work together. May what we learn be clear and bright. May neither of us hate the other.Om. Let there be peace, peace, peace.
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad is now complete.
About this section
Adhyaya 6 is part of Shvetashvatara Upanishad by Unknown. This page sets the Sanskrit original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 6 of 6 in the work, which is kept in the Hindu tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the Hindu tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.