Upanishads · Kaṭha 5.9
॥
Devanāgarī
अग्निर् यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव ।
एकस् तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश् च
Transliteration (IAST)
agnir yathaiko bhuvanaṃ praviṣṭo rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva /
ekas tathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo bahiś ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अग्निःagniḥfire; Agni
यथाyathāhow; like
एकःekaḥone; single
भुवनम्bhuvanaminto the world (bhuvana); into the universe; into being
प्रविष्टःpraviṣṭaḥhaving entered; having entered
रूपम्rūpamthe form; form
रूपम्rūpamevery form; form after form
प्रतिरूपःpratirūpaḥconformed in shape (prati-rūpa — 'corresponding to the form'); he has become like; he has taken on the correspondence
बभूवbabhūvabecame; he became manifest
एकःekaḥone; single
तथाtathāthus; like
सर्वभूतान्तरात्माsarvabhūtāntarātmāthe inner Ātman of all beings (sarva-bhūta-antar-ātmā); the soul within all creatures; the inner Self of all that lives
रूपम्rūpamthe form; form
रूपम्rūpamevery form; form after form
प्रतिरूपःpratirūpaḥconformed in shape (prati-rūpa — 'corresponding to the form'); he has become like; he has taken on the correspondence
बहिःbahiḥoutward; outside; beyond reach
चcaand; as well as
Translation
As one fire, having entered the world, becomes conformed to form after form, so the one inner Ātman of all beings becomes conformed to form after form — and abides outside [them].
Version
33ca2c27b8e3 · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
agnir yathaiko bhuvanaṁ praviṣṭaḥ — "as one fire that has entered the world": fire is one, but in a candle it is candle-like, in a forest blaze it is terrible, in a lamp before an image it is gentle: rūpaṁ rūpaṁ pratirūpo babhūva — "conformed to form after form". So eka sarva-bhūta-antarātmā — "the one inner Ātman of all beings" — takes on a correspondence to every form: in an ant He is proportioned to an ant's body, in an elephant to an elephant's, in a sage to a wise one.
And the decisive word: bahiś ca — "and outside": conforming himself to all, He is exhausted neither by any one of them nor by all together — He remains beyond the forms as well, as fire does not come to an end in any of its flarings. The formula cuts off pantheism at its most convenient point: God in the world — yes; wholly and without remainder in the world — no; the world is full of Him, He is not filled by the world.
The pair of image-verses (fire — 95, wind — 96) and a third, about the sun (97), form a triad of analogies answering an unspoken fear: if He is in all, is He not soiled by all? The answer ripens step by step: conformity is not mixture; presence is not captivity.