Upanishads · Kaṭha 6.9
॥
Devanāgarī
न संदृशे तिष्ठति रूपम् अस्य न चक्षुषा पश्यति कश्चनैनम् ।
हृदा मनीषा मनसाभिकॢप्तो य एतद् विदुर् अमृतास् ते भवन्ति
Transliteration (IAST)
na saṃdṛśe tiṣṭhati rūpam asya na cakṣuṣā paśyati kaścanainam /
hṛdā manīṣā manasābhikḷpto ya etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नnanot; no
संदृशेsaṃdṛśewithin sight (saṁdṛś); in the compass of the eye; in the visible
तिष्ठतिtiṣṭhatistands; abides
रूपम्rūpamshape; the appearance
अस्यasyaHis; of this
नnanot; no
चक्षुषाcakṣuṣāwith the eye; with sight
पश्यतिpaśyatisees; beholds
कश्चनkaścanaanyone; no one
एनम्enamHis; of this
हृदाhṛdāby the heart (hṛd); by the heart's depth; by the inmost heart
मनीषाmanīṣāby insight (manīṣā — 'the wise will'); by wisdom; by discernment
मनसाmanasāwith the mind; by inward contemplation
अभिकॢप्तःabhikḷptaḥis embraced and apprehended (abhi-√kḷp — 'to encompass'); is overcome; is perceived
येyethose who; they who
एतत्etatthis; His
विदुःviduḥthey know; they realise
अमृताःamṛtāḥimmortal; imperishable
तेtethey; such
भवन्तिbhavantibecome; are
Translation
His form does not stand within sight; no one sees Him with the eye. By the heart, by insight, by the mind is He apprehended; those who know this become immortal.
Version
d88b0cc530d0 · published Jul 26, 2026, 9:13:03 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
na saṁdṛśe tiṣṭhati rūpam asya — "his form does not stand in the field of view": rūpam asya — He does have a form (the Upaniṣad does not say "He is formless" but: the form is not exhibited to the visible); na cakṣuṣā paśyati kaścanainam — "no one sees Him with the eye": the organ bored outward (verse 72) is not turned toward Him by its very construction.
hṛdā manīṣā manasābhikḷptaḥ — "by the heart, by insight, by the mind is He apprehended": three inner organs are named in ascending depth, and first of all hṛd, the heart. Here is the organ of God-vision according to the Kaṭha: not a refined thought but a heart armed with insight and mind; the sight for which the Īśa Upaniṣad prayed ("draw aside the covering — that I may see") is granted not to a retina but to a loving depth. The same verse of the Śvetāśvatara (4.20) and the Gītā (18.55: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti — "by devotion men know Me as I am") name that organ outright.
ye etad vidur amṛtās te bhavanti — "those who know this become immortal": the refrain of immortality is repeated over the most practical of knowledges: where to seek and with what to look. Do not await Him in the field of the eyes — prepare a heart for Him: purified, collected, turned inward, it is that very mirror (verse 106) in which He is seen "as in a clear glass".