Upanishads · Chāndogya 8,2.2
॥
Devanāgarī
अथ यदि मातृलोककामः भवति संकल्पात् एव अस्य मातरः समुत्तिष्ठन्ति तेन मातृलोकेन संपन्नः महीयते
Transliteration (IAST)
atha yadi mātṛlokakāmaḥ bhavati saṃkalpāt eva asya mātaraḥ samuttiṣṭhanti tena mātṛlokena saṃpannaḥ mahīyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अथathathereupon; then
यदिyadiif; but if
मातृलोककामःmātṛlokakāmaḥdesiring the world of the mothers (mātṛ-loka-kāma); having wished for the mothers' world; longing for the world of mothers
भवतिbhavatirevered lady; madam
संकल्पात्saṃkalpātthan intention; from intention
एवevaindeed; surely
अस्यasyaof this; it
मातरःmātaraḥthe mothers (mātṛ, plural); of the mother; of the mother
समुत्तिष्ठन्तिsamuttiṣṭhantithey climb; arise
तेनtenawith that; by means of this
मातृलोकेनmātṛlokenaby the world of the mothers; by the mothers' region
संपन्नःsaṃpannaḥharnessed; having attained
महीयतेmahīyateis glorified; is magnified
Translation
If he desires the world of the mothers, then by his mere resolve the mothers arise; united with that world of the mothers, he is exalted.
Version
0f6dd8b006a4 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:49:49 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second picture is the mothers. The catalogue moves in circles of kinship: after the fathers the mothers, then brothers, sisters, friends: the freedom of one who has found the ātman is described not by thrones and not by siddhis but by kinship restored. The Upaniṣad's paradise is surprisingly domestic.
There is a quiet theology in this: love for one's own is not an attachment that spirituality abolishes but an image of a coming fullness; purified of falsehood (of mortality, separation, self-interest) it enters the number of true desires. What is lost is not kinship — what is lost is its shadow.